How to seize power

You might want to read :

-"The Prince" by Machiavelli. It's around 500 years old, but still as relevant today as when it was written.

-"The Genie Within : Your Subconscious Mind" by Harry Carpenter.

-Also, you could research Neuro Linguistic Programming. It's information on Mirroring, Pacing, and Leading is informative, same for submodalities (though NLP's main thrust is self improvement)

There are other paths to influence. Of all methods though, if you program your subconscious mind to achieve power, it will set about achieving power for you.

As for why I answered this - no idea

Thank you.

When I rule the world your death shall be quick and painless.



I have got The Prince but never got round to reading it. I also think "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu would be good reading, do you not agree?




Really? I had always thought that this was a complex, conscious thought process. Are you saying it can be sunk to the sub-conscious domain?

I've seen numerous good quotes from it, although I've never read it, but yes, it would be good.

Thanks for promising a quick and painless death, although if you want people helping you, it's better to appeal to their sense of Greed, and leave a vague sense of threat to their well being, rather than giving direct promises of quick demises - rather Hitchcockian in principle. Hmmm, Although Mugabe obviously doesn't agree with me there.

The books by Robert Greene are rather good for that sort of stuff to (the something) Laws of Power, and The Art of Seduction.

I still haven't worked out what Neuro Linguistic Programming is, despite having a glance at the Wikipedia page. Oh well. Intelligence isn't entirely necessary for gaining power.

You really know your stuff, don't you. The slogan of this website has finally proven itself worthy.

NLP is among other things, is meant to be a study of the way the mind works, but among other things, offers a way of quickly programming the subconscious mind, a way of establishing rapport quickly and effectively, and a way of understanding how language affects us.

And to answer a previous question, programming the subconscious mind to achieve what you want is the most effective way to achieve anything you want (it already affects everything you do and achieve anyway). I don't know exactly how effective NLP is at that, I haven't yet read too deeply into it.

I would argue to the contrary. Complex thought processes can only be correctly executed in the conscious domain. Ambition is one thing. Achieving is another.

Not true. Think of driving a car. When you start, you have to think about everything, and in reality, you are not very good at it. As you gain unconscious competence, you no long have to consciously think about what you are doing (because the subconscious carries out the function).

The subconscious is capable of carrying out numerous tasks/thoughts at once, while the conscious is only capable of thinking about one thing at a time (try thinking "I am God" over and over, and trying thinking "I'm the devil" at the same time - you can't - you have to stop thinking one to think the other).

The same goes for language skills - if you have ever learnt a second language, you first have to consciously think about it, before eventually the words form meaning in your subconscious mind (which leads to fluency).

The same goes for conversation/seduction/persuasion/etc structure. Learn the structure to a subconscious level, and you don't need to flounder for what to say next, because it comes 'naturally'.

When you make a 'leap in logic' it is done at a subconscious level.

Have you ever struggled to solve a problem, only to solve it when you weren't consciously thinking about it? That's the subconscious for you.

There are many, many other examples of the way it works.

Further, the subconscious mind is goal oriented, and belief based. It can't tell right from wrong, and it can deals best with ideas in the present tense.

If you tell it "I'm clumsy" or "I'm forgetful" it will go about making you clumsy and forgetful. If you fear that you can't achieve something (this fear is based in the belief that you aren't competent enough to achieve it), it will act on that fear to make you not achieve it. If you keep your mind on the goal, knowing and believing that you will achieve it, the subconscious sets about achieving it for you.

If you get curious, do a little bit of research into it. It's not enough to just say "I want power".

Your theory is possible but I think that, rather, seemingly complex thought processes such as driving are in fact made up of several simple complexes, which can be sunk.

Consider an algebraic problem. No matter how much one practices, they can never do it fully sub-consciously. While they may do each individual step sub-consciously, they can never do the whole at once.


Deceit in a general way can be sub-consciously mastered, but only because it is partially sub-conscious in the first place. Evolution has built into us the ability to deceive. Sun Tzu said that deceit is key to war.

