| The thing about power is not so much that it changes you but that it changes the people around you. Suddenly, they want something from you. Suddenly, they are dependent on you. Suddenly, they are afraid of you. And this changes what they do and think. It changes what they're willing to say to you…and how they say it. We're told that the Emperor Hadrian once got in an argument with Favorinus, his favorite philosopher (who was, it's worth noting, **an intersex individual, way back in the year 100 AD, belying the bigoted notion that gender fluidity is some modern woke invention). Favorinus had tried to correct Hadrian but after experiencing the emperor's defensiveness, he conceded the point even though he knew he was right. Why would you do such a thing? his friends asked. Favorinus chuckled and chastised them in turn. Don't you understand, he said, that the smartest man was obviously the "one who has thirty legions." One makes a god-king feel stupid at their peril, he was saying. But he was also expressing, in this instance, something sad and fundamentally weak about Hadrian. Because people were afraid of the emperor, he was unlikely to get the truth—or the opportunities to improve or learn—that such an important job requires. A couple of months ago we did a video over on the Daily Stoic YouTube channel about how narcissistic leaders almost always fail in the end (it's already approaching 2 million views). Even if they do manage to defy the odds and live to die a natural death—as Hadrian did—it's not usually fun for them…or the people who they purport to serve. This is almost certainly why Marcus Aurelius talks so much about accepting correction and admitting error in Meditations. He knew that if he hoped to escape 'imperialization' he would first have to escape his ego and find a way around the sycophancy his occupation engenders. And again, whatever level of leader we are, we must find a way to do the same. P.S. The best way to learn leadership, as Marcus Aurelius put it, is to "go straight to the seat of intelligence." That's why in The Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge, you'll receive guidance not only from Ryan Holiday but some of today's most prominent leaders including: - Gen. Dan Caine
- Dr. Lisa Barrett
- Annie Duke
- Robert Greene
- RC Buford
- And more!
Escape the temptations of 'imperialization' and become the leader your company, family, or community needs by taking on The Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge today! *** | 
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