Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast - #570: Color Talk - Blue Speaks

Episode Date: September 7, 2018

I turn over my podcast to the color blue, which explains in its own words what it believes. This is part two of my five-part series "Color Talk."

I'm pulling out of the parking lot. We all know what that means. It's time for the drive to work. I dropped my son off at camp again. Okay, so we're in the middle of a series. I did, last time I did, I'm having each of the colors speak in their own words to explain what they care about and the relationship with the other colors. So last time we did white, so we're going in Wooburg order, so this time it is blue. So without further ado, please blue, take it away. Hello everyone, I am blue. So let me start by explaining sort of what I consider to be the most important thing.

I feel like you have one life to live and and really the point is, what can you accomplish? What are you able to do? And one of the things that I firmly believe is, I believe that you were born a blank slate. That you are born with potential to be anything, to do anything. really, it's a matter of knowledge, you know, of various education, of training, of experience, of access to tools.

You know, your potential is limitless. And it's just a matter of what things can you do. And really, to me, the whole point of life is to find your potential, is to figure out what you are capable of. And as such, look, I really value all the things that help you reach your potential. Probably the most important is knowledge. Because a lot of the ability to do things stems from just understanding them and knowing things, That knowledge is super

potent. But it's not just knowledge. I'm also a big believer in technology and tools. I'm a big believer in education. I'm a big believer in experience. That a lot of getting good at something is doing something. And so really what I believe is, look, you got one life to live. You should be able to maximize what you are. And ultimately, each person needs to find with themselves what their potential is. And that's really all I want out of life, is that people have the ability to find their own potential. Now, I know a lot of people sort of see me as being a little bit of stick in

the mud and that, you know, like when you only have one opportunity to do something, you want to do it right. So one of the things that I believe firmly in is there's no reason to rush decisions. Like you want to think things through, you know. Every time you make a decision, think about it. You know, like I'm a big believer look I believe not just in the power of knowledge but in the power of thinking in the power of

of using your brain to sort of of your intellect to walk through things because a lot of times there are problems you can avoid if you just think them through oh I want to do thing X

well if I do thing X what would happen and you can sort of think just think them through. Oh, I want to do thing X. Well, if I do thing X, what would happen? And you can sort of think through what's going to thing. And all I really want is, I'm big on caution. Like I said, you have one opportunity to do something. You have one life to live. Well, I want you to do it best. I want you to take the opportunity to do what you want. And that a lot of the way I think about things is I think about, you know,

I want to sort of take things slow and steady. There's no need to rush. You know, I mean, I think one of the biggest dangers in life is making decisions before you think through the ramifications of those decisions. I mean, we'll get to that in a second. But, you know, of those decisions. I mean, we'll get to that in a second, but, you know, you have one life to live, so the last thing you want to do

is just, you know, upset things because you just didn't bother to take the time to think through what you're doing. And in general, my idea is,

first, you want to learn about the world because you want to learn what opportunities even exist. Then, you want to go get the training and the education you need so you can start pushing yourself in the direction that you feel is your best potential. Also, I want you to learn about technology and get access to tools. And I want you to get all the things that will train you and enable you to be the best that you can be.

And like I said, the underpinning of all that is a good education and learning things. So I'm very, very big on learning, on education, on understanding. And as such, I'm big on the intellect because I want you to be able to use the tools given to you to be able to succeed. Now, some people say, oh, well, what about physical stuff? I'm all for, I mean, people tend to think of me as being very mental and don't realize that I also have a physical component. I want you to be physically as, you know, I want perfection at every level. I'm big on exercise.

