"Your World is your life and all the forces that can influence your life. […] Within that World, you must carve out your own Domain—the part of your World that you can control. Your Domain will probably include other people: family, co-workers, friends, fellow citizens, office holders, voters, etc. The difference between you and the others in your World is that you are (or want to be) the one in control, the Prince of your Domain. Others in your Domain will be your subjects, though you will never use that word aloud. You will control what they do and how they do it. […] In addition to controlling what happens within your Domain, you will also need to consider the people and forces in the World outside your Domain because they can have a profound effect on your ability to control your Domain.

Your happiness is to be found within your Domain. That is where you have chosen to live—emotionally. Your Domain could be your family, a department, a school, a circle of friends, or a corporation. It could be a physical location like a hotel, a ranch, or a hermit’s cabin in the mountains. No matter what kind of Domain you have decided to conquer or create and then rule, you are—or you intend to become—its self-selected Prince.

Your Domain might be bounded by your job, your family, and your neighborhood. It might consist of your home, close friends, and your children’s schools. It might be the department you supervise at the corporation where you work; outside forces might include the other supervisors at your level and your superiors. It might contain the board that governs the gated community you live in; outside forces might be other persons of social prominence in your city. It might be the county whose government you were elected to preside over; outside forces would include the governor and state legislature. It might be your farm, your fields, your crops, neighboring farmers, and your immediate family; outside forces might be the state Agriculture Department and the produce wholesalers who purchase your crops. […]

For your own reasons, you have chosen the Domain which you intend to rule. Any Domain you choose is a good choice—as long as ruling it provides you with a satisfying life. If you need growth, change, or further challenges in life, then your Domain should include those opportunities. If you need a big family, happy children, and close ties among the generations, then your Domain should include those opportunities. No matter what your Domain is and what World it is located in, you can use your brains and your skills to rule your Domain more effectively and to feel more securely in control of what happens. Why not work to rule your Domain confidently and securely? What other course of action could make any sense?"

Midas Jones, The Modern Prince: Better Living Through Machiavellianism