Introduction
I was once told that every man you meet knows instinctively whether you wish to do him harm or to help him, while every woman that you meet wants to fuck you. I'm not one to disagree with this.
I could tell when I saw you that you are a smart man. But you need help. There's no shame in saying that. Because you are in the same position as everybody else here. You want something. You need something. You just don't know how to take it. And that's not your fault, either. It's the way we're raised.
Think about it. From the time you're a kid, you've got everybody telling you to be careful. Never walk off alone. Always wash before meals. Don't put anything off the floor into your mouth. Be home before dark. We are raised to exercise caution. And that's fine. No mother wants to see her kids run out into the street and get hit by a car, no parent wants to see their kid a fuck up with no money, no life. They were scared, so they taught us to be scared. Watch your step. Think it over before you act. Why do we say these things all of the time? Because we're scared.
You can say--people do say--we need to make sure everything, every little detail is in place before we even think about doing anything. Or what? Or I'll suddenly lose everything. My car will break down. The woman I sleep with tonight will steal all my money. All because I didn't stop to think about it for an hour, maybe three.
That's bullshit. You spend too much time thinking, and you'll never get anywhere. All those chances that come along, the things that you almost have, but then bang, they're gone, all because you took a few more minutes to think. To consider. I'm not saying you can't be a little cautious. Once in a while, yes. Maybe even more often than that, depending on who you, as a person, are. But there comes a time when you have got to do it. You can spend your whole life saying, 'Yes, of course, I'm going to do that...But let me think about it first.' Yes. You can do that. But why bother? Look at--Look at me, let me tell you, you can go out there now, and you can take your chance. There's a little risk? Maybe. There's always a little risk.
Try something, I want you to try something for me. For yourself. Some time very soon, I want you to look at something, and I want you to take it. Caution? Fuck that. You won't need it. If it's a chance, I want you to forget that chance, forget that there's anything to think about, just take it. You might be surprised by what happens. You will feel that you are more of a man, that you have actually gone out and done something for yourself. You'll say to yourself, "Rick was right about this one." Of course, I'm goddamn right. When you see an opportunity, you will know it. You'll feel it. You will look at that opportunity and say, "I know what this is. This is something I want. This, I can do something with."
And what are we? You tell me, what are we? Two guys drinking. Two acquaintances having a nice, quiet drink. And I'll tell you what I see in you. What I see is a guy, a good man, who wants to take a chance. Who knows that all of this such and such about taking your time is a bunch of bullshit. So here we are. And I want to be honest with you; I've got something to share with you.
I want to show you something. I want to do you a favor. You can say "no," you can say "yes," it's up to you. You've got the right to choose, and I respect this. It happens I think this is just what you need--it's a feeling I get--but you can choose. I'm going to show you this, and I'm going to tell you about it, and when I've done that, I want to hear an answer. No thinking about it, no coming back later. This is here and now, this is me doing you--a friend--a favor, and I want to hear you tell me "yes."
I could tell when I saw you that you are a smart man. But you need help. There's no shame in saying that. Because you are in the same position as everybody else here. You want something. You need something. You just don't know how to take it. And that's not your fault, either. It's the way we're raised.
Think about it. From the time you're a kid, you've got everybody telling you to be careful. Never walk off alone. Always wash before meals. Don't put anything off the floor into your mouth. Be home before dark. We are raised to exercise caution. And that's fine. No mother wants to see her kids run out into the street and get hit by a car, no parent wants to see their kid a fuck up with no money, no life. They were scared, so they taught us to be scared. Watch your step. Think it over before you act. Why do we say these things all of the time? Because we're scared.
You can say--people do say--we need to make sure everything, every little detail is in place before we even think about doing anything. Or what? Or I'll suddenly lose everything. My car will break down. The woman I sleep with tonight will steal all my money. All because I didn't stop to think about it for an hour, maybe three.
That's bullshit. You spend too much time thinking, and you'll never get anywhere. All those chances that come along, the things that you almost have, but then bang, they're gone, all because you took a few more minutes to think. To consider. I'm not saying you can't be a little cautious. Once in a while, yes. Maybe even more often than that, depending on who you, as a person, are. But there comes a time when you have got to do it. You can spend your whole life saying, 'Yes, of course, I'm going to do that...But let me think about it first.' Yes. You can do that. But why bother? Look at--Look at me, let me tell you, you can go out there now, and you can take your chance. There's a little risk? Maybe. There's always a little risk.
Try something, I want you to try something for me. For yourself. Some time very soon, I want you to look at something, and I want you to take it. Caution? Fuck that. You won't need it. If it's a chance, I want you to forget that chance, forget that there's anything to think about, just take it. You might be surprised by what happens. You will feel that you are more of a man, that you have actually gone out and done something for yourself. You'll say to yourself, "Rick was right about this one." Of course, I'm goddamn right. When you see an opportunity, you will know it. You'll feel it. You will look at that opportunity and say, "I know what this is. This is something I want. This, I can do something with."
And what are we? You tell me, what are we? Two guys drinking. Two acquaintances having a nice, quiet drink. And I'll tell you what I see in you. What I see is a guy, a good man, who wants to take a chance. Who knows that all of this such and such about taking your time is a bunch of bullshit. So here we are. And I want to be honest with you; I've got something to share with you.
I want to show you something. I want to do you a favor. You can say "no," you can say "yes," it's up to you. You've got the right to choose, and I respect this. It happens I think this is just what you need--it's a feeling I get--but you can choose. I'm going to show you this, and I'm going to tell you about it, and when I've done that, I want to hear an answer. No thinking about it, no coming back later. This is here and now, this is me doing you--a friend--a favor, and I want to hear you tell me "yes."