In the book, Fong claims that his entire life changed when, during an emotional meltdown, he nearly rear-ended a car that had a bumper sticker that said, "Since I Gave Up Hope, I feel Much Better". From that point, Fong gave up trying to meet or achieve goals, and dropped out of society. It was during this period when he went to Club Med in the Bahamas to vanish, that his greatest inspiration came in the form of maintaining emptiness in not only his schedule but in his aspirations.