Opción que capta bien el sentido, me parece.

Podría ser una forma de decirlo. Ya que no consideró necesario promocionarse ni darse publicidad ("He gave little thought to promoting himself"), deduzco que entonces decidió adaptarse a lo que pudiera suceder.

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Note added at 12 mins (2007-03-01 16:23:47 GMT)
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Supongo que es un significado parecido a "roll with the punches", aunque esta frase mas bien significa "sortear obstáculos". Como las olas del mar son quizá menos agresivas que los golpes de un boxeador, quizá no sea tanto esquivar lo malo, sino adaptarse a lo que venga, ya sea bueno o malo. Es mi interpretación, al menos.


Roll with the punches:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/42/messages/633.htm...
The Oxford English Dictionary offers this: "f. to roll with the punches (and varr.), of a boxer: to move the body away from the opponent's blows in order to lessen their impact; fig., to adapt oneself to difficult circumstances, take troubles in one's stride. [early citations:]
[1941 F. GILMORE Push Yourself iv. 27 In boxing it is called 'rolling the punch' when a boxer, not having time to avoid being hit, deliberately moves with the punch when it hits him.] 1951 J. J. WALSH Boxing Simplified viii. 32 In an actual bout he will not have so much time to roll with the blow." The suggestion that a boxer may lessen the impact of a blow by moving backwards, by beginning to revolve, or by rotating his head as the blow falls, is physics. It is also a useful metaphor in numerous situations that are not pugilistic, unless you wish to extend the metaphor, and so is used widely in a figurative sense. SS

http://www.joe-ks.com/phrases/phrasesR.htm

Meaning: Weather through tough times, try to minimize the trouble.
Example: Sometimes in life you just have to roll with punches, even when the punches feel like they are coming from Mike Tyson.
Origin: Rolling with the punches is a technique used in boxing. The objective is to avoid receiving a direct hit with solid contact.

The technique is to move away from the punch in an attempt to avoid the blow or at least create a glancing blow. A glancing blow being preferable to a direct hit.

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Note added at 14 mins (2007-03-01 16:26:17 GMT)
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Acá hay un ejemplo de uso donde combinan ambas expresiones:

http://www.cmr-mvp.com/home/Books/Interview Power/Personalit...
Flexible people adapt well and do not get upset every time a policy or procedure is changed. They can handle it when they are taken off a major project and put on another because that one has suddenly taken on a higher priority. In today's economy organizations must be flexible and flexible organizations require *****flexible people. Adaptable. Roll with the waves. Roll with the punches. Pliable.********