48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power is a book written by Robert Greene.

Who is Robert Greene, you ask? Exactly.

Clearly this guy is a strategist. But also those who cannot do: teach. I looked up his net worth and it's $7M. I'll be richer than him in under 5 years, eh?

Now I don't do a lot of reading.

I feel like I've read like a dozen books in my entire life. None in the last 10 years. And 7 of them Harry Potter.

Luckily this 48 Laws book acts as its own CliffsNotes.

I didn't have to read the book, did I? Just had to read 48 'laws'. Let the laws commence!

https://www.shortform.com/blog/what-are-the-48-laws-of-power/

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master: Ensure that those above you always feel superior. Go out of your way to make your bosses look better and feel smarter than anyone else. Everyone is insecure, but an insecure boss can retaliate more strongly than others can.
Law 2: Never Put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies: Keep a close eye on your friends — they get envious and will undermine you. If you co-opt an enemy, he’ll be more loyal than a friend because he’ll try harder to prove himself worthy of your trust. Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions: Always hide your true intentions. Create a smokescreen. If you keep people off-balance and in the dark, they can’t counter your efforts. Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary: Say little and be ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret. The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are. Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation — Guard It with Your Life: Nurture and guard your reputation because reputation is integral to power. With a strong reputation, you can influence and intimidate others. Law 6: Create an Air of Mystery: Be outrageous or create an aura of mystery. Any attention — positive or negative — is better than being ignored. Attention brings you wealth. Law 7: Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit: Get others to do your work for you. Use their skill, time, and energy to further your ambitions while taking full credit. You’ll be admired for your efficiency. Law 8: Make Other People Come to You — Use Bait if Necessary: Make your opponent come to you. When you force others to act, you’re in control. Bait them, then attack. Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument: Demonstrate your point rather than arguing. Arguing rarely changes anyone’s mind, but people believe what they see. They’re also less likely to be offended. Law 10: Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky: Avoid miserable people. The perpetually miserable spread misery like an infection, and they’ll drown you in it.

Law 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You: Make your superior dependent on you. The more she needs you, the more security and freedom you have to pursue your goals. Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim: Use honesty and generosity to disarm and distract others from your schemes. Even the most suspicious people respond to acts of kindness, leaving them vulnerable to manipulation. Law 13: When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest, Never to their Mercy or Gratitude: When you need help from someone in a position of power, appeal to their self-interest. They’ll be glad to help if they’ll get something in return, and you’ll get what you want without seeming desperate or irritating. Law 14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy: Be friendly, sympathetic, and interested to get people to reveal their deepest thoughts and feelings. When you know your opponent’s secrets, you can predict his behavior and control him. Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally: Crush your enemy completely. If you leave even one ember smoldering, it will eventually ignite. You can’t afford to be lenient. Law 16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor: Once you’ve become well-known, don’t wear out your welcome. The more you’re seen and heard from, the more you cheapen your brand. Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability: Throw others off balance and unnerve them with random, unpredictable acts. You’ll gain the upper hand. Law 18: Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous: Never isolate yourself when under pressure. This cuts you off from information you need, and when real danger arises you won’t see it coming. Law 19: Know Who You’re Dealing With – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person: When attempting to deceive someone, know who you’re dealing with, so you don’t waste your time or stir up a hornets’ nest in reaction. Law 20: Do Not Commit to Anyone: Don’t commit to any side or cause except yourself. By maintaining your independence, you remain in control — others will vie for your attention. You also have the ability to pit the sides against each other.

