The Bond Brain - Goldfinger

Bond has just enjoyed getting into “training” with Jill Masterson—an Iron Horse ride from Miami to New York, paid for courtesy of Auric Goldfinger. On dropping off Jill at Pennsylvania Station, Bond reflects “Some love is fire, some love is rust, but the finest cleanest love is lust.”

That should give us pause. We are bombarded with fantasies about love and romance from the time we can understand the terms. (Assuming anybody ever understands the terms). But if we think about our past relationships, be they one night stands or long term endeavors, let us not give lust the short shrift. It is a key element in any romantic relationship that still deserves to be called romantic.

Lust is an old built in for the brain. It preceded our concepts of love and romance, and it is the real fuel behind the lovesick fool. Remember, we are programmed to survive and have sex. That’s how the old species gets to hang around, even while its individual participants all go sooner or later for the big sleep.

Lust is the motivating force in “love” relationships—at least at their beginnings and at their best. When passion turns to a warm (as in lukewarm) relationship, it is perhaps comforting, but it is, at least for those who would be Bond like—boring.

So raise your martini glass to lust, long may that particular flag wave.

Now, to move on to something other than love, let’s look at the strategy of cultivating the favor of certain types of important people we might run into. Bond, in speaking with M about cultivating Goldfinger, says “I wouldn’t try sucking up to him, asking him for a job of something of that sort, sir. I should say he’s the sort of man who only respects people who are tougher or smarter than he is.”

The man who makes it to the top has to be self reliant, and just a little bit ruthless. If you want to cultivate him, you must show him that you are another version of those qualities which he has, without seeming to be a direct competitor. Sycophants and toadies don’t often get to the top; they are too busy with their heads firmly attached to a lower portion of the man in charge of any organization.

How many times are key employees stolen from their jobs by competitors? How often is it the man in demand who receives the opportunities, the offers, without actively asking for them? You want important contacts, important allies, be tough, be smart, and be noticed.

Now, assuming that every once in a while, you don’t get that opportunity for lust, or for getting noticed by the big boys, what should you do? Don’t regret it, but follow this piece of advice from Bond in Goldfinger while he was playing golf. “Bond never worried too long about his bad or stupid shots. He put them behind him and thought of the next.”

Good advice. Nobody bats a thousand, but each time up at bat, you have to think of going for the bleachers, and not about last inning’s strike out. Can’t drive your car looking only at the rear view mirror, you know.

So, when re-reading Goldfinger, remember the lessons about lust, being tough and smart, and thinking about your next shot. Keep to that advice, and you too might get to be the man with the Midas touch.

© 2013 W. Adam Mandelbaum Esq. - justiceneversleeps.net

Author of The Born Again Bachelor's Bible - Great tips for divorced or divorcing men
Member Association For Intelligence Officers
Former operative at NSA
Present New York Attorney

Photo Goldfinger novels © Bond Lifestyle