Lessons from Cinderella

There was once, in the last great depression, a bank robber named Willie Sutton, who was famous for being, well, good at his job. A reporter once asked him why he robbed banks. Sutton patiently replied "Because that's where the money is."
And so, when Cinderella got it together to get dressed and put her game face on to go to the ball at the castle, she was not doing it because she needed a night out or a few drinks after another dreary day at a go-nowhere job.


No, she went to the ball because when you you want to find a prince, you don't look in a bar or at an oldies concert. You go where the princes are. And note also that going to balls is part of a prince's job, so you will get to see the prince at work. Seeing a guy at his workplace can be very enlightening, especially if being a prince and greeting diplomats is not what he does for a living. You can observe: Is he mean to his subordinates? Does he dodge calls? Does he in fact have the job he said he did?

There's a lot more that can be learned from Cinderella, but the other major, major lesson is this:
What happened the morning after the ball? Well--
Prince Handsome was still standing in front of a mirror.
Prince Tall & Athletic was shooting hoops with the guys.
Prince Privilege was getting a massage.
Prince Godsgifttowomen was in bed with a hangover and a lady he described as "random" in a text he was sending to his bud.
Prince Workaholic was trying to tell the King about an investment opportunity, but not getting past the butler.
Sadly another Prince's people arrived to carry him back to royal rehab.

And so Prince Charming - who was not so tall and not so handsome and did not always get his way with women but had a really nice smile and somehow knew when to talk and when to listen - came across a cute shoe that had fallen off a dainty foot...