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A review by gretaxo
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, Joost Elffers
informative
slow-paced
1.0
Its monotonous. Everything merges into the other, not easy to read
I had to start over dozens of times, i could barely finish it
its dry and unexciting
As far as im concerned, its vain too
They can come in handy for some, sure, so i'll share my favorites
LAW 1 :NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER
JUDGMENT
I had to start over dozens of times, i could barely finish it
its dry and unexciting
As far as im concerned, its vain too
They can come in handy for some, sure, so i'll share my favorites
JUDGMENT
Always make those above vou feel comfort-ablv superior. In vour desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the oppo-siteinspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.
LAW 3
LAW 3
CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS
JUDGMENT
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions.
If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
LAW 8
LAW 8
MAKE OTHER PEOPLE
COME TO YOU
USE BAIT IF NECESSARY
JUDGMENT
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, abandoning his own plans in the process.
LAW 9
LAW 9
WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT JUDGMENT
Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic vic-tory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
LAW 11
LAW 11
LEARN TO KEEP PEOPLE DEPENDENT ON
YOU
JUDGMENT
To maintain vour independence vou must always be needed and wanted. 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. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
“LAW 13
WHEN ASKING FOR HELP,
APPEAL TO PEOPLE'S
SELF-INTEREST,
NEVER TO THEIR MERCY
OR GRATITUDE
JUDGMENT
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself”
LAW 16
USE ABSENCE TO
INCREASE RESPECT
AND HONOR
JUDGMENT
Too much circulation makes the price go down: 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 to leave. Create value through scarcity
“LAW 17
KEEP OTHERS IN
SUSPENDED TERROR:
CULTIVATE AN AIR OF
UNPREDICTABILITY
JUDGMENT
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people's actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: 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. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.”
“LAW 19
KNOW WHO YOU'RE
DEALING WITH
DO NOT OFFEND THE
WRONG PERSON
JUDGMENT
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. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing.”
“LAW 20
DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE
JUDGMENT
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others playing people against one another, making them pursue you”
“LAW 25
RE-CREATE YOURSELF
JUDGMENT
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actionsyour power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.”
“LAW 28
ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS
JUDGMENT
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid”
“LAW 30
MAKE YOUR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
SEEM EFFORTLESS
JUDGMENT
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you workit only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.”
“LAW 31
CONTROL THE OPTIONS:
GET OTHERS TO PLAY WITH
THE CARDS YOU DEAL
JUDGMENT
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. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.”
“LAW 33
DISCOVER EACH MAN'S THUMBSCREW
JUDGMENT
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.”
“LAW 35
MASTER THE ART OF TIMING
JUDGMENT
Never seem to be in a hurryhurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.”
LAW 36
“LAW 13
WHEN ASKING FOR HELP,
APPEAL TO PEOPLE'S
SELF-INTEREST,
NEVER TO THEIR MERCY
OR GRATITUDE
JUDGMENT
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself”
LAW 16
USE ABSENCE TO
INCREASE RESPECT
AND HONOR
JUDGMENT
Too much circulation makes the price go down: 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 to leave. Create value through scarcity
“LAW 17
KEEP OTHERS IN
SUSPENDED TERROR:
CULTIVATE AN AIR OF
UNPREDICTABILITY
JUDGMENT
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people's actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: 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. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.”
“LAW 19
KNOW WHO YOU'RE
DEALING WITH
DO NOT OFFEND THE
WRONG PERSON
JUDGMENT
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. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing.”
“LAW 20
DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE
JUDGMENT
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others playing people against one another, making them pursue you”
“LAW 25
RE-CREATE YOURSELF
JUDGMENT
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actionsyour power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.”
“LAW 28
ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS
JUDGMENT
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid”
“LAW 30
MAKE YOUR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
SEEM EFFORTLESS
JUDGMENT
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you workit only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.”
“LAW 31
CONTROL THE OPTIONS:
GET OTHERS TO PLAY WITH
THE CARDS YOU DEAL
JUDGMENT
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. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.”
“LAW 33
DISCOVER EACH MAN'S THUMBSCREW
JUDGMENT
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.”
“LAW 35
MASTER THE ART OF TIMING
JUDGMENT
Never seem to be in a hurryhurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.”
LAW 36
DISDAIN THINGS YOU CANNOT HAVE:
IGNORING THEM IS THE BEST REVENGE
JUDGMENT
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
LAW 39
LAW 39
STIR UP WATERS TO CATCH FISH
JUDGMENT
Anger and emotion are strategically counter-productive. You must alwavs stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-bal-ance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
LAW 40
LAW 40
DESPISE THE FREE LUNCH
JUDGMENT
What is offered for free is dangerousit usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation.
What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full pricethere is no cutting corners with excellence, Be lavish with your money and keep it circulat-ing, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
LAW 46
LAW 46
NEVER APPEAR TOO PERFECT
JUDGMENT
Appearing better than others is always dan-gerous, but 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, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
LAW 47
LAW 47
DO NOT GO PAST THE MARK YOU AIMED FOR;
IN VICTORY, LEARN WHEN TO STOP JUDGMENT
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.