Slow and Steady Wins The Race – Really?

Slow and Steady  LLL copy

Many people have a fascination with speed. And the sports world is filled with all sorts of races – the ever pressing need to establish a new speed record. And I suppose the human condition has been lifted due to the ambition for fame, fortune, or success with chicks by proving how one is the “fastest man alive”. Automobiles may indeed be safer due to the many racers who died in seemingly needless crashes while attempting to prove their mettle.

Conversely, I remember as a kid being told “Slow and steady wins the race” and the example of the tortoise and the hare, etc. Sure, over-confidence and sleeping on the job before the race is done is certainly a recipe for failure. But as life has marched on, I anecdotally might observe how despite how there may be an exception where the slow and steady might succeed in some areas requiring long-term commitment, there are a myriad of instances in life where fast and daring wins the prize and slow and steady gets you dead.

Now I’m as romantic as the next fellow, perhaps even more so than the average bear. However, when I used to people-watch at a country western honky-tonk where I was employed for a good many months, I noticed many slow and steady fellows losing out with the ladies to the “fast and furious” set. The gentle easy going guys were not terribly worried about it, but (again anecdotally noted here) many a girl could be swept unto the whimsy of the night by a speedy and daring nitwit. And careful slow-moving slow-talking fellows often finished in the “alsorans”.

Ed Verner Dallas Bull Crow's nest circa 2010

Ok, what is my point? Good question. … Not sure really. But there it is… Enjoy.

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