Mike Tyson and Alexander the Great (about Strategy)

(This is an excerpt of the preface of the book "Strategy: the Secret Knowledge of Alexander the Great"

"The purpose of sharing this knowledge is to provide you with the tools necessary for your journey of personal growth and wisdom. This is not a biography of Alexander the Great, but rather a captivating journey through time in pursuit of the specific knowledge he acquired as a teenager—an expertise he wielded with mastery and brilliance to ultimately conquer the world. You will uncover the essence and foundation of his thought framework and acquire the guiding principles that elevated him to the status of the greatest strategist of all time.

While the presence of Alexander the Great, the finest strategist in history, infuses the narrative arc, other modern and ancient characters will accompany us: Steve Jobs, Michael Porter, Igor Ansoff, James Stockdale, Carl Gustav Jung, Isoroku Yamamoto, as well as figures from the classic past, including Sun Tzu, Philip II of Macedonia, Julius Caesar, David and Goliath, Marcus Licinius Crassus, Hannibal Barca, Fabius Maximus, and others. I am confident that their examples will endow you with solid, timeless, transformative, and ethical knowledge that becomes wisdom when put into practice.

This is not a work of fiction or a historical novel, so do not underestimate the transformative power inherent in the Secret Knowledge of Alexander the Great. Alexander’s enduring influence reverberates across centuries, leaving an indelible mark that transcends time itself and impacts the lives of unexpected individuals in unforeseen ways. For example, consider the case of a disheartened teenager who discovered inspiration in the young Alexander to conquer his own world, surmounting formidable odds and low self-esteem. In a recent conversation, the renowned American podcast host Joe Rogan engaged in an interview with former world heavyweight champion and Hall of Fame boxer Mike Tyson:

— I heard that you’ve been into studying Alexander the Great and things like that... Since when have you been interested in the subject?

— Since I was 15 years old — Tyson responded, his voice deliberate and measured, occasionally pausing as his breaths grew heavy, punctuated by moments of silence. He continued, recounting his teenage years in Brooklyn, where extreme poverty forced him to live in dilapidated buildings lacking fundamental necessities like water, heating, or electricity, and how the relentless bullying he endured due to his weight, lisp, and high-pitched voice led him to abandon public school. At this crucial stage of his early youth, he stumbled upon a revelation that not only transformed his mindset but also set a new course for his life.

By age 13, Mike Tyson had already been arrested thirty-eight times, and no one, including himself, had any hope that he would achieve anything positive in life. However, everything changed one day when he overheard a boy talking about Alexander the Great. According to this boy, Alexander was a huge and powerful young man who was over six feet tall and had conquered the world by age 20. This description fascinated the teenage Tyson, who believed that someone living three centuries before Christ and standing over six feet tall must have been truly a giant. Intrigued by this young and powerful character, Tyson decided to learn more about the supposed giant. But when he found out that Alexander was actually relatively shorter than his fellow Macedonians, his perspective changed. He looked at him differently and wanted to understand how he thought, and what was the mentality that had led him to conquer the world.

— I wanted to understand his mentality, —Tyson explained to Rogan.— I wanted to understand how he thought, and when I understood Alexander’s mind, I came to recognize that I, too, had the potential for greatness. It didn’t matter if I was coming from less-than-ideal circumstances, or that I faced disdain even from those in poverty, or that society had rejected me. Because Alexander wasn’t born great; he forged his greatness! — Tyson explained, recounting the pivotal shift that transformed his mindset at the age of 15.

And he continued: — Alexander wasn’t a ‘monster’ in terms of his physical attributes, but he possessed remarkable courage and intelligence. He came from a peripheral and undervalued kingdom, a land of shepherds and highlanders. His land was scorned by the Greeks and underestimated by the barbarians. Yet, he defied all odds, surpassing every conceivable expectation and achieved the unthinkable by conquering the entire known world of his time. —

It was then, inspired by Alexander and fueled by a newfound determination, that the teenager Mike Tyson later on emerged as the youngest boxer in history to clinch a world heavyweight title at a mere 20 years of age. Afterwards, before one of his stellar bouts against Lennox Lewis as a reigning champion, he shouted from the ring to his then future opponent: “I am Alexander! You ain’t Alexander!”.

