I love this line, “Nobody gives you power, you take it!", More like, you assume power by stepping up and asserting yourself when circumstances require it. Power is not given or awarded, it’s an attitude or state of mind that allows you to influence people or situations in a direction you deem best for those you represent. Power is about strength, tenacity, courage, confidence, and competence. It’s also about taking control because the situation demands it.

Power is not an inherent quality, it’s something you gradually accumulate over the course of your life. People who exhibit power have vision and positive personal qualities that focus on serving the greater good. While true power is cumulative, you can lose it in an instant. I have seen this phenomenon play-out where people give their power away when it’s well within their grasp, or they do something to undermine what power they already have.  

For whatever reason people will oftentimes retreat into some sort of subservient mind-set, especially when exposed to stronger personality types or daunting situations where there is a lot on the line. I tell people all the time, “Don’t give your power away!” These same people could influence situations and events, but at the first sign of push back, they cave. 

At the end of the day, power is about mastering your mind and emotions. Novelist, Alice Walker summed things up nicely when she said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Decide today that you are going to step up and assume power and influence whenever you believe strongly in your cause or position. Otherwise, you get what you get.