Thursday, November 20, 2014

Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu


Thick face
What does the “thick face” part of the title mean? It means a self-image that allows us to brush off criticism. She observes that if you are willing to have people not like you, you will go far. Chu notes that “the world has a tendency to accept our own judgment of ourselves.” If you exude self-confidence, people will naturally want to let you succeed. Self-doubt creates a perception of incompetence.

Black heart
While the concept of thick face relates to how others see you, the idea of black heart is about achieving your ends. The black-hearted person may seem as if they lack compassion; however, compassion can be shortsighted. If a boss cannot bring himself to make a few employees redundant, Chu says, he may witness the collapse of the whole business. Sometimes, to keep to your goals and achieve a result that is better overall, you have to be perceived as “bad.”

There are degrees of “thick face, black heartedness.” Some will do anything to achieve a result, not caring about the effect on others. This is the black heart of con men and the wicked, who eventually understand that most of their failures are due to their own character defects. The higher level of black heart is reached when you are not driven by your shortcomings or emotions, taking action that is driven by your true spirit.

Darkness and light
Acknowledge that all human beings are a combination of darkness and light. The universe is full of opposites requiring an “other” to exist. To have the necessary drive to live life to the full, you must appreciate and utilize all aspects of your character. If you like to present yourself as sugar-coated, you will lose out on any opportunities that may require you to seem sour or hardened.

Deception without deceit
You need to learn that you can be good at the art of deception without being deceitful. You must also appreciate that sometimes, to achieve something great and worthy, it is difficult not to bring an element of deception into your actions.


In a nutshell
Reclaim the “killer instinct” as a natural part of who you are.

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