Always say less than necessary: Speak as little as possible and avoid unnecessary self-promotion.

Play a sucker to catch a sucker—seem dumber than your mark: By appearing less powerful or knowledgeable than your target, you can gain the upper hand.

Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit: Use the efforts of others to your advantage, but make sure you are the one who gets the credit.

Make your accomplishments seem effortless: Appear as though your success is the result of natural talent and ability, rather than hard work and effort.

Play on people's need to believe to create a cult-like following: Appeal to people's emotional needs and desires in order to create a loyal following.

Control the options: Limit the options of others, while providing as many options for yourself as possible.

Never outshine the master: Always make those above you feel comfortably superior, and never rival them.

Conceal your intentions: Keep your true goals and motives hidden, and always appear to be acting for the benefit of others.

Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies: Be wary of those who are close to you, and use your enemies as a means of gaining power.

Court attention at all costs: Use any means necessary to attract attention and gain power, even if it means acting in a controversial or outrageous manner.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a bestselling book that provides a guide to gaining, maintaining, and using power in various social and professional situations. Some key ideas from the book include:

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.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Philosophy

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Leadership & Management

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Society, Arts & Culture

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.

Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature.

8.

Similar ideas to 8.

Lack of Practice

The Impostor Syndrome

Types of mindsets