Personal Power
Personal Power Tip
The greater your personal power, the greater your success. How can you increase your personal power
“Power is contained in the ability to maintain a position in space. Maintain your position in space otherwise you will lose your power.” —
Try this demonstration:
Put a coin on your desk.
Move it around with the tip of your finger.
Now, with the thumb on your left hand, firmly press down on the object.
Make it hold a position.
Try to move it around with a finger on your right hand.
Because the coin holds its position, it has power.
You can do the same thing.
Holding a position on a principle is very important for your personal power.
For example, someone at your job says, “Will you tell the boss I met my quota so I can get a bonus?” You say, “No, sorry, I can’t lie for you.” No matter what the person tries to make you lie, you hold a position. You are using your power.
Do you remember a time when you held a position on something that was important to you? But then someone convinced you to change your mind? How did you feel?
Do you remember another time when you held a position on something important? No matter what anyone said, you stuck to your idea? How did you feel?
Three More Examples
1. J is happily married to L and works with L on several important goals. One day, J runs into his ex-girlfriend from college.
She tells J, “You know, I sure miss you! Let’s go to my apartment for some wine and have a chat, okay?”
J has plenty of personal power and holds a position on what he knows is right.
He says, “Okay, but let’s pick up my wife on the way because she would love to meet you.”
2. You decide to stop smoking.
After the first day, your body seems to be screaming, “Get me a cigarette!” You hold a position and refuse. During the second day, your body seems to say, “I will die if I don’t have a smoke.” You hold a position and eat a carrot. Soon, your body’s addiction gives up and you are a nonsmoker.
3. You need to write a report for your boss and need it the next morning.
Most of the report is in your laptop and you decide to finish it at home. After you eat dinner, you get out your laptop, but it won’t start. You try everything you know to get it working with no success. You call for tech support, but learn the computer company is closed for the night. You call your friend who says, “Sorry, I can’t help you. I’m sure your boss will understand why you can’t write it.”
You decide to hold a position regarding the report. You decide to make it go right. You pull out a writing pad and start to write. At midnight, your spouse says, “I’m sure your boss will understand if you don’t finish the report. Come to bed!” You feel really tired and decide to climb into bed.
After a few minutes, you decide to hold a position regarding the report. So despite feeling tired and having a bad laptop, you get up and continue handwriting the report. At 5 AM, you finish the first version. You think, “My boss will understand that it looks sloppy.”
Yet once again, you decide to hold a position. You remember you are a professional.
So you get dressed and arrive at the office an hour early. You use a computer to type up the report. By 8 AM, the report is done and it is perfect. Your boss is thrilled. You feel powerful.
Maintaining Your Power
When you hold a position on a constructive, beneficial position, you soon get respect and support. The people around you realize you have good intentions and that you usually do the right thing. They learn to trust you and do not oppose you.
For example, a friend says, “Don’t tell the store you dropped the television. Tell them it didn’t work in the first place.”
You say, “No, I’ll tell the truth and try to work something out.”
Later, your friend says, “Will you help me with my investments? I know I can trust you.”
When an antisocial person holds a position on destructive or evil positions, he or she eventually fails. Most people in this world prefer good intentions. Sooner or later, they learn who has bad intentions and withdraw support or fight back.
For example, every night after a work, a coworker says, “Let’s have some fun and all go get drunk!” At first, a few people go with him, but they soon discover he is an alcoholic and gets mean when he’s drunk. No matter how often he holds a position and demands that people go with him, he ends up drinking alone.
Holding a position to destroy something good, hurt others or prove others are wrong is a poor use of your personal power. You lose respect, trust and support.
Management
As a manager, you often make decisions for the good of the group. If you know what you are doing, you make the right decisions. But being right does not mean your group members will do what you ask them to do.
You often need some personal power to back it up. The better you can hold your position on what you know is right, the greater your success.
For example, you say to your computer technician, “Bill, will you back up the computer files now?”
Bill says, “After I go to the bathroom and have lunch and meet with Marge. I’ll try to do it.”
As a good manager, you look Bill in the eye and you say, “Bill, this is very important. You need to make the backup right now.” Bill realizes you are not flexible on this and does what you say. You stay in charge.
Recommendations
1. Write down situations you should hold a position in space. When do you let people push you around?
When should you say, “No” or “Yes” but you back down? Perhaps you need to hold a position against a habit or temptation?
2. Select an easy item on the list that will benefit you and others if you hold a position on it.
Write down how you will hold your ground.
3. Do it! Hold a position on this thing as soon as possible.
Notice how you feel.
4. Continue to strengthen your personal power by holding your position in space on tougher and tougher situations, especially those positions that help you and others succeed.
If you do these steps, you will become more powerful than ever before.
