Imagine this, everyone. On a pitch-black night, while walking alone, a cold gun barrel is suddenly aimed at your temple.

It is instinctive for your heart to pound as if it will burst and your mind to go blank. But here, there is a man who wrote the 'greatest script of his life' in that moment of desperate crisis.

It is none other than Charlie Chaplin.

To start with the conclusion, at the end of this story, Chaplin walks out leisurely without losing a single penny.

It was not due to brute force or speed, but solely thanks to the strategy of 'buying time by reading the opponent's mind'.

How on earth did he manage to snatch all the bullets from the hands of that menacing robber?

Mr. Robber, could you put a hole in my hat?

That night, Chaplin was heading home with some cash in his bosom.

Just then, a mysterious assailant appeared from behind a tree.

He was huge, and in his hand, he held a pistol that looked ready to spew fire at any moment.

"Hand over everything you have! Or I'll shoot!"

An ordinary person would have screamed or stomped on their foot and tried to run away.

But Chaplin was different.

Trembling all over like an aspen tree, he began to act in his characteristically timid voice.

"Um... Mr. Robber, I will give you the money. But actually, this isn't my money; it's my boss's.

If I just go back, it's obvious I'll be misunderstood as having stolen the money.

Please... could you just put two bullet holes in my hat? I want to show you as proof that I met a robber."

The robber snorted. "Thinking 'this stupid coward,' he snatched Chaplin's hat, threw it on the ground, and fired two shots, bang, bang."

Increasingly Meticulous Requests, and an Emptying Magazine

Chaplin pretended to let out a sigh of relief as he looked at his hat with the holes, but this time he pleaded even more desperately.

"Ah, thank you so much! But... you are so picky, Master.

Could you please shoot two more shots into my crotch?

That way it would look like a real life-or-death struggle. Master will trust me, too."

The robber grumbled as if annoyed and fired two more shots at the hem of his pants.

Now, the robber's face was filled with composure and arrogance. Because he believed that he was in perfect control of the situation while holding the gun. Chaplin did not stop. "Finally, just a few more holes in this coat sleeve..." "You crazy... coward! Fine, I'll put enough holes in you to kill you!" The robber spat out a curse and pulled the trigger. But instead of a sharp gunshot, the return was only a dry, hollow metallic sound. 'Click. Click.' The moment the bullet disappeared, the tide turned. For a moment, silence fell. The robber's eyes began to waver.

Chaplin's trembling voice was gone, and his eyes shone calmer than ever.

"Mr. Robber, it looks like you've run out of bullets. Then I'll take my leave!"

Chaplin sprinted straight ahead and disappeared into the darkness.

The physically overwhelming robber could only stand there blankly, holding his empty pistol.

Chaplin knew.

The number of bullets in that gun is fixed, and once those bullets are exhausted, even a fearsome robber is nothing more than a 'big guy.'

This short anecdote gives us a powerful lesson.

In our lives as well, trials like an 'armed robber' sometimes come our way.

Unbearable pressure from a boss, a sudden financial crisis, or surrounding situations that threaten me, you know.

Most people either fight or try to fly away in the face of this crisis.

But Chaplin chose a third way. It is precisely the 'flexibility of exhausting the opponent's resources.'

Do not get swept up in emotions: Even when the robber cursed and threatened him, Chaplin focused only on the 'goal (exhausting the bullets).'

Exploit the opponent's weaknesses: He exploited the robber's arrogance (that since he has a gun, he is his subordinate) to his advantage, making him drop his weapon voluntarily.

Time is on my side: In a moment of crisis, the most powerful weapon is the 'tactic of calmly stalling for time.'

There is a saying that 'even if you enter a tiger's den, you will survive if you keep your wits about you.'

Chaplin demonstrated the power of that very spirit.

Are you standing before a problem that is difficult to handle right now?

If so, take a moment to catch your breath and think. Think about how you could elegantly pull out a bullet of that intensity.