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When you close your eyes, you can see more of what you are imagining. So, keeping your eyes closed, allow yourself to dream, and imagine how you’ll achieve your dream. This activity has the potential to break barriers within you; do it, again and again, to find your purpose and your biggest why (e.g., Why do you want to pursue this dream?), and write it down again and again until it becomes real.

However, when you chase a dream, you need to be aware that it always, always creates change. It may also create growth, but your success journey will focus on change—from self-development to the corporate level of any organization you are involved with—rather than on growth. Why? Well, how you respond to change is everything. Think of it in terms of discovery and action. In the end, it creates knowledge, and knowledge is power. Sears, Nokia, Kodak, Kmart, Toys“R”Us, and Blockbuster all have similar stories of how they responded to growth rather than to market changes. Edward Abbey said, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” So, companies that have a strategy for responding to growth rather than change, experience failure in their organization, like a cancer cell destroying the body. This is also true regarding each individual who responds to or focuses on growth rather than change.

“Ipsa scientia potestas est.” Knowledge itself is power. —Francis Bacon, Meditations Sacrae and Human Philosophy What does it mean to be powerful? What does it mean for one to wield power? For starters, it certainly means more than throwing one’s weight about or bending people to your will. Sure, a show of force can get people to do what you want them to do, but true power isn’t about force, position, or authority. It’s about influence.

There’s more to power than being a position of authority or ranking high in the chain of command. Actually, ranking high hardly guarantees that you will be influential, nor does a lack of position imply that you can’t make things happen. Wielding power does imply having the ability to impose your will on others and getting them to do what you want, but none is as powerful as the one who exerts influence even when he’s not trying to. Considering that, one can simply posit the authority of the state, or in broader terms, the positional authority of the statesman or policeman as a clear and obvious source of power. “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” —Plato, The Republic

Want to know what’s worse than not knowing stuff? It’s knowing stuff and not doing anything with it. It makes the whole idea of knowing, pointless. And that’s why knowing is just as important as doing. Here’s what some of the greatest thinkers that have ever lived have in common:They didn’t sit on their own hands and do nothing. If you know something, do something with that knowledge. In the quest for power, one ought to remember that actions are what people see. You cannot influence people if you’re not doing anything. It’s not enough to just know the right path to follow; you should also put in the work by following that path. The commonest way to influence people is by getting them to do what you want—and how would they do any of that if they have no idea what you want to be done? That is why actions are important in the quest for power. It could be spoken words, intentional acts, or subtle gestures, but you’ve got to do something. Having built up a body of knowledge, it is necessary that you put that knowledge into practice—you have to practice what you have learned. Only then can you be on the path to becoming powerful. If, for instance, you learned that creating scarcity has a way of beefing up importance and respect—and it so often does—maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to withdraw from some of the people you know are starting to take you for granted. That way you’ll be acting upon what you know. You have got to make deliberate decisions based on the knowledge you have acquired, and take decisive action. They all work together.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.” —Gandhi

If you’re sick of what you see when you look in the mirror, and have learned about all the things you need to do to get in shape, take power by actually doing those things. It’s not enough to just know. If acquired knowledge tells you that making eye contact when you talk to people puts you on top of conversations, start doing it. You’re on your journey to becoming powerful, and you want to make a habit out of actually doing stuff based on what you’ve learned. The spotlight will be on soft skills for obvious reasons. One, soft skills help you fit into any place and excel at any given task; and two, they are an essential part of your personality. There are different examples of soft skills that can help you acquire the results you desire.

Do I need to say more? The world’s most powerful people are those who may have made learning and doing a routine process. Those people have formed a habit of learning things and putting them into practice, so much so that it has become second nature to them. You too can get to that level. We have learned of the power that comes with knowing things; and by acting based on what one knows, true power is developed. It then follows that living up to those standards can help one to imbibe habit excellence in all of their undertakings. As a matter of fact, it is by knowing the right thing to do, and doing it, that we set ourselves apart from other people. Creating a habit of excellence entails making the most of every chance to improve, to do better than the last time. It comes from knowing that you don’t know enough, and constantly wanting to know better. If you create a standard for your life, such that every task you undertake is viewed as an opportunity to do better than the last time, you’re inadvertently creating a habit of excellence that will serve you well in all your dealings.