Mike Tyson’s story mirrors hundreds of thousands of others that, for millennia and in diverse cultures, countries, and continents, have been inspired by the incredible, complex, human, and epic life of Alexander the Great. For millennia, this young Macedonian king, the descendant of Achilles on his mother’s side and of Heracles on his father’s, has been regarded by subsequent kings and emperors, generals and commanders, politicians, reformers, tyrants, leaders of all kinds, historians, and even professional athletes as the finest strategist in universal history. A fame so ancient and firmly established, echoed by other great figures such as Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Napoleon, and countless others, that it led historians like the late Professor Dr. Rufus Fears to declare that “as Mozart is to Music and Einstein is to Physics, so is Alexander to Strategy.”

Rogan continued with the interview and inquired of Mike Tyson whether, now that he was making a comeback to boxing, he still analyzed his opponents even at the age of nearly 50.

– When you were a boxer, and you were reading all this stuff about [Alexander] and the great conquerors, you were feeding your mind, and I know you were studying the fights a lot. You were studying all these great old-school champions. Are you doing it again now that you’re resurgent in boxing? Are you still studying the great fights?

– No. I don’t do that anymore, I did that when I was young, — Tyson replied, and continued. – I studied all the fights; I know the mentality of the warriors, the gladiators, and how they think. But then I wanted to go to the next level, so I started to study how the generals thought... and from the generals, I wanted to go to the next level, how the gods think...” — Tyson concluded.

If the example of Alexander the Great inspired a despondent teenager and millions of people across history, then the very knowledge he held, which you’ll acquire from this book, possesses the potential to profoundly shape your destiny. It’s only natural that your life will undergo transformation when you put into practice what you learn here. This is precisely why I’m convinced that if this book has found its way into your hands it is for a purpose — and that purpose will not be in vain. There’s no need to delay any further. We cannot deceive ourselves into believing that our purpose in this world revolves solely around amassing wealth and indulging in transient, fleeting, and mortal pleasures. Despite the 20th century being hailed as a pinnacle of progress, and that now we are on the AI era, our progress has unfortunately led us toward self-destruction because we continue to think like warriors while obtaining the technology of the gods.

To avoid a future of war, crime, and failure, individuals must chart their own destinies and think not like warriors or even like generals, but like gods. Nature itself provides the closest guide to this path, and the writings and wisdom from Antiquity remain the best source to obtain the necessary knowledge for the 21st century.

This book represents the culmination of over twenty years of research, three years of dedicated writing, and another one for publishing the English edition (the original edition is in Spanish). It was a period of solitary work, but as soon as the work was completed, the right people appeared to make it possible for you to have it in your hands today.

The most genuine and profound intention behind penning this book and unveiling one of the most ancient and transformative forms of knowledge, often designated as being “reserved for a select few,” is to furnish you with the best navigational instruments for your personal journey. I am confident that this book will unveil new paths that will guide you toward a noble purpose and equip you with the indispensable tools for all the decisions you will confront in your life. If it attains this objective, it would transcend being a mere “accomplished goal” and instead evolve into a legacy—an immense and humbling privilege for me. Throughout history, knowledge about Strategy has been passed solely through oral traditions, and you will also learn the reasons why it was not written down.

Every knowledge that brings about transformation in one’s life has its ideal moment and frequently arrives through unexpected paths. I invite you to embark on this journey and reflect on these two phrases that are in connection with the knowledge you will acquire:

"Since there is a divine order of learning that is superior to earthly knowledge and, moreover, is within our reach, now is the most opportune time to reestablish this sacred tradition." - Manly P. Hall

"Opportunities multiply as you seize them." - Sun-Tzu

Get the English version of the book here: https://shorturl.at/tUWbY