It was a fine day in Summerlin. He had just woken up from his nap and was preparing his evening coffee. While waiting, he looked out the window to the street in front of his house. Kids were playing around, running and screaming. Kids always made him smile. They were the future after all but there were no adults around.

It was that momment that he wondered why that is. Not able to find an answer for himself, he thought to bring the subject to a wider crowd. He pured his coffee into a thermos bottle, dressed up and start walking down the streets, where people usually hang out. He approached a large crowd of people and started talking.

Hello everyone. How is today treating you all? I wanted to ask you a couple of things that got me wondering lately.

Not very long ago, a man named Jackroover, raised some interesting questions. Jack was a Made Man among us. He had a status that allowed him to do most things he wanted and yet, he became so unmotivated and astranged with the way our lives are at the time, that he ended his own life. 

So, today, i come out here and ask all of you. How many amongst us are close to feeling the same way Jack did and if so, what keeps you motivated and interested in our way of life?

Is it the way of life itself? The money, power, control or maybe just killing? Is it socializing with different people across the country? 

For me, it's having a goal. Summerlin and it's prosperity is my goal now but my bloodline always had a goal to try and reach. Being part of a community always helped a lot but without a goal, things sometimes turn stale and sterile.

So, what keeps all of you going? Are you comfortable with the way your life is now and if not, what would you like to change? What would give you that extra push to get up in the morning and roam the world doing business for you and your crew?

He stopped talking, looked around to peple's faces, took his thermos bottle out and had a sip of his coffee waiting for everyone's opinions.

Having been on a bit of a trip around the streets Dusty heard the speech given by a Godfather. What was mentioned was a lot of what she had thought plenty about. A lot of what her ancestors had thought plenty about. Without thinking she cleared her throat and began to speak up.

I feel quite often as Jack did. In fact my ancestors felt it more so since they could not bring themselves to join any of the leaders of their times. I lucked out with being motivated enough to give a family a try.

Motivation is something that can be extremely challenging when there is nothing to motivate you. Even power, money and control can become extremely boring if there is nothing that challenges it. I know my ancestors saw the top as cutting off anything creative, or different. Anything that may have challenged them and then it became more of "what's the point in trying anymore?"

Personally for myself, I am trying to find some motivation once again. Whether it be joining into discussions among the streets or trying to make a personal goal. It is not easy though to bring back the motivation that died. It's like waiting for the next thing to strangle it out.

What started my motivation was finding a leader that I truly wanted to work for.  This in itself is hard when the leaders seem to distance themselves from our community, or shut us out. So I appreciate that you have taken the time to come out here for more than just a notice of protection or a reason why someone had to die. This is a little bit in the way of motivating myself to continue to contribute to our community in the discussions area.

A change I would like to see is that if leaders are being wiped out that their hands be as well. Many will think this always happens but when you can spot someone whose been in a few different families at the top and they still sit on leadership roles, it is disheartening. It goes to speak to people that pay attention that loyalty means very little. In this way of life, it should be highly important.

Another thing is ranks. I would like to see them mean something. The higher the rank the more trusted you should be. Which means someone who has just been made and is getting bold over someone who has worked hard and is higher rank seems silly. Not to mention if they are taking over crews that they are demanding high ranks to take a demote of sorts. That seems like a backhanded slap in the face, does it not?

These are just some examples to go with the idea of changes. Hopefully others will chime in with what motivates them.

Thank you for your reply miss Dusty. From what I understand, you would like to see our written or unwritten rules implimented again, in a more dedicated way, in our community. 

I can only say that I completely agree with this. Ranks, sepcifically, should mean a lot within our community and we, as leaders should actively put our efforts towards this direction. After all, without ranks holding much meaning, our positions don't either.

I am glad that you found a leader that can inspire you. Motivated people is what can bring our world steps forward.

Wrench tried his best from behind the crowd to see the words come from Diogenis's mouth, it was no good. From such this distance and first time hearing from Diogenis, Wrench struggled to follow along. Nudging his personal bodyguard Todd to interpret for him. Todd was signing away looking at Diogenis, while Wrench followed along. After the speech, Wrench wanted to say a few words therefore he instructed Todd to address the crowd. Todd was on the short end of the scale and had to tip toe to get his voice across as he interpreted Wrench's sign language;

"The money, power, and control are only just a drop in the ocean for me. This place can feel very lonely at times if your only goal is to remain in the shadows robbing post offices, cracking safes, and breaking out criminals so that one day they will do the same for you. Socialising on the other hand, can really enhance your experience and kick away those depressive suicidal thoughts.

There is so much opportunity and fun to be had in character development, the role-playing aspect of the game shouldn't be over seen. From a character name, to suit design, to you as a humanoid, creature, or animal there are endless possibilities. Your adventure in this 1930's world can be greatly immersive if you just picked up a pen (keyboard) and get your role-play on. 

These are what keeps my bloodline coming back, and keeps me away from the suicide page".

Todd finally caught his breath back when Wrench stopped signing.

