There is no justice, only power
Published: Tue, 07/07/20
A few years ago I had the privilege of speaking on stage at AWAI’s copywriting bootcamp with two of my copywriting and marketing “heroes” Brian Kurtz and Carline Anglade-Cole.
They had us on stage as a panel for Q&A.
And, one of the questions they asked was about what motivates us to write each day.
Your pal elBenbo’s answer?
Power.
That’s right, Chuckles — power, and lots of it.
Of course, the room looked at me like I was Palpatine/Darth Sidious from Star Wars, about to shoot lighting bolts out of my finger tips. And, I quickly reassured them that it wasn’t because I wanted to commit mass genocide or anything too dramatic.
No, it's because of something I read from Gary Halbert years ago in his Boron Letters book.
Here’s what I mean:
When Gary was in prison, he wrote about a cat who hung around the prison yard named “Crackers”. Nobody liked this cat, apparently. And, Gary observed how it once tormented a mouse by batting it around, letting it think it was going to escape, only to catch it again and bat it around until the mouse died of exhaustion.
His point?
It reminded him of a quote he read in The National Enquirer:
“There is no justice, only power.”
That story has stuck in my head for well over a decade.
And, it’s driven me probably more than anything else.
I want power.
Power to control my own destiny… not have to answer to any clients/bosses… not be at the mercy of an ever-more-wicked government… or by a legal system that tosses completely innocent people into prison (or worse) due to other people with power... and the list goes on.
Everyone has to choose:
Do you want to be the cat or the mouse?
Me?
I want to be the cat.
And it’s this drive that forced me to figure out how to go about doing just that.
And it’s also what my first “Villains" book called “Persuasion Secrets Of The World’s Most Charismatic & Influential Villains” is about at the end of the day:
Power.
Power over yourself and those you wish to influence.
Obviously, this book is not for fluffpreneurs looking for good feels.
If you want that, get an estrogen bath by hanging out on Facebook all day.
Otherwise, you can check out the first book and its sequels here:
https://www.EmailPlayers.com/villains
Ben Settle