The 48 Laws Of Power

fastasa

high-quality

item.Thecostsofthese

pursuits-——notalways

in

money(though

the

price

ofa

bargain

isoften

deceptive)

butintimeand

peace

of

mind—discoura.ge

normal

people

from

undertaking

them,

butfor

the

Bargain

Demonthe

bargain

isanendinitself.

These

typesmight

seemtoharm

only

themselves,

buttheirattitudes

are

contagious:

Unless

you

resistthem

they

willinfect

you

withtheinse~

cure

feeling

that

you

shouldhavelookedhardertofinda

cheaperprice.

Don’t

argue

withthemor

try

to

change

them.

justmentally

add

up

the

cost,

intimeandinner

peace

ifnotinhiddenfinancial

expense,

of

the

irra-

tional

pursuit

ofa

bargain.

TheSadist.Financialsadists

play

vicious

powergames

with

money

asa

way

of

asserting

their

power.Theymight,

for

example,

make

you

waitfor

money

that

is

owed

you,promisingyou

that

the

checkisinthemail.Orif

they

hire

you

toworkfor

them,

they

meddlein

everyaspect

ofthe

job,

haggling

and

givingyou

ulcers.Sadistsseemtothinkthat

paying

forsome

thinggives

themthe

right

totortureandabusetheseller.

They

haveno

senseof

thecouriier

element

in

money.

If

you

are

unluckyenough

to

get

involved

with

this

type,accepting

afinancialloss

may

bebetterin

the

long

runthan

gettingentangled

intheirdestructive

powergames.

TheIndiscriminateGiver.

Generosity

hasadefinitefunctionin

power:

Itattracts

people,

softensthem

up,

makesalliesout

ofthem.Butithastobe

used

strategically,

witha.definiteendinmind.Indiscriminate

Givers,

on

theother

hand,

are

generous

because

they

wanttobelovedandadmired

by

all.Andtheir

generosity

issoindiscriminateand

needy

thatit

may

not

havethedesiredeffect:If

theygive

tooneand

all.

why

shouldthe

recipient

feel

special?

Attractiveas

it

may

seemto

makeanIndiscriminateGiver

your

mark,

in

any

involvementwiththis

typeyou

willoften

feelburdened

by

theirinsatiableemotionalneeds.

TRANSGRESSIONSOFTHELAW

Transgression

I

AfterFranciscoPizarro

conquered

Peru,

in

1532,

gold

fromtheIncanEm-

pirebegan

to

pour

into

Spain,

and

Spaniards

of

allclassesstarted

dreaming

oftheinstantrichestobehadintheNewWorld.The

story

soon

spread

of

anIndianchieftotheeastofPeruwhoonceeach

year

would

ritually

cover

himselfin

gold

dustanddiveintoalake.Soonwordofmouthtransformed

El

Damrio,

the“Golden

Man,”

intoan

empire

calledEl

Dorado,

wealthier

thanthe

Incan,

wherethestreetswere

paved

andthe

buildings

inlaidwith

gold.

Thiselaborationofthe

story

didnot

seem

implausible,

for

surely

a

chiefwhocouldafiordtowaste

gold

dustinalakemustrule

a

golden

em-

pire.

Soon

Spaniards

were

searching

forElDoradoallovernorthernSouth

America.

from

their

aizubility

it}

makea

Iiviizg

andtheir

laziness’inthis

impact.

They

shouldnot

occupy

IheIn.wIves'with

abSuI'dl'lir:.s'anduntrue

vtnrirs.

THE

MUDADDIMAH.

hmKHAi,i>17~N.

1332-1406

TiiliMl2~.F.R

A

mixer,

(0makesun:

ofllisproperly,

S0111all

(ha!hehadand

converteditintoa

great

lumpofgvld,

whichhe

hillinaholeinthe

ground,

andwent

cominuully

[(1viii:and

inspect

it.Thistamed

the

curiosityof

one

of

his

workmen,who,

suxpecting

thatthere

wasatreasure,when

hismarreriv

backwas

Iurncd,

wan!tothe

spot,

andrroleit

away.

Whenthemixer

returnedand

formal

Jim

placeempty.

he

wept

andtorehishair.But

a

mzighbor

whosawhim

inthis

extravagant

grief:

andlearnedthe

cause

ofil,

raid:

“Frrl

rhymlfnolonger,

but

lakeorstoneand

put

ii

inthesame

place.

and

thinkthatitis

your

lumpofgolri;/"or.

as

you

nevermeanttouse

it,theonewilldo

_\'au

asmuch

good

asthe

other."

Theworth

ofmoney

is‘

no!inits

pnsscrsiorz,

butinitsuse.

FABIes.

/\I§S0l’.

SIXTHci:.\n'uRvs.c.

LAW 40 335