The 48 Laws of Power
By Robert Greene
đź“šThe Book in 3 Bullets
The world runs on power and everyone should know how it works. If you know how it works, you can protect yourself from others who try to gain it at your expense.
Power may not always be easy to attain and it may bring about morally complex issues.
You must be able to keep your cool and maintain your confidence in a variety of situations.
đź“– Summary & Notes
Never outshine the master
Make the master appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power
All masters want to appear more brilliant than other people
Those in high power want to feel secure in their position, superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm
First, you must flatter and puff up your master with discreet flattery
Make your master shine even more in the eyes of others and you will be instantly promoted
Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies
Friends easily become envious and will betray you quickly. Hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend because he has more to prove
Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels keeps us sharp and alert
Conceal your intentions
Most people are open books. They say what they feel and reveal their plans
Avoid telling people your plans. They often find ways to sabotage them or throw you off course
Always say less than necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control
Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish
Guard your reputation with your life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable and will be attacked.
Learn to destroy your enemy's reputation
In the social realm, appearances are the basis of all judgments.
Establish a reputation for yourself that is one of outstanding quality, generosity, and honesty
Court attention at all costs
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all costs. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, and more mysterious than the bland and timid masses
To create a crowd you have to do something different and odd.
At the start of your career, you must attach your name and reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people. This can be something like a characteristic style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about
Don’t be predictable. Hold back, keep silent, and act odd in subtle ways to emanate an aura of mystery
Get others to do the work for you, but take the credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. This will save you time and energy.
Never do yourself what others can do for you. Take credit for the work of those below you and graciously give credit to those above you
Taking credit is more important than the creation of an invention
Everybody steals in commerce and industry. Just know how to steal
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 is always better to make your opponent come to you.
Win through your actions, never through argument
It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate
You must learn to demonstrate the correctness of your ideas indirectly
Even if you when an argument, the other person often ends up feeling resentful.
“The truth is generally seen, rarely heard”
Demonstrating your idea avoids your opponents from getting defensive, and are therefore more open to persuasion.
Infection: Avoid the unhappy and unlucky
You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases
When you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue, don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence
Humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time. Associate with the happy and fortunate
If you are gloomy, gravitate to the cheerful. If you are prone to isolation, force yourself to befriend outgoing people.
Learn to keep people dependent on you
The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear.
Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim
One sincere and honest move will cover dozens of dishonest ones.
Learn to give before you take. It softens the ground and takes the bite out of a future request
When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude
Emphasize the benefits the other person will receive and he will be happy to help when he sees something to be gained for himself
Pose as a friend, work as a spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions
Emphasize friendly chatter, not valuable information. Don’t be too obvious when searching for gems
Crush your enemy totally
If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out
Have no mercy. The only peace and security you can hope for from your enemies is their disappearance.
Use absence to increase respect and honor
The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Don’t be too noticeable or available. People will take you for granted and lose respect for you
The sun. It can only be appreciated by its absence. The longer the days of rain, the more the sun is craved
Extend the law of scarcity to your own skills. Make what you are offering the world rare and hard to find to increase your value.
Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability
Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves
Scramble your patterns of daily routine. The more capricious you appear, the more respect you will garner.
Do not build fortresses to protect yourself—isolation is dangerous
A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from—it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target
In moments of uncertainty and danger, you need to fight the desire to turn inward. Seek out old allies and make new ones, force yourself into more and more different circles
Power is increased by contact with other people. Be able to be permeable and able to float in and out of different circles and mix with different people
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 never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way
If you want to turn someone down, do it politely and respectfully
To test the waters, make a mild joke at the other person’s expense. If they laugh they are confident; an insecure person will react as if personally insulted
Never trust appearances
Do not commit to anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself
Put yourself in the middle between competing powers. Lure one side with the promise of your help; the other side, always wanting to outdo its enemy, will pursue you as well
Find a way to remain neutral and not pick sides. Let others fight while you stand back
Play a sucker to catch a sucker—seem dumber than your mark
Make your victims feel smart—and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives
Never insult a person’s brain power. Subliminally reassure people that they are more intelligent than you are, or even that you are a bit of a moron, and you can run rings around them
Look like a harmless pig and no one will believe you harbor dangerous ambitions.
Get in the habit of downplaying your intelligence at all times. It rarely pays to show it
Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. This gives you time to recover.
When encountering aggression fight the urge to meet it with aggression and instead turn the other cheek. This will put you in control of the situation and infuriate the other person
Concentrate your forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. Find one source of power and go all in.
Play the perfect courtier
He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner
Practice nonchalance. Never seem to be working too hard. your talent must appear to flow naturally, with an ease that makes people take you for a genius rather than a workaholic.
