Honestly, If we were allowed to have a clone, I would have mine treating these three books like a gospel.I know a person that actually treats and applies these principles just as in the book like a gospel. They don’t know this book exists but their moral idealism is pretty skewed and though they are not “evil” in a sense that we know it, somehow their act is everything that these three books embodied.

These three books are pretty powerful and one of them even banned from prison due to the influence it can have on inmates. It reminds me of last week's sermon that basically, the devil just needs to sing and if it hits the right notes on the piano, it would act out itself. So, with all the inmates who are so close to all the stuff we considered evil, the book gives them even more ideas to outsmart or rebel and when it hits the pain point,there’s probably no point of return.

As much as it could be a mere sensational, I can’t help to think, what if everyone reads these three books and treats it like a gospel?

The prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, are often mentioned on self-improvement niches. They are dubbed as the books that could change our lives and are pretty popular. However, there can be many takeaways from the book which I think comes down to the reader’s personal lives and lived experience. I’d like to think that not everyone can be calculating and cold, there’s too much to sacrifice for it but there’s possibility too.

I just imagine someone with a normal family, grew up being loved, and cared for and read that book. I doubt they would drastically change into someone so cunning and calculative. Having to observe people, there are people who are not inherently calculative and cunning or perhaps they were pretty good at concealing their intentions. But I’d like to stick to the idea that not all people are calculative. The thing is across some fields, there are views that humans aren’t necessarily evil– we’re all complex beings and so does how we view morality too.

Maybe if everyone reads the book, I think that it would be hard to form any type of society. However, those who read the book will not be easily manipulated, which can be a good thing especially if they are surrounded by manipulators. But for me, the book still possesses quite a bit of complex situations.

It also got me questioning whether I would be treating the book like a gospel had I been raised by my actual family. A lot of things about The Prince, The Art of War, and then one from Robert Greene are pretty much natural to me and whenever I spend time with them, something dormant awakens.

Everything was suddenly transactional and I kept thinking of what is our next move? How can we secure the deal, who are they & why should I connect with them. What can they give to me?

My other family is not that calculative and cold. They are pretty docile and would never want any type of “power”. They just live a quiet life without much ambition. The mother who raised me was a loving person and was trying to suppress all the things that may give me trouble later in life.

The thing is, I wonder if life would have been easier if I were just like that person I know who treats all those three like a gospel. I mean, at one point it was. Life is indeed easier materialistically, but once I disconnect with them, it can see how empty it felt.

It has been years since I decided to never talk to them anymore. Everyone raised in that environment does well now but one thing for sure, they are all always cold, calculative and lack empathy. It’s always about, “ what’s in it for me?” but they do have a good side, something that seems to balance out their side. Afterall, their job deals with a high-stakes environment where all these things are needed.

Now that I am a lot older, in a world where deceit, exploitation and kissing ass is rewarded, it presents its own challenge. A part of me feels like waking up something that has been dormant in me or just not caring about it all. But again, just like the Prince itself, "“A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.”― Niccolò Machiavelli. That being said, to play the game you have to understand the game first. Whatever is your situation or environment you’re in, play the game or play like the court jester.

Rather than suppressing something that feels natural to me, I still read the book every year a couple of times to remind myself of something that naturally exists within me. It’s almost like those good vs bad angels around me where whatever said in the book feels natural but also the way I was raised just told me, “ There has to be some other way” or “ just don’t care about it”. When you know it’s there and acknowledge it, that is easier to control than when you pretend it doesn’t exist.