People Power: The source of unconquerable power - July 2025
By Sam Allman
I’ve been writing this column for over ten years, exploring ideas and principles I know are powerful because they work. I’ve seen them take root in my life and the lives of others. Apart from the personal stories, most of the wisdom I’ve shared didn’t originate with me. I often wish it had. I’m not that smart, nor that wise. What I am, however, is curious, persistent and well-read. I’ve spent years studying what drives results, both individually and through others, drawing insights from some of history’s greatest minds.
Still, I often wonder how different my path might have been if I had internalized these lessons in my early 20s. But as life has taught me, knowledge alone isn’t enough. It must be lived, tested and refined before it becomes wisdom. Benjamin Franklin said it well, “Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” Goethe echoed the same truth, “To know and not to do is not to know.”
These reflections have been swirling in my mind for the last few weeks as I’ve traveled through several countries in Africa. Much of the continent is still developing, and for many people here, daily life is visibly more demanding than in the United States. From my outsider’s perspective, survival requires more effort, more ingenuity and more resilience. But as I’ve written before, life is hard for everyone, regardless of status or circumstance, rich or poor, free or oppressed. The challenges may differ in form, but the difficulty is universal.
Why is that? Because even surviving in this world demands a steep learning curve. Thriving, flourishing beyond mere existence, requires even more. It calls not only for the acquisition of both knowledge and experience but also for the accumulated wisdom to use and to act on what was learned from both.
As I traveled, I revisited the meaning of this column’s title: People Power. It has always been about results-the ability to act with intention, to influence and to lead oneself and others. But what is power, really? Power implies strength. And to have the power to do anything, you must be stronger than the obstacles in your way.
I thought of the lion cub learning to hunt, and the young antelope learning to evade it-elemental lessons in survival. In Africa, these metaphors feel more immediate. I realize that the drive to flourish is often preceded by, and limited by, the drive to simply survive.
What use are knowledge and wisdom if we lack the will to act? What happens when the lion cub is too hungry to hunt or the antelope too tired to run? That’s when we must reach deep to uncover our inner strength-the will to persist and move forward.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” Inner strength reveals itself in moments of doubt, whether the obstacles are internal, like fear or inertia, or external, like hardship or resistance. As Bob Marley put it, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”
Inner strength enables us to use our knowledge and wisdom effectively. It provides the emotional stability, mental discipline and moral courage needed to act on what we know to be right and true. Knowledge is information; wisdom is judgment. However, without inner strength-qualities such as resilience, self-control, confidence and integrity-neither knowledge nor wisdom reliably translate into effective action.
For example, someone may know the right course of action in a difficult situation, but fear, self-doubt or external pressure can prevent them from following through. Inner strength is what enables that person to overcome internal resistance and external obstacles. It gives them the patience to wait when it’s wise to do so, the courage to speak up when it’s difficult, and the humility to admit when they
are wrong.
Moreover, it’s also what keeps people consistent with their values, especially under pressure. Inner strength turns insight into impact and knowledge into purposeful behavior.
In a world that demands strength, not just of the body, but of heart, mind and spirit, inner strength gives us the power to survive and thrive. Some of that strength is built through daily discipline, mindset and values. The rest is forged in the crucible of experience-painful and humbling, but formative.
If we allow it, life doesn’t just harden us-it refines us. It makes us stronger, wiser, more resilient and more compassionate. In doing so, we don’t just endure life; we rise to meet it. We flourish not because life is easy but because we’ve become the kind of people who can flourish in difficulty.
In Africa, I’ve seen people face hardship with strength and dignity; often with grace, perseverance, and joy. It reminded me that real power isn’t about escaping life’s burdens; it’s about building the strength to carry them.
Power: The interplay off inner and physical strength
In any endeavor-personal, professional or societal-power doesn’t come solely from authority or physical ability. True power is underpinned by both physical vitality and inner strength, both emotional resilience and spiritual fortitude. These dimensions of strength are interwoven, each reinforcing the other to create a foundation upon which enduring power is built.
