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Because I'm Good At It: Difference between revisions
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* In ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', the [[Gentleman Bastard Sequence]]s don't do anything with the huge amounts of money they acquire from their long cons. It just sits there. But they are ''excellent'' thieves, so why would they give up?
* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]' ''[[Lord Peter Wimsey|Gaudy Night]]'', Harriet Vane discusses how she continued to write murder mysteries after being tried and acquitted for murder; she says that anyone with feeling would rather scrub floors, but it happens that she would scrub floors very badly and writes mysteries very well.
* In ''[[The Godfather|The Godfather Returns]]'', the [[Interquel]] to ''[[The Godfather]]'', Vito Corleone is suggested as following this trope. During a flashback history lesson, the book discusses Vito's early days as Don. While his children were still growing up, Vito used his Genco Olive Oil delivery trucks to deliver alcohol during Prohibition, amongst other things. As Prohibition came to an end, Sonny and Fredo had joined "the family business". Even so, he had amassed millions of dollars: A staggering amount of money in the 20's and 30's that would let him and his family live in comfort for the rest of their days. Instead, he tried to form an alliance with Maranzano, the kingpin of New York. Maranzano refused, beginning the Castellammarese War that ended up Vito as the undisputed head of New York's underworld. Vito had made his fortune without stepping on anyone's toes and had sworn that his children wouldn't have to follow in his footsteps. With such a fortune and his own wits, there were any number of legal businesses and ventures he could have undertaken. However, the book suggests that once Sonny and Fredo were part of his business, he had to continue on the path he's chosen. Not only because he was so good at it, but because his two oldest sons were not good at anything else. Left on their own, with no supervision or protection, no real skills or education, and a criminal mindset, Vito felt they would both be dead within a year.
** This is also why Michael stays with gangstering later books. He keeps insisting he's somewhat ashamed of the family history and keeps wanting to go legit and "they're always pulling him back in", but the fact is he's really good as a ruthless criminal mastermind.
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld/The Light Fantastic|The Light Fantastic]]'', there's a master architect. Every time he makes something, the person who hired him to do it maims him in an attempt to make sure nobody ever makes anything better. He doesn't get a less dangerous job because he's good at it.
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