On Power Read online

  To continue with the example of Frank Underwood, let’s ask ourselves: What would most others have done when facing this situation with a dying animal? They would likely have wasted valuable seconds, maybe minutes, panicking, scrambling around, and lamenting the situation. Maybe, eventually, someone would have rushed the suffering animal to the vet, hopefully without hurting it while lifting it up and loading it into a car, but possibly further traumatizing the animal and themselves. All of this rushed activity would go on while the dog experiences excruciating pain from a broken back, from being carried from ground to car, car to vet bed. In the end, the vet would likely say that there is nothing to be done and that the animal would have to be put down. Sure, there’s a chance that the dog could have survived. Maybe. But in this scenario, let’s assume that it would not have survived. The dog’s injuries were too obviously severe. In this case, Frank’s behavior seems entirely justified, and the faster he gets it done, the better. What else could have been accomplished, except the prolonged suffering of the animal? Frank Underwood had the cold, calculating calm that was necessary. He wasn’t needlessly cruel; he was just able to analyze the situation objectively, without resorting to the flits and flourishes that accompany strong emotion.

  That’s a power decision. I’ve had to make plenty of decisions like this in the past, in scenarios that would otherwise make someone panic. I will have to make many more, as will you. The objective is to know how and why you make your decisions, and to have a clear enough head to act decisively and promptly.

  Frank Underwood goes on to do some pretty horrific things to other people in House of Cards, so one might say he’s a terrible example of Machiavellianism as a virtue. As a counterpoint, I would ask: What does Frank Underwood do right? He’s great at waiting and striking while the iron is hot. He’s sharp with his tongue and appeals to the common man as well as to his fellow members of Congress. His ability to garner power is useful to his own ends. And what if his ends were yours? Wouldn’t his tenacity and his strategic thinking (with a few minor adjustments) make him the kind of man you would want on your side?

  If you find psychopaths terrifying, it is likely because they are the most effective at the evil they do. So I would ask you to seize this power for yourself, to more effectively accomplish your own (virtuous) goals. Be a psychopath with a conscience. Be ruthless, yet loved and law-abiding. Remember: power is inherently neutral. Once you gain it, you will have the freedom to use it for good or for ill.

  8

  GO FORTH

  I could wax philosophic all day about power, about my heroes, about the people who have influenced me and the things I have accomplished. But the only variable that will make a difference is you. As we’ve discussed, it is not your motivation, or your emotions, or how hard you wish and pray that gets the job done. It is your actions and the consequences of those actions that matter. Everything else is noise. Hopefully this book will serve as a catalyst for you to get out there and take action.

  Get out there and take notes, and plan for your future. Get out there and self-educate. Get out there and find your first job. Work hard enough so that when you ask for a raise at that job, your boss says yes. Then get out there and find a second job. Get out there and decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. Learn from those who are doing what you want to do and become better. Become the product you wish to sell and the person you would want to hire, and then pass those high standards on to those around you. Once you’ve done that, keep going. Get addicted to it. Work that you are passionate about is the best drug in the world, I assure you. So get to it.

  I have run the gauntlet of life, and I am sure as hell not done yet. I have had my share of life lessons, and I keep learning all the time. So should you. I want to make you powerful. Yes, you! And why shouldn’t you be powerful? We all have dreams. We all want to be more. With more power, you could be a job creator, you could give more to charity, and, of course, you would have the power to make sure your family is healthy and happy and protected. Power begets more power, if we create a culture of encouragement instead of one of envy and jealousy. Don’t tear others down. Raise yourself higher than them. Love alone, I am sorry to say, cannot do that. At the end of the day, love may be what we stay alive for and thrive on, but we must have power to live, before we philosophize about why we’re doing it at all.

  Power and, yes, money will certainly increase your chances of making you, and those around you, healthier and happier.

  The world is waiting for you.

  Go forth.

  ALSO BY GENE SIMMONS

  Me, Inc.

  Sex Money KISS

  KISS and Make-up

  Ladies of the Night: A Historical and Personal

  Perspective on the Oldest Profession in the World

  KISS Kompendium, with Paul Stanley

  Nothin’ to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972–1975),

  with Ken Sharp and Paul Stanley

  KISS: The Early Years, with Paul Stanley

  COPYRIGHT

  ON POWER. Copyright © 2017 by Gene Simmons. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  ISBN 978-0-06-269470-6 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-06-283682-3 (B&N BF Signed Edition)

  ISBN 978-0-06-284226-8 (B&N Signed Edition)

  EPub Edition October 2017 ISBN 978-0-06-269471-3

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