Quotes About Influence

Good words were the difference between Emily eating well and not. And what she had found worked best were not facts or arguments but words that tickled people's brains for some reason, that just amused them. Puns, and exaggerations, and things that were true and not at the same time.

Civilizations rose and fell; what caused them to be remembered was not their contribution to knowledge or culture, not even the size of their empires, but rather how much force they extorted upon the landscape.

You can't stop me. Your word voodoo, it doesn't work on me. Right? So how do you think you're going to-' Eliot produced a pistol. He didn't seem to pull it from anywhere. He just suddenly had it. Wil's eyes stung. 'See?' Eliot put away the gun. 'There are all kinds of persuasion.'

You went to school, Lee said. I mean, at some point. And it didn't suit you very well. They wanted to teach you things you didn't care about. Dates and math and trivia about dead presidents. They didn't teach persuasion. Your ability to persuade is the single most important determinant of your quality of life, and they didn't cover that at all. Well, we do. And we're looking for students with natural aptitude.

Persuasion stems from understanding. We compel others by learning who they are and turning it against them.

Civilizations rose and fell; what caused them to be remembered was

Civilizations rose and fell; what caused them to be remembered was not their contribution to knowledge or culture, not even the size of their empires, but rather how much force they exerted upon the landscape. This was what survived them. A hundred billion lives had passed without leaving a mark since the Egyptians had raised their pyramids, changing the world not figuratively but literally.

Civilizations rose and fell; what caused them to be remembered was not their contribution to knowledge or culture, not even the size of their empires, but rather how much force they exerted upon the landscape.

If these guys had all the money, John wondered, who could stop them doing whatever they wanted?

It is easier, as Michelet suggested, for a woman to change her opinion of a man than for him to change his opinion of himself.

You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind-legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position you can make a crowd of men. If

Nothing is more thrilling, thought he, than to be treated as a cully by the person you hold in the hollow of your hand.

This is how all social, ideological, or religious movements police their members—by making clear that agreement will be rewarded with greater social standing and support, and disagreement punished with ostracism. This pressure is so amorphous and pervasive that, like oxygen, you are only aware of it when it is gone.

why do humans like him so much? Why does he mean so much to me—to Kate?" "Simply because he is different. You get from him what you could get from no other man in the world, perhaps

perfect evil always wins something akin to admiration from more common people.

You ever hear about that experiment an American journalist did in Moscow in the 1970s? He just lined up at some building, nothing special about it, just a random door. Sure enough, someone got in line behind him, then a couple more, and before you knew it, they were backed up around the block. No one asked what the line was for. They just assumed it was worth it. I can't say if that story was true. Maybe it's an urban legend, or a cold war myth. Who knows?

You ever hear about that experiment an American journalist did in Moscow in the 1970s? He just lined up at some building, nothing special about it, just a random door. Sure enough, someone got in line behind him, then a couple more, and before you knew it, they were backed up around the block. No one asked what the line was for. They just assumed it was worth it.

No sé si los grandes hombres son productos de tiempos difíciles, pero sé que pueden ser sus víctimas.

Fear," he used to say, "fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.

At the behest of the filmmakers and/or their estates, the titles of those movies based on true-life stories have been omitted.

the best way to honor Chairman Mao's memory was to see his face on as many hundred yuan notes as possible.

On a des centaines de partis politiques et plus de groupes d'influence que de grains de sable sur nos plages. On a des grèves, des émeutes, des manifestations. Presque tous les jours. On comprend mieux pourquoi le Che s'est fait la malle après la révolution. C'est beaucoup plus facile de faire sauter les trains que de les faire arriver à l'heure.

When Travis D'Ambrosia became chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he not only invented the resource-to-kill ratio, but developed a comprehensive strategy to employ it. I always listened to him when he told me a certain weapons system was vital.

Fine, whatever, "Mister Smith goes to motherfuckin' Washington," it means that, in politics, you focus on the needs of your power base. Keep them happy, and they keep you in office.