The Renaissance Con Artist’s Guide to New Year Charisma

If you want to be happy, present and stress-free this year, you can be.

But first, story time.

In the late 1500s, Bragadini wandered into Venice and won over its nobility. Venice was struggling, you see, and this man promised them a new golden age.

In exchange for a hefty fee, of course.

A few problems:

Firstly, that wasn’t his real name. He had no noble title so he stole one. The real Bragadini had died much earlier and wasn’t around to say this man wasn’t his son.

Secondly, this fake Bragadini claimed to be an alchemist. That was his solution to Venice’s woes – he’d turn lead into gold.

Yikes.

This was not their best investment.

You might wonder how he pulled this scam off, though. After all, Europe was crawling with con artists of all kinds. Bragadini was not the only fake alchemist in the land. How did he swindle not just a noble but an entire city’s worth of them?

It was easy enough.

He showed them.

He would throw lavish dinners and throw gold to the crowd. Every day, he dressed well, ate well and partied hard. Every time people saw him, his presence screamed of wealth and power.

Of course, the real source of his wealth was the money he scammed from the nobility. They’d pay him to turn lead into gold. He’d simply sell the lead and buy the gold with the money they gave him.

What’s the lesson here?

It’s not to be a con artist – eventually he was found out and chased out of town.

No, the lesson is easier than that. If people look at you and see gold, they’ll assume you’re an alchemist. If you radiate positivity, good will and happiness, they’ll assume you’re amazing to be around.

This isn’t a trick – you actually will be.

When you visibly glow with joy, it’s contagious. Friends, family, colleagues, even strangers start to smile back.

It becomes a virtuous cycle.

If you do that in 2020, everyone will have a fantastic time around you. No dramas, no drunken arguments about politics, no passive-aggressive nonsense.

Well, maybe fewer of them. Few enough to not muck up your flow.

But what kind of lifehack is that? For an amazing new year, simply radiate joy?

Well, my advice isn’t over yet.

Because the best place to start is by levelling up your conversational skills. Know how to build and defuse conversations, and everything else becomes much easier.

If only there were a simple yet robust guide on this.

Practical enough to let you start immediately, yet not transparently technique-y.

Ah yes, if only…

You mean a guide like this?

https://guided-thought.com/hacker

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

wpChatIcon

Discover more from Guided Thought | William Batten

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading