Cobra: A Story on Social Anxiety, People Skills, Leadership & Greatness

By Armani Talks

Life is hitting Cobra hard. His mom left him, dad committed suicide, and girlfriend cheated on him. Social awkwardness & depression plagues Cobra's life. He begins resenting people because of their unpredictability. One thing Cobra has control of is becoming wealthy. His best friend is the Science of Getting Rich book by Wallace Wattles. Every day, Cobra reads the book. Every day, the book becomes alive in him. Overtime, Cobra has a revolutionary idea to create an internet of space. He believes he can make the planets & galaxies talk. This idea is crazy. However, this crazy idea has the potential to make him the wealthiest man on the planet. If he fails, then he will bankrupt his company and end up disgraced. If he succeeds, he will be known as the genius of the century. The story of Cobra teaches about human nature, psychology, leadership skills & unlocking human potential.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arman Chowdhury
• Release date: Apr 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201138981

Book preview

COBRA

A story on social anxiety, people skills, leadership & greatness

- ArmaniTalks 🎙️🔥

1

The pulse went flat. Dead.

The doctor looked at the family to express that the life was no more.

Johnathan Crane was officially dead.

Cobra looked at his dead grandfather’s body in acceptance. He knew it was only a matter of time.

Cobra’s grandpa was the man who helped raise him once trauma hit his life.

His grandpa was a lovable fellow. One of those guys who was optimistic & seemed young for his age.

Cobra was surprised that he wasn’t crying.

Then again, he wasn’t the type of guy to cry in front of others. He knew that his emotions normally hit him when he was alone.

The last person who made Cobra’s past self cry made his present-day self embarrassed. That’s why he associates a negative feeling with the act of shedding a tear.

Cobra knew that he had to be strong. With his grandpa’s passing, he was now the man of the house. He looked at the other 2 women who were in the hospital with him.

His sister and his grandma.

Cobra’s sister’s name was Minnie. She was 12 months older than Cobra and always shared a close bond with him.

Minnie hated it whenever someone would badmouth Cobra & his awkwardness. It would infuriate her.

Normally, she was soft spoken. But if anyone attacked her brother, then she would get vocal very quickly.

Cobra loved her for that.

He always did his best to protect her. Especially because Minnie was gorgeous and always catching the eyes of men. Good and bad men.

Minnie had tan skin, long black hair, a curvy body & blue eyes. No eye contacts either. The eyes were real. Something about Minnie was always unique.

The other woman in the hospital was Cobra & Minnie’s grandma.

Where the grandpa was an optimist & joyous, the grandma was a skeptic & cold.

But even today, she was breaking down in tears.

Her husband paid the bills.

Her husband kept the social circle intact.

And her husband made sure to cuddle her so she could fall asleep first and he could fall asleep second.

With his passing, she would be lonely.

Cobra’s mind was racing. It was killing him seeing everyone cry like this while he had no clue what to do.

‘Hey guys, look....’

Minnie & grandma looked up at him, thinking he had something worth saying. They were looking to Cobra for guidance.

‘Grandpa lived a great life. No need to cry anymore. Let’s go eat, meal is on me.’

Minnie and grandma looked back at Cobra, surprised.

This fool really wants to go eat right after his grandpa died?

This was Cobra’s problem. He wanted to be the person who empowered others, but his way with words often held him back. He was still figuring out what it meant to be a leader.

Some days, he’d be charming and warm.

Other days, he’d be socially awkward and cold.

Despite his grandpa’s body lying 2 feet away from him...Cobra realized all his thoughts were about him.

How can I be the man?

How can I be less awkward?

How can I say the right thing to take the fucking tension out of this room?

I, I, I.

Cobra hated that about himself. His nerves made him so egocentric. The more he wanted to destroy the nerves, the worse it became.

He was now the man of the family...

Something had to be done.

2

*Flashback 8 years*

‘Hey, Cobra.’

Minnie opened the door to wake her little brother up.

‘Minnie, it’s 4 in the morning. What’s the matter?’ replied Cobra in a groggy tone.

‘Dad shot himself in the head.’

6 words pierced Cobra’s heart.

‘What...what??’ he responded back in a stammering voice.

‘Dad shot himself in the head.’