Law 21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber Than Your Mark: Make your intended victims feel as though they’re smarter than you are, and they won’t suspect you of having ulterior motives. Law 22: Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power: When you’re weaker, surrender rather than fighting for the sake of honor. This gives you time to build strength and undermine your victor. You’ll win in the end. Law 23: Concentrate Your Forces: Focus your resources and energies where you’ll have the most impact or get the most benefit. Otherwise, you’ll waste limited time and energy. Law 24: Play the Perfect Courtier: Learn the rules of the society you’re playing in, and follow them to avoid attracting unfavorable attention. This includes appearing like a team player and being careful about criticizing diplomatically. Law 25: Re-Create Yourself: Create a powerful image that stands out, rather than letting others define you. Change your appearance and emotions to suit the occasion. People who seem larger than life attract admiration and power. Law 26: Keep Your Hands Clean: You’ll inevitably make mistakes or need to take care of unpleasant problems. But keep your hands clean by finding others to do the dirty work, and scapegoats to blame. Law 27: Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following: Offer people something to believe in and someone to follow. Promise the world but keep it vague; whip up enthusiasm. People will respond to a desperate need for belonging. Followers line your pockets, and your opponents are afraid to rile them. Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness: When you act, do so boldly — and if you make mistakes, correct them with even greater boldness. Boldness brings admiration and power. Law 29: Plan All the Way to the End: Make detailed plans with a clear ending. Take into account all possible developments. Then don’t be tempted from your path. Otherwise, you risk being surprised and forced to react without time to think.

Law 30: Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless: Make difficult feats seem effortless and you’ll inspire awe in others and seem powerful. By contrast, when you make too much of your efforts, your achievement will seem less impressive and you’ll lose respect. Law 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal: To deceive people, seem to give them a meaningful choice. But sharply limit their options to a few that work in your favor regardless of which they choose. Your victims will feel in control, but you’ll pull the strings. Law 32: Play to People’s Fantasies: Conjure up alluring fantasies in contrast to the gloomy realities of life, and people will flock to you. Spin the right tale and wealth and power will follow. Law 33: Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew: Everyone has a weakness, a hole in his armor. Find it and it’s leverage that you can use to your advantage. Law 34: Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act Like a King to Be Treated Like One: Act like royalty and people will treat you that way. Project dignity and supreme confidence that you’re destined for great things, and others will believe it. Law 35: Master the Art of Timing: Anticipate the ebb and flow of power. Recognize when the time is right, and align yourself with the right side. Be patient and wait for your moment. Bad timing ends careers and ambitions. Law 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them Is the Best Revenge: Sometimes it’s better to ignore things because reacting can make small problems worse, make you look bad, and give your enemy attention. Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles: In addition to words, use visuals and symbols to underscore your power. What people see makes a greater impression on them than what they hear. Law 38: Think as You Like But Behave Like Others: Don’t make a show of being different, or people will think you look down on them and will retaliate against you. Law 39: Stir Up Waters to Catch Fish: Always stay calm and objective. When you get angry, you’ve lost control. But if you can make your enemies angry, you gain an advantage.

Law 40: Despise the Free Lunch: Use money and generosity strategically to achieve your goals. Use gifts to build a reputation of generosity, and also to obligate people to you. Law 41: Avoid Stepping Into a Great Man’s Shoes: If you succeed a great leader or famous parent, find or create your own space to fill. Sharply separate from the past and set your own standards — or you’ll be deemed a failure for not being a clone of your predecessor. Law 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter: Trouble in a group often starts with a single individual who stirs the pot. Stop them before others succumb to their influence. Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others: Win others’ hearts and minds. Play on their emotions and weaknesses, and appeal to their self-interest. You’ll have them eating out of your hand, and they’ll be less likely to turn on you. Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect: Seduce people by mirroring their emotions and interests; create the illusion that you share their values. They’ll be so grateful to be understood that they won’t notice your ulterior motives. Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, But Never Reform Too Much at Once: Talk change but move slowly. Evoke revered history and cloak your changes in familiar rituals. Too much change is unsettling and will spark backlash. Law 46: Never Appear Too Perfect: To forestall or mitigate envy, admit to a flaw or weakness, emphasize the role of luck, or downplay your talents. If you don’t recognize and nip envy in the bud, it will grow and the envious will work insidiously against you. Law 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For; In Victory, Learn When to Stop: When you’ve won, don’t let emotions push you past your goal. The moment of victory is dangerous because if you press your luck, you’ll blunder into something you haven’t planned for. Law 48: Assume Formlessness: Be flexible, fluid, and unpredictable — formless — so your opponents can’t get a fix on you and can’t figure out how to respond.