Be frugal with flattery
Never criticize those above you directly
Be frugal in asking those above you for favors
Express admiration for the good work of others
Master your emotions. Be able to disguise your anger and frustration
Re-create yourself
Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you
Keep your hands clean
Conceal your mistakes—have a scapegoat around to take the blame or your reputation will suffer
All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the blunders they have made, while fools make them public. Reputation depends more on what is hidden than on what is seen
The truly powerful never seem to be in a hurry or overburdened. They know how to find the right people to put in the effort while they save their energy.
Play on people’s need to believe to create a cultlike following
The most effective cults mix religion with science.
Enter action with boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
People can sense the weaknesses of others. In a first impression, if you show a willingness to compromise, back down, and retreat, you will be taken advantage of without mercy
Audacity separates you from the herd. Be bold. Don’t be afraid to be seen.
You must practice and develop your boldness. This is incredibly useful in negotiations. Don’t put yourself down by asking for too little in an interview.
In negotiations, bold demands work better than starting somewhere to meet the other person halfway. Set your value high, and then set it higher
Your fears of the consequences of a bold action are way out of proportion to reality.
Plan all the way to the end
Improvisation will only bring you to the next crisis. Always think several steps ahead and plan till the end
Make your accomplishments seem effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease.
Avoid the temptation of showing how clever you are—it is far more clever to conceal the mechanisms of your cleverness
The more mystery surrounds your actions, the more awesome your power seems
Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose.
Play to people’s fantasies
Never appeal to the truth and reality unless you’re prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant
Discover each man’s thumbscrew
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or a need; it can also be a small secret pleasure
An overt trait often conceals its opposite. People who thump their chests are often big cowards; the shy are dying for attention
Fill the void. The insecure are suckers for social validation.
When looking for sucks, always look for the dissatisfied, the unhappy, the insecure
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. Act confident in your powers
Know your worth and don’t be afraid to ask for what you deserve
The powerful have the common trait of a strong self-belief
If we believe we are destined for great things, our belief will radiate outward
Even if someone turns down your salary request, they will respect your confidence
Master the art of timing
Never seem to be in a hurry—hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually
Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge
Don’t give a petty problem existence or credibility, rather, ignore it
The best lesson you can teach an irritating gnat is to consign it to oblivion by ignoring it
YOU CHOOSE TO LET THINGS BOTHER YOU. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender. Don’t waste time and energy
By ignoring people you cancel them out. This unsettles and infuriates them.
Desire often is a paradox: the harder you chase something, the more it eludes you.
Never show that something has affected or offended you. Contempt is a dish best served cold without attention
Create compelling spectacles
Never underestimate the power of images and symbols to drive your point home
Think as you like but behave like others
If you flaunt your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think you only want attention and that you look down upon them
You can display conventional behavior and mouth conventional ideas without having to believe in them
If you stick to conventional appearances in public few will believe you think differently in private
Stir up waters to catch fish
Make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself to gain an advantage
To show your frustration is to show you have lost your power
Tantrums never intimidate nor inspire loyalty. They only create doubts of your power
Angry people usually look ridiculous, for their response looks out of proportion
Don’t take matters personally and always control your emotions. Then you can play with the emotional responses of others
Despise the free lunch
What is offered as free is dangerous—it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. Pay your own way to stay clear of gratitude, guild, and deceit
Protect your independence and ability to maneuver. Pay the full price to stay out of danger
Sudden wealth rarely lasts, for it is built on nothing solid
Powerful people give freely, buying influence rather than things. Play the lord of giving freely and circulate your money to create yourself as an equal to the aristocracy
Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. Establish your own name and identity by changing course.
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
Go after the strongest individual and the rest will scatter
Work on the hearts and minds of others
The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking them down gently. Play on their emotions and their intellectual weaknesses. Aim at the primary emotions—love, hate, jealousy
Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect
do what your enemies do, following their actions as best you can, and they cannot see what you are up to—they are blinded by your mirror
Everyone is wrapped up in their own ego. By mirroring them, you seduce them into a kind of narcissistic rapture
Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once
If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things
Incorporate old traditions with new reforms
Never appear too perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices
Never flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more powerful than you
Envy is often disguised as finding ways to criticize someone who makes us feel it: he may be smarter than I am, we say, but he has no morals
Read between the sarcastic remarks, and signs of backstabbing, the excessive praise that is preparing you for a fall.
Subtly emphasize how lucky you have been, to make your happiness seem more attainable to other people
Those who are hypercritical of you are probably just envious of you. Win your revenge by ignoring them
Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop
In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for; by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat
Set a goal, and stop when you reach it
Assume formlessness
Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes
Learn to adapt fast or you will be eaten