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The 48 Laws of PowerByRobert GreenePower is an integral part of our societies and lives. In “The 48 Laws ofPower”, Robert Greene distills 3,000 years of history into 48 laws to help usunderstand how we can masterfully acquire power and avoid beingmanipulated or crushed by others. 48 Laws of Power details the laws forattaining power in life, business, and more, and gives historical examples ofeach law in practice, as well as examples of those who do not respect theselaws. They are all grounded in the reality of human nature, and it's moreimportant to understand them, and then choose how, when, and which toapply, than to just remain ignorant of them and refuse to acknowledge theyexist.48 Laws of Power1. Never outshine the master.Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. Hide the extentof your own talents, as your masters may otherwise feel insecure. The betteryou make your master appear, the greater the level of power you will attain.Those above you want to feel secure and superior in their positions.2. Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies.Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easilyaroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a formerenemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove.
In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have noenemies, find a way to make them. Friends often conceal things in order to avoid conflict; this can bedangerous.Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.3. Conceal your intentions.Always keep your intentions obscured. This way, your opponents cannotdefend themselves. Lead them astray, and by the time they realize your plans,it will be too late. Use humankind’s tendency to trust appearances to youradvantage. By cloaking your intentions, people will believe you to be friendlyand honest. This will lead them further down the wrong path. Additionally, bybeing bland and inconspicuous, people are even less likely to doubt yourintentions, as they trust the familiar.4. Always say less than necessary.When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, themore common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are sayingsomething banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, andsphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The moreyou say, the more likely you are to say something foolish. By controlling whatyou reveal, you can wield great power.5. So much depends on reputation - guard it with your life.Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone youcan intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will beattacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert topotential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn todestroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then standaside and let public opinion hang them.6. Court attention at all cost.As everything is judged by appearance, you must stand out. Makeyourself appear larger, more interesting, and more mysterious than themasses. One way to do this is to surround your name with sensation andscandal. Bear in mind that notoriety of any sort brings power. It’s preferable tobe slandered than to be ignored. A solid counterbalance to this approach is to
create an air of mystery around yourself. An air of mystery increases yourpresence and creates anticipation – everyone will be glued to your next move.7. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.Never do for yourself what the efforts of others can do for you. Use theirwisdom and knowledge to further your own cause. In doing so, you will appearintimidatingly efficient and knowledgeable. Ultimately, those who worked foryou will be forgotten, and you will be remembered.8. Make other people come to you - use bait if necessary.When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It isalways better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plansin the process. However, your traps are only as good as the perceivedattractiveness of your bait. If your bait is sweet enough, your opponent willbecome blinded to reality by their emotions, allowing you to gain the upperhand.9. Win through your actions, never through argument.Any triumph you gain through argument will be short lived. Resentmentwill fester in your opponents instead of a genuine change of opinion. Instead,let your actions speak for you. If people agree with you through your actionsinstead of your words, you are more likely to sway lasting opinions.10. Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky.Emotional states can be as infectious as diseases. Occasionally, someunfortunate individuals bring their own misfortune upon themselves and canbring you down too if you get too close. Therefore, make sure to associate withthe happy and the fortunate. Who you decide to associate with is critical.Through associating with the miserable, you waste your valuable time anddrain your potential power.11. Learn to keep people dependent on you.To maintain independence, you must make others need and want you.The more people rely on you, the more freedom you have. Yet, be wary tonever teach those surrounding you with enough information that they canstart doing things for themselves. This method is the best way to get people todo what you want without forcing them or inflicting pain on them.
12. Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.A single honest gesture can help cover the traces of dozens of dishonestacts. By being generous, you can disarm even the most suspicious people.Once they are disarmed, you can manipulate them at will. The key tosuccessful deception is distraction. Learning to give before you take is a skilledway of getting what you want. Selective honesty also functions as a means todisarm your opponents. However, regaling a single truth will not be enough.You’ll have to construct a facade of honesty built upon a series of acts to gaintrust, but these acts can be quite inconsequential.13. When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to theirmercy or gratitude.If you must ask for help, make sure your request includes a benefit foryour ally that you can exaggerate beyond proportion. When your ally sees thatthere is something in it for them, they are more likely to respond withenthusiasm. Once you master the art of working out what others want andusing it to further your own plans, there will be no limits on what you canaccomplish.14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy.Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuableinformation that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself.In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get peopleto reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not anopportunity for artful spying.15. Crush your enemy totally.To crush your enemy partially means that they will eventually recoverand seek revenge. Ultimately, you can only gain peace and serenity if yourenemies cease to exist. If you manage to remove all of your opponent’soptions, then they will have no choice but to bend to your will. By giving themnothing to negotiate with and no room to maneuver, you will have crushedthem.16. Use absence to increase respect and honour.The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear.If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will
make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when toleave. Create value through scarcity.17. Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarityin other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turnthe tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have noconsistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wearthemselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategycan intimidate and terrorize.18. Do not build fortresses to protect yourself - isolation is dangerous.If you decide to isolate yourself from your enemies and the world atlarge, you cut yourself off from valuable information. This makes youvulnerable to attack. It’s always better to mingle amongst people, as you arebetter protected in a crowd. Because humans are social creatures, powercomes with social interaction. Resist the urge to retreat when things feeluncertain. Instead of turning inward, focus on seeking out old allies and forcingyourself into new social circles.19. Know who you’re dealing with - do not offend the wrong person.There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can neverassume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive oroutmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seekingrevenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims andopponents carefully.Being able to recognize the type of person you’re dealing with is critical. Hereare the five most dangerous: The Arrogant and Proud Man: any perceived slight will invitevengeance. Flee these people.The Hopelessly Insecure Man: similar to the proud man, but will takerevenge in smaller bites over time. Do not stay around him if you haveharmed or deceived him.Mr. Suspicion: sees the worst in others and imagines that everyone isafter him. Easy to deceive - get him to turn on others.
