persuasion These kneejerk reactions happen when you follow your intuition or use a mental shortcut. Your mind reaches a decision with ut doing any logical processing. These subconscious decisions are largely driven bv instinct and emotion. Individuals who spend lots of time on the subconscious path do so because they lack the time, motivation, desire, or ability to really listen to your message. They're not really involved in the subject They use their instinct or emotions instead of their intellect. Passive processing and automatic decision triggers rule their decision making. The key is knowing when to use which method. Successful application of all the laws and techniques taught in this book requires that you become skilled at quickly identifying which ones will be the most effective in which situations. In his book Multiple Streams of Income, influential investment advisor Robert G. Allen relates a story of a factory owner whose machine broke down: It was a major and necessary piece of equipment, and so a repairman was quickly summoned to fix it. The repairman studied the machine in order to assess the problem. After a just a few moments, he pulled out his hammer, tapped the machine twice, and stood back to survey the results. The machine started up immediately. The repairman turned to the factory owner and said, "That will be $500, please." Furious that the repairman would dare charge such an outrageous amount for so little work, the factory owner demanded an itemized statement. The repairman left and sent the itemized bill the next day, which read: Tapping with hammer: $ 1 Knowing where to tap: $499 Total: $500 As you study and acquire knowledge about Maximum Influence, you too will know where to tap. Learn, implement, and make the twelve Laws of Persuasion, a part of your life. The Law of Dissonance Internal Pressure Is the Secret There is only one way . . . to get anybody to do anything. And that is bv making the other person want to do it. -DALE CARNEGIE MOST OF US FEEL MORE HARMONY in our lives when everything is consistent: our jobs, our homes, our habits, even our soft drinks. Consistency is the glue that holds everything in our lives together, thereby allowing us to cope with the world. Think of all the people you admire. I'll bet, by and large, most of them are consistent, congruent people. What they believe, what they say, and what they do (even when no one is watching) flow together seamlessly. Typically, a high degree of such consistency in one's life is indicative of personal and intellectual strength. People are naturally more inclined-even subconsciously-to gravitate toward and follow individuals who are consistent in their behavior. The converse is also true: Inconsistency in one's personal and professional life is generally considered undesirable. The person whose beliefs, words, and deeds don't consistently match up is seen as hypocritical, twofaced, confused, or even mentally ill. persuasion