Principles

The world is ripe for the picking, but not everyone recognizes this fact.  There are some simple principles which have stayed true for generations, and as long as you can accept these, and NEVER STOP LEARNING, you will begin to recognize opportunities that will increase your standing in the world.

1.  Money And Connections Are The Key Ingredients Of Power

Do not fool yourself with talk about the evils of money and power.  It may be true that money cannot buy you everything, and choosing money over people can often be a fatal mistake, but living without wealth only deprives you of freedom and living without connections deprives you of the channels to effectively use your resources.

2.  Change Your Situation If You Are Unhappy

I saw a woman drop her wallet once.  She immediately noticed her mistake, and picked it up, but not without dropping a complaint.  "Good thing I don't have any money," she uncomfortably gushed, and looked at me to smile and show some sign that I was in the same boat.  However, I see nothing noble or funny about living a desperate life.  Don't be like this woman, if you are lacking something, do what you need to do to get it.

3.  Don't Do It All Yourself

Our lives are filled with images of people who have ascended to greatness.  And they all have one thing in common: they seem god-like for doing those things.  What those people would never reveal to the masses, however, was the fact that other people were doing their bidding the entire time.  Napoleon would never acknowledge that his military successes were not simply because he was a brilliant strategist, it was primarily due to the fact he had men who were willing to carry out his orders.  Do everything you can to avoid being a workhorse, it wastes time, robs you of glory and, contrary to public belief, is not noble.

4.  Choose Friends Carefully

The average person views being anything other than ordinary as a task destined for other people.  They want to surround themselves with other ordinary humans that will not make them feel inferior or jealous, and will go to great lengths to convince identified original thinkers they're not thinking logically or simply crazy.  This is not based in fact, it is based in their desire to keep others in their surroundings at their level.  Stay away from anybody who chooses to do this to you, they are sewing the seeds of failure in your mind just to satisfy their own selfish need to feel normal.

5.  Separate Emotions And Reality

I once knew two men: one of them was a fairly quiet person, and the other was a boisterous, loud personality who was known for tooting his own horn.  When the loud one got angry, everyone knew that he was displeased because he would yell, threaten and insult everyone around him just to satisfy his emotional outrage.  Although he was very impressed with himself, and would even tell stories about other such instances, he was largely disliked by those around him and respected very little.  The other man, however, was the exact opposite.  Whenever he was feeling displeased with a situation, he would get very quiet, and his intense stare was enough to shake down even the bravest men.  Because he could communicate an emotion without making it a personal attack (as the loud man did) he could get his way and still maintain respect amongst his peers.  Learn from the second man's example: no one worth a damn respects someone easily set off.

6.  Preparation Is Not Optional

While being able to improvise may be an essential skill on the road to power, having well laid-out plans is absolutely crucial.  The world, especially in the information age, is very unpredictable, and having a blueprint for dealing not only with your objective but also the inevitable variables involved is not an option.  Battles are always won before the first shot is fired, because whoever has done the most careful planning and evaluation automatically has the upper hand.

7.  Power Lies In Crowds

When looking to sway people, it is always much more efficient to do it in a crowd setting.  People are raised to be socially acceptable, and part of that is not being a black sheep when confronted with crowds.  This plays into the "group think" mentality, which is the breeding ground of fervent followers.  Knowing group persuasion techniques and certain mind control methods that are best utilized in crowds can provide you with a large pool of connections, and is much more efficient than trying to convince people one at a time.

8.  Flow Like Water

Politicians are known by names such as "Slippery Dick" and "Slick Willy" for a reason.  Water forms to whatever it encounters, making it impossible to shape and truly manipulate.  In order to move and gain power, you must be able to act in the same fashion.  Whether it is convincing a wealthy individual that his money needs to meet your wallet or dealing with harsh on-the-spot criticism in public, you must always be shifting and accommodating whatever comes your way.  Set aside whatever doubts, personal qualms and complaints you may have and turn a losing hand into a winning one.

9.  Move Like Wind

If a man approaches you and tells you he is going to punch you in the nose in ten seconds, would you wait until the end of the countdown or would you hit him before he could even finish with one?  This same principle applies to gaining power.  If you have found a chink in the armor of a competitor, get to it before they discover and protect it.  If you have a great idea, make sure you get it to market before the opportunity vanishes.

10. Don't Be A Sucker

Expect nothing to be automatic and simple, and be very suspicious of those who wish to convince you otherwise.  The world is filled with complexities and unforeseen events, if you educate yourself and expect such things it will become infinitely easier to identify and deal with bumps as they come without losing your composure.