Do you have any cocky friends? You know, that guy who thinks that they’re more intelligent, talented, and special than anyone else. The supremely cocky kid who thinks that he is destined for greatness?
I’m that guy.
I’m arrogant. I’m confident. I’m convinced that I’m better than everyone else around me. In my vision of world history, I’m a going to be a protagonist, not a bit player. I am the center of the world and the apex of human evolution.
I piss people off alot. Friends and foes alike have compared the size of my ego to that of a planet. I do and think what I want and it invariably offends or upsets someone.
And I’m okay with that. The truth is that the human species would not have evolved without people like me. Modest people don’t change history. Nobody runs for president without thinking that they’re more qualified than everybody else in the country. Nothing would get invented — only the arrogant will stand up and create something that doesn’t exist outside our wildest fantasies.
If you want to do epic things, you have to be epic yourself. Humble people don’t think that they can change the world. They can’t imagine inspiring millions or setting the world on fire with an idea.
But the cocky do it every day. Why? Because we know that we can and anything short of our dreams is failure. We’re driven not by a desire to be happy but by an inherent need to be the best. Because we know that we can rich the pinnacle of greatness, nothing else will satiate us.
If you are one of the elite, give yourself a pat on the back for being awesome. Don’t worry if people tell you to tone it down or to get off your pedestal. Keep your pedestal and make it taller — the voices of your naysayers will fade as you ascend into the glory of your potential.
If you believe that arrogance is bad and that cocky people all need to shut up and get over themselves, take a second look at the world. Your government, your history, and your culture are entirely created and sustained by the sweat of people who believe that they alone can make a difference. Look through a history book and study the key players in history: Julius Caesar, Emperor Chin, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, the American founding fathers, Winston Churchill… and on and on and on. All of them were arrogant enough to reshape the structure of the world.
Are you religious at all? Name someone who started a religion who wasn’t supremely confident in himself. Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Siddartha, Joseph Smith — they might have been humbled before their god, but they still saw themsleves as the only beacon of light and truth in an ignorant and evil world. Even god is cocky — read any religious text and tell me that its god is humble.
For some reason we revere excellence but detest confidence. During the 2008 elections the pundits made a fuss over whether or not the candidates were elitists. Personally, I would hope that my leaders are better than anyone else. I don’t want an average person running the country. Or running anything, for that matter.
But there is a definitive rule for ego: if you aren’t the best, be quiet. When I play basketball, I don’t talk trash. When I’m singing in the car, I don’t compare myself to Josh Groban. I’m supremely confident in activities in which I excel and I’m humble where I recognize my mediocrity. This treatise isn’t condoning empty braggadocio and unfounded arrogance. At all times we have to be honest with ourselves and recognize our own strengths and weaknesses.
So yes, when I tell you I’m going to visit every country by the time I’m 25, I’m not bragging. I’m stating a fact. When I say that I’m going to turn Your Best Weekend into the premiere lifestyle design website and that my upcoming book will reach the NYT Bestseller List, I’m not pining over a distant wish. I’m making a statement based on my own confidence in my talent and dedication.
If my attitude offends you, get used to it. The meek might have inherited the earth, but the confident are here to conquer it.
