"Ignorance is bliss. But only for those with the knowledge": why there's little deep wisdom around
This is a quote from "Pimping'", a book I'm reviewing right now.
The full quote:
"Ignorance is bliss, but only for the person with the knowledge.
That's why there's so much misinformation and confusion out there. People with the knowledge don't really want those without to have it."
I think this is one of the reasons why there is so little true good information on social strategies, life strategies, and power dynamics.
Those with the knowledge are using the knowledge, and have little interest in actually sharing it.
As a matter of fact, they have an interest in not sharing it.
The other reason, of course, is that deep wisdom in pretty much anything is not easy to acquire, so the people who have it are a few.
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Those with the knowledge are using the knowledge, and have little interest in actually sharing it.
As a matter of fact, they have an interest in not sharing it.
This is fascinating.
I have thought about what would happen if the senior management of a company sends its employees to Power University.
If it is an enlightened company with solid culture and management, it would actually thrive.
But there are lots of status and power hungry people in the world, especially executives.
That being said, I tried sharing ThePowerMoves with friends as a start.
Often what happens is that they say "That's interesting! Thanks for sharing."
Then I realise that they are not really interested in the topic of power dynamics.
Wrongly assumed that everyone is interested in power dynamics.
This forum probably biases my view of people's interest in power dynamics.
For business as well. One businessman told me
Share only with those that need to know
Deep Wisdom
deep wisdom in pretty much anything is not easy to acquire
I often think that deep wisdom in one field would allow you to appreciate deep wisdom in other fields.
The process & insight from reaching mastery in a field allows you to appreciate how pushing boundaries in other fields would be like.
How this process is actually very messy behind the scenes, and only disciplined focus & commitment allows you to sustain your practice in the long term.
Akin to how 2 successful people in 2 different areas meet each other and have a certain level of respect for each other.
I found both comments highly insightful, especially how those with power often have a vested interest in not sharing how they got it and how not everyone is interested in power dynamics.
My mom's like that. She was going through a rough time at work with some toxic employees and I wanted her to learn a few things I picked up from the workplace module. She politely declined, than showed me she got this by working hard, holding frame in her own way and proving her detractors wrong.
Sometimes people feel like they got this in another way. Sometimes people don't want to feel like they have to learn power, or that it's wrong to do so. Sometimes they just want a simple life or don't want to dominate anyone. And hey, I been there, all three of these, but if you're one of those and reading this, you're gonna need to learn power to an extent, even if just for self-defense, a sense of security and to ensure your own freedom. And hey, if learning power lets you better not only yourself but others in the long run, bonus.
And hey, I been there, all three of these, but if you're one of those and reading this, you're gonna need to learn power to an extent, even if just for self-defense, a sense of security and to ensure your own freedom.
Before learning more about growth mindsets and anti-fragile ego, my ego often told me these points as well:
- I know enough about power to achieve my outcomes
- I am not that interested in power
- I have better things to do
But the root cause was that I was afraid of opening up my ignorance and staring intently at the points of improvement.
Also I was fearful of learning about the long journey ahead, and not having the courage to learn the more challenging points.
Even more intimidating was to accept the darker sides of myself and my unimportance in the grand scheme of things.
Working more on mindsets, I took the leap of faith and never regretted my decision to learn more about power.
It definitely adds value to myself and the people around me as you said Kellvo! Especially over the long run.
Great stuff here.
Some notes:
Matthew: This is fascinating.
I have thought about what would happen if the senior management of a company sends its employees to Power University.
If it is an enlightened company with solid culture and management, it would actually thrive.
But there are lots of status and power hungry people in the world, especially executives.
Yeah, it's fascinating, and also touches on deeper topics and mindsets.
It underlines the difference between:
- Defensive mindsets VS value-adding mindset
- Small pie mindset/scarcity mindset VS abundance mentality
I'm not even say that the "abundance mentality" is always right.
After all, there are situations where someone's win can come at someone else's costs.
Think of promotions where only one can win, for example.
Plus, also the individual's personality matters.
Any information that empowers, makes people more powerful, and not everyone is deserving of that power.
So personally I wouldn't share PU with anyone, and especially not with people whom I deem unworthy (goes back to the pro-social Machiavellian stance).
