Ace of Spades HQ

October 14, 2013

Cool Scott Adams Piece on the Key to Success: Failure
— Ace

Well, not exactly. His angle here is to dismiss all of the standard-issue advice on how to succeed as being completely wrong.

You'd think this would wind up being dumb. Actually, he makes some interesting points.

Here he demolishes the advice that you should do what you're passionate about to be successful.

I would have imagined this was good advice. But actually... well, check it out.

But the most dangerous case of all is when successful people directly give advice. For example, you often hear them say that you should "follow your passion." That sounds perfectly reasonable the first time you hear it. Passion will presumably give you high energy, high resistance to rejection and high determination. Passionate people are more persuasive, too. Those are all good things, right?
Here's the counterargument: When I was a commercial loan officer for a large bank, my boss taught us that you should never make a loan to someone who is following his passion. For example, you don't want to give money to a sports enthusiast who is starting a sports store to pursue his passion for all things sporty. That guy is a bad bet, passion and all. He's in business for the wrong reason.
My boss, who had been a commercial lender for over 30 years, said that the best loan customer is someone who has no passion whatsoever, just a desire to work hard at something that looks good on a spreadsheet...
For most people, it's easy to be passionate about things that are working out, and that distorts our impression of the importance of passion. I've been involved in several dozen business ventures over the course of my life, and each one made me excited at the start. You might even call it passion.
The ones that didn't work outÂ—and that would be most of themÂ—slowly drained my passion as they failed. The few that worked became more exciting as they succeeded. For example, when I invested in a restaurant with an operating partner, my passion was sky high. And on day one, when there was a line of customers down the block, I was even more passionate. In later years, as the business got pummeled, my passion evolved into frustration and annoyance.
On the other hand, Dilbert started out as just one of many get-rich schemes I was willing to try. When it started to look as if it might be a success, my passion for cartooning increased because I realized it could be my golden ticket. In hindsight, it looks as if the projects that I was most passionate about were also the ones that worked. But objectively, my passion level moved with my success. Success caused passion more than passion caused success.

Interesting observation. And, Open Thread. Until Dave's Parade of Malformed Elbows.

Posted by: Ace at 03:51 PM | Comments (238)
Post contains 487 words, total size 3 kb.

1 first?

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 03:52 PM (bJm7W)

2 yaaay... after spending the day arguing with idiots, something to relish and remember.

by the by, did Boehner cave yet or is he waiting for McCain to give him the okay?

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 03:54 PM (bJm7W)

3 Easy for Scott Adams to say.

Posted by: blaster at October 14, 2013 03:54 PM (4+AaH)

4 Ace.. I thought you were taking a break for the week. Yer doin it wrong buddy.

Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 03:55 PM (u25eL)

5 "My boss, who had been a commercial lender for over 30 years, said that the best loan customer is someone who has no passion whatsoever, just a desire to work hard at something that looks good on a spreadsheet..."

did they have spreadsheets in those days?

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 03:56 PM (bJm7W)

6 AL I interviewed by Chucky on ESPN. Luck is a nerd-jock, the rarest of hybrids.

Posted by: Beagle at October 14, 2013 03:56 PM (sOtz/)

7 open thread cat pic?

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 03:57 PM (uoB45)

8 Sounds like the type of advice Mike Rowe gives. Pretty solid stuff I think.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at October 14, 2013 03:57 PM (ObHhj)

9 And yeah, what happened to the vacay?

Posted by: Burn the Witch at October 14, 2013 03:57 PM (ObHhj)

10 I don't know if he has passion, but I'll bet Gerg wants to succeed, IYGMD.

eww.

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 03:58 PM (bJm7W)

11 Meh, failure teaches more harshly. Success is fleeting.

Posted by: Gmac-Pondering the coming taxational singularity at October 14, 2013 03:58 PM (IanLz)

12 what country is Limoges in? Do they speak English in What?

Posted by: Jules at October 14, 2013 03:59 PM (omBWL)

13 If Filly shows up, I left a comment at the end of the original where she shared her husband's job situation. There are some openings in our local university's aviation science program.

Posted by: Y-not at October 14, 2013 03:59 PM (5H6zj)

14 http://www.viewster.com/genre/3/anime-animation

Streaming anime like Dance in the Vampire Bund, Armitage III, Strike Witches, and FLCL among others.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 03:59 PM (uj8Oa)

15 Bring on Dave's Parade of malformed elbows...Yaayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Corky the Retard at October 14, 2013 04:00 PM (u+G5s)

16 Ace was going to take that vacation but it seems the passion energy for the project did not pan out. So here he is.

Ave Ace for giving us de Content!

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:00 PM (uj8Oa)

17 Here's another definition:

1. a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Bloggers are on vacation now.

Posted by: 13times at October 14, 2013 04:00 PM (fGPLK)

18 My advice is to pursue a field in which you are lucky.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:01 PM (N/Sup)

19 Passion for assin'

Posted by: wooga at October 14, 2013 04:02 PM (n2DnG)

20 The key to success is assless chaps.

Posted by: Andi S. at October 14, 2013 04:02 PM (H2XQu)

21 Scott Adams speaks the truth on this. I'll tell you. I know it happened to me once... years ago .. I was following my passion when I started choking... it was sooo scary.

Posted by: Ana Cox at October 14, 2013 04:03 PM (/jHWN)

22 All chaps are assless...it's what makes them chaps and not pants.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 04:03 PM (7CgKa)

23 They did have spreadsheets, but they were calculated manually, or with an adding machine. And some mechanical calculators did multiplication and division, by dint of repeated addition/subtraction.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 14, 2013 04:03 PM (8Fl6F)

24 Oh my Seamus.. if I did that I would be in the poor house. Bad luck follows me everywhere.

Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 04:04 PM (u25eL)

25 Burn. It. Down. The whole fucking thing. http://bit.ly/19NTXWl

Posted by: MTF at October 14, 2013 04:04 PM (kf9WN)

26 although I think something resembling passion probably gets a lot of people past a lot of the earlier difficulties. Although as W C Fields said, "If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit, there's no point in being a damn fool about it."

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 04:04 PM (bJm7W)

27 The problem is not that a man follows his passions, it's that he allows his passions to lead him by the nose.

I love partner dancing such as swing, tango, waltz, etc. I know that the commitment to getting good enough to try and teach would be more than I'm willing to give, and that the payout is limited. So instead I work for a defense contractor, make a good salary, and can afford to indulge in my passions in my off time.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:04 PM (lr3d7)

28 "Success caused passion more than passion caused success."

No, ultimately he's wrong about that.

"Material reward" ultimately inspired passion; not the "success". I bet if any of his adventures had become wildly successful but the reward was simply "happy" consumers, he'd have become just as frustrated and annoyed. It wasn't just success. He could have become a successful, poverty-striken humorist that warmed the hearts of millions of fans by drawing, for example, for free, but "success" doesn't pay the bills. Money/reward does.

