ArtfulPrudence

Enriching Man's Honour by Wisdom and Nobility

Strategy

Leadership: Elevating Man’s Spirit

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Opening

Leaders are largely responsible for the unity and harmony of the group. It is useful to understand the subtleties involved in elevating and preserving a high spirit that will drive triumph. By deficient morale, not only will you breed chaos and disorganisation among the group, but you will discompose the psychology of your subordinates. Knowing how to induce in your group the proper vigour and enthusiasm is indispensable, and the way you do that is by competently adapting their precedence to agree with the group. 

The puzzle to influencing people and preserving their spirit is to compel them to orient themselves to the group. Form a campaign at odds with a detested adversary and involve them in it. Adapt their perception so that their continuance appears binded to the prosperity of the entire circle. Emotions are transmittable – a group involved in zealous emotional bonding makes it easier to incite passion. 

As a leader, your actions must be an exemplary demonstration. Your secondaries should discern your struggle and acknowledge your honest commitments – this will encourage them to mirror your heroic deeds. Remember: a driven group will often compensate for a deprivation in resources. Man is by nature egocentric: his first thought tends to be concerned with selfish interests. On top of that, he tends also to conceal self-centredness to make his motivation appear self-sacrificing and contrary to reality. You may presume that your associates are sincerely passionate and interested, as their word and gesture indicates so.

Bit by bit, you come to perceive a different reality; they are exploiting their role for private interests. There’s a lot to learn from history’s finest commanders. To get people to work together and preserve team spirit, you must know how to make them feel part of a purposive group. This will deflect their attention from selfish interest while gratifying their inherent urge to feel part of an elevated cause. The more they appraise the group, the more their own interests and the group’s dovetail in agreement. Team spirit is like an infectious disease; it spreads rapidly. If you place people in a well integrated and high-spirited environment, they will naturally attune to it – and if they recoil and regress to selfishness, they will be secluded from it. Your responsibility, then, is to immediately set up this interplay. After all, it can come only from the superior.

The Grand Purpose

It is basic human nature; people have a hankering appetite to believe in anything persuasive. There is an internal void, and they sense its futility, as they soon realize that it can’t be satisfied by drugs or brutality. This sense of vacancy is advantageous – you can assure them of a high-minded cause worth fighting for. By their deprivation and futility, they are disposed to be convinced by your enthralling reasoning. When you unite people for a ‘grand’ purpose, the generated force moves people and stirs vigour and fire. Your incentive should be forward-looking, adapted to the time and tending to the future, as if ordained to be successful. If you think it essential, adding a spiritual impression could be convenient. In addition, it is most advantageous to have a rival in sight, a loathed opposer – he will assist in establishing a compelling narrative.

Don’t Coddle Your Men

If people sense that they have been used to good advantage, their inborn egotism rises to the top. Knowing you have been betrayed or cheated on is a source of fervent unease that incites in people an urge to defy authorities. You want to avoid this situation at all costs by making them feel genuinely included, looked after and valued. On the other hand, you don’t want to impair their disposition by undue recompense. Don’t pamper them by excess pay, instead ensure they are furnished with sufficient comfort, so they know they are being carefully attended to. The patriarchal protection of a leader puts people at ease, even muffling their self-obsession and firing up their strength. 

Demonstrate the Ideal

If you don’t practice what you teach, you’re not a true leader. Deficiency and disquiet are often a consequence of a lack of leadership and incongruity. Your inferiors ought to notice your thoughtfulness, if you’re not properly bearing the same hazards and burdens, they will inevitably feel let down by your indisposition. You must command from the front, not the back. In other words, you shall give them a run for their money by coercing them into keeping abreast. 

Engage their Emotions

The foremost means to actuate people is by emotion more than reason. Humans are by nature resistant. If you start by appealing to emotion, you will rouse doubt and they will discern you as conniving. Firstly, lessen their resistance and compel group bonding by settling an amusing presentation to elevate the mood and encourage connection. Once they grow more passionate, a more sincere proposal is viable as you comfortably transition from humour to indignation or distaste.

