<ul><li>You sometimes need to strike without warning, to make others tremble when they least expect it.</li><li>Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible.</li><li>Humans are social creatures by nature, power depends on social interaction and circulation.</li><li>Desire is like a virus: If we see that someone is desired by other people, we tend to find this person desirable too.</li></ul>

Day 31:

<ul><li>Make others talk endlessly about themselves and inadvertently reveal their intentions and plans.</li><li>If you have reason to suspect that a person is telling you a lie, look as though you believed every word he said. This will give him courage to go on; he will become more vehement in his assertions, and in the end betray himself.</li></ul>

Day 26:

Law 34: Act in the way you want to be treated. Be regal and authoritative.Law 35: Master the art of timing. Strike only at the right hour.Law 36: Feign disinterest and ignore what you can’t have.Law 37: Dazzle people with spectacles so they don’t see what you’re really doing.Law 38: Hide your unorthodox thinking. Pretend to blend in.Law 39: Stir up waters to catch the fish. Make your opponents reckless while you stay calm.Law 40: Beware the free lunch. There’re always strings attached.Law 41: Chart a new course rather than try a big man’s shoes.

Pick up a bee from kindness, and learn the limitations of kindness.

Everything in the world depends on absence and presence. A strong presence will draw power and attention to you—you shine more brightly than those around you. But a point is inevitably reached where too much presence creates the opposite effect: The more you are seen and heard from, the more your value degrades.

Day 29: 

<ul><li>Learn to keep yourself obscure and make people demand your return. Make what you are offering the world rare and hard to find, and you instantly increase its value.</li><li>Be deliberately unpredictable.</li><li>When people cannot figure out what you are doing, they are kept in a state of terror—waiting, uncertain, confused.</li><li>The weak benefit by the quarrels of the mighty.</li></ul>

Day 30: 

A Viper crushed beneath your foot but left alive, will rear up and bite you with a double dose of venom. An enemy that is left around is like a half-dead viper that you nurse back to health. Time makes the venom grow stronger.

Day 28:

When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.

When you want to court a woman, court her sister first. Stay aloof and people will come to you.

<ul><li>While spying gives you a third eye, disinformation puts out one of your enemy’s eyes.</li><li>Create value through scarcity.</li><li>Law of scarcity in the science of economics: By withdrawing something from the market, you create instant value.</li><li>Make yourself less accessible and you increase the value of your presence.</li></ul>

Day 27:

I had no need to be a mathematician because I could always hire one.

The Vulture. Of all the creatures in the jungle, he has it the easiest. The hard work of others becomes his work; their failure to survive becomes his nourishment. Keep an eye on the Vulture—while you are hard at work, he is circling above. Do not fight him, join him.

Day 20:

<ul><li>Find people with the skills and creativity you lack. Either hire them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take their work and make it your own.</li><li>Their creativity thus becomes yours, and you seem a genius to the world.</li><li>Learn to use the knowledge of the past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a clever borrower.</li></ul>

Day 19:

<ul><li>If you try to do it all on your own, you run yourself ragged, waste energy, and burn yourself out. It is far better to conserve your forces, pounce on the work others have done, and find a way to make it your own.</li><li>You must secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or from piggy-backing on your hard work.</li></ul>

Day 18:

<ul><li>The most effective action is to stay back, keep calm, and let others be frustrated by the traps you lay for them, playing for long-term power rather than quick victory.</li><li>Everything depends on the sweetness of your bait. If your trap is attractive enough, the turbulence of your enemies’ emotions and desires will blind them to reality. The greedier they become, the more they can be led around.</li></ul>

Day 21:

“The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.”

<ul><li>An act of kindness, generosity, or honesty is often the most powerful form of distraction because it disarms other people’s suspicions. It turns them into children, eagerly lapping up any kind of affectionate gesture.</li><li>Honesty is one of the best ways to disarm the wary,</li><li>A gift brings out the child in us, instantly lowering our defenses.</li></ul>

Day 24:

<ul><li>An air of mystery heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation—everyone will be watching you to see what happens next.</li><li>People are enthralled by mystery; because it invites constant interpretation, they never tire of it.</li><li>Power of the mysterious: It invites layers of interpretation, excites our imagination, seduces us into believing that it conceals something marvelous.</li></ul>

Day 15:

It is better to be feared than loved. Fear you can control; love, never.

