Rules of Engagement: Third Law

We continue with our discourse below. The next rule in the series.

The ability to influence is a key strategy BUT how does one allow or facilitate the process of choice or choosing in another human being? People are very fickle and tend to follow their own dictates when it comes to making a decision.
Sometimes they may deliberate long and hard BUT often times they will use simple yard sticks to make a decision.
Our job is to assist the decision making process BY providing the choices and tele-guiding them to make the right one.

Without much ado we begin:

RULE Three

1. Men require the illusion of Choice BUT NOT its Reality

Explanation:

• Influence is ONLY as strong as perception of the individual.
• People of course perceive things differently and will therefore opt to make choices based on these perceptions.
• Therefore CHOICE or the ability to select one option over another is the primary tool provided to lull them into a false sense of security.
• CHOICE provides a layer of control especially if you can regulate all choices and determine the outcome regardless of what choice was made.
• CHOICE also taps into the ethos of freewill - a requisite to facilitate influence.
• At the end of the day - a CHOICE/any CHOICE has to be made.
• BUT CHOOSING can be difficult and time consuming.
• PEOPLE are lazy and may opt for an EASY way if it is provided or they may opt to follow the crowd in choosing what others have equally chosen.
• The bottom line is to CONTROL the choices and what happens after they are made.
• People do NOT want others to narrow or limit their options to select - therefore always retain the ability for them to choose on their own BUT control the choices.

BOTTOM LINE: Influence is a deft tool BUT only as long as CHOICE is still permitted. Control the choices and you control the outcome.

Rules of Engagement: Second Law

We continue with our discourse below. The next rule in the series.

To amass influence and power - kindly note the order that they words have been aligned - it is important because influence is the ability to shift the thoughts of one in a given direction without seeming to - this is often because influence is a form of surrendered will. It is typically a man allowing the thoughts or deftly thrown words or ideas to stick and take root in his thoughts; so that the ideas and thoughts seem to come from his own mind - it does not then appear to be instruction handed down for execution by the sheer means of authority and that's is what makes it insidious. This art form however requires patience.

Without much ado we begin:

RULE Two

1. Men will respond to influence and power but not often in the same manner.

Explanation:

• Men have mostly been driven by the lure of power.
• They either desire it or respond to its naked display with longing and obedience
• Power has its own allure - it is an illusion of choice where by people chose to place themselves under the authority of an entity, state, nation, objective, law, deity, religion, cause, person, government, society etc.
• Influence is more subtle - it is a mental process and is often won by well played stratagems that follow some pre-conceived notion.
• Influence is an invisible reach that touches the thoughts and minds of others by gestures and actions that serve a more insidious agenda than may initially appear obvious.
• Sometimes a pawn is a bait and yet it may not be.
• Power without influence is sooner lost than kept.
• Influence without power however is a stratagem and can be called upon when all the elements of the power game are fully deployed.
• Men do not understand that the underpinning of power is influence - gain influence and find the hidden strings of power available to you.
• The influence is perceived differently by many - its the ability to convince, to confound and sow seeds of disruption in negative or positive ways as deemed fit.
• Influence is a mixed bag that requires a certain amount of patience, charm, cunning, shrewd thinking - it seemingly gives out more but gains more than is obvious to plain sight.
• Influence might even be a form of power by reputation with others doing the advertising of your capabilities and acts making you much bigger in the sight of others.
• Those with Influence and power can become legends and myths
• Men are also drawn to both and will often abandon the cause of logic when they aspire for something bigger or greater
• Some men are motivated by power and the seeming authority it conveys and will often follow it blindly.
• Others are motivated by the unseen hands of influence - through facts and fiction, through actions and inactions.
• Both drive to the same goal - the ability to stir people

BOTTOM LINE: Influence and power are interlinked bed mates - it is better that they are found together than apart - they both serve a common aim and should therefore arrive together.

Rules of Engagement

Welcome to my thoughts - over the course of the coming year - I will share a few insights that guide our potential success and failure in this world of men.
I say this with a clear and concise belief that some of you will scoff and probably laugh and I encourage you to do as you see fit but spare a thought when you can for the validity of the stated arguments.

