48 Laws of Power

[winston]

Law 20
Do Not Commit to Anyone

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself.

By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

[winston]

Law 21
Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons.

The trick, 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.

[winston]

Law 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 check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.

[winston]

Law 23
Concentrate Your Forces

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point.

You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time.

When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

[winston]

Law 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 superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot 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.

[winston]

Law 25
Re-Create Yourself

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience.

Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you.

Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

[winston]

Law 26
Keep Your Hands Clean

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds.

Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat's-paws to disguise your involvement.

[winston]

Law 27
Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something.

Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow.

Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking.

Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf.

In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

[winston]

Law 28
Enter Action with Boldness

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it.

Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution.

Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness.

Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity.

Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

[winston]

Law 29
Plan All the Way to the End

The ending is everything.

Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others.

By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop.

Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.