In 75 BC, Julius Caesar was sailing the Aegean Sea when he was approached and kidnapped by Cilician pirates. At only 25-years old though, he demonstrated a valuable principle that goes to show that you the way you act, is the way the world responds. Just like how I talk about in my book "Thoughts Become Things," similar to how Viktor Frankel gained freedom within his prison cell, Julius Caesar gained power while being held hostage from ruthless pirates. This is a short tale.

I Am Not A Prisoner, I Am Allowing You To Be Within My Presence

Once Caesar was aboard the ship, the first thing that he did was make the decision that he was not a prisoner of the ship despite his circumstances. When the pirates demand his crew to give them a ransom of 20 talons (which had a value of around 620kg, or around $600,000 dollars by today's standard,) Caesar scoffed at the demand and insisted that he was worth more. He told them that he refused to be accepted for less than 50 talons which was more than double the original demand. Surprisingly, the pirates agreed and Caesar's men left to go get the ransom.

After his crew sailed back to get the gold to free him, Caeser acted as if he was not a prisoner, but that the surrounding crew was actually responsible for him. Unlike most prisoners, he acted as if the pirates were subordinates rather than captures. He wrote poetry and speeches and then demanded that they listened to him as he spoke. When the pirates got rowdy, he would scold them and then insist that while he slept, they were to be quiet. This was quiet unusual, but for some reason the pirates enjoyed it in a genuine manner.

After a short while, Caesar gained full access to the ship and would eventually be able to leave whenever the ship docked. The prisoners started not only respecting him, but actually treated him, as if, he were their superior. He would join them in their exercises and other activities as any member on the ship would have.... but he was a prisoner... not a member.

Detesting the notion of still being, in a sense, a prisoner, Caesar told the members of the ship that once his crew came back to pay the ransom to free him, that he would return back one day to kill them all and crucify their bodies. Still seeing him as only being a prisoner, they all laughed at the notion, as if, he had been just joking. The laughter quickly died though after one day of him returning and fulfilling his own prophecy. He returned with a small army and, as he previously said to them, killed and crucified every one of his previous captures.

Makers of Our Own Destiny

Even though he was captured, imprisoned and initially disrespected, somehow, Julius Caesar managed to turn his circumstance from a negative, into a positive using nothing but his own character. Just like with how Viktor Frankel, who started in a Nazi death camp, but ended up becoming the highest respected member on the base, Caesar managed to weave himself into a new reality by acting himself into a new position. It took not force, nor incredible wit to change their circumstances. All it took was the willingness to act as if you want to be treated and waiting for the environment to respond to you, rather than you responding to your environment.

When you know exactly what it is that you want out of life, once you begin the creation of your new character, the world will revolve around you. Those who wait will have to reacted based around what the world does, but those who act now, will give the world no other option but to respond to them. This is one thing that will always hold true. You either let life happen to you, or you make life happen.

Thanks for reading this short segment.