Another gem from that same book, The 48 Laws of Power, this time from law 25:
RE-CREATE YOURSELF
"Do not accept the roles that society foists on you.
Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience.
Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you.
Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions.
Your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Understand this: The world wants to assign you a role in life.
And once you accept that role you are doomed. Your power is limited to the tiny amount allotted to
the role you have selected or have been forced to assume.
An actor, on the other hand, plays many roles.
Enjoy that protean power, and if it is beyond you, at least forge a new identity, one of your own
making, one that has had no boundaries assigned to it by an envious and resentful world.
This act of defiance is Promethean: It makes you responsible for your own creation.
Your new identity will protect you from the world precisely because it is not “you”;
it is a costume you put on and take off.
You need not take it personally.
And your new identity sets you apart, gives you theatrical presence.
Those in the back rows can see you and hear you.
Those in the front rows marvel at your audacity.
The character you seem to have been born with is not necessarily who you are;
beyond the characteristics you have inherited, your parents, your friends, and your peers have
helped to shape your personality.
The Promethean task of the powerful is to take control of the process, to stop allowing
others that ability to limit and mold them.
Remake yourself into a character of power.
Working on yourself like clay should be one of your greatest and most pleasurable life tasks.
It makes you in essence an artist-an artist creating yourself.
The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousnessbeing aware of yourself as
an actor and taking control of your appearance and emotions.
As Diderot said, the bad actor is the one who is always sincere.
People who wear their hearts on their sleeves out in society are tiresome
and embarrassing. Their sincerity notwithstanding, it is hard to take
them seriously.
Those who cry in public may temporarily elicit sympathy,
but sympathy soon turns to scorn and irritation at their selfobsessiveness-they are crying to get attention,
we feel, and a maliciouspart of us wants to deny them the satisfaction.
The second step in the process of selflcreation is a variation on the
George Sand strategy: the creation of a memorable character, one that
compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage.
Good drama, however, needs more than an interesting appearance, or
a single stand-out moment. Drama takes place over time-it is an unfolding
event Rhythm and Timing are critical.
One of the most important elements in the rhythm of drama is suspense.
The key to keeping the audience on the edge of their seats is letting
events unfold slowly, then speeding them up at the right moment, according to
a pattern and tempo that you control."
RE-CREATE YOURSELF
"Do not accept the roles that society foists on you.
Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience.
Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you.
Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions.
Your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Understand this: The world wants to assign you a role in life.
And once you accept that role you are doomed. Your power is limited to the tiny amount allotted to
the role you have selected or have been forced to assume.
An actor, on the other hand, plays many roles.
Enjoy that protean power, and if it is beyond you, at least forge a new identity, one of your own
making, one that has had no boundaries assigned to it by an envious and resentful world.
This act of defiance is Promethean: It makes you responsible for your own creation.
Your new identity will protect you from the world precisely because it is not “you”;
it is a costume you put on and take off.
You need not take it personally.
And your new identity sets you apart, gives you theatrical presence.
Those in the back rows can see you and hear you.
Those in the front rows marvel at your audacity.
The character you seem to have been born with is not necessarily who you are;
beyond the characteristics you have inherited, your parents, your friends, and your peers have
helped to shape your personality.
The Promethean task of the powerful is to take control of the process, to stop allowing
others that ability to limit and mold them.
Remake yourself into a character of power.
Working on yourself like clay should be one of your greatest and most pleasurable life tasks.
It makes you in essence an artist-an artist creating yourself.
The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousnessbeing aware of yourself as
an actor and taking control of your appearance and emotions.
As Diderot said, the bad actor is the one who is always sincere.
People who wear their hearts on their sleeves out in society are tiresome
and embarrassing. Their sincerity notwithstanding, it is hard to take
them seriously.
Those who cry in public may temporarily elicit sympathy,
but sympathy soon turns to scorn and irritation at their selfobsessiveness-they are crying to get attention,
we feel, and a maliciouspart of us wants to deny them the satisfaction.
The second step in the process of selflcreation is a variation on the
George Sand strategy: the creation of a memorable character, one that
compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage.
Good drama, however, needs more than an interesting appearance, or
a single stand-out moment. Drama takes place over time-it is an unfolding
event Rhythm and Timing are critical.
One of the most important elements in the rhythm of drama is suspense.
The key to keeping the audience on the edge of their seats is letting
events unfold slowly, then speeding them up at the right moment, according to
a pattern and tempo that you control."