Win Life Through Restraint

One of my favorite historical figures is Napoleon Bonaparte.
Also short. So obviously I relate.

Napoleon wasn’t just talented. He was a once-in-a-century mind. Strategic genius. Relentless work ethic. The ability to outthink and outmaneuver almost everyone around him.

And he still lost everything.

Not because he wasn’t capable.
Because there was one area he never mastered: restraint.

He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t say, “This is enough.
”Winning fed ego. Ego fed overreach. Overreach eventually collapsed the empire.
It wasn’t a lack of intelligence that took him down. It was a lack of self-mastery.

That lesson sticks with me.

There’s an old idea attributed to Alexander the Great: if you want to rule others, you must first rule yourself. Most of us aren’t trying to rule nations. But we are trying to win at life. And the principle still applies.

In my own life, I’ve worked too hard to let some small, stupid lack of control take everything down. That’s why I stopped drinking. Not because I had a problem. I just didn’t like how it affected me. I could see how a “small thing” could turn into a crack. And cracks become failures if you ignore them long enough.

So now, when I notice something that could turn into a weak point, I attack it early.

Because history is full of brilliant people who lost not because they weren’t great enough—but because they didn’t master themselves.

All great people do.

‍