Machiavelli and Gracian Quiz

 

Quiz 2: Machiavelli, Gracian

 

1. What does it mean today when we call someone “Machiavellian”? Is this an appropriate usage of Machiavelli’s name and reputation? Why or why not?

 

To be Machiavellian is “characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty: He resorted to Machiavellian tactics in order to get ahead.”

 I believe that this does not fully represent what Machiavelli was all about.

He was deceptive and cunning but only because his circumstances provoked him to be this way. Being a Prince is not an easy task, but I believe he was bluntly honest in describing all that goes with being in a position of power, especially when referring to royalty.

 

2. What concerns in The Prince reflect contemporary politics and world affairs? Choose one such specific situation and explain whether Machiavelli would approve or disapprove of the way leaders are handling it.

 

I believe it does, but I think certain leaders have lost the meaning that Machiavelli was trying to get across. I think he would have a lot to say about how we are handling the border control in the United States and would probably laugh at the way our government in handling it.

 

3. What was Machiavelli’s purpose in writing The Prince? Can his text be applied to the art of living the life of the individual, or is it only applicable to leadership? Why?

 

I believe his purpose was to make sure that all princes and future leaders know and understand what it going to be expected of them whenever they are put into power. He wants them to know the sacrifices and be able to act nobly in situations that demand a leader and enforcer.

 

1. Name two pieces of advice from Gracian that echo the ideas of the Stoics.

    

 Knowledge and Courage are the elements of Greatness. They give immortality, because they are immortal. Each is as much as he knows, and the wise can do anything. A man without knowledge, a world without light. Wisdom and strength, eyes and hands. Knowledge without courage is sterile.

 

This piece of advice is very stoic and almost echoes the words of Epictetus himself.

 

Character and Intellect the two poles of our capacity; one without the other is but halfway to happiness. Intellect sufficeth not, character is also needed. On the other hand, it is the fool’s misfortune, to fail in obtaining the position, the employment, the neighbourhood, and the circle of friends that suit him.

 

Also very stoic, choose what you want and take responsibility for what you get.

5. Name two pieces of advice from Gracian that contradict the ideas of the Stoics.

 

Act sometimes on Second Thoughts, sometimes on First Impulse.Man’s life is a warfare against the malice ofmen. Sagacity fights with strategic changes of intention: it never does what it threatens, it aims only at escaping notice. It aims in the air with dexterity and strikes home in an unexpected direction, always seeking to conceal its game. It lets a purpose appear in order to attract the opponent’s attention, but then turns round and conquers by the unexpected. But a penetrating intelligence anticipates this by watchfulness and lurks in ambush. It always understands the opposite of what the opponent wishes it to understand, and recognises every feint of guile. It lets the first impulse pass by and waits for the second, or even the third. Sagacity now rises to higher flights on seeing its artifice foreseen, and tries to deceive by truth itself, changes its game in order to change its deceit, and cheats by not cheating, and founds deception on the greatest candour. But the opposing intelligence is on guard with increased watchfulness, and discovers the darkness concealed by the light and deciphers every move, the more subtle because more simple. In this way the guile of the Python combats the far darting rays of Apollo.

 

This does not sound like Epictetus at all. If anything, it sounds more like Machiavelli.

 

Vary the Mode of Action; not always the same way, so as to distract attention, especially if there be a rival. Not always from first impulse; they will soon recognise the uniformity, and by anticipating, frustrate your designs. It is easy to kill a bird on the wing that flies straight: not so one that twists. Nor always act on second thoughts: they can discern the plan the second time. The enemy is on the watch, great skill is required to circumvent him. The gamesternever plays the card the opponent expects, still less that which he wants.

 

Again, very Machiavell.

 

6. What kinds of metaphors was Gracian apt to use to illustrate his ideas? How have these contributed to the longevity of his ideas?

 

Gracian uses metaphors as a way of circular reasoning. The title of his aphorisms ususally sums up the central theme in a few words. He uses metaphors and ideas that could be used in a various number of situations and this is why he is still referenced today.