Listed below are what I term: the rules of engagement and they are like guide rails in this life long walk.
I will discuss then one at a time and I hope you will share your thoughts and input in this discussion so that we may better understand and refine out ideas (putting them through the forging fire so to speak)
Without much ado we begin:

RULE One

1. Men will always fight authority but will respond to a man of FIRM belief, faith or conviction.

Explanation:

• From history - we will observe that authority has been the main tool of compliance that prevents our societies from becoming chaos prone gatherings of instinct driven men.
• The goal of instinct was to equip man with the speed of action borne out of an inherent instinct to survive the then harsh and bitter world that existed.
• Today this world has been largely tamed but has created a new set of problems that can ONLY be defeated by THOUGHT or THOUGHT combined with INSTINCT.
• The question is thus this: when thought is combined with a developed belief system that has been tested and found appropriate for use - where does the quest begin?
• Are men drawn to the quest for something bigger than themselves and their immediate need to follow something that has a purpose or direction?
• If you thus become a vehicle of purpose or belief (Gandhi, Jesus Christ etc.) you will inexplicably create the dynamic to draw and change people and their thoughts and draw them into the influence of your stated struggle or belief.
• Authority can ONLY be established when people have subsumed their sense of self and presented this as gift to the appointed leader.
• By appointed leader - I do not mean a man who dominates by the means of FEAR (even though this becomes a necessary tool as some men can only be directed by this method); I mean a man appointed by the strength of his convictions and supported by people by their own volition or free will.
• Hitler did not brainwash the people of Germany - he simply captivated them and subsumed them with the strength of his purpose and resolve.
• The radiance of a belief is like a rallying point that draws people to itself like a flame draws moths to their doom.
• The lesson is to IDENTIFY with the cause without losing your objectivity and identity - the lesson is also to use this cause to DRAW the people to yourself.
• To do this you must repeat the message with conviction an clarity and all sense of belief in your words and actions in the cause of this belief.
• Remember - to ride on the wave of the people's conviction - you must focus your message and deliver it with utter conviction - that is the key.
• Also the persistent deliver of the same unwavering message is what creates the required focus and resolve that begins the process - a tipping point will eventually reach where others become the transmission points of your ideas.

Please remember this first injunction as the rallying point for your campaign.
HAVE A FOCUSED MESSAGE THAT IS SIMPLE AND DIRECT AND THAT YOU BELIEVE WITH A FAITH THAT SHINES IN ITS INTENSITY

The Hand behind the throne

The unseen hand that directs affairs from behind the curtain of obscurity.

While most think those are the words and requirements of the king - they are in fact looking at the wrong person - a speaker whose is simply repeating the phrases that has been dictated to him/her.

This is a magic trick that keeps the eyes of the audience on the wrong person while it is perhaps another person's ideas being spoken or said or acted upon.

That is to be your new purpose, your objective - to become the hand or the voice behind the king.

You must be a whisper that persists in thought when the ruler is awake or asleep - a voice of reason that persists and that sees the depths of the game and the long term requirements - while the benefits are indeed yours - they are also to the benefit of the ruler.

Rulers - Men and women want to be free from the challenge of thinking all the time - it is difficult and often time consuming and how else can they escape from this chore but for the help of these advisers.

Over time even this becomes a requirement as they come to rely more and more and these 'advisers' who in turn have their own insidious agenda - each is a pawn in this hierarchy of men.

However the true hand remains largely unseen behind the scenes - while decisions are reached and actions executed - they direct and dictate and grow their position of trust and reliance with the ruler.

They become both the earpiece, brain and mouth piece of the king and serve in a unique position.

Therefore it becomes wise that one should aim to become this hand and serve this intentions in this manner while largely masking his/her actions.

Words are their own weapon of choice

Words are the very darts that shoot ideas and concepts into the depths of our consciousness.
I find their use both a thing of sublime pleasure and pain - words have a power of their own. They lead us into the quest for knowledge, they express ideas and concepts, they plant the seeds of doubt and fear and have yet propelled men to great positions of achievement.

They are as yet a means to an end and some times an end within themselves.
The responsibility for their use an misuse lie entirely in our hands - an unbridled tongue is its own poison.

Great men have advocated thoughts through the medium of these words - Einstein, Hitler, Gandhi - all have effaced words that have impacted our world in no small measure. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not but the effects are as plain today as when they were first used.

Words are the mandate of change for the better or worse - they are the life blood of history - they are the vehicles through which change occur.

An entity with specifics

man - is a creature of diverse interactions. A complex entity of which the sum of its parts is greater than the collective and thus provides insight into one of mysteries of existence and consciousness.

we have all asked this question of ourselves many times but it still begs to be asked: What is man? What defines man?

To watch our interactions with each other is to observe an established dynamic at work - a dynamic that is in a constant state of evolution and change.

A dynamic that embraces different structures of man - language, communication, intelligence, problem solving skills, awareness etc.

The sheer thought of man's origins is to invite madness but it is that eternal riddle, which begs most of answers.

For man to begin the journey to enlightenment - he must first become aware and then begin to understand... for without these we're like blind mice...

For such a time as these have come.

I write with the intention of sharing a few words of experience. Obviously not due to my non-extensive travels because frankly, I have been nowhere.

Over the next few posts - I will attempt to share some of my observations, regarding human behaviour, conduct and expectations.

It will prove interesting or at the very least entertaining.

Wisdom and knowledge are not the sole preserve of any man - they are to be pursued and wooed like a coy mistress. It however matters about how the chase begins.

with such words do I welcome thee to these pages...