I shall have to learn how to deceive sub-consciously, as you say. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this activity it is hard valuable guides on how to it.

That's correct. That should tell you something about the use of the subconscious. You are also correct that some things need to be done consciously (maths as in your example).

You really need to do some reading if you want to understand it (and I would recommend you do look into it)

I will. I take it the book you recommended is a preferable starting point?

Yes. There doesn't seem to be too much on it, but "The Genie Within" by Harry Carpenter was a informative read.

Creative Visualisation by Shakti Gawain offers some insights, but in my opinion isn't as good as The Genie Within.

The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy is interesting (if you can get past the use of religious texts), and offers insights into the medical/health benefits of the Subconscious.

I don't agree with a lot of things in any of the books (The Genie Within being the least controversial I think), but they offer enough workable information that they are rather valuable.

I have other books on order, and I need to look further into NLP, but that will be down the track.

Ok seizing power, the best way to do it as illustrated by leaders of many nations is as you say to cause fear. But another nice little strategy is immense popularity it is the single best way to covertly cause massive revolutions of belief. Fear causes people to think negatively of you and to be constantly plotting against you but with popularity you will be fought for.

That's not what I meant. I meant when the people have a common enemy and live in fear, of war, of pandemic, of terrorism, of whatever, they look for a saviour, and it is your job to place yourself in a position where, in their eyes, you are that saviour. V for Vendetta is a perfect example of this. The government seized in times of fear. Genesis is another exampe (ZoSo it's in our library btw).

The problem comes when society becomes stable again, and the fear disappears. The government then, as a standard move, attempts to reinstall that fear, which, if fiction is correct, is a move that is certain to fail.

What does one do, I wonder, when the fear fades?

My thoughts are that humanity tends towards evil, and that evil cannot be present in a perfect society, ergo humanity must be removed in order for a "utopia" to exist. This is a recurrent theme in A Brave New World, Equilibrium, Genesis and many other pieces of fiction. In all, each in their own way, humanity has been removed. In A Brave New World, suffering has been removed, and to suffer is to be human. In Equilibrium, emotion has been removed, and to feel is to be human. In Genesis... I'll let you find out.

Ahhh I see what you mean. I agree a common enemy is definatly an effective way of uniting people as you say people tend towards evil. It is far more likely people will focus on the worst parts of their lives rather than the best. It is also a very valid point that once the "evil" is irradicated what than? This is a constant state for most "stable" governments today there are generaaly no issues of upmost importance presence in these societies. So instead in order to control people's urges to rebel emphasis is focused on a variety of issues that in comparison are considerably less important but still relieve the human need for fear and evil. And surprisingly recently this works in maintaining stability.

I'm tired of vague philosophy and theory, so here I will list a few ways of seizing power, and you can evaluate them:

1) POLITICAL

This is probably the most realistic one, and has actually been accomplished by dictators such as Mugabe. I don't know the details of how he accomplished this, but I know that he was elected, and then used intimidation and military force to stay in power. In this case, the time of crisis was absent, I think, but if we take the hypothetical situation of V for Vendetta, where the person took power politically by promising stability in a time of crisis. They did this by keeping tight control over the people. The problem with this is that, in Mugabe's case at least, he is not a very well-liked figure, and his control is only political, not spiritual. In other words, the people aren't for him. I don't think power is worth it if the subsequent society lives in fear.

2) BUSINESS

Business tycoons can be more influential than presidents. I much prefer the idea of being powerful through business than powerful through politics. Businesses have virtually no limit to their size and influence, whereas politicians have strict spheres of influence. Also, no businessmen have no ties or obligations to the public. They are free to do as they wish. The problem is that I suspect this method is more difficult than the previous. There are only a certain number of politicians, whereas there are hundreds of thousands of businesses.

3) PUPPETEER

The puppeteer is not in the position of power, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, he controls those who do. He may have power over several parties, and so he can play them off or make them do as he sees fit. He may achieve control via financial or other means (yes, other means), or he may mastermind the rise of the organisation, be in political or business, from the start.

What do you think?