The Power of Holding a Position

The greater your personal power, the greater your success.

“Power is contained in the ability to maintain a position in space. If you can’t maintain a position in space you will never have any power.” — L. Ron Hubbard 

Try this demonstration.

1. Put a coin on your desk.
2. Move it around with the tip of your finger.
3. Now, with the thumb of your other hand, firmly press down on the coin.
4. Try to move it around with your finger.

Because the coin holds its position, it has power, right? This is a form of power you can strengthen in yourself, starting today.

Ten Problems You Can Solve by Holding a Position

Imagine having the power to solve problems like these. What could you accomplish?

1. You need greater influence on others.
2. Someone is pressuring you to do something you do not want to do.
3. You have a persistent urge to do something harmful.
4. You are constantly distracted.
5. You need to get away from certain people or activities.
6. You are being stopped.
7. Someone refuses to keep their agreement with you.
8. A big obstacle makes you want to give up.
9. Someone makes you doubt what you know is true.
10. You need more self-control.

Four Examples

1. Joe is happily married to June.

One day, Joe runs into his beautiful ex-girlfriend. She says, “I sure miss you! I just bought a bottle of wine that’s supposed to be really good. Want to come to my place and try it?”

Joe holds a position on what he knows is right and says, “Sure! I’ll pick up June on the way because she’d love to meet you.”

2. You need to finish an important client document by morning, but your laptop dies.

You decide to have dinner and then work on the document. But your laptop won’t turn on! You try everything you know to get it working with no success. You call for tech support, but they are closed. You call a friend who says, “Don’t worry. Your client will understand.”

You decide to hold a position and to make it go right. You pull out a writing pad and start to write. At midnight, your spouse says, “I’m sure your  client will understand if you don’t finish the report. Come to bed!” You feel really tired and decide to climb into bed.

Yet after a few minutes, you decide to hold a position. You get up and continue handwriting the report. At 5 AM, you finish the first version. You think, “My client will understand that it looks sloppy.”

Yet once again, you decide to hold a position. You remember you are a professional.

So you get dressed and go to your office. You use your desk computer to type up the report. By 8 AM, the report is done . . . and it’s perfect.

You send it to the client who says, “Thanks! This is perfect.”

You smile all morning. You feel powerful.

3. You decide to stop smoking.

After the first hour, your body screams, “Get me a cigarette!”

You hold a position and refuse to light up.

During the second hour, your body says, “I will die if I don’t have a smoke, you jerk!”

You hold a position and eat a carrot.

Because you continue to hold a position no matter what your body demands, you become a nonsmoker.

You are powerful!

4. You break your beautiful new smart TV.

Right after you get it home and pull it out of the box, you drop it on a tile floor. The frame is now cracked.

A neighbor sees the damage and says, “Don’t tell the store you dropped the television. Just take it back and tell them it was broken when you got it home.”

You say, “No, I’ll tell the truth and try to work something out.”

Later, your neighbor calls and says, “You were right about the TV. I’m sorry I said you should lie to the store. By the way, you’re an investment advisor, right?  Can you help me with my employee’s retirement fund?”

When you hold a position on a constructive, beneficial position, you earn self-respect and pride. Holding a such position gets easier and easier.

People see how you operate and realize you have good intentions; that you do good things. They trust you, admire you and support you.

Why Your Position Must Be CORRECT

Unfortunately, you are not right all the time. No one is. Sometimes, a position you decide to hold is wrong.

To be a powerful person, you must constantly evaluate your positions, especially if they are not going well. You must be willing to be wrong in order to be CORRECT.

For example, your small company needs a new manager. You want to hire Abe because he admires your work and makes you feel important. Your business partner wants to hire Jill because she is a successful boss. Of course, Jill is the CORRECT choice. Yet, you hold a stupid position and waste time until you realize what you are doing.

Instead of being admired, and instead of being right, you decide to be CORRECT. Your company’s success depends on it.

You say, “Let’s hire Jill. Call her before she finds another job!”

CORRECT positions are beneficial to you, your family and your groups. When you firmly hold them, you earn respect, trust and support. Your power strengthens and expands.

Ten Steps to Boost Your Personal Power

1. Write down the positions you need to hold more firmly; where you need to take a stand; where you should say, “No” or “Yes.”
2. Pick the easiest of these positions to hold.
3. Write down why you want to hold this position. If you want to hold it to support your ego or prove you are right, change your mind. Reword it so the position you want to hold is CORRECT.
4. Write down how holding this position will be beneficial to everyone involved; for you and others. Reword the position to be as helpful and constructive as possible.
5. Next, write down how you will hold your ground on this position.
6. Do it! Hold your position more firmly than before. Be brave, strong and persistent.
7. If you get knocked off your position, review what happened and how you can do better. Then try again.
8. Persist for as long as it takes until you are holding this position in all situations. Be willing to take several hours or several months until it becomes easy for you. Make it a new way you operate in life.
9. Congratulate yourself! You are now more powerful.
10. Pick the next easiest position to hold and repeat the steps above.

Here’s to your power!