Force & Cunning

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “The only means to gain one’s ends with people are force and cunning.  Love also, they say; but that is to wait for sunshine, and life needs every moment.”

And that is precisely the point.  We are here for a limited time.  We do not have the luxury of waiting for the stars to align.  If a man has ambition, if he has the wherewithal, then he should spend his waking hours in ensuring his success.  There is no need to be unethical or unjust, but there is a need to be focused, and ruthless.  There should be none of this ingrained  societal fear of offending people.

People, by their nature, will be offended.  Even saints have enemies.  Rather, it is important to understand why they are offended, and exploit it.  It is sentiment, masquerading as empathy, that fools us into thinking that every person matters.  People’s feeling matter when they have use, when they have earned their place in friendship, when they have proven themselves.  Those who fall outside this circle do not have such privileges.  This is what determines success and failure.