Mandino - Mission: success

FROM THE SEEDS OF SUCCESS
CONTAINED IN OG MANDINOS
NEW NOVEL,
MISSION: SUCCESS!

I will live this day as if it were Christmas. I will be a giver of gifts and deliver to my enemies the gift of forgiveness; my opponents, tolerance; my friends, a smile; my children, a good example, and every gift will be wrapped with unconditional love.

Bantam Books by Og Mandino

A BETTER WAY TO LIVE

THE CHOICE

THE CHRIST COMMISSION

THE GIFT OF ACABAR (with Buddy Kaye)

THE GREATEST MIRACLE IN THE WORLD

THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD

THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD, PART II: The End of the Story

THE GREATEST SECRET IN THE WORLD

THE GREATEST SUCCESS IN THE WORLD

MISSION: SUCCESS!

OG MANDINOS UNIVERSITY OF SUCCESS

THE RETURN OF THE RAGPICKER

MISSION: SUCCESS!
A Bantam Book
Bantam hardcover edition / July 1986
Bantam paperback edition / June 1987

All rights reserved.
Copyright 1986 by Og Mandino.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 84-48268.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.

eISBN: 978-0-307-78088-1

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words Bantam Books and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

v3.1

Dedicated, with love,
to a very special man,
PAUL PLAYTON

More than once you have heard me say that life is a mission most of us are trying to fly without any flight plan because they never gave us one in school. Life is indeed a mission but we must remember that every day is a life in miniature.

Winnie Marlow

Therefore, since we are being observed by so great a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, let us rid ourselves of all things that hinder us and let us run with courage and endurance the race that is set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

W hen my half-empty flight on the Concorde touched down at Heathrow Airport, the entire advance contingent of Gardiner Industries, as I expected, was waiting inside the terminal.

Welcome to London, Mr. Gardiner! After two miserable weeks, even the sun decided to show itself for you today.

Thank you, Sidney. Hows my advertising and publicity genius? Is everything set for a memorable introduction to our British friends tomorrow?

Yes, sir, he said, smiling nervously, Ill review the entire schedule for you on the way to the hotel.

I moved slowly through my eager group of executives, shaking hands, embracing, and answering endless questions on what it had felt like traveling in a graceful white missile faster than the speed of sound. After the usual delays for luggage and customs, Sidney guided me outside toward a black Rolls-Royce. A white-haired uniformed chauffeur stood stiffly at attention, holding the rear door open for us.

First class, Sidney?

Just want to make you feel at home, sir. If you can drive around Scottsdale in a Corniche convertible, theres no reason why you shouldnt have at least a Silver Cloud in London.

As soon as we had settled back in the soft leather, Sidney unzipped his briefcase, removed a legal pad, and began his briefing. Ground-breaking ceremonies for the three-story complex that would house the first foreign branch of Starcrest, Inc., one of the nineteen companies in the Gardiner Industries conglomerate, was scheduled for two oclock the next afternoon. The building site, in Hampstead Heath, was only about twenty minutes from our hotel. We would all depart from the Dorchester Hotel at one-thirty.

It was difficult to concentrate on what Sidney was saying. I forced myself. A large tent, he droned on, had been erected to shelter the invited dignitaries in case it rained. Following my brief speech, after turning some earth with a gold shovel for the newspaper and television cameras, I would conduct at least a thirty-minute press conference. The vastness of my corporate holdings, and certainly my wealth, he reminded me, would undoubtedly be the prime focus of reporter interest. American capital had virtually ignored Great Britain during the past several decades. Why was Gardiner Industries making such a huge financial commitment?

Names on traffic signs began to divert my attention as we headed toward London. Greenford, Eton, Basingstoke, Hounslow, Ealing

Winnie! I almost spoke her name aloud.

Winnie Marlow, where are you? What happened to you? I closed my eyes and I could still see her pale, lined face with those large green eyes filled with tears as she held me close, kissed my cheeks and repeated, many times, that I was to write often.

December 1944. Forty years. A long time ago. I did write often, for a year or more. A few of my letters came back marked Gone away or No longer at this address. I have no idea what happened to the rest of them, but she never responded. Not even a postcard. How could she have closed the door between us forever, especially after she had dispatched me on a lifelong mission? I had fulfilled her mission, far beyond my wildest dreams and possibly hers, but all my victories would have been so much sweeter if she had known.

Sir, sir? Sidneys monotone had risen several octaves. Are you okay?

Im fine, I replied, just doing a little wool-gathering.

He let his briefcase slide to the floor and crossed his legs. You were stationed here during the war, werent you?

Yes. Eighth Air Force. Bombardier, in B-24s. Up north or northeast, I guess. Our field was near a village called Marley.

Did you get to London often?

Not often enough. Five or six times during my tour of duty. Flew thirty combat missions.

And youve never been back to England?

No. There was a marriage followed by quite a few jobs while I was trying to find myself, then the kids, then my own first small business, and I just got busier and busier as the years rolled by.

He chuckled. Thats putting it mildly. What a fantastic career youve enjoyed, sir. He pointed at the landscape speeding by. Does any of this look familiar to you?

Not really. We never spent much time sight-seeing when we hit here on those short forty-eight-hour leaves.

Ill bet you didnt, sir. He smiled, then he shook his head. You truly have had an amazing life, Mr. Gardiner. From what I know about you, there wasnt much except the clothes on your back and your severance pay when you returned from combat and were separated from the Army Air Force in 1945. And no family. Now here you are returning as one of the wealthiest men in the world. What a story! I hope youll touch on some of that in your speech tomorrow. Just points out, so dramatically, what a great land of opportunity we live in back in the U.S.A. Are you going to cover that?

Yes, but in a slightly different way.

Oh, he said cautiously, are you planning to go beyond what weve included in our press release?

I havent seen our press release.