#548 The Alexander the Great Dilemma: To Conquer the World or to Conquer the Self
Happiness Podcast
Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D.
4.4 • 920 Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2025
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Alexander the Great Dilemma: To Conquer the World or to Conquer the Self
What is true power? Is it found in conquering the world like Alexander the Great, or is it discovered in the quiet, resolute mastery of one's own mind? This podcast explores the two greatest conquests available to humanity: the world around us, and the universe within.
New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist
🎧 Listen to all Episodes of the Happiness Podcast NOW! https://www.HappinessPodcast.org
💛 Do you ever wonder what it takes to lead a peaceful, happy life? Are you curious about the specific steps involved in a self-actualized, limitless life? Are you struggling with anxiety or depression? Or are you just plain tired and want some help?
➡️ I explore all these concerns and more every week on the Happiness Podcast, which has been downloaded over 20 million times since its inception. Happiness does not happen by chance, it happens when we take specific actions in our lives to create it
💯 Welcome to my channel! My name is Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D. I am an author of 15 books, I am a TV show host, Psychology Today blogger, and corporate trainer. I have been studying the actions it takes to reach the highest levels of human achievement for decades, and I would love to share what I've learned with you! My Happiness Podcast is entirely free to listen to, so why not give it a try!
➡️ So, come and explore the Happiness Podcast, my books, and Psychology Today blog, the specific steps to take so that you can soar in your life!
*************
✅ Follow Dr. Robert Puff and the Happiness Podcast on social media:
Instagram ▶️ https://www.instagram.com/robertpuffjr/
LinkedIn ▶️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/doctorpuff
Twitter ▶️ https://twitter.com/HappinesPodcast
Facebook ▶️ https://www.facebook.com/HappinessPodcast/
📧 Email Dr. Robert Puff: [email protected]
📞 Contact Dr. Robert Puff: 1-714-337-4889
📲 WhatsApp Dr. Robert Puff: 1-714-337-4889
✅ Dr. Puff, Clinical Psychologist: https://www.DoctorPuff.com
� Music: By Kevin MacLeod
List of Referred Books:
- Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman
- The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
#AlexandertheGreat #conquertheself #conquertheworld #drrobertpuff #findinghappiness #newportbeachpsychologist #happiness #happinesspodcast
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Happiness Podcast. I'm Dr. Robert Puff. If we pause for a moment and think back |
| 0:14.3 | through our life, I bet we'll find a time when we thought we could conquer the world. |
| 0:20.6 | Now how we conquer the world can really vary. |
| 0:23.8 | For some of us, when we're younger, we want to go to the Olympics and get the gold medal. For |
| 0:30.1 | others of us, we want to be a rock star and someday sing in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans. |
| 0:38.3 | Many wish for fame and fortune to someday be on the cover of People magazine. |
| 0:44.3 | But for others of us, our goals may be more mundane but still lofty. |
| 0:49.3 | We may desire to have children and be the best parent that's ever lived. |
| 0:55.6 | We may be caught by the academic bug and aspire to get into Harvard, Stanford, or Cambridge someday. |
| 1:03.4 | And perhaps someday go to Stockholm and stand on the podium receiving our Nobel Prize. Our dreams of more influence, more meaning, |
| 1:15.6 | more control can vary, but the fundamental drive is to conquer. But what I want to explore |
| 1:23.6 | today is, do we achieve this conquering of the world by shaping the world to our will |
| 1:31.8 | or by shaping our own will? I think in history, the two most potent examples or symbols of these |
| 1:41.7 | two quests are the world conqueror exemplified by Alexander the Great |
| 1:47.7 | and the self-conqueror embodied by the figure of Stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius. |
| 1:54.0 | So what drives this ambition that so many of us experience in our lives, which manifests particularly when we're younger |
| 2:02.9 | and we haven't discovered that this conquest of the world is harder than we think. |
| 2:09.9 | And if you think I'm exaggerating, ponder the number of video games out there that so many |
| 2:16.1 | young people play where they are attempting |
| 2:19.9 | and often conquering the whole world. Over the years as a clinical psychologist, I've worked |
| 2:27.1 | with a lot of couples where the wives are very frustrated with their husbands because they spend |
| 2:33.5 | so much time on playing virtual |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.