Selective Kindliness

Ample recompense disfigures their temperament while making them neglect your authority. On the other hand, ample punishment knocks down the group spirit. Your kindness, then, should be sparse yet relevant. If you excessively apply it, its innate potency will be denigrated. Make others contend to charm you, so that through their striving, they are endowed with more kindliness and less cruelty.

Closing

In sum, the duty of the leader is to understand the inner workings of the group as well as how to properly push the right buttons of each individual, so that there is as little discord as possible while preserving a constant harmony among his subordinates. Without such a thorough understanding, there will be perpetual confusion, disagreement and defiance. To maintain high morale and unity, inclusion and steadiness are imperative. Remember: without stirring up opportune emotions, there will be a shortage of morale, faith and trust – all of which are crucially important for the group’s concurrence. 

Machiavellianism: Prestigious Honour

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“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”

Niccolò Machiavelli

Honouring your Word

It is admirable by everyone to frankly honour your word in the absence of devious scheming. However, immediate experience demonstrates that rulers who reached great heights continually conveyed their promise delicately and deceived men with their proficiency in deceit and who defeated those men who complied with upright morals. According to Niccolò Machiavelli, it is pivotal to realize that men have two methods of battling; by ‘law’ or ‘force’. The former is inherent in men, the latter in monsters. Frequently, the former manifests as insufficient and thus a man requires resort to the latter. A ruler, then, must employ both monster and man to triumph and since it is expected of him to consolidate both, he studies both the fox and lion. On the one hand, the lion is vulnerable to snares and on the other, the fox is vulnerable to wolves. Consequently, the ruler must be a fox to identify tricks and a lion to terrify wolves. A ruler who plainly behaves like a lion is ignorant and endangered by his foolishness. Conversely, a wise ruler will not honour his word if it weakens his position and the grounds for his promise have dissolved. 

“You must understand, therefore, that there are two ways of fighting: by law or by force. The first way is natural to men, and the second to beasts. But as the first way often proves inadequate one must needs have recourse to the second. So a prince must understand how to make a nice use of the beast and the man.” – Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

If men were righteous, this principle would prove unreasonable but since men are miserable and faithless, your word is not of value to them and thus need not be kept. As a matter of fact, a ruler never lacks valid pretexts to influence and falsify his conviction. Those men in history who perfectly emulated the fox reaped the most benefits. To be a shrewd liar and exploiter, you must understand how to falsify and tint your deeds. The exploiter, in truth, will never run out of sufferers willing to be deceived since men are simply situational beings whose vulnerability wavers. Consequently, a ruler is not demanded to possess all the alluded attributes but he must seem to possess them. Additionally, if he possessed said traits and constantly conducted himself duly, they will prove damaging but if he merely seems to possess them, they will be of good use. The ruler is pitying, honourable, generous, open and pious; he should seem to be and in fact be. Nonetheless, his adaptable temperament should allow him to be the inverse if it is required of him. 

A ruler, particularly a novel one, is unable to notice the things that entrust men with a good name for uprightness since upholding his province frequently coerces him to behave in opposition with lawful trust, goodwill, benevolence and divinity. For that reason, a ruler must possess a pliable character that differs conditional on chance and situation – the leader should not stray from all that is virtuous within the realms of possibility but should know how to impose vice when obligatory. So, a leader should be heedful to avoid remarks that don’t appear to be incited by the formerly alluded characteristics – compassion, moral trust, integrity, generosity and divinity; most importantly, the endmost quality of devout faith. Generally, people form an opinion through observation since every person is free and unencumbered to scrutinize. But, not many are able to draw close to who you actually are. As Machiavelli remarked, “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” Looks and outcomes are what influence the mediocre, for there is short scope for the minority when the majority are securely preserved. 

