divineguitar

48 laws of power has been on my mind since a buddy of mine has been reading intently.  Ran through the list and picked out my favorites, or at least the one's I have put emphasis on as of late.

Edge of the World, a nice little piece by Josh Ritter is what I've been toiling over on the guitar to occupy my time.  It seems to capture the essence of the life of a Spanish conquistador out at sea discovering new territory.  Imagination is wonderful.

Speaking of sea faring individuals, Ragnar Danneskjöld of Atlas Shrugged comes to mind quite often.  Complicated and interpretative symbolism surrounds the man and his mission, I often apply this thought not to the government vs. market fundamentalism sentiments, but rather day to day musings of politics and posturing and the push pull effect b/w a leaders engagement vs the white noise of the pirate.  The key is to be able to distinguish when a crack needs to be patch, rebuilt or exploited.

I suppose circumstance dictates which postures and law's carry relevance at what time. 

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The Six Laws of Power that Stand out to me Currently
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– Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker. Seem Dumber than your Mark –

Seems the be the role I am in more so than not, sitting back listening going, 'o, that's how that works, wow, really, tell me more,' even if i don't agree — then apply the information for what your judgement says is a utilitarian purpose

– Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew —

Like Sayid torturing Sawyer in Lost, everyone has that pressure point.  I recall one tennis match I had in high school playing the first seed in the tourney, I was warming up with this guy and thinking 'Holy Shit', I'm going to get WAXED.  He had it all, UNTIL I hit a few to his slice type Steffi Graf backhand.  48 or so consecutive backhands later I won that match 6-0, 6-1 to the dismay of his onlooking family.

– Despise the Free Lunch —

Last job we had meat, candy, cake, cookies every month, the tables of food were plentiful.  Although it was a 'pay meal,' I didn't care for it much at all.  Warren Buffet after purchasing a company once busted up the cigar smoking high five fest and said, 'we have work to do, we'll party when we earn it' — Great deviant minds have articulated to stay away from that water cooler talk of company politics, its full of undertones of fear, backstabbing, threats and disappointments.

– Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others —

How's the family?  O! You were a star cricket player in high school?  You like pullups?  I LIKE pullups too!  Finding commonalities is always more fruitful than finding differences.

Building grassroots campaigns is where it's at, and the institutional enemies of this philosophy don't even know that a battle is at hand.  A terrible man once said 'A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire,' and provided an example of how the poor will protect the wealthy.  The OPPOSITE of that is what is necessary, grassroots initiatives for the benefit of mankind.

– Enter Action with Boldness

A wise man once said, and I paraphrase a paraphrase, 'You can either kill it or leave it alone,' I'd say a lot of people (management) go around kicking people in the junk, yea, it hurts and the recipient is hunched over for a while, but when he gets up, you just have a pissed off individual with a vendetta on their hands.

– Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge

Finally, giving emotion to something is the best form of validation, ignoring them is the ultimate insult.  I used to think the sweetest revenge is to live well, however I've found fault in that — by making an object, person or idea irrelevant is a win win in many cases.