The 48 Laws Of Power

neverletothersstealthe

glory.

Oncehehadreachedhisstated

goal,

he

withdrewintohisshelllikeaturtle.Thiskindofselfcontrolis

godlike.

When

you

seeseveral

steps

ahead,

and

planyour

movesallthe

way

tothe

end,

you

willno

longer

be

temptedby

emotionor

by

thedesireto

improvise.

Your

clarity

willrid

you

ofthe

anxiety

and

vagueness

thatare

the
primary

reasons

why

so

many

failtoconcludetheiractionssuccess-

fully.

Youseethe

ending

and

you

toleratenodeviation.

lm

age:

TheGodson

Mount

Olympus.

Looking

down on

humanactions fromthe

clouds,

they

seeinadvancethe

endings

ofall

the

great

dreamsthat

lead to disaster and

tragedy,

And

theylaugh

at our

inability

tosee

beyond

the

moment,

andathowwedeludeourselves.

Authority:

Howmucheasieritisneverto

get

inthanto

get

yourself

out!Weshouldact

contrary

tothereed

which,

whenitfirst

appears,

throws

up

a

longstraight

stembut

afterwards,

as

though

it

were

ex-

hausted

...

makesseveraldense

knots,

indicating

thatitno

longer

hasits

original vigor

anddrive.Wemustrather

begin

gently

and

coolly,saving

ourbreathfortheencounterandour

vigorous

thrusts

for

finishing

offthe

job.

Intheir

beginnings

itiswewho

guide

affairs

andholdtheminour

power;

but

so

often

once

they

are

setin

motion,

itis

they

which

guide

usand

sweep

us

along.(Montaigne.1533-1592)

LAW 29 243