For nearly 8 years I was referred to as Mark Norton. Then 1 year ago I became a number. My new occupation was a tiny cell on a great, vast spreadsheet. J23 was my home. Within those 10 pixels, my work, my life and all that I had sacrificed would be defined. Summarized by a single input to be arrived at by complete strangers. This is the story about what happened to this little, insignificant number after it was deleted from that spreadsheet. 

After dedicating my life to the company's success and helping it achieve what I was told would be the beginning of more great things to come, the veil of innocence was ripped from my eyes. A paper was shoved into my face and I saw myself there...little J23 with a big, red line through it. My life had ended with the single push of a key. All that I become was confined to that small cell and destroyed in an instant. The callous act was carried out by the arrogant people who mused at the glory of their newly "organized" spreadsheet. 

However, just as the corporate lie I had believed for so many years said, this was the beginning.  In a strange way the lie actually became true, but in a way I could have never seen. 

The beginning of great things wouldn't happen on this spreadsheet nor with this company.  I would never be a part of a great algorithm, graph or pivot table.  Those days were over, but life outside the balance sheet was just beginning. 

Over the past year, this little number backpacked the Appalachian Trail. It climbed up and slid down 14ners in Colorado. It remembered how to ski The Rockies. It hiked among black bears and grizzlys. It saw some of the last glaciers in the lower 48 slowly, quietly melt before its eyes. It climbed up vertical walls of ice. It flexed on the top of Mount Rainier.

It sailed the waters of Alaska and travelled to the great interior to catch Denali revealing itself among the clouds. It watched brown bear cubs learn to fish from the best fisher around. It stood still in the middle of a herd of grazing elk.  It heard eagles screech and saw them soar in and out of the clouds while hunting for their young. 

It kayaked with the dolphins while listening to their clicks herding fish onto the beach. It heard the distinctive sound of a glacier cave into icebergs. Larger than boats, they fell into the sea with a mighty crash. It saw the oldest known Killer Whale majestically pass beneath the boat alongside her family of over 100 years. It felt Humpbacks' breath upon its face as the megapod surrounded the boat to put on a show superior to the fountains of the Bellagio. 

It saw the leaves change under the golden light of autumn. It watched the milky way move across the skies as the earth spun around. It stood over/under/behind/in front of countless waterfalls - losing it's breath each time. It drove scenic byways around valleys, lakes, rivers and the mountains of the Appalachia smelling the fresh air. It ran in the waves as dolphins swam by. It watched the sun rise and fall from sleeping bags/cars/fire towers/tents/trees and the shore. It journeyed along cypress swamps as alligators soaked up the sun. It petted sharks at the bottom of the Atlantic and dove under the cover of darkness to the floor of the Caribbean Sea,

It looked up trees that were hundreds of years old and saw an oak that saw the first ships arrive to the 'new world.'  It watched bourbon be born out of a barrel. It travelled through snow waist deep in the new year. It rescued the best adventure partner one could have.  It met so many amazing people in its journey.  And it learned a lot of these numbers had been deleted from spreadsheets as well. Yet all were relieved to be free beyond their 10 pixel cell.  Living life in vibrant color...they were transformed into Mike, Carol, Will, Kenneth, Suzette, Roger, Ragan, Steve, Tom, Savannah, Jack, Chris, Pratt, Alex, Emily, Susan, and Adam among others. 

Fortunately for me, this journey transformed me back into the creation I was made to be. Living each day free, humble and gracious. I AM Mark Norton. I AM greater than J23 and so are you. 

We were created with unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Don't give them away to someone whose soul is filled with greed and destruction. None of us know how long we have or what waits for us on the other side...so...live YOUR life.