by Robert Greene
8/10
Key Idea:
When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest.
Conceal your intentions. Think as you like but behave like others.
Stay adaptable.
Other interesting notes:
Law 1: Never outshine the master
Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends, learn to use enemies
Law 3: Conceal your intentions
Law 4: Always say less than necessary
Law 5: So much depends on reputation – guard it with your life
Law 6: Court attention at all cost
Law 7: Let others to do the work for you, but always take credit
Law 8: Make other people come to you – use bait if necessary
Law 9: Win through your actions, never through argument
Law 10: Infection: Avoid the unhappy and the unlucky
Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you. Never teach them enough so they can do without you.
Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim. One sincere move will cover over a dozen dishonest ones.
Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy
• Do not remind people of past deeds.
• Find something that will benefit them and emphasize it out of proportion.
Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy
Law 16: Use absence to increase respect and honor
Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability
Law 18: Do not build fortresses to protect yourself – isolation is dangerous
Law 19: Know who you’re dealing with – do not offend the wrong person
Law 20: Do not commit to anyone
Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker- seem dumber than your mark
Law 22: When you’re weaker, never fight just for honor but surrender
Law 23: Concentrate your forces
Law 25: Re-create yourself
Law 26: Keep your hands clean – others as scapegoats to disguise your involvement
Law 27: Play on people’s need to believe to create a cultlike following
Law 28: Enter action with boldness – If you’re unsure then don’t do it
Law 29: Plan all the way to the end
Law 30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless
• Do not reveal how hard you work
• Teach no one your tricks
Law 31: Control the opinions: get others to play with the cards you deal. The best deceptions seem to give the other person a choice
Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies
Law 33: Discover each man’s weakness. Its usually insecurity, uncontrollable emotions, secret pressures
Law 34: Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one
Law 35: Master the art of timing – Never seem in a hurry, always seem patient
Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them if the best revenge
Law 37: Create compelling spectacles
Law 38: Think as you like but behave like others
Law 39: Make enemies emotional while you stay calm. Anger and emotion is counterproductive.
Law 40: Despise the free lunch
Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes
Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others. Coercion will work against you
Law 44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect. When you mirror exactly what your enemies do, they cannot figure out your strategy
Law 45: Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once
Law 46: Never appear too perfect
Law 47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory know when to stop
Law 48: Assume formlessness – Stay adaptable
Thoughts on the book:
If integrity is high in your list of values, and it should be, you shouldn’t do most things on the list. But it’s still important to understand how others use these principles against you.
If you like this, you’ll probably like: Influence, How to win friends and influence people, books
Leo :) 