It may seem a semantic exercise, but it's actually directly tangible. The money and not the success ended up causing his passion - a distinction with a difference.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at October 14, 2013 04:05 PM (eHIJJ)

29 wheatie.. you are pissing against the wind on this one. That fact has been posted numerous times.

Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 04:05 PM (u25eL)

30 When I was a commercial loan officer for a large bank, my boss taught us that you should never make a loan to someone who is following his passion. For example, you don't want to give money to a sports enthusiast who is starting a sports store to pursue his passion for all things sporty.

____________________________________

So true. I represent a few banks when these commercial loan agreements go bad - obviously moreso in a bad economy - and out of these, the percentage of people who collateralized their houses to turn their hobbies into a job is pretty high. Not everybody who loves being in bars and restaurants has the skillset to run a bar or restaurant successfully. The same goes for those cute "boutique" shops in a storefront of Mainstreet in a wealthy suburban town.

Posted by: Alec Leamas at October 14, 2013 04:05 PM (pLu3Q)

31 Holy Previous Obamacare Thread, Batman!

Are the people praising Obamacare seriously the same people wailing in the streets about how complicated and broken our immigration system is?

Posted by: The Obsidian Owl at October 14, 2013 04:05 PM (ZoXtL)

32 re 23: so we're talking about accounting paper. fair enough, I used it while not getting my way through accounting classes. I was lucky pocket calculators were down to about $20 by then.

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 04:05 PM (bJm7W)

33 >>The key to success is assless chaps. >>All chaps are assless...it's what makes them chaps and not pants. Absolutely never fails. I'm going to apply for a grant to study this phenomenon. I'm passionate about it.

Posted by: JackStraw at October 14, 2013 04:06 PM (g1DWB)

34 We have a ton of those that have come and gone Alec. In this economy, no one is going to drop $65 for a blouse.. at least I'm sure not.

Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 04:07 PM (u25eL)

35 Anyone happen to see that the McConnell plan will give unions an Obamacare delay?

Posted by: zippy at October 14, 2013 04:07 PM (HSh0g)

36 I prefer the Hank Hill philosophy, "Find what your niche is, that leads to riches".

Posted by: Flyguy at October 14, 2013 04:07 PM (BeFHp)

37 it's like the knock on the knee the doc does to test your reflexes

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:08 PM (uoB45)

38 What if you have a passion for failed business ventures and bankruptcy. I think a guy could be pretty good at that and you wouldn't even have to work that hard.

Posted by: Gristle Encased Head at October 14, 2013 04:09 PM (+lsX1)

39 Did I miss the thread where everyone was talking about the incredible fuckin' awesomeness of Boston sports teams or is that still pending?

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 04:09 PM (8lmkt)

40 zippy: "Anyone happen to see that the McConnell plan will give unions an Obamacare delay?"

I'm passionate about losing.

Posted by: Mitch McConnell at October 14, 2013 04:10 PM (eHIJJ)

41 zippy.. they already have a delay.. what?? he's giving them a LONGER delay? Serious? Are these guys suicidal?

Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 04:10 PM (u25eL)

42 I'm going to go hit the hubby up for a loan right now. If passion is a reason to be turned down I should be preapproved and back in my chair with handful of hondos in no time

Posted by: Molly k. at October 14, 2013 04:10 PM (TuxkV)

43 Kaboom was the name of a vitamin fortified, circus-themed breakfast cereal produced by General Mills, which contains grain-flavored corn cereal bits shaped like smiling clown faces and marshmallow bears, lions, elephants, and stars. Wikipedia

and no, the little clown faces did not represent lost souls

Posted by: General Mills at October 14, 2013 04:11 PM (/jHWN)

44 Seriously, wasn't Nancy Pelosi, just last week, when questioned about people being forced into part-time work because of Obamacare, answered that it would be great because it would give people more time to pursue their "passions".

Posted by: Nevadaette at October 14, 2013 04:11 PM (tEe1I)

45

I can't take having to push the buttons in the elevator for one day more

Posted by: Mitch The Bitch McConnell at October 14, 2013 04:11 PM (Pr6hk)

Passion alone...does not ensure success.

If it did, then a monkey's passion for an elephant would succeed.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 04:12 PM (7CgKa)

47 What if you have a passion for failed business ventures and bankruptcy.

Work for the DOE?

Posted by: Flyguy at October 14, 2013 04:12 PM (BeFHp)

48 So true. I represent a few banks when these commercial loan agreements go bad - obviously moreso in a bad economy - and out of these, the percentage of people who collateralized their houses to turn their hobbies into a job is pretty high. Not everybody who loves being in bars and restaurants has the skillset to run a bar or restaurant successfully. The same goes for those cute "boutique" shops in a storefront of Mainstreet in a wealthy suburban town.
Posted by: Alec Leamas at October 14, 2013 08:05 PM (pLu3Q)

I would love to own and run a bookstore.

My failure at this would be nigh to Obamacare epic though Boy BFF has made me a deal that if he hits the lottery he'll buy me a bookstore for which I will have absolutely no responsibility for operations or cash flow. Or, as he calls it, My Little Tax Write-Off.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at October 14, 2013 04:12 PM (Gk3SS)

49 I'm going to go hit the hubby up for a loan right now.

Molly, srsly? Whatever happened to the days when his money was "our" money and my money was my money? Am I hopelessly old-fashioned and out of touch? I feel sad.

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 04:12 PM (8lmkt)

50
Everybody loves a clown show... The bearded lady from San Fran, not so much

Posted by: Ringling Brothers at October 14, 2013 04:13 PM (Pr6hk)

51 and if you google Kaboom Cereal.... the AoSHQ features pretty close to the top... heh

Posted by: General Mills at October 14, 2013 04:13 PM (/jHWN)

52 I'd also argue that most of the time, when passion led to success, it was because passion allowed someone to master a certain skill set. For example, most of the pioneers in computers were geeks who found that stuff interesting, and were willing to tinker in their garages for days on end.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:13 PM (lr3d7)

53 the Kaboom sold in the middle east was a different version.and featured little smiling jihadis ...marshmallow joos and sticks of tnt

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:13 PM (uoB45)

54 Here's the link to "Unions poised to win delay of ObamaCare tax in budget deal" bit.ly/19Iwh3Q

Posted by: zippy at October 14, 2013 04:13 PM (HSh0g)

55 If it did, then a monkey's passion for an elephant would succeed.

He settled for the football.

Posted by: ObamaCare at October 14, 2013 04:14 PM (2DunM)

56 Failure? I've never been allowed to fail my entire life, look at me now! I'm perfect

Posted by: Barry Soetoro at October 14, 2013 04:14 PM (Pr6hk)

57 What if you have a passion for failed business ventures and bankruptcy.

Then you have a place in this administration!

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:14 PM (lr3d7)

58 Powerball Wednesday cash jackpot is $89.2 million.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:14 PM (uj8Oa)

59 I think ace is saying that we should make him hate this blogging thing so he can succeed. Message received, sir. What about Syria? No time to write about that on your "vacation"?

