Power is not Control

Power is not Control…But I never said control isn’t important!

The second chapter in Dynamic Components of Personal POWER is titled “Top 5 Lies About Power.” In that chapter I talk about the lies we’ve been told by people who either attempted to keep power and control for themselves, or those who with best intentions were trying to protect us from the pain and suffering of failure.

One of the lies is: “Power is Control.”

Power is not, in and of itself control. Power is your ability or capacity to act or perform effectively. Control is your capacity to restrain, command, dominate or regulate. You may be a very effective and powerful person, yet there may be circumstances, conditions and dare I say people you simply can’t control! In the case of people, I’d argue that outside of logical restrictions that keep us from killing and harming one another, control is usually either an illusion or best left to dictators.

There are things we can control and things we can’t; it’s that simple. By yourself you probably can’t control the global economy, regulate energy prices or keep your three year old from throwing food. What you can do at any time and given any conditions is to increase your power. You can at any point in life increase your ability to perform or act more effectively.

How? Here are steps one through a thousand:

1.Embrace the never-ending process of self-perfection.
2.Repeat…

You don’t need money to increase power; take that excuse off the table now. If you’re reading this you have access to a computer. How do you want to improve right now? Reduce your answer to a word or short phrase and type it into your Google search. I just did a search for self-confidence; Google returned 13 million links. 13 million links to articles, studies, advice, products and services all to help me improve my self-confidence. That would keep me busy for a while!

The words “personal power” returned over 54 million links! (I’m very happy to report that a video of one of my television appearances popped up on the first page of the search right next to a video by Jack Canfield!) Within seconds you can have access to over 54 million potential resources to help you become more powerful and effective.

At any point along the way you have two choices: quit or keep going. Only quitting assures a predictable outcome; once you decide to take action everything is at risk. You may fail; you’ll probably encounter some degree of frustration, self-doubt and fear along the way. You can also be assured that with every drop of blood, sweat and tear you’ll get a little closer to your ultimate vision of success and happiness.

You can choose to worry about circumstances, conditions and people outside your control; or you can choose to control your own destiny.

• You can wait for a lay-off; or you can learn a new skill or trade.
• You can wait for your sales manager to buy you new contact software; or you can buy your own and start getting ahead.
• You can wait for the government to save the economy; or you can find a way to expand your market on the internet.
• You can wait for the winning lottery ticket; or you can start your own business.

You’re the only person responsible for your own success & happiness. Take a chance; go for it!

More powerful Google searches:
• Sales Training: 30.6 million results
• Language Study: 41.9 million
• Job Training: 43.1 million
• Leadership Training: 19.4 million
• Personal Coaching: 1.2 million

• Individuals affecting world economy: ZERO! (OK, I searched the exact phrase!)