The Greats

The greatest leaders in history. Alexander, Napoleon, Caesar. They won because they followed a few timeless principles that show up again and again, in history. I spent the last month reading the lives of the greatest military leaders in history. This episode goes over 15 timeless leadership principles you can apply in your work and in your life.Books from this episode: Barry Strauss's Masters of Command, Philip Freeman's Alexander the Great, Hannibal, and Julius Caesar, Emil Ludwig's Napoleon Biography, Andrew Roberts's Napoleon: A Life, and The Military Maxims of Napoleon.Join My Book Club: https://www.skool.com/thegreatsVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:37 Build Loyalty By Sharing Hardship08:45 Be At The Point Of Collapse Yourself13:32 March Inside The Enemy's Decision Cycle17:23 Arrive Where Arrival Is Impossible21:48 Mass Everything On The Hinge24:04 Win With Quality When You Cannot Win With Mass28:02 Do Not Pause After The Win30:38 Inspect The Actual Units Yourself33:28 Never Accept The Fight They Designed37:42 Drill The Motion Until It's Boring40:26 Complete Meritocracy43:21 Structure Your Speeches To Inspire48:06 Become More Than Human51:37 Make Your Personal Risk Visible54:54 Be LuckyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munozX/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozTo sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Great Men are the drivers of history. Napoleon, Alexander, Caesar, are all the same archetype. This episode is an analysis of that archetype. We go through the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Emerson, Hegel, Goethe, and Carlyle. These philosophers have defined the Great Man for a Millenia. This episode is for those with dreams of being a Great Man. Subscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog Join My Book Club: https://www.skool.com/thegreatsVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:41 Defining Greatness15:09 Examples Of Greatness27:41 Paradox Of Greatness35:02 Should You Seek Greatness41:15 How To Become GreatInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munozX/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozTo sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Elon Musk is Literally Napoleon. In his own words: "Napoleon was incredible. If they see their general on the battlefield, they will be more motivated. I learned that by reading about Napoleon." I have read thousands of pages on both Elon and Napoleon and I am convinced that Elon Musk is literally Napoleon. They think the same way. They work the same way. Their organizations are structured the same way. This episode goes over 13 similarities between Elon Musk and Napoleon Bonaparte, split into three sections (their mindset, their work habits, and their organization). These similarities are often what makes them great, and are applicable for founders, CEOs, and operators. Subscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog Join My Book Club: https://www.skool.com/thegreatsVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:42 Both Are Outsiders05:55 Both Study The Greats Of History13:03 Both Treat Business Like War16:42 Both Think Like A Physicist21:24 Both Work 100+ Hours Per Week Minimum25:51 Both Compartmentalize Their Work28:29 Both Sleep Around The Work31:25 Both Lead From The Front34:38 Both Were Obsessed With The Minutiae40:02 Both Use A Corps System45:11 Both Believe In The Meritocracy Culture48:34 Both Had Extremely Tight Communication Lines53:09 Both Set A High Standard For ExcellenceInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munozTwitter: https://x.com/nic_munozTo Sponsor An Episode:https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest workaholics in history. John D. Rockefeller himself said that if Napoleon had applied himself to commerce and industry he would have been the greatest businessman the world has ever known. This episode extracts the 15 work habits that let him conquer Europe and maps them onto modern founders, CEOs, and operators. Especially in the age of AI where you need skills like dictation and speed in order to win, this video is especially worth watching.Check out Fitnexa's SomniPods 3 here and get $10 off: https://go.fitnexa.com/x8jEadSubscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog Join My Book Club: https://www.skool.com/thegreatsbookclubVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:39 Compartmentalization05:56 Sleep Around The Work08:50 Dictation At All Hours13:16 The Correspondence Machine18:51 Eat Little Food21:42 Complete Concentration25:06 Create Systems29:16 Speed, Speed, Speed32:16 Constantly Asking For More35:12 Boundless, Boundless Energy39:46 Never Leave The Scene Of Action42:39 Be In The Weeds45:18 Remedy By Extreme47:50 Allow For Flexibility49:59 Study The GreatsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munozX/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozOUR SPONSORS•A big thank you to @FitnexaAI and the Somnipods3 for making this video possible! Use PROMO CODE: NICMUNOZ10 for 10$ off your purchase.To sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Jeanne Reames is one of the most knowledgeable living historians of Alexander the Great. She teaches Macedonian history and spends her career separating the man from the myth he spent his life building. In this conversation she explains why almost everything we “know” about Alexander arrives three hundred years late, filtered through Roman writers with their own agendas, and why the earliest surviving source is farther from his death than we are from George Washington.Alexander was already managing his image in his own lifetime. He dragged Aristotle’s nephew Callisthenes on campaign as an embedded historian and understood marketing better than his father. The real Alexander was a control freak who wore what John Keegan called the mask of command: he presented the version of himself he needed his army to follow across thousands of miles. Great commanders, Reames argues, are miniature psychologists. They read the opponent. That is how a young king used Philip’s army, the sarissa phalanx, and the hammer-and-anvil to win nearly every battle he fought, and why the further he got from home, the more that gift failed him.The episode is also a study in what made a Macedonian king different from a tyrant: sacred charisma, daily sacrifice, an oath with the army, and a job that was religious as much as military. Reames walks through Philip’s astonishing reconstruction of Macedon, Alexander’s childhood among the companions, the Bucephalus story without Plutarch’s Hollywood line, and why Alexander competed with Heracles more than Achilles. The point is not to worship a conqueror. It is to see how a 20 year old held a throne, rebuilt a kingdom, and then turned it into an empire before he was 33.Check out Fitnexa's SomniPods 3 here and get $10 off: https://go.fitnexa.com/x8jEadSubscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram:   / nic.munoz  📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozVIDEO CHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:37 Myth vs. Reality & Alexander’s Self-Marketing7:12 The Mask of Command & the Real Alexander12:48 Philip II, the Sarissa & the Army Alexander Inherited25:11 Bucephalus & What the Horse Story Reveals38:41 Sacred Charisma: What Makes a King, Not a Tyrant43:46 Sacrifices, Libations & the King’s Religious Role47:09 Heracles vs. Achilles & Who Alexander Actually Emulated1:01:18 Frontline Leadership1:07:04 Arrogance, Destiny & Marketing Himself1:09:09 What Alexander Read: the Iliad, Euripides & Memory1:13:47 Siege Engines, Puzzle-Solving & Tyre1:25:32 Entering Babylon & Choosing a Capital1:29:25 Myths, Honor & How the Ancients Thought1:39:44 “History Is a Set of Lies Agreed Upon”1:40:06 The Two Deaths of Alexander📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysoc...📄OUR SPONSORS•A big thank you to @FitnexaAI and the Somnipods3 for making this video possible! Use PROMO CODE: NICMUNOZ10 for 10$ off your purchase.To sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/spons...