Posted by: blaster at October 14, 2013 04:14 PM (4+AaH)

60 One of my passions is drinking. Can I get a loan?

Posted by: Albie Damned at October 14, 2013 04:15 PM (Yhu4q)

61 No one at Yale is allowed to fail. And look at what their recent graduates have done for us.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper at October 14, 2013 04:15 PM (Pr6hk)

62 I can't take having to push the buttons in the elevator for one day more
Posted by: Mitch The Bitch McConnell at October 14, 2013 08:11 PM (Pr6hk)
What about those stinky towels?

Posted by: Lindsey Graham at October 14, 2013 04:16 PM (v1Ckr)

63 All I know is that the guy who presses Barack's pants didn't fail

Posted by: David Brooks at October 14, 2013 04:16 PM (Pr6hk)

64 Scott Adams really speaks the truth here. I had a passion for flying around the world. Well... my passion ran out just short of finding a place for gas in the Pacific Ocean.... or so you've been lead to believe... da ..da.. da... daaaaaa

Posted by: Emilia Earhars' ghost at October 14, 2013 04:16 PM (/jHWN)

65 I would love to own and run a bookstore.

My failure at this would be nigh to Obamacare epic though Boy BFF has made me a deal that if he hits the lottery he'll buy me a bookstore for which I will have absolutely no responsibility for operations or cash flow. Or, as he calls it, My Little Tax Write-Off.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at October 14, 2013 08:12 PM (Gk3SS)

A gal I used to know was half-Korean and joked that she finally understood the joke about Koreans owning stores after her father bought her Korean stepmother one so that the woman would stop shopping all day. It was less expensive to lose money from the store than from her credit card.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:16 PM (lr3d7)

66 Nevadaette: "Seriously, wasn't Nancy Pelosi, just last week..."

Pelosi is a political flibbertigibbet, an incoherent chatterbox who appeals to imbeciles.

Tragically, that population in America remains alarmingly high.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at October 14, 2013 04:17 PM (eHIJJ)

67 Dilbert is still the funniest cartoon since Og did cave art.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:17 PM (QupBk)

68 Failure. The only failure I've ever know was Vince Foster. You never want to fail me.

Posted by: Hillary Clinton at October 14, 2013 04:18 PM (Pr6hk)

69 Powerball Wednesday cash jackpot is $89.2 million.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 08:14 PM (uj8Oa)

Damn, I can almost buy a year's worth of health insurance with that.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:18 PM (lr3d7)

70 $89.2 million...... Damn, I can almost buy a year's worth of health insurance with that. Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 08:18 PM What about the deductible?

Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (MhA4j)

71 re 33: "Absolutely never fails. I'm going to apply for a grant to study this phenomenon. I'm passionate about it."

fill the grant application with lots of double talk about the substrata and de-existence of homo-eroticism among cowboys and make some references to Derrida and deconstructionism in post-modern western literature and you'll probably get that grant.

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (bJm7W)

72 There are no failures in Soviet Union, just un-persons

Posted by: Joseph Stalin at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (Pr6hk)

73 see amazon >To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design [Paperback]<

Posted by: newrouter at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (dsgCY)

74 I disagree... I have a passion and have really done very well following ~~him~~ it.

Posted by: Reggie Love at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (/jHWN)

75 Pelosi is a political flibbertigibbet, an incoherent chatterbox who appeals to imbeciles.

I speak fluent flibbertigibbet. Can I be of assistance?

Posted by: Eleanor Clift at October 14, 2013 04:19 PM (2DunM)

76 What about the deductible?
Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at October 14, 2013 08:19 PM (MhA4j)

FUCK!

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 04:20 PM (lr3d7)

77 I am constantly amazed at how many business owners will let things deteriorate so bad. Even in businesses that have enough of a customer base to make a little money the owners will let mismanagement and poor money handling eventual lead it to bankruptcy. And usually the worse things get the less the owners want to face reality. It wouldn't be so bad but they usually fuck over other businesses on the way down.
Boggles my mind.

Posted by: lowandslow at October 14, 2013 04:20 PM (APJIX)

78 I don't fail; other people fail to meet my demands.

Posted by: B.O. at October 14, 2013 04:20 PM (gQKHE)

79 A gal I used to know was half-Korean and joked that she finally understood the joke about Koreans owning stores after her father bought her Korean stepmother one so that the woman would stop shopping all day. It was less expensive to lose money from the store than from her credit card.
Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 08:16 PM (lr3d7)

Yup.

A bunch of those little cutsie cute boutique stores are a rich guy's gift of a hobby to the wife/mistress. She gets to be a business owner and he gets a massive write off on their taxes.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at October 14, 2013 04:21 PM (Gk3SS)

80 Ahhh Peaches I was being sarcastic. Kinda... We have always had separate accounts from day one. It works for us I guess. He pays all bills household related and I buy the food and all things that go in a home. I can write checks on his account but in 20 years I have never once used it. In a sense I suppose his money is my money and my money is my money!

Posted by: Molly k. at October 14, 2013 04:21 PM (TuxkV)

81 did they have spreadsheets in those days?
--

Oh, you young whippersnapper. There were spreadsheets before Excel; they were created manually, using graph paper. People used calculators or even -gasp! - did math in their heads.

Posted by: Mayday at October 14, 2013 04:21 PM (eHc+1)

Oh my Seamus.. if I did that I would be in the poor house. Bad luck follows me everywhere.
Posted by: jewells45 trying to keep from going crazy at October 14, 2013 08:04 PM (u25eL)

***

Aye, there's the rub.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:22 PM (N/Sup)

83 Process failure? Worked as intended

Posted by: Lois Lerner at October 14, 2013 04:22 PM (Pr6hk)

84 we've gone fully Elbonian, haven't we.

Posted by: Lando Boehner at October 14, 2013 04:22 PM (Jsiw/)

85 Apology accepted.

Posted by: The Economy at October 14, 2013 04:23 PM (QupBk)

86 "Conclusions on the wall... there is no success like failure, and failure is no success at all." (She does not have to say she's faithful.... ah but that was a better time when the wind howled like a hammer)

Posted by: angel with a sword at October 14, 2013 04:24 PM (hpgw1)

87 Failure?

You Rang?

Posted by: New Coke at October 14, 2013 04:24 PM (Pr6hk)

67 Dilbert is still the funniest cartoon since Og did cave art.

We don't think it's very funny.

Posted by: Elbonia at October 14, 2013 04:24 PM (7CgKa)

89 84 we've gone fully Elbonian, haven't we. About 50 years ago.

Posted by: angel with a sword at October 14, 2013 04:25 PM (hpgw1)

90 A bunch of those little cutsie cute boutique stores are a rich guy's gift of a hobby to the wife/mistress. She gets to be a business owner and he gets a massive write off on their taxes. Ha, we had some *not-rich* friends do that. I tried to counsel the wife NOT to do it, because there was no way to be profitable. She did it anyway, for about 3 months. Lost a nice chunk of change, and her best friend/biz partner in the process.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:25 PM (vH4YP)

91 Excellent observations. Miley Cyrus is passionate... about being a dumbass.

You pick something you're good at and people want. Then: cha ching!

