At first, it was enough to just know where it was. Seeing it once or twice a day on my dresser reminded me both of the trip, and the penny’s potential. Finally, on the way out the door to another fishing trip, I put the penny into my pocket as a way to curry favor with the fishing gods. When I thought about where the penny had come from, I figured it might have a little bit of a fishing mojo after spending so much time in the lake. The trip was a success and the penny earned a permanent place in my pocket.
Over the next year, I dutifully moved the penny from pocket to pocket as I went about my life, making sure to keep it safe and close by for those moments when I needed a blast of luck. At times, I’d pull it out and flip it. Heads meant I was on the right track. Tails meant I needed to slow down. Other times, I’d fidget with it as I thought through a problem. Eventually, I could tell how my life was going based on how clean the penny was. A bright, shiny penny meant I’d been thinking a lot. A dull, grimy penny meant I wasn’t as worried about things.
It was, as it turned out, a pretty great year. The twelve months that I held on to the penny weren’t always easy, but things were moving in a fantastic direction for my family and me. I know the penny wasn’t the cause of that luck. But I still attributed a good amount to it, just in case.