Upon reading these "Laws"...

I find that this is really just an instruction manual for corporate sociopaths looking to climb the ladder and scramble out of the Rat Race the fastest. Very interesting, but also ridiculous that so many people take these "Laws" as fact and then try to employ them in their daily life.

This is a book on zero-sum game theory.

But you know the funny thing about life (and crypto)? Life isn't a zero-sum game. Only a narcissist sociopath can benefit from taking such a book seriously. The book is better used as a template for what is wrong in the world rather than what's good. These are some of the most manipulative tactics one will ever come across.

Laws of note:

• Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary.

This is one that I fail at constantly. I always overshare. I'm always brutally honest and transparent, and it's gotten me into quite a bit of trouble over my lifetime. I'm TERRIBLE at interviews. Just awful. Selling myself as a product and ignoring all my flaws and highlighting all my attributes is not in my skillset.

• Law 7: Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit.

I bet a lot of people can relate to this. Those who tend to be good at their job never seem to get the credit for it. Where does that credit go? Looks like we just found out.

• Law 8: Make Other People Come to You — Use Bait if Necessary: Make your opponent come to you. When you force others to act, you’re in control. Bait them, then attack.

This is one that I am pretty good at. My ex would always say that people were drawn to me because I was like introverted and mysterious and didn't really care what other people were up to. Weird how that reverse psychology plays out in the field.

• Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument

Once again, good advice, and a personal slap in the face. I'm always out there arguing for no reason when I should be building.

• Law 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

Gross. Kill yourself.

• Law 13: When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest, Never to their Mercy or Gratitude

This one actually reminds me of crypto. We can't rely on altruism and ask people pretty please to do the right thing. We have to build systems that incentivize the correct behavior using positive reinforcement.

• Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally

Winning isn't enough. Sometimes you have to kick someone when they are down and make them fear even the thought of crossing you again. Suddenly I'm reminded of "Reek" in Game of Thrones. This is also referred to as "overkill", and I wish I could say I didn't understand it or that it's wholly unnecessary. But I can't so I won't.

• Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

LoL, what am I a mob boss? Seriously though this is a good one for something like poker where if you remain predictable people can exploit your patterns and more easily put you on a hand in certain situations. Keep um guessing.

• Law 23: Concentrate Your Forces

Anyone who plays Starcraft knows you gotta focus-fire.

• Law 27: Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

I always talk about how I want to create a cult. I got the name picked out and everything. Surprising that I never blog about it.
One day I will reveal my Manifesto!

• Law 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For; In Victory, Learn When to Stop.

Again, in crypto this is an easy one to mess up. I said I was going to rebuy Hive at 80 cents, and then when it dropped to that level quickly I backed off and said 60 cents. Now we spiking up again when I should have just stuck to my original target. I'm sure most people can relate to this one in some form or another.

So all in all...

Great advice if you don't take it at face value. We must understand the context of the narrative being conveyed. The story being spun here is that you are in a hostile environment. You are are your only friend. Your ego is strong and everyone around you is a peasant or a tool to be manipulated by you.

If you tried to apply these 'laws' within cooperative environments, or ones that require healthy relationships and trust, you're going to fail miserably. Again, this is all zero-sum theory from the perspective of a sociopath playing the Game of Thrones. You either win the Game of Thrones, or you die.

Conclusion

This book is simultaneously a comical joke but also something that should be taken quite seriously. We obviously shouldn't strive to be gaslighting sociopaths, but at the same time it's good to recognize the tools that other master manipulators are using at the upper echelon. He could have just as easily titled it: Imperialism For Dummies, or How to Live an Empty Shell of an Existence.

At the same time, those who cannot do: teach. Why isn't the author a billionaire? Clearly he acts like one, which comically enough ties right into Law 32: Act Like a King to Be Treated Like One. At the end of the day advice and stories like this have to be taken with a huge grain of salt. After all, we're being sold a narrative with a financial incentive attached. I'm half surprised he doesn't claim that buying the book will increase my sexual prowess. Oh wait he wrote another one called The Art of Seduction. Ha...

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