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:25 PM (x3YFz)

92 The key to success ( of fundamental destruction of the US as you know it ) = Failure. yep.

Posted by: The Obama Administration at October 14, 2013 04:25 PM (/jHWN)

93 He's right about passion and success but what you should follow is what you are good at. What you have a knack for. Often we don't have a passion for this as it seems too easy and therefore boring. But following what you are good at leads to doing tougher and tougher versions of that thing. Those tougher things, the ones that other people can't do, are what success really is and it's easy to get passionate when people treat you as an expert in something and pay you accordingly.

The problem with our society is we ascribe too much to pieces of paper, like diplomas, which we think automatically make you an expert. They don't and the realization of that can kill passion really quick.

Posted by: Rocks at October 14, 2013 04:25 PM (vR0sZ)

94 Ted Cruz' move was a mistake!

This is the Failure thread right?

Posted by: Karl Rove at October 14, 2013 04:26 PM (5ikDv)

95 88 67 Dilbert is still the funniest cartoon since Og did cave art.

Bloom County

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:26 PM (x3YFz)

I would love to own and run a bookstore.

Heh. The kind where you walk out with a 'book' in a brown wrapper? And special rooms for viewing video previews? Not that I know anything about that.

Posted by: Cicero Kid has a library in his garage. at October 14, 2013 04:26 PM (DHQv9)

97 If the system fails, it is success for the cause

Posted by: Saul Alinsky at October 14, 2013 04:27 PM (Pr6hk)

98 Scott Adams also wrote (back in the '90's) about how eventually our votes would be worth less than zero, because they would be canceled out by what we now call Low Information Voters; people too stupid to know what the consequences of the vote were that they were casting. Very prescient man. Go read "The Dilbert Future". Pretty funny and insightful. His own key to success was to visualize himself doing something and being successful, and keep on visualizing it. It would amazingly come true.

Posted by: Severe Conservative riding Orca at October 14, 2013 04:27 PM (RFeQD)

99 Waterloo.... just sayin' My life improved substantially after that!

Posted by: Napoleon at October 14, 2013 04:27 PM (/jHWN)

100 have we reached the point that Libs are tell people like Cruz to listen to Rove? It would be funny since Libs used to rank Rove somewhere between Satan and Satan.

Posted by: mallfly at October 14, 2013 04:27 PM (bJm7W)

101 It only failed because of the lack of funding

Posted by: Typical Lefty at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (Pr6hk)

102 Great article. I notice he doesn't mention education once.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (DmNpO)

103 Mayday: "People used calculators or even -gasp! - did math in their heads."

Well back in my day, we used an abacus. The younguns used sliderules. After I told 'em to get off my lawn, naturally.

Posted by: Grizzled Old Beancounters at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (eHIJJ)

104 Nothing succeeds like success.

Posted by: pardon the outburst at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (QupBk)

105 "raising awareness" cures cancer but Ted Cruz raising awareness of the impending colossal failure of obamacare is Bad Optics /mwahahahaha

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (uoB45)

106 As a freelance writer/editor, there are metric shit-tons of people who get into the biz because they "love to write." Well, I actually kinda hate writing, but I'm good at it because brain wiring. The reason I've succeeded (14 years and counting) as an independent contractor is because I dig the sales and business end of it.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (vH4YP)

107 I've hired the technical team behind the ObamaCare portal to run my social media. I confidently expect no more pictures. In fact, it'll be a shock if I can ever access my twitter account ever again. Winning!

Posted by: Anthony Weiner at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (xqauy)

108 A gal I used to know was half-Korean and joked that she finally understood the joke about Koreans owning stores after her father bought her Korean stepmother one so that the woman would stop shopping all day. It was less expensive to lose money from the store than from her credit card.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at October 14, 2013 08:16 PM (lr3d7)

I blame the PX/BX. Never on EARTH have their ever been a worse selection of women's clothing (I just buy the thongs).

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (x3YFz)

109 Huh, according to Wikipedia, Yogi Berra's still alive.

Posted by: B.O. at October 14, 2013 04:28 PM (gQKHE)

110

They know exactly what the consequences of the vote is.

Free. Shit.

Posted by: Cicero Kid has a library in his garage. at October 14, 2013 04:29 PM (DHQv9)

111 Failure.. and very sad

Posted by: Hillary Clintons skirt collection at October 14, 2013 04:29 PM (/jHWN)

112 I do think it comes down to a semantic difference as to what 'passion' really means, and also what ultimately makes people happy. It sounds like Scott Adams was only ever going to be happy if he had a lot of money, and that's true for a lot of people, to be sure. But there's plenty of folks who would sacrifice the maximum paycheck for maximum satisfaction, which might be pursuing a passion that doesn't pay well, or something like having more time to spend with their family.

When he talks about people pursuing pipe dreams and losing big, that's not a failure of passion, it's just a flight of fancy crashing hard against cold reality, and he's right that you'd never want to base a loan on someone who just really, really wants to open up a sports bar because they like sports bars, but someone who is a skilled restauranteur.

My takeaway from what Adams is saying there is that we might be able to accomplish our goals in ways that don't seem immediately obvious, and that we might have untapped talents that we're ignoring because we haven't allowed ourselves to explore other options. But we also have to be honest with ourselves about where our capabilities lie and what it is we're really after.

Posted by: Damasca at October 14, 2013 04:29 PM (yMQIt)

113 87 Failure? You Rang? We have some sweet office space here in CA for rent. Cheap. With gold plated bathroom fixtures.

Posted by: Solan at October 14, 2013 04:30 PM (l0lja)

114 Your move, Ted Cruz. /bwahahaha

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:30 PM (uoB45)

115 Do something that pays for a Ferrari and you'll be pretty freaking passionate about it.

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:30 PM (x3YFz)

116 Sluggy Freelance
http://sluggy.com/

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:30 PM (uj8Oa)

117 Seriously, wasn't Nancy Pelosi, just last week, when
questioned about people being forced into part-time work because of Obamacare, answered that it
would be great because it would give people more
time to pursue their "passions".

I would pay serious money to see Michelle Bachmann walk up to Pelosi and give her a head butt.

Posted by: John Calvin at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (xm1A1)

118 Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. Also, avoid meprobamate.

Posted by: Bruce Lee at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (QupBk)

119 I used to work for a hunting/shooting sports company, it seemed like a good fit - I like hunting and shooting/. The downside of it though was that I could be easily frustrated when the company direction wouldn't track with my views/passion of hunting/shooting (e.g. quality control*, a near total shift to the tacti-cool market, focus on features not performance). I think it makes sense to follow your passion in different terms i.e. finding broad themes that you're passionate about. If you love building consensus then make sure you get into a more consultative sales position, however if your passion is purely closing deals then you might be better off in a more transactional/price-point sales type role. Its less about industry and more about the actual work.

