Friday, October 15, 2010

 Law 6
Court Attention at all Cost

Part 2: Create an Air of Mystery

"In a world growing increasingly banal and familiar, what seems enigmatic instantly draws attention.  Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do.  Do not show all your cards.  An air of mystery heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation - everyone will be watching you to see what happens next.  Use mystery to beguile, seduce, even frighten. " 

 

I N T R O D U C T I O N

So this is part two of the sixth law of power, creating an air of mystery.  Imagine, in the past, the world was filled with an infinite number of mysteries, from earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and many more.  Whatever we did not understand, became myths, legends, and spirits or gods, but now in our modern society, "We have managed, through science and reason, to illuminate the darkness."


As a result of this newfound light that has spread across nearly every region in the world, we all crave enigmas, mysteries, and people that cannot easily be interpreted or analyzed.  The world has become filled with easily recognizable, stock characters which are becoming dull and boring; the mysterious, however, invite and excite the senses, opening many layers of interpretation and invariably drawing the limelight and attention to it.




To create an air of mystery, you do not need to be "grand or awe-inspiring," but instead weave the mysterious aspects of yourself subtly in your everyday actions.  Remember, most people in today's world are as easy to read as an open book, they take little care in crafting their image and choosing which words escape their mouth.  

"By simply holding back, keeping silent, occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways,  you will emanate an aura of mystery.  The people around you will then magnify that aura by constantly trying to interpret you."


Imagine someone like Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the most famous men who ever existed in this world.  He was a genius in many areas including art, science, sculpture, engineering, and much more.  His mystery, however, heightened his name exponentially, and he knew how to invoke curiosity and wonderment from his peers.  For example, he did some strange things such as writing his notebook entries in mirror script which made his work discernible for many years after his death until people actually figured out what he was up to.

Also, we can see the mysterious layers hidden in his art work, which are still being constantly debated and interpreted today.  The Mona Lisa, for example, has sparked controversy and debate for centuries, as well as The Last Supper and the Vetruvian man.  He enjoyed a unique fame throughout his whole lifetime, and has been forever immortalized through his mysterious actions and subtly layered brilliance in all of his works.





"Authority: if you do not declare yourself immediately, you arouse expectation ... Mix a little mystery with everything, and the very mystery stirs up veneration.  And when you explain, be not too explicit ... In this manner you imitate the Divine way when you cause men to wonder and watch. " (Baltasar Gracian , 1601-1658)


Lastly, I will discuss the reversal of this law, and that is of course to never apply this law to the point where you are repeating the same thing over and over, tiring people out and making them think you are desperate for attention.  There are times when the best course of action is to remain hidden with the crowd, and not to defend or attack the reputation of someone who will destroy yours if given the chance.

"Never appear greedy for attention, then, for it signals insecurity, and insecurity drives power away."  This goes back to the other laws of power I discussed earlier in my blog posts, "Never outshine the master," and in general, be prudent of your actions, and always take time to reflect and consider ways you can improve yourself in other ways.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next post, will be different in some way but you'll have to wait and see ;)

39 comments:

ChopperDave said...

Good read, man! +follow

Eferhilda said...

Yet another insightful and entertaining post. I truly enjoy reading each of these since they are so blatantly true and obvious that it is sometimes a wonder that more people have not picked up on all of this.

Drackar said...

know when to shut up, in other words.

Anonymous said...

great post really loving it

aGas said...

yeah man, can't wait for the next post!

Joebloggs said...

This is tremendously interesting my friend

Archivist X0042 said...

im always hidden in the crowd

Anonymous said...

why the hell is he running naked, what is going on

Unknown said...

Nice text, good read. Deserves a follow :)

000 said...

Haha. The running man is rad!

Anonymous said...

I like the way your blog is so intelligent yet fun

Kingofthemelvins said...

Mind blown.

Oh oh! Banana! said...

This is very... cryptic... Disable CAPTCHA please.

BLUERAD said...

THANKS disabled captcha finally, can't believe I forgot to do that for so long.


Also adopted the full page comment screen for ease of access, less scrolling!

Thanks for all the great comments, have been fairly busy as of late, but will continue to update with quality and awesome posts!

Make sure to check out my other blogs if you have time, i'll have a good time reading yours soon ;)

Jimmy Volmer said...

nice, now I know when to shut up

Lets Wrestle said...

very good stuff

Discerning Gentleman said...

this was really interesting

Light Weight Baby! said...

nice insight

Nerd Life said...

super interesting man

BradsSportsBlog said...

great read - like the story

Anonymous said...

I love it man cool blog I will be checking you out in a totally heterosexual way unless

icøn¡c said...

Nice post, was a good read!

Weirdwhirl said...

Thats.... interesting! I never really looked at some of the stuf in that light, good read, follow'd.

zeN said...

thanks for the very interesting read!

Brandoncamerer said...

Very good read!

Jacob said...

What you are suggesting here seems dangerously close to attention whoring. Actively and constantly attempting to give away a certain impression sounds kind of.. lame. If you indeed were to follow a plan like this, you should probably try changing yourself into actually being this interesting person, and not just trying to seem like you are.

Freebie Blogger said...

Great read, looking forward to your next post.

Dustin T said...

Ahh...so nice of a read, this one will read the next entry.

Logan said...

that pic of the guy with hole 19 on his back, omg that is so amazing. i want to shake the guys hand

MrD said...

Dude some real helpful hints in here

dolan duck said...

LOLED at last picture, good read though supporting.

dzikrk said...

I lold on last pic ;D

Big Rick. said...

good read, definitely following this blog now

Kikino said...

this is some really serious shit!

Unlogic said...

That "attention whore" I just love guys like that :D :D

SituationAbs said...

Good read, looking forward to reading more from you.

Donkote said...

hahaha i lol'd at the "attention whore" picture. Definitely good tips, makes me think over a lot of stuff

ProBlogger said...

Nice read dude. + follow.

Big Boss said...

Zis is very interesting...