Alexander the Great - The Macedonian Who Conquered the World by Sean Patrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another good motivator from Sean Patrick. This time the choice of the author is Alexander the Great, who plundered everything in his way. What made him do so?

“Drive in One’s Self” is the main topic of discussion in this book. After the famous Genius Code description by the author in his previous book, the one great motivator that makes a person great is said to be the Drive to achieve his/her passion; just like Alexander the Great, from Macedon. Alexander took his throne of Macedon at a young age of twenty, and surprised everyone through his extra ordinary warrior skills and ruthless fighting spirit. His passion to conquer entire known world and introduce the superior Hellenic culture across the world was his purpose and goal. He went on to suppress all kinds of internal revolts against him from his family members, tribes of Thracia, Thebes, Athens and Thessaly. His formidable armed forces of experienced warriors, though small could devastate much larger armies in their way under the command of their great leader. He went on to conquer all the kingdoms around Macedon and also the vast and rich Persian empire with the same zeal and ferociousness. One by one, all major kingdoms including Persia, Illyria, Thebes, Boetia, Phoenicia, Plataea, Babylonia, Gaza, Egypt and part of India fell for the great warrior, unable to face the superior war strategies and the unbeatable winning spirit of Alexander. His soldiers were always charged with the same passion that drove Alexander and were unstoppable in every land they invaded and conquered. He led his undefeated army for 22,000 miles and founded 70 cities in just 12 years. Ultimately, in 323 B.C., Alexander succumbed to a mysterious fever, at the age of 32, when he was said to be under a depression and loss of his wild drive to establish a superior way of life and lift it to a new echelon of economic, social and academic prosperity across the world.

Positives: Alexander’s history summarized very effectively in this short book. His theory of working towards the goal through a definite purpose, confidence, diligent analysis and planning is quite inspiring. His interesting philosophies like “I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity” are worth noting down. The author’s selection of great leaders to bring out his valid points is impressive, a great way of inspiring the reader. Must read more on The Gordian Knot of King Midas.


Negatives: Everyone cannot be an Alexander as this great king could achieve what he did through his barbaric force and ruthless terror, not in a civilized world. The volcanic drive inside Alexander and his superior planning can be adopted but not the means he adopted to achieve his goals. What’s the use of having a short life with forced glory?

My rating is 3.25 out of 5


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