We've all met them, those well-dressed, well-appointed smoothed-tongued manipulators who can get away with anything and make astronomical profits from it while the rest of us are stressed to breaking point by the conflicting demands on our time. These are the winners in our society, and the system makes it remarkably difficult for them to lose. What can you or I do when faced with these self-serving individuals who will stop at nothing to have their way?
At first glance, the Players seem to have an absolute hold on the Game they created. They are the majority; they hold the higher ground and with it a permanent, built in advantage in. What then is the outsider to do against such insuperable odds?
What we need is a new way to play the game: a way to reverse our positions of power and take the advantage from the seasoned Players. They base their plays on their existing power, on their surety that we are the underdogs. Herein we may find our way to undermine them, since it is this confidence in their mastery which is at once the source of their easy profits and their greatest weakness.
Meanwhile, they become dependent upon this advantageous position; and when the trump is removed from their hand, they really have no idea of how to cope with the situation they find themselves in. They will usually resort to what they know; bluff and bluster, which only serve to worsen their predicament, as they amplify the downward spiral in which they find themselves. The outsider, on the other hand, has no such advantage. Therefore, we must rely upon intelligence and stealth, to create our good fortune.
The good news for us is that most Players have only one strategy, and once it has failed they are left paddleless up the proverbial creak. The Players never imagine that they might be played, and therein lies our advantage. The reasons for this are twofold:
First, the average Player views the rest of us as fools, incapable of thinking tactically. Second, they see themselves as gifted with a shrewdness which the rest of us simply do not have.
For our strategy to work we must first convince the Player to buy into a false sense of security which we will create. To do this we must study our Players, learn what makes them tick, and adjust our approach to deal more specifically with the individual or group concerned. We must then watch how they operate, basing our movements on theirs. Players are never long idle - their constant agenda to seek out more wealth and power is forever propelling them on.
Because a Player thinks of himself as supreme he takes no notice of his own mistakes, believing himself incapable of making any. In addition, his unwillingness to take an interest in anything which will not benefit him materially makes him remarkably shallow. If problems do arise he will have no way of thinking creatively in order to address them, and will therefore be reduced to a state of panic, and so the downward spiral begins.
It is also important to observe that Players will only take action if their success is assured - they are, essentially, lacking in courage. By forcing them into a corner we can undermine them completely. So weak is the Player cut off from his advantage in The Game that his cowardice will shine through and he will be destroyed. - 30535
At first glance, the Players seem to have an absolute hold on the Game they created. They are the majority; they hold the higher ground and with it a permanent, built in advantage in. What then is the outsider to do against such insuperable odds?
What we need is a new way to play the game: a way to reverse our positions of power and take the advantage from the seasoned Players. They base their plays on their existing power, on their surety that we are the underdogs. Herein we may find our way to undermine them, since it is this confidence in their mastery which is at once the source of their easy profits and their greatest weakness.
Meanwhile, they become dependent upon this advantageous position; and when the trump is removed from their hand, they really have no idea of how to cope with the situation they find themselves in. They will usually resort to what they know; bluff and bluster, which only serve to worsen their predicament, as they amplify the downward spiral in which they find themselves. The outsider, on the other hand, has no such advantage. Therefore, we must rely upon intelligence and stealth, to create our good fortune.
The good news for us is that most Players have only one strategy, and once it has failed they are left paddleless up the proverbial creak. The Players never imagine that they might be played, and therein lies our advantage. The reasons for this are twofold:
First, the average Player views the rest of us as fools, incapable of thinking tactically. Second, they see themselves as gifted with a shrewdness which the rest of us simply do not have.
For our strategy to work we must first convince the Player to buy into a false sense of security which we will create. To do this we must study our Players, learn what makes them tick, and adjust our approach to deal more specifically with the individual or group concerned. We must then watch how they operate, basing our movements on theirs. Players are never long idle - their constant agenda to seek out more wealth and power is forever propelling them on.
Because a Player thinks of himself as supreme he takes no notice of his own mistakes, believing himself incapable of making any. In addition, his unwillingness to take an interest in anything which will not benefit him materially makes him remarkably shallow. If problems do arise he will have no way of thinking creatively in order to address them, and will therefore be reduced to a state of panic, and so the downward spiral begins.
It is also important to observe that Players will only take action if their success is assured - they are, essentially, lacking in courage. By forcing them into a corner we can undermine them completely. So weak is the Player cut off from his advantage in The Game that his cowardice will shine through and he will be destroyed. - 30535
About the Author:
John Berling Hardy is dedicated to giving people the hard, tough, winning strategies that life coaches won't. For more of his writings please visit www.playingtheplayers.com
