The 48 Laws of Power in Practice

**Law 23: Concentrate your forces.

*Revised* Somehow I skipped Law 22 and wanted to republish in order. Law 22 Surrender Tactic is available now.

Focus your energies and apply them to the most worthwhile ventures. Seek out key people to benefit from.

Application - 

The label "Jack of all trades, master of none," refers to someone who's good at a lot of things but doesn't specialize in anything. This is an example of not concentrating forces. On average, most people will need to spend about 10,000 hours to develop a skill to a professional level. Training specialized skills is a way we can focus our energy.

You may also have heard of The 80/20 Rule, which says that 20% of the factors lead to 80% of the results. This can apply to almost anything you do. Identify the 20% that will make the biggest difference and concentrate your forces there. Marie Kondo's KonMari Method to organize and reduce clutter is a great example of this. She shows people how to identify those items that spark joy and let go of the rest. This is essentially the 20% of things you own that contribute to 80% of your happiness.

In regards to the key person, it might be your boss or a mentor who can help you advance in your career. You'll want to make sure to have their support. Or if you own a business, your goal could be to land a big account that brings in consistent income with the least amount of effort, rather than run around servicing a lot more small accounts.

Quieting the mind -

When I was younger, I was not a dependable person. I would have every intention of doing something but just couldn't follow through.

There was the time when a friend put the group tab on his card, and I forgot to send money. I didn't check my requests or their email reminders. For a year. In group projects, I'd simply forget to do my part. Complete dead weight. It's embarrassing to think of all the times I tried to do my homework at the beginning of class on the day it was due. And I was always late. Sometimes more than an hour late when meeting a friend. The worst was at school when one of my teachers had the dumb rule that if you showed up 10 minutes late on exam day, it was an automatic fail. I attended that class for the entire semester, just to flunk it on the last day.

To escape from an abusive family, I'd go out every chance that I got. I consumed myself with hanging out and partying. I got mixed up with all kinds of the wrong things. All to forget my troubles and be happy, if only for a moment. Because when I had the chance to think, I was preoccupied with my anger and negative thoughts. This vicious cycle never allowed me time to focus, or even keep track of what I needed to do. It took a ton of work for me to find peace with my past. I was finally able to quiet my mind and create the space to learn and grow.

Now I'm the responsible one. The planner and organizer of all things. My coworkers even think I'm a total square. I just have to laugh.