“It’s time,” the dictator said as he ordered the invasion of a neighboring country. This country, he reasoned, was part of the homeland. His homeland. The country he has worked tirelessly to return to its glory days.
“This is for all of us,” the dictator added.
The dictator is 69. But, he doesn’t feel it. He’s in better shape than 99% of others his age. He needs to stay that way so he can be on top of his game. He has been running his country for over two decades.
Under his rule the economy has grown and oil and gas exports are way up. Their military is strong, equipped with nuclear missiles and other state-of-the-art destruction technology. For him, it’s proof he’s the only one strong enough to lead the country.
He believes he’s it’s rightful leader. That’s why ordering the invasion, knowing thousands may die, was easy. People are capable of justifying anything to themselves. All it takes is a belief. The dictator certainly believed.
In himself. Fortune favors the bold.
He rose up through his country's spy agency, excelling there. This is where he learned to believe in himself. He learned the tools of spycraft, deception, intelligence gathering, and interrogation. Skills he uses now to manipulate others' psychology. That’s how he’s held on to power for so long.
The dictator has used spycraft skills to change the rules of his government, allowing him to stay in power. He even runs elections to make it look more legitimate. He wins every time.
The people want him. That’s what he wants the world to think. In fact, he believes the people need him. Because he’s willing to do whatever it takes to restore this once great Republic. That’s what the people want. They won’t think the dictator, by ordering this invasion of a sovereign country, is acting in his own self-interest. He wants to be idolized for generations. He deserves to be idolized.
The dictator started formulating his plan to gain power when he was young. He was just out of law school, about to turn 23 when he joined the spy agency, learning quickly how to stand out. The dictator would tell you it comes down to three principles.
“First,” he’d say, “believe in yourself. Believe you are capable of everything.” The dictator would continue, “second, do whatever it takes to get the job done.” He would think back fondly of the jobs he did with the spy agency. It’s the same as those American mafia movies. At first they started him out with simple tasks. Gather intel, tail someone, observe them and report back. He did it. He was devoted. Vowing to do it better than anyone else in the agency.
And he did.
Continuing to get bolder assignments where the risks went way up. Interrogations, break-ins, and recruitment. After that promotion is when taking lives was normal. Sure, it’s murder, the dictator thinks, on paper anyways. But, this is murder for a cause, belief in the homeland. He had to do whatever it took.
So he did. He continues to now. Because sticking to the second principle, being willing to do whatever it takes, earns you promotions. Promotions come with power, a heightened responsibility. In the spy world, the more power, the more lives at risk. Funny thing about this promotion, moving into the middle management role, your life is less at risk than those in the field. They could get caught in the act. There could be deadly consequences. Being in the office meant the dictator had more time to plan.
The hours never mattered to him. Self-help gurus would say do what you love and it won’t feel like work. He loved the art of being a spy, as well as the danger and the high-stakes nature of the business. Real men played in this sandbox. The ones who were willing to risk it all for their country.
He’s certainly risked it a few times on the job. Every spy has those close calls. But, the dictator knew he was smarter than everyone else. He could outmaneuver the best. He outmaneuvered the Americans, the French, and his own bosses. That’s principle number one, the most important, believe in yourself.
Beliefs are the most important aspect of life. They shape your destiny. Most people don’t know that beliefs are controllable. A person can believe anything. Believe you are the best or not good enough. Believe in God or nothing. Believe the Earth is spherical or flat.
The dictator had always believed in himself, but knew he was destined for more when he realized he excelled at deception. He could deceive anyone - the way Hitler deceived Neville Chamberlain before WWII. Because the dictator has one core belief, a belief in himself. Because of that belief, he keeps pushing further and further. Growth, he’d say to himself as he laughed.
Now, many years later, he’s pushing himself to exert more and more control over his country and more and more control over countries that were once part of the Republic. After all, he was there during the collapse. It was a terrible psychological blow to a proud people. As he drove a cab, before joining politics, he knew he was the only one who could restore it. He was going to be the one to make the country proud.
So he is willing to do whatever it takes, including invade to take back what is theirs, well his. His as the rightful ruler. He’s earned this right because he was devoted to his third principle: work harder than everyone else. Greatness only comes from devotion. "You get rewarded in public for what you do in private," he’d heard somewhere. That’s why the hours didn’t matter to him. He was devoted to his country…well, mostly to himself he had to admit.
This formula has worked for him so far. Within five years of entering politics he joined the prime minister’s administration, raising his profile. The dictator was able to do it quickly because politics was easy to figure out. People are emotional and vote based on their own self-interests. So tell them what they want to hear. Communicate clearly and directly with them. Show them unflappable poise and leadership.
Do whatever it takes, his second principle. In politics he had to win and get noticed by the upper levels of government. Simple. The dictator developed a plan, applied his principles, and moved on. Three years after his political promotion he was named Prime Minister after the previous one resigned. This was easier than he thought. “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” An ancient Stoic came up with that one.
It stuck with him. That’s why he studied how the brain works. For most of human history knowledge was power. Literally. That’s where this phrase comes from. At one point the Catholic Church controlled most of humanity’s collective knowledge and they didn’t want to share.
