# The 48 Laws of Power  ## Metadata - Author: [[Robert Greene]] - Full Title: The 48 Laws of Power - Category: #books ## Highlights - If the game of power is inescapable, better to be an artist than a denier or a bungler. ([Location 201](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=201)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The real purpose of the backward-glancing eye is to educate yourself constantly—you look at the past to learn from those who came before you. ([Location 224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=224)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do not do, what you do not allow yourself to get dragged into. For this skill you must learn to judge all things by what they cost you. ([Location 259](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=259)) - Never discriminate as to whom you study and whom you trust. Never trust anyone completely and study everyone, including friends and loved ones. ([Location 271](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=271)) - When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all. ([Location 371](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=371)) - Never take your position for granted and never let any favors you receive go to your head. ([Location 397](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=397)) - If your ideas are more creative than your master’s, ascribe them to him, in as public a manner as possible. Make it clear that your advice is merely an echo of his advice. ([Location 403](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=403)) - While a friend expects more and more favors, and seethes with jealousy, these former enemies expected nothing and got everything. ([Location 533](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=533)) - The receipt of a favor can become oppressive: It means you have been chosen because you are a friend, not necessarily because you are deserving. ([Location 552](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=552)) - The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent. ([Location 568](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=568)) - Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. It is sometimes better, then, to use enemies as enemies rather than transforming them into friends or allies. ([Location 585](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=585)) - One of the most effective smoke screens is the noble gesture. People want to believe apparently noble gestures are genuine, for the belief is pleasant. They rarely notice how deceptive these gestures can be. ([Location 893](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=893)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The more Coriolanus said, the less powerful he appeared—a person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect. ([Location 997](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=997)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Power is in many ways a game of appearances, and when you say less than necessary, you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than you are. ([Location 1039](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1039)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Once the words are out, you cannot take them back. Keep them under control. Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay. ([Location 1064](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1064)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Since we must live in society and must depend on the opinions of others, there is nothing to be gained by neglecting your reputation. By not caring how you are perceived, you let others decide this for you. Be the master of your fate, and also of your reputation. ([Location 1243](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1243)) - Barnum understood the fundamental truth about attracting attention: Once people’s eyes are on you, you have a special legitimacy. ([Location 1314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1314)) - The worst fate in the world for a man who yearns fame, glory, and, of course, power is to be ignored. ([Location 1324](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1324)) - Society craves larger-than-life figures, people who stand above the general mediocrity. Never be afraid, then, of the qualities that set you apart and draw attention to you. ([Location 1342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1342)) - If you find yourself in a lowly position that offers little opportunity for you to draw attention, an effective trick is to attack the most visible, most famous, most powerful person you can find. ([Location 1354](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1354)) - What is not seen is as though it did not exist.... It was light that first caused all creation to shine forth. ([Location 1370](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1370)) - People are enthralled by mystery; because it invites constant interpretation, they never tire of it. ([Location 1414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1414)) - If you find yourself trapped, cornered, and on the defensive in some situation, try a simple experiment: Do something that cannot be easily explained or interpreted. ([Location 1466](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1466)) - Never appear overly greedy for attention, then, for it signals insecurity, and insecurity drives power away. ([Location 1499](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1499)) - the credit for an invention or creation is as important, if not more important, than the invention itself. You must secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or from piggy-backing on your hard work. ([Location 1563](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1563)) - If you think it important to do all the work yourself, you will never get far, and you will suffer the fate of the Balboas and Teslas of the world. Find people with the skills and creativity you lack. Either hire them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take their work and make it your own. ([Location 1596](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1596)) - You can slog through life, making endless mistakes, wasting time and energy trying to do things from your own experience. Or you can use the armies of the past. As Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.” ([Location 1610](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1610)) - To be a brilliant exploiter of talent your position must be unshakable, or you will be accused of deception. ([Location 1621](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1621)) - Kissinger played the game expertly: He took credit for the work of those below him while graciously giving credit for his own labors to those above. That is the way to play the game. ([Location 1626](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=1626)) - How can you protect yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they give for their problems. ([Location 2028](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=2028)) - Be the only one who can do what you do, and make the fate of those who hire you so entwined with yours that they cannot possibly get rid of you. ([Location 2086](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=2086)) - The best you can hope for is that others will grow so dependent on you that you enjoy a kind of reverse independence: Their need for you frees you. ([Location 2148](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0024CEZR6&location=2148))