You’re building a prison and calling it success.
Every skill you master, every certification you earn, every problem you learn to solve – you think you’re becoming more powerful. You’re not. You’re becoming more useful. And useful men don’t rule. They serve.
Machiavelli saw this five centuries ago. The most competent men in Renaissance Italy were the busiest, the most controlled, the least free. They thought their excellence gave them power. It gave them golden chains.
This is the trap nobody talks about: competence makes you USEFUL to the system, not FREE from it. The better you get, the more they need you. The more they need you, the less you can leave. You’ve built a cage from your own achievements.
Weak men fear this knowledge because their entire identity is built on being capable, reliable, indispensable. Take that away and they have nothing left.
Strong men understand: competence is a tool, not an identity. Use it strategically or it becomes your prison.
Machiavelli’s final warning from The Prince, decoded.
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