It goes something like this: knowledge, action, and consistency—that’s the recipe for excellence. If you make excellence your habit, then you occupy a position of great strength and power. Remember, power is not about pushing people around or bending them to your will. It’s about subtly influencing people. And if people know you for excellence in everything you undertake, they’ll do your bidding, even without you having to ask formally. If you want to radiate power from the inside out, and not have to rely on the superficial stuff that comes from banking on ephemerals to influence people, then you need to improve yourself—not your finances, not your looks,but your person. You need to strive to be better and to do better consistently. That’s how you become powerful.

Going through life, one is exposed to a whole lot of experiences—some of them good, and others not so much. In fact, our lives up to this very second are basically an aggregation of a whole lot of experiences. And the good news is that we can even benefit from those experiences that we would rather forget.In the quest for true internal power, experiences will have to be viewed as learning opportunities or teachable moments—an opportunity to fish out what works and what doesn’t, so as to be able to make the right choices when confronted with a similar situation in the future. Today’s society has us wired such that our outlook on life, as well as the experiences we’ve had, are mostly viewed through the lens of negativity, doubt, and regret, more than positivity and confidence. And if there is anything that saps power more than anything else, it is the loss of conviction in what one is capable of. Being clueless about which path to take can leave one with a feeling of powerlessness; you basically become a detached leaf in the raging wind. If you’re humbled by your experiences, such that your self-confidence is now battered, you may want to slow down and see those in a different light.

Be it a good experience or a bad one, there’s always something to learn, and if you always pick out lessons from your experiences, you’ll never really be on the losing side. If you win at something, you’re happy that you know how to do it. If you lose, you’re wiser, as you’ve learned how not to do it. When you really look at it, either way, it’s to your advantage.

Life itself is risky. Even the most basic things that we take for granted, like taking a bath, using the stairs, answering the phone, or even eating breakfast, are laden with all kinds of risk. When you think about it, why then would you keep yourself from taking risks that would make your life better if they do pan out as you hope? The danger of holding on tightly to a comfort zone and not letting go is that you become mediocre at best. All the opportunities for growth that lay in wait just outside your comfort zone, go begging just because you’ve become too complacent about trying anything new. You’ve grown so comfortable that you can’t even handle the smallest amount of heat.

Well, that’s one way not to be powerful. Risks are a part of life, and as such, it is almost inevitable that we are taking one type of risk or the other in our daily lives—driving a car or just walking down the road comes with tons of life-threatening risks. So, when you think about it, it’s not a clever move to remain mediocre because one doesn’t have the stomach for risk. You are already taking a lot of riskas it is, by existing; why not take one that could actually improve your life?

The world’s most powerful people, be it in business or politics or showbiz, are risk takers. They are people with very strong stomachs for risk. Oftentimes, the difference between where we are and where we want to be is dependent on whether we make a certain move that could cause our stomachs to turn in the present but could yield immense rewards in the future. And we are better off taking those risks if the idea is ever to assume a position of real power.

It could be a risky play in the stock market, a risky career move, or some high-risk project that could either toughen up your finances or tank it. Well, take that risk. Don’t fixate on all the different ways things could go wrong.

Commitment implies the intention to produce the desired result. The result could be any of many things, from showing up for a meeting, to launching a new business, to nailing down a job and keeping it. In between the vision (what you want) and the reality (what is), you have committed. It is what transforms vision into reality. Commitment transcends words. You could use words to express commitment, but taking action is the very essence of commitment. Bearing that in mind, it follows that commitment entails more than just “thinking about making something happen.” For instance, when I was fiddling with the idea of putting this book together, many different thoughts came to me. Can I do it? Should I do it? Why don’t I just do something else instead? Those were just a few of my thoughts. Even as I had resolved to go through with the book, and I started to do some kind of research to determine the scope, I was only going through the motions until I knew deep in my heart that I was willing to do everything necessary to make this book come together. After which, I took “action” by actually starting the book.