 

Why your life sucks

Contemporary Success Book Questionnaire 

1. Title and author: Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It, by Alan Cohen
2. Why did you choose this book? It appealed to me because it didn’t seem to be as serious as a lot of the other books in the self help section. I wanted to choose something that was light-hearted but still beneficial. Humor was also an important factor because it is really hard for me to pay attention to a book that is dry and humorless.
3. Did the book meet your expectations? In other words, is the content in line with your preconceived notions about it, or were there surprises for you? Be as specific as you can.  It actually did. I was surprised with how well it connected to me personally and how a lot of the things he talked about have personally affected me. I also liked that he wasn’t so serious and knew how to make fun of himself. He didn’t tell you what you should be doing, but he described the types of things that might be responsible for the way you are feeling. I also didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
4. What is the main idea of the book you chose? What would the author say is the “take-home value” of the content? Basically his point was to be conscious in all your decisions and only worry about things that are in your realm of control. Let everything else happen as it should and make sure to have people around you who are positive and love life.
5. How is the book organized: a calendar or chronology, a numbered list of ideas, a collection of essays, or something else? He uses some what of a list format. He gives you a “reason” and then little sub-sections with explanations and then a last section that tells you “what you can do about it.”

6. Is this organizational strategy successful? Why or why not? I think it was very effective. It kept up a fast pace and made the book really easy to read and re-read if necessary.

7.   Based upon the distinctions we made in class, would you say that the book you chose is prescriptive or descriptive? Is this approach effective? I would have to say both descriptive and prescriptive because he takes time to describe the traits and activities in the first part of each section and then goes into an in-depth “prescription” of what you can do to change.

1. Did you gain insight or understanding about the idea of living a successful life from this book? If so, in what way? If not, why not?

I defiantly think so. We all know that life is supposed to be enjoyable and fun, but most of us don’t know how to make it that way. Cohen gives insight into ways of thinking and activities that we can adopt in order to make life fun and not take ourselves too seriously.

9.   Did you find ideas in the book you chose that are clearly influenced by the philosophers whose work we read in class? If so, name the philosophers and explain how their concepts align with the ideas in the book you chose. Epictetus was all over this book. I don’t even know if Cohen knew how much his concepts related with the philosopher. A lot of the things that Cohen said about you being responsible for you fit right in with the teachings of Epictetus. Quotes from Epictetus such as, “Seek not good from without: seek it from within yourselves, or you will never find it,” can be found all over Cohen’s work.

10. How might John Ramage view this book? How might his tools of analysis apply here? Well, seeing as how Ramage’s work is almost impossible to read I think that Ramage would probably view this book as too simple-minded and not up to par with his intelligence. He would probably write it off as concepts people are already supposed to know and not intellectual at all.

1. Would you recommend that this book be included on a list of contemporary successful living books for a future class? Why or why not?

Maybe not, just because most of what he is saying has already been said. There are parts as well that seem to be a little corny and that might throw some people off.

The key to success

Why do people use the phrase “key to success?” When in history did success become this guarded treasure that has been locked away in a dark room somewhere. I believe that this way of thinking has only hindered our society. If people think that they have to have some kind of key to be happy, they are only going to waste time looking for something they already have. The key to success is having a positive state of mind. It is not some tangible gold key that you have to hold in order to possess. It is with you always. Most of us don’t know that we have it or don’t want to admit it, because then we would be the cause of our own unhappiness. But sometimes the truth hurts. Sure there are medical diseases that make some people unhappy, but that doesn’t have to last forever. There are also medical diseases that cause people to have cancer or aids. This could also lead some people to be eternally despressed, but there have been amazing stories of people beating the odds and loving life just by not taking life so seriously and trying to enjoy every minute of it. If we keep looking outside ourselves for happiness we will only find facades of happiness that are only temporary. The real thing is in your control and your control only. We have the power to create our own destiny. This may not mean that we have the power to be the richest person in the world, but we do have the power to change are meaning of the word “rich.” A rich life could be a neverending supply of loving friends and family. It does not always have to be tied in with money. We have the power to change our whatever perspectiv. We do not have to believe what we have been told to is the definition of true happiness. We are the only one’s that can define our defintion of success or happiness or both.

I really like this quote by Larry Ellison and I think it sums a lot of what I am trying to say above.

“There are an enormous number of people in the world who really want standard answers. They want everyone to wear their hair the same way, everyone to conduct business the same way, everyone to dress the same way, everyone to go to the same church. And if you wander out of these norms, people are highly critical, because this is threatening to them. They’re living their life one way, and they believe that’s the proper way to live their life. If you live your life a different way, and you answer questions differently, that makes them feel very uncomfortable. They say, “Well this person’s different from what I am.” Then they seem to go a little further, and they say, “This person’s different and wrong, and I’m different and right.” So people have been very, very critical, and will be critical of you if you do things a little bit differently. It takes a certain amount of strength not to succumb to fashion.”

