One of my writer friends tells a harrowing story about being at an important lunch meeting and suddenly realizing that he’s choking to death.

It was one of those meals where everyone else at the table was rich, successful, and intimidating. He was invited along as the guest of one of the participants, and the ulterior motive was to introduce him to a powerful movie studio executive who could, if the lunch went well, throw some much-needed work his way.