It’s as if Minnie heard the news a while back & she was looking for the perfect way to tell Cobra. But the 6 words were all she could string together at this point.

Cobra wanted to cry. His skin felt like there were ants crawling on it. His breath was getting shallow. His heart was pounding through the roof.

This was similar to how he felt a few months back when he found out his girlfriend cheated on him. He thought that was the worst he’d ever feel.

No, this was worse.

Suddenly, Minnie collapsed on Cobra’s bed.

‘What are we going to do, Cobra?? We don’t have anyone now! Mom disappeared. Dad shot himself. We’re alone, Cobra. We are alone!! I’m shaking right now.’

Cobra wanted to comfort his sister but didn’t know what to say. He’d always mess up these moments.

‘Are you sure he’s dead?’ Cobra asked in a tense voice.

‘The cops are downstairs. They said that they found him with a bullet in his head at the Walmart parking lot. They also said they want us to identify him once we think we are ready. But...but...I don’t think I’ll ever be ready!’

Cobra was silent.

His dad was depressed for the past 6 months.

One weekend when Minnie & Cobra had gone out to hang out with some friends... their dad had gone to a work trip.

The dad was always traveling for work. A busy consultant who was taking up project after project.

These consultation projects would often last 3 months in different parts of the world. Tokyo, Hawaii, Texas, etc.

Cobra’s mom was starting to feel lonely. She was the housewife.

In the beginning of her relationship with her husband, it was amazing. They met in college and dated for a decade plus. She would dream of becoming an actress. One of those actresses who made movies but wasn’t A list status. She wanted to be successful, but not too successful to prevent her from spending time with her future kids.

By the time her and her husband began dating, he encouraged her to pursue her dreams.

But after an accidental pregnancy, plans changed. She needed to be on bed rest & take a break from acting. Her husband had to bring in the money for the new baby.

Luckily, his consulting practice grew over time. Eventually, he was making well over 6 figures.

Unfortunately, she never got back to acting again. She was now a mom with a husband who was rarely home.

Cobra’s dad was providing well.

Cobra’s mom was battling loneliness.

One day, Cobra & Minnie were out of the house for a trip.... Cobra’s dad decided to surprise his wife. He wanted to take her out and remind her of the man that she married.

By the time he came home early, he saw shoes that weren’t his on the floor.

He went upstairs and opened his bedroom door....to find his wife having sex with another man.

The dad looked at the scene in shock.

The man she was having sex with looked back at him in shock. It’s as though he had no clue the woman he was having sex with was married.

Cobra’s dad looked at his wife.

She looked back at him with the face that implied she was happy that she got caught.

She gave that face of:

‘You know all the loneliness and depression you gave me? You know how you eased me out of chasing my acting career? Well, this is payback. I’m happy I got caught and I wouldn’t change a thing.’

Cobra’s dad stood there in shock. There was so much information to process.

This woman was the love of his life. He had to be having some sort of nightmare. This can’t be real.

But it was...

Cobra’s dad was open to forgiving his cheating wife and keeping the family intact. He convinced himself that he was the one to blame.

Despite his willingness to make it work, his wife decided to leave him.

Cobra & Minnie heard the news that their mom left when they returned from their trip. Their dad was vague with his explanations.

You know how a lot of parents have a favorite from their kids? They won’t openly admit, but secretly, they know it.

Cobra and his dad were close.

Minnie and her mom were close.

When the mom decided to leave the family, Cobra was crushed. But he was even more crushed because he saw his dad becoming an alcoholic.

His dad never touched alcohol before. He was always a clean-cut man that preached discipline, going to the gym & pursuing purpose.

Nowadays, he would drink himself to sleep. He smelled awful and looked worse.

When the mom left, Minnie showed all the stages of grief. From denial, depression, to anger.

Her emotions stayed at anger for the longest.

When her best friend walked out on her without so much as a goodbye, Minnie couldn’t forgive her for that.

‘Fuck her,’ she thought.

It killed Minnie to see her dad becoming an alcoholic. He was supposed to be the man of the house. Although he wasn’t always around, he made sure his family was taken care of.

With the news of his death, things were about to change. Cobra held his sister tightly.

‘Minnie, we are alone now. But you and I will always be there for each other.’

‘Promise you won’t ever walk out on me, Cobra?’

