"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."
Eddie Felson
The Color of Money 1986
A game of pool, a reward of money, and the lesson we tend to learn; are we all hustlers in the game of life?
I often at times imagine the world with no competition; no one upping of each other; and even an elimination of conflict in how we seek resolution. When we bet the odds and play the game; do we win, knowing our greatest achievement was the out-smarted move into our opponents head, or do we lose; thinking we didn't carry enough wit on our shoulders?
"You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. Now, you got too much of one and not enough of the other." - Eddie Felson
The art of Pool teaches us more than the concept of geometry. Pool teaches us angles; perceptual distance and infinite perfection. Life evokes different angles; sometimes we keep a straight right angle and other times we go for crooked and narrow angles just because we fall wayside into temptation. Distance is in the eye of the beholder. We specialize in looking forward; yet, sometimes ignore what is right in front of us. As for perfection; you can't sink the perfect shot without a chalked up stick, and you can't slam the ball without the most precise touch. Too much girth is overly confident oppression.
I take pride in knowing that sometimes getting played is like playing oneself in a tournament of novices and pros. We wish we played the game to our best standard, however, someone is always better than someone else and we have to accept our defeat. Victory is, and can go in streaks; losing takes one battle, and one win creates a new mission.
Have you had a bad game and you still looked at it as a great opportunity? Have you had a mediocre game and saw competition in your opponent and a lapse of glee when you won? Have you had a fabulous, cut to the tee, type of game where even your own best self couldn't beat you; yet, you exceeded beyond all capabilities?
What does money mean to you; is it a choice, a lifestyle or a way of playing the game right?
For some, money is the exchange of value and worth. For others, money is the perceptual transfer of status; sometimes symbolic standards to which we label and stereotype. For those that hustle money and treat money like a past time; well... we just hope we are not on the other side of the coin there, it could be an ego shock to our souls.
Money has value in society and in culture; when we stop analyzing money as productivity and efficiency; we stop analyzing ourselves as valuable. Money can only speak in terms of confidence; loss of money is how we speak in terms of regret.
How can one hustle? Is there a secret to the game that others are missing?
The greatest attribute about this film is how the hustler convinces a young protege' to find confidence and control in deceit. The thrill and competitive nature of Fast Eddie brings Vincent on a world-wind experience which ultimately leads to hustler versus protege'.
We might think we can beat our own arch nemesis; however, knowing is half the battle, and playing is all in the risk of receiving glory. Who ends up winning when you've taught someone everything you know?
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