"I'm with Wrench on this one."  Lucy piped up.  "Focus upon socializing makes this worth while.  There are a lot of ways to spend your time outside of this thing of ours - making connections with people, doing stuff with them, that's the heart of this.  I know some folks focus a lot on the climb to the top... and if they don't make it to the top they feel as though they're being prevented from taking part at all.  I think those people have lost focus of the bigger picture."

"I once told a young mafioso to imagine a game of baseball where someone who didn't hit a home run complained he'd been prevented from playing the game.  He missed the fact that he sat with a team, he missed the fact that he'd been given an at bat and even played in the field but because he hadn't done one part of the game - he felt it was lost to him.  This is what hear when I hear those who haven't yet been a leader in this thing of our complaining."

"I've lost people - we all have.  Sometimes you lose people right in the middle of something good - life happens that way.  God doesn't tell us what day or hour our appointed time will be.  Sometimes the bullet catches you in the middle of a heist, a word, ... or a kiss."  She sighed remember that loss as being particularly hard.

"It can be very easy to get angry or jaded when you're knocked down & your children need to pick up where you left off, or even when you lose someone you love.  However, if all you focus on is the ladder that you're trying to climb - accomplishing the mission you've set for yourself... well, you're gonna miss all the great stuff that can happen along the way.  The journey, not the destination, is the point of life.  That's what I try to remind myself to stave off sadness and suicidal thoughts."

"Firstly I would like to thank Godfather Diogenis for bringing this topic to the forefront. I believe its an important one but even more importantly the fact that mafioso throughout these shores are being allowed to step up and voice their opinions is a gigantic step in this current rebuilding process.

Godfather Diogenis asked what keeps us motivated, is it the life, the money, the power, the control, the killing or maybe the socializing. My simple answer...YES."

Capazzo nodded as he continued.

"This world is a very interesting one. It's one that offers a little something for everyone. You want to socialize we have coffee shops and the streets to talk and get to know one another. Some like cash and there are several opportunites to make said cash. Some get a thrill in killing and as everyone knows there are targets galore should ones trigger finger get the itch. The power and the control is a bit harder, it takes consistency and moving up the ranks and finally gaining the trust of a leader who will not only vouch for you but put you in a position to lead a crew of your own."

Capazzo raised his index finger.

"The point I am making is there is something for everyone. Each person has to figure out exactly what motivates them. Once they find that motivator they should then set goals. Set goals to help you achieve. Once you've hit your goal SET ANOTHER GOAL. Godfather Diogenis asked earlier if anyone feels comfortable, not one person here should EVER feel comfortable and if you do something is terribly wrong with you. Ones job as a mafioso is never ever 'over' or 'finished' there is always something to do or somewhere to go."

Capazzo then tapped his chest.

"I too am motivated. I am motivated by striving to be the best mafioso I can be not only for myself but for my Godfather, for my cities other leaders and for Chicago as a whole. The city that opened its arms and took me in. My goals consist of helping Chicago grow and be prosperous with not only money and power but also the knowledge. I know you're probably wondering what I mean by knowledge, well I mean I would love for all of our people to have the proper understanding of this world and everything it takes to move up. Far too many times I see men and woman lack the education and, or knowledge to help themselves or their crews, district and city so I repeat once more..the KNOWLEDGE."

Capazzo tapped his chest once more.

"My personal goals are a hefty one but that's ok because I will not stop until I reach them all. They consist of being one of the top people in every aspect of this world, no matter what skill, what rank, what position...whatever it is my goal is to be among the best. Some of my kin have left tremendous shoes to fill and I will bend over backwards twice to fill said shoes and if I can do that, well then that will in turn help me achieve my goals.

I share the sentiments of two of my very good friends, Wrench and LuckyLucy in regards to socializing. At least for me, it's a huge aspect of this world. Socializing conssits of networking with business associates to meeting friends to making family. I have had the pleasure of making tons of new associates and friends since arriving on these shores and those people give me motivation by itself, to want to do better and simply just have some good conversation."

Capazzo paused for a moment then continued on.

"Now Miss Dusty your thoughts on removing hands. I agree with this. I believe the roles of a crew leader, right and left hands come with tons of power, responsibility as well as honor. These 3 people alone control the way an entire crew is ran but with that being said under no circumstance should a hand be kept alive if their crewleader has been taken out. A captain goes down with the ship as the old saying goes. Now there is one exception to the rule in my opinion, if said leader was not taken out in a war but instead it was just some rebellious rogue, then of course hands would remain alive."

Capazzo paused one last time before finishing up his thoughts.

"Regarding ranks, yes they are an important aspect in our lives and should be taken seriously. I don't necessarily think rank matters when promoting to a hand position or authrorizing someone to run a crew because there are several factors inolved in promotions and authing. Certain criterias have to be met and someone may be ready for a promotion but not necessarily hit a specific area needed for promotion. Once a man or woman has their button I believe its fair game and anyone is eligible for promotion as their respective boss sees fit."

"Anyhow I've went on longer then I originally planned, thank you all for listening and can the next person step up and share your thoughts."