Why should they? Human beings need order, otherwise we are all a bunch of wild animals. Fear is key to keeping a herd. Tend to it. Stoke the fear. Cage it. People are no different.
‘Shit,’ the dictator thought, ‘look what we all did during the pandemic.’ People are animals. That's why the dictator wanted power. He knew what was best. The world would be better off if he was allowed to make the decisions. The dictator has been successful eliminating his opposition, sending messages to any who dare oppose him. Because he’s willing to do whatever it takes he’ll resort to imprisonment, poisoning, even death to stay in power.
He’s already in control of the information through state controlled media, laughing at the idea that Americans think their media is any different. In the land of the free, political parties and government agencies issue propaganda to the media, the hyperpartisan Americans news who feed people what they want to hear.
Generally, people don’t like to be challenged, especially when it comes to beliefs. Think of beliefs as an idea with an emotion attached to it. The stronger the belief, the stronger the emotion. The more self-assured you become about that belief, the more attached to the idea that you are right and everyone else is wrong. That emotion can become so strong it’s like an addiction. Your body craves that feeling. For example, the dictator noticed, social media made millions of people addicted to outrage. Their body craves that feeling. Cravings can lead to addiction, people will keep coming back for more. Social media amplifies cravings exponentially. Everyone thinks they are right about everything. Honestly the dictator finds it all beneath him.
This is why human beings need rules, and need a select few, like the dictator, to rule over them, to control the herd. Let them squabble at each other on their phones. It keeps them distracted, though, the dictator thought human expression is overrated. The dictator saw the Mona Lisa and laughed. That’s great, he thought at the time, the real art is controlling humanity. I’ll show you DaVicini, he said out loud at the painting. That was one privilege of leadership. You can study the Mona Lisa in private. The public only gets to see if for a few minutes when they are surrounded by other people.
Real geniuses like DaVinci and the dictator needed to be alone often. Others just can’t relate, distracted by their music, art, and porn.
Hence why the dictator was setting and altering the rules to benefit him. He was where he was supposed to be, in control. He wasn’t as prone to react as emotionally as everyone else. Spycraft helped him excel there. Sure he has emotions, the difference he uses his to drive in the direction of his goals.
That’s why he’s ordering this invasion. He knows thousands are likely to die. He knows women and children will die defenseless in their own homes. Sometimes you have to cull the herd to control it, to make it submit. Just like people have done to cows.
That’s why the dictator doesn’t want to unveil his principles to anyone around him. Sure, the principles are obvious: believe in yourself, be willing to do whatever it takes, work your ass off. The dictator has always found that people hold themselves back by the belief they have in themselves. If you believe you aren’t good enough, or are only mediocre, that’s what you will be. You do what you believe in. If they learned to take the limits off themselves like he has, he might have competition.
Ultimately, that’s why the dictator wants to control the herd. It’s in his self-interest. What else is there? He’s only 69. He feels he’s got another 25 years in him, easy. What’s he supposed to do for 25 years? Hang out in a resort town and laugh that he convinced the world to hold the Olympics there and while the international event was coming to a close he started planning an annexation.
This is too easy. The dictator knows he has natural resources the world’s energy relies on. The more they push towards green energy, the more powerful he becomes. The power comes from dependency. That gives him leverage. So while they are moving away from fossil fuels, he’s doubling down on production for leverage. The dictator knows the majority of the developed world is relying on his oil and gas to fuel their modern existence, even the Americans. This was all part of the plan. “Let’s grow the herd,'' the dictator would say to himself, “and control it,” as if this was a real life game of Risk. Same strategy, different pieces. The dictator believes so strongly that this land belongs to his country, therefore it belongs to him. He is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill this task. So he applies his three principles: belief in self, be willing to do whatever it takes, and outwork everyone.
For the dictator he only has one belief. His belief in himself…and he has an uncanny ability to achieve his goals because of it. The dictator also knows there are no shortcuts to greatness, not many will devote the hours necessary to achieving it. Which is why he believes his destiny: becoming a supreme leader that history will remember. He’s convinced himself he’s more capable of making decisions for billions of people. Humanity will be better for it, he believes.
He’s devoted himself in pursuit of his one belief, himself. He still works out, eats right, and works late, still working harder than everyone else. It keeps his energy up and keeps him motivated. Controlling a larger herd while dividing the world takes work and devotion. And for the dictator there’s more work that needs to be done. There will be until death.
The dictator does have a secret fourth principle he doesn’t want anyone to know: Find your calling, then follow your intuition. He found his. He reasoned that everyone has a calling, but few are willing to do the hard work of chasing it. There are ups and downs. There are failures. There are uncomfortable emotions that come with risk-taking. But, with risk comes reward. He’s glad he knows that. That’s how the dictator justifies an invasion. Because, he knows, he can believe anything so long as he rationalizes it.
Truth be told, he doesn’t need to rationalize it, for he believes it is his calling, as dictator, to dictate that history studies and debates him, remembers him. Historians study, discuss, and write books about men like him, men of great stature.
Men who are called to change the world. He doesn’t want you to think you may be called on, let alone have the ability, to make the world a more optimistic place, if you only believed in yourself.
Compelling article. Scary.
WOWW! Incredible writing. Very insightful. Better understanding of a dictator's mind. Scary right now!