Taming a lion is a metaphor. It means approaching someone intimidating, powerful and using your wits and learned strategies to disarm the beast. In relation to business, you can say that people tame lions when they want to tackle a snarling boss. In my case, some people thought they tamed the lion. But in actual fact, the lion was acting in pretense all the while, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce on those who schemed behind. I’m not a tool for leverage and I will never allow for that to happen. I’m a true strategist.

Lion in Pretense
In the world of business, everyone wants to be better than their competitors. There is nothing wrong to be competitive. In fact competition is good if it’s healthy. Its only when you want an unfair advantage, you scheme and end up doing all the wrong things and that is a sign of weakness. When you want to compete with someone, do not use cheap shots. Only cowards do that. Sometimes, I act in pretense so that I can find out what peoples’ true intentions are. This will be a good thing if the intention formed is to draw a win-win situation for both parties, but if it is otherwise, I will act on it. If I don’t do so, I will end up becoming the provider who provides and all they will do is just take and continue taking without giving back anything in return. I’m a logical man. I can give freely or give without any expectations but after awhile if there is no appreciation from the receiver, then it gets tiring and you will soon suffer a burn out. Before all that happens it’s best to just walk away. These people only know how to squeeze you dry for everything and still expect you to sway to their tune. All you have to do is to just walk away. In a matter of time they are going to label you as an A**hole for doing that. Well, eventually this is what will happen when you don’t value the A**hole.

Let me tell you a story, told to me by my mentor Mark Phooi.​

Body Parts
One day, all the different parts of the body were having a heated argument among themselves, debating, who is the most important.  The eyes said, “Hey I’m the most important body part. Without me you can’t see anything”. The nose was quick to reply, “Yes but without me, you cannot breathe or smell anything. Therefore I am more important than you.” Then the mouth yelled “Hey without me you can’t eat, breathe or taste anything and eventually if I shut up all of you will die of starvation”. Amidst this commotion the A**hole interrupted and voiced out saying that he was as important as everyone else. All of them immediately stopped arguing and burst out laughing. They said “Hey come on! After all you are just an A**hole. You are just full of Sh*t you know that! You are of no use to anyone! With that the A**hole replied, “Ok. We shall see.” Soon after, the A**hole stopped working. Days passed, the waste could not be cleared by the body and the body began to deteriorate with all the parts of the organs started to fail and the human body died eventually.

The moral of the story?

In every organization group or family, everyone is important. Even the A**hole who everyone thinks is useless because the A**hole is always the one who gives shit and fuck everything up.  Today I have decided to take the role of the  A**hole and stop working for some people who don’t appreciate my existence.  Lesson learnt. Everyone is important including the A**hole. DON’T EVER, EVER NEGLECT THE ASSHOLE.

KD Rooban