The Strategy of The Crown: Become Great by Believing You’re Great

As the years pass by, the dreams we once had as children either disappear or get replaced by the demands of modern life: earn enough money to survive and feel good now. The “I want to be an astronaut” dream is replaced by “I want more money so I buy a new pair of shoes so I can look awesome for the upcoming party.” We rarely wish for making an impact. We simply want to survive another day and have enough cash to get ourselves the newest cool gadget all of our friends have.

When we’re young, we make bold claims and we expect that one day we’ll conquer the world. But as we go along, we see that things are not as easy as we thought. Especially when our parents are not around to hold our hands.

In school, we’re told that we’re not good enough. Later, in our daily jobs, we see how people that don’t know how to do anything get promoted. Eventually, the dream we once had is evaporated and we settle for a decent paycheck as long as it covers the bills. We no longer strive for more. We don’t even expect something more. We tune in the life everyone else is living – Netflix and social media.

But there’s another way. A much glories path you can take, even if you’re 30, 40, or above 50. You just need to be bold enough and crazy enough to make it happen. It’s called the Strategy of the Crown and it’s something I learned from the book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.¹

What Is The Strategy of The Crown?

In simple terms, this monarch-sounding approach has one main goal: To make you believe that you’re destined for great things.

Once your brain wholeheartedly thinks that you’re born to be awesome in a domain of your choice, you’ll have an endless pool of motivation and drive that will help you keep going no matter the obstacles lying ahead.

Why The Strategy of The Crown is Important?

There are a lot of reasons but the main one is the self-sabotaging thoughts that are constantly telling us that we’re not good enough, that we don’t deserve to be happy and to have nice things. Thus, we settle for leftovers while the confident narcissists get all the goods.

In life, it’s important to understand that you’ll get what you want. Not what you deserve.

Ask for little, and you’ll get little from life. Ask for work that feels fulfilling, a fancy house and a nice-looking car and this is what you’ll get.

Once you believe that you’ve got the power, as Snap sings, your limits and boundaries will disappear. And once you start acting like a king or queen, people will treat you like such.

How To Apply The Strategy of the Crown?

This strategy is not obtainable. Meaning, it’s not something you can get physically. It’s something you form in your head. It’s a way of thinking. A perception of yourself. Once this idea is formed in your mind, your actions will lead to greatness.

So, how do you apply this strategy in your life and become confident as a 17th-century king?

First off, you don’t have to go through the family tree and seek a connection between your genes and long-dead kings.

You need to convince yourself that great things are going to happen. Once your mind is persuaded of the latter, even if it feels fake at first, you’ll start acting differently. You’ll start walking with your head high, set bigger and bolder goals that will help you become legendary.

Here’s a short 3-step process that you can use to kick-off your royal lifestyle:

1. Make a bold claim: If you want to start a business, set a big goal. Even if you fail, you’ll still be a whole lot better than when you first started. Also, don’t be afraid to set a high price. If the price is low people will think that your product is garbage. In contrast, a higher price means that what your selling is a high-end luxury item.
2. Choose a great opponent: Not in terms of literally fighting with him. Rather, to make the impression that you’re serious about what you’re up to. By choosing a great opponent, you create the appearance of greatness. You’ll be motivated to reach the level of expertise your opponent has and even beyond that.
3. Always act with dignity: No matter the circumstance, you should always be respectful towards others. This noble behavior will surely differentiate you from other people and reinforce your king-like appearance.²

On the outside, by doing these things you will set yourself apart from other people and appear as destined for success.

On the inside, you’ll gain the so needed confidence to pursue your dreams and always have high expectations of yourself.

Some Closing Thoughts

I’m not much of a Bible guy but there’s a passage that goes something like this: “Ask and you shall receive.”

Of course, people can immediately contra attack this statement by saying: “I asked and I didn’t receive!”

Obviously, by simply asking nothing will happen. You need to act. And more importantly, you need to ask and keep on asking. To do and keep on doing.

But don’t ask for less, don’t think small, don’t set low prices. If you ask for less this is exactly what you will get. In contrast, if you want more from life, you’ll get more.³

“If we believe we are destined for great things, our belief will radiate outward, just as a crown creates an aura around a king.” Robert Greene

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Footnotes:

1. The Strategy of The Crown is part of law 34: Be Royal in your own fashion. You can read my summary but I also recommend reading the whole book as it offers unique ways to deal with people and obtain power.
2. You might also check this article from 2011 where the author shares 3 strategies from Greene’s book about reinforcing royal behavior.
3. If you’ve been reading my other articles you might think: “Why the hell you’re talking about getting more since you promote a minimalist lifestyle?” It might seem that this approach is about obtaining more goods but it’s actually about something else. It’s more about doing great things, not exclusively getting more things.