Instagram Story Save

Take the engineer in Athens receiving orders from his commander Mucianus to send the largest ship’s mast to be used to help in the siege of the town of Pergumus. The engineer argued that what the commander needed was not the larger mast, but the smaller which would be better suited for the task. Mucianus was infuriated and sent for the engineer who continued to try to explain his reasoning for sending the smaller mast. For his disobedience, he was flogged and scourged with rods until he died.

The engineer’s argument went on deaf ears. Nobody cared whether or not it was more prudent to use the smaller mast. The fact of the matter was that a superior gave a command and he decided that by insulting the intelligence of his master by arguing was more important.

Unlike Michelangelo, the engineer did not exercise the correctness of his ideas indirectly. When Florence’s mayor, Piero Sorderini told Michelangelo that the nose on his sculpture that he had been commissioned to do of a young David with sling in hand was too big, he did not argue that the nose was just right, Michelangelo merely took the mayor onto the scaffolding and gave the appearance of changing the nose. Sorderini was pleased and no one was offended.

@2014.cvo
For Sale -$19,500

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, the foreign minister to Napoleon can attest to this caveat. Talleyrand was a mastermind manipulator who was behind the dramatic escape of Napoleon after his exile to the island of Elba. Talleyrand knew that Napoleon’s arrogance was his weakness and he played to that weakness like a strategic poker player. Not showing his true feelings toward the emperor, Talleyrand bided his time, made the right connections, which helped create the most elaborate scheme to dethrone one of the world’s most infamous people, Napolean Bonaparte.

Do you have it??

P1. Just ask Thomas Edison. He was the consummate genius of other people’s efforts. After hiring a Serbian scientist and inventor by the name of Nikola Telsa who toiled day and night to improve Edison’s antiquated invention, dynamos, or as we know them today generators. Telsa was told by Edison that he would receive $50,000 for redesigning this system of electrical current. Within a year Telsa created an improved version of the dynamo and instead of receiving $50,000, he was given a raise by Edison who knew that his company would get credit for the work that was done by Telsa.

Nikola Telsa is a prime example of what not to do. He was never credited for any of his work. He was the inventor of the alternate current system (AC) which is synonymous with Westinghouse. Financiers divested Telsa from the credit, patents and riches that he would have received which approximates at $12 million instead of the $216,000 that he accepted as payment. He was not even acknowledged for his patent filed in 1897 when another man, Guglielmo Marconi took credit for inventing the radio. Telsa is the true father of the radio.

This is a sad yet true story about a man who was obsessed with his work, yet really never got the accolades, or the money, nor the respect that he deserved. Edison on the other hand saw the requisite to hire the best in the field to do work that he himself would take credit for. This does not beg the question, who would you rather be? Rather it is a cautionary lesson.

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses.

Law 5 - So much depends on reputation. Defend it with your life!

Why is Reputation Important?
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. In the social realm, appearances are the barometer of almost all our judgments. Your reputation will protect you in the dangerous game of appearances, distracting the probing eyes of others from knowing what you are really like, and giving you a degree of control over how the world judges you — a powerful position to be in.
A strong reputation increases your presence and exaggerates your strengths without you having to spend much energy. It can also create an aura around you that will instill respect, even fear. In the fighting in the North African desert during World War II, the German general Erwin Rommel had a reputation for cunning and deceptive maneuvering that struck terror into everyone who faced him. Even when his forces were depleted and the British tanks outnumbered his by five to one, entire cities would be evacuated at the news of his approach. As they say, your reputation inevitably precedes you, and if it inspires respect, a lot of your work is done for you before you arrive on the scene, or utter a single word.

There are times when it is unwise to be silent. Silence can arouse suspicion and even insecurity, especially in your superiors; a vague or ambiguous comment can open you up to interpretations you had not bargained for. Silence and saying less than necessary must be practiced with caution, then, and in the right situations. Let us take a look at 6 ways to exert more power by practicing listening.

Access to the knowledge someone else used to win or learn, is the real cheat code for life.

P1 - It takes effort to control your tongue and monitor what you reveal. It is much more prudent to tailor your words, telling people what they want to hear rather than the coarse and ugly truth of what you feel or think. More important, by being unabashedly open you make yourself so predictable and familiar that it is almost impossible to respect or fear you, and power will not accrue to a person who cannot inspire such emotions.
Train yourself in the art of concealing your intentions. Master the art and you will always have the upper hand. Our first instinct is to always trust appearances. This fact makes it relatively easy to conceal one’s intentions. Let’s talk about how People Conceal Intentions and Fool You.