In the film, Newman reprises his acclaimed character from ‘The Hustler (1968)’ in which he played the classic poolhall hustler learning the trade. At that time he was told about the fallacy of excuses by his manager:

You have the best excuse in the world for losing; no trouble losing when you got a good excuse. Winning… that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You’ll drop that load too when you’ve got an excuse. All you gotta do is learn to feel sorry for yourself. One of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry for yourself. A sport enjoyed by all, especially the born losers. – Bert Gordon to Eddie in ‘The Hustler’

As the cliche goes: a bad sportsman blames the equipment, weather or referee’s decision in a heartbeat; poor performance gets blamed least.

Understanding the following quotes from the older, wiser Felson in ‘The Colour of Money’, it’s clear why performance is paramount.

Pool excellence is *not* about excellent pool. – Eddie Felson

Being excellent is more than merely achieving success. Excellence consists of *maintaining* success in the face of obstacles. You really believe Jordan never got a bad call?

You *never* ease up on somebody …not when there’s money involved. – Eddie Felson

An excuse is a brakepedal in the vehicle of success. It’s one of the most common forms of self-medication in the human condition, giving birth to depression, regret and self-pity. In ‘business’, money (or a variation; time, reputation etc) is always involved. *Never* ease up. As simple as it sounds, it’s worth stating: a win-win is only a win-win if you win. Or to put it another way:

Money won is twice as sweet as money earned. – Eddie Felson