LAW 25: Re-create Yourself

The Promethean task of the powerful powerful is to take control of the process, to stop allowing others that ability to limit and mold them. Remake yourself into a character of power. Working on yourself like clay should be one of your greatest and pleasurable life tasks.

The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousness-being aware of yourself as an actor and taking control of your appearance and emotions. As Diderot said, the bad actor is the one who is always sincere.

Good actors control themselves better. They can play sincere and heartfelt, can affect a tear and a compassionate look at will, but they don't have to feel it. They externalize emotion in a form that others can understand. Method acting is fatal in the real world.

Create a memorable character that compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage. This was the game Abraham Lincoln played. The homespun, common country man, he knew, was a kind of president that America had never had, but would delight in electing. Although many of these...

The character you seem to have been born with is not necessarily who you are: beyond the characteristics you have inherited, your parents, your friends, and your peers have helped to shape your personality.