Hey everyone, and welcome to Top 10
Today we're going to learn about 16 laws of psychological power. Now let's begin
Number 1. Stand above. Good work goes unrecognized. If you want to gain power, a good work ethic is not enough
Putting in long hours can easily be overlooked. The people who find power and success are the people who work hard and get recognized
If you don't stand out, you'll blend into the background. Your work will be overshadowed and forgotten, no matter how excellent you are
So take every opportunity to lead and prove yourself. If you stand out, you can achieve your goals ahead of the rest
Number 2. Hide your intentions. Imagine you're buying a new car. At the dealership, a car salesman shows you a model that he absolutely loves
You tell the salesman how eager you are to own this car. The salesman knows your intentions, so he raises the price. Why
Because you gave him the power in the conversation. That's why it's so important to hide your intentions
Alright, let's go back to our example. You love the car, but this time you act like you just don't care
Now you have the power. The salesman has to convince you to buy from him
Most of the time, salesmen will drive down the price just to win you over
So if you want to gain psychological power, hide your intentions. Hold the power in every exchange
Make the final decision, because you want to stay in control. Give someone just enough details to stay interested, but keep your true intention to yourself
Number 3. Actions over argument. You can argue as long and as hard as you want
You can take home the moral victory, but winning an argument achieves almost nothing
To gain psychological power, don't waste your time arguing. If someone wants to argue, let them
If they get defensive, let them nurse their own ego. But you know that actions speak louder than words
Your behavior will win over more people than a good argument ever will
Number 4. Mind your words. The more you speak, the less valuable your speech becomes
This is one of the most important laws of psychological power. If you speak only when necessary, you increase the power of your words
People will learn to listen to you, they'll learn to take you seriously, and you'll earn
their undying respect. But if you speak less, you also stop yourself from making clumsy mistakes
Many people run their mouths and then back themselves into a corner
They leak details or make promises they can't actually keep. So if you're mindful of what you say, you avoid these pointless mistakes
You ensure that every word is intentional and purposeful, and that gives you psychological power
Number 5. Cultivate confidence. Your path will be littered with obstacles, failures, and setbacks
Your luck will run out, people will tell you to quit, and your own brain will stand in
your own way. But the people who give up deprive themselves of psychological power
So if you want to improve, cultivate confidence in your life. Let your small successes empower your self-worth
Let each victory give you the courage to overcome your next obstacle
Psychological power isn't just your relationship with others, it's also how you treat and motivate yourself
Number 6. Higher your image. Mistakes are dangerous on your path towards success
We turn a blind eye to our friends, we overlook their mistakes, and put too much trust in
their decisions. Just when you think you trust someone, they stab you in the back, and your career begins
to suffer. Instead of getting blindsided by people you trust, earn the loyalty of people that you don't
You may not like your enemies, but hiring someone you don't trust gives you a clear-headed objectivity
Your enemies will also show you more loyalty because they have something to prove
Friends are an important part of your life, but friends can steal your power in a heartbeat
Number 7. People are selfish. If you need a favor, don't expect people to be selfish
People are more likely to help when they have something to gain. If they don't get as much as they give, then you're out of luck
Anytime you ask for a favor, don't waste your time with kindness or gratitude
Appeal to their self-interest. Explain how they'll be rewarded. Convince them that helping you will solve their problem
Make sure they know exactly how they're going to benefit in the future
If someone thinks they're helping themselves, they're much more likely to do you a favor
Number 8. Avoid commitment. Avoid unnecessary promises. Commitments get people in trouble
They lock you into one spot. They trap you in a box
If your team goes down, you'll go down with them. That's why powerful people avoid commitment
They stay open to multiple sides, angles, and perspectives. They keep one foot in every camp so they can make the most out of every situation
Powerful people always stay on top because they're only committed to one person, themselves
Number 9. Play yourself down. Everyone wants to feel intelligent. If you want to win people over, make sure they feel smart
Sometimes that means you have to play dumb, but you already know you're intelligent
The fact that you can play dumb means that you have nothing to prove
To put it simply, most people don't care how intelligent you are
All they care about is their own brain power. So play into their hands
Make them feel smart. Give them confidence in their own ideas. You'll only make enemies by proving you're intelligent
Number 10. Support your superiors. If you want to climb the ladder, you have to respect the ladder
Don't try to outshine the people above you. These people will be stepping stones on your road to success
You need their help, so don't turn your superiors against you. Support your boss
Be their right-hand man, not their rival. When the next great opportunity comes, your superiors will recognize and recommend their
allies, not their enemies. Now, sometimes this means making your bosses feel smarter than they are
Sometimes this means giving them too much credit for something you really did
But if you want to be successful, never forget to support your superiors
Number 11. Stay concentrated. To find psychological power, don't just identify your strengths, develop them
Many people can do many things at an average level, but they're so busy jumping from skill
to skill that they rarely specialize in anything. Specialties are one of the keys to success
If you concentrate on one strength, you can build a talent unlike anyone else's
And in the same way, if you want to build psychological power, don't spread yourself
too thin. Focus on one direction, one project, or one purpose. Invest yourself wholly in that one direction
It's a bigger risk, but with enough dedication, your reward will be exponentially greater
Number 12. Effortless achievement. What do you say after finishing a huge project
Do you tell people how hard you worked, or do you say, it was no problem
To gain psychological power, lay down your achievement. Make each accomplishment seem easy and natural, because people will believe you
Even if you invested countless hours into your work, show the world someone who's confident
and collected. You should never forget how hard you worked, but the world doesn't need to know
Number 13. The giant shadow. Are you succeeding a legend? Do you have gigantic shoes to fill
This is a big problem. On the surface, filling a large void seems like a fantastic opportunity
However, if your predecessor did amazing things, you have your work cut out for you
To get the same level of recognition, you have to surpass the person who came before you
Depending on the job, that may be almost impossible. So don't fill the shoes of a legend
Instead, be the person who brings your team back from the brink
Fill the void of someone who failed, and your success will shine twice as brightly
Number 14. Set anger aside. Do you lose your temper? Anger is a destructive emotion on your road toward success
Anger makes you impulsive, narrow-minded, and selfish. If someone makes you angry, they know they've gotten the best of you
They know they hit a nerve, so they'll keep pushing. Instead of getting angry, grow distant
Ambivalence is a far greater punishment than anger. When you ignore someone, you steal their power
You force them to get your attention. You make them do the work
Strong emotions will hurt your decision-making and help others take advantage of them
So keep your frustration to yourself, stay calm, and stay objective whenever possible
Number 15. The calm rush. Time is a common source of psychological power
Most powerful people are masters of timing and time management. Not only do they pack incredible amounts of work into their daily schedules, they never
let their busy days get the best of them, at least not on the outside
They always seem cool, calm, and collected. They're never rushing or sweating
They're always patient with their work and their goals, because rushing is a recipe for disaster
It creates anxiety, and it hurts your reputation. Instead of letting time control you, stay in control of your time
Your psychological power depends on it. Number 16. Calculated value. They say the best things in life are free, but if you want psychological power, you'll
need to spend money when it counts. Some things are worth paying for, even if it's just a name or a title
The effect of that name or title is worth all the money in the world
It's okay to be cheap and cost-effective in your personal life, however, if you want
to climb the ladder, you cannot cut corners. Hey, thank you for watching TopThink, and be sure to subscribe, because more incredible
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