A lot of online grifters like to make it out like manipulating people is some kind of deep, dark, esoteric “dark jedi” skill.
Nah, it’s easier than almost anything else you can do, but most people don’t even try because they have self-respect, decency and an innate resistance against lying and lying and lying directly to someone’s face over and over and doubling down when challenged.
That’s really all it takes, is the ability to lie. If you can lie, you can manipulate your way all the way to the top, because people broadly do not assume someone else will do this so easily.
My father was a narcissistic personality a lot like Trump or Musk, he lied and lied and lied and made millions and then lost it all, because… as you could expect, it was all built on lies. But it does work. I’ve seen whole board-rooms of people pretending to be adults listening to my father’s spiels about financial nonsense and Christian beliefs and then throw checks at him. The fact that people in power are so easily swayed should terrify us all.
A lot of online grifters like to make it out like manipulating people is some kind of deep, dark, esoteric “dark jedi” skill.
Nah, it’s easier than almost anything else you can do, but most people don’t even try because they have self-respect, decency and an innate resistance against lying and lying and lying directly to someone’s face over and over and doubling down when challenged.
That’s really all it takes, is the ability to lie. If you can lie, you can manipulate your way all the way to the top, because people broadly do not assume someone else will do this so easily.
My father was a narcissistic personality a lot like Trump or Musk, he lied and lied and lied and made millions and then lost it all, because… as you could expect, it was all built on lies. But it does work. I’ve seen whole board-rooms of people pretending to be adults listening to my father’s spiels about financial nonsense and Christian beliefs and then throw checks at him. The fact that people in power are so easily swayed should terrify us all.