Intro for final paper

Executive Summary- 

Every day we seem to be bombarded by tasks and appointments. Our daily planners are always packed full with reminders. More times than not, we do not have enough hours in a day to finish all that we have set out for ourselves. Some say that if we set long-term and short-term goals that it will help us stay focused. The key to setting goals is making sure that they are attainable, concise, and subject to failure. If not, then there is no way to gauge their progress or success. Much of this is the same in the business world. It is very easy to see how a large corporation could get off track if central goals and objectives were not established in the beginning. There is a definite need for a company to decide who they are and what they are all about. Because of this need the mission statement was born.

  

The key points of writing a successful mission statement are priceless when it comes to building and sustaining a profitable business. Without them a company can become lost. Many companies have ignored this advice. A new way of thinking and writing will have to be put in place in order for business to be able to profit from their mission statements.  To quote the infamous Machiavelli, “There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, that to institute a new order of things.” But that is exactly what needs to happen—a new order of things. The public has allowed businesses to publish statements of absurdity for way to long. Something has to change. 

Intro and history-

In the world we live in today it is hard to remember when companies did not have mission statements. It seems like they have been around as long as the cotton gin, but this is far from the case. Deborah Cameron, an English businesswoman, went on hiatus in the late 1980s. When she returned to England in 1990 she found out that the rules of business had changed. “I no longer spoke the language. My difficulty was not with ordinary conversation, but with public discourse” (Cameron). Cameron was confused when company-wide “aims and objectives” were discussed in business meetings and when her supervisors set out quality objectives. She did not understand what all of this meant. She was unaware that a corporate takeover of public language had taken place. While Cameron had been away, companies had brainwashed their employees with corporate missions and department-wide objectives. The main thing that shocked her were these statements being produced that were supposed to sum up an entire business in one to two sentences. Cameron had discovered the corporate mission statement. She had always viewed the mission statements as “long and convoluted statements of the obvious” (Cameron). For the most part, she was right. She did not see the need for companies to write out meaningless mottos and use glitzy words to conceal the truth. There was no validity to these statements. After all, as she points out, “who the hell would pursue second rateness?” (Cameron). No company would publicly admit that their mission is to be average or second best. Mission statements are meant to be perceived as a guideline for company policy, but they do not allude to the real goals of capitalist enterprises. We never see mission statements stating that their purpose is to mark up prices so that they can get a 40-50% return on profits or lay off 25% of their workforce to meet a certain quota. This type of statement would run any company into the ground. But yet these are the real goals and objectives given to executives and managers company wide.

The purpose of mission statements is to give the customer and employees a perceived impression of where the business is going and, ideally, what guidelines and principles managers are supposed to follow. The key word in the previous statement is “perceived.” “The mission statement belongs to an era in which the main purpose of many companies [was] not making but branding things; the language in which a company represents itself to the world is part of its brand-image” (Cameron). For example, no one needs to be told what universities and hospitals do. What they would like to be told about is their dedication to customer satisfaction and what their ethical standards are. Many companies have little more than a “consistent experience of the brand” in their mission statements (Cameron). Many companies in the corporate world are “fluent in promotional jargon, accentuating the positive even if that means being economical with truth” (Cameron). They will say any and everything to make their company sound like the optimal picture of success. Cameron points out that “there is growing faith in the power of managed language to transform less tractable realities. The premise of corporate customer care is: say the right words, speak nicely, and all will be forgiven” (Cameron). If this is true then mission statements ultimately serve no purpose. This, however, cannot be entirely true or they would have never become such a staple of the corporate environment. The fact still remains that most corporate mission statements are worthless (Askoff). ““They often formulate necessities as objectives, for example, “To achieve sufficient profit”” (Askoff) There are some statements out there that inspire and motivate stakeholders to make the company bigger, better, and more successful. I hope by doing this analysis that I am able to uncover what it really takes for companies to produce statements that will have this effect. For a mission statement to be effective, companies have to know and understand what makes them worthless. I would also like to use my analysis to bring to light some of the ridiculous attempts by companies to publicly publish statements of absurdity and nonsense. I will also point out a few statements that I personally enjoy and that instantly inspired me. Hopefully, all of this will help the reader and myself to understand more about what kind of missions statements are worth writing and what kind our worth keeping to ourselves.  

For the purpose of explanation, I have decided to change around the three main topics from the way they appear in the title. I think this is necessary to give adequate information to the reader so that they may get a better understanding of my analysis.

On the road to eternal bliss…

 

 

“It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do.”

