Always make those above you feel superior. If you make them appear more brilliant than they are, you will attain the heights of power. Outshining your master can lead to insecurity and resentment, which may result in your downfall. Instead, make your talents seem like a reflection of their greatness.

1. Never Outshine the Master

Visibility is crucial for power; hide, and you lose influence. Seek attention through any means necessary—controversy, spectacle, or charisma—but never allow yourself to be ignored or disappear into the crowd.

6. Court Attention at All Costs

Use the skills, time, and effort of others to your advantage. Delegating allows you to save energy and appear more capable. Always ensure that you receive the credit for the work done to enhance your status.

7. Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit

Demonstrate your power and intelligence through results rather than words. Arguments breed resentment and resistance; let your success speak for itself and silence opposition.

9. Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument

To maintain power, make others rely on your skills or resources. The more dependent they are, the more control you have. Avoid making yourself unnecessary or replaceable.

11.Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

Maintain your independence and flexibility by not tying yourself down. This allows you to navigate situations without being constrained by obligations.

20.Do Not Commit to Anyone

Being unpredictable keeps others on their toes and makes them wary of you. This uncertainty can be a powerful tool to maintain control and influence over others.

17. Keep Others in Suspended Terror

Isolation makes you vulnerable. Stay connected to the world and maintain a network of allies. Engage with others to gather information and support, which is essential for survival.

18. Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is ☢

Understand the personalities and motivations of those around you. Offending the wrong person can lead to unnecessary conflict. Choose your battles wisely and know your opponents.

19.Know Who You’re Dealing With – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

Emotions are contagious—associate with the happy and successful to enhance your own luck and positive energy. Misery and misfortune can spread, so distance yourself from negativity to maintain your power.

10. Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky

Too much presence can diminish your value. Create value through scarcity; by withdrawing occasionally, you can increase your worth and make others appreciate you more.

16. Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor

The more you say, the more common you appear and the less in control. Powerful people intimidate and impress by saying less. Silence can create an aura of mystery and authority, making your words more impactful when you do speak.

4. Always Say Less than Necessary

Gather information by building relationships. Appear friendly and trustworthy while quietly learning secrets and weaknesses that you can use to your advantage.

14. Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

Keep your plans vague and your goals hidden. If others don’t know what you’re up to, they cannot interfere or sabotage you. Use misdirection and deception to protect your interests and maintain an advantage.

3. Conceal Your Intentions

Your reputation is a cornerstone of your power. Protect it fiercely and guard it against attacks. A strong reputation can intimidate rivals and open doors; without it, you cannot succeed.

5. So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard It with Your Life

When you force others to act, you set the terms of engagement. Make them come to you, and you hold the power in the interaction. Use attraction, enticement, or manipulation to draw others in.

8. Make Other People Come to You – Use Bait if Necessary

A single act of honesty or generosity can cover many dishonest ones. Use it to throw opponents off guard and win their trust, making them vulnerable and easier to control.

12. Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim

People are motivated by what benefits them. When seeking help, frame your request in terms of what they will gain, not what you will lose. This makes them more willing to assist you.

13. When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest

Friends can betray you out of emotion and envy, while enemies can be more reliable if they have something to prove. Use former enemies to your advantage; they may be more loyal than friends because they have something to gain by proving themselves.

2.Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies

Leaving an enemy weakened can lead them to seek revenge later. Remove all threats and opposition completely for lasting security and to consolidate your power.

15. Crush Your Enemy Totally

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene:      These are only 20 laws. I will post the remaining 28 laws in my next upcoming post. Thank you.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.   Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature.

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