Donald J. Trump will be the 45th President of the United States.
The entire world told him that this was impossible.
Donald Trump didn’t listen.
Great men in history always don’t listen.
When Alexander the Great embarked on his Persian expedition, he was often second-guessed by his senior officers and generals. After he won the Battle of Issus, Alexander received a peace offer from the Persian King Darius III, which would grant him all the lands west of the Euphrates and his daughter’s hand in marriage with a generous dowry.
Alexander’s second-in-command, General Parmenio, told him that it was a good offer and that he would take the deal.
Alexander replied, “I would too, if I were Parmenio.”
A daunting challenge faced him after Issus. He had to march through the desert, with hundreds of miles separating him from his supplies coming in from the Mediterranean. He would be hemmed in by hostile territory, only to meet an enemy many times his own number. Many thought that such a move would be foolhardy. Defeat meant certainly isolation and ultimate destruction. It was better, under conventional wisdom, for Alexander to consolidate the vast territories he had already won, which stretched from Anatolia, down through the Levant, and Egypt, the biggest prize of all.
It was a rich empire.
But Alexander felt to his core that it was his reason for being to conquer Persia and rule all of Asia, not stopping until he reached the unknown ocean at the end of the world. He was not the type of personality to accept a lesser outcome than what his essence, his ka, his daimon demanded.
Win it all or win nothing.
Most people can’t hack it. It’s just too much.
But it’s all in the mind in the end. The mind is your own worst enemy.
Still, in the face of these objections, and with the vision of his life ahead, Alexander replied:
Nothing is impossible to him who will try.
Alexander tried and succeeded. His name will last forever.
And now, so will Donald Trump’s, for good or ill.
And my hunch is for good, because Donald Trump tries.
He tried throughout this entire campaign.
From day one, the entire world said he had no chance of winning. I thought so too at first, but I (relatively) quickly realized what was going on.
A few others saw it before me.
The Republican Party’s establishment was against him.
The Democrats were against him.
Hollywood was against him.
The entire entrenched media apparatus was against him.
The corporate and financial donors were against him.
It seemed he was fighting the entire world.
But Donald Trump tried anyway. His persuasion game was the best I’ve ever seen. His supporters were fervent and enthusiastic. There was not a day that went by that he wasn’t criss-crossing the country, it seems, spellbinding crowds and energizing people that had given up any hope. He constantly fought back against attackers even when they said fighting back was not allowed.
Donald Trump fought back anyway.
At every stage of this election, Donald Trump tried. Hillary Clinton and her supporters whined.
They wanted to take the easy way out. They wanted to rely on the supposedly inevitable demographics of the Obama coalition, all the while they colluded to deny the nomination to Bernie Sanders who would have won easily (this was the one and only thing I got wrong in Stumped
).
So many people in life refuse to try. So many people in life allow themselves to be held back by procrastination and laziness. These are habits ingrained in me still. So many others allow themselves to be held back by what they think is “their proper role” or social acceptability.
Whatever you think about Donald Trump, this has been an absolute inspiration. It shows just what’s possible – and just how much more I really have to do to get to my own True Glory, my own kleos.
And it’s why I’m optimistic that Donald Trump will be a good president. He will try. Not just “try” but try.
He’s already done the impossible once.
So if you must take something from last night and this entire campaign, take this out of it.
Nothing is impossible to him who will try.
Try every day. Create systems to achieve impossible goals. And cut out any negative influence in your life
, whether it be other people or the media (which is why I’ll largely be tuning out after today for a week or two except to get my posts out there).
Do a little bit of work over a long time. Invest your time in honing multiple overarching skills to increase your odds.
Step by step, day by day. And get the help you need, but all responsibility ultimately rests on you.
You can begin to learn from Donald Trump and try the “impossible” by reading Stumped, which outlines his persuasion system.
It has truly been a privilege and honor of my life to participate in this whole process, and to document it, learn from it, and meet many of you. I will never forget it.
While this chapter of The Masculine Epic comes to a close, the next chapters are beginning. The story won’t be ending anytime soon.
Year Zero is coming (though it will hopefully be less relevant now!).
The Red War, the greatest work of my life, is coming.
There may be another story coming about Thutmose III. I’ll ask for your help on that soon!
Thank you for all your support! Stay engaged! It doesn’t end today! November 9th is only the beginning!
