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"And the Oscar goes to.."

by WallyKyle50
4 replies
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Hey,

I'm old enough to remember a rudimentary truth in life. One that transcends race and ethnicity. And the truth is ' There are winner and losers'.. There it is.
When I was young my Fam and I would love to gather around the tube for that once a year event called "The Oscar"

My Mom was the moviegoer in the house, and since she rarely went all by her lonesome, I was her number one choice to go with...well, this was due to a couple of reasons. My Dad was blind and I was an only child.

Anyway, it's one of the few times we would be on the same page on what to watch Or in dad's case, what to listen to?

I didn't watch them this year, because nothing really grabs my interest. Except, one thing.
The "acceptance" speech. Back in the old days the usual line of thankfulness was the "I'd like to thank my Wife/God/Mother-Father/Children/Teacher...Blah blah blah!

Now! " I'd like to tell you how much I Suck" Though I'm the winner, I am just fortunate to be in the company of such worthy Thespians". Then they would like to "Share" this award with the very same people He Or She just beat out!?...Huh?

It is a GOOD thing that you win. Don't make apologies to anyone for your success.
To ALL of OUR Success
Wally
#and the oscar goes to #goal or target #inspiration #motivational
  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    Actually, I think a little humility is becoming in a winner. It doesn't mean the recipients weren't proud of their achievements - they just recognized there were others who also tried their best.

    You can bet the winners will still be displaying their trophies in the most prominent positions.

    But chest-thumping, especially in a contest where the outcome is somewhat arbitrarily decided, is simply unnecessary and, mostly, just looks crass.


    Frank
    Signature


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    • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
      Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

      Actually, I think a little humility is becoming in a winner. It doesn't mean the recipients weren't proud of their achievements - they just recognized there were others who also tried their best.

      You can bet the winners will still be displaying their trophies in the most prominent positions.

      But chest-thumping, especially in a contest where the outcome is somewhat arbitrarily decided, is simply unnecessary and, mostly, just looks crass.


      Frank

      As a young man I was a hellova pool shark. Lived half my days in
      the pool halls around town, had a stick that cost as much as some
      peoples' cars, and crushed everyone at the local clubs.

      A buddy of mine from a sales association liked my cockiness. He
      invited me down to a dive-bar, the kind of place where you get high
      just walking in.

      I was shooting pool with an old pipe-fitter who was so drunk he
      could hardly stand. He was missing two fingers and part of his
      thumb, and his stick had no cue tip. The table was older than I was,
      with the felt ripped and torn all over the place, with awkward bumps
      and rolls.

      Of course, that drunk old ******* was a pipe-fitter. He had spent
      his entire life quite literally measuring things and putting them into place.
      He won the coin toss and then ran the table straight for two games
      before giving me a chance to shoot at all.

      My buddy, ole' "Dollar" Bill Gragg told me that even though I've
      heard it before and thought I could do it, on this golf-course of
      a table you really learn to "play for position" and be sure to
      "line-up your next shot"!

      As time passed I lost every game that I played (and quite a bit
      of what was in my wallet along with it!). But I also acquired some of
      the most wonderful (and profitable!) friendships of my life in
      that little Hell of a watering hole. Even drunker than Cooter Brown
      riding a skunk, they were some of the most gracious and helpful
      people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

      I would imagine that the Oscars and other such shows annoy
      many of the people who have to attend them, even the "winners".
      All the pomp and circumstance, all the drama, a lot of it seems
      like a Jr. High election.

      But that's where you go to get your next job. That's where you
      go to meet people, to make and maintain connections, so that
      you are considered for the next project. In a bear of a golf course
      like Hollywood, you really have to play for your next shot.


      ***
      Just some food thought, for those of you who are building businesses,
      slamming your email lists, having some success, or struggling
      to find any "win" at all... Make sure that win or lose, you're
      always playing for a better position in your next shot.

      --MikeTucker
      Signature

      The bartender says: "We don't serve faster-than-light particles here."

