The Nuclear Bomb in the Boardroom
Let’s bring the conqueror's mindset to the present. Today’s managers and founders do the exact same thing as those ancient kings. They build empires.
They use their ego as a rocket engine. On the surface, it looks like massive security and raw power.
But in reality, it’s a nuclear bomb. It will take you high, but when it finally detonates, it will blow you and everyone around you into a million pieces.
The Crimes Against Myself
I know this because I committed many of these crimes against myself.
My daily ritual was built on the belief that my ego and a hard, serious mask would increase my team's productivity. I looked strictly at every process. Every morning, I carried a spirit of relentless toughness with one single mantra:
"We have to grind to get something."
How deeply I was mistaken. Every new push just led to more grinding. The hustle was like poking another hole in a sieve. Day by day, the sieve got wider, and everything that actually mattered just leaked away.
Feeding the Beast
To maintain the illusion of satisfaction—and to make sure I didn't wake up from this stupid dream—I reached for alcohol. Many top executives do the exact same thing. But as you probably know, it never stops with alcohol.
The overfed ego and the loud voice in my head screamed for more experiences. In any form. Food, sex, drugs, adrenaline. The ego got fed, but nothing else changed. When a flash of conscience told me I was pushing too far, I tried to fix it at the gym. But that only ramped up my already exhausted, pounding heart even more.
The Total Sleep
That was the beginning of the total sleep. A state where you lose connection with your legs, your hands, your mind. Everything goes on autopilot.
You get up in the morning and don't even notice. You drive for miles on the highway and remember absolutely nothing of the road. Your jaw is clenched tight, and millions of business combinations are racing through your head. You are physically in the car, but your mind is somewhere else entirely.
The ticking bomb starts.
In that state of total absence, you could run over a child on a crosswalk. And whose fault is it? Not actually yours.
It's your ego's fault. It's the runaway, disconnected mind that has taken absolute control over you.
