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HOW TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL
I doubt anyone in life wants to be weaker.
Let’s face it, don’t we all want to become more powerful, rich, and influential?
If you don’t, please don’t read this.
Ok you still here? Cool, let’s begin.
One.
We all want power. Not power to oppress people or be an asshole. We want to become more powerful in ourselves.
We want a feeling of control over our destiny. We want the power to choose our friends, life partner, and we want to have control over our time, energy, and life.
We want power for control and freedom, and sovereignty over our lives.
Two. Other misconceptions.
To gain more power isn’t a zero-sum game.
For example, if I can deadlift 410 pounds, if doesn’t mean you’re going to deadlift any less.
Another example: if I eat a double double hamburger (protein style, no bun) at “In and out” (my favorite fast food chain), that doesn’t mean that you cannot have one too.
Therefore, you are seeking to become powerful for yourself, without harming others.
I think in life, we can become more powerful without harming others. We can do this by simply having more faith in ourselves, hustling harder, and ruthlessly cutting out distractions.
Three. Mental x Physical Strength
1. Mental strength:
Study Stoicism by Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus.
For me, it’s constantly reminding myself life is short, that reputation is bollocks, and living a life true to yourself is the most important thing.
It’s also becoming “magnanimous”–ignoring petty shit in life.
2. Physical strength:
Do deadlifts at the gym, squat, and dumbbell press (safer than bench).
Or do pushups and chin-ups at home. Or yoga. Whatever puts stress on your muscles.
Lose body fat by quitting sugar, fruit juice, and any simple white carbohydrates.
With more physical strength, muscle, you will feel confident in yourself. I know personally after I lift 410 pounds (1 repetition maximum) off the ground, I feel like a fucking beast and like a Greek God that will never die. Of course that’s just me, results may vary.
Why you need both
The body and mind are tightly connected. One without the other will result in weakness.
Four. Take more risks
Life is about action, and doing.
The best way to cure fear is through action.
Nobody can read the future. We just gotta do stuff that we’re excited about and want to do (yet sometimes afraid of doing).
Essentially, we must do what scares us.
For me, I’m often scared to publish photos that I think others might not like. Often I’m scared of blogging and making people upset. That’s because I grew up caring too much about what others thought of me.
But often when we do what we’re afraid of, it actually isn’t so bad.
For example, when I was in high school I wanted to ask a girl to prom. I was nervous she would say no. I finally mustered the courage, and asked. She said, “Oh Eric, you’re so nice but someone already asked me and I said yes.”
I felt dejected, but the rejection wasn’t as bad as I imagined it to be.
I thought if she rejected me, I’d become the laughingstock of the school. Nobody mentioned it.
I learned a valuable lesson:
Take More risks because the consequences of “failure” are often not a big deal.
So to find more power in life, take more small risks. Then build up your appetite for risk taking. As Nassim Taleb says, have more “Skin in the game.”
Caveat: don’t take risks that might cause terminal death, or losing 100% of your fortune. That’s just silly. Figure out your maximum downside, and act accordingly.
Five.
To become more powerful, inflate your ego. Why? Your ego will help elevate you.
We’re told Ego is evil. I disagree. Ego is good, because it will give you strength and confidence in yourself. It will help you bend reality to your will, like bending a spoon with your mind (Matrix).
I listen to empowering music by rappers like Kanye, Jay-Z, and Kendrick Lamar. They help me believe in myself.
I read biographies of people I admire, like Steve Jobs, Einstein, Elon Musk, Howard Hughes. I read empowering philosophy like Nietzsche and his will to power (inspiration for this essay), Montaigne, Voltaire, La Rochefoucauld, and Nassim Taleb.
For inspiration, LEARN FROM THE TITANS.
Six. You are who you surround yourself with.
The saying,
You are the average of the 5 closest people to you.
Is very true.
Who are the 5 people in your power circle?
BE STRONG,
ERIC