48 laws to become powerful. (Part-1)

1. NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER:

Always make those above you feel comfortably superion. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite-inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

2. NEVER PUT TOO MUCH TRUST IN FRIENDS, LEARN HOW TO USE ENEMIES

Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hure a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from en- emies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

3. CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never reveal ing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your inten tions, it will be too late.

4. ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

5. SO MUCH DEPENDS ON REPUTATION-GUARD IT WITH YOUR LIFE

Reputation is the cornerstone of power Through puta tion alone you can intimidate and win, once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

6. COURT ATTENTION AT ALL COST

 

Everything is judged by its appearance, what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be con- spicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses.

7. GET OTHERS TO DO THE  WORK FOR YOU, BUT ALWAYS TAKE THE CREDIT

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

8. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE COME TO YOU- USE BAIT IF NECESSARY

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains-then attack. You hold the cards.

9. WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT

Any momentary triumph you think you have punet through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory. The ment ment and ill will you stir up us stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

10. INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND UNLUCKY

You can die from someone else's misery-emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the dining man but you are only precipitating your on disaster. The unfortunate sometimes drawe misfer tune on themselves, they will also draw it on you. Associ ate with the happy and fortunate instead.

11.  LEARN TO KEEP PEOPLE DEPENDENT ON YOU

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

12.  USE SELECTIVE HONESTY AND GENEROSITY TO DISARM YOUR VICTIM

One sincere and honest move will cover over douens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift-a Trojan horse-will serve the same purpose.

13. WHEN ASKING FOR HELP, APPEAL TO PEOPLE'S SELF-INTEREST, NEVER TO THEIR MERCY OR GRATITUDE

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to re mind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover some thing in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees to be gained for himself.

 

14. POSE AS A FRIEND, WORK AS A SPY

Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encoun- ters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occa- sion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.

15.  CRUSH YOUR ENEMY TOTALLY

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation. The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

16. USE ABSENCE TO INCREASE RESPECT AND HONOR

Too much circulation makes the price go down. The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you ap per If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

17. KEEP OTHERS IN SUSPENDED TERROR: CULTIVATE AN AIR OF UNPREDICTABILITY

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people's actions. Your predictabil ity gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be de liberately unpredictable Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

18. DO NOT BUILD FORTRESSES TO PROTECT YOURSELF- ISOLATION IS DANGEROUS

The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere- everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from--it cuts you off from valuable informa tion, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people, find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.

19. KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH- DO NOT OFFEND THE WRONG PERSON

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seek ing revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then-never of fend or deceive the wrong person.

20. DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not com mit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of other playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

21. PLAY A SUCKER TO CATCH A SUCKER-SEEM DUMBER THAN YOUR MARK

No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart-and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

22.  USE THE SURRENDER TACTIC: TRANSFORM WEAKNESS INTO POWER

When you are weaker, never fight for honor's sake, choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you-surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make sur render a tool of power.

23. CONCENTRATE YOUR FORCES

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain mor by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, then by fi ting from one shallow mine to another-intensity dejts extensity every time. When looking for sources of pr elevate you, find the one kry patron, the fat our wholl give you milk for a long time to come.

24. PLAY THE PERFECT COURTIER

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to supe riors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

( Remaining laws in next series)

Stay tuned ✨