Manipulation is learned at an early age. I saw a “Full House” episode in which Stephanie was an outstanding baseball pitcher. She was so good she could easily strike out hitters from the opposing team. There was a boy on the opposing team who slowly began a manipulation of her pretending to like her. On the day before the big game, he came over and showed her his bat with her initials on it. He said he really needed to hit the ball for a home run because his family was there. He left assured in his mind that he had convinced her to not strike him out. However, when she began to pitch and strike other boys out her coach was really excited as her team was winning. Once he stepped up to bat he flashed his bat with her initials and gave her a big smile. All of a sudden her conscience began to kick in. She realized that if she let him get a home run she was not only cheating her team but she would be letting her family and coach down. Needless to say his manipulation failed and she struck him out. He was no longer interested in her. At an early age she learned that he was psychologically manipulating her and she was not happy about it. One of the biggest manipulators for anyone, particularly women, is the narcissist. They work it until they obtain complete control. Once they have control they never want to let go. They will lie extensively to obtain their own way. They are extremely abusive and often many of them are violent. There are only a few people, primarily women, who have videos about it on Facebook. During the course of our lives, we are often manipulated starting with our parents. There is a great scene in “The Big Bang Theory” in which Sheldon’s mother visits from Texas as Sheldon and Amy broke up. Sheldon had become somewhat of a reclusive with thirteen cats. Even this shocked his mum. When she made dinner later that day for Leonard and Sheldon, she secretly invited Amy. She insisted on no cats to dinner. When Sheldon saw Amy he immediately wanted to go back to his room but his mother demanded he sit which, of course, he did. She then used manipulation to not only have them reconcile but to also get Leonard to serve dinner to them both. How often have you been used for manipulation? The Good Gus Series is available online at Kindle, Nook and Waterstones. Hard copies, personally autographed, are available through our website www.goodgusbooks.com along with past blogs for your reading enjoyment. Now available audio and videos for the Good Gus series on YouTube! Digitizing for all the books are available now on YouTube! “Misplaced Trust” is now available on Amazon in e-book form. It is also available digitally at www.misplacedtrustbook.com. If you are thinking of a Will or a Living Trust, “Misplaced Trust” will give you the information you need to make an informed decision. Please check me out on IHeart radio. The Good Gus series, books one through four, are now available at the Morgan Mill Mail/UPS. I am about to be on Shopify, Instagram and Tic Tok!