The 48 Laws Of Power

Thisisthereasonforthe

supremeimportance

of

making

andmain-

taining

a

reputation

thatisof

your

own

creation.

That

reputation

will

protectyou

in

the

dangerousgame

of

appear-

ances,

distracting

the

probing

eyes

ofothersfrom

knowing

what

you

are

really

like,

and

giving

you

a

degree

ofcontroloverhowtheworld

judges

you—apowerfulposition

tobein.

Reputation

hasa

power

like

magic:

Withonestrokeofits
wand,

itcan

double

yourstrength.

Itcanalsosend

peoplescurryingaway

from

you.

Whethertheexactsamedeeds

appear

brilliantordreadfulcan

dependentirely

onthe

reputation

ofthedeer.

IntheancientChinesecourtoftheWei

kingdom

therewasaman

namedMiTzu-hsiawhohada

reputation

for

supremecivility

and

gracious-

ness.
Hebecamethemler’s
favorite.
Itwas
a
lawinWeithat
“whoever

rides

secretly

intheruler’scoachshallhavehisfeetcut

off,”

butwhenMi

Tzu-hsia’smotherfell
ill,
heusedthe

royal

coachtovisit

her,

pretending

thattherulerhad

given

him

permission.

Whentherulerfound

out,

he

said,

“HowdutifulisMiTzu-hsia!Forhismother’ssakeheeven

forgot

thathe

was
committing

acrime

making

himliableto

lose

his

feet!”

Anothertimethe

two

ofthemtookastrollinanorchard.MiTzu-hsia

beganeating

a

peach

thathecouldnot

finish,

andhe

gave

therulerthe

otherhalftoeat.Theruler

remarked,

“Youlovemesomuchthat

you

would

even

forgetyour

ownsalivatasteandletmeeattherestofthe

peach!”

Later,however,

envious

fellow

courtiers,

spreading

wordthatMiTzu-

hsiawas

actually

deviousand

arrogant,

succeededin

damaging

his

reputa-

tion;

therulercametoseehisactionsinanew

light

“Thisfellowoncerode

in
my

coachunder

pretense

of

my

order,”

hetoldthecourtiers

angrily,

“andanothertimehe

gave

meahalf-eaten

peach.”

Forthesame

actions

thathadcharmedtheruler

when

he

wasthe

favorite,

MiTzu-hsianowhad

tosufferthe

penalties.

Thefateofhisfeet

dependedsolely

onthe

strength

ofhis

reputation.

Inthe

beginning,you

mustworktoestablisha

reputation

foroneout-

standingquality,

whether

generosity

or

honesty

or

cunning.

This

quality

sets

youapart

and

gets

other

people

to

talk

about

you.

Youthenmake

your

reputation

knowntoas

manypeople

as

possible(subtly,

though;

takecare

tobuild

slowly,

andwithafirm

foundation),

andwatchasit

spreads

like

wildfire.

A

solid

reputation

increases

your presence

and

exaggerates your

strengths

without

yourhaving

to

spend

much

energy.

Itcanalsocreatean

auraaround

you

thatwillinstill

respect,

evenfear.Inthe

fighting

inthe

NorthAfricandesert

during

WorldWar

II,

theGerman

general

Erwin

Rommelhada

reputation

for

cunning

andfor

deceptivemaneuvering

that

struckterrorinto

everyone

whofacedhim.

Even

when

hisforceswerede-

pleted,

andwhenBritishtanksoutnumberedhis

by

fiveto

one,

entirecities

wouldbeevacuatedatthenewsofhis

approach.

As

theysay,

your

reputationinevitablyprecedesyou,

andifit

inspires

respect,

alotof

your

workisdonefor

you

before

you

arrive

onthe

scene,

orutter

a

single

word.

Yoursuccessseemsdestined

byyourpasttriumphs.

Muchofthesuc-

LAW 5 41