I'm big on, you know, learning that, like that you should figure out what you need to do, whatever things you can do that will strengthen you. I'm big on healthy eating. I'm big on all forms of different exercise. I want to think ahead to what makes you the best you. And that's not just intellect. Intellect's important. I want you to, you know, learn and, you know, I want you to develop your brain the best you can. But I also want you to develop your body. And I think sometimes people think, they pigeonhole me a little too much just in, I'm a thinker. Now, I am a thinker. Thinking is important. But that doesn't mean you don't want to perfect all different components of who you are. And that includes the physicality. You know, I'm not, I think you want to have an exercise routine. I think you want to, you know, I think you want to figure out what you need to do to perfect every aspect of you.

And that, the physical stuff comes along. I know people really dwell on the mental stuff of me, but I also am very big on the physical stuff. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about sort of how I interact with the physical stuff. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about sort of how I interact with the other colors. And in doing so, maybe I can give a little better, I mean, I know kind of the negative is I'm sort of, I'm uptight and I'm, you know, I don't, I'm not willing to let my hair down and have fun. And that I'm, you know, that

I'm a little too pensive. I think it's sort of the viewpoint of blue. I can have fun. I can do things. I just, every step I want has to be working towards something. That's all. I don't want to have fun at the expense of setting myself back. I don't want to have fun and like ruin opportunities or cut off opportunities.

I can have fun and there's things I enjoy doing. And one of the things I'm big on is you can have fun while learning as well. For example, I'm really big on puzzles. I love puzzles. Puzzles are a lot of fun because they're entertainment

but they also teach you about something. You're learning about, you're sharpening your mental skills, which are important. And that, the same, for example, even with physical. Like, one of the reasons that I do enjoy certain sports is that I like the idea of sharpening your physical instrument. I just believe that the things you do for fun can double up as things that help you. There's no reason you need to do things that either are even neutral necessarily or detrimental where you're going to do something where you're going to harm

yourself or get an injury or do something that's going to set you back. Like I want you always sort of thinking ahead and that, look there's nothing wrong with being very careful with thinking through why you do what you do. This idea that, you know, I'm not willing to be, I'm not spontaneous enough, and I'm not willing to, at the drop of a hat, do something without any forethought to why I would do it.

You know, that is dangerous behavior, and that is behavior that can lead to you doing things. Like, the last thing I want is you spend all this time and energy doing all the things you need and then you lose opportunities just because of carelessness. And so that's my big thing. It's not that you can't have fun. It's not that you can't have physicalness. It's just you need to sort of always be aware of what you're doing and look for opportunities that while you're having fun, while you're doing those things, that you're also learning in the meantime. There's no reason you can't both have fun and learn.

Okay, so let's talk about the other cowers. So I'll start with white. The thing I really like about white is white is very much detail-oriented. That white also wants to think through things. I appreciate that. And that white really wants to sort of, I mean, white's agenda is a little different than my agenda. White is very, very big in optimizing the group. And I'm not against that. I think that's important. Like part of being the best that you can be is optimizing the world around you. Like, you know, part of being your best is not just self-work, it's work on the environment

that you're in. And so a lot of what White is talking about, I very much agree, big on civilization, big on society, you know, and I do see a lot of the structure that White's so fond of, there's a lot of good that can come from that. Um, that part of the way to sort of get the society to be the best they can be sometimes is not everybody necessarily has the discipline that they need. And so I, I get what white's going for. And I think sometimes that, you know, to get people the education they need is you kind

of got to force the education on them structurally in some ways. Because some people don't have that discipline. I get that. Where white and I differ from each other is white is so focused on the group. And while I'm not anti-group, there's a lot of work that needs to be done on you, the individual. And probably the biggest place we separate is that sometimes white wants you to forsake

your own potential for the potential of the group. And that's not really... I think it's important that you develop your own potential in addition to developing the potential of the group. Now, the interesting thing is black, in my mind, is the exact opposite of white. Black is very much about the potential of the group. Now, the interesting thing is black, in my mind, is the exact opposite of white. Black is very much about the potential of the individual.

