Tyrants vs. Saints: The Power That Changes Everything

What makes someone a tyrant, and what makes another a saint?

It’s not power itself that determines the outcome. It’s how—and more importantly, where—that power is applied.

The tyrant seeks to bend the world to their will. They apply power externally to remake the environment, people, or culture around them, often in the belief that if they can just change enough out there, they will finally feel whole inside. Saints, on the other hand, reverse this equation. They focus their power inward—working on themselves, healing their wounds, mastering their habits, refining their values. Ironically, it’s through this inward mastery that they end up changing the world more deeply than any tyrant ever could.

Let’s explore this difference through two of the most striking examples of the 20th century: Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi.

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The Tale of Two Powers

Hitler is a chilling case study in the external application of power. He believed he could construct an ideal world by reshaping it to his rigid, destructive vision. Everything about his life was aimed outward—toward conquering land, eliminating perceived threats, and exerting dominance.

His personal history was marked by rejection and failure. He had a strained relationship with his authoritarian father, lost a beloved brother at a young age, and was rejected from art school multiple times. In Vienna, he lived in poverty and obscurity. After World War I, Germany’s defeat left him humiliated and enraged—emotions he never resolved internally. Instead, he sought control on a global scale.

And yet, no matter how much power he amassed, it never seemed to be enough. He remained psychologically starved, endlessly lashing out. His external conquests never healed the internal wound. Ultimately, he ended his life in isolation and defeat, consumed by the very emptiness he tried to outrun.

Gandhi, by contrast, followed a radically different path.

As a young man, Gandhi struggled with temptation, shame, and self-doubt. He admitted to lying, stealing, and even eating meat in secret against his family’s spiritual principles. But rather than projecting these inner conflicts onto the world, he turned inward. He sought self-mastery through discipline—fasting, silence, celibacy, and an ever-deepening commitment to truth.

In doing so, he gained clarity, confidence, and influence—not by force, but by example. The world changed not because Gandhi overpowered it, but because people were drawn to his inner conviction. His revolution was not about domination but about demonstration.

So what separates tyrants from saints? Let’s break it down into three critical psychological dimensions: meaning, agency, and locus of control.

1. Meaning: The Story We Tell Ourselves

Meaning is the narrative we create to explain who we are and why we matter. For tyrants, meaning often stems from a feeling of deep inadequacy or failure. Their sense of “not enough” drives them to control everything outside themselves in hopes of finally feeling complete.

This is the tragedy of Hitler. No amount of conquest could erase the internal belief that he was a failure. His childhood wounds and adult humiliations formed a narrative of inferiority—one he tried to rewrite through brute force.

Gandhi’s story was also rooted in struggle. But instead of seeking outward validation, he sought truth. His meaning wasn’t based on what he could change in others, but what he could refine within himself. And through that personal transformation, he discovered a mission bigger than ego—one grounded in service.

2. Agency: What Can I Actually Control?

Tyrants obsess over controlling others. But the larger the system they try to manage, the more resistance they face—and the more frustrated they become. They mistakenly believe that if they can control enough of the world, they will find peace.

But this is a trap. No one can control the chaos of the world.

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Saints choose a different path. They focus on the one thing they truly can control: themselves. Their thoughts. Their actions. Their responses. This internal application of agency gives them a greater sense of peace and progress—even in a turbulent world.

3. Locus of Control: Where Power Resides

A tyrant has an external locus of control. They believe that their success and happiness depend on altering the world around them. This leads to an endless loop of manipulation, domination, and eventual disappointment.

Saints operate from an internal locus of control. They believe that change starts within—and that the world mirrors the self. By shifting their own consciousness, they believe they can shift society. And history shows they’re often right.

Where We Apply Our Power

We all have tyrant and saint energy within us. The question is: Where are we applying our power?

When we feel insecure, unfulfilled, or unseen, it’s tempting to project that pain outward. To change jobs. End relationships. Buy something new. Get louder. Force others to bend.

But none of that ever truly heals us.

Instead, we might ask: What within me is unhealed? What needs to be faced, owned, forgiven, or transformed?

By applying our power inward first, we build the foundation for outward impact. We don’t need to dominate the world to find meaning. We just need to align with it.

Let’s stop measuring power by how many people we can command—and start measuring it by how deeply we can change ourselves.