What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you’ll have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them.
Alexander the Great is a young man who has a famous parent – King Philip of Macedonia. Alexander knew that he had to make himself the very opposite of his overbearing father. After his father was murdered by a disgruntled courtier, he became the King of Macedonia and marched to the furthest reaches of the kingdom, suppressed the rebellious towns, and reunited the empire with brutal efficiency.
Alexander’s loathing of his father didn’t end with Philip’s death. He wanted to defeat the Persians, because in doing so, he would finally surpass Philip in glory and fame. Against astounding odds, Alexander conquered the Persians – it was a great triumph, enough to secure his fame for eternity. But his conquest of Persia represented the past, and he wanted never to rest on past triumphs, or to allow the past to outshine the present.
The bottom line here is: be merciless with the past. After all, only the weak rest on their past triumphs. Do not get lost in the shadow of your parent, or stuck in a past not of your own making. Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the domineering father, belittle his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way. Because in the game of power, there’s never time to rest.
Miriam R. Reyes
II BS LM
Hi18, Section O
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
21 comments:
When you to follow the shadow of your parents (out of pressure perhaps?), chances are you're going to end up just like them, as in exactly like them. How can you be special if you're not unique?
Every person is different, and everyone has a potential to be better at something (else) than everyone else.
Miguel Rojas
Hi18O
i agree with miguel in a way, but isnt its that your parents are your first idols, that's why we sometimes follow in their footsteps? i think the only wrong thing in following the footsteps of your parents is losing your own identity in the process
Nastashja Melevo
Hi18O
Perhaps it's time to deviate from the idea of refusing to live under your parent's shadow or anything analogous .
I think this law is observed in the Blue Ocean strategy in marketing. When you think of a product or a service, you have to be first. When the market space is as crowded as it is now, make sure you introduce something totally new, or create a new marketspace for yourself.
For example, in a national level, Jollibee is more popular than McDonalds. The latter is a leading fastfood chain in the west, but because Jollibee was first in the Philippines - first in the Filipino consciousness - it remains to be the leader in the family-oriented, feel good fast food industry. The same principle holds with writing blogs for profit. Let's say you'd like to write about photography, but there're already too many blogs about photography, so this one person made her own niche: use of cheap lighting in photography.
An example that strictly observes the law is that of show business. When Michael V., for example, finally recreates Coring (Dolphy) in Lino Brocka's Ang Tatay Kong Nanay, he'll be "just another Dolphy".
Pia Angela J. Maske
II AB-MA Political Science
Hi 18, Section O
also, another example to be added to pia's examples is the innovation of ipods, apple originally came to sony and sold them the idea of the ipod, and sony wasnt interested in it because they were too much concerened about keeping their recording industry alive. it was their failure to see what the now multibillion dollar apple company's ipod can do for their music business. now ipod has been the leading music software provider for teens and for adults, it has surpassed being only a music player because now it can pretty much do anything a blackberry can do and much much more. sony has came up with a dozen of ipod competitors but none of the said products has even created competition with ipod. i mean, it performs the same things but people believe in ipods more than other brands. why? because it was the first. sometimes people buy certain products just because it was the first one of its kind.
Nastashja Melevo
II BSLM
HI18O
Innovation is what the world dictates today. Prople want something new, something modern, something out of the tradition. They wanted to be unique, as this law states, this should be done to create power. Just like Jollibee in the previous comment, anything later than them are looked down. Therefore, do not imitate much from the first.
-Jedd Emille Chua
Hi 18 O
I agree that we have to shine our own light. We shouldn't walk in the shadow of those who came before us. I don't think that we should take the accomplishments of those who were great in the past as competition, but rather, as a challenge to make something new, to achieve something different, or to better ourselves by striving to go beyond our limits.
-Cooky Araneta, HI 18-N
i agree, we should not let the past affect us, more or less we have to create our identity. No matter how great the people who came before us, we must progress on our own terms, If i were to be asked if i wanted to be like my parents..i would answer yes, absolutely, but i wanna blaze my own trail to greatness, i wanna land on top on my terms and my way.If that requires me to be different, then so be it. To get power we should be willing to make sacrifices.
Luigi Ramirez Hi18-O
i somehow disagree with the line "be merciless with the past".
it is like saying that past is something unworthy to rememeber, something that we should kill like a nightmare. the past, for me, is not like that. it is a valuable resources of experiences which we can use. that is why we are studying history today. to know what happenned before, in order to understand why we are like this today and to be better in future.
mike orlino
hi 18 O
Mike has a point. The past is valuable. It has shaped us into what we are today. It has become a teacher, showing causes, effects, probabilities of actions done before. To be unique in the present, use the past as a basis. All the "what-if" questions then could be answered by the now. Do what hasn't been done and step up that way.