Posted by: Mauser757 at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (SEcTa)

120 Failure? Yeah, to keep it in her mouth

Posted by: Bill from Chappaqua at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (Pr6hk)

121 Do something that pays for a Ferrari and you'll be pretty freaking passionate about it. Plus, chicks'll dig ya.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (vH4YP)

122 Well with $89.2 million, probably could afford to lease a Gulstream and fly to one of those nice and warm tropical islands.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:31 PM (uj8Oa)

123 103 Mayday: "People used calculators or even -gasp! - did math in their heads."

Well back in my day, we used an abacus. The younguns used sliderules. After I told 'em to get off my lawn, naturally.

Posted by: Grizzled Old Beancounters at October 14, 2013 08:28 PM (eHIJJ)

Freshman calc-based physics and I said the words "equation of a line" today and you'd think I was speaking Mandarin and grown another arm from the looks on their faces.

I hate K-12 teachers.

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:33 PM (x3YFz)

124 ...has a library in his garage That sounds moldy. *shudder*

Posted by: B.Y.O.B. at October 14, 2013 04:33 PM (gQKHE)

125 122 Well with $89.2 million, probably could afford to lease a Gulstream and fly to one of those nice and warm tropical islands.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 08:31 PM (uj8Oa)

Yeah, going to Costa Rica will be cheaper than Obamacare. Here's a brochure for one of my NetJets

Posted by: Warren Buffett at October 14, 2013 04:34 PM (Pr6hk)

126 121 Do something that pays for a Ferrari and you'll be pretty freaking passionate about it.

Plus, chicks'll dig ya.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 08:31 PM (vH4YP)

And this is our goal!

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:34 PM (x3YFz)

127

117...I would pay serious money to see Michelle Bachmann walk up to Pelosi and give her a head butt.

500 Quatloos for a throat punch.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 04:34 PM (7CgKa)

128 Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success, busting union goons heads is a pleasure.

Posted by: Henry Ford at October 14, 2013 04:34 PM (QupBk)

129 The key to success is to wait your turn.

Posted by: Bob Dole at October 14, 2013 04:35 PM (5ikDv)

130 I try to explain this to my friends, that sometimes in failure, you really learn and it makes you a much better ~~pilot~~ person. So you don't make the runway... it is that you lined it up straight and you made the effort! Next time, you'll grease that landing no problem.

Posted by: Rookie Pilot, Asiana flt #214 to SFO at October 14, 2013 04:35 PM (/jHWN)

131 You voted for Obama

YOU GOT PUNK'D

Posted by: Ashton Kutcher at October 14, 2013 04:35 PM (Pr6hk)

132 have we reached the point that Libs are tell people like Cruz to listen to Rove? It would be funny since Libs used to rank Rove somewhere between Satan and Satan. Posted by: mallfly Rove has moved up to Purgatory (no, not the ski resort outside of Durango). Ted Cruz is now the new Emmanuel Goldstein. It was Bush, then Sarah, then Rove, then somebody else, now Cruz.

Posted by: Severe Conservative riding Orca at October 14, 2013 04:36 PM (RFeQD)

133 Mayday: "People used calculators or even -gasp! - did math in their heads."

Well back in my day, we used an abacus. The younguns used sliderules. After I told 'em to get off my lawn, naturally.
--

Grizzled Beancounter: Ha. Thanks for making me feel like a youngun. I spent a lot of the early/mid 80's creating manual spreadsheets for the job I had then, before Lotus 123 came out.

I will be happy to get off your lawn!

Posted by: Mayday at October 14, 2013 04:36 PM (eHc+1)

134 The basic assumption implies that people learn from their failures and then apply those lessons.

That.... doesn't happen much.

Mostly people repeat stupid.

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:36 PM (x3YFz)

135 ace needs to vacation were there is no wifi. If this is a vacation, what can we expect when he returns? Love the posts, but someone stop him.

Posted by: Nip Sip at October 14, 2013 04:36 PM (0FSuD)

136 Niedermeyer's Dead Horse: "I notice he doesn't mention education once."

We're at an interesting crossroads now. Education is important but it's not really defined the same way anymore so it gets easier to discount. What we have now is credentialism. Education =/= Credentialism.

You can get credentials and actually learn very little. To get an education, you actually have to learn a lot, credentials be damned. And as is still true today as it has always been: Those who can, Do; Those who can't, Teach. Some do both but the Venn diagram has little overlap.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at October 14, 2013 04:36 PM (eHIJJ)

137
Ted Cruz was born in Canada and is ineligible to be President of the United States.

-Juan Williams, The O'Butthead Factor

Posted by: Doctor Fish at October 14, 2013 04:37 PM (pJF+c)

138 To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.

Posted by: Mark Twain at October 14, 2013 04:37 PM (QupBk)

139 The keys to success- make yourself useful, and show up.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:37 PM (N/Sup)

140

Ace mentioned earlier that he put his vacation on hold till next week.

Because he loves us.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 04:38 PM (7CgKa)

141 130 I try to explain this to my friends, that sometimes in failure, you really learn and it makes you a much better pilot person.

Posted by: Rookie Pilot, Asiana flt #214 to SFO at October 14, 2013 08:35 PM (/jHWN)

That got a laugh.

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 04:38 PM (x3YFz)

142 The key to shuccessh?
Throw your teammatesh under the bus.

Posted by: John McCain at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (5ikDv)

143 If you're really good at doing something (in the corporate environment), you end up teaching others, either because the boss told you to or by example. Or you get promoted into being a manager and find out you don't know how to do it and crash spectacularly.

Posted by: Severe Conservative riding Orca at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (RFeQD)

144 If Ace really wants to sell his script, he should wear a pair of assing chaps to his pitch. It works like a charm....

Posted by: Andi S. at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (H2XQu)

145
   Not being passionate about what you do indicates (to me) that there is no base interest--thus no desire to be at least competent at it.

   I've been passionate about my 40-odd year career,and that served me very well. To the day I retired that passion was strong.

   Don't like the idea of "well, it makes money, so I'll do it".

    Good way to get trapped in a job you hate but the money is good.

Posted by: irongrampa at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (SAMxH)

146 138 To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.

Posted by: Mark Twain at October 14, 2013 08:37 PM (QupBk)

Well, that's me to a tee.

Speaking of which, when is my tee time tomorrow. I'm sure I can finally break 120 tomorrow

Posted by: Barry Soetoro at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (Pr6hk)

147 Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

Posted by: Dale Carnegie at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (QupBk)

148
The key to success is bee havin' a fat EBT card, a girlfriend who flat-backs for spare change, and a buddy who works at ABC liquor and gives away samples.

Posted by: Chicago Housing Tenant and Ho Monger at October 14, 2013 04:39 PM (pJF+c)

149 Ace isn't on vacation yet.He's going next week.

Posted by: steevy at October 14, 2013 04:40 PM (9XBK2)

150 Freshman calc-based physics and I said the words "equation of a line" today and you'd think I was speaking Mandarin and grown another arm from the looks on their faces.

I hate K-12 teachers.