I'd also be careful sharing it with people who are not open-minded enough, or with a boss, as they might think "damn, this guy is so into power? He's wicked / dangerous".
Now the other said of the coin.
It's also easy to go too far, into an "extreme defensive mindset".
- Extreme defensive mindsets are costly: tend to make people come across as sneakier, make the pie smaller for everyone (individual included), and even tend to make people unhappier.
One guy once wrote me saying I had to fix the course access in incognito mode because he couldn't risk anyone seeing his browsing history and finding what he had found.
That's an example of extreme.
It's also unwarranted, since most people don't have the interest, patience, or open-mind/courage, as Matthew well says, to put themselves on a path of self-development.
And as Kellvo said:
Kellvo: Sometimes people don't want to feel like they have to learn power, or that it's wrong to do so. Sometimes they just want a simple life or don't want to dominate anyone.
Put all those categories together, and even if we're strictly talking of win-lose environment, the vast majority still isn't going to do anything that will turn them into competition.
Putting everything together, if I was forced to choose between "sharing with everyone" and "sharing with nobody", I'd go for "share with everyone" since the defensive mindset is inherently low-quality.
But luckily, we don't live in binary worlds.
Matthew: Akin to how 2 successful people in 2 different areas meet each other and have a certain level of respect for each other.
Yep, well said.
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Quote from Kellvo on December 2, 2020, 7:34 pmSometimes people feel like they got this in another way. Sometimes people don't want to feel like they have to learn power, or that it's wrong to do so. Sometimes they just want a simple life or don't want to dominate anyone. And hey, I been there, all three of these, but if you're one of those and reading this, you're gonna need to learn power to an extent, even if just for self-defense, a sense of security and to ensure your own freedom. And hey, if learning power lets you better not only yourself but others in the long run, bonus.
I used to be exactly like this; I used to think I could be transparent and honest about what I was feeling with everybody and, more than that, that people seeing me acting like this, they would act the same towards me. Well, of course it never happened, and I was going downwards to a dark place, developing a social phobia up to a point in which I had to make a choice: either I would learn how power dynamics work, or I would have to go back to my home country, sour with everybody and feeling like a victim. Happily I found your website Lucio ( lucky us)!
Now I know, even if I do not want to dominate anybody - which certainly I do not, learning about power strategies and moves is a must-have skill and it is better if I can have it and freely choose not to use, than not having it at all and being depressed, feeling and being treated like an underdog or, even worse, failing to live up to my potential.
Quote from Matthew Whitewood on December 3, 2020, 8:25 am
Working more on mindsets, I took the leap of faith and never regretted my decision to learn more about power.
It definitely adds value to myself and the people around me as you said Kellvo! Especially over the long run.
I could not put it better! The same with me, I am also working hard on my mindset and still have many issues, but in this sense of leap of faith, it seems to me that we take the step, by looking for it, reading, researching about it, and life lays the ground - the synchronicities come! By synchronicity, I mean here, things happen as you start seeing it as an opportunity to exercise your new acquired skill... I trust it is the same with you guys, we act more in the present, our state of awareness is more frequent than the state of dormancy, especially because we do not deny the reality any more. We see it as it is and have a set of skills to act in the reality, rather than seek for a refuge or, even worse, become a daydreamer living in the social media, being a chronic complainer or compensating with drugs.
And as Lucio frequently says, and you mentioned here, we start adding value, we become able to think clearly, and be more selective about who is also adding value and who is just a taker, social climber, etc.
I used to consider everybody my friend (!!!), I used to reply to covert aggressions with open communication - and it has never brought me joy or respect from others.
Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on December 3, 2020, 12:46 pm.Putting everything together, if I was forced to choose between "sharing with everyone" and "sharing with nobody", I'd go for "share with everyone" since the defensive mindset is inherently low-quality.
I am sure you were, and I can only be grateful for your decision. It is an excellent community... BTW, I think you made a good point here reinforcing that sharing is better than hiding.
Adding value through recommendations of books, websites, YouTube videos, etc. is always a good thing: we get to know the person better, how considerate she or he is with our suggestion (in other words, how influential we are to this person), her or his values and how motivated she or he is and, more than that, the paradigms that the person lives in (strategy or learn by doing only, is open-minded, etc). But of course, I would not share those things that say a lot from me to my frenemies...