The 48 Laws Of Power

Interpretation

Thiswasindeedthe
beginning

oftheend.Waterloo

wasstillsix

years

ahead,
but

Napoleon

wasonaslowdescentto

defeat,

ciystallizing

in 1812

withhisdisastrousinvasionofRussia.

Talleyrand

wasthefirsttoseethe

signs

ofhis

decline,

especially

intheirrationalwarwith

Spain.

Sometimein

1808,

theminister

decidedthatfor

thefuture

peace

of

Europe,Napoleon

hadto
go.

Andsohe

conspired

withFouché.

Itis

possible

thatthe

conspiracy

wasnever

anything

morethana

ploy~—a

deviceto

push

Napoleon

overthe

edge.

Foritishardtobelieve

thattwoofthemost

practical

menin

history

would

onlygohalfway

intheir

plotting.They may

havebeen

only stirring

the

waters,

trying

to

goad

Napoleon

intoa

misstep.

And

indeed,

what

theygot

wasthetarrtmrnthat

laidouthislossofcontrolforalltosee.In
fact,

Napoleorfs

soon—famous

blowup

thatafternoonhad a

profoundly negative

effecton his

public

image.

This

is

the

problem

with

the

angryresponse.

Atfirstit

may

strikefear

and
terror,
but
only

in

some,

andasthe

days

pass

andthestorm

clears,

other

responses erne:ge—embar1:assment

and uneasiness about the

shouter’s

capacity

for

going

outof

control,

andresentmentofwhathas

beensaid.

Losing

yourtemper,youalways

makeunfairand

exaggerated

accusations.
Afewsuchtiradesand

people

are

counting

the

days

until

you

are
gone.

Inthefaceofa

conspiracyagainst

him,

a

conspiracy

betweenhistwo

most
important
ministers,

Napoleoncertainly

hada

right

tofeel

angry

and

anxious.
But

byresponding

so

angrily,

and

so

publicly,

he

only

demon-

strated
his
frustration.
Toshow
your

frustration

istoshowthat

you

have

lost
yourpower

to

shape

events;

itisthe

helpless

action

of

thechildwhore-

sortstoa

hysterical

fitto

get

his

way.

The

powerful

neverrevealthiskindof

weakness.

Therewerea

numberof

thingsNapoleon

could

havedonein

thissitu~

alien.Hecouldhave

thought

aboutthefactthattwo

eminently

sensible

menhadhadreasontoturn

against

him,

andcouldhavelistenedand

learnedfromthem.Hecouldhavetriedtowinthembacktohim.Hecould

evenhave
gotten

ridof

them,

making

their

imprisonment

ordead;anomi-

nous

display

of

his

power.

No

tirades,

nochildish

fits,

no

embarrassing

afler-elfects—just

a

quiet

anddefinitive

severing

ofties.

Remember: Tantrums

neither

intimidate nor

inspireloyalty. They

only

createdoubtsanduneasinessabout

your

power.Exposing

your

weak’

ness,

these

stormyeruptions

oftenheralda.fall.

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAW

By

thelate

1920s,

HaileSelassiehad

nearly

achievedhis

goal

of

assuming

totalcontrolover

Ethiopia,

a

country

hefeltneeded

strong

andunified

leadership.

As

regent

tothe

empress

Zauditu

(stepdaughter

ofthelate

queen)

and

heirtothe

throne,

Selassiehad

spent

several

yearsweakening

the
power

of

Ethiopia’s

variouswarlords.Now

only

onerealobstaclestood

easily

seewhetherIris

t‘()I1l}lU.$'I1f(’

was

ruffled

ornot

bylooking

axthe

tea.

wizichwouldnot

fallevenlyground

to

the

propercarlsislency

iflrcgo!

excited.

And

so

/‘usllm

was(lone

impartially

and

ptmplfl

wml

away

from

his

court

.raIi.sfz‘ed.

CHA-N0-YU:

wew-Auwsr»."rm

L'l§RlZM()NY

A.L.SADLER.

l962

1}’/m.s'.\‘lblv,

noanimat-

l‘tyslmu1rt

he

feltfor

rznymw.

.,

.To

speak

angrily

toll

person,

to

show

your

hatred

by

what

youmy

or

by

the

wayyou

look,

Lr

an

!lIlIlL‘C(‘S.i‘aIyproceed-

i):g-dangerorrs.fool»

£312,rtrlicrllous,and

vulgar.

A

rrger

orhatredxhoul'rr'

Izeverbeshow;

other»

wisethaninwhat

you

do;

and

feelings

willbe

allthemore

effective

in

action,

inso

far

as

you

avoidtheexhibition

of

themin

any

other

way.

It

is

only

thecold-

blvorlellarlinmlx

whose

bileis

pui.s'mIr)u.r.

Am‘n1;n

S\“Ilf)l’F,NliAlJFR,

1

78244860

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