New York: The Exodus

Thursday, March 19th, was my last full day/night in New York City, and my last day at Apple.

I awoke to the sounds of “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty, a great song to motivate you into tackling something big.

I arrived at work, clocked in for the last time, and went upstairs to the morning huddle. The morning huddle is basically where we talk about the day ahead, and try to get psyched to do a great job.

After a few minutes, Will, one of the trainers I worked with, said “I have two things.”. I immediately thought, “uh-oh, who has two things…”. He talked about some in-store stuff and then he said, ” …and if i’m not mistaken, it’s Jonathan Sears’ last day!”

I smiled, primarily because I saw it coming, but also because I knew it was going to be a good day. They had me walk up to the front of the meeting of 20 or so people, and make a short speech on my plans, semenary, etc. As I looked out on the group and made my brief remarks, I realized that I have been lucky to be with such great people.

I finished by saying it has been such a blessing and a privelidge to work with everyone, and there was much clapping afoot (ahand?).

I went about my day, retelling my plans to each of my friends at Apple, which was great because I got to talk about something I truly cared about. But I think it was also my chance to share a moment with each person. Some of these people I’ve known since the store opened…some of them even longer.

My friend Judeen reminded me that she was in the group that I helped lead during Core training, before the store opened. Go Blue Room!!!

As the day drew to a close, I knew it was time to say goodbye. I walked into the manager’s office and said thanks to my manager George. He is the primary reason why I left SoHo to come to West 14th street. Needless to say, I have a lot to thank him for. We spoke some more, and then I gave him a big hug. In fact, I hugged every person in that office!

I went to hug Tommy, the HR manager, and he said “Oh, I get a hug too?”, to which I replied joyfully, “Everyone gets a hug!”

It was time. There was no hiding it anymore. 6:00 had come, and I had to go.

I walked over to the timeclock, and “jonathan.sears” clocked out or the last time.

My heart sank, and I took in a deep breath. I wasn’t just leaving a job, I was leaving a family.

If I had just come in everyday and punched the clock, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. I poured my heart and my soul into every conversation, every task, every session, and every person that came in those doors. I delivered well over 2000 sessions, around 20 ProLabs (of which I wrote the curriculum), developed marketing videos, am certified in Final
Cut Pro and Color, I’ve trained probably 100 different people, and even developed an in-store wiki.

But I did it all because I believe in Apple. I believe in the transformational power of Apple and One to One. In many ways, it is similar in effect (but not scale) to Christianity. Yes I just compared a computer company to the gospel.

But I’m not really referring to the computers, I’m referring to the One to One training.

When you meet someone who is lost, who is terrifed by this machine, and won’t use it because they’re afraid they’ll break it, you have a chance. You have a chance to change a life, to help someone grow.

Weeks later when they come back to see you and they’re zipping around the machine like an old hand, then you know why you do this job. The satisfaction of knowing you were able to help somone is endless.

Often people will ask me how I am so patient. I tell them that you can’t be mad at someone for not knowing something, this stuff isn’t obvious. But the bigger reason is Jesus. The reason I’m so patient is because I have by grace been given a chance at life instead of certain death. God is forgiving of me, so I have no choice but to be understanding in return.

I walked toward the stairs that lead up to the main floor. I saw managers scurrying about. I knew what was going to happen, but that certainly didn’t prepare me.

I walked up the stairs, headed down the final hallway and stopped at the last door that lead out onto the floor. I walked though–

People.

Everywhere.

Screaming, Hollering, Clapping…

Cheering.

Two rows of people on either side, 7 people deep on each side. They were waving their arms and trying to get me I walk down the 30ft long aisle.

I began to walk. It was quite difficult with all those people clapping and cheering. I looked up and there were people on all three floors clapping and cheering, some were taking photos.

The whole store was focused on me.

I humbly walked down the lane as I teared up at the sound of such joyous outpour.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. I made it to the end of the line.

I stood there at the end just bowing and waiting for them to stop. 5 minutes went by and they hadn’t stopped.

Another 3 minutes went by and they weren’t getting quieter…they were getting louder…

I kept bowing and attempting to abate them, and continued to feel both embarrassed and perfectly humbled.

A friend told me later that they began to clap louder because they saw I was embarrassed.

When the clapping finally slowed a little bit I made a short remark.

“I just want to say, I feel honored and privelidged to have been able to work with each of you. Thank you!”

Needless to say, the cheering exploded again. I began hugging everyone around me. After a total of probably 15 minutes, they finally died down.

People came up and thanked me individually, even people I didn’t get to speak with that often. I hugged each person and told them thank you. You never know whose life you’re going to affect.

I realized that this one experience made my entire 2 years working at Apple worth it. I knew it would be amazing, but I had no idea the affect it would have on me. Reflecting back, I would have worked double overtime if I knew it was like this.

They say that when you become a Christian and you finally come face to face with God, all your sins will be like a night in a bad hotel. Your past is completely redeemed and remade. Old turns into new.

These 15 minutes of fame made me realize the truth in that statement. If this is what 15 minutes of an Apple “Fond Farewell” looks like, imagine what an eternity of perfect love looks like, and there’s never a farewell, you’re together forever.

Amazing.

Fast forward 30 minutes later to the party. I had a “party” at Wicked Willy’s on 149 Bleecker. Kelly found the place and recommended it because they have karaoke on Thursday nights.

Needless to say, I was excited!

I walked over with my friend Aviva to find my friend Karen was already there. The party lasted about 6 hours, and during that time around 25 people came and went, which was a great turnout.

I sang the first song of the evening, which was a classic of course, Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”. It was a great song to start the night off with, and I even did the dancing from the video and my Bruce voice.

Some time later a friend pulled me aside to tell me something. I worked with him at Apple for quite a long time, since SoHo, so we’re pretty close. We didn’t talk daily, but we didn’t really need to.

He told me that he had nearly been nearly let go, and that a manager told him to find 5 people to model himself after. To which he added “You were one of those 5.”

“I looked up to you.”

My heart sank. Not because I was sad, but because I was humbled so greatly that I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say so I replied, “Man, I don’t know what to say…Thank You. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said.”

I thought to myself, if that was the only thing I could do during my time at Apple, that would be enough. To help a friend pick himself up out of a hole, to help him save himself from losing his job…what is greater than that?

The entire evening I had been telling people that they were a blessing to me, that I had been blessed, because that was the only appropriate word for it.

I have been gracefully given people to help ME out of a rut, to help me out of a dark place. I wasn’t on probation, but before Apple, I hadn’t felt very valuable. I hadn’t felt like I made a difference. These people showed me I can, and they taught me how to grow.

In ancient Hebrew culture, a blessing was much more than it is today. Today we use the word bless for everything from weddings to sneezes (thank the middle ages for that one). But back then, blessing wasn’t as much a verb as it was a noun.

To give someone your blessing was to give them something permanent, something that was never given back. It was a tangible thing. In ancient Hebrew culture, words weren’t just a collection of letters. They had power and weight. Once said they could not be taken back. This is one reason why the full name of God is never written, often it is written “G-d” or “YHWH”.

That is what I mean when I say blessed. When I told my friend that he was a blessing, he knew what I meant on the deeper level.

We hugged for quite awhile.

That night, I would have trouble sleeping as his words still rang in my ear.

To close out the night, the last song I sang with my friend Jonathan (from fellowship group), was “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.

And if there is one summary for that entire day, it’s that…never stop believeing.

Praise G-d.

Amen.

Tags: Apple, Christian, Fond Farewell, Fuller, Karaoke, New York, One to One, Seminary, SoHo, West 14th, Wicked Willy