Winning Honour

An impressive display of mastery and grand operations are what earn the ruler the most status. If one reads the biography of Ferdinand of Aragon, a former king of Spain, you will discover that all his accomplishments were splendid and masterly, some even unprecedented. He began his monarchy by assailing Granada – this operation was his footing for power. In the first place, he undertook the operation alertly and boldly; employing the noblemen of Castile’s vigour, who were attentive to conflict and had no intention in generating misfortune to their homeland. Due to his obliviousness of what was transpiring, Ferdinand of Aragon’s influence and status overpowered them. Furthermore, he preserved and carried his armies through the people and house of prayer’s capital. He laid a firm basis for his reputable army through the resources of an extended battle and secured himself eminence and fame in the unfolding. Besides, to tackle more prominent operations through wielding religion, he changed direction to sanctimonious employment of brutality; hunting down the Moriscos and disposing of their dominion – conceivably the most noticeably distressing and dreadful business. Employing the same religious veil, he assailed Africa; beginning his operation in Italy. In this way, Ferdinand of Aragon finalized and organized brilliant ventures which left citizens in both tension and marvel. 

“Nothing brings a prince more prestige than great campaigns and striking demonstrations of his personal abilities” – Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Impressive feats of capability can be profitable for a leader, in a competition where something outstanding is fulfilled, whether for virtue or vice, recompense or penalty should be imposed on the person to get everyone conversing. Chiefly, a leader should aspire and strive in all his efforts to acquire a great man’s stature for his masterful capacity. In addition, a ruler acquires status for proving a genuine friend or foe – for divulging himself without the slightest arrangement in favouritism of one side in opposition to another. Such an approach is superior to impartiality, for if your adjoining authorities clash and one side triumphs, you’re jeopardized. No matter what, it will continually be useful to assert yourself and pursue the spirited battle. First of all, you will incessantly be in the power of the subjugator if you do not announce yourself, and also to the gratification of the defeated. Moreover, no rationale or method will serve as a barrier to your shelter and preservation. The subjugator is not looking for irresolute traitors who will betray him in times of misfortune and the defeated will renounce you as a consequence of your reluctance to unite with him in battle. On every occasion, your impartiality will be appealed by your opposer and your armed support will be appealed by your friend. As a matter of fact, indecisive leaders generally conform to impartiality as a means to flee menace and commonly meet with failure. 

Despite that, when you brazenly announce your backing for one side and it triumphs, though the conqueror is strong and at your mercy, you have put him under an obligated duty, assigning himself to an amicable connection with you – in this situation, men are not immoral to the point of treating you with thankless despotism. In contrast, a beaten associate will protect you and assist you however possible, and your linkage in the future can improve for the betterment of both of you. 

Unless mandatory, a ruler should shun enlisting into belligerent associations with people who are stronger than he. For the reason that you will come out a convict if you are the conquerors. Thus, rulers should, to the best of their ability, avoid being defenceless and in the power of others. Escaping a threat often leads you to another. Wisdom, then, is your ability to evaluate the essence of a threat and then acceding to the inferior vice. A superior ruler expresses his admiration for aptitude, conferring encouragement to men who are capable and acclaiming those who outshine in their career. Moreover, he supports and comforts his citizens so they can continue to lead their lives harmoniously, whatever their line of work may be. Finally, the ruler should readily recompense those men who aspire to carry out initiatives that will grow the city’s affluence and success.

Further Reading

Strategy: The Creative Game Plan

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Introduction

Let us put straight one common error; defensive action is not fragility. It can give the seeming impression of weakness, which could prove advantageous to catch your adversary off-guard, but such an impression is merely a ruse that misleads the enemy into rash aggression. Defensive warfare is calculated intelligence, a high-powered mode of execution. It consists in being ingenious and mindfully inexpensive, engaging only in the vital battles. Consequently, careful withdrawal is essential, you must know how to compel the enemy into misguided hostility, draining his force for a catastrophic counter-blow. As a substitute to undisguised antagonism, which is often disapproved of, defensive action allows you to let the enemy initiate battle, leveraging his errors by playing the waiting game. Through feigning weakness, you compel an unwise attack. Through feigning more powerful, you dissuade your enemy from striking. Defensive action, then, is transforming weakness (or seeming weakness) into control and conquest.

