How to Become Powerful – Five Elements of Power by Q. Reyes – Artistic Warfare #84

October 17, 2010 Q. Reyes 1 Comment

Power is the word used to describe an unquestionable influence over people or things.  Having power means to be able to alter outcomes with bare minimum effort.  Power is the reason wars are fought and it is also a part of the evolutionary process of life.

There are powerful people in existence as well as there are powerful things.  Ideas are powerful; emotions are powerful; society as a whole is powerful.  Anything that influences behavior or threatens life becomes powerful.

In order to gain power, as human beings, individually or collectively, there are five basic elements that need to all play concurrently.

ONE – Be the best. Being the best at anything will set you apart from the rest.  Being the best means that no one is a higher authority in whatever it is you are the best.  Being the best, without a doubt, translates into power.

TWO – Never make a mistake. This sounds impossible to do, but the fact is that it is not.  Not making mistakes is essential in gaining and maintaining power.  Clear-cut, calculated moves will ensure that your margin of error is non-existent.  This eventually translates into power.

THREE – Recover opportunities. You can never make a mistake if you intend to gain power.  However, there are times that things don’t turn out as planned.  These are not mistakes if you seize the not-so-ideal moment and turn it into a positive opportunity – this grants you power.  Being able to recover quickly, making every move seem planned and seamless will ensure power.

FOUR – Be a leader. In order to gain power, leadership skills must be in place.  The people entrusting you with power must feel confident that this power will not turn against them.  A leader knows when to use persuasion, in a positive (eg. rewards) or negative (eg. fear), in order to gain and maintain power.

FIVE – Ambition. Your ambition must be bigger than the power you are attempting to gain or maintain.  If you want to take over a country, you must first want to take over the world.  This ensures that your power will surpass all expectations.  Aim higher than possible, and you won’t fall too far from the possibility.

Power is a process and it is constantly ever-changing.  Gaining power is different than maintaining power.  You can be the best at what you do, but for how long?  If you’re not constantly reinventing yourself there is always someone younger and more skillful climbing his or her way to power. Don’t become complacent, or you will fall from wherever you are.