48 Laws of Power Flashcards
- Never outshine
the master.
- Never put…learn how
Never put too much trust in friends. Learn how to use enemies.
People are selfish and pursue their own interests.
- Conceal your …add…
intentions.
Add a sense of inexplicable mystery to your character.
Be indirect and subtle when exposing intentions.
- Always say
less than necessary.
Only speak when you have something important to say.
- So much depends
on reputation, guard it with your life.
- Court
attention at all costs.
Don’t be forgotten. All publicity is good publicity.
- Get others
to do the work for you.
Hire talents capable of doing what you can’t.
- Make other people ; force your opponent
come to you. Use bait if necessary.
Don’t take your first shot until the whole herd has gathered round.
For your opponent to react to your moves.
- Win through
your actions, not through argument.
Demonstrate your better approach.
- Infection: avoid
the unhappy and unlucky.
Cut off the firestarters.
- Learn to keep people
dependent on you.
Be the only one who can do what you do.
- Use selective honesty
to disarm your victim.
Tell the truth to gain your opponent’s trust. Be honest when expected to be dishonest to throw your opponent off guard.
- Asking for help,
appeal to people’s self interest.
Don’t count on loyalty. Don’t remind people of their debt, but of mutual interests.
Aim for win-win deals.
- Pose as a friend
work as a spy.
Test people’s honesty before trusting them.
Get people to talk about themselves, an interrogation disguised as a friendly chat.
- Crush your enemy
totally.
Don’t keep enemies. Dispose of or convert them.
- Use absence to
increase respect and honor.
Give people time to miss you. It’s when we lose something that we discover its value.
“why do I not see you more often?” -“because the words, why have you not been to see me are sweeter to my ear than Why have you come again?”
- Cultivate an air of
unpredictability.
Picasso told his art dealer they would no longer work together, Rosenberg was confused and offered him much more money.
When people don’t know what to expect while negotiating, they can’t create an effective plan.
18: Isolation
is dangerous.
The more isolated, the more easy to deceive you.
When someone is urging you to cut friend and family out of your life, it’s because they want to control and influence you all by themselves.
- Do not offend
the wrong person.
You don’t always know who you are dealing with.
- Do not commit
to anyone.
Play all sides in your favor.
- Play yourself as a sucker
to catch a sucker.
Play dumb so others let their guard down.
- Surrender tactic:
transform weakness into power.
When you find yourself in a weak spot, choose to fight another day. Lose the current battle to avoid losing the war.
- Concentrate your
forces.
The greater your territory, the more vulnerable.
Great lands need strong borders.
Dedicate your complete focus to one front.
Master your craft through total immersion.
- Play the perfect
courtier.
Play the game of power.
Obey your masters, but shine in your own light.
Doesn’t trust, but appears trustful. Not threatening, sought as an ally, genuine smile. Appears neutral.
Observes the game from the shadows.
- Recreate
yourself.
The world is your stage, it’s up to you to choose what role you want to play.
- Keep your
hands clean.
Some will use you as a scapegoat. Avoid this.
- Create a
cult: play on people’s need to believe.
Two types of people:
Those who want to know,
and those who want to believe.
People who prey on the cattle have only their best interest at heart.
- Enter Action with
Boldness.
You win before the fight by being bold. Don’t hesitate or flinch.
- Plan all the
way to the end.
See beyond the moment. Calculate the risks.
- Make your
accomplishments seem effortless.
Make your performance look like a walk in the park.
Give people the illusion of magic.
Boast about the work it took, and the allure will vanish.
- Get others to play…People like to think…
with the cards you deal.
Give people an option that seems like the only choice.
People like to think they have a choice: present only options that will work for you.
- Play to people’s
fantasies.
People who sell clickbait exercise or health or wealth programs are playing to your fantasies.
If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
- Discover each man’s…do not..
thumbscrew.
Discover each person’s weakness, work on them by being useful to them until they were of no use to him, working your way up to the top.
Know the weak spots in your opponent and you will know how to work with him.
Do not betray your own weaknesses ((or pretend to betray a weakness)).
- Be royal…ask for…do not think…
in your own fashion. Act like a king.
Ask for less, receive less. What you tolerate is what you end up with.
Do not think lowly of yourself.
- Master the art
of timing.
Do not be loyal to disloyal men.
Know when to act and when to lay low.
Act too fast and you’re a traitor, too late and you’re a follower.
- Disdain things
you cannot have.
When you ignore someone, they cannot argue with you. They’re out of reach and can’t do anything about it.
If there’s something you can’t have, push it aside.
- Create compelling
spectacles.
Some seem too spectacular to be fraud. The grandiosity, the associated status…
If everyone believes it, it must be true.
- Think as you like
but behave like others.
Showing superiority breeds hate. Don’t invoke people’s envy and disdain.
Don’t show off or stand out or let things go to your head.
- Stir up waters…create a…
to catch fish.
When you know your enemy and their weakness, you know what they react to: use this knowledge against them.
Weakness: girls? food? games?
Create a false alarm, they’ll run to save what they love so dearly, revealing to you what they love.
Mice desire cheese so much they don’t see the obvious trap.
- Despise the…it pays to be..
free lunch.
Louis XIV had strategic eye for power of money: He would gift paintings of great value to people who didn’t like him, getting nobility and the keys to power on his side. At the same time, he increased operational costs for the aristocrats who wanted him gone. Took money from enemies and gave it to his new friends.
It pays to be generous, and it pays not to accept the free gifts when someone wants something of you.
- Avoid stepping into
a great man’s shoes.
Be your best self, don’t follow the best of others, or try to be better at being someone else.
- Strike the shepherd and
the sheep will scatter.
What is an army without its generals? Without leadership?”
Alexander’s empire after his death.
The glue that keeps people together consists in a few key people at the top of a social group.
- Work on the
heart and mind of others.
Win people through your kindness and helpful demeanor. Be humble or be humbled.
- Disarm and infuriate…((annoy…
with the mirror effect.
((annoy people by being reflecting what they hate about themselves))
You like people who like you, who are like you. Match people’s energy, speak their language, eat their food, find common ground and even envious people will drop their preconceived notions about you.
No one can resist a man who not only concurred with them, but also admired their ways of living, seeming to e one of their own.
- Preach change
but never reform quickly.
The unknown, disorder and chaos are very disruptive and undesirable, even when for the better.
People need small, incremental changes that build over a long time, allowing everyone to adjust at a comfortable pace.
Change things gradually, one step at a time.
- Never appear
to perfect.
It takes great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill.
Be aware of masters, ego, pride, jealousy, hatred, power plays, superiority/inferiority.
Everyone wants to be the king.
- In victory, learn
when to stop.
Wife of king, when king loses lust for her, takes charge by arranging younger, prettier women for the king. She swallowed her pride and shared, but none of them could compete with her larger presence, her charm, talents, sense of what the key needs and how to get it.
Know when to take a loss to keep your current gains.
- Assume
formlessness.
Be antifragile.
When you pour water in the cup, it becomes the cup.
