> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://heyvirgil.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Vampire Compulsion Tricks - URL: https://heyvirgil.com/vampire-compulsion-tricks/ - Published: 2026-10-26T17:55:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T17:59:47.000Z - Author: Sarah dzida I'm rewatching *The Originals* tv show, which means watching vampires use that old trick of compulsion to make the humans do terrible things. The poor humans Cami & Kinney can't escape the vampire Lucien because of compulsion. In Jon's last entry, [he defined the word "magic,"](https://heyvirgil.com/you-need-magic-in-2026/) which compelled us to discuss what do words even mean anymore? There's the pesky Internet and culture in general, which constantly reinvents words like [meme](https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-origin-of-the-word-meme/?ref=heyvirgil.com) or whatever [Gen Z is saying](https://www.fastcompany.com/90848775/a-guide-to-gen-z-slang?ref=heyvirgil.com). Then there are terms that get stretched and misused like disruption or even ad-free! (There's no such thing anymore.) When I think about "compulsion," I think about a power that forces a person to act in a way that is against their better judgement. And if I look at my actual honest-to-god Webster's dictionary (copyright 1999), the third definition is that. But the first two are an action—the act of compelling—and its reaction—the state or condition of being compelled. And what does it mean to compel? *To force or drive, especially to a course of action.* I'm an artist, and the act of creation feels akin to compulsion for me. I've often said the last thing I'll probably do on this planet is have an idea to create something. Then I'll go out like a light. But what is the reason behind my compulsive artistic tendencies? If we're in a world now were creation is easier than ever for good or evil, then that intention matters more than ever. [The business world is starting to co-opt the word taste to describe it. ](https://rakowwwski.substack.com/p/the-source-of-taste)But I don't care for the term. Like creativity, or artistic license, or talent, it makes the thing abstract and separate from the human. Instead, I prefer to think of the impulse as irrevocably connected to the person that it resides inside. That means that the person themself is responsible for what happens when they encounter the opportunity to create something. Jon and I know how to build things. We've spent our entire careers building in all kinds of environments, technologies, businesses, teams, and for this or that reason. But no matter what, for me, behind each creation is my impulse to find a blank space and see what I can put in it. And for me, no matter what I make, I like it to be transformative—something that is helpful to others and helps them think about things differently. No matter if it's internal to the business or external to the customer. Or even personal to me ... anything I've made transforms me. Through transformation we are made and remade more into better versions of ourselves. And this is what makes people more resilient, especially in the face of uncertainty or when it comes to deciding what path on which to bet your future. In the year that Jon and I've collaborated together, we see this as a key ingredient to the virgilling process. How do you take the things that compel you and turn it into the engine in which you not only build your present but shape your future? I've got two examples about how this is easier said than done. ## Cerebral vs Heart We're testing out virgilling with a new collaborator, Human XYZ. She's got lots of interesting ideas about how to tackle the silver tsunami and elder care. In the process, we are all experiencing translation errors that happen when a new person onboards into something. But Jon and I also are learning how that transformation goes both ways. We need to be open to how she's going to change us. Anyway, Human XYZ admitted that all her plans are very cerebral. They're about the Bruce Wayne painpoints of marketplace opportunities, customer painpoints, and how your product is a specific intervention at a certain point. But where is the heart? That matters a lot in entrepreneurship. If you're going to risk anything, then you need to care. And that care is a kind of compulsion that cause you to get up every morning, act, and try to solve the paradox of what to do. In a [recent podcast](https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/stay-motivated-grow-consulting-business/?ck%5Fsubscriber%5Fid=4195596375&ref=heyvirgil.com) by Melissa Liberman called "Did you outgrow what motivated you," she writes about how an entrepreneur was committed to grow her consulting business from $300 to $600k. But "she lacked a compelling reason to think and act differently." Beyond the money, why would she care to evolve and grow? ## Bajillion vs Gajillion Later that week, I heard that in action with Human ABC on a phone call. He ultimately wants to run his own company. But he admitted: "While you know why you're doing this, I just want to make a bajillion dollars." "Well," I said, "You should think about why that's your reason." And Human ABC agreed. But we also dug under the desire. His compulsion really is about building a strong team where talented people can resiliently do their work in a healthy way. ## Batman vs Bruce Wayne The Bruce Wayne world says you must have money in order to do the things that matter to our hearts. But honestly, I've always thought that was vampire logic. So often in *The Vampire Diaries,* or *The Originals,* or *Legacies* (yes! I've watched them all!), these supernatural, superpowerful, super NOT mortal creatures do awful things because "they have no choice." But in the very next scene, there really was a choice. The thing they tried to prevent happens anyway. ## **The New Age** If like this image suggest, we are in a new age. Then that means the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) is going to be hard to navigate. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/57/15/571545e5-57d2-4db7-8dc0-9a4067deecf7/content/images/2026/10/image.png)](https://www.coatue.com/blog/perspective/public-markets-update-2026-05-06?utm%5Fsource=substack&utm%5Fmedium=email) You can view the whole deck here at[ Coatue](https://www.coatue.com/blog/perspective/public-markets-update-2026-05-06?utm%5Fsource=substack&utm%5Fmedium=email) But part of what this new age offers the individual human is an unprecedented ability to create what goes into and what shapes their own environments. So what we individually decide compels us matters a lot. Because that's what will manifest in what we build for ourselves, for people, for the future.