Quitting

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

There is a scene in the movie “American Gangster,” where Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, visits his Vietnamese heroin manufacturer the last time. The Vietnam War is about to end. The troops are coming home. Lucas has been flying heroin to the United States on military transports hidden in coffins. He wants one last major purchase.

He and his Vietnamese counterpart are standing on the porch overlooking workers tilling poppy fields. There is a sort of reminiscing quality to the encounter as they talk about the good old days. Here is the feeling that over the years, they became friends and are sharing one last moment.

Lucas wants to continue the relationship, but his counterpart knows it will come to an end. At that moment, the Vietnamese man says, “You know, Frank, quitting while you are ahead is not the same as quitting.”

Momentum changes.

Events change

The tides roll in, and then they roll out.

You can swim with the river, or you can swim against it.

Eventually, if you swim against the river, you will drown.

When I started coach training, one of the most uncomplicated and most helpful comments I heard was that, often, what makes a great coach is the person s/he works with.