What is that word?
It represents everything that makes human stand out from the animals:
- genius creativity
- changing the world
- making history
So much fun, play, and euphoria — so many challenge, grind, and sacrifice.
“The top of the world.”
Let me show you.
The most beautiful word in the world
Once upon a time, there was a young boy.
His name was Alex.1Remember him well, because he will be our protagonist. <— Click these orange numbers for important extras.
Alex was Greek.
He lived with his parents — in poverty.
… but in love. And they all lived happily ever after.
The end. Umm… no, sorry. That’s a different story.
Alex’s parents were a king and queen.
… until his father had midlife crisis, so he found himself a younger, prettier wife.
In return, his mother made everyone believe that Alex’s father was not him, but Zeus himself.
But his father’s midlife crisis was so strong, that he conscripted every men into his army — to expand his empire to the neighbouring kingdom.
Meanwhile, his mother burned alive his father’s new wife and daughter.
And when Alex thought it couldn’t get any shittier, the life said “hold my beer” — his father was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
Boom, the young boy (at the age of 20) became the new king.
But because his teenager years were sooo fucking “perfect” thanks to his parents, he certainly, definitely, 100% did not want to become like them.
… so he started to implementing his father’s master plan — with his mother’s support.
In the beginning, he consolidated his power in his heritage:
In the next few years, he accomplished his father’s ambitions — expanded his empire into neighbouring Persia.
And he went faaar beyond that — to Egypt, Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Babylonia.
But he was just getting started — Alex had plans for expansion into the Arabian Peninsula, Carthage in Rome, and the Iberian Peninsula.
And finally, the Great Outer Sea — the ends of the world.
And it wasn’t just a young fool’s dream, it was a real possibility — he never lost a battle in his whole life, despite being outnumbered many-many times.
“One of the greatest military strategists and leaders in world history.”
—Britannica
So a decade later (at the age of 30) he had one of the greatest empires in history — stretches from Greece to India.
Which had a lot of consequences:
- it became the greatest empire in the ancient Greek history
- so the ancient Greek civilization spread across the world
- and it served as a “precondition” for the next big civilization: Rome
- which allowed Christianity to spread easily when the time came
- and it helped to pave the way for the rise of centuries of Byzantine rule
It happened a long time ago, yet it has had a huge impact on later times — even our lives today.
One of the cities he founded is a good illustration of this in a small scale.
A city with one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.2It was the most famous lighthouse in antiquity — no wonder, since it was such a technological triumph, that it became the archetype of all lighthouses since.
A city with the largest library in the ancient world.3 It made the city the capital of knowledge and learning.
And a city with one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.4 It was the greatest empire in ancient Greek history, so the Greek culture spread like never before and launched the Hellenistic period of ancient Greek civilization, whose influence was still present in the Byzantine Empire — almost 2,000 years later.
The greatest city of its time — surpassed only by Rome in size and wealth (300 years later).
And the greatest empire of its time — stretched across three continents.
… and all this was achieved by Alex.
- a twentysomething years old dude
- with a really fucked up childhood
- in less than a decade
The boy, who reformed warfare, and his tactics and siege innovations remain a significant subject of study in military academies worldwide — almost 2500 years later.
The boy, who became a role model for many great people, like:
The boy, who would have ruled the world if he had not died prematurely (at 32).
That’s how he earned his name to be the most beautiful word in the world.
The boy, whose name has become synonymous with greatness.
Little Alex.
Alexander the Great.
“Everything that we see realized in this world is nothing more than the external result, the practical realization, the embodiment of thoughts that lived in eminent people throughout the world; the soul of the full story of the world is — we may assert — their history.”
—Thomas Carlyle
The name of the game
The word that every athlete strives for.
The name that every ruler has put on himself.
The idea that many people dedicate their whole lives to.
Greatness.
The name of the game.
Alexander won the game, so he earned the name.
… but he’s not the only one:
- Peter the Great
- Constantine the Great
- Alfred the Great
- Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”)
- Catherine the Great
An entire wikipedia page lists how many “the Great” there are.
But none of them are known by as many people as Alexander the Great — even combined.5To find out who most people know as “the Great”, I looked at the number of Google searches. The other “the Greats” don’t even make Alexander when you add up the number of searches they get.
So, the question is:
How did Alexander became THE great?
He had something the others didn’t…
A kingmaker.
In Persia (Alexander’s first occupied kingdom) there is an old Persian title “Great King”. It’s the colloquial version of “the Great”. The title was inherited by Alexander III when he conquered the Persian Empire.
… but no one called him it.6There is absolutely no evidence that he was called “the Great” in his lifetime.
