The 48 Laws Of Power

from
the
crowd,

andthemoreadmiration

you

eam.

Society

is

fullofthose

whothink

daringthoughts

butlack

the

guts

to

print

and

publicize

them.

Voicewhatthe

public

feels--the

expression

ofshared

feelings

is

always

powerful.

Searchoutthemost

prominenttargetpossible

and

slingyour

boldestshot.Theworldwill
enjoy

the

spectacle,

andwillhonortheunder-

dog—you,

thatis-—with

glory

and

power.

KEYSTOPOWER

Mostofusaretimid.Wewanttoavoidtensionandconflictandwewantto

beliked

by

all.We

maycontemplate

a

boldactionbutwe

rarelybring

it

to

life.Weareterrifiedofthe
consequences,

ofwhatothers

might

thinkof

us,

ofthe

hostility

wewillstir

up

ifwedare

go

beyond

ourusual

place.

Although

we

maydisguise

our

timidity

asaconcernfor

others,

ade-

sirenottohurtoroffend

them,

infactitisthe

opposite—we

are

really

self-

absorbed,

worriedaboutourselvesandhow

others

perceive

us.

Boldness,

ontheother
hand,

is

outer-directed,

andoftenmakes

people

feelmoreat

ease,

sinceitislessself-consciousandless

repressed.

Thiscanbeseenmost

clearly

inseduction.All

great

seducerssucceed

througheffrontery.

Casanova’sboldnesswasnotrevealedina

daringap-

proach

to

thewomanhe

desired,

orin

intrepid

wordstoflatter

her;

itcon-

sistedinhis

ability

tosurrenderhimselftoher

completely

andtomakeher

believehewoulddo

anything

for

her,

evenriskhis

life,

whichinfacthe

sometimesdid.Thewomanonwhomhelavishedthisattentionunder-

stoodthatheheld

nothing

backfromher.Thiswas

infinitely

moreflatter-

ing

than

compliments.

Atno

pointduring

theseductionwouldheshow

hesitationor

doubt,

simply

becauseheneverfeltit.

Partofthecharmof

being

seducedisthatitmakesusfeel

engulfed,

temporarily

outsideofourselvesandtheusualdoubtsthat

permeate

our

lives.Themomenttheseducer

hesitates,

thecharmis

broken,because

we

become

awareofthe

process,

oftheir

deliberateefforttoseduce

us,

of

theirself-consciousness. Boldnessdirects attention outward and

keeps

theillusionalive.Itneverinducesawkwardnessorembarrassment.And

soweadmirethe

bold,

and

prefer

tobearound

them,

becausetheirself-

confidenceinfectsusanddrawsusoutsideourownrealmofinwardness

andreflection.

Fewarebornbold.

Even

Napoleon

hadtocultivatethe

habitonthe

battlefield,

whereheknewitwasamatteroflifeanddeath.Insocialset

tings

hewasawkwardand

timid,

butheovercamethisand

practiced

bold-

nessin

everypart

ofhislifebecausehesawitstremendous

power,

howit

could

literallyenlarge

itman

(even

one

who,

like

Napoleon,

wasinfact

conspicuously

small).

We

also

seethis

change

inIvanthe

Terrible:Aharm-

less

boysuddenly

transformshimselfintoa

powerfulyoung

manwhocom-

mands

authority,

simplybypointing

a

finger

and

taking

holdaction.

Youmust

practice

and

developyour

boldness.Youwilloftenfinduses

forit.Thebest

place

to

begin

isoftenthedelicateworldof

negotiation,par-

TflliHOY.’l.'\l‘l

TfiliNETTlJ’,

A

boyplaying

inthe

fieldsgotsrwzgby

a

nettle.Heranhometo

his

mother,

telling

her

thathehadbutIouched

rim!

nastyweed,

andit

had

stung

him.“Itwas

justyourtouching

it,

myboy,"sai1l

the

mnthflf.“thatcausedit

to

stingyou;

thenext

rime

you

meddlewitha

nettle,grasp

it

tightly,

anditwilldo

you

nohim.

”

Do

boldly

what

you

do

at

all.

FAHLES,

Aas

or,

sncmCENTURYEr).

lI\‘)\VT0BF,

VliI'l‘l)l'll()llE-4l.\l..('l\r'l',

Butwiththerewho

havemadean

impres-

sion

uponyourheart,

I

havenoticedthat

you

aretimid.This

quality

mightaffecl

abour-

geoise,

but

you

mu.rt

attacktheheart

afa

woman

ofllxr

world

withother

weapons.

.

..

Iwell

you

an

belmlfaf

women:lheff,’l5P10!073?

ofizs

whodoesno!

prefer

a

lime

rough

handling

to(onmuch

considemtimx.Men

lose

rlzroaigll

blunder-

ing

moreheartsthan

virmesaves.Themore

limidity

alovershows

will;asthemorei!

concernsour

pride

to

goal}

himon;themore

respect

hehas

for

our

LAW 28 233