The Business of LIfe in One Swig

Act Like You’ve Been There Before

Posted by betsy in Uncategorized on Oct 11th, 2009 | 4 responses

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A piece of sage advice.

You got to act like you’ve been there before. Play it cool baby.

New to the executive ranks? You got to act like you’ve been there before.

Huge success? You got to act like you’ve been there before.

Made an incredible save, scored the winning touchdown, won the Presidential Election?

You got to act like you’ve been there before.

Confidently cool. Touch of humble even.


This all hit home while watching an episode of MTV Cribs (before you pass judgement, I was just passing the time with the kind of crappy, questionable TV that makes me happy. So judge however you like.). I was struck by the obvious and painful bravado of the rapper Soulja Boy. Blinged out, chirping Gucci “dis an dat” (seriously this was the vernacular he used,) all he was missing was the requisite video vixens with thonged badonkadonks booty shaking and Cristal in his Pimp cup.

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Honestly, I have no freakin’ clue who Soulja Boy is, nor do I care, he’s just represents a class of celebrity and personae proving my point.

Check out a snippet of Soulja Boy and you’ll get my drift:

Courtesy of MTV Cribs.
First off, how freakin’ painful was that? Plenty.

And plenty sad.
What struck me about Mr. Soulja Boy was his desperate in-your-face bravado. His bling- the diamonds, the “Gucci diamonds.” The gaudiness and over the top in-your-face superiority that exemplifies most of the rappers I’ve seen. Especially the young ones.
You know that, in a few years, Soulja Boy will be on the D list alongside Spencer & Heidi Pratt, Bobbie Brown, Vanilla Ice, Terrell Owens, Screech, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mario Lopez, Tara Reid, Sanjaya, LaToya Jackson, John & Kate,  to name just a few. Maybe he’ll be lucky and join Celebrity Fit Club when the middle age paunch happens…
Mean? Yes. But one can’t help it after watching this idiot in action.

Side note: Yessss, I do watch a lot of questionable TV, mostly when I’m working on a blog post or for Inquisix. I usually am laughing my ass off, but I like to think it keeps me grounded.
“Act Like You’ve Been There Before”
So back to the real topic. The hubby once told me the story about Barry Sanders. Sanders, a prolific running back for the Detroit Tigers (an understatement) his after touch down ritual didn’t include dancing, whipping out a Sharpie to sign the ball and throw it up to the stands or dancing (uhh T.O.?) After scoring, he would just toss the ball to the Ref and run back.

Why?

He once said in an interview, when he first started he was pulled aside by one of his coaches after he ended a particularly brilliant catch with some in-your-face celebratory antics.  He was told to “act like you’ve been there before.” Bravado spoke rookie. When you’re superior, a touchdown is just that. A touchdown.

Originally attributed to Darrel K. Royal, the winningest coach at University of Texas Longhorn, I like to think it as truly sage advice that translates to all facets of life.  To act “like you’ve been there before” means to class up and move with scary confidence. Play it cool. It’s impressive when you meet someone who REALLY embodies this, it’s just a level of confidence that has been reinforced year over year by success.  They don’t need the trappings — a Maserati or a diamond-encrusted mouth “grill” –to show they’re important — they embody it in their demeanor and actions.  The multi-millionaire who drives himself to work and occasionally answers the phone himself. The film star who shows up consistently on time, ready to work and treats everyone with respect. The star athlete does charity work as much as he can, all without fanfare.

Now for the rest of us that are in the “fake it until you make it” category. The feint of “act like you’ve been there before” is sound advice. When success does bless us with it’s presence, it is exactly the time to play it cool. Inside you maybe go “Oh HELLL YEAH!” but channel your inner Barry Sanders for your outer demeanor. Act like you’ve been there before. They say dress for the job you want, I say act like you’re already there.

Sure there are times for celebrating: you made your first million, first billion, saved someone’s life, found the cure for cancer, after the birth of your first born (and second, and third…,) or just safely crash-landed an entire jet plane of people in the Hudson.

Until then, just play it cool.

play it cool


4 Responses to “Act Like You’ve Been There Before”

  1. Iris Holt says:
    October 11, 2009 at 11:59 PM

    I just saw your blog. I can’t agree more with your post. It’s so important to look and act cool when you go into an unfamiliar situation (doesn’t matter if it’s business or personal). But I think you need to do your homework and get all the information you can about that situation in advance. Otherwise you may make a fool of yourself (I have done it few times myself).

  2. betsy says:
    October 12, 2009 at 12:14 AM

    Agreed. Part of playing it cool or “acting like you’ve been there before is” to see the endeavor as a journey. Not a dash. Bravado only goes so far, as does raw talent. Those who in it long-term don’t just run into a situation without first doing the due diligence.

    I think we’ve all been the fool at least once. Or twice. Or thrice.

  3. Liz says:
    October 12, 2009 at 11:44 AM

    Cool is as cool does, indeed. Over-the-top always suggests trying too hard. I relearn this lesson when I see people like Mistah in the video, and then remember to re-incorporate that into my own videos, I mean, routine.

  4. WaltO says:
    August 8, 2010 at 5:17 AM

    After landing the plane in the Hudson River that is exactly how Capt. Scully reacted.

    As if he had done it before and it was no big deal. That is being cool…

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