Akira Anzai

The Braveheart Effect

How predictable are humans?

According to conventional wisdom, very. Classic psychology explains human behavior with pleasure and pain; we choose the option that’s most pleasurable or the least painful. Human choices are as forecastable as the ticking of a clock.

But psychology professor Simon McCarthy-Jones thinks not. In his book Spite, he argues that there is something that supersedes a man’s instinctive pull towards pleasure and push against pain: freedom.

In Braveheart, William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) declares to his fellow Scotsmen with full-blooded passion, “They may take our lives but they’ll never take our freedom!” He then charged headlong towards the English, determined to reclaim the freedom they had unjustly stripped from the Scots.

Braveheart is a movie, but men like William Wallace are real. Like Wallace, we sometimes choose to defy despite the pain that may follow. McCarthy-Jones calls this the Braveheart Effect.

The Braveheart Effect stems from resentment. We despise that our choices are robbed from us. We detest being forced into taking action from limited options. And so we rebel against our oppressor, even if our rebellion brings suffering or even death.

Bottom line: humans don’t simply react to pleasure or pain. We often will override our basic instincts to resist a restraining force.

The carrot or the stick approach to motivation is obsolete. To move a man to action, threaten to remove his freedom to choose.

§ Image: The Battle of Stirling Bridge. Grant, James (1873). British Battles on Land and Sea. Cassell Petter & Galpin. p. 31.

How to Build a Cult in Five Steps

Akira Anzai · 9 Comments

Step One: Manufacture a perception of injustice.

It doesn’t matter if the injustice is real; only its perception counts. Humans hate unfairness by instinct. Create dissatisfaction by making your followers imagine that they have been treated unfairly.

Step Two: Create a scapegoat.

Craft the imagery of a common enemy, a focal point for collective hatred. Create a scapegoat to blame for inflicting the injustice on your followers. The salvation of your cult thus lies in the complete and utter destruction of the enemy.

Step Three: Be the savior.

Declare war on the enemy. Present yourself as the singular proprietor of the magic bullet needed to kill him. Your followers must believe that salvation lies solely through you, their messiah. Reduce complex problems into simplistic solutions–solutions that only you possess. Justify your actions by twisting the standards of common morality to suit your agenda.

Step Four: Deploy symbols and slogans.

Bombard your followers with a propaganda of powerful visuals and pithy sayings. Omnipresent logos and crests evoke a sense of collective pride, constructing an all-encompassing cult identity, overwriting their individuality. Repetitive slogans penetrate the psyche of your followers and saturate their minds, blunting their ability to reason and question you.

Step Five: Weaponize your rhetoric.

Render your followers submissive by stoking their emotions. The three most powerful emotions to provoke are fear, pride and hate. When people are fearful, prideful and hateful, they are the easiest to persuade, to control, to manipulate, to indoctrinate.

§ Image: Dante and Virgile (William Bouguereau, 1836), depicting a scene from Dante’s Divine Comedy, narrating his journey to Hell as guided by Virgil.

How to Persuade Without Saying Anything

Akira Anzai · 1 Comment

OK, so here’s a question for you.

Who is the most powerful man in the free world?

Well, it’s the president of the United States of America, right?

But why?

Is it because he holds the highest rank in the United States government?

Or, is it because he’s the commander-in-chief of the mightiest military in the world?

After all, he controls the world’s biggest stash of nuclear bombs and he can nuke any country into grovel if he wants to.

Now, here’s the thing.

When we think about power, we normally think about physical force.

That’s not surprising, since it’s the kind of power that’s most intuitive and obvious…

…and yet, there is a higher form of power that’s even stronger than physical force–

Soft power.

What is soft power?

Well, to understand what it is, let’s first look at its opposite–hard power.

What’s hard power?

Coercion.

Hard power is about using physical force to coerce your enemy into obedience.

When you beat your enemy into surrendering to your will, you’re exerting hard power on him.

Simple, right?

So, OK. If hard power is about force and violence, soft power is the opposite.

It’s the ability to get the other party to do what you want by co-opting instead of coercing him.

Co-option, not coercion. What does that sound like to you?

It sounds like persuasion, right?

Now, let’s ask the question again. Why do you think the president of the United States is so powerful?

This may sound surprising to you, but it’s true. The president has more soft than hard power.

In fact, the president’s real power lies in his ability to persuade, much more than his ability to launch wars.

In fact, as Richard Elliott Neustadt once said,

“Presidential power is not the power to direct. It’s the power to persuade.”

The job of the president of the United States is mainly to exercise soft power. It’s about persuasion, all day long.

And here’s what’s even more remarkable…

The president often persuades even before he says a single word. Often, he gets what he wants even before he has to ask for it!

How does he do that, though?

Well, let’s take a closer look.

Perhaps more than anyone in the world, the president has an arsenal of persuasion assets he can use.