Black very much wants you to be the best that you can be. Now, black doesn't care at all about the group. And one of my issues there with black is, like, I like the fact that black really has a focus

and really is willing to have the dedication to do what it takes to be the best that you can be. Black pushes a little more into that space than I do. I think black takes risks that I wouldn't take and that black occasionally does things that will harm others. And I feel that you can find perfection in yourself, not necessarily at the harm of others. I'm not saying that you never put yourself before others. It happens.

But that's not something that you... Black's a little more willing to do that than I am. I believe there's a point in time where, okay, for your potential, you know, you have to take it at the sake of another person. I know that occasionally happens, but that's a last resort. That's not something that I look to do. I know that occasionally happens, but that's a last resort. That's not something that I look to do. But the interesting thing is black is very focused on sort of being the best individual that you can be. And white is very focused on being the best group that you can be.

And I appreciate both those things. I mean, my big thing is it's the combination to me that matters. Yes, I like that white really looks out for the group and is always prioritizing the group. And yes, I like that black is very self-focused and really wants to make sure that you can have all access to the things you need. There's just a balance there. I believe that to be the best that you can be, it can't just be focused on the individual and it can't just be focused on the group. There's a combination there. And that what I find is that white and black, while each one of them really understands their aspect of it, they're a little more focused

on the ends. And black really just wants to make you better and white really wants to make the group better and neither is interested in the other thing. And to me, it's that balance that I appreciate. It's the idea of looking within and looking without, perfecting within and perfecting without. That's the part where I sort of, I bond with white and black. And they definitely, like, when white and I get together, we are good at making systems. We are good.

You know, if we want to make a perfect system and make a society where things are run the way they need to be run, man, we're good at that. That's something we really excel at. Meanwhile, if we want to maximize the possibilities of what you're capable of, wow, when Blue and Black and I get together. I mean, we really have the ability to take it to the next level.

And one of the things that Black also understands is the importance of the mind and the power of the mind like a lot of times when I'm fighting one of the things I believe is in fighting smart in that, look, I'm while I'm doing what I can to perfect myself my ultimate weapon is my brain I'm not saying I'm antibody or anything but my ultimate weapon is my brain. I'm not saying I'm antibody or anything, but my ultimate weapon is my brain.

And that is true of my opponent, that a lot of times you can win a fight, you can be in a weaker position, yet win a fight because mentally you're in a better position, and that you can think through what's going on. And a lot of winning fights is understanding that and taking advantage of things. a lot of winning fights is understanding that and taking advantage of things. Like I said, Black realizes the potential the mind has and what it is capable of doing. And I appreciate that. Black is, like I said, my biggest issue with Black is,

besides the fact that they really don't understand why you'd want to improve the group, they're just willing to take risks and do things that, and I know in Black's mind, they are calculated. He's not written or anything, but Black is just willing to accept some stuff that I'm not willing to accept. You know, I do buy into White's sense that there is some sense of morality, that there are some things that you shouldn't be doing. I know black really doesn't believe in that, but I do. I mean, I do believe that there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. And even though there are gains that can be made by crossing certain lines, I feel that you as a person give up more than you take in. I feel that you as a person give up more than you take in. And that if I, for example, have to harm another to get what I want,

I mean, there's times and reasons you will do that. I'm not saying that you won't. But if you do it prematurely and you do it before you look through other options, it really can affect you and change you. And then that in itself might keep you from being the best that you can be. I'm very cognizant of... Oh, another thing people get me is that I'm emotionless. I'm not emotionless. My issue is I think that you just need to have a handle on your emotions.

You have emotions. I'm not anti-emotions. I'm not saying you can't be happy or sad or something, but you shouldn't allow those emotions to let you be irrational. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm angry. I want to hit somebody, but that doesn't, what are the ramifications of hitting somebody? You know what I'm saying? You have to think that through. You can't just act on impulse.

