Narcissism has had a terrible connotation for a long time. It has been disparaged by society, relegated to the sphere of wrongdoing and branded as immoral. The construct of narcissism is defined not by the narcissists themselves, but by the insignificant everyday persons, who in absence of success, levy complaint.
You might recognize these people, clustered together in a faceless barrage of pickets, scorning the 1% of society who actually had the courage to do something with their lives. The people who have managed to avoid festering in the shell of the average American dream.
Because the bottom of society loathes the top. They dream of toppling the hierarchy, and leveling everyone in its rubble — it’s the utopian ideal — but that’s communism, and we've already won the Cold War.
It’s free market capitalism. Nice guys finish last. Welcome to the advent of the narcissist.
The world is lacking leaders and the people who know how to be the boss. In the 99% movement, the nation was divided between two groups. And an attempted solidarity only serves to numb the individuation of the unelite. The 99% movement gave the 1% names and faces, but only managed to unify the masses as a conglomerate and conformed collective. This is the mindset that breeds contempt over success. Not the narcissist.
A recent study conducted by accredited psychologist Oliver James, has classified the four types of people who excel in business: psychopaths, Machiavellians, narcissists and the amalgamation of all three.
Sure the narcissist is haughty, arrogant, apathetic and egotistical, but he’s damn successful. These attributes are self-evident to a man who has worked hard to achieve his prosperity. This trait of self-adulation motivates leadership and inspires followers. Despite hating the narcissist, the average will rely on him to alleviate all situations, following him mindlessly like a chicken without a head.
Here is why it is actually a good thing to be a narcissist in our competitive business world:
Because You Should Feel Better Than Everyone Else
Our society hates the individual. No one should rise too quickly or be too smart. It takes a supreme confidence to climb the ladder of success. The rest are trampled by a quotidian future.
There’s no reason not to puff your chest and be proud, you’ve worked your ass off to do something special and to be better than everyone else. Tell the world to go fuck itself if it’s not happy with how you perceive yourself. Self-perception permeates social perception, and confidence demonstrates your superiority. If you believe you are better than everyone else, they will as well.
You Make For A Great Leader
Nice guys are the ones who slave away their whole lives for a narcissist. To be a leader and to be in charge of something, you need to have some pretty tough skin. Being a yes-man, sycophantic, or too agreeable with your subjects only makes those around you less productive and somewhat lazy.
Narcissists enjoy leadership positions because they are able to dominate others without explanation or need of constant positive reinforcement. Self-reliance is what distinguishes a narcissist from a commoner. Ordinary people need direction; the narcissist provides it because he has a constant assurance of his own skills in delegating tasks. He understands how to deal with people on both a personal and business level. And he loves doing it.
Take Ari Gold for example, the man is the quintessential narcissist. He drips self-confidence, more than any other character on television. Not only is he a great leader because he demonstrates an authority in making decisions, but he strongly believes that his decisions are the most rational ones. And this makes all the difference.
You Are Feared And Loved
This is one of the best qualities a leader can have. It’s the simple concept of being both feared and loved. Narcissists tend to have a large amount of charisma, they entertain people and make them laugh, but they’re also feared because they will do anything to get things done. The people a narcissist leads develop a love-hate relationship. The narcissist brings out the best of them because he drives them to work harder and they desire to please him.
You Know Exactly What You Want Out Of Life
A narcissist is focused. His work ethic is indefatigable. When he loves what he does and believes in his cause, there is no halting his progress. Narcissists are the kind of people who know what they want from life. This is a far stretch from the liberal arts youth whose great philosophical meanderings of purpose leave them stranded.
Being a narcissist means using charm, charisma, work ethic, confidence, arrogance and dominance to get to the top. And in today’s world all that matters is ending up at the top of the food chain, because no one cares about who is below. Yes, this means being impatient or compulsive, but that just develops a necessitation for the immediacy of success.
You Are Self-Centered
If you are not selfish, you will get nowhere. You’ll end up living dime to dime on your 401K. And, of course, if that’s your dream, go ahead and be nice and care about other people. But please stay out of the corporate world and go be a humanitarian to some impoverished nation. In this world, no one cares about you, and you shouldn’t care about anyone else. All that matters is you. No one is going to help you, so don’t worry about helping them.
Narcissists seek to devalue other people. And it works. They work harder because of it, and establishing dominance will weaken others as competitors. It’s a dirty game, but it's a game we have to play.
You Are An Asshole
Ruthless aggression and unflagging ambition will get you to the top. It’s okay to love yourself and to be unerring in your arrogance, because those are all qualities of successful people. How many nice people do you know who are successful? By being a narcissist you choose not to be average, living an average life. You believe you should have more in this life.
Your Dating Life Is Quite Exciting
Narcissism is business focused, but there are perks. You’re not the idiot in the Disney fantasy relationship. You become a playboy and a whore. Narcissists are more stylish and physically attractive. Narcissistic women consistently dress provocatively and narcissistic men demonstrate aesthetic confidence.
The narcissist game consists of quick hook-ups, because they thrill, it’s like being on a roller coaster. We get a rush out of convincing others to engage in promiscuous sexual acts that they might not normally feel comfortable with — i.e. putting peanut butter on their vagina.
Closing Thought
We’ve explored the connotation of narcissism in popular culture, and I will have convinced you by now of its need for re-appropriation. We shouldn’t frown on what distinguishes the strong from the weak. If you don’t want to be a narcissist, don’t complain to us that you haven’t accomplished anything in life.
