What You Can Learn From James Bond’s Weaknesses – How to Be Better Than 007
Welcome to the third and final instalment of the James Bond badass analysis. In case you missed them, the previous two articles have covered:
The James Bond Skillset – the skills and knowledge that make Bond as dangerous as he is.
The James Bond Mindset – the traits and behaviours that make up the unstoppable Bond persona.
All up, we’ve gone through a ton of different things that you can steal from Bond to improve your own results. But there’s still one final piece we need to cover – what not to do. Specifically, I’m talking about the flaws and weaknesses that make Bond a little more human.
I’ve got three big character weaknesses to go through, all things you’ll want to minimise and get under control in your own life.
Now, let’s go through them one by one.
Avoidant Personality
It would be an understatement to say James Bond is independent. He takes being a lone wolf to an entirely new level – one that comes with its fair share of drawbacks and consequences.
He gets away with it to some extent because of the skills and mindset covered in previous articles. But when push comes to shove, Bond insists on working solo not because it’s better for the mission but because he’s afraid of getting too close to other people.
We see this in his relationships, where he seems to find a new love interest in every movie while seemingly only ever allowing himself to truly love one of them – Vesper from Casino Royale. Unfortunately, she would go on to betray him, further reinforcing his solitary beliefs and methods.
Although Bond’s level of independence can seem compelling, I think we should actually tilt in the other direction here. Rather than pushing people away and insisting on handling everything yourself, I recommend prioritising building healthy relationships.
This does open you up to getting hurt just like Bond fears. But the potential upside – the support, love, and life experience – far outweighs any risk of emotional hardship.
Arrogance
Unfortunately, arrogance tends to be forgiven when backed up by competence.
This couldn’t be more true with Bond, who consistently displays a planet-sized ego and disdain for anybody who disagrees with him. But thanks to his mastery over his trade and his ability to always come out on top, we look past and forgive his flaws.
Unfortunately, if you were to bring that same level of arrogance into your own life, people wouldn’t be so forgiving. Even if you were somehow as skilled as 007 himself… which none of us are.
No, quite the opposite would happen. You’d quickly drive away the people around you and become the dude that never gets invited to parties.
Instead, you’re far better off developing healthy levels of confidence while trying to stay well in touch with and humbled by your weaknesses. This will help you simultaneously maximise your ability to perform and improve, while also maintaining relationships with the people around you.
Inexpressive Communication
Despite what all those self-proclaimed ‘sigma males’ on Instagram think, the unreactive, inexpressive persona that Bond and many other action heroes possess, isn’t actually something you want to emulate.
As a dude who is naturally somewhat monotone and inexpressive, I’d love it if carrying yourself in this way could be deemed charismatic. But it simply isn’t.
It works for Bond because he’s a man of insanely high status and the camera follows him around – this last part can’t be understated. We’re forced to watch him at all times.
But for most of us, being quiet and inexpressive will actually have the opposite of the desired effect. Rather than commanding a room with an aura of mystery and quiet confidence, you’ll fade into the background and go completely unnoticed. For better or worse, louder communication styles tend to be the ones that get the most attention.
The guys from the Charisma on Command YouTube channel have spoken about exactly this concept. Check out the video below for an awesome explanation.
With all of the above in mind, rather than trying to be calm and mysterious like 007, I recommend steering towards authentic expression of emotion. If something excites you, make it clear. Don’t hide your thoughts and feelings behind a mask.
Sure, some people might not like your authentic expression, but that’s fine. Far better to have some people love you and some people dislike you than to go unnoticed by everybody.
So, what are your takeaways?
Is there anywhere in your own life that you might be making one of these big three mistakes?
If so, how will you go about fixing it?
Food for thought.