Nick got the job.

He’ll be working as a bus-boy at Houlihan’s Restaurant at the Plymouth Meeting Mall outside our hometown, Conshohocken, PA, here in the USA.

It’s probably what my father worked at when coming to this country from Greece almost a century ago. Of course, he worked in a restaurant. He’s Greek. There is a truism to Greeks finding jobs in the restaurant business. I don’t know why.

But I am becoming a believer in EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) since I took part in a four-way telephone conference last night in which two of the participants requested personal “problems” to be addressed during the session.

One asked to overcome fear of “jumping” with her horse, Happy, the next time she rides him. I asked that my son Nick be helped in coping with his first major disappointment in not getting the job he wanted.

You gotta be careful how you word these requests. Not only was my son not disappointed, he was elated to be able to work side-by-side with a friend who suggested he apply.

They’re ‘tech school buddies. They’ll be able to share likes and dislikes of the job. And get a taste of grown-up life a few months shy of high school graduation.

“I don’t think it will hurt,” I told Sarah O’Doherty, the EFT instructor, when she asked for specific requests to focus on during the one-hour conference Sunday afternoon, and I suggested my request for Nick. (See Sarah O’Doherty at <portaloflearning@gmail.com>. I had explained his predicament. How I had to learn the hard way. It seems I was lucky to get one job out of  the 10 applications filed. But each of those nine times I failed, felt like it was due to something lacking in me. My own failing, personality, or  lack of skills.

 “I’m just not good enough” made its ugly way into my thinking. Worse, I started to believe it. And focused on my failings. My lower than expected grades, my less than perfect work habits, my wish to have fun and not prepare for a job.

Nick did not want to discuss it. But , I was able to read it in his body language, his short-tempered nature. How could they hire Tim, his friend, and not want me, went through his mind. Tim has no more skills than Nick. Their personalities are about the same. Why him and not me, Nick seemed to be thinking the past week.

When I explained this to the three others “tapping” at my problem, I didn’t think I’d get such a quick a result. Yes, I’ve done this to get rid of headaches, minor anxieties and to calm down when I’ve been unable to meditate without the “chattering” mind.

But now, within one hour of the conference call, I saw a major manifestation. Seeing is believing.

Nick and I were in the living room when the phone rang.  Nick picked up the phone, stepped into an adjoining room to seek some privacy, I thought. I muted the program on television. I “eavesdropped,” just enough to tell that Nick was speaking to someone in authority and not one of his friend. You get to tell these things as a parent. There were a few “thank you’s” offered by Nick. Could it be Houlihan’s? I got my hopes up. I waited for his return.

“I got the job” he beamed as he walked toward me, seeming 10 feet taller with the biggest “shit-eatin’ ” grin I ever saw on his face.

Thanks, my EFT buddies. Thanks for clearing the negatives for Nick’s positives to surface. And, thanks for giving more hope to his dad.