One of these persuasion assets is the Oval Office.

Weird as it seems, but many say that the Oval Office has its own powers, in a mystical sort of way.

The Oval Office has been, after all, the working space for the most powerful men in history.

So, here’s the thing. No matter if you love or hate the president, it’s hard not to feel humbled by its sheer majesty and prestige.

Indeed, inside this hallowed room, even the worst of the president’s critics and foes will tremble with awe and reverential fear.

I mean, imagine for a moment that you’re inside the Oval Office.

Standing alone, you’re facing the president who is sitting behind his famous oak desk.

Now, tell me. How powerful and persuasive do you feel?

Not very, right?

How about the president’s power against you, you think?

Probably up to Godlike levels, yes?

And that’s not all. The most amazing thing is that this happens even before he said a single word to you.

So, here’s the point I’m making–

Soft power trumps hard power.

Smart leaders know this. Throughout history, indoctrination always takes precedence over war. Because only when soft power fails that coercion through violence is an option.

Next, let’s switch gears and see how this insight is useful in our lives. So, the question is this–

How do you win the persuasion game even before you say a single word?

Let’s go through an example. I want you to first think of a person you want to persuade.

Are you imagining this person in your mind? OK, good.

The first step is simple–ask him to come to you.

If he agrees, he’s implicitly admitting his lower status. He may be unaware of this, of course, because this happens on the subconscious level.

He may not even know it, but his behavior and thinking is shaped by this subordination.

And when he is in your space, here’s what happens. You’re now controlling his environment, and by extension, his level of comfort.

Now, in any social setting, the most powerful party is the one who is most at ease. By controlling your mark’s comfort level, therefore, you’re controlling his power.

If you’re sitting, make him stand. If you’re letting him sit, make him sit on a small chair.

And that’s not all.

Every item in your space should communicate a narrative–the narrative that he is beneath you.

Take, for example, your desk.

Physically, your desk is what separates you from your mark. But mentally, however, it represents a barrier that he has to overcome to reach you.

Again, these are markers of subordination that work on him subconsciously.

Even how close he is to you is symbolic of the power you have over him.

Have you ever watched the videos of Putin talking to his minions at the onset of the Ukranian war?

People joke about how he sits on 20-foot tables, and how he probably had to shout for those at the other end to hear him.

What they don’t understand is that what Putin did was a projection of power and authority.

It’s a way of him saying to the world:

You can’t fucking touch me.

Now, here’s the thing. Love or hate him, there’s lots to learn about power from a tyrant and psychopath like Putin.

And here’s the lesson I want you to learn today–

Construct your environment in a way that favors you.

Choose the setting thoughtfully. Every item should communicate your power, authority, dominance and control.

And then, let your mark come to you, in your Oval Office.

And you would have won… and you won’t even have to say a single word.

How to Build Rapport with Anyone in 3 Minutes or Less

Akira Anzai · Leave a Comment

In Shogun Method, Derek Rake teaches a novel technique he calls the VAKSOG Match.

What is the VAKSOG Match?

Well, it’s a tactic that Shoguns use to build blazing quick rapport with women.

(Shoguns, by the way, are the adherents of the Shogun Method philosophy.)

According to Rake, there are six modes with which humans communicate with others:

Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Somatosensory, Olfactory and Gustatory.

Rake calls these VAKSOG Modes.

So, as the theory goes, we have a dominant VAKSOG mode which we communicate with.

For instance, some people are more Visual while others could be more Auditory.

Shogun Method is about seduction, and VAKSOG Matching is what Shoguns use to charm women. And they do it in two steps–

One, find the woman’s dominant VAKSOG mode and two, match it.

Let’s say you find someone you like and you want to build rapport with her quickly. So, you decided use the VAKSOG Match strategy and ask your target about her favorite movie.

She says it’s Pretty Woman, you ask her why and she responds–

“Well, it’s a beautiful movie!”

“It has got this colorful, nineties vibe that I really like.”

“And Richard Gere is such an eye candy!”

So, what can you tell about her VAKSOG Mode? Given her choice of words, you can tell she’s a visual person, right?

That’s the first step in VAKSOG Matching. The second is to match her in a response with Visual language.

For example, you can say to her–

“Oh, yeah, I remember watching it at the cinema. I can still remember that day so vividly, it’s strange. It was a bright, sunny day and I had actually preferred to go to the park instead. Still, I got to look at Julia Roberts for two hours, so it wasn’t all bad…”

Easy, right?

So, that was an example of using the VAKSOG Match on a woman you like.

But guess what? You can use the same technique to build rapport with anyone.

In Shogun Method, there are six of these modes.

From my experience, three of these modes will cover almost everyone you’ll ever meet. And so, for simplicity, I’d focus only on these three modes–Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic.

