Utilising Subtlety

Lately, I have been quite successful in making a small amount of money. An amount I would have never imagined possible if you were to ask me just a week ago. In the period of just 10 days, I have made RM140 through writing speeches.

From a practical perspective, this small success is attributed mostly to two things. The connectivity of social media and a simple yet attractive advertisement made using Powerpoint. As you can see, neither of which costed any extra money for me to use.

However, I wouldn't be even half as successful if I did not implement the lessons I've learned from books such as Obliquity, How To Win Friends & Influence People, The Prince and many other books which have shaped my attitude and style of interactions. I have applied a plethora of practical advice that I have learned from these books but if you were to listen and read to the conversations I had with the people who hired me for writing speeches, you probably wouldn't be able to point out when and how I used those methods.

Pondering this, I realised the value of subtlety. The power of being indirect. It's quite paradoxical for someone like me who has lived with the principle that clarity is king. When I first read Obliquity, I was offended by the idea that being indirect was a great key to success. The book even began with a notion that if you want to make money, you can't make it the primary goal, an idea that I now hold a strong belief in.

Every single word I had uttered and typed to my clients was thought up within seconds but they were backed by hours of reading and practising. And in all those hours, I trained my mind to focus on one thing. To make it clear that I wanted something without making it clear that I wanted it. That sentence confuses me too but think about it long enough and you'll understand. Let me try to explain. I needed to make sure that the other person knows what I wanted but not know that I wanted it. Yes, I believe that sounds better.

I had endeavoured to make sure every single word would steer the conversation and offer into a direction that would help me. At the same time, I would make it seem that the conversation was being guided by the other person, not me. Indirect control is what I attempt to do and I'd like to believe that I'm successful sometimes. Just sometimes, not most of the time.

This is all I can say about this big topic for now. A client who hired me before has just messaged me and he's got another job for me.

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