The Magician's Game
Accelerate the progress of your influence, finding that unusual way to awaken the noblest feelings in people.
The Count of Monte Cristo promised his friend, Maximilien, that he will make him the happiest man in the world if the had the strength to wait a month. But Maximilien was firmly convinced that his beloved Valentine had died. Time passed and he had lost all hope to see her again. Nobody could give him back his happiness, not even the count. That's why he wanted to end his life. He only hoped for Monte Cristo to ease his death.
- Listen to me, Count, just like a man who speaks with his finger aiming to the ground and his eyes stretched skyward is listened to: I came here to die in the arms of a friend. You, Count, who gave me your word, will gently and tenderly lead me to the gates of death, isn't that right? I feel like I had reached the end of my road and I won't go further. You told me to wait and hope… You know what you did, you miserable and wise man? I waited for a month, meaning I suffered for a month ! I trusted you. I hoped ! I expected… what for? I don't know. Something unknown, absurd, foolish ! A wonder… Which one? Yes, I waited. But in vain. Only to prolong my agony.
Maximilien uttered these words with a burst of energy that made the Count startle. Monte Cristo got up, removed from a carefully locked closet a small silver case, which contained a greasy and half-solid substance. Then, with a silver spoon, he took a drop of that green substance and gave it to Maximilien.
Can you demonstrate the link between faith and the inadmissible that transforms into a miracle, thereby opening a path toward other ways of relating to reality?
Slowly, without reluctance, Maximilien swallowed the mysterious substance that Monte Cristo gave him. An endless pain seized him. He felt as if he was dying. He dropped in the arm chair. A smooth heaviness sneaked into his veins. His languid eyes shut unwillingly: and yet, behind his eyelids, an image that he recognized was getting about, although he believed himself shrouded in darkness.
A sensational and explosive appearance. The Count opened a door. Instantly, a great light spread in the room. Maximilien then saw a very beautiful woman standing in the door. Like an angel, she walked towards him with her hands clasped and a smile on her lips. It was Valentine.
Then, the Count, clearly surprised by their joy, said to them:
- Without me, you would have both died. I render you to each other. From now on, you will no longer have to be separated as long as you both shall live. May God take account of these two lives I have saved.
Can you demonstrate an impossible effect by conditioning the very creation of a situation-suggestion?
A situation-suggestion, which makes it easier to respond to requests of fiction, is based on the condition of a change of approach to reality in an experience that becomes unforgettable.
A true magician manages, paradoxically, by his magical power, to move people to the bottom of their beings. He manages to awaken in them, in a very special manner, strong feelings of joy and happiness. He manages to produce some beneficial, unexpected effects on them.
In order to become a consummate leader, you must give the impression that you are a magician, to become a person who has the power to accomplish the impossible, a person who, with a remarkable artistic subtlety, with a spectacular directorial subtlety, worthy of a great psychologist, manages to demonstrate an impossible effect. So that people would feel a sense of relief, a real and uplifting relief.
A leader's efficiency increases with their ability to generate a whirlwind of emotions, prompting people to attribute incredible value to them through the flawless execution of an act of 'social magic'.
As a leader, you must be ready to release people of any burden, to enlighten them, to comfort their every pain, to heal all their wounds, if possible. You have to be interested in each of them and convey them a tremendous hope. The more the effect you produced on them is surprisingly and extraordinarily accomplished, the more profound their feeling of happiness will be.
Every time a magician creates an illusion, he brings the show to the climax, so people then become fully impressed. He is able to arouse in people a whirlwind of emotions – a trait characteristic to a magician, to seduce them through causing them to grant him an incredible value, thus making himself a glorious title.
Do your actions gain practical finality through the conviction that a person's value is directly proportional to their service to a fundamental cause?
A leader always plays a big role. He often plays the role of the magician, who must prove his power and emphasize all his qualities, appealing to stunning, miraculous effects. But he especially must prove that, following him, anything is possible and that his presence is necessary -because he has a positive influence.
Things start to come alive with a leader. You can also be a "Monte Cristo" and render people the state of joy in a very special manner, help them live fully positive, uplifting feelings, and they, as a reward, confident of your abilities, your superiority and feeling the love you share them, may lift their hearts towards you.
Just like a magician, a leader, through his style or manner of solving problems, will manage to arouse people's emotions, to awaken them feelings.
A higher cause that you serve must be regarded as a reservoir of accumulated knowledge, because it allows you to accurately reconstruct the sequences of the past and use them in situations where you’re at the limit.
The Magician's Game, which takes place on a higher plane, inspires you, makes you live. In the game the magician creates, you can see his talent and how much heart he puts into his shows.
A leader's "game" is much alike that of a magician's. It's based on trust and emotional strength, but also on strategy. And strategies mustn't be left for chance, for they will cause confusion and bewilderment.
* Note: Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo, Youth Publishing House, 1957.
