The Parable of the Player
(The Story of the Other Prodigal Son & His Two Sisters)
My name is... well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I was born with a fire in my belly. I grew up in a small village, in a house filled with love but empty of ambition. My father, a good man, was the "poor dad" in the stories—he knew how to work, but not how to win. My mother knew how to love, but not how to lead. They were good people, but they were lames, clueless of The Game. My brothers followed their path, content to work for small change, save a little, and find a nice girl. They were broke and still living at home, yet they had the nerve to doubt my dreams.
I was different. I saw the world not as a place to survive, but as a kingdom to be conquered. I didn't want a job; I wanted wealth. I wanted to come back home with riches, to take care of my mother, to make my father proud, and to show my brothers that the fire they saw as foolishness was actually the mark of a king.
So, on the eve of my sixteenth birthday—the day I would become a man—I left. With nothing but a few weeks' worth of food money and the fire in my soul, I walked the twenty miles to the city. I was willing to work, willing to hustle. But no matter what I did, I was met with failure. Every job paid pennies. Every opportunity was a dead end. I was unfulfilled, my fire slowly turning to ash.
After weeks of struggle, my sisters, bless their hearts, came looking for me. My older sister, the protector, worried I was lost. My younger sister, the believer, wanted to help me, to be the first soldier in my army. They found me defeated, sitting near the town square, listening to a friend try to convince me to sit with a group of elders. They were gathered around a man who commanded a strange and powerful respect. He wasn't the richest man, nor the loudest, but when he spoke, even the old men fell silent.
"I can't," I told my friend. "I have to think, to read, to figure this out on my own."
My friend sighed and walked away. I began to list my excuses to my sisters, a long and pathetic story of unfair bosses, bad luck, and a world that was rigged against me.
Suddenly, the Man from the square stood before us. He had overheard my whining. His eyes were not angry, but they held a fire that made mine look like a dying ember. He looked past my sisters, directly into my soul, and he spoke. And his voice was not a whisper; it was a thunderclap that shattered the walls of my comfortable prison of excuses.
(The following "MoMo Style" article is the rest of his speech.)
Let go of your fear, worry, and doubt. Have Faith in your knowledge, plans, resources, and God. Stop reading book after book after book and make the effort to Get Results. Everything you want to do has already been done. There is nothing new under the sun. While it is true that each situation is different, nevertheless the BASICS rarely ever change.
Consider all the things you don't know and the things you BELIEVE you know, then check yourself to find out WHY you're not where you want to be IF you know so much!
If you're so smart and such a genius, why are you lacking when so many people who are not as smart as you and not as righteous as you are doing so much better than you?
What methods are you using? What are you willing to do? What bad habits are you too weak to break? How professional are you willing to be? How high is your ego and pride? How much Faith do you have in yourself, your abilities, and God? Can you be trusted? Do you live by the philosophy of quick and easy or are you trying to change your life for the long-term? Can you Commit to Anything or are you greedy for a quick fix? Do you intrude on others or do you respect and consider others as you would want to be respected? Are you Honest, Trustworthy, and Fair, or are you an opportunist who is deceitful and compelled to lie, steal, and cheat? Do you work on your understanding and communication skills so that you may deal with ALL people or are you so attached to the crowd that you follow crowd-thinking and irrational behavior? Be aware of the world around you. And, most important: Be Aware of Yourself.
You are a walking contradiction. You speak of building an empire but live your life like a lazy spectator. You want the crown of a king but refuse to carry the weight of it. You want the respect of a Player but have the discipline of a child.
You must choose. The world does not reward intentions. It rewards action. The Game does not care about your philosophy if your life is a testament to its failure.
Here is the law. Burn it into your soul. This is the non-negotiable codex for anyone who dares to call themselves a Player.
Mentally / Spiritually you MUST have:
Faith: Unshakeable belief not just in a higher power, but in your own God-given ability to execute your mission.
Patience: The strategic weapon of the predator, the calm of the master who knows their time will come.
Modesty: The quiet confidence of a king who does not need to announce his own power.
Strength to be Humble: The wisdom to know that you are not the smartest person in every room, and the courage to learn from anyone.
A Major Goal: The North Star that guides every decision and pulls you through the fires of adversity. Without it, you are just wandering in the dark.
Rules / Philosophies for Life: Your Iron Compass, the sacred code you live and die by.
Ownership: You must take absolute ownership for every setback, every disappointment, and every failure in your life. Blame is the language of the lame.
Physically / Materially you MUST have:
Good Communication Skills (IZM): Your most powerful weapon. The ability to command, persuade, and enroll others in your vision.
Willingness to Explore: The courage to step into the unknown, to see what a thing is about, and to gather your own intelligence instead of relying on the hearsay of fools.
Knowledge of Trade / Finances: You must understand the language of money, debt, and assets. To be ignorant of this is to be a willing slave.
Connections: Your network. Your army of allies, specialists, and informants.
Resources: Your ammunition—your money, your time, your energy. You must guard and deploy them with the precision of a general.
Teachers / Mentors: The OGs who have already won The Game. To think you can do it alone is the height of a fool's pride.
Most Important (The Soul of The Game):
Prayer / Meditation: The daily ritual of silencing the noise to hear the signal. The act of connecting to a power greater than your own ego.
Good Health: Your body is the vessel of your will. A sick king cannot rule his kingdom.
Companions and Relationships: Your inner circle, your Royal Court. They are a reflection of your own standards.
Good Judgment: The ability to see the board clearly, to know when to strike and when to wait.
Awareness (The Third Eye): The ultimate state of being. To be "on point," to see the game within the game, and to navigate reality with the calm clarity of a master.
The Final Word:
Stop being a spectator in your own life. Stop making excuses. The world is full of broken people who will happily pull you down into their chaos. Your weakness is an insult to your potential. Your inaction is a betrayal of the divine spark within you. Pick up your weapons. Forge your will. The Game is waiting. It is time to play.