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Nov 15Liked by Andrew Smith

"Crocs With Socks" - add that to your growing list of band names!

I guess my big Rubicon was moving to Denmark and leaving the entirety of my life in Ukraine behind at the age of 14. I mean, it wasn't quite as controversial as taking a bold life or death stand, but it obviously had a profound impact on the trajectory of the rest of my life.

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Oh yes, absolutely a Rubicon moment for you! 14 is so young to be forced to grow up like that. I guess we were all sort of dragged into the modern world against our wills.

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Caesar eventually did get killed in Rome, but later, after he had established his power, under different circumstances.

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Yeah... and in my haste to publish today, I realized I kind of glossed over the whole "comparing myself to Caesar" thing. Didn't really mean to do that, but that's what I get for rushing an idea out there.

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"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after him, the good is often interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar."

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There's nothing like a good quote to salvage a conversation! David, can you think of any times when you crossed your own Rubicon? If you are comfortable sharing, I'm all ears.

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The closest I can think of was when I got my two university degrees- there was obviously no going back from that...

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That meant you had decided on a lifetime path, right?

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Yeah- working as a historian, since my degrees were both in history.

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If Mark Zuckerberg can do it, so can Andrew Smith. 'Aut Goatfury Aut Nihil'

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Yikes! Did Zuck compare himself to Caesar?

There's actually a really good running joke about how BJJ blue belts think they know everything and are total badasses. We black belts view blue belts the same way blue belts view someone with zero training.

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Yep found you a picture. He also commissioned a Roman statue of his wife. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/mark-zuckerbergs-shirt-says-zuck-175949572.html

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Yikes. I kind of want to stop learning Latin now.

(kidding, but... whaaaaaat?!?)

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lol he cray cray. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

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I have crossed several. From a Goldwater conservative to a counterculture radical.

From that to a fundamentalist Christian.

From an environmentalist to a logger.

From a Beta bitch to an Alpha Chad (OK, slight exaggeration)

And my last Rubicon crossing, some decades ago now: when I read Atlas Shrugged.

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did you sanitize that safety pin first? like stick it in a lighter or pour some alcohol on it?

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Sure did! I was punk, but I wasn't really dumb - at least with regard to hygiene!

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Nov 15Liked by Andrew Smith

This is a thought-provoking piece. I've had a few "Rubicon" moments of my own, though maybe not as dramatic as Caesar's! It's made me reflect on the importance of those decisions.

Thanks for sharing.

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Glad to help provide a good framework for thought!

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