TO BE A PREDATOR OR TO BE A PREY?
Earl Nightingale got me quite interested in his audio
cassettes. In his cassette self-esteem and courage, he narrates this short
story:
There’s a story about a man
hunting tigers in India, who was suddenly surprised by a huge Bengal tiger—it
was almost on top of him. The man raised his rifle and fired, but he overshot
and missed. The tiger, frightened by the man and thrown off stride by the noise
of the gun, leaped toward the hunter. But the leap was too wide, and he missed
his prey…
The story does not end here but
we’ll get to it very soon.
He got me thinking about the ways
we approach life circumstances and the consequent results. I remember back in
the days in my adolescent life in Africa, precisely in Ivory Coast. I was
living with my uncle in a small building of 3 floors. My auntie was into any
kind of small business in order to improve the family incomes. So, in that
house we were selling all sort of juices, cakes, ice and more. We were living
at the second floor. Right above us was a family of three people, father,
mother and daughter Joelle. A very beautiful young girl for whom we all had a
crush, me included. I was lucky enough to be the one she had eyes for. Years ago, in my country and maybe even now in
some areas, the young boys do the cleaning of the house. The mopping of the
floor was done on our knees using a old towel. So, for this task we don’t put
our best short on, and not even a nice short. One day as I was doing my house
chore, singing and free in my head, someone knocked on the door. I was so much
into my head that I went straight to open the door not even asking wo was there.
There I found myself face to face with the young lady for whom I used to cut my
hair every month, for whom I used I put on my best short to stay on the balcony
so I could say hi when she passes by. Now, there I was standing almost naked,
in my old pant and all wet. It took me few seconds to come back and I soon as I
regained my senses, I ran away as fast as I can. As I was running, I even fell
hard on the wet floor. But I got up like a cat and run straight to my room. Mohammed
Ali said once “ I’m too fast, so fast that I switch off the light and hit the
bed before the light gets off” Well on that day I was faster than him. What’s
the point of that story? Now as I think back on that day I ran because I was
the prey. I used to be the predator, finding the
right spot to spot my prey.
When a gazelle sees a lion, it
runs. When a mouse sees a cat, it does the same. In nature the prey almost
never chases the predator and do not even have what it takes to face it.
A young boy having a crush on a
girl if he has prey mentality, he will never approach the girl and
if by chance he does he won’t even be able to say the right words. Although he
might have practiced for a long and multiple time for this moment. His opportunity
becomes his misfortune. But if he has a predator mentality,
everything changes. He is the one the girl wants; she is the one who has to be
attractive: Every word he says are coming from the conviction that he is the
one. So, the voice tone, the body posture, the fluidity of the mind follows his
conviction. Even his walks look like that of a lion, calm and serene.
Do you remember going to your
first work interview? So, you’ll remember having almost not slept the night
before. You have tried many different cloths, although everyone in the family has
given his approval for one suit you were still doubtful the morning in front of
the mirror. What about the moment you saw the HR coming towards you? Your heart
dropped and your mind went blink. Even when you have managed to pass all that,
they asked you the killing question: “what is your expecting salary? There although
you know the grid, doubts and fears come in as if they were just waiting for
the moment. In such situation the prey mentality takes over easily. But let
rewind it a bit. Do we really have to be the prey? Yes, we are looking for a job,
but what about the company? They are not doing you any favor. Matter of fact
they need a young man like you. They are searching for someone who has been
preparing for almost three decades in order to be competent enough to bring value.
They need you; they have to have you. After all, three decades of studying and
learning has provided you with what it takes. So, next time going for an interview,
what will you choose to be? A prey or a predator?
Do you also remember your
appointment at the bank for the loan of your first apartment? Your wife and you
have trained for body postures, vocabularies. You have heard that this particular
bank is very difficult, four peoples out of 10 in your area have failed to
obtain the loan. So, you have been thing about the 4 who have failed and forgot
those six who have succeeded. Although, you have a stable job, the support form
parents and maybe grandparents your heart did not have peace at all. I never
really searched for the definition of bank but writing this article I got
curious. The definition goes like this: “ A bank is a financial institution
licensed to receive deposits and make loans..” So, you will agree with me that
you are the reason of their existence and the need you even more for their
survival.
I guess with theses examples you
understand my point. Having a prey or a predator mentality impact our daily
life. With a prey mentality we fear what might go wrong so we anticipate and
suffer the pain from a hypothetical wrong future. While with a predator
mentality we see and focus only what we want motivated and convinced that it
has to be it. Unfortunately, three
decades of schooling do not instruct our minds on which of those two horses we
should ride so we learn from family and friends if we are lucky otherwise, we
read books or blog like mine.
Choosing the right mentality is
not an overnight solution but is good to know that we could an must choose.
So, if with the right mindset,
the girl refuses you. It is alright, nothing certified that she was destined to
be your wife and luckily for you so many are still out there and if you look
closer there is already one next door waiting only on you to smile back to her.
What if the bank refuses you the
credit? The four people who did not get the credit are still living. They might
have gotten a loan from another bank. If you are frustrated so much about it
you could do like Adam Deering. The Royal Bank of Scotland in Urmston, Greater Manchester
refused him a loan for his dream. Because they didn't have faith enough in a 21
old year young man with a vision. He bet on his self and years later he bought
the building of the bank.
Failures, deceptions, refusal
injuries might come but it remains always the essential part of this
equation called life. You, yes you, what you do can wipe away and build
because you and only you is the essential, the key.
Going back to the opening story,
the end goes like this:
..The man returned to camp and
spent several hours perfecting his aim for short distances and quick firing. On
the following day, he again stalked the tiger. Finally, he spotted the beast at
some distance. The tiger was practicing short leaps.
Well, we can and must choose the
right mentality but we owe not to count the other person out because he has
been training as well.
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