Gambling is a vice. Or so I am told. And so I've always kept a safe distance from the sport. This weekend I found myself in Las Vegas for a friends birthday. A friend's boyfriend's birthday who is now a friend.
A weekend in Las Vegas after a week of that was full of "No's." Some polite, some not, and some couched in political correctness.
Getting on the plane to Las Vegas, there was a certain kind of heaviness in my heart. Not one where I was disappointed in myself. But one, wherein I was disappointed in the world at large. A world of social entrepreneurs and capitalists that lecture and sing hallelujah to the world about passion, a drive for out of the box thinking and a tremendous appetite for risk. But at some level, their head doesn't follow their heart.
Sitting at the roulette table. Where the odds on average for a house to take away one's money are 37 to 1, a rare moment of clarity presented itself. The world of social enterprise can be characterized as a roulette table. One where the currency is passion. And the odds, well, they are one in a million. Success here is directly tied to a calculated approach that rewards endurance and a resolve to not bankrupt oneself of passion. A belief that no matter what the odds or losses, a win is achievable.
The $200 in my pocket spoke to me. Make a big bet. A roulette table, your lack of gambling experience, and the odds against you; if you lose it's time to get on with other things and let someone else take care of "changing the world." Maybe I wanted to lose, I wanted someone to tell me that sometimes, when you're down and out, the best thing to do is give up. I almost want to, but it's fundamentally offensive to the way I am constructed as a human being.
30 minutes of play. With no knowledge of roulette. That was the plan. I watched some of my friends play. I asked questions. And finally, I put my money on the table. First 5 spins. The house took $150. I had my answer, or so I thought. Cut my losses and walk away with what I had left.
But with $50 in hand, I had a chance. I took it.
A few minutes into the game I walked away with $570. I cashed in my chips. Take that you "experience" gamblers.
What experience did Yunus, Gandhi, MLK have. Did their passion for their cause trump experience? I have my answer.
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