He was Alexander III. — third under this name.
How much shittier it sounds.
Even though Alex has worked really hard to be not only the third. But as it turned out, it’s not enough to do great things to become “the Great”.
It’s not enough to be a king — you need a kingmaker.
That’s why it took more than a century after Alex’s death to become “Alexander the Great”.
But how?
The kingmaker of the story (Plautus) referenced Alexander as “the Great” in his famous comedy — assumed that everyone knew who “Alexander the Great” was. And the self-fulfilling prophecy came true: after the comedy became famous, everyone knew who “Alexander the Great” was.
So that’s what greatness requires:
- a king
- and a kingmaker
Greatness exists in humanity’s collective mind — in our brain. But we can see only crowns.
A brain and a crown — what you “see” inside, and what others see outside.
To achieve greatness, you have to control:
- your own brain
- other people’s brains
Brain function is called “cognitive skill“.
Cognitive skills — functions, abilities, capacities — are the brain-based skills, which are needed mostly for two things:
- acquisition of knowledge (inner world)
- manipulation of information (outer word)
In other words:
- thinking
- communication
The two main elements of greatness — the brain and the crown.
- First, you build a world in your own head
- Then, you extend it to other people’s minds
Inner world, outer word.
And this way, you can change the outer world — achieve greatness.
Forget the nuclear bomb.
The most powerful weapons in the world are thinking & communication.
… and not only weapons, but also the most powerful defense system:
- Communication is mind-control
- Thinking is the immunity against it
The power of ideas and words — inner world, outer word.
- Inner world is mind-control of yourself
- Outer word is mind-control of others
- Inner world is building
- Outer word is selling
- Inner world can shape the course of history (kings)
- Outer word can write the history (kingmakers)
Inner world is thinKING.
Outer word is KINGmaking.
These are such important, powerful and deep skills, that they usually require at least two people — a brain and a crown. One to think, the other to communicate.
Behind every king, there stands a kingmaker.
Alexander became the king, but the kingmaker is Plautus.
But which is more important?
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
—Swami Vivekananda
OR
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
—Rudyard Kipling
The chicken or the egg.
It doesn’t matter!
What does matter: If you alone embody both, no one can stop you from becoming great.
“No matter what people tell you, words AND ideas can change the world.”
—Robin Williams
What is greatness?
Greatness exists in the outer world:
- to see yourself as a king (inner world)
- to be seen as a king by others (outer word)
You see the brain, others see the crown.
When I started to chase greatness, I tried everything — I created, created, created… but none of them was great.
To create, you have to give something of yourself. A piece of you.
I realized I’m empty.
You can only diffuse what you absorb first.
Greatness is not just your work. It’s you — plus your work.
Greatness = You + Your work.
Inner world, outer word.
Thinking, communication.
What you “see”, what others see — the brain and the crown.
You + Your work.
That’s what DiMolnar is about.
In the “Inner world”, you will master thinking.
In the “Outer word”, you will master communication.
The two side of Greatness.
- You
- Your work
In the introduction, we said that greatness represents everything that makes human stand out from the animals:
- genius creativity
- changing the world
- making history
If you take a closer look, these are the two big parts — and the bridge between them.
Creativity is how to think. Communication is how to leave a legacy. And with these two tools, you will change the world.
In different words:
- Everyone is born as a genius.
- Someone not forget that in their life.
- Only a few leaves history behind.
Birth, life, death.
First, you will build up your inner world. Then, you will transform it into outer word.
… and with these two tools, you will earn the most beautiful word in the world:
Greatness.
Well, I have some bad news… the name “the Great” is already taken by Alexander.
But don’t worry, there’s good news too… there are two other names looking for owners:
- “the King”
- “the Kingmaker”
Want to get them?
Start here!
… but it’s just the beginning.
Here’s the full list of what you can expect:
- Inner world — It’s you: self-improvement, psychology, thinking. To become king.
- Outer word — It’s your work: creativity, social-psychology, communication. To become kingmaker.
- Modern — It’s the extra: bonus articles for inner world & outer word. Always up-to-date, never taught in school.
- Ancient — It’s my bestest work: in only 2 books. Everything is evergreen… the opposite of my articles.
- Hall of Fame — It’s the supporter team: people with whom we make it all happen. Join us (in 2 minutes).
- Wall of Nameless — It’s the exclusive club: my only 2 topics, in 2 minutes. Only in emails… nowhere else.
- Myself — It’s me: past to present. The way how I wanted to become a kingmaker.
- My journey — It’s me: present to future. The way how I am becoming a kingmaker.