-Bianca Michaela Bes, Hi 18-O
Hmm... it looks like Alexander got what he wanted. I know more about him than I know Philip.
Anyway, Alexander's conviction of "[never wanting] to rest on past triumphs" can be applied to our lives as students. We should not be satisfied with just one accomplishment like a very high grade in one or two quizzes or perfecting one exam. We should not be complacent about getting a very good score on the first quiz of a particular class and stop there. No, we must strive on to do better on the next quiz, and the next and the next (so forth).
If one doesn't want "to allow the past to outshine the present", then one must do better than his last accomplishment.
(I just remembered the words of Elizabeth George:
"Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest
Until your Good is Better and your Better Best") :D
Oh, one more thing, if you've watched The Dark Knight, I presume you'll agree with me saying that Heath Ledger did a very very impressive job in depicting his character, Joker. I know that when compared to the original Joker, who is Jack Nicholson, everybody knows that Heath Ledger has made his own name for himself. No one would be able to say that the original Joker was better than that depicted by Ledger but everybody would be convinced that Ledger's Joker deserves to be on the "level of greatness" as Nicholson's Joker. Having said this, I am convinced Ledger has proven wrong the notion of [himself] subject under the shadow of Nicholson. Ledger has established his own name.
-Kira Gochuico
HI 18 N
The past should never be taken aside. Isn't this why we're studying History in the first place?
I think what shouldn't be done is dwelling on what is already done, since upon focusing on the past, we're neglecting what is more relevant to the goal of obtaining power. Instead of concentrating on the gift of the present (and the opportunities that come along with it), we become as "immobile" as statues. Don't let the past negatively get to your current ways- just don't let it enslave you.
In addition, I don't think that what happens first always appears better than what comes after. That'd greatly put the development of technology aside. I think that what comes first always makes the first impression (and first impressions last), but it doesn't necessarily make the most striking impression.
Marcy Pilar
Hi18-N
I agree that we should not be complacent in the shadows of someone more successful than us. We should learn from the past's mistakes, and build on what others have started. We must not forget about the past.
While it is still possible to outshine what others have done before you, it is necessary to remember to keep on innovating, to keep on improving and changing for the better, to be in a league of your own.
Eric Andres
HI 18 Section N
Thank you, Tashie, for that additional examples. It's true that the way we refer to products in the country is dependent on what is most familiar, which is, more often than not, the first of its kind. "Pabili nga ng Colgate, yung Happee" -- it seems Colgate has been equated with toothpaste. These kinds of things only reinforces the power and influence Colgate has on the masses, wheras Happee will be jokingly referred to as but a rip-off of Colgate.
Pia Angela J. Maske
II AB-MA Political Science
Hi 18, Section O
Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew
This law reminds me of how Khafre, the son of Khufu, built a pyramid 20 feet smaller than his father’s pyramid. He could have just as well made a pyramid as big as his father’s, or maybe even larger, but he chose to respect his father’s accomplishment. [He settled for creating a different pyramid, hence he came up with the sphinx. (And might as well put his face on it to make it a little more special, as can be seen on the sphinx, with the head of a man and the body of a lion.)]
I would also like to stress on how this law can be seen in families with legacies, a family of doctors, a family of lawyers. Children belonging to families like these feel the pressure to follow their parent’s footsteps, oftentimes ending up unhappy. So as the law says, step away from what your parents are or what they want you to be. Why not think for yourself, rather than be letting someone else control your fate? Who knows, you might just end up creating a legacy of your own, and at the same time, having a better relationship with your parents.
Marian Janelle Aliwalas
HI 18 N
there's nothing wrong in having someone as a role model but not to the point of imitating that person. There will be no improvement in that case. Maybe use the role model as a spring board and excel what the role model has done. It's like the cycle of life, improving and evolving for better chances of survival.
Don Faylon
Hi18 N
Following the footsteps of other people will make you great, a great apprentice. It does not leave you a legacy nor a name. It just shows that you're nearly as capable as the original. If you want to be remembered, do not walk in the shadow of others. Make your own path and if you succeed, your name will go down in history as one of the greats.
Dexter Tanengsy, Hi18-N
We see this a lot in showbiz. Famous people have kids and then those kids want to become famous as well. The problem is the talent isn't always genetically passed down to the next generation, so we get a handful of talentless wannabees every now and then. If they don't have the skills to begin with, then they shouldn't even bother. Sometimes the masses prefer talent over a big name.
Marvin Velasco
Hi18 N
Generally, it is extremely difficult to follow a person who has first done a tremendous job. People tend to expect more from you. Acquisition of power, I guess, would depend on the realization (or not) of these expectations
Katherine Conde
Hi18 O
Post a Comment