The 48 Laws Of Power

This

applies

tomorethan

good

cheerandsuccess:All

positivequali~

tiescaninfectus.

Talley:-and

had

manystrange

and

intimidating

traits,

but

most

agreed

thathe

surpassed

all

Frenchmenin

gmciousness,

aristocratic

charm,and
wit.Indeedhecamefrom
one
of
theoldestnoblefamiliesin

the
country,

and

despite

hisbeliefin

democracy

andtheFrench

Republic,

heretainedhis

courtly

manners.His

contemporaryNapoleon

wasin

many

ways

the

opposite~—~apeasant

from

Corsica,

tacitum

and

ungracious,

even

violent.

There

was

noone

Napoleon

admiredmorethan

Talleyrand.

Heen-

vied his minister’s
way

with

people,

his witandhis

ability

to charm

women,
andasbesthe
could,
he

kept

Talleyrand

around

him,

hoping

to

soak
up

theculturehelacked.Thereisnodoubtthat

Napoleonchanged

as

hisrule
continued.
Many

ofthe

roughedges

weresmoothed

by

hiscon-

stantassociationwith

Talleyrand.

.

Usethe

positive

sideof

thisemotionalosmosisto

advantage.

If,

forex-

ample,you

are

miserlyby

nature,

you

willnever

gobeyond

acertain

limit;

onlygenerous

soulsattain

greatness.

Associatewiththe

generous,

then,

and

they

will

infect

you,openingupeverything

that

is

tight

andrestricted

in
you.

If

you

are

gloomy,gravitate

tothecheerful.If

you

are

prone

toiso

lation,
force
yourselfto

befriendthe

gregarious.

Neverassociatewiththose

whoshare
yourdefects——~they

willreinforce

everything

thatholds

you

back.
Only

createassociationswith

positive

aflinities.Makethisaruleof

lifeand
you

willbenefitmorethanfromallthe

therapy

in

theworld.

Authority: Recognize

the fortu~

nate

so that

you may

choose

their

company,

andthe1mfortu—

nate so that

you may

avoid

them.Misfortuneis

usually

the

crimeof

folly,

and

among

those

whosufferfrom

it

there isno

malady

more

contagious:

Never

openyour

doortotheleastof

misfortunes,for,

if

you

do,

many

otherswillfollowinitstrain....

Do

not

die

ofanother’s

misery.

{Baltasar

Grecian,

1601-1658)

REVERSAL

Thislaw

admitsofnoreversal.Its

application

isuniversal.Thereis

nothing

tobe

gainedbyassociating

withthosewhoinfect

you

withtheir

misery;

thereis

onlypower

and

good

fortunetobeobtained

byassociating

with

thefortunate.

Ignore

thislawat

yourperil.

LAW 10 :81