This is reason to be grateful. The swamp of human stupidity is necessary in many professions for you to be better off than others.
This may not be true.[/quote]
When I was 16 I got a flat tire. I was changing the tire and my buddy was next to me. We were in California, a long way from home, dressed in nothing but shorts, flip-flops, and maybe brake dust. There was some sort of brake issue, too, and this passerby in a suit stopped to give us some technical advice. The three of us were chatting during this repair, and my buddy was frustrated about some idiot who had done something idiotic that had inconvenienced my friend. The idiot was in some – I don’t remember, exactly – position of power or high-paying position or something. The guy in the suit, who was just the right amount of upbeat and really seemed like he had his shit together, says to my buddy, “more room for guys like you and me.”
I don’t remember the exact context, but what the guy was saying was pretty much what you’re saying. My buddy’s face lit up as though he’d had a revelation. I don’t think that slice of “wisdom,” if you want to call it that, ever left my friend.
That guy was saying, “every guy of average intelligence and competence is another guy you can be in front of,” and maybe you’re saying (as an example) “(some) lawyers need dumb criminals.” I don’t know. Maybe both are true. Maybe neither. I think as a general rule, they’re both true.
I would not have said this three and a half years ago, but at this point I’m not convinced I wouldn’t give up the financial advantages that my abilities have gained me not to be surrounded by idiots and with my faith in humanity in ruins.[/quote]
It’s funny to think about the reverberation of words and acts over decades. I think I’m the sort of person who has a greater impression on people years later.
Once in the 80s, this very pretty girl called me up out of the blue. Not sure how she found my number. Shed been a girlfriend of a guy I hung out with. She was getting married but wanted to call it off and move out to be with me.
Which was crazy. I barely knew her. Other than that she was very attractive. She said something I’d said had really stuck with her and she thought we should be together.
I am not a particularly good looking guy, but the right words can be very powerful, even over years, a lifetime.
Luckily I was smart enough to decline, tell her to put the wedding on hold, and reconsider things. A dumber dude wouldve told her, come on over!
