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When I started my business, my inability to be an overt asshole was a clear handicap. To cover that weakness, I hired an attorney that was both meticulously ethical and a real mean-spirited indominable badass. He was the bad guy to my good guy. We really did play "good cop-bad cop" from time to time, and it never ceased to amaze me how effective it was. Even intelligent people who surely knew that he wasn't doing or saying anything without my approval played along.
At the time, I didn't know what to make of my relationship with him. We were, on one level, very close. As close as a married couple in some ways. He knew as much about my business and goals as I did and worked to achieve those goals just as diligently. In business, talking to him was the same as talking to me. He was not a friend, however. We didn't socialize and I'm quite sure that we would not have liked each other in any other context. Respect, yes. Like, no.
In retrospect, I think it can only be understood in terms of avatars. He was my External Avatar, or Avatar by Proxy. This was magick at work -- I had split myself into "good John" and "bad John".
At the time, I didn't know what to make of my relationship with him. We were, on one level, very close. As close as a married couple in some ways. He knew as much about my business and goals as I did and worked to achieve those goals just as diligently. In business, talking to him was the same as talking to me. He was not a friend, however. We didn't socialize and I'm quite sure that we would not have liked each other in any other context. Respect, yes. Like, no.
In retrospect, I think it can only be understood in terms of avatars. He was my External Avatar, or Avatar by Proxy. This was magick at work -- I had split myself into "good John" and "bad John".
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