Reward and Sacrifice

When war is inescapable, fight on your conditions. Identify their shortcomings and leverage them wisely. Furthermore, battle on your conditions means that it will be more costly for them and more reasonable for you. You must know, then, how to entice them into your territory by appealing to their concerns. An attractive objective clouds judgement, diluting likely trouble and accentuating potential profit. Thus, if you could coerce your enemy into an alluring pitfall, you can exhaust him to the point of miscalculation. The lack of energy that comes with fatigue will generate error and unexpected drawbacks which are beneficial. It is important to discern, moreover, that the more desired the prize, the more recompense in investigating its sacrifice. Both the indefinable and clear costs must be examined beforehand. In this manner, you are essentially exercising foresight to consider all conceivable variables unclouded by the appeal of the prize. Often, the very allure of a reward will muddle your judgement of its complexity and misleads you into overlooking its cost. If you look back through history, you will find that it is pervaded with the remains of people who paid no attention to the expenses of potential winnings.

Assail their Weakness with Power

There is a general truth in warfare; attack their weak points with your strong points. A group is neither fully strong nor weak. All forces have vulnerable flaws, no matter how indestructible their external morale may seem. In the grand scheme of things, weakness will always have a fragment of concealed strength that could be expanded and compounded, even in the feeble forces. Conversely, a recognized strength, such as a large army, could prove a shortcoming in its conclusion. There is always an element of unpredictability that could potentially transfigure advantage and limitation. In the first place, you must know where you’re aiming at before you strike, evaluate where your enemy’s weaknesses lie; governmental issues, lack of confidence, conceit, egotism etc. During your appraisal, concealment of your shortcomings is important in the conservation of your long-term strength. Once you have identified the enemy’s vulnerable points, you must calculatedly and repeatedly attack them. If you want to dispirit your enemy’s force, exploit their vulnerability and devour it. Your aggression will lead to their depletion, which will uncover new vulnerabilities. The wise calibration of strong and weak points is indispensable to knowingly break down your enemy. To sum up, locate their vulnerabilities and leverage your power to capitalize on their weak points.

Creativity and Ingenuity

A warrior is ingenious, he employs his strengths innovatively and shifts his emphasis on what is in his power. He preserves equilibrium through deliberate restraint, regeneration and endurance. Warriors, possessing exceptional foresight, vigilantly orient themselves for the long term, planning ahead of time to ensure they avoid unpredicted exploitation and place themselves in the most favourable situation. Resources and riches are beneficial when put into good service but groups who apparently have a surplus of resources are disposed to grow indolent and foreseeable as a consequence. The abundance of materials and assets compels them to have a dependency on their benefits, setting aside understanding and the grand design. They deal with difficulty by accumulating more resources, neglecting the benefits they already have and never finding a use for it through their lack of ingenuity. Thus, a profusion of assets deprives you of necessity and dulls your creative faculty, the same faculty that stimulates resourcefulness.

Let us presume that your enemy is your equivalent, under such circumstance, resourcefulness is more important than acquiring more stock. Conversely, if your enemy is not your equivalent and you have more resources, operating inexpensively is not a choice but a prerequisite. There will be times where disregarding your virtues and maximising resourcefulness will prove most advantageous. People such as Picasso advocated the notion of acting deprived irrespective of how wealthy you are. You see, the impoverished can teach us that creativity stems from destitution and there is substantial value to be gained from having less.

Ends Justify the Means

A plan is only worthwhile so long as you have a means to justify it. If your plan is to make a million dollars in a decade but your means to obtain it does not align with your end-goal, this is simply wishful thinking. Flip the script and evaluate your resources before initiating a master plan to fulfil it. What resources do you have in your possession? Do they justify your end-goal? Hannibal’s operation continually started out with assessing his forces’ structure and means and that of the enemy’s, all the assorted elements and particular parts of the enemy’s force and environment. The appraisal would lay out the basis for his plan of action and more importantly, the desired ends for this course of action. As a synopsis, Hannibal repeatedly attuned his ends to the means through calculated judgement of both his force and his adversary’s.

