In my fourth-grade class, like every fourth-grade class before us, we attempted to hatch chicks. We got fertilized eggs, incubated them under a lamp, and waited FOREVER to see them hatch.

Every day, I’d come into the classroom and head straight to the eggs, hoping to see a change.

I spent hours staring at those motionless shells.

Eager with anticipation, I’d picture in my mind the chicks hatching, over and over. I probably had dreams about it. I just keep envisioning the mighty chicks, all at once flexing their wings and exploding out of their shells, like the Hulk out of Bruce’s clothes (you really don’t want to make these chicks angry!).

Of course, when they finally did hatch, it wasn’t like that at all.

It started with a crack.

Just a single crack in the egg’s shell. Then another little crack, then a chip, then some more cracks, until finally the chick just barely squeezed out of the egg.

And that’s the way it works with a mindful life, too.

For me, it started with diet. I was overweight and unhappy, so I started eating salads and pasta with low-fat sauce after jogging sessions. And I was still overweight and unhappy.

Then I learned about Paleo. It turns out, all those giant food companies and lobbied government bureaucrats were lying to us!

*Crack*

Then I heard a Steve Jobs quote, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.”

*Crack*

Then I had a summer internship at a real company, where I felt my time and talents were wasted. Maybe it was because I was just an intern. Then I got a real full-time job at a different company, and felt the same way. Late one night I wondered “is there a way I can spend my life doing something other than this?”

*Chip*

Then I learned more about how human thinking works (we’re all just moist robots), how fractional reserve lending works, what FIAT currency means.

*Crack*

Then my boss got fired, and I quit my job on the spot, emotionally.

And no one yelled at me or sent me to detention. In fact, nothing bad happened at all.

I was out of the egg, for good.

Now, on the outside, looking back at the egg, I can’t believe how real it felt. I was so sure that boundary, that shell, was permanent and immovable.

Out here, there are no fences. And it feel fucking awesome.

Come join us! It starts in your mind, when you see the first crack. Keep pushing.