It had been a while since Cork had been to the streets. It seemed he was always busy these days with this or that. Never enough time for conversations and just getting to know people. He'd made it a priority lately to get back out there and visit the streets more. He was excited to finally settle down in Paradise and hopefully plant some roots. He'd been all over this country, lived on both coasts and in the Midwest. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to be where he was at. 

He found a table at a lovely little cafe on the street and ordered a cappuccino. It was a bit early for wine as much as he would enjoy one. He took a sip and smiled a bit. He hadn't planned on this life. Sure, he'd had goals, but those were more like catch up with friends from days gone by, like Layla and see how the world had changed. As time passed his goals changed too. He made new friends like Aqua_tofana and Fluffy_Tummy and realized that their goals were now his goals. It was great to meet people new to his line and work with them. As time continues to pass, new opportunities continue to present themselves, he watched himself even more. He now wanted to grow a family and offer a home to anyone who wanted a chance to work hard and meet new people. These thoughts made him curious about those around him. He turned to those who had walked up and said:

"Good morning everyone. A thought crossed my mind and I was curious about how people were experiences their lives." 

"When you started in this world did you have any specific goals? Have those goals changed over time? What have been some of the biggest events that have maybe made you change your mind about things?"

Cork sipped his cappuccino and smiled. He loved a good conversation and was excited to listenftime

My goals were set for me before I even came into my mortal shell, as but an egg. I traveled through my mother with relative ease against the weaker sperm, all the while creating a list that I have since birth etched off one by one:

- become a junior journalist [x]

- take over a newspaper company illegally and with no regard towards the laws of man or almighty [x]

- own multiple companies which are all extremely successful [x]

- end BricktownCL's reign before it even began by motivating the mafia as a whole into swift action [x]

- sue Mr. Illuminatiated for 80 million plus dollars and win [?]

The last one remains to be seen, but as you can see, I do not fail. My goals are unchanging and unwavering, I act as if I were a rock on a wavy shoreline. Constantly beaten, but never moving. Unflappable.

Ian listened to Cork's question. It amused him to think back on things from this perspective.

"It's funny, I never really thought about any of these as goals but I guess you could class them as objectives.

Number one - Become an ice dancing sex tornado. Still working on the ice dancing. 

Number two - Get blamed for almost everything that has ever gone wrong and virtually every murder to ever take place. Absolutely fucking nailed that one. 

Number three - Achieve apex baldness. Results speak for themselves. Never been faster through the water.

Number four - Find a genuine use for bighead. A lot of work to be done there still. Could become the ultimate in unanswerable philosophical questions.

Number five - Stop getting dragged into peyote, axe throwing evenings with ImportantBusinessman. Incredibly unpredictable. Way too many accidents. 

It's important to have goals. I fear too many can never be completely achieved. Certainly not with my hands."

Lissa had listened quietly to all the individual's and their goals around her. She thought back to when she began walking these shores and her goals then to now.

"For myself I can admit that once I arrived on these shores that I had no goals. No intentions really. I was just looking around, looking up my mother's friends and listening to their stories of her.  But then something changed. Some sort of inspiration gripped hold and my goals were to live a longer life. So my goals did change, and they even evolved to including personal goals such as making more money then the week before, keeping track so I can see what the outcomes are.

I suppose I went from no goals to having many goals. Some personal level, some in other aspects of the community or family. I would share my goals in further detail but they are mine, and only for me."

Smiling a little, she walked back to the shadow of a nearby tree to listen for a little longer.

Fluff had been pondering about Don Cork's question for quite a while now, it was a good one and he had missed thinking about abstracts concepts that did not involve naps, food or marking F's on people's butts. Well, he decided to let his bodyguard deliver a speech he had cooked up which summed up his thoughts on the topic.

As the big bulky man stood on the soapbox, making it crack uneasy under all the weight, but seemed to hold after all he spoke with a loud droning voice carved into a smooth flow by fine whiskey and proper personal care. Fluff did not like his humans smelly!!

In my opinion, goals are always changing, they are fluid and dynamic. But often i find myself rethinking my goals based on the situations that arise day to day, mostly outside my own control. In between my many naps, but also kitty lives, I have come to appreciate that personal goals often seem short live and at times petty. I often find more motivation and satisfaction on helping others achieve their goals.

At the Stargazers each family member's motivation and goal is explored before they are receiving their button and commit their full lives to my family. I believe, in order for your family to thrive, each individual needs to have the opportunity to thrive and be motivated to achieve their goals. Whether those are also individual goals, or goals that support the collective strength of the family they are sworn into. Recently I have committed to a new goal, and that is to make Don Cork into Godfather Cork, long may he reign in Paradise!!!