Posted by: tangonine at October 14, 2013 08:33 PM (x3YFz)

Why equals Emm explus bee, bitches!

Posted by: Ian Galt at October 14, 2013 04:40 PM (QdOC1)

151 A bunch of those little cutsie cute boutique stores are a rich guy's gift of a hobby to the wife/mistress. She gets to be a business owner and he gets a massive write off on their taxes.

It was a sad day when I realized I could never be a professional quilter because I'll never have a husband to pay my way through life, much less a rich one to build me a studio.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™, drinking beers at October 14, 2013 04:40 PM (hO8IJ)

152 you want success? invent the chapless ass.

Posted by: mc at October 14, 2013 04:40 PM (lrfmC)

153 Always be nice.

Posted by: Mitt Romney at October 14, 2013 04:40 PM (5ikDv)

154 Speaking of which, when is my tee time tomorrow. I'm sure I can finally break 120 tomorrow Reporting for duty, Sir!

Posted by: Foot Wedge at October 14, 2013 04:41 PM (vH4YP)

155 Happiness is a warm puppy

Posted by: Linus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:41 PM (N/Sup)

156 You're not a true success until you have minions.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:41 PM (QupBk)

157 Always be nice.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:43 PM (vH4YP)

158 Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.

Posted by: Arnold H. Glasow at October 14, 2013 04:43 PM (QupBk)

159 156 You're not a true success until you have minions.

Posted by: toby928Â© at October 14, 2013 08:41 PM (QupBk)

agreed!

Posted by: CLPTRP at October 14, 2013 04:43 PM (x3YFz)

160 Because he loves us.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 08:38 PM (7CgKa)

------------ ----------- -------------- -------

You can tell by the assing.

Posted by: Beagle at October 14, 2013 04:43 PM (sOtz/)

161 Always be nice. Dammit. That was supposed to say "It worked better for Dalton in Road House."

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:44 PM (vH4YP)

162 Are the people praising Obamacare seriously the same people wailing in the streets about how complicated and broken our immigration system is?

Posted by: The Obsidian Owl at October 14, 2013 08:05 PM (ZoXtL)

ha. almost as funny as the people touting Obamacare who don't have to participate in Obamacare. make all the media sign up for it.

#44

wasn't Nancy Pelosi, just last week, when
questioned about people being forced into part-time work because of Obamacare, answered that it
would be great because it would give people more
time to pursue their "passions".

she's made that claim multiple times. She learned her Marx well (re. The German Ideology.

Posted by: rich@gmu at October 14, 2013 04:44 PM (ga+7c)

163 We're at an interesting crossroads now. Education is important but it's not really defined the same way anymore so it gets easier to discount. What we have now is credentialism. Education =/= Credentialism. *** This is precisely what I've witnessed in the corporate world and it's resulted in a number of folks being placed in positions they simply couldn't handle just because they had the requisite credentials.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 04:44 PM (DmNpO)

164 156 You're not a true success until you have minions. Posted by: toby928Â© at October 14, 2013 08:41 PM (QupBk) agreed! Zis is truth.

Posted by: Gru at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (vH4YP)

165

Abacus?

Don't let Vic catch you talking about new fangled technology like that.

Posted by: garrett at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (wBiYv)

166 [i]You're not a true success until you have minions.

I have -a- minion. He took his laptop home tonight and says he's going to do work, instead of drinking beer and watching the Colts as God intended.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™, drinking beers at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (hO8IJ)

167 SJL on the floor. Sequestration is hurting little girls who have been sexually abused. I'm serious.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (DmNpO)

168 Credentialism is the bastard offspring of the EEOC.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (QupBk)

169 Never try.

Posted by: Homer Simpson at October 14, 2013 04:45 PM (5ikDv)

170 People used calculators or even -gasp! - did math in their heads.

Posted by: Mayday at October 14, 2013 08:21 PM (eHc+1)

***

slide rules!

Posted by: rich@gmu at October 14, 2013 04:46 PM (ga+7c)

171 Enrolling in obamacare is harder than Chinese arithmetic. /mwahahahaha

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:46 PM (uoB45)

172 Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows.

Posted by: Ambrose Bierce at October 14, 2013 04:46 PM (QupBk)

173

I never had any minions.

Had a couple of henchmen once. Does that count?

Posted by: Linus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:47 PM (N/Sup)

174 I never had a chance.

Posted by: Obamacare Web Server #421 at October 14, 2013 04:47 PM (5ikDv)

175 I really need a henchman.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™, drinking beers at October 14, 2013 04:47 PM (hO8IJ)

176 What I'd really like though, is a sidekick. That would be cool.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:48 PM (N/Sup)

177 I briefly had a flunky.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:48 PM (QupBk)

178 Heather Radish just tweeted that the SCOAMF has a spot in the intro to MNF. Damnit. Sports are supposed to be an escape from that crap.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 04:49 PM (DmNpO)

179 Success is the one unpardonable sin against our fellows.

***

Ah, so that's why leftists reward failure.

Posted by: cool arrow at October 14, 2013 04:49 PM (WMsq+)

180 slide rules!

Posted by: rich@gmu at October 14, 2013 08:46 PM (ga+7c)

It's a little-known fact that better than 90% of the cuneiform tablets found in the ruins of Babylon were the work of bookies figuring the odds on camel races.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 14, 2013 04:49 PM (8Fl6F)

181 Lackeys are the shit .

Posted by: Bill D. Cat at October 14, 2013 04:49 PM (1jQhu)

182 Ace mentioned earlier that he put his vacation on hold till next week.
Because he loves us.

Posted by: wheatie at October 14, 2013 08:38 PM (7CgKa)

You missed that whole part where he promises about the mouth right?

Posted by: Rocks at October 14, 2013 04:49 PM (vR0sZ)

183 Do NOT want a sycophant though.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:50 PM (N/Sup)

184 Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.

Posted by: Earl Wilson at October 14, 2013 04:50 PM (QupBk)

185 404Care, coulda been a contender...

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:50 PM (uj8Oa)

186 Do NOT want a sycophant though.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 08:50 PM (N/Sup)

Baby Sycophants are cute though.

Posted by: Rocks at October 14, 2013 04:51 PM (vR0sZ)

187 JL on the floor. Sequestration is hurting little girls who have been sexually abused.

I'm serious.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 08:45 PM (DmNpO)

.............................

Do you only get one channel or are subjecting yourself to this on purpose?? That woman is a loon.

Posted by: Molly k. at October 14, 2013 04:51 PM (TuxkV)

188 Baby Sycophants are cute though. I toss them peanuts.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:51 PM (QupBk)

189 See? It's just like the Newton gave us modern pad computers!

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at October 14, 2013 04:52 PM (eJvk4)

190 Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.

Posted by: Earl Wilson at October 14, 2013 08:50 PM (QupBk)

***

Or ask a successful person who is being honest with himself.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:52 PM (N/Sup)

191 Baby Sycophants are cute though.

I toss them peanuts.