<ul><li>Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause.</li><li>Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered.</li><li>Never do yourself what others can do for you.</li></ul>

Day 17: 

Law 26: Don’t dirty your hands. Get others to do your dirty work.Law 27: Create a cult-like following. Play on what people want to see/hear.Law 28: Act boldly, so you seem confident.Law 29: Plan till the end, so you won’t be caught by surprise.Law 30: Make your achievements seem effortless. Don’t show your real success secrets.Law 31: Control the options but let people think they’re in control.Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies so they keep following you.Law 33: Find your opponent’s fatal weakness to break their defences.

Law 42: Strike the shepherd to scatter the sheep. Isolate the leader.Law 43: Win both hearts and minds. Appeal to both feelings and logic.Law 44: Unbalance and confuse with the mirror effect (mask reality with illusion).Law 45: Introduce change gradually. Drastic reforms bring resistance.Law 46: Don’t seem too perfect or you’ll invite jealousy.Law 47: Don’t push too far in victory. Know when to stop.Law 48: Be formless and unpredictable.

You must learn to grab a sword not by its blade, which would cut you, but by the handle, which allows you to defend yourself. The wise man profits more from his enemies, than a fool from his friends.

Life is short, and life is not life without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire knowledge from everybody.

<ul><li>First, in judging and measuring your opponent, never rely on your instincts. Nothing can substitute for gathering concrete knowledge.</li><li>Second, never trust appearances. Never trust the version that people give of themselves—it is utterly unreliable.</li><li>Do not commit yourself to anybody or anything, for that is to be a slave, a slave to every man....</li></ul>

Day 32:

<ul><li>Without a worthy opponent, a man or group cannot grow stronger.</li></ul><ol><li> Be certain that in the long run you will emerge victorious. Never pick a fight with someone you are not sure you can defeat.</li><li> If you have no apparent enemies, you must sometimes set up a convenient target, even turning a friend into an enemy.</li><li>Use such enemies to define your cause more clearly to the public, even framing it as a struggle of good against evil.</li></ol>

Day 5:

<ul><li>Once in the limelight you must constantly renew it by adapting and varying your method of courting attention. If you don’t, the public will grow tired, will take you for granted, and will move on to a newer star. The game requires constant vigilance and creativity.</li><li>Never make it too clear what you are doing or about to do.</li></ul>

Day 14:

<ul><li>Self-interest is the lever that will move people.</li><li>You must train yourself to think your way inside the other person’s mind, to see their needs and interests, to get rid of the screen of your own feelings that obscure the truth.</li><li>Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions.</li></ul>

Day 25:

<ul><li>Always make those above you feel comfortably superior.</li><li>Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.</li><li>Masters do not care about science or empirical truth or the latest invention ; they care about their name and their glory.</li><li>Never trust anyone completely and study everyone, including friends and loved ones.</li></ul>

Day 2:

<ul><li>You have to learn to attract attention.</li><li>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.</li><li>This image can be something like a characteristic style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about.</li></ul>

Day 12:

<ul><li>Learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.</li><li>Solid reputation increases your presence and exaggerates your strengths without your having to spend much energy.</li><li>Once it is solid, do not let yourself get angry or defensive at the slanderous comments of your enemies—that reveals insecurity, not confidence in your reputation.</li></ul>

Day 11:

<ul><li>Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of perspective.</li><li>The most important of these skills is the ability to master your emotions.</li><li>Anger is the most destructive of emotional responses, for it clouds your vision the most.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception">Deception</a> is a developed art of civilization and the most potent weapon in the game of power.</li><li>Never discriminate as to whom you study and whom you trust.</li></ul>

Day 1:

<ul><li>You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear friendly, open, and trusting; you conceal your intentions; and you send your rivals on time-consuming wild-goose chases.</li><li>The best deceptions require a screen of smoke to distract people attention from your real purpose.</li><li>Hide your intentions behind the comfortable and familiar.</li></ul>

Day 7:

<ul><li>Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions.</li><li>If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.</li><li>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.</li></ul>

Day 6:

<ul><li>An air of mystery can make the mediocre appear intelligent and profound.</li><li>By simply holding back, keeping silent, occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways, you will emanate an aura of mystery. The people around you will then magnify that aura by constantly trying to interpret you. </li></ul>

Day 16:

Law 1: Never outshine the master.Law 2: Don't overtrust your friends. Use your enemies.Law 3: Mask your intentions.Law 4: Always say less than necessary.Law 5: Protect your reputation at all costs, since your reputation shapes others’ expectations.Law 6: Be conspicuous & stand out. Bad publicity is still publicity.Law 7: Get others to do the work and take the credit. Save your time/energy while building your base.Law 8: Make people come to you, so you hold all the cards.Law 9: Win through actions, not argument. Prove your point without offending people.Law 10: Don’t get infected by misery.