So that, so we, we'll get into my, my entities in a second here. So I'm a big believer of, of being careful, of being thoughtful, of working through, of thinking ahead, of taking the time and energy to make sure that what you're doing is carefully thought out. So let's talk red. So my problem with red is red seems to embrace this concept

that not thinking is somehow empowering. Like it's self-empowering. Like somehow you're a better person because you didn't take the time to think things through. And I get that red is impulsive and I get that red, but somehow red likes to glorify impulse. As if some fleeting moment you have for two seconds is more important than carefully thought out plans that you've spent days or weeks or months or years on, you know, and that all I'm saying is, look, thoughts are something that you spend energy and work on and work your way through, where impulses are just random chemical firings in your brain and that being impulsive

can cause all sorts of problems to you. And as I said, you have one life to live. You have one chance to do this correct. And that the idea that you can just on a whim for whatever base impulse mess something up

that you spent years and years working on or you may cut off avenues that might be the ultimate, the path to your potential. The idea that you might give that all up for random fleeting thought, you know, fleeting feelings. I mean, I'm not anti-emotion. I think emotions play an important role. I spend a lot of time and energy understanding my emotions, understanding other people's emotions.

I'm really big in psychology. I want to understand why people tick, why I tick. I want to understand myself. But I want to make sure that I see through the lens of not doing things that jeopardizes my long-term health or my long-term potential. Green. So green's big issue is, like I said, I believe you're born on a blank slate. I believe that you have the potential to be whatever you want.

Green just literally doesn't believe that. You know, Green believes that you are the nature of your genes, that you are what you were born to be. And that is so limiting. Like the idea that I was, you know, born to a farmer so I must farm. Or I was born, you know, my parents run the general store so I must run a store. Or my, you know, whatever it is.

Like, just because I was born in an environment doesn't mean I don't have the potential to go somewhere else. Like, yeah, maybe I was born a farmer's child, but maybe I'm the best dancer the world's ever seen. Or maybe I'm an amazing scientist. There's all sorts of things I can be. Why am I limited by just random choices that I had nothing to do with? by just random choices that I had nothing to do with. And green really, I mean, that's my big issue with green is green just wants to cut off opportunity.

Green is kind of like you are what you are and well, then I guess you can't be anything else. You know? And my point, by the way, is I'm not saying that part of what I want you to do is I want you to explore your options. I want you to say, okay, what could I be? I mean, green almost flies in the, like, get some education, explore other things.

You know, you are not, this idea that you're the victim of your genes, that what your genes are just dictate everything about you and that you can't learn other things or find new tools or do things that change that path. That is so limiting. And I mean, I get, for example, that I come across at times as being cold, that I come across as being a little distant. And that's not because I don't care. That's not because I don't have this idea that I can't have passion or that I can't.

Like, I care about things. I deeply care about things. You know, I just want to make sure that the things I'm doing and the choices I make are vetted. You know, I want to examine what I'm doing. That doesn't mean I'm not excited about things. That doesn't mean I don't love things. This idea that somehow Red has this monopoly on passion and on feeling, the difference between Red and I is not that I don't care about things,

that I don't love things, that I don't have things that have deep meaning to me. That's not what's going on. Now, will I on a moment, will I go, will I like this thing so forget anything else in my life and just randomly do things in the drop of a hat? No. But passion doesn't just have to be recklessness.

I know red lights create this illusion of somehow, like, there's this great ideal of just living your life in the moment. But that's just, like, carelessness. You know, and my big issue with Red really is that Red prioritizes the wrong things. You know, I'm not anti-emotion. I'm not anti-fun, but I am, even those items can be done with care, you know, and that, I think a lot of the stuff, like, I mean, so another thing is people tend to see me as tricky. And really what tricky means, here's what tricky means. This is why I think people see me as tricky.

