48 Laws of Power:

By: Robert Greene

Number of pages: 452

(listened to the audiobook)

Published on: 1998

"Place your iron hand inside a velvet glove." (pg. 1)

Power- the ability to influence people or the course of events- is sought after by all humans. To have power means to manipulate everything for your benefit. It gives you the ability to enforce authority and superiority over others.

The book, the 48 Laws of Power, gives you 48 different strategies to gain power. The author merges the works and stories of early thinkers, warriors, and leaders to explain the basis of each rule. The book tells you the nature of humans, their weaknesses, and strengths so that you can use them to your advantage.

The book is interesting in its complete devotion to ego and individuality. It creates an image of a world ruled totally by self-interest that may evoke a paranoid way of thinking. It looks down upon concepts like mercy, forgiveness, vulnerability, and community. It draws the image of a cut-throat environment in which you have to constantly calculate your and others' actions to gain and maintain power.

Someone who has such a mindset will not be able to create meaning or feel contentment in life. They will be chasing something that can always be taken away, something that prevents them from building memories and relationships with fellow human beings. Nonetheless, the rules can be useful first in detecting power-hungry behaviors, and second in an atmosphere that calls for such attitude- in law or business for instance.

Here are some interesting suggestions on how to be more powerful:

- Intro:

* Emotional response to a situation is the single greatest barrier to power

* Ability to distance yourself from the present moment and think objectively about the past and the future

* Never waste valuable time or mental peace of mind on the affair of others

* Never trust trust anyone completely and study everyone

- Law 1:

* Never outshine the master in your desire to please them

* Don't overshare tour talents: You will attain the highs of power if you let them believe they are better than you

- Law 2:

* Never put too much trust in friends: fear more from friends than enemies

- Law 3:

* Create a smoke screen- hide your intentions and only speak about little and bland goals

* Don't let them know your emotions: use bland expressions and distractions: misdirect people

- Law 4:

* Speak as little as possible- the more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish

* story of Louis IV: "I shall see."- not say much, but act on things

- Law 5:

* Protect your reputation and always be aware of attacks against it

* Michel Angelo's tactic of not arguing with dumb people

- Law 10:

* avoid the misfortunate and unhappy

* you may ruin yourself from the misery of others

* never underestimate the power of affections

- Law 13:

* when asking for help appeal to people's self- interests, never for their mercy and gratitude

* don't remind people of their past assistance to you

- Law 16:

* at the right moment, learn to withdraw before your value is lessened

* don't be present too often- too much circulation lessens the price

* make yourself less accessibility and you increase the value of your presence

- Law 17:

* keep others at suspense- your predictability gives people a sense of control

* a person of power will deliberately unsettle the people around him- unpredictable moves when are cornered will make them defensive

- Law 18:

* do not build fortresses to protect yourself, you will be alone

* isolation brings you down: you cut yourself from the knowledge that your life depends on

* force yourself into different circles

- Law 19:

* know who you are dealing with- differentiate hawks and vultures and act accordingly

* 5 most dangerous types of people that you should stay away from:

1) arrogant and prideful

2) hopelessly insecure

3) Mr. Suspicion

4) Serpent with a long memory

5) unassuming and unintelligent men

- Law 20:

* do not commit to anyone or thing

* do not feel obligated to anyone

* stay above the fighting/ let others do the fighting; you grow stronger with every fight you avoid

- Law 23:

* remake yourself into a character of power: do not limit yourself to the titles the world has easily associated you with

- Law 26:

* maintain a spotless career, conceal your mistakes, blame someone else- a scapegoat

* cleopatra example- a queen can't be seen with blood in her hands

- Law 27:

* offer people a cause: vague but promising: cult- like behavior

* create a cult for yourself by: use of simple vague and promising language (1), surround yourself with luxury (2), hierarchical structuring of the group (3), disguise your source of income (4), create an us vs. them dynamic (5)

- Law 33:

* find weaknesses of people:

- if they are shy they want attention

- if their weakness is insecurity they are a sucker for any sort of social validation

- if their weakness is unhappiness they feed on uncontrollable emotions

- Law 40:

* don't get free lunch

- Law 45:

* preach change but do it slowly not suddenly

* example of destructive one night change of removal of Catholicism in England

* disguise the change

- Law 46:

* never appear to be perfect

* admit to harmless faults to prevent envy in people and to appear human and approachable

- Law 48:

* let nobody know what gets to you

* be fluid: don't limit yourself and don't fit into any concrete cup

personal rating of the book: 9/10