Characteristic traits and Trends Among Powerful Families (Part 1)

Some time ago, I wrote an article on 15 top characteristic arts of powerful nations. Today, I want to write on traits, trends and characteristics of powerful families. At least, we all have a family, and we want our families to be powerful. It starts by knowing the secrets behind the success of powerful families, their family trends, and history, and incorporating those traits, trends, and secrets into making and knitting our own family power. You do want to belong to a powerful family, right?

First off, let’s define the word ‘family’. What does the word family mean? What is a family?
Simply put, a family is a unit of support; providing emotional, social, psychological, financial and mental sustenance. It's comprised of people of blood relation, people of blood or social covenant.

A family of blood relation is usually comprised of people born of the same parents, in the same blood lineage, and/or adopted through legal means.

A family of blood or social covenant is made up of people with the same or common interest; close, secret or open. Associations such as marriage, clubs, social groups, secret societies and cults fall into the blood or social family.

In this article, however, the focus is on the family of blood lineage, divided into nuclear or extended family depending on make-up, number, and complexities.

Most people naturally wish they come from a known rich and powerful family such as the Rothschild’s, Rupert’s, Genovese’s, McMahon’s, Astor’s, Rockefellers’, Trump’s and so on. Unfortunately, a large percentage of people are not. That sometimes breaks their hearts or simply kept them wishing theirs could be as powerful. Well, yours is and can be too.

Having said that.

Why are some families more powerful than others? What do they do, that make them powerful? What are their family traits? What are their family trends? What are their secrets? What are the characteristics or ingredients? Is there any formula for acquiring family power? Can they be learned? These are questions this article wants to answer for you.

If you are ready, then, let’s proceed to the business quickly.

Effective Family Support System (EFSS)

Family support system (FSS) is one of the important instrument of power. Family support comes in varying ways or forms. These include love, loyalty, unity, togetherness, communication, information and opportunity sharing, social coordination and financial support.

Support is everything we need to acquire power and make it stand. A family that supports and provides for her members is more likely to attain some level of power. It can be support for an individual, their ideas or the family’s agenda.

Whichever way, a family that provides each other with support gains power. The key traits, trends, characteristics and secrets of the powerful family are “together and stronger”. The Rothschild’s family practised this to the extreme—they have a tradition of marrying themselves, probably to protect their business and preserve their family values.

Defined Long-Term Family Progress Agendas, (DLTFPA)

Most families around the world do have family agendas. Some, in a short-term range and others in a long-term.

Family agendas also mean different things to different families. For some, it is an agenda to avoid shame. For others, it is an agenda to drag down none members of the family or even a certain member of the family they don't like. But for powerful families, it is an agenda to take over and control the future—politically, financially, technologically, educationally, and financially.

In a typical progressive family, members think and work toward acquiring independence for the future of their family members, in one area of life. They dream dreams and set goals for the benefit of the family, and generations unborn.

If a family agent is not targeted at taking over the future like the Rothschild’s and the House of Saud of Saudi Arabia, then, it is a kind of shame averting agenda. Shame averting agendas are good but they are hardly progressive and rarely bring power. Families that pursue shame averting agenda are not very progressive because they plan, contribute and wait for bad things to happen.

This form of family agenda is very common among people of African descent. It is a common practice in Africa where family members contribute money for future eventualities such as burial. This kind of family agenda is regressive nature.

Family Trade or Business

Most powerful families have a long history of success in business or trade. Of course, power in some ways comes with having a long history of success in something. A phenomenon that is called reputation.

Powerful families use their longtime reputation to family advantage. The older members teach, train and mentor the younger ones in the family trade. Here again, the Rothschild, the Rockefeller and the Porsche family comes to mind as handy examples.

In some cases, it might not be the same business or trade, but different businesses and all member succeeds in their chosen trades. They ensure every member succeed at something. Classical examples are the Johnson's and Trump’s families in the United States.

Family Leadership

Family leadership is one essential ingredient of power. In most families, leadership is provided by the father or the oldest member of the family. However, this can change depending on situations and type of leadership required. In cases where leadership position depends on the leadership role the most skilled, qualified and competent individual is chosen to lead.

For instance, the most educated provides educational leadership, the richest provides financial leadership and the most skilled provides managerial leadership for the family. In other cases, loyalty becomes the criteria for providing leadership to the family. In such cases, the most loyal member of the family is chosen to lead, and other members of the family give their total loyalty and support.

Powerful families do not take their leader for granted because they know he is the custodian of the family's authority and symbol of the family’s power. As such, he is respected by family members, he provides leadership and protects all members.

Family Loyalty (Loyalty to the Family)

Individual interest is one of the destroyers of family power. In some families, individual interest is implanted. In others, it is caused by ambitious, greedy, lustful and power drunk individual within the family.

Powerful families are, however, able to manage individual interest through diplomatic leadership, sacrifices, loyalty to family rules, agendas and providing room for members’ growth. This is achieved by providing effective family leadership.

The roles of loyalty in families cannot be overemphasized. Once members can direct their loyalty to the family, family interest, goals, and agendas, power begins to accrue. Family loyalty and submission are important to growing and maintaining family power, but these should not be mistaken for sycophancy or blind and sentimental support. All intention must be pure and well-intended.

Family Heirloom

Family inheritance is something passed down from the older to the younger generations in a family. Family heirlooms could include things like a throne, a business, talent, innate ability, supernatural gifts or family instrument of power.

Throne inheritance is common in royal families, and typical examples include British Royal Family in the United Kingdom, the Zulu Royal Family in Africa and the Saudi Arabia Royal Family in the Middle East.

Family Records and History

One of the biggest secrets of powerful and successful families is that they keep and preserve family records and history. Family history is very important to the powerful families. Their children and their children’s children are able to read and know their parents and grandparents. They get to know their parents' history—the good and hard times.

Powerful families taught their children to know and value family's histories, businesses, traditions, values and ideals. They are able to read about their family's past; know their family's present, and look forward to the future prepared, and armed with faith and hope.

Special In-depth Knowledge and Understanding

What do I mean by special in-depth knowledge and understanding? Well, that means being a foresighted, knowledgeable, and a person of great understanding—a foresighted person. They know what to do and what time to do it—something special, something worthwhile, something beneficial to the family and generation unborn. Something that appreciates in the long run. Something majority of people wouldn't do.

Special in-depth knowledge could be knowing how to do business, problem-solving, business politics, how and business and politics interplays. Or the understanding of the relationship between business and money, or power and success. They have the insight of how things work in the world, and how the world works in things. Powerful families don’t just do business they do the politics of the business—politics of money, power and fame.

Good Managerial Skills

Leadership and managerial skills are common traits among powerful families. They possess excellent human, financial, business and situation management skills.

Wealthy, Rich and Financially Independent

Now let me ask you, was there ever power without wealth? Can there be power without financial independence? That will be a ‘weak’ ‘weak’ power. Yes, weak and unsustainable power.

In a world where money buys almost everything being poor is exactly the same as being weak and powerless. Hence, one characteristic of powerful families is that of financial independence. They are rich. They understand the role of money in business, politics of business, and power.

Do you want your family to be powerful? Then double your hustle. Read. Learn. Love. Develop. Apply. Teach. And support your family. You can provide your family with the family leadership needed to become powerful. The power and the resources are in your hands.