In 959, the general Chao K`uang-yin became Emperor Sung. He knew the chances, the probability, that he would be murdered in a year or two; How could he break the pattern? Shortly after becoming emperor, Sung ordered a banquet to celebrate the new dynasty and invited the most powerful commanders of the army. After drinking a lot of wine, he dismissed the guards and everyone except the generals, who were now afraid of assassinating them in one fell swoop. Instead, he turned to her: “I spend all day in fear and I am unhappy both at the table and in my bed. After all, who among you doesn`t dream of ascending the throne? I do not doubt your loyalty, but if your subordinates, who aspired to wealth and position, imposed on you in turn the yellow robe of the emperor, how could you refuse it? Drunk and fearing for their lives, the generals proclaimed their innocence and loyalty. But Sung had other ideas: “The best way to spend your days is to peacefully enjoy wealth and honor. If you are ready to give up your orders, I am ready to provide you with beautiful lands and mansions where you can have your pleasure with singers and girls as companions. Remember: you choose to let things bother you. You may as well choose not to notice the irritating abuser, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. This is the most powerful step. Law 9: Win by your actions, never by your argumentsAny momentary triumph that you think you have won by arguments is in fact a Pyrrhic victory: the resentment and ill will you arouse are stronger and last longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you by your actions without saying a word.
Demonstrate, not explain. In short, courtiers must be masters of flattery, deceit, and manipulation. And while this may seem like a recipe for disaster, the truth is that courtiers can be invaluable to those in power. After all, sometimes it takes the machinations of a courtier to get things done in a complicated world. Another powerful tool to deter people from perfume is false sincerity. People easily confuse sincerity with honesty. Remember – their first instinct is to trust appearances, and since they value honesty and want to believe in the honesty of the people around them, they will rarely doubt you or see through your act. Believing what you say gives a lot of weight to your words.
This is how Iago deceived and destroyed Othello: given the depth of his feelings, the apparent sincerity of his concern about Desdemona`s alleged infidelity, how could Othello distrust him? Thus, the great con artist Yellow Kid Weil also attracted sand in the eyes of the suckers: he seemed to believe so deeply in the deceived object that he swayed in front of them (a fake tree, a vaunted racehorse), and made it difficult to doubt his reality. It is, of course, important not to go too far in this area. Sincerity is a tricky tool: appearing too passionate and arousing suspicion. Be measured and believable or your cunning will look like it is. If you decide to isolate yourself from your enemies and the world in general, you cut yourself off from valuable information. This makes you vulnerable to attacks. It`s always best to mingle with people because you`re better protected in a crowd. Because humans are social beings, power comes with social interaction. Law 5: It all depends on reputation – Protect it with your life: Nurture and protect your reputation, because reputation is an essential part of power. With a good reputation, you can influence and intimidate others.
So there are many who think that a wise prince, when given the opportunity, should cleverly stir up enmity so that he can increase his greatness by suppressing it. Princes, and especially new ones, have found more faith and utility in men whom they regarded with suspicion at the beginning of their power than in those to whom they first confided. Pandolfo Petrucci, Prince of Siena, ruled his state more by those he suspected than by others. At the time of his speech in 1850, Bismarck made several calculations. First, he felt that the Prussian army, which had not kept pace with other European armies, was not ready for war – that Austria could indeed very well win, a catastrophic outcome for the future. Second, if the war were lost and Bismarck had supported it, his career would be seriously threatened. The king and his conservative ministers wanted peace; Bismarck wanted power. The answer was to dissuade people from smelling by supporting a cause he hated and saying things he would laugh at if someone else said it. An entire country has been deceived.
It was because of Bismarck`s speech that the king appointed him minister, a post from which he quickly rose to become prime minister and obtained the power to strengthen the Prussian army and achieve what he had always wanted: the humiliation of Austria and the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership. Titles are laws, while bullet points offer a brief explanation: you can choose to apply or reject these rules, but you can`t escape them. He had created a monster. He had allowed a man to see power up close – a man who wanted more, who asked for everything and got it, who felt burdened by the charity he had received and simply did what many people do in such a situation: they forget the favors they have received and imagine that they have earned their success by their own merits. Galileo developed a new strategy in 1610 when he discovered Jupiter`s moons. Instead of dividing the discovery among his patrons – giving one the telescope he had used, dedicating one book to another, etc. – as he had done in the past, he decided to focus exclusively on the Medici. He chose the Medici for a reason: shortly after Cosimo I. Having founded the Medici dynasty in 1540, he had made Jupiter, the most powerful of the gods, the symbol of the Medici – a symbol of power that transcended politics and banking and was linked to ancient Rome and its deities. People in positions of power are often able to earn respect and reverence, not because of their titles or wealth, but because of their attitude and behavior. By acting like a king, confident, determined, and commander, you can encourage others to treat you with the same respect and admiration.
Of course, it`s important to be aware of the line between trust and arrogance, but if you find the right balance, you`ll be well on your way to being treated like a king. When it comes to power, perhaps the worst mistake of all is to overshadow the Master. Choose your opponents wisely. There are people who, once defeated, will spend the rest of their lives trying to take revenge. Therefore, it is worth not offending the wrong person. The ability to properly measure people is the most important thing to gain and retain power. Make sure you know everything about a person before you work with them. “Machiavelli has a new rival. And Sun Tzu had better take care of his back. Greene.
has compiled a checklist of ambitious behaviours. Simply reading the table of contents is enough to arouse a little desire for corner desks. ” – New York magazine “Beguiling. cultivated. fascinating. An ironic base for people who desperately want to be at the top. ” – People Magazine “A Legacy of the Prince by Machiavelli. Sweeter souls will find this book frightening, those whose moral compass is focused solely on power will have a perfect vademecum. – Publishers Weekly “Satisfying dense and. literary, with fantastic examples of players of ingenious power games.
It`s The Rules meets In Pursuit of Wow! with a degree in comparative literature. The key to power is therefore the ability to judge who is best placed to advance your interests in all situations. Think of friends as friends, but work with qualified and knowledgeable people. Law 25: Recreate yourselfDo not accept the roles that society imposes on you. Recreate yourself by forging a new identity, which attracts attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image instead of letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic means into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will appear larger than life. In 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene offers an insightful and entertaining guide to the power games that are part of everyday life.
Using historical and contemporary examples, he shows how leaders used (and sometimes abused) principles of deception, manipulation, and intimidation to achieve their goals. Law 1: Never overshadow the MasterAlways let those above you feel far superior. In your desire to please or impress them, don`t go too far to show off your talents, otherwise you might realize the opposite – instill fear and insecurity. Make your Masters look brighter than they are, and you will reach the heights of power. Greene claims, whether you like it or not, that you`re part of a never-ending power game. Either you aspire to power and exercise it, or you are a pawn played by someone more powerful than you. You choose your role. In both cases, the 48 laws provide a thought-provoking look at the games people play to win and retain power. Think of the 48 Laws of Power as a kind of textbook on the arts of indirection. The laws are based on the writings of men and women who have studied and mastered the game of power.
These writings cover a period of more than three thousand years and were created in civilizations as diverse as ancient China and Renaissance Italy. Yet they share common threads and themes that together point to an essence of power that has not yet been fully articulated.