JM #6 — “The Rigged Board Theory”
There’s a moment when you realize something uncomfortable.
The board isn’t level.
It never was.
Legal money grows slow. Illegal money grows fast. Punishment scales harder for the poor. Forgiveness scales easier for the connected.
That’s not bitterness.
That’s observation.
And once you see it, you have two impulses.
Swing at it.
Or pretend it’s fair.
Both feel powerful in the moment.
Both are expensive long-term.
Here’s the part FromSoftware teaches better than most institutions:
You don’t rage at the boss during the invincible phase.
You study the pattern.
You learn timing. Spacing. Resource management.
You die. You adjust. You return calmer.
The system is not fair.
But it is predictable.
And predictability is exploitable—legally.
You don’t win by flipping the board.
You win by staying on it longer than the impatient.
Swing at it? It has paperwork, prisons, and compound interest.
Worship it? It drains you quietly.
Use it? Now we’re talking.
Boring income. Clean record. Low noise. Stacked options.
That’s not rebellion.
That’s endurance.
If the game is rigged, then mastery isn’t rage.
It’s discipline.
Not because it’s noble.
Because it works.
— End JM #6