      ...A tachyon enters a bar.

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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Great story, Mike. I can almost smell that dive-bar atmosphere.

        Originally Posted by MikeTucker View Post

        But that's where you go to get your next job. That's where you
        go to meet people, to make and maintain connections, so that
        you are considered for the next project. In a bear of a golf course
        like Hollywood, you really have to play for your next shot.
        Quite. Connections mean everything when you're probably going to be working side by side with many of the people in the room. They can leave the tub-thumping to their agents in the contract talks.


        Just some food thought, for those of you who are building businesses,
        slamming your email lists, having some success, or struggling
        to find any "win" at all... Make sure that win or lose, you're
        always playing for a better position in your next shot.
        Excellent point. Business, like life, is a long game affair.


        Frank
        Signature


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      • Profile picture of the author art72
        Originally Posted by MikeTucker View Post

        As a young man I was a hellova pool shark. Lived half my days in
        the pool halls around town, had a stick that cost as much as some
        peoples' cars, and crushed everyone at the local clubs.

        A buddy of mine from a sales association liked my cockiness. He
        invited me down to a dive-bar, the kind of place where you get high
        just walking in.

        I was shooting pool with an old pipe-fitter who was so drunk he
        could hardly stand. He was missing two fingers and part of his
        thumb, and his stick had no cue tip. The table was older than I was,
        with the felt ripped and torn all over the place, with awkward bumps
        and rolls.

        Of course, that drunk old ******* was a pipe-fitter. He had spent
        his entire life quite literally measuring things and putting them into place.
        He won the coin toss and then ran the table straight for two games
        before giving me a chance to shoot at all.

        My buddy, ole' "Dollar" Bill Gragg told me that even though I've
        heard it before and thought I could do it, on this golf-course of
        a table you really learn to "play for position" and be sure to
        "line-up your next shot"!

        As time passed I lost every game that I played (and quite a bit
        of what was in my wallet along with it!). But I also acquired some of
        the most wonderful (and profitable!) friendships of my life in
        that little Hell of a watering hole. Even drunker than Cooter Brown
        riding a skunk, they were some of the most gracious and helpful
        people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

        I would imagine that the Oscars and other such shows annoy
        many of the people who have to attend them, even the "winners".
        All the pomp and circumstance, all the drama, a lot of it seems
        like a Jr. High election.

        But that's where you go to get your next job. That's where you
        go to meet people, to make and maintain connections, so that
        you are considered for the next project. In a bear of a golf course
        like Hollywood, you really have to play for your next shot.


        ***
        Just some food thought, for those of you who are building businesses,
        slamming your email lists, having some success, or struggling
        to find any "win" at all... Make sure that win or lose, you're
        always playing for a better position in your next shot.

        --MikeTucker
        It's rather amazing how that story just resonated an absolute truth, and brought me back nearly a quarter of a century, LOL.

        As a teenager (14 to be exact) I was hustling pool tables in a blue-collar bar in Pompano Beach, Florida and earning $100+ per day. During that time, I was making connections in construction work also, which I was previously very successful at for quite some time.

        However, it was neither the money that fascinated me, nor how good I was at running tables... it was being in a position where people respected me for those attributes early in life, and in formulating recipes to see (in advance) what the next strategic move would be.

        Half the game is having the experience itself and confiding in your own ability to perform well. Whilst the other half is anticipating your positioning to deploy those abilities while reading into the moves of your opponent, customer, or audience.

        When it comes to marketing, I cannot say I have reached the pinnacle of confidence as of yet... however, I am getting closer to getting the stage set properly.

        BTW, I didn't have a Balabushka or Mosconi back then (*though I wanted one, lol), but I did have a "17oz Bird's Eye Maple Cue" made by Adams (*$365), who ironically houses a Mosconi Collection of bad a$$ pool cues.
        Signature
        Atop a tree with Buddha ain't a bad place to take rest!
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