I stumbled across this quote one day and just kept reading it over and over. Throughout my college career and this course in success rhetoric, I have wondered about the meaning of true happiness and success. I think this quote does a very good job of summing that up. Life has a way of presenting you with special gifts and abilities. Some of us take them for granted; others do not even know they possess them. Life is all about how you take it. Most of us are too caught up in the fast pace world we live in and worry too much about insignificant things that really do not matter to us. As children we worry about being the coolest kid in school and having the most friends. In college and the early years of our lives we worry about our future and what we are going to do with our lives. As adults we tend to worry if our life has been lived to the fullest and if we are achieving society’s expectations of us. None of this really matters. We still wake up each morning as our true selves and deal with the lot we have been given. Why then is it so hard to see how great we actually are and how much we have accomplished? The fact is that most of worry ourselves to death. Even if we reach the expectations and goals that we and others have set out for us, we strive for more. There is always something bigger and better that we want to attain. Through the little time that I have had in this class and through the philosophers we have studied, I’ve realized that we determine our own sense of happiness and success. We are the only ones who can determine if we have achieved said goal. Most of us don’t want to admit that we are happy and that we are successful, because we would not have anywhere to go from there. Our outlook on life and our moral standards are what truly determine if we are successful and happy. It is not the material symbols of success or happiness that we acquire throughout our lives that make us feel joy. It is our beliefs and judgments that determine the quality of our lives. Too many times I see people creating stress and drama in their lives in order to feel important. Too many people believe that calmness and serenity are unattainable. They create and attract circumstances that clutter their lives with terrible things. If we all slowed down and really thought about our lives, we would see a lot of things that make us happy and proud. It is only human instinct to dwell on the problems and forget the good. We have to actively participate in practicing successful thinking and optimism in order to find true happiness. It is only when we begin to allow ourselves to fail, that we are truly able to succeed. There will always be things in life that are rough and there will always be someone who can do something better. Accepting and appreciating this fact will help us to begin our way to self satisfaction and self love. It is only after this stage that we can be truly successful and eternally happy. It is not an easy road, but it is one that I think we could all bear walking down. I know I could.  

Is it really a secret?

I have recently been thinking about the “secret” phenomenon that has been taking over America. More specifically I am talking about the book “The Secret” written by Rhonda Byrne. It in she describes the powers of the mind and how they relate to the laws of attraction. She believes that we create our own circumstances by the choices we make in life. She states that “what we do is we attract into our lives the things we want, and that is based on what we’re thinking and feeling.” I like her overall concept, but find this all a little too easy to believe.

Basically she is saying that if you think or say negative things about your life, negative things will happen. Also vice versa. I believe a lot of what she is saying is true, but I think she has gone a little overboard with her concept. I try my hardest to think positively about certain things and not get sad or depressed, but sometimes things just happen. No matter how hard I try to see the bright side of things, certain stuff just sucks. I think her concept is a little too self blaming. By self blaming I mean that she claims that whatever happens to you is your fault because you attracted conflict and negativity to yourself. I do not think this is entirely true. Some things are out of our control and accepting this can bring a lot of people peace. Her concept of “everything that happens to you is a result of you” seems to create unnecessary pressure and stress.

What about 911? These people did not dwell on that happening to them. It would have been impossible. I can see so many instances where what she is saying would be totally off base. However, I do think that more people need to accept some of the principles from the book. Too many people blame outside forces for things that happen to them when they need to look at themselves. I also think we, as a collective, take life way too seriously. It is almost as if things are not right if our life is calm and without conflict. I even know a lot of people who like to create fake conflict and drama in their lives because they don’t feel important without it. This book would help these people a lot, but I don’t think it would cure them. The concepts are too out there and her methods are too self reliant.

Part of being happy in life is accepting the lot you are given. As Americans, we always think that more is better. We spend too much time trying to achieve the impossible otherwise known as the “American Dream.” More of our energy needs to be devoted on appreciating what we have right now and trying to see everything in a positive light. This “Secret” that everyone seems to be fantasying over is not really a secret at all. It is what we know in our hearts is right. It is knowing that tomorrow will always be a new day and that we are the masters of our world. Taking time to understand these things and loving everything around us could simply be the secret that we are all searching for.

Epictetus and real world applications

I have recently been going through some things in my life that I think could be solved if I looked at life the way Epictetus did. I felt a connection with him and his point of view right away. One of my favorite quotes from Epictetus is: “Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast.” I believe that this means that we should calm down and enjoy life. Too many of us feel like we have to worry and if we are not worrying then we are not being productive. This is a vicious cycle full of stress and anger. Epictetus also says, “If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase.” This could not be closer to the truth. I have realized that this has major real world applications. We should try our hardest to not let people get to us. By us getting angry we are only hurting ourselves, making our lives miserable. If we ignore the thing or person that angers us, it gives us peace of mind and we are able to go about our lives without concern.