Posted by: toby928Â© at October 14, 2013 08:51 PM (QupBk)

***

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:52 PM (N/Sup)

192 The best minionions are shallots.

Posted by: Emily Litella at October 14, 2013 04:53 PM (eHIJJ)

193 There's nothing wrong with having a Girl Friday, if you can find a good one.

Posted by: jakeman at October 14, 2013 04:53 PM (vH4YP)

194 Sometimes failure can be disguised as success. To quote the wise turtle from Kung Fu Panda: There are no accidents! (Although I really hate Jack Black).

Posted by: Jmel at October 14, 2013 04:53 PM (cfFqn)

195 The best minionions are shallots.

Posted by: Emily Litella at October 14, 2013 08:53 PM (eHIJJ)

***

I used to like his movie reviews.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:53 PM (N/Sup)

196 So, hey, I forgot to tell you guys. Since last week (maybe always and I just noticed), the FedEx guy who delivers to our area down in skeevytown has an ARMED GUARD with him at all times! Has anyone ever see such a thing? Makes me feel sooooooo much better about walking around down there . . .

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 04:53 PM (8lmkt)

197 A relief carving of a naked man at the UNÂ’s Geneva headquarters was covered up on Monday, apparently to spare the blushes of Iranian diplomats ahead of fresh talks on the countryÂ’s nuclear drive. UN officials would not comment on why the wall relief, inspired by MichelangeloÂ’s Â“Creation of AdamÂ”, had been masked by a large white screen, referring questions to the Swiss authorities. But Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve claimed that the aim was to avoid offending the Islamic republicÂ’s delegation for the talks taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Iranian men are expected to cover their arms and legs in public, with women further obliged to cover their hair and wear loose clothing in line with the hardline interpretation of Islam endorsed by powerful clerics in the country. Piss on them. As a matter of fact that is just what I would do

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 04:54 PM (UbDLm)

198 I cannot help but notice the complete lack of pointy elbows on this thread.

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:54 PM (QupBk)

199

Heather Radish just tweeted that the SCOAMF has a spot in the intro to MNF.

................................

I can only imagine what he had to say....I'm guessing that FG knows less about football than my 4 yr old granddaughter.

Posted by: Molly k. at October 14, 2013 04:54 PM (TuxkV)

200 Since last week (maybe always and I just noticed), the FedEx guy who delivers to our area down in skeevytown has an ARMED GUARD with him at all times! Has anyone ever see such a thing? Makes me feel sooooooo much better about walking around down there . . . Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 08:53 PM (8lmkt) My Fedex guy doesn't, but then I stopped shipping chemical weapons last year

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 04:55 PM (UbDLm)

201 I prefer underlings.

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:55 PM (uoB45)

202 Who here has cronies?

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:56 PM (uoB45)

203 Piss on them. As a matter of fact that is just what I would do

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 08:54 PM (UbDLm)

I would only piss on them if they were not on fire. Were they already in a flammable state, I would simply snap a pic and chortle as discreetly as I am able (which is not very).

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 04:56 PM (8lmkt)

204 Olivia Wilde is gorgeous, but her bitchy look, far left politics, and wooden personality make me hope she gets fat and old

Couldn't stand Thirteen on House, her personality must have bled through to her acting

Posted by: kbdabear at October 14, 2013 04:57 PM (aTXUx)

205 I prefer underlings.

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 08:55 PM (uoB45)

*****

Eh, too much trouble. You have to wash them with Woolite on the 'delicate' cycle.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:57 PM (N/Sup)

206 minions

lackeys

henchmen

sycophants

pikers

Posted by: Manfred the Manservant at October 14, 2013 04:57 PM (5ikDv)

207 I mean, I suppose you're all my cronies. We're all each other cronies here, ya?

Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 04:57 PM (uoB45)

208 Orange County, Fla., police arrested a naval officer Saturday at Walt Disney WorldÂ’s Epcot Center after he allegedly punched two park employees and hit a third with a 3-foot PVC pipe. Austin DeVan Hill faces battery, aggravated battery and felony battery charges, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County SheriffÂ’s Office. His occupation, per the report, is Â“ensignÂ” Â— Navy officials did not respond to requests for personnel information on Monday, but HillÂ’s name is listed on the 2012 Naval Academy graduate list and a bio under his name with the same date of birth as on the arrest report appears in the football section of the NavyÂ’s official athletics website. Hill Â“appeared to be very intoxicated,Â” a police officer who responded to the incident wrote in the report. Well that's one way to throw away 4 years at the Academy and a promising Naval Career?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 04:58 PM (UbDLm)

209 Were would we be without menials?

Posted by: toby928© at October 14, 2013 04:58 PM (QupBk)

210 kbdabear-it's called Resting Bitch Face. She has it in spades..

Posted by: Jmel at October 14, 2013 04:58 PM (cfFqn)

211 Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 08:58 PM (UbDLm)

1) how in holy hell do you get a 3-foot pipe into Disneyworld?

2) PVC? fuckin' piker . . .

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 04:59 PM (8lmkt)

212

Y'all crack me up**. I'm outta here.

**(well, technically not all y'all, but most of y'all)

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at October 14, 2013 04:59 PM (N/Sup)

213 My passion is sleeping in late. It doesn't pay very well.

Posted by: Chris M at October 14, 2013 04:59 PM (4lyMJ)

214 No more of Nvergiveup's famous kimchee?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 04:59 PM (uj8Oa)

215 Well that's one way to throw away 4 years at the Academy and a promising Naval Career?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 14, 2013 08:58 PM (UbDLm)

Sounds like he will make a damn fine National Park Ranger, though.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 14, 2013 04:59 PM (8Fl6F)

216 elbow-centric thread up. and, no, you can't be first.

Posted by: Peaches at October 14, 2013 05:00 PM (8lmkt)

217 Do you only get one channel or are subjecting yourself to this on purpose?? That woman is a loon. *** I have become much more acquainted with Congress this past three weeks. CSpan every day. I've learned of folks I really like but hadn't previously known about (Pete Sessions, Virginia Foxx) and have been reminded of the nature of Dems. It's been a circus. There have been some fantastic speeches from Louis Gohmert and I've learned that Jeff Sessions is the genteel warrior in the conservative battle. As well, I've witnessed GOP members turning on their own like a pack rabid dogs (See Corker, McCain, Pete King). It's been an oddly enjoyable experience punctuated with moments of sheer rage.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 05:00 PM (DmNpO)

218 MNF thread up

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 05:02 PM (DmNpO)

219 Ace is writing a Mamet style screenplay about bloggers in a small office who have to produce content or they're out ..

ALWAYS

BRING

CONTENT

Posted by: kbdabear at October 14, 2013 05:02 PM (aTXUx)

220 I would love to own and run a bookstore. My failure at this would be nigh to Obamacare epic though Boy BFF has made me a deal that if he hits the lottery he'll buy me a bookstore for which I will have absolutely no responsibility for operations or cash flow. Or, as he calls it, My Little Tax Write-Off. Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at October 14, 2013 08:12 PM (Gk3SS) Will you name the store Black Books?