The Serpent with a Long Memory: if hurt, he will show no anger, but willcalculate and wait. Recognize by his calculation and cunning in otherareas of life - he is usually cold and unaffectionate. Crush himcompletely or flee.The Plain, Unassuming, and Often Unintelligent Man: this man will nottake the bait because he does not recognize it. Do not waste yourresources trying to deceive him. Have a test ready for a mark - a joke, astory. If reaction is literal, this is the type you are dealing with.Never rely on instincts when judging someone; instead gather concreteknowledge. Also never trust appearances.20. Do not commit to anyone.Do not commit to anyone, but be courted by all.When you hold yourself back, you incur not anger but a kind of respect. Youinstantly seem powerful because you make yourself ungraspable, rather thansuccumbing to the group, or to the relationship, as most people do.People who rush to the support of others tend to gain little respect in theprocess, for their help is so easily obtained, while those who stand back findthemselves besieged with supplicants.Do not commit to anyone, stay above the fray.21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker - seem dumber than your mark.No one enjoys feeling stupid. Consequently, a great trick is to make youropponents feel smarter than you. Once they believe themselves to be moreintelligent, they will never suspect that you have any ulterior motives.22. Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power.Surrender before you are about to be defeated. This buys you more timeto plot your revenge, and to torment your conqueror. By surrendering, youdeny them the satisfaction of destroying you. In doing so, you make the act ofsurrender a tool of power.By yielding, you gain the upper hand because you lull your opponent intobelieving they have defeated you, even as you plot their downfall. This
confuses your opponents and means they are unlikely to act aggressivelyagainst you.23. Concentrate your forces.Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at theirstrongest point. When looking for such a source, identify a single spring thatwill sustain you for a long time to come. You gain more power by finding asingular rich source than by flitting between many more shallow sources ofpower.In any organization, power will emanate from a small group of people who areholding all the strings. Consequently, power is like oil, you only need to strike itonce to assure yourself a lifetime of wealth and power.24. Play the perfect courtier.The courtier wields power through discrete avenues. By flattering andyielding to their superiors and only enforcing their power through charm andgrace, they gradually accumulate an ever-increasing amount of power. Thereare several steps one can take to become the perfect courtier, and they involvethe following:– Practicing nonchalance– Being frugal with flattery– Adapting your style and language according to your audience– Avoiding being the bearer of bad news– Never criticizing your superiors– Being self-observant– Mastering your emotions– Being a source of pleasure25. Re-create yourself.Do not accept the role that society has given you. Forge your ownidentity, one that commands attention. Master your image rather than letting
others dictate it for you. Remake yourself into a figure of power as if moldingyourself from clay.To do this, you must first be self-aware, and you must learn to master youremotions. Then, you must create a memorable character. From here, you canlearn to play many roles to adapt to what any given situation requires of you.26. Keep your hands clean.You must maintain a spotless appearance. You should never beassociated with nasty deeds. To do this, employ the use of scapegoats todisguise your involvement. Your reputation depends more on what youconceal than what you reveal. You should always have a convenient scapegoaton hand for when needing to conceal your more dubious activities.27. Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult like following.People want to believe in something. By inventing yourself as this cultlike entity, they will follow you and give you untold amounts of power. Tobecome such a figure, you need to follow these steps:– Keep your words vague and simple but full of promise– Emphasize enthusiasm rather than the intellectual and the rational– Structure your group in accordance to the forms of organized religion– Disguise your sources of income– Create an us-versus-them dynamic28. Enter action with boldness.If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubtsand hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enterwith boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily correctedwith more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.29. Plan all the way to the end.Always plan until the end. This means thinking through every possibilitythat could prevent you from reaching your end goal. Thus, you will be able toaccommodate for any surprises along the way and secure your future.