The 48 Laws Of Power

“Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by other's experience.”

<ul><li>Your silence will make other people uncomfortable. Humans are machines of interpretation and explanation; they have to know what you are thinking. When you carefully control what you reveal, they cannot pierce your intentions or your meaning.</li><li>Once the words are out, you cannot take them back.</li></ul>

Day 9:

“Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.”

<ul><li>In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies.</li><li>While a friend expects more and more favors, and seethes with jealousy, these former enemies expected nothing and got everything.</li><li>A Chinese proverb compares friends to the jaws and teeth of a dangerous animal: If you are not careful, you will find them chewing you up.</li></ul>

Day 3:

In the beginning, you must work to establish a reputation for one outstanding quality, whether generosity or honesty or cunning. This quality sets you apart and gets other people to talk about you. You then make your reputation known to as many people as possible (subtly, though; take care to build slowly, and with a firm foundation), and watch as it spreads like wildfire.

Day 10:

<ul><li>Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.</li><li>As Lincoln said, you destroy an enemy when you make a friend of him.</li><li>Without enemies around us, we grow lazy.</li><li>Nothing is stable in the realm of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the worst of enemies.</li><li>Never let the presence of enemies upset or distress you—you are far better off with a declared opponent or two than not knowing where your real enemies lie.</li></ul>

Day 4:

Undutiful words of a subject do often take deeper root than the memory of ill deeds.... The late Earl of Essex told Queen Elizabeth that her conditions were as crooked as her carcass; but it cost him his head, which his insurrection had not cost him but for that speech.

<ul><li>Society craves larger-than-life figures, people who stand above the general mediocrity.</li><li>If you find yourself in a lowly position that offers little opportunity for you to draw attention, an effective trick is to attack the most visible, most famous, most powerful person you can find.</li><li>In a world growing increasingly banal and familiar, what seems <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigmatic">enigmatic</a> instantly draws attention.</li></ul>

Day 13:

Law 18: Don’t isolate yourself behind a fortress. Have eyes and ears everywhere.Law 19: Know your opponents and who you’re dealing with.Law 20: Stay neutral as long as possible to maintain your independence (vs committing to 1 side).Law 21: Make your victims feel smarter than you, so they drop their guard.Law 22: Use surrender as a tool. Bide your time for retaliation.Law 23: Concentrate your forces. Don’t spread them too thin.Law 24: Be a masterful courtier to balance the various players and power brokers.Law 25: Create your own identity and use it like a costume.

<ul><li>Do not consort with fools, especially those who consider themselves wise.</li><li>Never associate with those who share your defects—they will reinforce everything that holds you back.</li><li>Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.</li><li>Make others dependent on you.</li></ul>

Day 23:

<ul><li>Psychology of anticipation: Our behavior conforms to patterns, or so we like to think.</li><li>When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control.</li><li>A Person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself.</li><li>The human tongue is a beast that few can master.</li></ul>

Day 8: 

<ul><li>Good warriors make others come to them, and do not go to others. This is the principle of emptiness and fullness of others and self.</li><li>Learn to demonstrate the correctness of your ideas indirectly.</li><li>When caught in a lie, the more emotional and certain you appear, the less likely it seems that you are lying.</li></ul>

Day 22:

Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.

Law 11: Make yourself indispensable, so it’s harder to cut you off.Law 12: Disarm people with strategic honesty & generosity–use these as tools to win people over.Law 13: Get help by appealing to self-interest, not goodness.Law 14: Be a spy. Gather intelligence to know your opponents.Law 15: Crush your enemy totally. Don’t give them a chance to recover.Law 16: Raise your value through absence and scarcity. Don’t let people take you for granted.Law 17: Keep others in suspense by being unpredictable. Keep them second-guessing.

When I have laid bait for deer, I don’t shoot at the first doe that comes to sniff, but wait until the whole herd has gathered round.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

OTTO VON BISMARCK

The 48 Laws of Power

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The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power