Let the Game Come to You
When you’re full of piss and vinegar, it’s tough letting the game come to you.
Ambitious people are cool with that. They don’t wait for anything. Their motto is, “Take the game to them.”
I do look in the mirror once in a while and wish I saw more piss and vinegar — to be like other people I know who have gone out and grabbed the world by the nuts, announced their presence with authority and taken their fair share…If only I could just learn to take the game to them.
I’ve tried. I’ve pressed an envelope a time or two. But it’s risky business trying to be someone you’re not, especially when you are pathetically transparent. Call it a fault. Call it a quality. I sleep okay most nights.
There is appeal to letting the game come to you. Don Williams understood this better than anyone.
While Outlaws and Highwaymen were busy selling their “kiss my ass” image, working hard to make sure we all understood how they never fit in, Williams took a different approach. He wasn’t here to sell us a thing. Yet we bought it anyway. Ate it up. Came back for seconds.
“If you liked my song, I’m glad. If not, that’s ok, too. We can still be friends.”
The Gentle-Giant understood the importance of letting the game come to him. And it usually did.
“A man can never hope to be more than he is if he is not first honest about what he isn’t.” ~Don Williams
Ambitious go-getter types hate this kind of talk.
Hey, we’re all in this thing to win. Some of us just go about it in our own way. There’s a big difference between being lazy and being genuine. Just like there’s a difference between being opportunistic and being ambitious. In a race of endurance, all that matters is who breaks the tape.
But there’s an enduring quality to those who don’t appear to be trying too hard or constantly pressing. Think Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, or Spencer Tracy. Nobody ever accused them of “acting.” Must I state the obvious?
(This is where you ambitious-go-getter types mention Dean, Brando, and De Niro. Point duly noted.)
There is logic in letting the game come to you. Solomon understood, though it took a minute. The wisest guy in the world couldn’t sit still and let the game come to him. The fastest camels, hottest girls, BASE jumping probably. “Meaningless,” he finally said. “Let the game come to you.”
The risk in letting the game come to you is waiting too long, missing opportunities because we are…letting the game come to us. But, we have our integrity. We have our principles. We sleep well with ourselves each night. Alone, but well.
“I’m an ordinary man. Sometimes I wonder who I am…” ~ Don Williams
Ali started out taking the game to them. Won belt #1 that way. Shocked Liston. Shocked the government. Shocked the entire establishment. But he paid a price. Belts #2, #3, and immortality were all earned letting the game come to him. (This is where you ambitious, go-getter types scream “Ali never ceased taking the game to them!”…Duly noted, and nicely played.)
Those of us who are resolved to let the game come to us may miss out on a few promotions. You may have to thumb past the front page to read about any of our exploits. But we’ve got life right where we want it. Our motivation and our rewards may be hard to see for you ambitious go-getter types, but that’s what Don Williams songs are for:
“I’m just a country boy. Money have I none. But I’ve got silver, in the stars. Gold in the morning sun. Gold in the morning sun.” ~ Don Williams
