Read Part One here (Part 1). To become an elite and powerful man, you must disregard trying to be in the top 1%. Instead, strive to join the 0.000001%. We have been taught that it is a sin to achieve wealth. When we think about a man with a large amount of money, we think he must surely be evil. We have been brainwashed to believe that the highest virtue is to live for other people and to give, to relieve other people’s suffering. It is noble to assist others; however, we must be able to have something to give. The best way to give and help others is to teach them to use their own mind. The superior man knows that he cannot think for another and that man must learn to think for himself. This is the only way to give and assist others in relieving suffering. What are we teaching another person by doing their work for them? What lessons can be taught by providing handouts without effort to earn or produce something? Continuing from Part One, we will use more examples from The Fountainhead and similar books with the goal of identifying key traits of superior men. Here is Part Two of the qualities of the ideal man.
1. Activate Your Mind
Superior men choose to activate their mind. Ayn Rand provides us a brilliant example of a simple choice we all have in life – “To think or not.” What a simple choice, yet it seems that everyone makes it so difficult. The ideal man chooses to activate his mind; he chooses to choose. The alternative is to wish for something. These men do not activate their mind, but only wish something to happen without taking the steps to achieve it. Men who use and activate their mind move the world forward. In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark explains the following, “Man cannot survive except through his mind. His brain is his only weapon. Through the process of thought, from the simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man – the function of his reasoning mind.”
2. Ask Better Questions
High performing men have found a secret in life. They found clarity in visioning a life where they are producing and living on a higher level (more on this in Part Three). In Roger Hamilton’s inspirational book Wink and Grow Rich, we are provided with phenomenal, yet simple advice. The main character is a little boy by the name of Richard. He receives the following wisdom, “Choose the level you want to play at. What you see is always what you get. Learn to see better and you will get better.” In order to see better, Richard must learn to live at a different level of clarity. In order to live on this new level, he needs to ask better questions. Superior men have figured this one out. If we are able to ask better questions, we can literally get anything we want. The key to asking a better question is to listen to people with full attention. By doing this, you will discover who the person is and what they are looking for. You can discover an unlimited amount of information about a person just by simply paying full attention. Another trick is to use the “5 Why” technique. Use this technique to get to the root cause of any issue. Simply keep asking “why” and ask it a minimum of 5 times. Such a simple technique, yet, for some reason we stop using it when we turn ten years of age. Try this the next time you are in a job interview or seeking a promotion, where you are asked this type of typical, yet pointless question, “Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work and how you dealt with it.” Respond with, “You don’t want to ask me that question. The question you want to ask me is – How will you make this company more money? That is the real question you want to ask, and here is how I will make you more money…” – Dr. Jamie Schwandt
3. Money is Not Evil
I grew up extremely poor. I was always told that money is evil and people with money are evil. Guess who told me this – poor people! Money is not evil, evil people with money are evil. The key here is the use of the word “evil” because evil people are also poor. My childhood was spent bouncing around between my biological parents, grandparents, and foster parents. I grew up in a world of drugs, alcohol, suicide, depression, and handouts. My father committed suicide when I was eighteen years old. He attempted suicide before I was born and his mother committed suicide. His first suicide attempt was during his time in the U.S. Navy. Afterwards, he was placed on full disability and received welfare checks for the remainder of his life. My mother, who attempted suicide on multiple occasions, also received handouts, and I am sure she still does. My younger brother now lives in a world of handouts. His only interaction with me is when he is in need of money. However, I will never provide him money, only advice. He will never learn to think for himself by way of handouts. Additionally, he is addicted to drugs, so if he asks for $20… where do you think my money will go? Superior men achieve wealth because they do not care to ask someone’s permission for it. They do not care what you think of their integrity or moral compass. They understand that time is limited, once wasted, it is gone forever. We have a limited amount of time on this planet and we all need resources to succeed. Remember this – money is infinite, time is finite.
4. Obsessed
Superior men are crazy, different, and 100% completely obsessed with success. These men understand that what they obsess about will get better. If you obsess about creating wealth, you will create wealth. If you obsess about writing a book, you will write a book. However, if you obsess about pleasing everyone, you will make yourself go crazy trying to create a better life for other people while your life is falling apart. Superior men are obsessed with success. They do not mull over ideas for hours without action. They do not just think, they do. If they think about writing a book, they write the book. If they think about starting a business, they start the business. They just do it.
5. Be a Creator
Listen, if Paris Hilton can create her own success, then you can too. We are all capable of creating a life of success. The key is to be crazy and different. Do you know what a genius is called before they are called a genius? Crazy! The world of quantum physics is crazy and mind-bending. Quantum physics has demonstrated that we have little understanding of the world we live in. However, it has also provided us a playground for our mind. The Double Slit Experiment (I encourage you to look it up) demonstrates that electrons exist in a state of pure potential when they are not being observed. The act of simply observing is the act of creating. We can create our own world, our own reality through our thoughts and actions. Superior men have figured this out… so has Paris Hilton! Remember this quote: Featured photo credit: elonmusk.com via cnbc.com
