When I was ten years old and working as much as a ten-year-old could at my dad’s gas
station in Mulberry, Arkansas, I had the opportunity to mingle with many older men from
many walks of life. Most were farmers or ranchers, and the winter was slower for them
than summer, so many loafed at my dad’s station. He loved the social aspect of having
many people to visit with when in between customers. I guess for a little kid, I was
curious and very gullible. They loved to play pranks on me and pull practical jokes on
me.
I remember one joke that involved a rigged bet, as most are. This older guy bet me a
quarter that a match would burn twice. My response was “No way.”
He asked if we had a bet. I said, “Sure, that is a suckers bet, there is no way a match
can burn twice.” I even said, “Let’s make it fifty cents.” He said, “If you want to, fifty cents
is OK too.”
He struck the match, blew it out, and touched it to my arm. Thus, the match burned
twice.
I was mad, and my arm was stinging. He said, “Just give the quarter, and let this be a
lesson to you.”
My question was, “What lesson?”
He said, “Never bet on another man’s game because it is always rigged.”
Well, I did learn from this and did my best not to get out of my game plan or to go after
the following get-rich-quick scheme. It is human nature to chase rainbows and to lose
focus. We must stay focused since that is where we get the most value and make the
most progress.
I also learned that not everything is as it appears to be. We need to always stay in our
are of expertise and not be in something we don’t have specific knowledge about.