Limitless Monday: Going Out With A Bang Or A Whimper

Limitless Monday- Going out with a bang or a whimper

I was watching a film at the weekend called The Butcher. I don’t recommend it. However, despite the movie being well below par, it provided me with some food for thought. In one scene, the main character enters a pawn store to retrieve his two gold plated revolvers. The store owner announces to The Butcher, “I have a feeling I won’t be seeing you again. I think you plan to go out with a bang.”. The hero exits the store smiling mischievously before shooting his first deserving victim.

That one line got me thinking… would I favor going out with a bang or a whimper?

A business partner once told me that if our new business venture was to fail he would prefer it be a spectacular failure, equivalent to driving a car at a brick wall at 100 mph.

While all this talk of going out with a bang and crashing and burning sounds glamorous, the stuff of movies, I am not totally sure if this is the right approach.

Going out with a whimper doesn’t sound too attractive either, but let’s delve a little deeper.

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I have had a few businesses that have crashed and burned in a big way over the years, and I can honestly say driving a proverbial car at 100 mph at a solid brick built object is not big nor clever!

You also don’t need to look very far for the fall outs from well publicized business failures. Most result in the founders’ life being turned upside down in the aftermath as they battle legal, financial, and relationship woes for years.

As well as a few spectacular business failures I was also close to going out with a bang myself, not by choice, however.

When my business collapsed I was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. This was as close to going out with a bang as I would like to ever get.

However, I am glad and fortunate that I got to live to fight another day. Going out with a bang usually means leaving the stage prematurely or falling off the front of the stage in full view of the audience.

What the anti hero forgets is the pain and suffering he leaves behind. If he had taken another route, perhaps he would not have grabbed the entire loot but a few generous bags of cash. They don’t say leave your ego at the door for nothing. It’s the ego that insists on making these bold statements and finds the need to follow through with ill judged action. Statements and actions that grab attention. But a bullet in the head, a prison sentence, or a grand suicide is not a monumental statement. As soon as the deed is done, everyone says, “what a waste of a life”. The ones left behind think, “selfish prick”.

Going out in style or otherwise is not an option.

When the money or freedom or both are gone, it’s your loved ones who you think about the most. It’s them you ask for forgiveness from. It’s those closest to us who we take for granted until it’s too late. Going out with a bang is a poke in the eye for the ones who care most about us.

Forget about going out with a bang, I plan to finish every day with a bang!

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: Lego bang. Image Credit – Nik

Harry Maximillian

Harry is an author, coach, entrepreneur, comedian and a convicted felon. Harry was sent to prison for a financial crime where he spent five long years. Prison allowed Harry to realize the error of his ways. He decided to use his time productively and mobilize his extraordinary determination, dedication, drive, motivation and desire to focus on writing and the art of self-improvement. Before Harry’s enforced vacation he was one of the most prolific deal makers in the City of London.