"Grab on to the wheel, everybody wants the deal" - Tony Carey

Ah, the art of the deal. It seems my thoughts on love have sparked your interest in this most sacred skill. Let no fool convince you otherwise; all business is negotiation. All life as we know it is built on the negotiation of one power asserting its dominance over another. The rest is a footnote in the End User Agreement.

Oh, the games we play. Tweak a word, a turn of phrase, and suddenly, another slice has been made; the universe is a finite pie of infinite pieces to be divided among the shrewd, while idiots scramble for the crumbs left behind.

Do you think you are so different? What have you done today that you have not agreed to, if by nothing else than your lack of assertion? How much of your life is an automated conveyor belt of unchecked conformity and involuntary obligation? Sign here; agree to our terms and conditions; the details are in the fine print. You are a slave to those who own you every time you sign your name. $0 down, low monthly payments, do not pay until next year. Another one bites the dust. Thank you for your business.

It is not so for everyone. For the privileged few, there is room at the top for those with minds as sharp as their teeth. We are the true players; the only ones who really count. We call the shots. We make the rules. We created the game, and it is played for us.

One day you may join our echelon. To raise through the ranks, you must know the following:

NO MEANS YES

All conflict arises from an imbalance of power. Restore the balance, and victory is yours. To achieve victory, you must know it. To know victory is to win. Winning is a state of mind. To win is to be right... Always assume you are right. Acknowledge resistance, but do not comply with it. Allow the other parties to grow weary of their own conceits. Disagreement is irrational. Appease argument, but do not comply. Be cordial, but do not concede. Soothe with words of candor and grace. Agree and reframe as necessary, to turn every statement into an affirmation of your own.

EVERYONE WANTS WHAT YOU DO

Know that the truth of every man's heart is a reflection of your own. See through his weaknesses and resistance to appeal to his deepest desires. Nothing is so peaceful as two men in agreement. Seek this harmony by offering instant resolution through your terms.

CARE LESS

In business, as in love, the one who cares the least has all the power. Abandon your emotions to solely determinant will. Know what you want, and abandon all attachment beyond the irrefutable need to have it. Stake nothing but your simple absolution. If you have no reason to lose, you will win every time.

SHOOT FIRST

Force confrontation on your terms. Make the first offer. Make the second offer. Allow for the illusion of control by feigning vulnerability. Strike to reveal an opponent's weakness, and exploit it with false sincerity and fixed generosity.

SHUT UP

When all has been said, let there be nothing left to say: just shut up. The less said, the less to disagree with. Talk is like blinking; the first one to do it loses. Good deals need no words. And remember... money always talks louder than you do.

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