The fierce embrace of the devil

On August 31, 2010, in Leadership that lasts, by Neculai Fantanaru

Increase your leadership power without becoming a prisoner of your own passions.

Qin Shi Huang Di was a brilliant strategist. He conquered all of China, which even today bears his name. Even so, how did he get the most powerful and feared man in the world at that time? Nothing simpler: keeping humanity "in chess", as well as always guiding himself by the principle: "The end justifies the means".

His empire had to be eternal. He defeated kingdom after kingdom by the force of arms. All prisoners were executed. He didn't admit his orders to be discussed. Everything, even the interests of those who supported him, had to be subordinated to his. Obsessed by the idea to reach his goals at any cost, he always acted mercilessly and unforgiving.

For a man who has the passion of power and glory, but especially that of power, people's lives have no price. Fearful of what people think about his mean and inhumane actions and decisions, Qin Shi Huang Di found a reason to execute 460 scholars, a crime that, above others, lodged in the memory of his people. Hundreds of thousands of people suffered in order to build the emperor a giant mausoleum, an underground palace guarded by an army of terracotta, and a huge wall designed to provide defense to his kingdom.

A telepathic witchcraft

Certainly, the devil's best friend is the man who, only if he manages to win by his side can reach his goal. However, once you're under his supreme power, he has the right over the life and death of each and everyone, because the devil never accepts defeat. Once you get into hell, once you're caught in his demonic claws, you can't do anything – You're trapped like in a spider web, which is woven more and more around you, and you're held prisoner like in a hypnotic trance.

The one who imagined that kindness ruled the world was terribly wrong. The Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di became the embodiment of people's fears. He manifested in his actions with all his power and his wickedness. Even so, besides the fact that he was very stubborn, he had a very great power of persuasion.

He was an expert in mesmerism, and had that unhealthy ability to hypnotize masses of people. He exercised from far a malicious telepathic influence to poison the souls of innocent people not suspecting anything. Therefore, many were left prey to his superior will, waiting for him to decide for them. Many were ready to sacrifice their lives by the name of his high ideals, and the beliefs which he created.

I wonder why a man would give his life, with such a big joy, for his leader. Firstly, the leader must fully correspond to his expectations. And a Don Juan of the darkness can twist people's minds with a supposedly healthy reasoning and coherence in thought that they, without being seized by a doubt, immersed in a state of general euphoria, to be ready to give their lives for him.

It's true, in order to handle people, you should be able to penetrate inside them, to freeze their souls so deeply that they are no longer able to properly discern between good and evil. And by his power and art, the devil always manages to achieve this performance. His mental omnipotence troubles so much the good discernment of his servants that they devoted to him body and soul, are signing their own death sentence.

The devil finds his main support in his subjects

Once fallen under the devil's domination, human's life hangs by a thread. However, his future depends on people as well. For he uses people as a support he can freely lean against. For this reason, he can't choose total indifference towards them, by adopting a constructive attitude, he makes sure they will meet some of his certain needs and only then, when they are no longer needed, he gets rid of them. For the good running of his business is influenced only by results, which depend on the performance of his subjects. And the demoralization of people, the lack of productivity and proactivity are the most significant risk factors.

An evil genius must be killed or locked in a coffer, or you must determine him to accept his hostile fate and resign himself. Nevertheless, the extraordinary power of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, his demonic power over souls was too big. There were no cells or walls to stop him. People could only delude themselves, thinking that he is mortal, and some day, they will be able to escape from that hell.

A cold-hearted being and reckless in his passion, always lacking measure, ruled by overstrung feelings, cannot foster strong positive feelings for someone, but selfish or unfair, which will ultimately lead him to failure. The Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di was supposed to be eternal. However, he ended in chaos. Furthermore, he died after he swallowed a pill of mercury, which was supposed to extend his life. Death was the enemy that he feared a lifetime, and which he could not defeat.

Conclusion: In leadership, you cannot succeed based on the principle "The end justifies the means" and you cannot lead with a tyrannical policy because you will end up badly. To value the power without caring for those around you, to sacrifice everything, including people, means to turn away from the notion of leader (who is elected), and to become a tyrant (who is required by force), drawing the dispraise of those around you who, sooner or later, will remove you from the lead.

Increase your leadership power, but without becoming a prisoner of your own passions.