Samurai walk down the streets towards the cross junction, on another side of the road, there is bar with crowds when the sun down. Some running the business and some just stand on the edge of the bar talking and socializing about some issues. Shes then stop by the grocery store and flashback the question that she had early at the park. 

Once again I am here to ask for your thoughts on something that has been going through my mind

Recently at the park I was speaking with a group of thugs and some experienced member. One was saying how he wanted to go on to be a well respected person around here, possibly even becoming a leader. I was, as you can imagine, very pleased with this. Knowing he has something which is driving him on making him push to gain the respect and knowledge needed to succeed around here.

Then I spoke with someone else. A respectable business man who doesn't want any responsibilty working with the family. All he wants is family protection, He keeps the cash rolling in for me and calls into the HQ sometimes. However he is always away working abroad and so cannot be around for his family as much as he wants. Now don't get me wrong when he is around he helps out and does everything required of him but he knows he wont be in town long enough to help out with anything major event. He also said this: 

"Everyone wants a raise in wages, but money by itself doesn't build loyalty. There must be a path for a man to follow, a height that a man can climb to through his own hard work."

Now what is bothering me is this. one person with ambitions towards higher responsibility, one only care for businesses. Does that mean the person without ambition towards leadership is not important to the family? After all, he gets involved, helps out when he can and has been honest about letting me know its not possible for them to do as much as others. so should they be looked down upon for it.

My personal opinion is that everyone has their part to play on making the family work from top to bottom spreading the spirit of hustle whether it be Right Hand or someone that just goes out and helps make cash for the family. Those that don't keep their dollars straight lose respect quickly, and when respect dies, so does loyalty. For those that believe in the business, nothing is more insulting than loose purse strings. Carelessness can get you killed. 

Bellator thought this was a rather interesting point, although perhaps Samurai was reading too much into the lack of 'ambition'.  

"Both people, the ambitious and the capitalistic, have their part to play.  Not everyone wants the responsibility of leadership, the responsibility over life and death based on their actions.  The only reason any of us are here is to make money, we can't hold down regular jobs, and the criminality we're involved in allows us to experience the finer things in life."  

"It also strikes me that the second category of person you spoke with were ambitious in their own way; they wanted to make money.  Their ambition was to do that and that is what they were doing.  So long as they contribute to their family in taxes - they are still playing their part.  That's my take on it at least, obviously you were involved in the conversation so will know more."

Waiting for my next job, I decided to feed the pigeons at the park. A group was gathered nearby and I went over to listen....

Interesting points were made. Ambition, respect, leadership, loyalty and money. I waiting for a lull in the conversation to throw in my thoughts ....

"Ambition, everyone has it. Even a lazy man is ambitious to be lazy. Respect. Earned, not paid for. Leadership is dependent on the situation. A nurse does as she's told, follows orders to the best of her abilities, but put that nurse in an accident away from work, she becomes the leader, telling others what to do to save lives. Give a leader something they have never done, it's like watching a monkey do a math problem. Yes, before you respond, he has the money, power and leadership to make others do it. To me, that is a scared leader a child if you will. You lead by example, you lead by saying you don't know, you lead by listening to other and not telling them what to think. Loyalty is easy, the only people I owe my loyalty to are those who never made me question theirs. And money. Hmmm .... if you make decisions about other people's lives based on money or if I need to make you money to gain favor, or if money is your only driving factor - ambition if you will - then you are no better then the paper it is printed on. Those are my two cents, but please .... keep the change."

Luka was walking in the park enjoying some free time between errands he had to do later in the day. He noticed a couple of members from different crews having a discussion. Since this was happening in the open, he approached the group and listened in what they had to say. Discussion that was taking place peaked Luka’s interest since it was about certain values that were tightly connected to everyday life in this thing of ours. He waited for a silent moment so he would not interrupt any of the participants and joined in:      

“Fellow mafiosos, you have made some good points on things that keep our world in tact. Yet I have a different understanding on some of them.”

"I agree on the point that respect must be earned. There is no other way around it. But first, respect must be given where it is due. What concerns ambition, nobody simply happens to start from the top. It’s a long ladder to get there. It takes certain skills, time, devotion, connections and certainly no lack in ambition itself. If a certain person is lazy, he most definitely has none of those qualities, he’s just plain lazy schmuck."

"Another thing is the actual values or actions that earn you respect in certain organizations. Depending on the leadership those values might vary and/or change in time. It can vary from being best earner in the crew to being the one who follows orders without questions having nothing to do with money at all."

"This brings me to trust and loyalty. I certainly don’t agree with jonnythecon that loyalty is easy. Certain decisions are made behind the scenes all the time and passed down on us. You might like them, you might not, but you must comply. If one can’t trust their leadership he himself can neither be trusted or considered loyal." 

"Every capable leader in this thing of ours has a capable team behind his back. Team that was tested with time, blood and sometimes very hard decisions along the way that were carried out. So my main point on leadership and being a leader for any ambitious and aspiring mafioso is that, If one wants to lead, one must first learn how to follow orders and carry out decisions. When the questioning starts it’s neither a good thing nor a good example, even when organization values and personal values collide."

"Samurai is right, everyone has their part to play. It falls to our superiors to truly see what one is capable of and to push us to our limits expecting only the best from us and our capabilities. If we’re only good at bringing in fat envelopes on a payday, we certainly will be judged on that. If we bring something else to the table, then it might be a completely different story. Money itself just enables things, so it falls down on each of us on what can we achieve with it."