With graduation looming over my head, I feel all sorts of stress weighing down on me. Most of this is because I am not sure of my future. Epictetus tells us not to worry about what we cannot control. He says, “Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” This quote gives me reassurance that I can only do today what is to the best of my abilities and whatever is to happen in the future is not in my realm of control.

One of my biggest worries is also that I will not fulfill my purpose in life. I want more than anything to help people and make people happy. It is a very annoying trait that I have had since I was very young. I always want people to like me. Epictetus says that “in order to please others, we loose our hold on our life’s purpose.” I like this and for some reason it gives me reassurance. I’m not particularly sure why.

I also cannot stand it when people talk about me badly or think things of me that I know are not true. Epictetus says that “if you hear someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: ‘He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned.” Reading this makes me laugh, but I have also tried to apply it in my own life. Surprisingly it has worked and given me inner peace at the same time. Most people who have been getting under my skin have never taken the time to get to know me and therefore do not understand my character. I need stop trying so hard to impress these people and concentrate on growing the relationships with people who love and respect me.

My last and final quote that I have tried to incorporate into my life is: “Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen and your life will go well.” Take life as it comes. This has helped me sort out a lot of the stress that I have been having about trying to control my future. I have started to learn that if I keep my inner self happy that my outer self will follow. The perfect job, the perfect car, and the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend are only insignificant parts of being happy. Happiness within your soul is the only way to have peace in your life; anything else is just an illusion.

“Tyranny of Nice Speak”

            Most people today not remember a time when companies did not use mission statements. When we think of mission statements we think of broad ideologies that make the company seem like sound and morally correct machines. Deborah Cameron, author of Tyranny of Nice Speak, does. After two years abroad she returned to Britain to find that everything had changed. She was confused by the obscurity of the concept of “quality” discussed at almost every business meeting she attended. She was also taken back when a fast food worker told her to enjoy her meal after only ordering milk. Why were people saying these things?

            She quickly began to understand this new phenomenon. It was a revolution in public language fueled by the business world. No longer were people seeing objectives off as fads or ridiculous demands by upper level management. People were adopting them as the norm. The language had “pervade[ed] both the public and private sectors, and much of the working population [was] fluent in it.”

            The mission statements of our era are not specific at all. They are optimistic clichés that give broad, emotionally, and “fluffy” statements of how the company wants others to view it. They are merely a brand. We are in an “era in which the main purpose of many companies is not making but branding-things; the language in which a company represents itself to the world is part of its brand image.” Therefore, it is not what the actual mission statement serves to accomplish, but what image or view of the company it portrays. As Cameron also points out, mission statements are only “for purposes of self-promotion rather than public information.”

            This did not happen naturally. It was a cause of “corporation’s growing desire to regulate and control the language that its representatives used.” They want to design one centrally contingent voice for the company. This causes these statements to not state the true objectives of the company, but be “a long and convoluted statement of the obvious.” Cameron points out that no one would shoot for the bottom of the barrel saying: “Who the hell would pursue second-rateness?”

The Concept

     I believe I would like to do a paper on the purpose of mission statements. We seem to talk about them in class quite a bit and it made me wonder about their importance. I am also a business major and have had some experience with mission statement’s of companies and businesses. I would like to do some research into certain companies that have really intricate and thought out mission statements, but have failed to be morally ethical. Enron is the first company that comes to mind. I think it would be interesting to find some infomation about what their mission statement was before everything fell apart and how it helped or didn’t help shape the companies decisions. I would also like to look into the mission statements of successful companies and see which one’s have very specific statements and which one’s seem to be very broad. It would be interesting to see if this has had or would have an effect on the success of the company.  

    I also want to research the effect of personal mission statements and life plans. Do we have to have certain goals in life to be successful? And does being successful mean that we have to fulfill these goals or is striving to meet them enough? I want to evaluate my personal thoughts and goals along with those of my peers and possibly professors. I also want to interview some successful people throughout our community to see what effect, if any, a mission or setting goals has had on their lives. I plan to not just touch the surface, but really dig in and try to understand why people are successful and what has made them this way.

Mission Statement

This is my personal mission statement:

 

 

I will always strive to be entirely honest in every aspect of my life, whether it be with family, friends, my career, or myself.

I will stay humble and modest in dealing with others.

I will always make an effort to try to make situations more enjoyable with my humor and quick wit.

I will try to see the positive side of every situation and try to learn from mistakes and conflicts.

I will carry myself in a professional and mature manner in all circumstances

I will be available whenever one of my friends are in a crisis or need my advice. I also keep up with special events in their lives and make time for them.

I will strive to make my mother and father proud and live up to expectations they have set up for me.

I will go above and beyond what is asked and expected of me in my college and professional career.