I think things through where other people don't think things through. That I am, you know, if I'm going to plan something, I want to have all the, you know, I want to figure out what might happen. I want to figure out so that I can build in contingency plans. And no matter what happens, I've already thought through, you know, like the idea is one of my big beliefs is you don't win the fight in the fight. You win the fight in the preparation. The part of winning a fight is knowing ahead of time what your options are and what the parameters are. So when things don't go your way, you have the opportunity to have backup plans, to have alternative ways to handle things. the idea of,

the idea that, you know, I mean, another reason why I think I've thought of this as being sneaky is that one of the things I figured out is if you're going to get in a fight, you want to understand all the variants. How can I win? What are the routes to victory?

And that one of the things I think when you're short-sighted is you pick one route to victory and you spend all your energy getting to that route. I mean, that is red in a nutshell. Red's like I want to do thing X and I will just pour every amount of energy into thing X. And then red, if red's at all off or all wrong, you know, they could spend all this time and energy accomplishing something only realize that wasn't really the point or that wasn't the easiest route to victory.

Like, one of the things for me is, I want to figure out if I'm going to win, look, let's plan ahead. What is the easiest way for me to win? Maybe there's five ways for me to do something, and a couple of them, yeah, maybe if I pour all my energy in, I could win, but then I will be spent, and that if something happens I don't anticipate, I'll be in trouble. Where if I manage to take some, you know, one of the reasons that, and Black Shirt is with me, is the idea that, look, if you're having a fight with somebody, with a wizard, a magical fight,

the mental component of that fight is a big part of what's going on. Like, the way my opponent will beat me is by casting spells to defeat me. Well, if I understand their spells as well as they do, if I know what they can do, and I'm able to either stop it from happening, or make it happen in a way that's not quite what they anticipate, well, that's a way for me to win the fight. That's not me cheating or anything.

You know, that if people are going to use magic, I'm allowed to use my magic to interact with their magic. And, you know, something like counter spells is just thinking ahead. It's just proper planning. Anybody, like, that magic is available to the people who are doing the prep work. And the problem is most colors just don't do the prep work. They're like, I'd rather just cast my spells. And I'm like, well, a lot of the time, whether you win or not, is not about whether or not you cast your spells.

It's about whether or not they cast their spells. And like I said, the reason I fight a little bit differently in a magical duel is that I approach the problem different than other people, other colors. And then I think a lot of people they somehow think like I'm cheating or I'm doing something I'm not supposed to do. And I'm like, look, if the rules allow something,

you know, I'm allowed to exploit whatever rule that works within the system. Now, black is willing to skirt the rules a little bit. I like to stay within the rules. I'm not trying to skirt the rules a little bit. You know, I like to stay within the rules. I'm not trying to break the rules. But I will exploit systems that allow me to exploit them. That if a system has a weakness built into it that I can understand, I will take advantage of that. There's nothing wrong with that.

You know, I mean, I think, I know white, for example, sometimes feels that there's some sort of moralistic sense to a battle. And I, well, I believe in the overall sense of morality. I believe in a battle that you do what you need to do to win the battle. And that, I think there are things that other colors might, I mean, black will go farther than I will go, obviously. I'm not, I'm not trying to kill anybody, but part of winning the battle is being able to take the steps you need

to think about the battle in a different way. Other things, by the way, is I definitely have an elemental side. I like air. I like water. I like fluid things. I like air. I like water. I like fluid things. I like things that represent sort of a clear mental state.

I find fire being a little too destructive. I find earth to be a little too, I don't know, sedentary. I mean, not really doing much of anything. Where both air and water are very movable and very flexible. That's another big thing that I believe is part of winning a fight is having the flexibility to do what you need to do.

And to get that flexibility, I'm just big on, look, you do your prep work, you do your advanced work, and that helps you get what you need to do. So anything else? I'm not too far away from the from, uh, the end of this drive. Um, hopefully what I want you to understand today is, um, that a lot of when people criticize me, um, they, they do one of a couple of things. Either they try to portray me as like a robot, uh, is not having emotions or not caring. None of that is true. There's people I care about.

