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At Stake: The greatest threat to world stability in history.
The Story: One man's journey of profound personal transformation in the midst of extreme international crisis.
The Title: The Lazarus Covenant
BREATHE PressPublisher of The Lazarus Covenant
Publication Date: March 2009
488 pp. 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-9822379-0-8
Hardcover
$24.95PRE-ORDERS ACCEPTED NOW!
Get Your Copy of THE LAZARUS COVENANT First!
The Book in One Sentence:
"Hard is not hopeless."
-General David Petraeus
"We cause evil by wanting to triumph heroically over evil. It is good people, good people with blind spots, who do the world's dirty work."
-Hegel
"In individuals, insanity is rare, but in groups, parties, nations and epochs it is the rule."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.
-George Bernard Shaw
• In Washington politics, “ social courtship paid lasting dividends,: e.g., President Reagan’s engagement with prominent Democrats as part of his efforts to win over the Washington establishment, although he had campaigned as an outsider critical of Washington;• If you want to do business with someone, don’t forget the personal aspect;
• “It’s no who[m] you know; it’s who[m] you get to know;” Example, President Bush 41’s success in building a coalition quickly to fight Saddam was partly due to his carefully cultivated relationships with world leaders;
• Important to do extensive “networking and people-izing:” Another example: President Clinton;
• “All politics is local:” To understand and influence someone, don’t focus on the grant, intangible issues, watch what maters most to someone personally;
• Correspondingly, if you want to hurt someone, hit him/her where it matters most, in his/her backyard;
• “The intellectual thinks wholesale; the veteran politician (e.g., L. Johnson, Tip O’Neill) has a penchant for retail, one customer at a time;”
• Some of the greatest modern American politicians were ultimately rejected because their constituencies saw them as more familiar with Washington than their home states (e.g., Fulbright, Church, Gore, Sr.);
• Effective politicians deal with friends and enemies, one person at a time;
• Very effective way to build political support and gain loyalty is to ask for people to assist with money, time, etc; the initial investment gives the contributor/donor a strong stake in the politician; (based on observations by Machiavelli);• Building personal power has three steps: 1) close attention to what motivates others; 2) use the information to map paths to the “hearts and minds” of people critical to your objectives; 3) get people mobilized in you cause; example – Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign; used outsiders, politically unsuccessful to build his organization;
• People get a kick out of being propositioned; the opportunity to get involved in very attractive;
• But, while people don’t mind being used, they do mind being taken for grante3d;
• Your goal should be to make yourself other people’s asset, to “build your own contributors’ list;” make your cause the other fellow’s hope; the more he invests, the more likely he’ll be to reinvest again;
• Loyalty is crucial in politics; nobody trusts a “traitor;”
• Washington produces paper currency and political currency; the latter is used to make deals;
• Loyalty is a building block of political strength; cementing political relationships with reciprocal support and benefit is essential to success;
• Effective use of today’s extensive media environment does not negate the need for loyalty, e.g., the failed political fortunes of John Connally and John Lindsay, both seen as turncoats;
• The more the differences between the two political parties narrow, the more important party loyalty is to the voter;
• Two related points:
1) Be careful in taking a poisiton or establishing relationships, since they’re hard to separate from; commit to the right person;
2) Make repeated efforts to demonstrate loyalty to people who support you;
• Great politicians remain on speaking terms even with their fiercest opponents:
•It shows strength;
• Offers useful information; learn what the other side is thinking;
• You may need to work with the opponent someday;
•Leave no attack unanswered: try to send out the response even before the attack is made; (counter example; failure of Dukakis campaign to effectively and promptly counter attacks by Bush 1 campaign;)
•Certain issues have more weight than the substance of the issues themselves; they connote values, character, etc.; therefore important to not let an attack go unanswered;
• Effective methods to respond:
o Catch the accuser in a lie;
o Ridicule; e.g., FDR against Dewey and the “Fala speech;” (Dewey had accused FDR of sending a military ship to retrieve his dog;)
o Use the force of the opponent’s own attack to bring him down;
• Men and women who rise to powerful positions in large organizations gain their advantageous understanding of the institution via listening and asking the right questions; (e.g., Tip O’Neill who every day pumped his staff for information);
• Always better to be the bearer of your own bad news, rather than have opponent present it; “when in doubt, get it out.”: (e.g., JFK’s assertive approach to addressing concerns about his Catholicism and its affect on his governing);