Alex Honnold free soloed the Northwest Face of Half Dome, Moonlight Buttress, El Sendero Luminoso, and El Capitan. No one else has soloed El Cap. This video looks at how he did it by treating climbing the way a samurai treats combat: complete devotion to the craft.Honnold put it simply: “For me, it’s all about performance. The thing is, anybody can be happy and cozy. Nothing good happens in the world by being happy and cozy. It’s about being a warrior.” The same mentality shows up in Rockefeller, Napoleon, Tesla, Da Vinci and anyone else who refused to treat their work as a hobby.Check out Fitnexa's SomniPods 3 here and get $10 off: https://go.fitnexa.com/x8jEadSubscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munoz📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munoz📻Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7D4b74TWxPDisewnx8aAYzVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:22 The Modern Day Samurai04:27 Stage One: The Calling11:40 Stage Two: The Forging16:30 Stage Three: The Execution📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysociety📄OUR SPONSORS•A big thank you to @FitnexaAI and the Somnipods3 for making this video possible! Use PROMO CODE: NICMUNOZ10 for 10$ off your purchase.To sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast#Fitnexa #SomniPods3 #SleepEarbuds

Philip Of Macedon is one of the most under rated greats in all of history. He is the foundation of Alexander The Great, and the man who took Macedon from farmers to soldiers. In this video I go over his blueprint for leadership that you can apply at your company, or your work, or your life.Subscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munoz📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:56 Be Able To Inspire10:06 Be An Innovator13:52 Constant Drilling16:33 Superb Diplomat📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysocietyTo sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang are some of the greatest CEO's in the world. I read all of their biographies to find out how they work. In this video I go over the 10 work habits that I see repeated in all of their lives. Welcome to work-maxxing 101.Check out Fitnexa's SomniPods 3 here and get $10 off: https://go.fitnexa.com/x8jEadSubscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munoz📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munozVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:24 Super Human Work Ethic05:04 Fast Iteration08:29 A Sense Of Urgency14:49 Take Large Risks18:50 A Focus On A-Players22:57 Build A High Intensity Culture25:04 Operate At The Bottleneck27:02 Use Fear As Fuel29:16 Study The Greats31:07 Constant Repeating Of Vision📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysociety📄OUR SPONSORS•A big thank you to @FitnexaAI and the Somnipods3 for making this video possible! Use PROMO CODE: NICMUNOZ10 for 10$ off your purchase.To sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

Ben Wilson has been one of my heroes for years. He has been the inspiration for the channel, and my personal inspiration to study the greats. It was truly a blessing and honor to get to interview him.In this episode we talk about five leaders in history who were able to sway the masses. We talk about Napoleon, Caesar, and Hamilton along with two more characters. This conversation is a masterclass in persuasion, public speaking, and aura.Subscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munoz📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munoz🎞️Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicmunoz/VIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:32 Leader No.143:48 Leader No.21:02:28 Leader No.31:22:18 Leader No.41:49:40 Leader No.5📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysocietyTo sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast

John D. Rockefeller led Standard Oil into one of the largest monopolies in history. What most people don't talk about though, is how brilliant Rockefeller was as a leader. He stuck with a few simple maxims that allowed him to conquer the oil industry, so in this video I go over Rockefeller's 10 leadership principles so that you can apply them in your business and your life.Subscribe for a weekly newsletter: https://www.nicmunoz.com/s/blog 📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic.munoz📝X/Twitter: https://x.com/nic_munoz🎞️Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicmunoz/📻Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7D4b74TWxPDisewnx8aAYzVIDEO CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:17 Fight On The Frontlines04:02 Business Is War07:34 Quiet Confidence14:08 Work With The Best18:06 Hiring Practices23:07 The Enemy Effect25:52 Build A Strong Character27:55 Make ‘Perfect’ The Standard30:09 Belief In The Product📜JOIN MY COMMUNITY- The Biography Societyhttps://www.skool.com/thebiographysociety📄OUR SPONSORS•Brilliant, Check out courses in science, computer science, and mathematics on Brilliant! Start learning for free at https://brilliant.org/nicmunoz and get a 30-day free trial plus 20% off a premium subscription, which includes daily unlimited access!To sponsor a future episode, visit https://nicmunoz.substack.com/p/sponsor-the-podcast