In 1866, the microscopic European nation of Liechtenstein sent its entire army of 80 men to guard a mountain pass during the Austro-Prussian War.
Now, these weren’t exactly the kind of soldiers who would be intimidating anyone. They were more like a heavily armed hiking club with matching uniforms.
The Liechtenstein forces were deployed to guard the Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy, where there was “really nothing to do but sit looking at the mountains, drink wine and beer, smoke a pipe and take it easy”, or some unofficial communication along those words.
Basically, they got the cushiest military assignment in history. They went full professional mountain camping with government-issued alcohol.
The story gets absolutely ridiculous when the army marched back home to their capital of Vaduz.
Remember how many guys were there, right? 80, we said.
Well, 81 men returned.
They’d somehow managed to recruit an extra soldier during what was essentially a glorified vacation.
The 81st man was an Austrian liaison officer who marched back with them, though some sources suggest he might have been an Italian who screamed “MAMMA MIA, MARCELO!” and just thought the Liechtenstein gig looked pretty sweet-ah.
Can you blame him? These guys figured out how to “fight” a war without actually fighting anyone and still come home as heroes.
Now, here’s what should make you question everything you think you know about influence and persuasion: the Liechtenstein army didn’t convince this guy to join them through intimidation, propaganda, or even a recruitment pitch.
They did it by simply being the kind of people others wanted to be around.
This is where I used to be mercilessly crushed in my daily interactions without even realizing it. You already know how insecure I was, so I set out to become ‘influential’ by learning clever arguments, strategic manipulation, or having the right talking points. Cool the brainy way!
(You can imagine how it went!)
I was just walking around trying to FORCE PEOPLE TO LIKE ME from every room I entered, then wondering why people don’t wanted to hang out with me.
I wanted them to LIKE me at all costs, and that always reeks of desperation, regardless if I had good intentions or not.
That’s how life (and perception) works.
The truth is, people don’t join movements because of brilliant rhetoric or masterfully ironed uniforms.
They join because of how those movements make them feel.
That officer didn’t defect because Liechtenstein had superior military strategy.
He tagged along because spending time with these people was genuinely enjoyable.
Most of us approach relationships like we’re trying to win a debate instead of trying to create an experience that people actually want to be part of.
We focus on being right instead of being magnetic.
We worry about sounding smart instead of making others feel valued.
And it’s easy to fall on that trap, because sounding smart sometimes brings us accolades and praise. But it can only get you so far.
The Liechtenstein army understood something most people never figure out: the most powerful form of influence isn’t making people do what you want.
It’s making them want to do what you want.
And that happens when people genuinely enjoy being in your presence.
So ask yourself: when you leave a conversation, do people feel energized or drained? Are you the kind of person others actively seek out, or do they find excuses to escape your orbit?
Because at the end of the day, the best recruitment strategy in the world is simply being someone others want to follow home.
And you don’t have to go through the years it took me to realize this; you can just develop that same superpower in just WEEKS thanks to my system, the Knesix Code.
My A-to-Z program to boost your personal influence, learn to read anyone like a book, and become literally manipulation-proof.
What would you do if you were able to crank up your magnetism up to 11… even if you firmly believed you had the charisma of a rock?
There’s only one way to find out:
https://knesix.com/masterclass/
Much Love and Bliss,
Jesús.
The Body Language Guy
P.S. Liechtenstein disbanded their army just two years later in 1868, citing costs and unpopularity. Even their military success was too much work for them. Absolute Chads.
