The 48 Laws Of Power

without

tax-ting

(I

dropofit.

"For.”.s'ui([he,“ifl

(1[(}Il(?.S‘HUu/Jdrink.the

restwillbeout

of

heurr.

"

The.\'oldier.s'no

.mum:rwoknotice

of

his

temperance

and

mugmmimny

upon

this

m:ca.uun,

but

they

one

and«ii

(‘I‘i§%douttohim

toleadthem

fnrmml

lioiciix.

and

began

wlzipping

ontheir

horses.Forwhzlvr

mm»

hm!such:2

kingthey

said

theyAla/led

both

wezirinesxand(I1ir.s‘l.

andlcmkcil

upon

rherrr

.s'clw.\'tobelittleless

thanImmortal.

‘rm.Lll*l-or

.'\I,l..\A’~:l1l«.R‘|‘lll~Zouuxl‘.

P1m:z\m'H.

CA.n.46-120

372

‘

LAW 43

first

optionmay

be

quick

and

easy,

butovertimeitbrews

ugly

emotionsin

theheartsofthe

vanquished.

Theirresentmentturnsto

hatred;

suchani-

mositykeepsyou

on

edge~—youspendyourenergyprotecting

what

you

have

gained,growingparanoid

anddefensive.Thesecond

option,though

more

difficult,

not

onlybringsyoupeace

of

mind,

itconvertsa

potential

enemy

infoa

pillar

of

support.

Inall

your

encounters,

cakea

step

back—-takethetimetocalculateand

attune

yourself

to

yourtargets’

emotional

makeup

and

psychological

weak-

nesses.Force

will

onlystrengthen

theirresistance.‘Withmost

people

the

heartisthe

key:They

arelike

children,

ruled

by

theiremotions.Tosoften

them

up,

alternateharshnesswith

mercy.Play

ontheirbasic

fears,

andalso

their

loves——freeclom,

family,

etc.Once

you

breakthem

down,

you

will

havea

lifelong

friendand

fiercelyloyalally.

Governmentssawmen

only

in

mass;

butour

men,

beingirregulars,

werenot

formations,

butindividuals....Our

kingdomslay

ineachmanismind.

ScvcnPillarsof

Wisdom,

T‘.1;.

Lawrence,

1888-1935

KEYSTOPOWER

Inthe

game

of

power,you

aresurrounded

bypeople

whohave

absolutely

noreasonto

helpyou

unlessitisintheirinteresttodoso.Andif

you

have

nothing

to

offer

their

selfiinterest,

you

are

likely

to

make

them

hostile,

for

they

willseein

youjust

onemore

competitor,

onemorewasteroftheir

time.Thosethatovercomethis

prevailing

coldnessaretheoneswhofind

the

key

thatunlocksthe

stra.nger’s

headand

mind,seducing

himintotheir

corner,

if

necessarysofiening

him

up

fora

punch.

Butmost

people

never

learnthisside

ofthe

game.

Vlrhen

they

meetsomeone

new,

ratherthan

stepping

backand

probing

toseewhatmakesthis

personunique,they

talk

about

themselves,eager

to

impose

theirown

willpower

and

prejudices.

Theyargue,

boast,

andmakeashowoftheir

power.Theymay

notknowit

but

they

are

secretlycreating

an

enemy,

a

resistor,

because

there

isno

more

infuriatingfeeling

than

havingyourindividualityignored,your

own

psychology

unacknowledged.

Itmakes

you

feellifelessandresentful.

Remember:The

key

to

persuasion

is

softeningpeopleup

andbreak-

ing

them

down,

gently.

Seducethemwitha

two—prongedapproach:

Work

on

theiremotionsand

play

ontheirintellectualweaknesses.Be

alertto

bothwhat

separates

themfrom

everyone

else

(their

individual

psychology)

andwhat

they

sharewith

everyone

else

(their

basicemotional

responses).

Aimatthe

primary

emotions——love,hate,

jealousy.

Once

you

movetheir

emotions

you

havereducedtheir

control,

making

themmorevulnerableto

persuasion.

WhenChuko

Liang

wantedtodissuadean

importantgeneral

ofa

rival

kingdom

from

entering

intoanalliancewithTs’ao

Ts’ao,

Liang’s

dreaded

enemy,

hedidnotdetail"rm;Ts’ao’s

cruelty,

orattackhimonmoral

grounds.

Instead

Liangsuggested

thatTs’ao Ts’aowas

really

afterthe

gen»