48
LAWS OF
POWER
The 48 Laws of Power summary outlines three thousand years of
experience in achieving power and success in a list of simple
rules and laws - the laws of nature.
1st of 48 laws of power
Never outshine the master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your
desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying
your talents or you might accomplish the opposite, to inspire fear
and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they
are and you will attain the heights of power.
2nd of 48 laws of power
Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies
Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are
easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical.
But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend,
because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from
friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to
make them.
3rd of 48 laws of power
Conceal your intentions
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose
behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they
cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path,
envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your
intentions, it will be too late.
4th of 48 laws of power
Always say less than necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the
more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying
something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended,
and sphinx-like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less.
The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
5th of 48 laws of power
So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can
intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will
be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be
alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile,
learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations.
Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.
6th of 48 laws of power
Court attention at all cost
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing.
Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion.
Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention
by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and
timid masses.
7th of 48 laws of power
Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own
cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it
will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your
helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what
others can do for you.
8th of 48 laws of power
Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary
When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always
better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process.
Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards.
9th of 48 laws of power
Win through your actions, never through argument
Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic
victory. The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer
than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others
to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate,
do not explicate.
10th of 48 laws of power
Infection, avoid the unhappy and unlucky
You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious
as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only
precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune
on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and
fortunate instead.
11th of 48 laws of power
Learn to keep people dependent on you
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more
you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for
their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them
enough so that they can do without you.
12th of 48 laws of power
Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted
gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious
people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and
manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.
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13th of 48 laws of power
When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance
and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request,
or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion.
He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.
14th of 48 laws of power
Pose as a friend, work as a spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that
will keep you a step ahead. Better still, play the spy yourself. In polite social
encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their
weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for
artful spying.
15th of 48 laws of power
Crush your enemy totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely.
Sometimes they have learned this the hard way. If one ember is left alight, no matter
how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping
halfway than through total annihilation. The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge.
Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
16th of 48 laws of power
Use absence to increase respect and honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down. The more you are seen and heard from,
the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary
withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must
learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
17th of 48 laws of power
Keep others in suspended terror, cultivate an air of unpredictability
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other
people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the
tables, be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency
or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to
explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.
18th of 48 laws of power
Do not build fortresses to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves.
A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects
you from, it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an
easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from
your enemies by the crowd.
19th of 48 laws of power
Know who you’re dealing with, do not offend the wrong person
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that
everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some
people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves
in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend
or deceive the wrong person.
20th of 48 laws of power
Do not commit to anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but
yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing
people against one another, making them pursue you.
21st of 48 laws of power
Play a sucker to catch a sucker, seem dumber than your mark
No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims
feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they
will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.
22nd of 48 laws of power
Use the surrender tactic, transform weakness into power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender
gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait
for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you
– surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make
surrender a tool of power.
23rd of 48 laws of power
Concentrate your forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point.
You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one
shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources
of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for
a long time to come.
24th of 48 laws of power
Play the perfect courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and
political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to
superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner.
Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you
can rise in the court.
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25th of 48 laws of power
Re-create yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a
new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master
of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic
devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your
character will seem larger than life.
26th of 48 laws of power
Keep your hands clean
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency, your hands are never soiled by
mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as
scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.
27th of 48 laws of power
Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult-like following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point
of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words
vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking.
Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your
behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system
will bring you untold power.
28th of 48 laws of power
Enter action with boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations
will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous, better to enter with boldness. Any
mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone
admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
29th of 48 laws of power
Plan all the way to the end
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible
consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and
give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by
circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine
the future by thinking far ahead.
30th of 48 laws of power
Make your accomplishments seem effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that
go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act
effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard
you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used
against you.
31st of 48 laws of power
Control the options, get others to play with the cards you deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice. Your
victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options
that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices
between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the
horns of a dilemma and they are gored wherever they turn.
32nd of 48 laws of power
Play to people’s fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth
and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment.
Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure
up fantasy are like oases in the desert, everyone flocks to them. There is great power
in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
33rd of 48 laws of power
Discover each man’s thumbscrew
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity,
an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way,
once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.
34th of 48 laws of power
Be royal in your own fashion, act like a king to be treated like one
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run,
appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself
and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers,
you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
35th of 48 laws of power
Master the art of timing
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over
time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually.
Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends
that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to
strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.
36th of 48 laws of power
Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring them is the best revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention
you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and
more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there
is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal,
the more superior you seem.
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37th of 48 laws of power
Create compelling spectacles
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds
to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant
symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you
are really doing.
38th of 48 laws of power
Think as you like but behave like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and
unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down
upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far
safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant
friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
39th of 48 laws of power
Stir up waters to catch fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and
objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain
a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance, find the chink in their vanity through
which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
40th of 48 laws of power
Despise the free lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden
obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear
of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there
is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating,
for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
41st of 48 laws of power
Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you
succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their
achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of
your own making. Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the
overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
42nd of 48 laws of power
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant
underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others
will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply,
do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence
by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will
scatter.
43rd of 48 laws of power
Work on the hearts and minds of others
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others
into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn.
And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses.
Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and
what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.
44th of 48 laws of power
Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception. When you mirror
your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The mirror
effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their
psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a
mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of mirror effect.
45th of 48 laws of power
Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people
are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are
new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of
respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle
improvement on the past.
46th of 48 laws of power
Never appear too perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear
to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally
display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more
human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
47th of 48 laws of power
In victory, learn when to stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory,
arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the mark you had aimed for, and by
going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to
your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and
when you reach it, stop.
48th of 48 laws of power
Assume formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of
taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept
the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself
is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order.
Everything changes.
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