Physical strength: The grounding force
Physical strength is often the most visible form of power. It enables us to act, endure and recover. Athletes, soldiers, laborers-each depends on their bodies to meet challenges. But physical fitness also boosts mental and emotional wellbeing. Regular exercise helps reduce stress, improves mood and enhances cognitive function.
If physical strength grounds people power, then inner strength drives it. It is the invisible will, clarity and purpose that sustain our efforts. Where physical strength holds the line, inner strength holds the “why.”
Inner strength is the compass of people power, the conscience that prevents it from becoming mob rule, the hope that keeps it alive when the odds are long. It’s what enables us not just to fight, but to heal, unify and build something better.
Inner strength: The driving force of people power
Inner strength, mental resilience, emotional intelligence, integrity and self-mastery are arguably the most critical and complex forms of power. They govern how you show up, how you respond to adversity and how effectively you influence others. Inner strength is what helps a person endure challenges, maintain integrity, exercise courage and pursue meaningful goals, even in the face of significant obstacles. It’s the invisible force that keeps people steady and grounded during life’s storms and manifests in consistent behaviors, choices and attitudes.
Imagine a tree standing alone on a hill. The seasons change around it-spring’s warmth, summer’s blaze, autumn’s winds and winter’s biting cold. Storms come. The wind howls. Lightning flashes. The tree bends, but it does not break. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived,” wrote Robert Jordan in The Fires of Heaven.
What keeps it standing isn’t what’s seen above the ground but what lies beneath: a strong root system, deep and wide, anchoring it firmly into the earth. Those roots draw nourishment even in drought and hold fast when the soil shakes.
That’s inner strength. It’s quiet but unshakable. It grows with every challenge met, every value upheld, every time we choose perseverance over quitting and integrity over compromise.
Inner strength is a quiet but powerful force that enables us to navigate life with resilience, clarity and grace. It allows us to manage emotions rather than be ruled by them, to persist through fear and setbacks, and to do what is right, even when it’s hard. Rooted in self-trust and moral courage, it gives us the steadiness to uphold our values, keep our word and grow from our mistakes.
When I think of inner strength, I think of Nelson Mandela, which, of course, in part, is also because I’m here in South Africa. I stood where he gave his first speech after his “long walk to freedom,” where he was imprisoned for 27 years and later elected president. I see the living legacy of a man who chose dignity over bitterness and reconciliation over revenge.
Mandela endured long years of physical isolation and mental hardship, yet he emerged not bitter, but stronger, more determined to reconcile and rebuild his country. His strength came from a deep belief in justice and equality, emotional control in the face of suffering, and a vision and purpose greater than his pain. He led with moral clarity, quiet courage and unwavering dignity, even under pressure and prejudice.
Mandela often recited Invictus by William Ernest Henley during his imprisonment. Its closing lines-“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”-reflected his belief in personal responsibility and the power of will. “Invictus” means “unconquered.” That’s the essence of inner strength. No matter the hardship, it is the spirit that does not break. It’s the force that transforms adversity into growth.
Even when the world around us feels unpredictable, painful or beyond our control, we retain sovereignty over one essential domain-our internal world. Our thoughts, choices and attitudes remain ours to command. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and renowned psychiatrist, captured this truth with profound clarity. In the midst of unimaginable suffering, he discovered what he called the “last of the human freedoms”: the ability to choose one’s response in any given set of circumstances. This freedom, he argued, cannot be taken from us, no matter how dire the external situation.
Inner strength is born from this awareness. It gives us the capacity to face suffering with dignity and to transform adversity into something meaningful. It enables us to pause before reacting, to reflect instead of simply resisting, and to move forward with intention even when the path is steep. While we may not control what happens to us, inner strength empowers us to shape what happens within us, to endure without breaking, to grieve without becoming bitter, and to rise beyond difficulty without losing ourselves in the process. It’s this internal resilience that allows us not only to survive chaos but to emerge from it wiser, deeper and more fully alive.
Ultimately, inner strength is what allows us to endure hardship without becoming hard ourselves. Mandela and Frankl showed us that strength can be firm without cruelty, and that true power begins on the inside.
That is people power-the power not just to survive adversity but to transform it into something greater.