Posted by: Hanoverfist at October 14, 2013 05:03 PM (xiXJp)

221 Before I forget, Amazon Studios is looking for scripts.
http://studios.amazon.com/development-slate/series

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 14, 2013 05:04 PM (uj8Oa)

222 Interesting Article. I have never had a real passion. There were things I wanted to do and I did them until I reached a passible level of success then I moved on. I think I just got bored. I don't know if Mr. Adams is right or wrong. He was in the right place at the right time with the right character and the appropriate level of snark. He hit. Good for him. People are so different, I'm not sure if there is any formula or advice that cuts across all lives. Learning from others experience tends to soften blows. It's like studying history. Then again, that repeats itself, doesn't it?

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 14, 2013 05:06 PM (XIxXP)

223 The Disney guy was a USNA football player. They have some real discipline problems on that team.

Posted by: blaster at October 14, 2013 05:06 PM (4+AaH)

224 The Disney guy was a USNA football player. They have some real discipline problems on that team. Posted by: blaster at October 14, 2013 09:06 PM (4+AaH) One needs only to glance at the CIC.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 14, 2013 05:08 PM (XIxXP)

225 Other secret to success - and part of it was mentioned here: Show up. Do the little things. Don't try to be "smart". more here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/krugw52

Posted by: Mauser757 at October 14, 2013 05:08 PM (SEcTa)

226 Show up. Do the little things. Don't try to be "smart". I like that.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 14, 2013 05:09 PM (XIxXP)

227 It's a little-known fact that better than 90% of the cuneiform tablets found in the ruins of Babylon were the work of bookies figuring the odds on camel races.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 14, 2013 08:49 PM (8Fl6F)

didn't know that.

Posted by: rich@gmu at October 14, 2013 05:13 PM (ga+7c)

228 It would seem today that your best chance for success would be an area with minimal government compliance issues, government radar scrutiny, or anything with the topical or superficial appearance of indifference to individual rights or Patriotism. IOW a niche that is shrinking with each passing day (hour) ...... and at the first sign of success or notoriety, have some cammies ready.

Posted by: ontherocks at October 14, 2013 05:17 PM (WAtZR)

229 Other secret to success - and part of it was mentioned here: Show up. Do the little things. Don't try to be "smart". *** At my first good job I met with resentment from some of my peers. They were upset because I had more visibility (see: responsibility) than they. One gal finally asked what I did to get so much more responsibility. I answered that I took on very small tasks with the same vigor I tackled the larger ones. And, when I identified a task the boss hated doing, and if it were appropriate, I offered to do it for him. She asked me if that wasn't brown-nosing. I asked her if any brown-noser in history had ever asked for MORE boring work on their plate. That one gal actually changed the way she managed her work. I told my last boss when he questioned my willingness to order lunch for the group that I would be happy to do it. If he wanted me to spend my time ordering lunch, then fine. I'd be the highest paid, most enthusiastic lunch-orderer in the company. Too many, particularly the yungins coming in with their MBAs, think they are above doing the tasks they are assigned. Many think they are supposed to be running the joint inside of six months.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at October 14, 2013 05:19 PM (DmNpO)

230 No overweening wisdom to relate here, just anecdotes. My family was "in construction," and when it came close to my turn I found that I had way too much passion to build the very ordinary and cheapened things that were the path to riches in those days. After 15 years of often unpleasant assignments in a federal department, I ended up in a position to consult with others on their projects, and was far enough removed from the rough-and-tumble to sympathize with their "passion." My customers appreciated that.

My philosophy professor gave his wife a few thousand to run a bookstore, to keep her from feeling frustrated. She turned out to be a hell of a businesswoman, and was bought out by a big company who was sick of her biting them in their soft underbelly. They bought a house with her profit, and then he went on to get rich in the philosophy business, so really you can't learn from that can you.

And then, the motorcycle shop. My buddy had a biggish insurance settlement (from his motorcycle accident, natch), about enough to buy out our boss, and I had a good steady day job and no house payment, so either of us would or should have been good for it, but the bank people couldn't see us there. We did not have a get-rich-quick scheme; we just wanted to be motorcycle mechanics.

The bank backed several very showy showrooms that went bust, so we came away with a distaste for how the bankers looked at things. It was like they didn't understand how to make money on a loan. You hate to challenge the business sense of bankers, but I was right, they were wrong, and they sucked the whole world down with them when they ran out of drugs, so there it is. Their passion.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at October 14, 2013 05:21 PM (JNUY4)

231 Who here has cronies? Posted by: soothie at October 14, 2013 08:56 PM I had a Colon and Rectal Surgeon remove mine in 2001

Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at October 14, 2013 05:27 PM (MhA4j)

232 I had a Colon and Rectal Surgeon remove mine in 2001 Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at October 14, 2013 09:27 PM (MhA4j) They must have been close personal friends.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet Palin/Bolton 2016 at October 14, 2013 05:28 PM (XIxXP)

233 232 we went everywhere together

Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at October 14, 2013 05:32 PM (MhA4j)

234 Olivia Wilde is gorgeous, but her bitchy look, far left politics, and wooden personality make me hope she gets fat and old

***

Never cared much for her fivehead myself.

And she looks intercoursing HIDEOUS in her makeup commercials. I hate women who look like they apply makeup with a trowel.

Posted by: cool arrow at October 14, 2013 06:19 PM (WMsq+)

235 #222 - I don't think Scott Adams success with Dilbert was as simple as "right place, right time." He was drawing the strip and sending submissions for three years before landing at United Media. From 1989 to 1995 he'd get up at 4 a.m. each day to do the strips before going to a full time job...so that's ten years of effort before he was able to do the strips full time. While he had his day job he was doing speaking gigs on weekends and giving talks to engineering groups. He worked darn hard! I was his publicist and it took me almost two years to get him the attention he deserved...six magazine covers, front page stories in the Wall Street Journal - it was a great ride but he earned it. It takes a looooong time to be an overnight sensation.

Posted by: vivi at October 14, 2013 08:56 PM (+/8mE)

236 I once asked a very wealthy doctor relative of mine what made him go into medicine. I had lofty ideas of him growing up as a youngster and dreaming of being a surgeon. I assumed that he'd always wanted to be a doctor, and cut a clear path towards this goal. Well, he just looked at me like I just asked him a dumb question , and he said, "I just picked something."

Posted by: Mistress Overdone at October 14, 2013 11:30 PM (2/oBD)

237 Remember the "Success Generates Passion" paradigm the next time you hear a someone extolling the wonderful locker room camaraderie of the Championship Winning Team. If only those Losers had more fun and enjoyed each others company a bit more? Something about how Success has 1,000 fathers, but Failure is an orphan?

Posted by: Hazy Dave at October 15, 2013 11:05 AM (FK+kQ)

238 An honest doctor might say "I just picked something that would make me a a lot of money."

Posted by: Hazy Dave at October 15, 2013 11:10 AM (FK+kQ)

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