Power is directly proportional to your ability to make decisions.
Ergo, power == the capacity to make decisions.
The more power you wield, the bigger the decisions you can make.
The bigger the decisions you’re capable of making, the more power you can wield.
Those two statements are equal.
You don’t get to make decisions for other people, if you haven’t convinced them that you’re capable of making good decisions, in their interest.
The best way to prove that you can make good decisions is to have a track record of demonstrable good decisions.
You can convince people through communication and good salesmanship, but if you can’t deliver, you’re eventually discovered, and you lose that power.
Power is directly proportional to the size of the body you represent. The group of people who trust you to make good decisions.
The context in which you are trusted with this power is limited to the context in which you represent that group.
There is infinite diversity in the number and interests of groups in which an individual may have power.
The place to start developing your power is with yourself. Your own decisions, that affect your own life.
When you exercise your personal power in an optimal way, your life will be the first example in your track record to build trust in others.
If you hesitate. If you don’t know your self. If you don’t trust yourself to make decisions for your own life, you will not have personal power. Therefore you will not develop the trust of others.
Without building your power and trust starting with yourself, for all your good intentions and belief, you will have no large and lasting impact on the causes and change you wish to see in the world.
This is the truth behind vague statements like:
“Believe in yourself.”
That really means, decide that you’re going to do for yourself, what you believe is the correct path. The path the optimizes your personal capacity and ongoing development of decision making and the trust of others.
“Know thyself.”
The first steps to making good personal decisions. At first you don’t have much to work with except your present condition, the best analysis you can do given the time and information at hand… and your gut.
If you freeze up. If you over analyze. If you give up because it’s too big or overwhelming… You will not decide. You will stagnate. You will follow. You will fade.
Be the best you for you, and that will begin to spill over into the ones around you. Some may not understand. Some may be intimidated. Some may actively discourage you. They are not your guide or your problem. Do what you can to positively encourage them to develop their own power and let them find their way, or not.
Focus on slowly, step by step, decision by decision, growing yourself. The one’s who are ready and open to you will respond positively. You’ll have an impact, you’ll gain trust, and more power through them. And they, through you. At any given point in your life, your journey of personal development, those people will change. Serve them in the most positive way that you can and know that you lead and exercise power, only by trust and example. The hallmarks of corruption of power are force and illusion. To impose dominance rather than gain trust. To use lies and stories to gain trust, rather than true responsibility is the illusion. The promise without the fulfilment.
Uncle Ben only had it partly right. “With great power comes great responsibility.” This is true but only after the power is gained.
“With great responsibility, comes great power.” Take personal responsibility for your life and grow in personal power. Take greater responsibility for those around you, once you have the strength and qualifications to help them make decisions for themselves. The more people you’re responsible for, the more people trust you to make good decisions, the more true power you have. It takes a strong character to lift that kind of responsibility.
That’s why, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
What will you decide to do today?