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In the summer of 64 BC, the 42 year old Marcus Tullius Cicero ran for the highest office in the Roman Republic. Marcus had a brother, Quintus, four years younger. Both were born in Arpinum, small town south of Rome. Their father was a successful businessman, but not upper crust. He sent his sons to Greece to receive the finest education money could buy.
Thus, the candidate Marcus Cicero was an outsider to the city of Rome and not a member of the ruling elite. Roman politics were complex and intricate. (The idea of “one man, one vote” was Greek, not Roman.) You had to be physically in Rome on election day to cast your secret ballot, a name scribed on a wax-covered wooden tablet. This was a mere two decades before the assignation of Julius Caesar; the Republic was weakening and elections were won by tribal influence and class distinction. The idea of electing an outsider from a nothing town to rule millions was high stakes.
There were two other men running for office that year, Antonius Hybrida and Cataline, both with strong Roman influence.
The younger sibling had great admiration for his older brother, Marcus. Quintus wrote Marcus a long letter outlining a strategy for How to Win an Election. With the upcoming US presidential election in the forefront, Princeton University Press published one of their Latin/English versions of this 43-page letter. It is amazing that the advice he gave 2,075 years ago can be apropos to your ability today, not just to win an election, but to persuade others.
Thus, I read from the letter of Quintus to his brother Marcus. “You can clearly see that even those from the loftiest background are not equal to you because …?”
Now, what do you think was the reason Quintus gave? What did Marcus possess that his opponents did not? Quintus says it is something that will absolutely ensure a win. Guarantee success. What is it?
Is it, “You have more money?”
Is it something along the lines of “You have friends in high places? You have a network of influence? It’s ‘who you know’ not ‘what you know?’”
Does Quintus write, “You’re smarter than your opponents. You have more education. You are better on your feet, You are a genius, Bro?”
Quintus reveals the secret to winning. What is it that Marcus possesses already, that will absolutely guarantee a win? What does Quintus reveal?
.. quod sine nervis sunt, tibi paris non esse.
… they are not equal to you because they lack the drive.
Ha. Ha. That is right. It is what I tell everyone in my classes and seminars on persuasion. Effort, drive, and hard work will make you a success. The geniuses will not beat you because they will procrastinate and think they have plenty of time – after all, they are geniuses. (The tortoise and the hare.) Those dependent upon someone else’s influence will not beat you because somewhere along the line, influence always short-circuits. People who must depend upon their network spend a lot of their time baggage-handling.
You do not have to be the brightest candle in box, but you do have to burn the longest. You must work hard. You must have drive.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was the greatest orator that ancient Rome ever produced.
If you want to be the persuasive wizard, then start putting in the work. Ask any sports hero or business magnate. Hard work is the currency of success.