In Marine Corps boot camp, recruits are taught that perception is reality. The meaning behind this saying is that if a person perceives you to be powerful then to them you are. If you are perceived to be in command, successful, or fearless, then that is reality. Its no different when it comes to personal power. The more you distinguish yourself as a person of power, the more people around you will give it to you. Here are six ways to create an air of power

1. Have powerful mentors

“…as an apprentice you gain a guide and ally. The support of even one powerful person speeds your way toward success” – from Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide

Selecting the perfect mentor could be one of the most important decisions that you make on your path to power. The right mentor will open doors for you, give you the answers to questions you didn’t even know you had, hold you accountable, and push you to new heights. He or she should obviously be in the field that you wish to excel in. If you are a barber, seek out the winner of last year’s Hair Wars. If you are a dancer, seek out an established choreographer. If you are an architect, find the man that designed the swankiest new condominiums in your city.

A potential mentor must be willing to share their knowledge with you. This is usually a person who is at the top of their game, since younger people in the game might see you as competition or prey. The man on top of his game has nothing to lose by sharing information with you. The younger guy fears that he might create some competition for himself or will see you as prey. This is good news for those who have little to no experience. The less of a threat you seem to be, the more knowledge and trust you will be given. A technique that has worked for me is to offer a potential mentor lunch on you every week in exchange for an hour of his conversation and mentorship. That’s the definition of the term “power lunch”!

2. Be busy

Powerful men and women are busy. They have conferences to attend, hands to shake, planes to catch, calls to make, transactions to oversee, mentoring to receive, and mentorship to give. Their activities are what have gotten them the power they have, so it is only natural that they constantly be on the go in pursuit of ever greater accomplishment. Your schedule needs to reflect the fact that you are upwardly mobile. If you are an office worker, create and execute your own schedule instead of waiting for a manager to hand down tasks. Offer to teach classes or host a symposium with a high profile guest for your coworkers. Actually make things happen – don’t just sit at your computer playing Pac-man and pretending to be busy.

3. Restrict access to yourself

You are surrounded by people who seek to stop you by demanding that you take care of their priorities instead of your own. Telemarketers will call you in the middle of dinner. So called “friends” will call you in need in the middle of the night. Managers will ask you to work into overtime at the worst times. You should have better things to do with yourself than entertain these distractions, so defend against them by restricting access to yourself.

If you can, hire a secretary. If you cant, keep your cell phone off and only return calls. This will let you screen calls and schedule a time convenient for you to return them. This isnt being arrogant or putting up false boundaries: restricting access to your self is good time and focus management. Do whatever you can to stay out of the office during normal office hours, and get your work done during off peak hours (5am-8am, 7pm-10pm). The benefit to operating this way is that you will have improved focus, since no one else is in the office at these hours, you keep away from daily office politics, and you avoid getting stuck with the dirty work that gets passed out throughout the day (assuming you work for someone else).

4. Control yourself

Self control is paramount in your pursuit of power. Be calm, cool and collected. During the last presidential election, there was very little anyone could say or do to make then Senator Obama flip his wig. His calm under pressure and cool in the face of scrutiny did much to help him ultimately become the President. Lack of self control leads to frustration, explosive outbursts, whining, inner office conflict, lack of discipline, and falling apart under pressure, and even incarceration. Trust me, I should know. Heres an excerpt from my most recent eBook entitled The Evolution of a Hustler explaining the disastrous results of my lack of self control:

I ignored my schedule, refused to accept responsibility for my results (“I’m not failing the Marine Corps” I would say, “the Marine Corps is failing me!”), and I started to lose control. Month after month, I missed my contract goal. Once relentless, I became reluctant. Once disciplined, I became random and unpredictable – preferring to take naps in my government vehicle behind buildings over prospecting.

Such is the result of letting yourself spin out of control.

The only time it pays to blow your cool is when your explosive outbursts are tactical and planned. For instance, as a Marine Sergeant, when lower ranking Marines fall out of line or blatantly disobey orders it is necessary to hand out butt-chewings. You might like the guy, but if you chose to let his behavior slide, you risk all the other troops becoming disobedient.

5. Look the Part

Appearance counts for much in the world. What you look like on the outside when it comes to grooming, dress, and other intangible things like smell and eye contact speak volumes about you before you even open your mouth. I don’t care if you are a server in a restaurant, if you are clean, make eye contact with your customers, and smile, you have just earned more money than the average server – and that could also open the way for networking opportunities with your high end customers.

I’m impressed with how some rappers have transformed their image to give their hustle more legitimacy. Jay-Z, T.I. and Diddy have all evolved from saggy pants, buffoonish chains and oversized white Tees to style icons. There’s a reason for this, and to prove that power and respect follows appearance, who do you respect more, T.I. or T-Pain?

Yea, see what I mean?

The book that I have used as my style guide is Bereolaesque: The Contemporary Gentleman & Etiquette Book For The Urban Sophisticate, available only by clicking the hyperlink. Check it out.

6. Obey a code of silence

Being quiet is a blessing in three ways: First, people will let slip all kinds of personal information to you that could be of use later on. Second, the less you say the smaller your chance of saying something you shouldn’t have. Third, the less you say, the more value your words have; people actually pay attention to you on the rare occasions you offer words of advice.

Asking questions to understand a situation is one thing, but keep your statements concise, and keep your opinion to yourself. If asked for advice, keep it short and to the point. Avoid long stories and rants, and when you do open your mouth, speak intelligently. Nothing diminishes a mans power more than having an uneducated drawl.

People tend to think the person that runs their mouth the most has all the power in a conversation, but the result of motor mouthing is that people will actually avoid conversations with you, or not hear anything you say. The result is actually a loss of power and respect.

Apply these 6 Principles to everything you do, every day, and the power you desire will manifest. Perception will become reality.

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