The 48 Laws of Power - Summary and review

Here are the 48 laws of power, and a summary of each law. The laws will be added successively as I go through the book.

• Always make those above you feel comfortably superior.

• Impress and please your masters, but do not make them feel insecure or fear - do not outshine them.

• Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will raise in power.

• You have more to fear from friends than enemies

• Hire a former enemy - he will be more loyal than a friend, because 1. he has more to prove, 2. you are not clouded with personal judgement, and 3. motives are up front

• Often you think you know your friends better than you do - because honesty rarely strenghtens friendship

• If you have no enemies - find a way to make them - they keep us on our toes and prevent us from becoming lazy

• Throw up smoke screens to disguise your actions from your enemies

• Keep people off-balance by never revealing the real purpose

• If they are clueless to what you are up to - they can not prepare a defense

• If you appear as bland and harmless - they will not prepare a defense

• Guide them far enough down the wrong path and by the time they realize your true intentions, it will be too late

“The world wants to be deceived.” - Kierkegaard

• The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are

• Once words are out, you cannot take them back. Therefore, keep them under control

• If you cannot control your words, you show that you cannot control yourself, and are unworthy of respect

• When trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control

• When you do speak, make it vague and ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret

• Be particularly careful with sarcasm

• Your reputation is the cornerstone of your power

• Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen

• Learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations

• You can use respect to intimidate your opponent and win

• Ridiculing your opponent both puts him on the defensive and draws more attention to you, enhancing your own reputation

• Since everything is judged by appearance, you need to stand out

• Rather be slandered and attacked than ignored

• Surround your name with sensation and scandal - notoriety of any sort brings power

• Create mystery around yourself and you will get attention - don’t be an open book

• Do things that cannot easily be explained - hold back, keep silent, utter ambigous phrases, appear inconsisent

• Use the knowledge and work of other people to further your own cause

• Having others do your work will give you an intimidating look of efficiency and capacity

• The people who helped you will be forgotten and you will be remembered

• Doing all the work yourself won’t get you far

• Never do yourself what others can do for you - save your valuable time and energy

• In negotation or meetings - lure your opponent into your own territory

• In your territory you set the rules, while your opponent are kept off balance and have to abandon his plans

• The greedier someone is, the more likely they are to take your bait

• When you force your opponent to act - you are the one in control

• Quick wins through arguments often turn out to be momentary and stir up more problems than they solve

• Instead, get people to agree with you through actions - without you saying a word

• Demonstrate your beliefs by taking action and see long-lasting changes of opinion