Devil: How To Make A Man Fail?

It's day 16 of documenting 2025.

And I'm just gonna say it upfront:

I didn't take notes, which means I didn't read Anthony Robbins' book last night.

However, I did a pre-write reading session from the book, 365 Days With Self-discipline.

I read day 16 of the book.

That counts, right?

Day 16 talked about self reliance and referenced a quote from Marcus Aurelius.

"A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others."

Pretty good stuff.

Today's post will be quite interesting.

I promise that.

If I don't deliver as promised, let me know.

#comment 🙂

It all started on Facebook.

I think it was after I posted the link to yesterday's post on my page.

I scrolled for a few minutes before a video caught my attention.

In that video, a man was talking about a ChatGPT prompt he used.

He asked, 

"If you were the Devil himself, how would you stop someone from achieving his goals?"

His reply blew my mind.

But then, at the end, he said something.

He said, that the only way to achieve one's goals is to flip ChatGPT's response into actionable strategies.

This particular video gave me an idea 💡 

I decided to try the exact prompt but with a little twist.

I headed into ChatGPT, well aware that I was supposed to read a book and take notes.

But I can say it was worth it.

I asked,

"If you were the Devil himself, how would you stop someone from achieving success?"

Then I tapped enter.

The response didn't really shock me but I learned a few things.

It gave seven ways it would do that and an interesting note at the end.

I'm going to share the response now and try what the guy from Facebook said.

I will give each of the ways and flip them in my own thoughts.

So the full response ChatGPT gave me starts like this:

"If I were the Devil, my approach to stopping someone from achieving success would revolve around exploiting human nature—planting seeds of doubt, distraction, and fear."

Here's how:

1. Sow Doubt and Fear:

Whisper thoughts of self-doubt and amplify their fear of failure.

Make them feel like they’re not good enough or that success isn’t for them.

Flip side: To achieve success, don't be afraid of failing or making a mistake.

Believe that you're good enough to achieve whatever you want to.

2. Encourage Procrastination:

Make distractions irresistibly appealing—social media, entertainment, or endless "preparation" that keeps them from taking real action.

Flip side: To achieve success, don't think you have to plan single thing before taking action.

Avoid distractions from mindless entertainment and social media.

3. Promote Comfort Over Growth:

Convince them that staying in their comfort zone is safer and more rewarding than taking risks.

Flip side: To achieve success, you need to get out of your comfort zone and take risks.

It's more rewarding in the long run.

4. Exploit Comparison:

Push them to compare their progress to others, leaving them feeling inferior or unworthy.

Flip side: To achieve success, you have to avoid comparison at all costs.

Every one is on a separate journey in life and you may not know what goes on behind the scenes.

5. Undermine Their Focus:

Overwhelm them with unnecessary tasks and responsibilities so they lose sight of their goals.

Flip side: To achieve success, you must focus on what only you can control and the decisions you make.

Doing this will reduce your tendency to get overwhelmed.

6. Break Their Discipline:

Make them crave instant gratification over long-term rewards.

Encourage skipping habits that lead to success, like learning, networking, or working consistently.

Flip side: Decide to choose what you want most over what you want now. 

Forego instant gratification.

Always be consistent.

Look for opportunities to learn and connect with like-minded people.

7. Create a Negative Mindset:

Reinforce pessimism and a scarcity mindset to erode their belief in opportunities and abundance.

Flip side: To achieve success, you must have a positive mental attitude.

Believe in opportunities and abundance.

Then they will come to you.

Those are the seven ways and my thoughts on the flip side.

Hope you learned something 😉

And I told you earlier that it ended with an interesting note.

It goes like this (ChatGPT's words):

"Ultimately, the "devil" thrives on people sabotaging themselves. 

The antidote? 

Self-awareness, discipline, and a relentless belief in one's purpose."

Ain't that something to think about?🤔

The fact that people sabotage themselves to failure and start to blame the 'devil'.

Well, that's how my session with ChatGPT went last night.

After that, I started on my new project to share more of my poems and writing.

(Will be sharing some of them here as well)

I also deleted some things that needed to be deleted. 

Before I get attached 😅

By the time I was done with all that, it was already 1am.

Way past my bedtime.

Thanks for reading to the end, my friend.

I hope you liked today's post and learned a thing or two 😊

If you're wondering who I am, I'm just a Nigerian girl exploring life in her twenties.

And I'm documenting 2025.