Give yourself space to profoundly deliberate on what resources you have at your disposal, grounding yourself in reality rather than wishful thinking. Figure out where your benefits lie and how they can contribute effectively to your ends, understand thoroughly what your capabilities are as well as those of the group. If you’re leading a group of people, you must know their fundamental temperament and morale and consider how to ingeniously put them to good use. Once you have gathered the relevant intelligence, you simply attune your ends accordingly. The formula, then, is the accumulation of useful information related to your resources and the diligent planning and adjustment of the ends to the means.

Strategy: Dividing and Structuring Forces

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Rigidity in War

War is not only about circumventing failure but also about defeating your adversary in a heroic fashion. In strategy, the element of structural organization is very consequential. There is nothing more immobilizing to a group than the appearance of disorganization. The sense of untidiness that comes with disarray is almost dispiriting to the members and the general morale of the group is inadvertently affected by the lack of structuring. The flowing, swift and versatile groups are the visionaries who are actually destined for triumph. If you have a propensity, as a leader, to overly restrain your group and attempt to interrelate every aspect of its development, you will simply bind yourself to what has been buried in history. That is to say, that forging a rigid structure that lacks adequate flexibility to adapt congruously to the conditions will only hold back the group. Rigidity in war is rather fleeting, its unbending nature will eventually collapse once it finds itself unable to bend any further. Furthermore, this characteristic generally lacks the balance and stability to preserve its composure amidst the conflict of war. Thus, the element of adaptability envelops more strength and command in the group.

Divide to Live, Combine to Fight

The principle: If you want to live; divide. If you want to fight; combine. The reality is that most people would, by preference, want to mimic a method than act unaccompanied. For it takes more nerve and self-government to take action without a safety net, discarding your fixation with recipes and mechanical reasoning. If you want to surpass the common people, understand that the quintessence of strategy is not a step-by-step system, it is deliberately being in a position where you have more choices to decide on than your adversary. Strategy is more about positioning and less about tying yourself to one favourable solution. Ideal positioning is having multiple alternatives at your disposal contingent upon how conditions unfold. Positioning connects well with having excellent foresight. If you lack the necessary prudence to think ahead of time in order to swiftly place yourself in the optimal position, you will either be late or you will fail to consider it. Foresight allows you to orient yourself carefully in advance, anticipating potential plots before they happen and being at the right time and place to hold the upper hand. In Sun Tzu’s Art of War, this position is termed ‘shih’.

It is of great importance for the superior leader and the developing warrior to acknowledge that recoursing to an inefficient stratagem is still more reasonable than negligence and passivity. Moreover, if the leaders await directives, an advantageous position will not be utilized under any circumstance. A real warrior knows when to set aside his assigned commands, this is the mark of sovereignty. For, the surest way to ravage self-control is by pampering your warriors and behaving under the assumption that they are indistinguishable. In doing so, you are too inviting and encouraging infighting. Triumph is the byproduct of control, instruction and superior quality. Shallow affability is simply inferior to success, forming vigorous relationships grounded in fortitude. The signification is simple: Rigidity makes you immovable, fluidity grants you diverse recourse and possibility.

Adaptability and Swiftness

To arrange your group for adaptability and swiftness, your structure must be pliable. Thus, you should partition your corps into distinct groups that are able to function and adjudicate independently. The morale of the crusade must be instilled in your group, making them impossible to stop or prevent. Identify and entrust the expedition and let the heroism of the group reveal itself. Napoleon had a strategy whereby he coerces his enemy to diverge his forces inadvertently. In doing so, he shatters their organization and forces them to split off. The difference lies in the structure, if your enemy’s body lacks versatility, segregation will be detrimental. You don’t want to find yourself in a condition where forced segregation is imposed on you by your adversary, you should structure your squad accordingly and avoid involuntary division.

Remember: Tell them what to carry out but not how to act. If you give people leeway, their creativity will confound you. It takes a certain audacity to moderately disengage and permit a degree of unpredictability. Nonetheless, through subdivision, reduced control will grant you movability, the apex accumulator. Your strategic aims, then, must be coherent to impart operations to multiple units within your group, letting them define the means to succeed. Make it entirely obvious to your group that counter-action to command is not insubordination. To sum up, inventiveness is of great importance, it must be inculcated and fostered in your men to make them more resilient towards the turn of events. Strength of character is resilience and independence, heroic properties of battle.

