“They’d better vote me off. Gervase learned long ago that the only person responsible for Gervase is Gervase. If they don’t vote me off tonight I will win this game. I will win every Immunity Challenge, and get rid of them one by one. If they don’t vote me off, I will win the million. I will make them pay for this mistake.” He paused, shook his head while looking at the ground—a trademark Gervase move. Then he looked back up at Jeff. “That’s all I got to say. Don’t make the mistake of keeping me around because I—will—beat—your—ass.”
Gervase was voted off.
From Survivor: The Official Companion to the CBS Show by Mark Burnett
(First Season, 2000)
Find a group. Get an alliance.
You won’t win by sitting alone on the beach.
Not when voting is involved.
[Nothing wrong with me. I have a good personality.
I’m nice to everyone. They should all like me, and I should win.]
But look at that guy over there. The guy with the spear. He’s obnoxious, but he catches fish. And the “mean” woman is a lot more popular than you are. In fact, you don’t know this, but the nicest lady will be the first to go.
[I can’t help it if I’m not smart and athletic.]
No. So group yourself with people that are.
[It doesn’t work that way. They don’t want me in their group.
Besides, I’d rather hunt for a great white whale than be in that alliance.]
Let me put it this way. Winning is social.
Prepare to be betrayed and don’t take it personally.
If you don’t go to the right parties, you will lose.
[Is loss the worst thing?]
Yes, it’s very painful.
[Is pain the worst thing?]
You should be a winner.
[No. A winner should be me.]
* image (altered) from The Edge by Howard E. Ferguson, c. 1982.