The Strange Case of Dr. Rhodes, the Startup, and of People Foretold

Exposing a connection between all things

Progress for a startup can be up and down. A one-off catastrophe is not helpful.

The explosion was like a thud, an enormously loud “Voom!” I could not imagine what it was as I leapt, startled, from my desk. I burst into the reception area and my assistant, similarly shaken, joined me in a dash to the window. Looking out across the street we were stunned by what we saw. Our production building, where a special coating gets applied to our products, was billowing black smoke and burning.

We ran outside, and covering quick ground, she and I performed a moving assessment of our employees. It looked like everyone was accounted for and uninjured, something our foreman quickly confirmed.

My god. What in the world had happened, I wondered?

After the quick work of several fire crews, the flames were doused, and only the steaming rubble and acrid odor of burned materials, remained. We subsequently learned that a defective warming tool overheated and caused a drum of chemicals to explosively combust. We were lucky no one was burned or hurt in any way.

I turned my attention to keeping the business, a manufacturing startup, operational, despite the loss of a critical building. With things secure, I went on a quiet walk, alone. I needed to clear my head and come up with something. The solitude helped, and I arrived at a solution; within 24 hours we had lined up the delivery and set-up of a large, weather resistant, special events tent. Although it was not a building per se, it allowed us to continue production — and employment. The whole team cheered when it went up.

I was anxious, stressed and probably a little desperate. So, I did something odd.

That portion of the recovery was a success. But we had lost significant inventory, and besides our already marginal cash flow, the business was now going to experience a backorder and lag in revenues. Plus, I was unsure of how much my insurance was going to cover and vendors still needed to be paid. Our startup needed cash. I was anxious, stressed and probably a little desperate. So, I did something odd.

I visited with a medium — you know, the kind of person who mysteriously tells you things about your life that no one could possibly know. Dr. Rhodes was an enigma of sorts. She was not a palm reader or fortune teller; in fact, she believed that our futures were malleable, not fatalistic. Although, and this is important, she did believe in destiny: that we were destined to meet certain people. But, the outcomes of such destined events, she claimed, would only become what we make of it.

I liked that. It was a fit with my perspective. I firmly wanted to believe I was behind the wheel in my life (see “The Deal Fell Through. So Did God.”). On that basis, Dr. Rhodes and I were simpatico.

In our session, she proceeded to tell me, among other things, that I would soon meet someone who could invest in my startup. As she tried to call up his name for me, she rolled syllable by syllable through a handful of names, all of which sound something like Aber Sol or Ebersol…

“Ebersol?” I say.

“I don’t know…it’s something like that. I can’t quite get it, exactly. This stuff does not come to me perfectly clear…I hear it with a lot of static,” she warmly informs me.

Dr. Rhodes also tells me there is someone else I am supposed to meet, and that he is nearby. And she again tosses out some names. “Jim” was the definite first name, and the last name, per Dr. Rhodes, is like, Aint…or Aig…or Kai. “It’s Ai-something,” she says.

Some weeks pass, and of course I am wondering when and how I meet this “Ebersol” person, or whatever his name is. What I did not know is, it was already in process.

Our landlord, with whom we were on pretty good terms, was giving a tour of several of the businesses on the premises, including ours. The person receiving the tour, a friend of landlord, was named Adan Soel. The landlord tells me that Adan had expressed an interest in exploring investments in startups.

“Adan Soel” was my “Ebersol,” as far as I was concerned. I approached him for a discussion on investing, and he was receptive. By the way, in case you are wondering, neither Dr. Rhodes or my landlord knew of the other, nor did I tell Dr. Rhodes where my business was located.

Adan Soel and I discussed the opportunity, and in the end, we could not reach mutually agreeable terms. I was dismayed. Why, did I even have to meet the guy? I did not know this at the time, but truth be told, he would not have gotten his money back. It would seem that it worked out for one of us. It just was not me.

Four years later, something else happened.

I met Jim Craig at the local gym. He used the sauna regularly after working out, not just for the intended purpose, but more as a forum for (not always) intellectual conversation. He invited me to join him one particular morning. It had not occurred to me that the sauna might be worth my time, but I did participate, and I enjoyed it, as well as Jim’s company.

It was not until the last several years, however, that I put the pieces together.

That was 30 years ago, and he and I have grown to be close friends. The truth is, I am the person I am today, in large part, because of his friendship. Aside from enjoying our time together, including a good share of laughter, his way of engaging with the world had (and still has) a subtle, yet profound, influence on me. It was not until the last several years, however, that I put the pieces together.

Jim, I now trust, is the “Jim” of which Dr. Rhodes foretold.

My point in sharing all this is not because I think my personal history merits your time or attention. I don’t believe it does. But, perhaps my story, which raises more questions than answers, contains a more meaningful message for us.

How did Dr. Rhodes know any of this? I do not accept the notion that she alone could access exclusive knowledge. Instead, I think she was highly skilled at “tuning” herself to knowledge that is somehow always present. How is that possible? To what medium, what source, was she tuning? How could such details, not yet apparent in my life, be available for her “retrieval?”

I have had a lifelong love for science and the natural world, and with some good fortune, I have made a career out of translating science into useful information and products. It might seem reasonable, then, that I approach these kinds of questions, in large part, from the perspective of science. Consider it a bridge….

…a connection or communication exists between the imperceptible dimensions and everything we experience as our three dimensional world.

I routinely look to theoretical physics where, by stretching the science a bit, I can imagine non-ordinary possibilities. String theory, for example, asserts that everything in our three-dimensional universe is a projection of specific activity in six or more dimensions hidden from our five senses. In other words, a connection or communication exists between the imperceptible dimensions and everything we experience as our three dimensional world.

Stephen Hawking, essentially in agreement, implied that all the information found in a three-dimensional space is contained in an invisible “boundary region.” To my way of thinking, a commonality exists between string theory’s hidden dimensions and whatever source Dr. Rhodes accessed.

But, what do I know? The whole thing still astounds me. And, maybe, what should astonish all of us, I think, is the possibility that things exist beyond the five senses. Through some means, Dr. Rhodes tapped a source to give me a heads up: I was destined know certain people. In the case of Jim, it was a very special kind of grace.

As we face new challenges, some horrific and global, and others in our businesses and in our lives, what if we began to acknowledge, even a little bit, that some form of helpful “source” exists all around and within us, unseen? Perhaps grace through an unanticipated business outcome or new friend — or more — will reach out to us, and from a hidden place, make itself known.

Russ Donda is a coauthor of the book The Believer’s Brain: Home of the Religious and Spiritual Mind. He is a serial entrepreneur, translates science for a living, and serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence and board member to guide technology startups. He has new book in progress.