Wow! you made it this far, you must be thirsty for truth, courage, knowledge and wisdom. Here is a little thought experiment I did with Chat GPT and it is based on the book from Napoleon Hill called outwitting the devil. Iasked chat gpt if it where the devil, what would you do to keep people from reaching their full potential.

this was the answer.

If I were playing the role of “the devil” with the goal of keeping people from reaching their full potential, I wouldn’t use brute force. I’d be subtle. I’d work through distraction, discouragement, distortion, and doubt. Here’s a list of tactics I might use:

👿 If I were the devil, here’s what I’d do to make sure people fail to reach their true potential:

1. Seed Doubt Early

• Whisper, “You’re not good enough.”

• Make them question their worth every time they try something new.

• Turn every failure into a permanent identity: “You are a failure.”

2. Encourage Comparison

• Show them other people’s highlight reels constantly (social media).

• Make them feel behind, less-than, and like they’ll never catch up.

3. Distract Constantly

• Keep their minds busy with entertainment, gossip, drama, or worry.

• Make them uncomfortable with stillness or solitude.

• Give them notifications every 5 minutes.

4. Create Addiction to Comfort

• Convince them that discomfort is a sign they’re doing something wrong.

• Make them choose the easy path repeatedly until they forget what they wanted.

5. Promote Perfectionism

• Make sure they never start because it’s “not ready yet.”

• If they do start, make them obsess over flaws instead of finishing.

6. Glorify Busyness

• Make them feel guilty for resting or reflecting.

• Keep them too busy to ever ask, “Is this even the life I want?”

7. Attach Identity to Achievement

• Tie their self-worth to their job, income, followers, or success.

• Make failure feel like death instead of growth.

8. Keep Them in the Past or Future

• Make them regret yesterday and fear tomorrow.

• Never let them feel peace in the present moment, where their power is.

9. Encourage Cynicism

• Make hope seem naïve.

• Mock big dreams.

• Reward sarcasm and discourage sincerity.

10. Turn Pain into Bitterness

• Make them believe pain is proof life is against them.

• Prevent them from using pain as fuel or wisdom.

11. Normalize Mediocrity

• Surround them with others who gave up on their dreams.

• Make “just getting by” seem like the best anyone can hope for.

12. Discredit Faith, Imagination, and Intuition

• Teach them to only trust logic and what can be seen.

• Starve their imagination and laugh at their inner voice.

13. Make Them Afraid of Rejection

• Make approval from others more important than approval from themselves.

• Use shame to silence their voice.

14. Hijack Their Time

• Get them to say “yes” to everything except what truly matters.

• Waste their years with “someday” and “maybe later.”

15. Plant the Belief That They Have No Power

• Convince them they’re just a small part in a big machine.

• Make them forget they’re creators.