The Lines
Bottom. [6] At the very beginning of relationships, the
interplay of influence is hardly noticed.
The parties are acquainted with one
another, the possibilities of a deeper relationship
are present, but whether the
relationship will develop or not remains to be seen — it may, or
it may not. But as long as
everything is in an incipient stage, no judgment can be made
upon it. At this point, neither
party is harmed or helped, whether the relationship goes forward
or does not.
2. [6] At a later stage of an
acquaintance, there is the bare beginning of a flow of influence,
but it is not subject to the man’s control.
Whether the relationship proceeds or not requires
the actions of others, and this is
not a good way to begin. If this is allowed to proceed, the
man will be subject to the whim of
others, and the outcome will not go well. It is better for
the man to wait until circumstances
place him in a position where his actions will initiate
and control the relationship. Then
he will be in a position to properly exert his influence
himself, and his ability to control
the way it proceeds will mean that it will go well for him.
3. [9] The formation of a
relationship has an emotional component, and this easily becomes
the directing force. But if this is
allowed to happen — if whim or infatuation is allowed to
lead the man into an involvement
with another — it will result in humiliation. Just because a
possibility of a relationship of
mutual influence exists doesn’t mean that it is advisable; the
man must restrain himself and act
in accordance with his own reason. Just because another
person with whom the man has a
relationship wishes the man to do something is not sufficient
reason alone; the man must exercise
wise choices and not grant every request automatically.
Just because the man is involved in
a relationship with another does not mean
that he should ignore his own
intuition when it is contrary to the influence of that other; his
independent judgment is the
foundation of his individual freedom.
4. [9] When a man speaks from his
heart, he has great influence on his followers, for they
recognize the genuineness of his
expression, it has a deep impression upon them, and it
reaches into their deepest
sensibilities. It is incumbent upon the man, therefore, that he keep
his heart pure, and if he does so,
he will have no regrets. His influence will be great, and the
beneficial effects upon his
followers will be extensive. When the man acts from the depths
of his own being, when his motives
are for the benefit of others and not self-centered, when
he is conscious of those others and
does not attempt to use them for his own ends, he will
make no mistakes, and his followers
will know intuitively that he can be trusted. When
people are involved with one
another on such a deep level, the emotional strain is intense
and physically wrenching. But for
intense emotional experiences of this caliber, it is only
the man’s followers — those to
whom he speaks directly — who are influenced by him.
Highly emotional involvements are
limited to those directly affected.
5. [9] When a man’s influence is
under strict intellectual control, there is no confusion or
misunderstanding. As a result, no
one will be led into some unfortunate path, and there
will be no cause for regret. If a
man attempts to influence the unconscious mind of his followers,
the results cannot always be
controlled, and it is not always certain where such influence
might lead. A man who avoids those
emotional depths and maintains rigid intellectual
control over himself and over the
emotional level of his involvement with his followers,
also avoids all those
uncertainties. Nevertheless, those who are not subject to such
unconscious influences themselves
cannot exercise that kind of influence on others, and the
degree of the man’s influence will
be limited.
Top. [6] The least significant
influence of all is mere talk and admonition. Talk is cheap, and
anyone can tell someone else what
to do and how to do it. But if such talk is not an expression
of a deeper conviction, if the
speaker does not put his whole heart into what he says
and put his finger on things that
matter to his listeners, his message can have little effect.
This kind of “do as I say, not
as I do” admonition is worthless and is generally ignored by
the man’s audience. If the man
cannot speak from his heart, he might as well not speak at
all.
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