In the Anzai Protocol, we call these the VAK Modes. And like VAKSOG Matching, all you need to do to identify your mark’s VAK Mode and mimic it.

For example, you’ll know your mark is Visual if he says these things–

“I see your point.”

“Imagine…”

“It’s clear that…”

The second VAK mode is Auditory. Someone who is Auditory understands things by how they sound.

An Auditory person says–

“I hear what you’re saying.”

“That sounds to me like…”

“That’s alarming“

Third is the Kinesthetic mode. To a Kinesthetic person, emotions overrule everything.

He says things like–

“I feel this is right for me…”

“I don’t know, it’s just a hunch…”

“My gut says…”

And so, in summary, there’s just two steps:

First, spend a couple of minutes warming up your mark. What you want to do is to detect his primary VAK Mode.

Is he Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic?

And once you’ve found that out, communicate in the same VAK Mode as him. He’ll find you strangely persuasive and charming and yet not know why exactly.

Now, here’s one important thing to know, so listen up.

Sometimes, you may meet someone who has more than one VAK Mode.

For example, he could say something like–

“Look, I hear what you’re saying, and I feel good about what I’m going to do.”

What do you do then?

Well, here’s what. Spend a few more minutes on small talk and you could probably find his dominant VAK Mode.

Because while a person has multiple VAK Modes, there is often one that overpowers the others.

If you still couldn’t find the dominant mode, then follow this rule of thumb–

Men are usually Visual, and women are usually Kinesthetic.

And that’s not all. Sometimes, you may even need to lead your mark into his dominant VAK Mode.

For example, if your mark is male, use more Visual words and you’ll hear more of the same from him.

In the Anzai Protocol, we call this Reverse Mirroring–a marker of rapport and empathy.

And when your mark willingly follows your lead, he’s ready for the next ARCI stage–Compliance.

To summarize, here are the key points.

One. You can build instant rapport with anyone with VAK Mode matching.

Two. First, warm your mark up to detect his primary VAK Mode. It could be Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic.

Three. Match his VAK Mode by using the same VAK phrases he uses.

Easy, right?

That’s pretty much everything you need to build rapid rapport with anyone you want. So, there, I’ve saved you hours from reading all those books on persuasion, networking and making friends.

For more of these simple but unconventional social influence knowhow, visit DarkLever.com.

How to Get Anyone to Obey You (The MFB Technique)

Akira Anzai · Leave a Comment

Most people believe this is true–

Thought comes before action.

For us to do something, we have to think it first. After all, everything starts in the mind, right? Even if we don’t consciously think of the thing we do, it’s the thought in the brain that instructs the body to act.

But do you agree, though? Do you think it’s true?

Most people will say yes, but guess what?

It’s not always true. Thought doesn’t always come before action.

Because sometimes, thought follows actions, not lead them. The body often dictates what the mind thinks. We do first and only think later. Sometimes, much later.

Interesting, yes? And guess what? We can use this insight to help us to be better in persuading and influencing others.

Inside the Anzai Protocol, I teach a technique I call the MFB, short for Mind Follows (the) Body.

What makes the MFB interesting is because it’s the opposite of what most people believe…

…and what do people believe?

They believe they are 100% in control of their actions.

They believe that everything they do is from careful and conscious thought…

…and yet, most of the time, people don’t know why they do what they do.

In fact, psychologists tell us that the typical life of humans is like a series of dreams.

They drift from one mental state to the next… floating from one thought to another day after day.

They seem to be in an unbroken chain of hypnotic trance all their lives.

Derek Rake calls this Perpetual Trance. Most people are unaware, but they are trapped in a trance that hypnotizes them forever.

Interesting, right?

Yes, but how is this knowledge useful?

Well, this is how–

To make anyone obey you, there are just two steps to take.

First, you want him out of his Perpetual Trance, and second, you get him into one that you control.

In other words, you want him to be in a Perpetual Trance that you control.

When he is under your trance, you can ask him to do anything and he’ll obey. And as long as you control his trance, he’s subservient to you.

How does that sound?

I mean, imagine having the power of putting anyone under trance and he won’t even know it. What are you going to do with that power?

So, here’s what you’re going to learn next. You’ll discover the Mind Follows the Body technique, or as the Anzaians call it, the MFB. There are two ways to put someone under trance, and I’m going to teach you both.

The MFB Technique

The first step in the MFB is to snap your mark out of his Perpetual Trance. And there are two ways to do this.

One, you can use a direct verbal command.

A simple example would be to say to your mark directly: “WAKE UP!” And maybe, like a stage hypnotist, you can snap your fingers at his face for added effect.

Or, two, you can use a behavioral command.

A behavioral command is one that gets your mark to do something. If he’s sitting down, you get him to stand. If he’s standing, you get him to walk. If he’s walking, you get him to run.

OK, so here’s a question for you…

Which of these two are more effective, you think? A verbal command or a behavioral command?

