My favorite movie of all time is Carlito’s Way. I think everyone that really knows me knows that. If I’m around, that film isn’t too far away. I like the movie for a bunch of reasons but mainly because I always felt that minus some of the Hollywood exaggerations, my life kind of mirrors Al Pacino’s character in so many ways. Also because of all the great quotes the movie provided. The best one in my opinion:

“If you can’t see the angles no more, you’re in trouble”. Carlito says this as he was playing pool with a bunch of young hustlers who he sensed were about to try and kill him. He saw the angles they were coming from and was able to take a proactive approach out of that situation.

About a month ago I suffered a devastating loss at the Skc Pool Tournament. My very own best friend, who is like a brother to me, beat me and stopped my run to get the championship trophy. I honestly still think about it everyday. Not that I lost, but how I lost. I was playing great. I had a comfortable lead and just had to sink the 8-ball to win. It was hanging in the corner pocket which meant I had to just hit it from the right angle so the 8-ball drops while the cue ball stays on the table; a fairly easy shot to make as long as you realize the situation you’re in. I got distracted temporarily, rushed my shot, and the 8-ball dropped, then the cue ball dropped. In pool that’s called a “scratch”. A scratch on the final shot means you lose.

I didn’t lose because my friend played a better game. I didn’t lose because I’m a bad pool player. I didn’t lose for any reason other than the fact that I lost sight of the angles. Life can be easy or difficult depending on how well you play the angles. A guy like me tends to ignore the angles sometimes and just do what I please. That approach is fine as long as you know the angles are there; that way you can at least fix things before they spiral out of control. Trouble sets in when you don’t even observe the angles; don’t even know they exist. That’s when you begin to rush decisions and make terrible judgement calls. You start to “scratch”. In life, just like in pool, a scratch can prove deadly.

I think I’ve been losing sight of angles a lot recently. Not consciously either. Time to fix that. And just like with pool, the only way to notice the angles is to eliminate any and all distractions.

Be careful and pay attention to the angles.