Misconception

Boldness

With brazen assertive boldness a trickster will enter a building and pass through any security in place with the same posture as one who has legitimate access. If you walk inside, neither wary nor coy, you are much less likely to be challenged. There will be times in life where this can be employed to great effect, not to break any law as such but to get around some bureaucracy of one sort or another. As a humble soul in charge, we need to be suspicious of bold individuals if we want to avoid being cheated.

Victims dither - to avoid being one, you can make yourself appear that you know what you are doing and where you are going, rather than looking lost and vulnerable. Walk with purpose.

You can’t fight the whole world. Sooner or later, someone will defeat you; fatally. When in danger, one can resort to acting a little crazy, demented, to confuse the situation giving you vital time to slip away. Wave your hands in the air and make strange noises. Do you want an epitaph of bravado or play some more days of your life unharmed. There are many stories of warfare where only the cowards came home. The cowards let people know the fate of the rest. If you have too many cowards in your army you will lose, but too much confidence and not enough respect for what can go wrong can wipe out people in their prime. We worry too much about the tiny number that will view us as a cowardly chicken. We might do better worrying about a getting a permanent scar on our face which everyone will see.

Opportunities are lost not for the lack of chance, but for the reluctance to have the nerve to ask. A friend of mine saw a motorcycle left outside a neighbour’s house, unused and neglected. With a little care and attention, it would have been ideal for restoration. When it went, he asked the neighbour what they had done with it. He found to his despair that it was dumped. Had he asked beforehand the neighbour would have given it to him for free to get it off their hands. In the same way as braving the request for a date with a someone you fancy, a promising looking soul, we know that in most instances the worst-case scenario is that we get a blunt no. Fortune favours the brave is a good cliché and wasted chances litter our lives.

Despots have proposed becoming an eternal leader years before making it a reality. Try sliding in a suggestion about getting married on a first date. We can broach ideas that appear preposterous and crazy. Some suggestions seem preposterous at first. However, little by little preposterous ideas begin to be taken seriously. Ridiculous to reality by seeding an idea and making people believe.

Many will shy away from asking too many direct questions, too intrusive, far too probing they think but it is not a great surprise that people respond positively when put on the spot. This is because most like nothing better than talking about themselves. Caution is required when being direct and a good sense of when someone feels awkward. If unsure, I ask if they feel comfortable talking about the subject in question and change course where applicable. Confrontational, head-on discussions brought me results - insights into numerous avenues of thoughts. Two primary devises are used, one is resisting jumping in, and the other is repeating the question or a variation of it several times. Having the audacity to wait for a response. Saying nothing whilst keeping eyeballs transfixed, yours, and theirs, will elicit more than mere gabber. If I am not getting the result I want, I rephrase and reapply the pressure appealing for more information. If all else fails, I might show disinterest banking on them wanting more attention. Sincerity and the ability to maintain some confidentiality is important to me with any of this. I like prying, lots of us do. Whilst it is prying and being nosy, it can be helpful. Couples don’t always broach certain subjects with one another. An outside force can bring things out into the open and encourage some helpful reflection. Some things are not always talked about at home. They lay there bubbling just under the surface. An outsider prying can help them come to the fore.