If you’ve answered the latter, then you’re correct.

The most effective way to snap your mark out of his Perpetual Trance is to make him do something.

Why?

Recall what we talked earlier about the mind and the body.

The question is–

Does the body follow the mind, or does the mind follow the body?

Classical (or Cialdinian) persuasion works on the idea that the body follows the mind.

Cialdinian persuasion is all about changing minds. A person’s behavior is controlled by his mind, right? So, once he changes his mind, he will then behave the way you want him to. That’s how the theory goes, anyway.

That sounds straightforward, right? But, let’s consider the opposite.

Let’s assume the other hypothesis–that the mind follows the body–is true. How are things different, then?

Well, this is how–

To make someone accept an idea, get him to first act on the idea.

When you involve your mark to work towards a certain goal, you force him to believe in that goal.

Every small step he takes towards the goal reinforces his belief in it. And every action forms a ritual that further strengthens his conviction in the idea.

Why does this work?

Well, it has got to do with a particular weakness in the human mind. It’s the inability to tolerate any inconsistencybetween our thoughts and actions.

After all, we will never willingly act against what we believe in, right? Our actions are always consistent with our beliefs, at least in our minds.

And so, if you can get your mark to act on something, guess what? He will back-rationalize his action into beliefs that are consistent with his action.

And that’s not all. Every small, positive action adds up. The more he acts on your requests, the more agreeable and compliant he will be.

Makes sense?

Example

Now, with this in mind, let’s go through a real life example.

A few years ago, I had to deal with a difficult co-worker. I won’t dox him and so I’ll call him Peter.

Peter was an old guard of sorts, having been around since the early days of the company. He was a real pain to work with, and yet the boss trusted him and so he became his unofficial gatekeeper. Nothing gets through to the boss unless Pricky Pete approves.

So, there was this proposal I was working on, and I knew what I had to do–I had to get Peter on my side.

What did I do? I inserted a few mistakes into the proposal on purpose. I then printed it out and took it to him. And as expected, he took out his red marker and corrected my “mistakes”.

When he was done, I asked him–

“Peter, when do you think we should present our proposal to the boss?”

The act of correcting the copy was small, and yet, it involved him. At the end, he felt he had a stake in the proposal. It wasn’t just my proposal anymore. It was ours.

And guess what? The proposal went through and got approved without a hitch.

So, here’s what I want you to take away from all this–

The mind always follows the body.

Get your mark to perform a positive action and you’ll direct his thoughts to where you want them to be. Because when he’s acting in agreement with you, he must, therefore, agree with you in thought. The human brain is a powerful self-justifying machine.

And that’s not all. This is also a shortcut to make someone like you almost immediately.

Here’s how that works. When you meet someone for the first time, find an opportunity to get him to do you a small favor.

As he performs the favor, his subconscious mind will register you as a person he likes. After all, we only do favors for the people we like, right? The mind follows the body.

To make someone like you, get him to do things for you.

Because the more you get your mark to do favors for you, the more he will like you, and the more compliant he will be.

And guess what? You can take one step further and indoctrinate him.

Because unlike conventional persuasion, indoctrination is forever. Look at cults and religions. If you’ve got your followers in a cult, you don’t need to persuade them for anything, do you? They’ll love you for who you are and obey everything you say without question.

Now, understand this. You don’t have to use this knowledge for nefarious purposes.

Like the rest of us, you can choose to use this power for good. All I’m offering you is a choice. And choices are always good.

So, here’s the deal. You now have three options.

One. Do nothing and continue as before. Nothing changes, and you’ll live your life as it is.

Two. Read conventional persuasion books and learn stale, overused tricks. You’re not getting anywhere but you don’t know why.

Three. Embrace your dark side and jump into the indoctrination rabbit hole.

If the third option is what you choose, here’s what to do next.

I have written a book about indoctrination, and I want to give it to you.

It’s called the Dark Lever, and the premise is simple–

Human relationships operate on invisible Levers.

A man is powerful when he has leverage over other men. A man is weak when other men have leverage over him.

This book shows you how to cast a Lever on another man so you have power over him.

Now, here’s the thing. I want to give the book to you for free, but it comes with a catch.

Because of the nature of this knowledge, I don’t want people to use it to cause harm. It’s important to me it doesn’t fall into wrong hands.

So, you can have the book, but only if you pass a simple test.

It’s a quiz that takes about two minutes to complete. After the quiz, I’ll tell you if you’re suitable for the Dark Lever. And if you are, I will email you the book.

To take the test, go to the following site:

DarkLever.com

There, take the quiz and follow the instructions.

Again, remember: not everyone qualifies. But if you do, you’ll belong to a rare group who gets to enjoy these little-knowns secrets of social power.

Go on and take the test at DarkLever.com. Do it right now.