Yesterday I wrote on what power is. Today let’s look at status, again because I find the more precisely you understand a concept, the better you can use it.

Status is important. Nearly everybody wants to have a higher status. Nobody wants to have the lowest status.

So what is status?

I came across this definition that works well for me. It doesn’t work as well as yesterday’s definition of power, but it works.

Status is access to resources

People with greater access to resources have greater status. When resources get scarce, people with status become important.

I like this definition because it’s simple and connects an otherwise vague concept to something measurable. It also shows how to increase your status. Making money gives you some access to resources, but other things do too.

Building power — the ability to influence others — nearly always increases your status. So developing skills to understand and manage the motivations and emotions of yourself and others enables you to increase your status. It’s not the only way, but it always works.

• ← What is power?
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