I’ve now gotten to a point where I no longer get derailed by tangents. I’m committed to making the book come together. Now I’ve defeated all the negative talk in the back of my head, whispering things like: “You can’t do this”; “You’ll just be wasting your time”; “Do you even have money to publish?”; “Nobody would care about it”; “Why not do something else?” Now I’m totally clear about the result I’m gunning for, and I have moved forward to make it happen. That’s the power that comes with commitment.

Being accountable is an amazing thing, and that’s because it puts our destinies in our very hands. Being responsible simply entails being answerable or accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management. Taking responsibility for yourself can be quite a daunting task, but it can be just as empowering. When things aren’t going so great, it’s easy to shift the blame to others. Having something or someone to blame it all on, or pointing to circumstances beyond your control, does seem comforting. We have all used that “out” at one time or another. In a way, blaming other people or circumstances beyond our control is a natural reaction to upset or threat. And it is not untrue that life can be unfair, and some situations do spiral out of our control. There is no shortage of reasons as to why you can’t get something done, or why you can’t be where you’d rather be in life. There is nothing as challenging as being your best self and achieving your goals. The obstacles will always be there.

But even at that, fixating on the things you have no control over will only get you as far as getting stuck and frustrating, causing a feeling of helplessness. While it is true that you can be held back from achieving your goals due to circumstances beyond your control, or the actions of other people, there’s a lot of truth in the assertion that there are some things that are well within your grasp. As the word “responsibility” implies being accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management, it could be deduced that we are not responsible for things outside our control but are accountable for those things within our power, control, or management; one of which is deciding to sulk over all the things that are aren’t going right, or taking responsibility for our own lives and making the most of the current situation.

Lessons from science class tell us that energy is the ability or capacity to do work. It so follows that energy is important for getting stuff done. And energy, in this context, doesn’t necessarily imply the kind supplied by carbohydrates or some kind of food. Yes, it’s the kind of energy required to do stuff, but a bowl of cereal wouldn’t exactly help your case if you feel like a loser that can’t get anything right. That is why managing your energy is important. Here’s something to remember:While your energy may come from the inside, what is happening on the outside does weigh in on the health of what’s within. So, it’s important to mind what gets into you. If it so happens that you’re hanging around people that give you negative vibes, it might be best to stay away from such people. Protect your energy.

In physical science terminology, power and energy are interrelated, such that as energy is the ability/capacity to do work, power is the rate of doing work or the amount of energy expended over time. Okay, I don’t mean to bore you with science; I’m just trying to say that even science agrees that you need to pay attention to energy if you’re going to generate any kind of power. And energy is that thing that helps you do something about it. In the quest for power, mental energy is what you focus on, and mental energy is a function of what you take in. It could be people’s words, your own experiences, or happenings around you—if they are negative and you let it get to you, you may even find it hard to get out of bed in the morning. If your energy is tainted, you will be powerless. Even the simple things you would ordinarily do would seem like a big ask.

With just the right energy coming on the backs of a healthy mental state and a healthy mind, you could complete even the most daunting tasks. Guard your energy. If you can’t get things right on the inside, you can’t make anything work out on the outside. Stay away from external influences that are sources of bad energy. It saps you and takes you away from your reserve. You don’t need that on your journey to becoming powerful.

If only you could control yourself. If you had more willpower, you could finally lose those last 10 pounds. If you had more self-control, you could finally stop procrastinating, save for retirement, stick to an exercise routine, and avoid various vices such as alcohol and cigarettes. There’s a lot that you can do by just exercising a lot more control over yourself and not giving in to whim or “feeling” every single time. By choosing to not give in to every little thing, you are building up some self-discipline, and that can put you in a very good position. Self-control helps you build something called willpower. One of the most basic definitions of willpower is that it involves putting off what you want at the moment to achieve a long-term goal. Willpower is often referred to as resolve or self-control, and may involve several different cognitive and behavioral characteristics. It involves putting off what you want in the shortterm to get what you want in the long-term. It requires conscious effort and often a significant investment of emotional and cognitive resources. It’s about resisting urges, fighting temptations, and employing different strategies to maintain control.

You can’t exactly be called powerful if you are a slave to your desires. Radiating power from the inside out has a lot to do with consciously choosing to do things differently, especially when it seems like giving in to your weaknesses is the easy way out. It’s all in the mind. You don’t have to have that bottle of beer every evening. You don’t have to smoke that roll of weed or sniff that meth. You can always choose not to do any of those things you’d rather not do.

The moment you take charge of your life, such that you are not controlled by fleeting desires, you’re building yourself up for the long haul. You’re making yourself stronger and more powerful than ever. It may be a bad habit that you have built over the years, but all it takes is one small step, and then the next. And another. And you start to become better. There is no one more powerful than the man who is in charge of his wants one hundred percent of the time.

An age-long saying has it that respect is reciprocal. We only get as much respect as we give to others. Even when we don’t respect other people, and they don’t disrespect us, it’s not to say that they respect us. At best, it’s fear we are getting—certainly not respect. We all crave respect, no matter who we are. Yet it is very difficult to respect others when you don’t even respect yourself. It’s been said, “You can’t like another person until you like yourself.” So let’s look at this…How can you show yourself the same kind of respect that you want to show others and want them to show you? When you don’t like or love yourself, much less respect yourself, you will always find a way to live your life blaming other people for all the pain you’re feeling, resulting in your life being consumed by anger, frustration, and depression. Below are eight ways to help you build a healthy respect for yourself: • Don’t let other people’s opinions about you control you. • Don’t speak badly about yourself. • Don’t let anybody force you to be or do anything you don’t want to do or be, simply to gain their approval or friendship. • Don’t violate your moral codes. • Control your emotions. • Increase your knowledge. • Be responsible. Do the things you need to do.

A few more quick ideas about self-respect: Respect others. Be quick to forgive others. Be friendly to everyone you meet. Friendly people are never miserable people. Hang around encouraging people who are doing positive things. Don’t lie. When you continually tell the truth, you give yourself the priceless gift of a clear conscience. Make good decisions. The rule is this:If it is obvious that you respect yourself enough, you won’t have to ask people to respect you. That comes naturally.

Dale Carnegie couldn’t have said it better when he said that to win more friends and influence more people, you need to improve your interpersonal skills. Several years of research on power and influence shows that people with superior social skills are substantially more influential than people with average social skills. These findings make sense when you realize that influence is not something you have; it’s something other people give you. In other words, you can’t be influential with people unless they allow you to be influential with them. So influence is, in large part, a function of your relationship with other people, and the rule of thumb on influence is that you are likely to be more successful if the people you want to influence know you, like you, respect you, and trust you.

Being Known It is significantly easier to influence people you know than people you don’t. So do the most to make yourself known. Socializing is one of the most frequently used techniques globally. If socializing isn’t one of your strong suits naturally, then you might want to put in some work to build this skill. Socializing generally comes easy to extroverts, but being an introvert doesn’t exactly put you in a bad spot. It just means you have to dig deeper or try harder to do something that doesn’t come to you naturally. Being Liked At some point, you’d come across someone you want to influence, but you wouldn’t get as far as you’d like to go with that person because of bad chemistry. There is a significant power in attraction, and it takes part in the psychological principle of liking. We have a greater tendency to say yes to people we like than to people that we don’t; it’s primordial instinct. And this is why people who are friends with one another are more likely to do stuff for each other than they would attempt for people they don’t know. So to wield more power, it follows that you do what you can to be more likable to the people you are looking to influence.

Being Respected and Trusted Character, credibility, and confidence all have a bearing on trust. Character is built through courage, integrity, reliability, and similar character traits. Credibility is formed through knowledge, access to information, role, and reputation. Confidence comes from behaving self-confidently, scoring topnotch results consistently, making sound decisions, and exhibiting good judgment. It happens that no one is born with a fixed amount of power and influence. Regardless of who you are or what you were born into, you can build up your level of power and influence. A good way to do that is by working on your interpersonal and social skills. They stand you in good stead and get you on a strong footing when it comes to dealing with people or situations.

Everywhere we look, there is advice on how to achieve perfection. Advertisements insist that they can give us the perfect skin or the perfect body. Self-help books and blogs claim that they have the secret for helping us to achieve a perfect marriage or to land the perfect job. Perfection appears to be easily obtained, until we turn on the news or open our web browser. Immediately, we are bombarded by stories about earthquakes and forest fires. We see emails begging us to help feed the hungry or donate to charities that help sick children. The front pages of newspapers and magazines are covered in stories of murder and war. We are forcibly reminded that our world is far from perfect. And neither are we. We are probably not tall enough, good looking enough, smart enough, educated enough, or rich enough. There’s always something that we wish could be better. And some of those, we can make better. Whereas others, not so much.

Well, here’s the thing; perfection is mostly an illusion or an idealistic concept at best. In reality, things are rarely perfect, and we can only make them seem so by embracing the imperfections. If the imperfections in question are fixable, by all means, you should go ahead and fix them. But what if they are not? What do you do then? Wait, I know: Deal with it! And here’s how you can deal with your imperfections: • Accept that you are imperfectly perfect. • Open yourself to the risk of exposure. • Allow your imperfections to change you for the better. • Let your imperfections be an inspiration to others. • Remember that the journey is lifelong. • Be transformed by your imperfections.

Never Be Afraid to Fail Failure is a thought that drives fear into the hearts and minds of many people. It can have a paralyzing effect. But what if I told you that failure is a good thing? That instead of being afraid of failure, you should embrace it like a long-lost friend? If you want to see the magnitude of failure unfold, watch a sporting event like the Olympics. For every heat that a Usain Bolt or a Michael Phelps wins, multiple losers are sent back to the hotel roompacking their things. At the end of every event, there can be only one winner.

Balance comes from maintaining a healthy relationship between the different parts of your life. In practical adult life, this usually comes in the form of getting a grip on something called work-life balance. For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work-life balance seems like an impossible goal. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it’s no surprise that more than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” And that’s not balanced—or healthy.

In our rush to “get it all done” at the office and home, it’s easy to forget that as our stress levels spike, our productivity plummets. Stress can zap our concentration, make us irritable or depressed, and harm our personal and professional relationships. Over time, stress also weakens our immune systems and makes us susceptible to a variety of ailments, from colds to backaches to heart disease. The newest research shows that chronic stress can double our risk of having a heart attack. That statistic alone is enough to raise your blood pressure!

While we all need a certain amount of stress to spur us on and help us perform at our best, the key to managing stress lies in that one magic word: balance. Not only is achieving a healthy work-life balance an attainable goal, but workers and businesses alike see the rewards. Here are a few practical steps we can all take to loosen the grip that stress has on us, and win back the balance in our lives. At Work: • Set manageable goals each day. • Be efficient with your time at work. • Ask for flexibility. • Take breaks. • Communicate effectively. • Give yourself a break. At Home: • Unplug, kick back, and relax. • Deal with chores by dividing and conquering. • Don’t over commit. • Get support. • Take advantage of your company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). • Stay active. • Treat your body right. • Get help if you need it

Helping others: It’s a fundamental part of humanity, bonding together, and helping a fellow man or woman. In times of tragedy, the stories of those who help others are inspiring, such as helping the nation recover from national disasters and terrorist attacks. Some men and women even devote their lives to helping others, from the police force that protects our cities, to the fire departments who run into burning buildings, to the servicemen and women who risk their lives for the common good.

But helping others isn’t limited to these grand gestures or times of tribulation. Helping others can be done each day. And contrary to what you may have heard, helping others doesn’t always have to be a selfless act. It’s important to understand that helping others can help you. No matter what the motivation, getting out and helping others is the key. Doing well feels good. And maybe the most cited benefit of doing good is that you’ll feel great. Helping others is a great way to feel better about yourself. Seeing a smile or even tears of joy makes it all worth it. It’s as simple as that.

Good publicity is the best publicity. People notice when you’re doing well. It may not be the reason you help out, but someone is always watching. Even the simplest gesture can make an awesome impression.

If you have good looks, you’re probably one of the luckiest people in the world. But your outward appearance does not have what it takes to hold the candle to a great personality. It is your mindset and resolve that goes a long way in determining all the important moments of your life.

Your personality does the job of leaving behind a legacy that people will always remember. You just need to always bear in mind how much that matters, and never become unsighted by your appearance, because the really powerful person is the one with character and competence, above everything else.

The world we live in offers a wide range of rewards to people who have a good understanding of themselves and other people—at least that is what we have been told. Before the turn of civilization, many philosophers from different parts of the world have lent their voice in the value of understanding the nature of the people we come across every day. In most of humanity’s earliest documents, some of which date back to 2500 BC, humans are urged to take time and read people as meticulously as possible. Further developments waited for the discovery of psychological science and empirical research into the accuracy of personal perception and self-knowledge. So, what’s the point? The topic of personal integrity and the power within is drawn from our ability to understand ourselves as well as others. Laying the groundwork for personal intelligence, personality awareness, and growth is one of the most powerful ways through which people can study themselves and become the perfect human that they have been waiting for all their lives. This, alongside many other considerations, contributes to making a personality. The fact is, many people underrate the value and power of the right personality, and that’s often the reason they ask why it matters to work on it.

When you set out to take on a new venture, you will be doing so with a vivid, irrespective of how obscure or strange the niche can be. In more ways than one, you will expect that the venture will profit you or make an impact, in as much as you are taking a risk. But have you spent sleepless nights,with caffeine in your system,working tirelessly on something, only for it to not turn out the way you wanted it to? And are you having to deal with disappointment in people because they make you promises and do not fulfill them? In the same way, when you post something on social media, do you expect other people to like and share? The answers to these questions heavily depend on expectations. Now to the main point:It is believed that when people have zero expectations, they have zero disappointments. Be as it may, that’s one of the ways one can have a powerful mindset and stay positive.

We pretty much are very conversant with the things that surround disappointment. It is often caused when you put your hope in someone or something, and that hope goes unsatisfied. Whenever you are expecting something to happen, regardless of how small or big it is, there is always that 60 percent chance that it will not be met. Factor in the unpredictable nature of life and its mission to teach us lessons, and it may likely not ever happen, more often than you think.

That means there is a higher risk of getting disappointed, way more than you think. Always understand that life is not linear—there are ups and downs. You can come out with a clear plan with great entailments, but you cannot be a hundred percent sure that your schemes will follow through all of the time. Life does have a plan for you. You can be very conversant with the thing they call destiny, and sometimes—no, most of the time—it isn’t the same thing you expected that comes your way.

Life can get so hectic that it begins to feel as though dreams are not so worth pursuing after all. With the many bills one has to pay, and the people you need to take care of, save your own needs, pursuing your ambitions can become secondary to preventing your landlord from giving you a quit notice and sending you packing. There are also times when you will feel like you are all alone in the motion of survival. You probably do not like the current job you are attending to, but why do you keep showing up at the office at 8 AM?

Well, to answer that question, you do so because, along with the way, you began to believe that the dreams you had as a child were quite silly and impossible. People from different verticals told you to be realistic, and you heeded their advice. But before you beat and give up on yourself, and incinerate your dreams to cinders, you need to remember that there are tons of reasons why you should keep following your dreams.

Your dreams are the reason for the person you are. It is not an accident or coincidence. You ARE your dream; therefore, you can never fully realize yourself until you attain those aspirations. These goals provide you with a sense of meaning and purpose while driving you into your muchenvisaged future. Dreams are the meaning of existence, the very fabric of inspiration, and should be gotten off the shelf. All you need to do is to focus and strive, with the mindset that this is how things are meant to be.

Virgin founder, Richard Branson, attributes his success to the bond he shares with his family; Jeff Bezos and other wealthy people say the same too. The strength and will that comes with having a loving family can help you do what you never thought you could accomplish. And for that reason, you need to value the bond you share with your family, and love them to the ends of the earth. They are the one group of people that will push you to dare for more, in part because they love and care for you too. Your family should come first before any other thing, because they are the most important people in the world to you.

Do not lose sight of the fact that if not for them, you may not be where you are right now. Seek their counsel and always have them in mind, no matter what. Of course, there will be troubling times. But what matters is that you and your significant other, as well as your parents or children, get past your differences and keep flying the family flag anywhere you go. For all we know, they are the same people who will call you in order to rein you in when you mistakenly stray off the path you have designed for yourself. They are the ones who will tell you the gospel truth when no one else can. So you need to love them and keep the channel open for contributions.

One of the ways you can plan and live a stress-free life in the present-day world is by allocating your resources as effectively as possible. Just like running a company, you need to make sure your numbers are put right, and every day, working best for you. From finance to investments and time, you need to find a great way to keep things balanced so that you do not end up in some fix that you may not be able to get yourself out of. Be intentional about what you have, and strategize to multiply it as time goes on. People do not become rich, successful, and powerful in one day. Your resources can include the influential people you know or the projects you are currently working on. Make it a point of duty to go all out when it comes to planning. Get insights from more experienced people, and read a lot of stuff online, including reliable guides. Do not be so self-sufficient in this aspect that you miss out on the important things that should matter in the planning process. It is best to allocate your resources by knowing what works, for how long, and how to implement your ideas for greater returns. Doing so does not just save you from going bankrupt somewhere along the line, but it also helps you double down on productivity and time management. More so, it helps you manage your workload.

Stay Away from Toxic Environments Whether you think of yourself as an already programmed cyborg or strong force, it still helps if you stay away from places and people that pose a threat to your peace of mind. In the same way, one cannot say for sure that he or she will be able to prevent toxicity when they are met with such long-faced challenges. Rather than saying you can handle it and take those bad guys to school, you are better off not coming in contact with them in the first place. Do not go for the “I am in control of my own life” approach, and get yourself into an ugly situation; you will end up regretting it. By all means, you can stay away from it all.

It’s all about doing and acting, instead of knowing how to do and act. It’s about changing constantly and surviving. When everybody looks at the ball, you need to look where the ball could be going. It’s not about thinking inside the box or thinking outside the box, or thinking there is no box. If there’s nothing, you can start to think from zero. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence,then, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle You must embrace change by acting in the face of it. You must define your experiences in the moment they happen, and with purposeful action. You must take your knowledge and use it; for knowledge is power, and power used repeatedly leads to exponential growth.

Elephant in the Dark Some people had an elephant to show. No one here had ever seen an elephant. They bring it at night to a dark room. One by one, we go in the dark and come out saying how we experience the animal. One of us happens to touch the trunk. “A water-pipe kind of creature.” Another, the ear. “A very strong, always moving back and forth, fan-animal.” Another, the leg. “I find it still, like a column on a temple.” Another touches the curved back. “A leathery throne.” Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk. “A rounded sword made of porcelain.” He’s proud of his description. Each of us touches one place and understands the whole in that way. The palm and the fingers, feeling in the dark, are how the senses explore the reality of the elephant. If each of us held a candle there, and if we went in together, we could see it. —Rumi, Elephant in the Dark