Hijack

The devil is not always in the details. It’s in the pattern.

I come from an infamous line of hijackers on both sides of the family. I was informed early that opportunity did not regularly knock – you had to make an effort to find it, knock it out, and take advantage for yourself, literally. On the Carreras side, the family was from Spain, and in Spanish, I was informed there was a term –Aprovacharse – to take advantage. This was virtually the family motto. Not to take advantage of others, but to turn any opportunity to the advantage of the family. You worked hard to produce the results you desired.

It’s why I grew up in a house with books, and people continuously reading them. Thanks to the Depression and family circumstances, neither of my parents completed high school. They didn’t let that stop them. If a good opportunity for advancement opened for my parents, it was not a random event.

The Library

My father went to sea at about seventeen to help support his ill father and mother. winding up in the engine room, he discovered a mechanical ability and interest that he continued to expand all his life. His personal library was heavily focused on that. My mother was an organizational maven who worked at first in Marine underwriting and then in medical records. Her personal library was much more diverse than my father’s.

Among the first places I was taken as soon as I could walk was the local branch of the New York Public Library. What wasn’t at home could be found there, and soon I was a regular visitor.

The Next Steps

So that was the environment in which I grew up. When the New York City Schools decided to shed me as an incorrigible, I took it as an opportunity, rather than a smear. That was late in 1964. By May of 1975, I was graduating cum laude from Boston University. I did have a few opportunities open for me, but that was because I had worked hard for them.

No, I never became a mega-billionaire. And that goal in life is not what I’m particularly talking about. It’s important to make something of yourself. What depends on you, your drive, and your ambitions. That’s why at the outset I talked about hijacking. Hijacking is taking something, analysing its potential worth to your goals, and using it as a stepping stone. Education, general and specific, is the best thing to take hijack, followed by occupational opportunities. You then apply leverage to obtain your goal.

In Judo, the Japanese martial art, the goal is to use your opponent’s strength against them to your benefit. Think of a Judo throw as the symbol for hijacking.

Remember – The devil is not always in the details. It’s in the pattern.