What do all great men (Napoleon, Alexander the Great, etc.) have in common? what's the key of their success?

Question

I wish I could make the world a better place! I want to learn from the great!

Answer 1

Unbridled ambition and ruthless cunning is what got them where they were, not to mention the best possible educations of their time.  I won't say that being tenacious helped Napoleon, and I won't call them heroes or villains.  They were wildly successful at what they did, they were natural leaders, especially Alexander.  Some might say that they didn't make the world a better place, but I have only these few words: what about the Great Library, the Great Lighthouse, Waterloo, and the French Revolution?  Can you really say that the world doesn't turn differently without these men?  I certainly would not make that assertion.  Criminals?  We are all criminals.  We all participate in a global monetary exchange system that facilitates violence and loss throughout the world.  Regardless of the woe wrought by these conquerers, their paths were paved in good intentions; just like yours.

Edit: Whose the tool that posted a thumbs down for everyone that actually answered this question seriously?  If you believe that these people were worse than you or anyone you know; or if you think that your ambitions haven't led you to cause pain upon another than you are a hypocrite.  You and your world would've been a much different place without the great conquerers.

Answer 2

You need to pick better models -- Napoleon and Alexander were conquerors responsible for many deaths, not humanitarians.

Answer 3

they are ruthless in their quest for greatness. they dont care who they step on to get tto the top.

Answer 4

shortness (napolean, mussolini) lol :)

no its because they come from troubled backgrounds in turbulent times and have a need to persist and prevail.

Answer 5

Vision, ambition, determination, ruthlessness.

Answer 6

Sometimes I feel that I myself may have the power as I seem to find myself demonstrating great potential for conquest (in philosophy and even video games relating to it) amd so you are not alone in your thoughts.

It must be the passion, I say! They never gave up (though Napoleon was a bit too stubborn and that may have proved to be his downfall!).

Greatness...eh? Well, just remember this: it is nice to philosophosize, but it is far better to take action!

Go forth and mold the world!

Answer 7

They all thought rationaly.

Napoleon grew up during the enlightenment and Alexander was taught by Aristotle, arguably the greatest philosopher of all time.

Answer 8

Napoleon and Alex the Great were criminals to the lands and peoples whom they "conquered".  IF  YOU want to make this world a better place, don't do what they did.  

Also, Napoleon made some huge stupid mistakes...One was perilously trying to invade huge Russia with his little army in a Siberian style winter.  That was not "thinking rationally"

Another mega-blunder was selling off his North American territory that equals portions of current 15 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces for 3 cents per acre, rather than just the port of New Orleans, as had previously been discussed, all in attempt to secure Haiti that was having a slave revolt, and then one year later, Haiti became independent anyways.

Size Of Blunder: $750 billion in today's land value figures.

That was not rational either.

Alexander was a mass murderer that only lived to age 29, no more.  He did NOT survive for long.  His empire subjects that survived his attacks hated him, and his empire shrank. What good was it to the world ??? only to his ego, that's all.

Don't be like them.

If you want to be great, be a change agent, do somethings that gets results changing people's habits and values that work against the world's well-being... get people to refuse plastic bags,  use re-usable tote bags or cotton shopping bags that can be washed and re-used, plant trees, get involved in promoting alternative vehicles and safe alternative fuels, biodegradable windshield washers for cars, visit the elderly, help people get smoke-alarms installed, help people and your city make changes, help people, don't conquer them like those despots.

Answer 9

I agree with Phil as long as he's being sarcastic.

But um...

The thing that they had in common is that they were leaders who were inventive enough to discover how to lead their people to greatness.

The sick, sad answer to your question is that you must become a politician. The world isn't as simple as a sword or a musket anymore, but if you believe that you have the wisdom to lead your country to greatness through your diplomatic tongue or your keen vision of the future or your infinitely caring heart, then you need to be in the position to make those executive decisions. Write bills. Get them passed. Make the world better for people.

Or h**l, go all the way and become the president! But as you can see with Bush, killing our enemies is much harder to do, and even if it is just, the modern world snowballs every flawed decision into catastrophes that no weapon can solve.

On another note, you may want to try for more peaceful and more modern world changers, like Mother Theresa. I mean, she's boring, and I ain't a Catholic, but she is an individual who we all know because she did wonderful things for people.

Didn't you watch Evan Almighty? If you want to change the world, build an ark. Acts of Randome Kindness. And if you're a hotshot, you can do things that aren't random too.

The real challenge is resisting the corruption of power as men begin to follow you and call you "great."

Answer 10

They led their countries to greatness and inspired confidence and devotion from their citizens. They created two of the greatest empires in history and both died before their time and it is easy to say without a doubt that had they both maintained power the world would be a very different place today.

Deino is right about politicians being the key to attaining leadership, it would be impossible for someone to take power like Napoleon did in a modern nation today. All people care about today is getting everything cheap, people don't want to make sacrifices for their country which was something that was necessary for both Napoleon and Alexanders empires.

Answer 11

they knew how to deal with people. they could tell who had to be crushed, and who had to be sweet-talked.

they were also good at getting people on their side, in two ways: they were good at making friends, and they could intimidate people into submitting.

they also were good at surviving. to do that, you need to be smart and lucky.

a one-word answer is = charisma