I've been watching you civilians, thugs and gangsters stroll about these streets, joining families, and then fumbling about your days.  And I just shake my head, point and laugh.  Sure, I'm not immune to the fumbling gangsters.  And some of them even continue to gain experience and rank.  I don't fucking know how, but they do.  I'm as shocked as the rest of you, but it happens.

So, then there are these Wise Guys, or even Made Men strolling around these streets, and they still have their heads up their asses.  And then they do something stupid...I mean so incredibly stupid you can only ask them - "What the fuck were you thinking?" And do you know what their response is?  "Well, I didn't know.  You must not have taught me that."  AND... "I only know what I know."

I throw up my hands, and take a personal inventory.   Am I really that bad of a teacher.  I mean, didn't I stress not to do that like 15 times already?  So is this really my issue?  Am I really responsible for teaching these youngsters everything?  

And you know what my answer to that is?  

Fuck No.  

So here's your lesson for today:  Take some fucking personal responsibility.

you know who taught me everything I needed to know?  I did.  I  read everything I could find. And when I was done reading that, I hunted for more stuff to read, and read some more.  And when I did that, I found some more stuff and read that.  And then I watched others, to see how they were doing it.  And if there was still something I didn't understand, I asked questions.  Then I asked a few more.  See, questions are okay. 

That's how you learn.  Don't expect everybody to do your work for you.  Take the responsibility to learn what you need to learn yourself.  Put in the work.  Don't expect others to do everything for you.  Get it?  There are plenty of places for you to soak up knowledge.  Take the initiative.  No, that doesn't mean you have to do EVERYTHING on your own.  But that also doesn't mean you can ask for somebody else to do EVERYTHING for you.

You want to impress your crewleaders?  Be responsible for yourself.  Take that initiative.  Learn some of this stuff on your own, and prove that you are a hard worker.  Easy enough, right?  That's it.   Oh, and don't make stupid mistakes.  And how do you avoid making stupid mistakes?  See above - learn everything you need to know.

Now - that's not to say I'm not going to help you along the way.  I'm perfectly willing to answer questions and offer any other help that I can.   My door will always be open.  And Hell, I'm out here on the streets giving free lessons.  But if you want to impress me - prove to me you're wiling to take some initiative, and I'm not going to hear...."Well, I only know what I know."

I'll be back next week for your next lesson.  

If you have topics you'd like me to address, let me know.

Dear WillHayes,

I would like to nominate that you address the topic of world peace.

For it is an important topic & is a threat to our way of life.

Regards,

YHWH
Capo
The Mafia