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If you are new to this series, please read the introduction.

POWER

Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

In the game of power, you are surrounded by people, who have no reason to help you, unless it is in their interest. In addition, if you have nothing to offer their self interest, they are likely to be hostile to you intent, for they will see you as one more competitor, or one more waste of time. Those, who overcome this attitude, are those, who find the key, which unlocks their hearts and minds, seducing them. Most people never learn this side of the game. When they meet someone new, rather than stepping back and probing to see wha t makes this person unique, they talk about themselves, eager to impose their willpower and prejudices. They may not know it but they are creating an enemy, a resister, because thre is nothing more infuriating than to have one's individuality ignored.

Governments saw men only in mass; but our men, being irregulars, were not formations, but individuals.
. . .our kingdoms lay in each man's mind.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
T.E.Lawrence

Remember: the key to persuasion is softening people, gently. Seduce them with a two pronged approach: work on their emotions and play with their intellect. Be alert to what makes them different from everybody else and what they share with everybody. Aim at the primary emotions - love, hate, jealosy, fear. When you move their emotions, you have reduced their control, making them open to persuasion.

When T.E. Lawrence was fighting in the Middle East, during World War l, he had an epiphany: it seemed to him that conventional warfare had lost its value. The old fashioned soldier was lost in the enormous armies of the time, in which he was ordered about like a lifeless pawn. Lawrence wanted to turn this around. For him, every soldier's mind was a kingdom to be conquered. A committed, psychologically motivated soldier would fight harder and more creatively than a pawn.

The men, who have changed the univers, have never gotten there by working on leaders, but rather by moving the masses. Working on the leaders is the method of intrigue and only leads to secondary results. Working on the masses, however, is the stroke of genius that changes the face of the world.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Lawrence's perception is true in the world, today, where so many people feel alienated, anonymous and suspicious of authority, all of which makes overt power plays and force more counter-productive and dangerous. Rather than manipulate lifeless pawns, make those on your side convinced and excited by your cause.

The surest way to secure people's mindsis by demonstrating how an action will benefit them. Self-interest is the stongest motive. A great cause may capture minds, but when the first flush of excitement is over, interest will flag, unless there is something to be gained.

Imagine the keyhole. People build walls to keep you out. Never force your way in. You will only find more walls, within walls. There are doors in these walls, doors to the heart and mind and they have tiny keyholews. Peer through the keyhole, find the key that opens the door, and you have access with no ugly signs of forced entry.

The people, who are best at appealing to people's minds, are often artists, intellectuals, and those of a poetic nature, becauseideas are more easily communicated through metaphors and imagery. It is always good practice, then, to have on your team one artist or intellectual, who can appeal concretely to people's minds.

Finally, learn to play the numbers game. The wider your support base, the stronger your power. You must constantly win allies on all levels. A time will come when you will need them.



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