Strategy: On Command and Leadership

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“Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.”

Carl von Clausewitz

Exceptional leaders influence people without making them feel controlled by an external authority, thus they are both shrewd and understated in favourable doses. If you hold an authoritative position, your orders should be stimulating and understandable, attentively focused on the group, not your vanity. Your method and course of command determine your triumph or downfall. Ill-defined direction is indiscernible and until it gets to the battleground, it will be long-overdue. Meagre leadership results in misguided action that’s based on people’s egotism. Vague direction causes people to act in accordance with their bigotry, stirring further disarray. Your mode of governance should be attuned to the deficiencies of the comrades in your group. Do not fail to spot your group’s flaws and count on instinct, it is not practical. Grand leaders are conscientious and aware, understanding the nuts and bolts of differing characters and arranging accordingly. Hence, if you fail to attune, your trail of command will almost surely collapse. Moreover, A leader with a flexible nature is of great benefit. Changeability is open to change in relation to the conditions and a commander with said trait has adept leverage that shapes the versatility of his group into a powerhouse. Remember: Insanity is an anomaly in human beings but a notable law in groups.

Leaders are permitting self-constraint by present-day politics, alluring them into a mode of conduct that clashes with one of the most momentous laws of war; directive union. In other words, the unification and harmony of ordered instruction. A productive means for catastrophe is segregated leadership. It has been the product of the most prominent conquests in former times. A sure way to destroy creativity is to engage in bargaining among an expansive range of individual characters. The group embodies an independent psyche; vigilant, unhurried, uninspired and in certain circumstances, purely groundless. Preservation of this union is absolutely critical, you have to remain in control of the threads, avoiding their abandonment. Simultaneously, you ought to know how to conceal your marks wisely, working behind closed doors and making your alliance feel concerned in your resolutions, to enforce this sense of fusion. Their guidance is profitable, so long as you know how to navigate through it efficiently, employing their productive proposals and courteously diverting from the unproductive ones. When you do this correctly, it will make them feel valuable and thoroughly connected with the advancement of the group.

Leadership is both understatedness and astuteness, the more arduously you try and coerce people, the more resistance you fire up and in turn, the less influence you have over them. The moral, therefore, is that a more substantial authority could result from detachment, although the frame of reference is consequential in this regard. An essential measure in a successful chain of command is a proficient alliance whose moral code aligns with yours. Thus, it is of utmost importance to pick well-suited people for the position. The appropriate character of a subordinate is a capacity to operate harmoniously under your command and with other members in your alliance and be endowed with a competency to take on the necessary duty as well as an adequate degree of mental self-government. The moment may not be on your side but never pick a man based solely on a written biography. Examine a man’s psychology apart from his expertise to form a more accurate judgement of his nature. Furthermore, reasonable reliance on your group is not destructive but avoid being held hostage or imposing excessive control. To be able to gather and endow useful details is a crucial duty for a successful course of order to allow you to attune swifter to conditions. The more concise and efficient your course of order, the more fluent your circulation of intelligence. People in your group would occupy distinct positions within the circle, endowing you with immediate intelligence from the battle lines, this will serve as an effective and regulated carrier for the amassing of data.

When people’s beliefs wholly resemble yours, they are likely attempting to cajole you with the appeal of alikeness. It is wise in said conditions to sustain a sceptical nature around them until you get to make out their temperament. Superficial charm is a ruse and an effective one at that, people employ it on their targets to lessen their sense of opposition but also to win their good favour and alleviate the potential threat. Do not make the assumption that a charming person is necessarily good-intentioned and benign, it is foolish to base your judgement on mere fabrication and appearance. There are people who are supremely competent in disguising their incentives, mainly the Machiavellian types and they make sure their genuine motives are by no means insinuated in their tongue. Undercover spies are doyens at this mode of conduct, ensuring no traces are exposed or left behind.

