“You come at the king, you best not miss.” - Vol 14
Vol 14 - You might have heard this phrase before but what does it actually mean? How can we use it in daily life and business?
안녕하세요, Kia Orana, Welcome
In my newsletter for Vol 11, I discussed the concept of “Burn the Ships”. Its origin and how we can implement it in daily life and business. This week I will provide an analysis of another famous quote and its origins. Also, how can we apply it to our daily lives or business decisions?
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
Omar Little - The Wire
I suspect many readers of this newsletter are avid followers of movies and television shows. There are endless debates about what are the greatest shows of all time. Many consider the golden years of television production the period from 2000 - 2010. Shows became spectacles it was like watching a new movie every week. Top content developers like writers, directors, producers from the movie world moved to this format and produced outstanding high-quality shows. HBO among many others led the way producing content never seen before. Unrestricted by the laws and rules governing normal networks. Cable production was on another stratosphere.
One of those great shows was The Wire. Set in Baltimore it centers on the drug trade and its effects on all aspects of the city. If you haven’t seen it definitely give it a try. One of the characters goes by the name Omar Little and represents a kind of Robin Hood figure that steals from the drug dealers.
During the conflict, he utters the phrase
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
Essentially, its meaning can be defined as if you have a shot at the title or want to remove the “King” you better not miss or fail. The result of failure will likely be destruction or death. History shows many examples of people trying to take down the king, leader, or someone influential in order to claim power or change the direction of society.
A few examples of leaders or influential people that were killed.
Julius Caesar - Assassinated March 15th, 44 BC.
Abraham Lincoln - Assassinated April 14th, 1865.
Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi - Assassinated January 30, 1948.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand - Assassinated June 28, 1914.
John F. Kennedy - Assassinated November 22, 1963.
These examples demonstrated the removal of the key person. The person/persons achieved their aim at taking out “the king”. It’s hard to confirm whether it was the right choice. Some of the consequences were positive, some not so much. The period after Ceaser resulted in continued conflict and bloodshed as an example.
All of the examples earlier show somebody came at the king and succeded.
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
There are also examples of trying to take the “king” that failed and the resulting actions changed the course of history.
June 1272, Edward Longshanks - Heir to the English throne.
February 15, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt - Future president during the Great Depression and WWII.
Longshanks later became Edward I of England 1272 - 1307, “The Hammer of the scots”. Famous for brutally putting down rebellions from the Welsh and Scots. A character was loosely based on him in the movie Braveheart. He would very likely fade from history if that attempt on his life in 1272 was successful. He survived that attempt and the rest is history. What would have happened to England, Scotland, Wales if he didn’t survive the threat? His survival resulted in immense bloodshed and also the reformation of property and criminal law.
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected 32nd president of the United States from 1933 - 1945. He guided the country through the Great Depression from 1929 - 1933. During this period unemployment in the United States hit 23%, food lines were common, and poverty was rampant. Roosevelt led the United States through WW2 until his sudden death in 1945 a few months before the conclusion of the worldwide conflict. He survived an assassination attempt 17 days before his inauguration in 1933. Someone tried to take the “king” but failed. Its hard to imagine the world if this attempt was successful. What would happen during the Great Depression? Who would of guided the United States through WW2?
Here are some examples of coming for the “king” and not missing. One has to wonder what the world would be like if these attempts had failed.
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
HOW CAN WE USE THIS EXPRESSION IN DAILY LIFE?
We can take this expression and apply it in daily life or business. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a motion to take down a king or leader. However, if you want to get the top spot in a company, prove to the manager you are made of the right material, or want to enter a new business field sometimes you only have one shot, one chance. If you miss that time you might not get another chance again.
You have to make sure
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
The results will either be tears of joy or utmost misery due to missing your chance. Somebody might be studying for an important exam. They have one chance to gain success so they better not miss or fail. When people play sports at any level you sometimes get one shot to win a title or championship. I imagine an athlete competing in the Olympics or Football World Cup. They have one chance every four years to achieve success or glory. One chance to have a shot at the title or king of that sport. One chance to come at the king and not miss.
Try to think about some aspect in your daily life or business and how you can have a shot at the promotion, title, success, glory. Just remember don’t miss or you might not enjoy the consequences.
In the next edition, I will return to my new series of Korean newsletters. Following that will be the third edition in the series based on the Cook Islands.
This week’s recommendations
1) This week I have 2 new language expressions for followers of this newsletter. How do we say beautiful in Korean and Cook Island Maori?
How do you say beautiful in Korean?
“아름다운,예쁜” = (A - Ram - da - un/Yea - pun) – Beautiful
How do you say beautiful you in Cook Islands Maori?
“Manea” = (Ma - ne - a) - Beautiful
Feel free to engage in the conversation below
1) Any great Television shows you recommend?
“Feed your focus, starve your distractions.”