I was just pondering to myself the question of what it means to have real power, and shuffling through my head a list of world leaders, wealthy people, and famous celebrities. And it dawned on me that 99% of these people have no real power. They can be replaced.
And I came to the conclusion that a truly powerful person is someone that has something that everyone else wants. No, not like if a person has an Enzo Ferrari that millions of 20-something year old guys want, or a billionaire who owns a 50,000 sqft mansion that everyone would love to call home. Because you see, in the end we can live without an Enzo and we don’t really care to have a ginormous house. And none of these are changing the world or doing anything significant. And also, they are not exclusive.
Real power is when you are the only person in the world that has something that everyone else wants, and that something is life-altering or world-changing in some way. So let’s say that you find the cure for cancer. What do you think (at that very moment) your power level is relative to everyone else? Most likely, you’re above any of the world leaders, the famous musicians, the millionaires and billionaires of the world. At that moment, you are perhaps the most powerful person in the world. You control people’s lives. Do you release the formula for free? Do you gouge the world for billions of dollars before you release it? Or do you forever hold the formula yourself and charge people $20,000 for you to personally administer the cure, and let those that can’t afford it perish? Let’s set aside the ethical questions of what a person should do in that scenario. The point is, something like this is true power. Can you make it happen in your life?