It is crucial, also, that your desires are understandable prior to giving out directives to your group, you must neither be unduly definite nor constricting, you should know how to entrust an adequate amount of emancipation in the people within your group to strategise independently when the condition necessitates it, rather than advocating mechanized deportment which makes them feel uninspired. Lastly, don’t be threatened by forces with divided leadership, you already have the edge which is sufficient. Forces with segregated leadership make for the opportune adversaries, you will not come to grief.

Deathground: Near Death Experience

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It is a well-known truism that a near-death experience often leads to an acceptance of death and, furthermore, a fearlessness that emerges as a by-product of the experience. Such an experience, I believe, takes you to the very edge, where you are, in a sense, tiptoeing toward death. Initially, the sensation of fear rapidly escalates, reaching its peak, but then, in the most unanticipated and astounding way, it evaporates, leaving behind an emptiness that is both awe-inspiring and terrifying. However, after that moment, fear ceases to manifest as anxiety. Instead, it is replaced by an aura of gratitude—an extraordinary perspective that only a minority have come to know. In that instant, gratitude overshadows all fear.

Those who have faced this transformation recognize eternity. Yet when they attempt to convey this insight to others, it is rarely understood with the gravity it deserves. Only those who have experienced it can truly comprehend it. Consider the great author and poet Dostoyevsky, who, standing on the brink of execution, had a profound revelation: “If I do not die, if I am not killed, my life will suddenly seem eternal, every moment.”

Without the urgency of mortality, courage becomes less pressing. In the face of death, however, there is no room for timidity. The fear that exists only in your mind is not the true enemy—it is the imagined dread that drains your spirit. When placed on death ground, where survival hangs by a thread, desperation ignites a unique kind of courage, expertise, and fearless drive. This desperation is not the needy, clinging sort we often associate with the word; it is a state of heightened focus, where every fiber of your being is aligned. Ancient commanders understood this well, inspiring their soldiers with the intensity born of necessity.

Fear is the greatest threat to presence of mind. It thrives on the unknown, conjuring terrifying scenarios that erode our mental clarity. The only antidote is to face it deliberately. Familiarity, after all, soothes fear. By confronting what intimidates us, we reduce its power over us and grow stronger. This act delivers two gifts: it closes the door to regret and instills confidence and satisfaction from overcoming what once held us back. Curiously, the symptoms of anxiety and excitement are nearly identical; the difference lies in context. When we label a sensation as anxiety, we imbue it with negativity. However, by reframing it as excitement, we can transform our experience entirely.

Succumbing to fear leads to a vicious cycle of shame and self-sabotage. Conversely, overcoming it fosters integrity, courage, and a clarity of purpose. Familiarity may bring comfort, but it can also dampen the vital energies stirred by hardship. True growth demands confronting discomfort and navigating uncharted territory.

The Master

In your effort to impress your teacher, you may unintentionally inspire unease or insecurity, which could later lead to your downfall. Ignorance of the laws of power does not exempt you from their effects; others may manipulate you if you fail to grasp these dynamics. It is essential to honor your master with goodwill and maintain a demeanor that puts them at ease. Resisting certain temptations is crucial to climbing the ladder of power. Nice guys, with their harmless attitudes, rarely achieve greatness.

Confidence is a universal challenge, yet great work often invites envy and resentment. People in positions of power cherish their exclusivity and often view brilliance or natural flair as a threat. Avoid the company of narcissists and the overly conceited. Do not let your own achievements breed self-adulation or resentment in your master. Praise, while powerful, has its limits—be aware of the fine line between flattery and overindulgence.

As a subordinate, it is wise to cultivate an air of innocence and deference, allowing your master to appear more brilliant. Publicly attribute your most innovative ideas to them, and conceal your virtues when necessary. This is not weakness but a strategic move that ultimately contributes to your growth. Never let others exploit your insecurity. By navigating the dynamics of power with humility and wisdom, you set the stage for your eventual success.

Selective assertiveness is sometimes required, particularly if your master is unworthy of their position. Remember: the stars may be as radiant as the sun but remain invisible in her presence. Timing and restraint are key; allow nature to take its course and avoid unnecessary conflict. Ultimately, the relationship between a master and subordinate should be one of mutual respect. The subordinate is the apprentice, and the master serves as a guiding light.