You Have Heard About High Value Women, But Do You Know About High Agency Women?
Women who disrupt the status quo not despite their circumstance but because of them.
To understand who a high-agency woman is, we first need to understand who a high-agency individual is. For that, we can look at mathematician and economist Eric Weinstein. He has a category of individuals he defines as a “high agency person.” As Eric would elaborate on Tim Ferriss’ podcast:
When you’re told that something is impossible, is that the end of the conversation, or does that start a second dialogue in your mind, how to get around whoever it is that’s just told you that you can’t do something? So, how am I going to get past this bouncer who told me that I can’t come into this nightclub? How am I going to start a business when my credit is terrible and I have no experience?
High agency individuals understand the difference between societal rules and human limitations and bridge that difference. High agency individuals are unresigned to the status quo and have an almost instinctual response to disrupt it. They are wholly in charge of their story and refuse to live within the confines and limitations placed by others. They are willing to break the “rules” because they understand those rules are artificial. These individuals are willing to bend reality to their fate. Steve Jobs said it best in an interview:
Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
A very good example of a high-agency man is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He was born in Austria and had an abusive childhood. As an escape, he watched movies, particularly those of Reg Park, a bodybuilder, and star in B-level Hercules movies. The films also helped propel Schwarzenegger's obsession with America, and the future he felt awaited him there. To get into America, be became the world’s top bodybuilder by winning an unprecedented five Mr. Universe titles and six Mr. Olympia crowns. Instead of shying away from Hollywood because of his thick accent, he capitalized off it and stared in films like Conan The Barbarian, The Terminator, and Total Recall. He then became a part of the Kennedy Family by marrying Maria Shriver. This marriage further cemented his status in American society because he essentially married American royalty. Finally, He won the 2003 race for Governor of California under the Republican party.
Arnold leaned into his unique sense of confidence, body-building ability, and deep conviction about himself. He came into the country that he dreamed of as a child, married into its Royal family, and became the governor of one of its most powerful states.
Now that we understand who a high-agency individual is, why do women need to develop a clear sense of agency?
Because for the better part of recorded human history, men have held socio-economic and political power. This power imbalance means that women who want to self-actualize have to face a unique set of challenges. Numerous women in history have used the cards that they were dealt with to advance their individual goals.
These women embody the quote:
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
which means “I shall either find a way or make one.”
They women respond to the challenges of life with the gusto of self-conviction in their abilities and strengths.
A modern example of a high-agency woman is none other than Cardi B.
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, also know as Cardi B, went from stripping to get out of an abusive relationship to instagram micro-celebrity for her candid raw insights into the underbelly of sex work. She then uses that micro-celebrity to land a spot on Love and HipHop, where she ends up outshining the main cast members. She then releases a series of hits that culminate in her smash hit Bodak Yellow. She has then gone on to win multiple awards, feature in multiple movies, and be compared to rappers with significantly better lyrical abilities such as Nicki Minaj.
Whether you like Cardi B or hate her, you have to respect the fact that his woman successfully pulled herself and her family from poverty using her cunning ingenuity, grit, and self-determination. Doing what she had always set out to do, “Grew up broke and do not want to die broke”.
Numerous high-agency women in history include Joan of Ark, Josephine Baker, Arianna Huffington, Cleopatra etc.
In a members only newsletter, which will becoming later this week, I will discuss how be can develop our agency. But till then, I will leave you with the words.
“How can you achieve your 10 year plan in the next 6 months?” — Peter Thiel
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Design your life.
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I consider myself to have high agency, but unfortunately, I'm neither ambitious nor hard-working. I grew up dreaming of being a high-flying workaholic, but as an adult, I just want to nap and watch Netflix.
I love Cardi B! She seems like a genuinely sweet person, but she tells it like it is!