‘I promise, Minnie. I promise.’

3

After the suicide, Cobra and Minnie moved in with their grandparents, John and Hope.

John and Hope hadn’t stayed in contact with their daughter since she left. They were still shocked that she suddenly left Cobra and Minnie.

The grandparents welcomed Cobra and Minnie into their house. Both were looking to give the kids all the love they needed.

Cobra immediately noticed the difference between the 2 personalities.

John, his grandpa, was a jovial, excited man. While Hope, was a quiet, stern & calculative woman. It really was a Yin and Yang dynamic.

Cobra always found himself being paired up with charismatic people, while Minnie always found herself being paired up with cold people.

Cobra’s dad was a charismatic fellow. He was someone who had a powerful spirit to him, could make others laugh, would put the waitresses at ease & tell compelling stories on autopilot.

You’d figure he’d be the one having the affair with all the pussy that was thrown his way.

Cobra was the exact opposite of his father. Skinny, poor body language, questionable fashion. His main saving grace was his supreme intellect.

Cobra and his charismatic dad were close.

Cobra and his charismatic grandpa were close.

Why was Cobra magnetized to people who were so different from him? Was it a subconscious thing?

You’d think that their charisma would rub off on Cobra. But that wasn’t remotely the case.

Cobra was 17 years old. At this point, he had only been with one girl. His ex, Alison.

Cobra felt his ex-girlfriend cheated on him because he wasn’t aggressive enough. She never outright said this, but it was a hunch that he felt.

It was surprising that Cobra was so timid.

He had such a handsome face.

Cobra’s face was a model’s face. If he would comb his hair every now and then, lift some weights, and get a better fashion sense, then he’d pick up way more girls.

Minnie would always tell Cobra how handsome he was. She would even hype him up by saying:

‘Hey Cobra, a few of my friends think you’re cute.’

She would do anything to build up Cobra’s confidence. However, her efforts were often futile.

Unlike Cobra, Minnie was warm & charming. Some people say woman naturally have better social skills than men because they are programmed to interact with people & use their body language more.

However, Minnie was different.

She had natural talent, yes.

But she’d also read a lot.

She read books by Dale Carnegie, would watch CNN and MSNBC to study the anchor’s facial expressions & would often let people lie so she could observe their body language as they were lying.

Minnie had street smarts. She would ooze enthusiasm anywhere she went.

Which made it strange that she was so close with her mom & grandma. 2 women who lacked warmth.

Minnie’s mom was just like her mom.

Cold, calculative & over thinkers.

Minnie was surprised that her mom was so passionate about acting. Especially considering how the field required emotion.

Minnie bought joy to her mom back in the days. Now, Minnie would bring joy to her grandma.

4

Adjusting didn’t take long. The house was small, but everyone was open to making it work.

2 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. Grandma and grandpa had the master bedroom while Minnie and Cobra had the guest room.

The home had a wholesome family vibe to it. Something that Cobra wasn’t used to.

When he was living with his parents, he’d rarely eat at the family table. Each person would do their own thing.

The family would rarely talk about their day at a centralized spot. While at his grandparents’ house, things ran more like a nuclear family.

His grandpa would leave in the morning to work on his shoe business. His grandma would spend the day cooking and cleaning. Minnie & Cobra would attend high school.

By the time everyone came back, grandma had a meal ready. Then they would all gather around the table & talk about their day.

Grandpa said, ‘Alright everyone, we are going to go around the table. Say something unique that happened in your day. I’ll get started.’

Then he’d enthusiastically tell a tale about all the unique problems he had to solve in his business.

Business is an arena where you get paid to solve problems. He’d always tell Cobra to never whine about having problems.

Once grandpa was done with his tale, he’d look at his stern wife with a warm smile and say, ‘your turn!’

Even though his wife looked back at him with a mocking face, she loved it when he would bring fresh ideas and activities to the table. She loved how he always seemed to be getting younger despite getting older.

The family meal was the center piece of their nuclear family.

Although Cobra & Minnie were coming out of losing their dad & mom, they were in good hands thanks to their grandparents.

Cobra felt grateful despite the dark circumstances.

He’d have nightmares about his dad a lot. In his nightmares, his father would talk to him.

‘I had to go early,