Most people are too trapped by their emotions in the moment to see ahead,so this will give you the upper hand. Plan in detail before you act, and don’tsuccumb to making any vague plans. Your end goal must always be crystalclear.30. Make your accomplishments seem effortless.Make your success seem easy. Conceal all the toil and tricks you used toattain it, as it otherwise arouses too much curiosity in others. Never revealhow you reached your position of power to anyone, or they may use it againstyou. There are great advantages to remaining silent. The more mysterious youractions appear, the greater your power appears to be. It will make it seem as ifyou have an exclusive gift that no one can replicate and that knows no limits.31. Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal.By giving your opponents a choice, they will feel that they’re controllingtheir destiny. What they won’t realize is that you’re using them as a puppet tochoose between two scenarios, both of which serve you.When given a choice between two possibilities, people rarely consider all theother potential options that could be on the table. By setting up a narrowrange of choices, you can guide your opponent to play right into your hands.32. Play to people’s fantasies.The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Neverappeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comesfrom disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who canmanufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert:Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies ofthe masses.33. Discover each man’s thumbscrew.Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness isusually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be asmall secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turnto your advantage.Finding the thumbscrewsPay attention to gestures and unconscious signals. Find the helpless child, lookto their childhood. Look for contrasts, an overt trait often reveals it’s opposite.
Find the weak link, Fill their emotional void. Feed on their uncontrollableemotionAlways look for passions and obsessions that cannot be controlled. Whatpeople cannot control, you can control for them.34. Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one.The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: Inthe long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. Fora king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By actingregally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to weara crown.35. Master the art of timing.Never seem to be in a rush – patience is a virtue. Learn to bide yourtime, and only strike when the timing is right. As time is a perception, bymastering your emotions, you can make time seem to move more slowly andlengthen your perception of the future. This allows you to become morepatient and to see the bigger picture.36. Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them is the best revenge.The more mystery surrounds your actions, the more awesome yourpower seems. The less interest you take in things that irritate you, the moresuperior you seem. By acknowledging your enemy, you give their existencecredibility and, therefore, power. Paradoxically, the more you want something,the more it eludes you as your interest is too strong, which makes others feeluncomfortable and fearful. Occasionally, it’s best just to leave things alone.37. Create compelling spectacles.Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power—everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full ofarresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled byappearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.38. Think as you like but behave like others.If Machiavelli had had a prince for disciple, the first thing he would haverecommended him to do would have been to write a book againstMachiavellism. By consistently going against the grain in public, people willbegin to resent you for making them feel inferior. Practice blending in and
hiding your true feelings to nurture the common touch. By doing so, you willbe left alone to express your true beliefs in a targeted manner. Once a base ofpower is established, you can then begin to disseminate your beliefs gradually,and they are more likely to be adopted.39. Stir up waters to catch fish.Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must alwaysstay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while stayingcalm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance:Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you holdthe strings.40. Despise the free lunch.Generosity softens people up – to be deceived. Never trust anything thatcomes for free. Anything of worth is worth paying for. Most things that comefor free come with a burdensome psychological price task. By paying, youavoid falling into the trap of having to be grateful, guilty, or deceitful. Further,being lavish with your money is a sign of power.41. Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes.What came first always seems more original than what follows. Don’tget lost in the shadows of those that came before you. You must establish yourown name and identity by not following the same course of yourpredecessors.42. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual —the stirrer, thearrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room tooperate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troublesthey cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them—they areirredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strikeat the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.43. Work on the hearts and minds of others.The ability to measure people and to know who you’re dealing with isthe most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power. If people feelcoerced into acting in a specific way, they will resent you. Instead, you mustseduce others so that they act how you want without you having to ask them.
By understanding their psychology and their weaknesses, you can play withtheir emotions and conquer their hearts and minds so that they are loyal toyou.44. Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.By mirroring your opponents and doing exactly as they do, you humiliatethem and cause them to overreact. By making them believe you share theirvalues, they find it challenging to work out your strategy, as they are blindedby your mirror. You are also able to teach your opponents a lesson by givingthem a taste of their own medicine.45. Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once.If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on thepast.Even while people understand the need for change, knowing how important itis for institutions and individuals to be occasionally renewed, they are alsoirritated and upset by changes that affect them personally.46. Never appear too perfect.While appearing superior to others is dangerous, to appear faultless andwithout weakness is even more perilous. By displaying harmless vices, youprevent envy from developing, and you make yourself appear moreapproachable.47. Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop.Don’t let success go to your head. The moment you achieve victory isoften when you’re at your most vulnerable. Don’t get ahead of yourself withyour overconfidence and push beyond your initial target. This could createmore enemies than you are capable of defeating. Once you reach your goal,stop.48. Assume formlessness.By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself toattack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourselfadaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no lawis fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless aswater; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.
Quotes:“When you show yourself to the world and display your talents, you naturally stir all kinds ofresentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. you cannot spend your life worryingabout the petty feelings of others”“Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent”“Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life's artwork, and you must craft it,hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.”“Many a serious thinker has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.”“.But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of itscage, and if it is not tamed, it will tun wild and cause you grief.”“Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high aprice to pay.”“Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”“There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.”“Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter”“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”“When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.”“No one is really going to help you or give you direction. In fact, the odds are against you.”Source: //www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/865.Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power By Robert Greene Power is an integral part of our societies and lives. In "The 48 Laws of Power", Robert Greene distills 3,000 years of history into 48 laws to help us understand how we can masterfully acquire power and avoid being manipulated or crushed by others. 48 Laws of Power details the laws for