There's things I care about. You know, in fact, one of my big issues is making sure that the people I care about are taken care of, that I'm thinking through what I'm doing so that I can keep them in mind. You know, when I have partners in a combat, I'm thinking about not just my game, but their game and how we can work together in a way that will help us win. Um, so I mean,

I'm not a robot. I'm not emotionless. I'm not uncaring. Um, but on the other side is I don't let my emotions dictate my actions. I don't let my emotions get to such a level that it, like, the last thing I want to do is make a decision not based on the evidence at hand. You know? And I, look, I understand that emotions can get very strong. And so I just want to handle them with care so that I'm not making a poor decision because I'm letting my emotion get the better of me. So am I in check with my emotions? Yes. That doesn't mean I don't feel them.

That doesn't mean I don't have them. The other thing that people tend to do is they want to sort of paint me as if I'm sneaky in some sort of negative way. I'm not really sneaky per se as much as I'm willing to use the resources available to do what I need to do. And a big part of that is saying, we're in a magical duel.

It's magic. I'm going to understand magic. I'm going to learn about magic. I'm going to use my knowledge of how magic works to counter spells, to redirect spells, to copy spells.

I'm going to use my knowledge of magic to win. Because that's the whole goal here when you have a duel is to win the duel. So there's nothing wrong with having the prep, having the experience, having the knowledge, having the tools to do what I need to do. And I think other people sort of begrudge that I do that. That, you know, one of the things I find funny is, you know, a lot of people see me as a bookworm. Like I'm constantly studying. And I'm like, yeah, I'm constantly studying. I'm learning. I'm getting better.

Like you can waste your time. You can take your time doing whatever. I'm going to spend my time improving myself. That is what I do. I am constantly improving myself. Doesn't mean I can't have fun. Doesn't mean I can't have fun. Doesn't mean I can't look out for other people. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself.

But it does mean that I'm not going to make a mistake because I wasn't careful. I'm careful, okay? Yes, I'm careful. I think through things I do. I try to make sure that I'm not overly impulsive. You know, I mean, I take steps to make sure that I'm doing what is right by me because once again, we have one life to live, you have one chance to get it right

and that the idea of perfection and I should also stress, it is not that there's an end state to perfection perfection is a mind state, the idea being that you can always be better and that you always can improve. And what that means is you're always open to the opportunity to learn new things, to find new things, to keep improving yourself. And look, that is my big thing.

My big thing is I want to improve myself. I want to be the best that I can be. And other people want to paint me in a non-flattering light because they'll take some aspect and blow it up as if, you know, as if it's portraying me as something that I'm not. I'm not a robot. I'm not a monster. I'm not emotionless.

I'm not unwilling to have fun. You know, I'm just, I'm careful. And I'm not going to have fun. I'm just careful. And I'm not going to apologize for being careful. I think being careful is a pretty good way to live your life. To make sure that you are thinking through and doing what you need to do. Because in the end, I'm the color that gets what it wants because it spends the most time and energy to getting it. To making sure that I'm going to be the best that I can be because I spend the color that gets what it wants because it spends the most time and energy to getting it, to making sure, you know, that I'm going to be the best that I can be

because I spend the time doing that. And that, you know, I get that other colors, and like I said, I'm sure other colors are going to be interviewed and they're going to do their perspective of how, you know, they're going to try to paint me in some light as if somehow I'm something other than what I am, which is someone just trying to be the best that they can be. And you can demonize that

or you can portray that however you want. But my modus up here, you know what I'm saying, if you look at what I do and how I function, I am just trying to be the best that I can be. And I make no apologies for that. Because that, I think, is what life is all about.

So anyway, I'll hand this back over to Mark. Well, thanks, Blue. That was a lot of fun. Hope you guys are enjoying this. Obviously, up next will be black, then red, then green. But anyway, we're now at work. So I guess that means it's the end of Drive to Work. So instead of talking magic, it's

time for me to be making magic. I'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye.