Today I turned down a book I didn’t like. It’s called The Concise 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene and it didn’t resonate with me at all. After pushing through a couple of explanations of the ‘laws of power’ I fronted and looked at the International Bestseller sticker that’s printed on the book cover. It was merely because of that sticker I pushed through a couple of more pages, but eventually I stopped. If I was going to finish this book it could only give me two possible outcomes, and both I wasn’t up for. It would either confirm what I already thought – that this book approaches power from a very negative and fear-based point of view – or (actually more an and) it would bring that kind of negative energy into my life, simply because I decided to focus on it.
To me this is very comparable with something that most of us encounter on a daily basis: the algorithm of Instagram. The reason everybody’s Instagram feed is totally different, is because all of us focus on different things. The more you focus on a specific type of content, the more Instagram will bring this into your feed, hoping you will watch it – and most preferably – engage with it. You’ll receive into your feed what you focus on, and I believe this is a perfect reflection of how it actually works in the real world too. It’s the reason you unexpectedly bump into that old friend which you haven’t seen for months, but were just randomly thinking about 2 days ago. Or how you start seeing more of the same cars, after researching the model that you want to buy. It’s the outcome of focus and energy that you put into something, and life reacts with giving you more of that.
You can call it the algorithm of life, or refer to it as an energy game, I think it’s the same. And also the main reason I turned down the book. In my opinion this book focuses on getting power from a controlled, fear-based point of view. Telling people how to behave with a very negative, hatred outcome (if you ask me) you’ll read chapters like ‘Get Others To Do The Work For You, But Always Take The Credit’ and ‘Use Selective Honesty And Generosity To Disarm Your Victim’. To me this speaks of someone that focuses on how to not be trusted by others, and how to use others to get whatever you want, and make them fear you so they’ll respect you. Don’t get me wrong, this might work out for people, and eventually leads to getting a form of power. It just says everything about what kind of power you want, and how you want to get that power. Because I believe it is not the only way to get power in your life.
Personally, I rather focus on feeling powerful and controlling my own mind and emotions, so it will reflect situations in my everyday life. Putting the focus back to me instead of trying to control everyone around me, and fill my head with strategies that are rooted in negativity. That’s not the definition of a healthy mindset, and definitely not the life I want to live. That’s not the powerful person that I want to be. And that’s why I chose to put down this book, so that I can focus on the actual power I want, and that I wish for everyone else. The thing is: we don’t have to fight for power. This is already rooted inside of you. Now this might not be reflected in a position as CEO, or another hierarchical old fashioned position on top of the payroll list. You don’t have to own that position to be powerful, to make changes in the world, to be on top of your game and have people listen to you. Fuel and unleash that power within, and things start to work out differently for you.
So instead of ‘fighting for power’, focus on the power that’s already inside of you. One that you really never have to fight for, but you just have to be open to receive and embody it.
I specifically wrote an article on this matter with my unsalted opinion, as most likely many others will think differently. This thought is based upon the numerous positive reviews I read after googling this book. So, I’m definitely curious to open the conversation if you think otherwise, I’d love to learn more through your opinion.
Talk soon!
Love, Felicia