STORY.

Reilly was coming home from Galway the other day when he noticed an unusual sign beside the road outside Kinvara. 

In front of a residential house, on a big piece of cardboard, scrawled by hand, was written, “TALKING DOG FOR SALE.”

Interest piqued, Reilly pulled over and knocked on the door. An elderly lady opened it.

“Do you really have a talking dog for sale?’ says Reilly 

‘I most certainly do. Would you like to meet him?’ says the lady 

The lady took Reilly into the next room where the dog was lying on the couch watching TV.

“I’ll leave the two of you alone,” said the lady, and she closed the door behind her. 

‘Are you really a talking dog,’ says Reilly curiously.

‘I sure am,’ says the dog without getting up.

‘That’s amazing,’ says Reilly. ‘I’ve never seen a talking dog in my life before.’

‘Most people haven’t. There aren’t too many of us. Y’know, there’s a lot that a talking dog can do.’

‘I imagine there is. What have you done?”

‘Well, once I learned how to talk, I decided to go to college. I got a BA in classical languages from the University of Galway and then did a masters in computer science at Trinity.

‘I had a very lucrative offer to work at a major multinational in Cork when my head was turned by an opportunity with the Gárda. There I worked for years undercover busting some major drug cartels. 

‘Ultimately, I switched over to the corps diplomatic, where I worked in covert intelligence. Of course, I had to learn several different languages. I speak fluent Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic and Irish, of course. 

‘Since they didn’t know I could understand what they were saying, I was able to gather the intel that led to some of our most important treaties and diplomatic successes.

‘That’s truly incredible!” said Reilly, then added, ‘Could you excuse me for a moment? The dog shrugged and switched back to the TV. Reilly returned to the room where the old lady was sitting. 

‘That’s absolutely amazing. And you’re selling him? How much are you asking for him? I’ve three grandchildren who’d adore him.’

“Twenty euros.” 

‘Only twenty euros? How come so little? He’s a talking dog! He’s a miracle!’

‘Sure he’s a talking dog’ she said with a shrug. ‘But half the stuff he comes out with – like getting his master’s degree and speaking Arabic – isn’t even true.

INSIGHTS

• You are surrounded by miracles.
  Every person you meet, every breath we take, every child born and every idea created is miraculous.
• Familiarity makes miracles invisible.
  Because you experience them every day, you stop noticing just how remarkable life actually is.
• The miracle you need to transform your business or life may be staring you straight in the face.
  Perhaps you don’t need something extraordinary to happen to you. Perhaps you simply need to notice what is already extraordinary. As we say in Smácht, you may only ever be one miracle away from a life changing experience.

QUOTE

‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.’                          – Albert Einstein

QUESTION

Reilly was asking the talking dog if he had any good heuristics on decision making.

‘When making an important decision,’ says the dog thoughtfully, I always ask myself.

‘Will making this decision make me feel more alive?’

As Reillys mother would say ‘out of the mouths of dogs.’

POSTSCRIPT

Reilly loves great storytellers even if their stories do gild the lily a bit. So he bought the dog and brought him down with him to the pub on Friday evening.

‘What are you having?’ says the new barman to Reilly.

‘Two pints of Guinness, please,’ says the dog politely to the barman.

The barman looked askance at Reilly.

‘Does he always drink Guinness?’

‘No idea,’ says Reilly. ‘He only started talking yesterday.’