Bow to the Powerful
Everyone at the bank watched silently as the bomb specialist tried to deactivate the bomb; upon asking for something, everybody would do their best to get it, and whenever he would talk, all would quiet just to listen to what he had to say.
What do you think had those people acting that way? Why do you think they had all that respect & gave all that attention to him? It's simply because he was in a position of power, the power acquired by the knowledge of deactivating bombs.
What Is Power?
Power is the ability to influence both, people and surroundings. It’s the ability of acting instead of simply reacting to events as they occur; it’s the ability to make a change instead of being a helpless spectator; it's what makes some respect, and others fear you and it's what can help you get what you want.
What you may not be aware of is that there are many sources of power and the good news is that some of these sources can be acquired. So if you don’t have the power you aspire to, don't worry; all is not lost.
How to Become Powerful
Each of the following items will present means of power, how each can be acquired and how it can help make you powerful:
* Power of Knowledge: Some people really underestimate the phrase “Knowledge is power”, but just considering the example above; of the expert trying to deactivate the bomb, it is clear that knowledge can be a strong source of power. This goes for everything; starting with the knowledge of the positions to punch when wanting to bring someone down, to becoming a specialist in your field so your company would not afford to lay you off and all the way to knowing how to impress people thus becoming more popular.
Now that it's clear how empowering knowledge can be, you should start acquiring knowledge that is relevant to the kind of power you want to have; if it’s social power you want then start by adopting social skills, if you want to be an icon of power in your company then specialize in something that almost no one else knows much about.
* Charisma: Everyone agrees that charisma is a gift; yet there are still various ways to become more charismatic. Building your self-confidence and assertiveness, adjusting your body language, your voice tone, the way you dress and improving the impression you leave on people; all these areare factors that will help you appear to be much more charismatic than you actually are.
* Power of Love: When someone loves you, he/she will do almost anything for you. If you've gained people’s attention and admiration then you’ve become their model and thus can influence them with your opinions and ideas. This isn't a pep talk; check the guide to making someone love you and the guide to making people admire you and you will realize how possible it is.
* Personal Power: What do you think makes people rise after being knocked down? What distinguishes those who rise from others who fall on account of the same blow? It’s the ability to control your emotions when others fail to do so and it’s the ability to change the surrounding conditions when others give up and fall helplessly. Fortunately, this sort of power can be acquired through both, self-understanding and personal development. Being here, surfing this site, means you already are on your way to acquiring it, Keep it up!
* Power of Money: We all know that money is a source of power but what we may not know is that we all have the potential to be rich. Our false beliefs are what hind us from fulfilling this potential, and the false ideas we have about money is what prevents us from collecting it.
There are many other sources of power, and they can't all be mentioned here, but what I want you to understand is the nature and variety of these sources. Just scan your environment for all possible sources of power that can be acquired, then work towards collecting some of them.
Don’t Sell Yourself for Power
Some people try to do their best to collect more of these sources of power, ignoring every ethical and humanistic concern. Upon following such a pattern, you may end up becoming very powerful, but will end up with a lot of disrespect to yourself and a deep unconscious sense of guilt. Nothing is better than becoming powerful and all the while keeping your inner peace, with no moral doubt of the way through which you've established this power.
