Striking images and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to it. So stage shows for the people around you, full of captivating images and radiant symbols that increase your presence. Blinded by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing. • Don`t engage your friends for familiarity or favors. Friends are more likely to envy and deceive you and limit your power because it`s harder to maintain professional distance. It`s best to hire people with the skills and competencies to promote your interests. 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. So what are the 48 laws of power and how do you use them? These laws are for those who prefer to be players rather than pawns. To take you from an amateur gambler to a master player, Greene codified the 48 Laws of Power, based on historical examples of people who have excelled or failed in exercising power, with glorious or bloody results (or both). Some important principles you will learn: use your enemies, keep others dependent on you, say as little as possible, take credit for the work of others, control all options, do not take sides, create a cult and do not get your hands dirty. Save your energy by focusing them all on a single energy source. When looking for such a source, identify a single source that will keep you for a long time.
You gain more power by finding a single rich source than by going back and forth between many flatter energy sources. The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disillusionment. Life is so hard and oppressive that people who can create romance or evoke fantasies are like oases in the desert: everyone flocks to them. There is great power to be drawn from the fantasies of the masses. Law 37: Create persuasive glasses: In addition to words, use pictures and symbols to emphasize your power. What people see impresses them more than what they hear. The only thing people in positions of power don`t want is to look helpless. But when you flaunt your skills right in front of them, that`s exactly what happens. King Louis XIV`s French finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, paid for this lesson with life in prison. When he threw an excessive party in his castle in favor of the king, the king accused him of theft, because no one could legally be that rich, and threw him in jail. By being tangible, you expose yourself to attacks.
Being malleable, adaptable and on the go makes you amazing. Accept that everything changes everywhere and embody this truth. By being as fluid as water, you protect yourself from the ever-changing nature of reality. By refusing to conform and change, you cannot evolve and your power is usurped. The powerful are constantly adapting, and their power comes from the speed at which they can change. EXCEPTION: Intentionally share your tips with others if you want to create a false sense of security and superiority. Feeling helpless is a miserable experience. If given the choice, everyone would choose more power instead of less. But in attempts to gain power, being so open is frowned upon. To rise to power, you must be subtle, cunning and democratic, but devious. Therefore, bestselling author Robert Greene argues in his controversial book “The 48 Laws of Power” that if you manage to seduce, charm and deceive your opponents, you will gain ultimate power.
Always make sure that those who feel comfortable above you are superior. Hide the extent of your own talents, otherwise your masters may feel insecure. The better you make your master appear, the higher the level of power you will reach. Those above you want to feel safe and superior in their positions. This can mean making a few harmless mistakes so you can ask your master for help. Over a period of more than 3,000 years, “The 48 Laws of Power” encompasses 48 works by men and women from various international civilizations, all of which share a common denominator. Greene`s book is a compendium of this accumulated wisdom and a true guide on how to become more powerful. It is an invaluable source of knowledge for those who want to move forward. Every momentary triumph you think you have achieved by arguments is in fact a Pyrrhic victory: the resentment and ill will you arouse is stronger and lasts 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. So what are the 48 laws of power? Greene codified 48 laws of power, based on examples and writings going back 3,000 years of people who excelled or failed in the exercise of power, with glorious or bloody results. Greene argues that following all 48 laws will generally increase your power, while non-compliance will decrease it or worse. It provides details on law enforcement as well as examples and analysis. You need to maintain an impeccable appearance. They should never be associated with bad actions. To do this, use scapegoats to hide your involvement. Your reputation depends more on what you hide than what you reveal.
You should always have a handy scapegoat on hand when you need to hide your most questionable activities. Keep people unbalanced and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no idea what you`re doing, they can`t prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, wrap them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late. “The 48 Laws of Power” is structured as a detailed list that deals with each law in detail. In this summary of the “48 Laws of Power”, we will examine each of the laws one by one and extract the key ideas to consider before moving on to the next step. Your enemies feel nothing but hostility towards you and want to eliminate you. The only way to have security and peace is to do to them what they would do to you.