The 48 Laws Of Power

havemistaken

aggressive

actionforeffectiveaction.Andmostoftenthe

mosteffective
actionisto
stay

back,

keep

calm,

andletothersbefrustrated

by

the

tripsyoulay

for

them,

playing

for

long-termpower

ratherthan

quick

victory.

Remember:Theessenceof

power

isthe

ability

to

keep

the

initiative,

to

get

otherstoreactto

your

moves,

to

keepyouropponent

andthose

around
you

onthedefensive.When

you

makeother

people

cometo

you,

yousuddenly

become

theone

controlling

thesituation.Andtheonewho

hascontrol
has
power.

Two

things

must

happen

to

placeyou

inthis

posi-

tion:You

yourself

mustlearntomaster

your

emotions,

andnevertobein-

fluenced

byanger;

meanwhile,however,

you

must

play

on

people’s

natural

tendency

toreact

angrily

when

pushed

and

baited.

Inthe

long

run,

the

ability

tomakeotherscome

to

you

isa

weapon

far

more

powerful

than

any

toolof

aggression.

Study

how

Talleyrand,

themasterofthe

art,

performed

thisdelicate

trick.

First,

he

overcame

the

urge

to

try

toconvincehisfellowstatesmen

that

they

neededtobanish

Napoleon

far

away.

Itis

only

naturaltowantto

persuade

peoplebypleadingyour

case,

imposingyour

willwith

words.

But

thisoftenturns

againstyou.

Fewof

Talleyrand’scontemporaries

believed

Napoleon

wasstilla

threat,

sothatifhehad

spent

alotof

energytrying

to

convince

them,

hewould

only

havemadehimselflookfoolish.

Instead,

he

heldhis

tongue

andhisemotionsincheck.Most

important

of

all,

helaid

Napoleon

asweetandirresistible

trap.

Heknewtheman’s

weakness,

his

impetuosity,

hisneedfor

glory

andtheloveofthe

masses,

andhe

played

allthisto

perfection.

When

Napoleon

wentforthe

bait,

therewasnodan-

ger

thathe

might

succeedandturnthetableson

Talleyrand,

whobetter

than

anyone

knewFrance’s

depleted

state.Andevenhad

Napoleon

been

abletoovercome

these

difficulties,

the

likelihoodofhissuccesswouldhave

been

greater

wereheabletochoosehistimeand

place

ofaction.

Bysetting

the

propertrap,Talleyrand

tookthetimeand

place

intohisownhands.

Allofushave

only

somuch

energy,

andthereisamomentwhenour

energies

areattheir

peak.

‘When

you

maketheother

person

cometo

you,

hewearshimself

out,

wasting

his

energy

on

the

trip.

In

the

year

1905,

Rus-

siaancl

japan

wereatwar.The

Japanese

had

onlyrecentlybegun

to

mod

emizetheir

warships,

sothattheRussianshada

strongernavy,

but

by

spreading

falseinformationthe

Japanese

marshal

Togo

Heihachirobaited

theRussiansinto

leaving

their

docks

intheBaltic

Sea,

making

them

believe

they

could

wipe

outthe

Japanese

fleetinone

swift

attack.

TheRussianfleet

couldnot

reachjapan

by

the

quickestroute——through

theStraitofGibral—

tarandthentheSuezCanalintotheIndianOcean"-becausethesewere

controlled

by

the

British,

and

japan

wasan

ally

ofGreatBritain.

They

had

to

go

aroundthe

Cape

ofGood

Hope,

atthe

southern

tip

of

Africa,

adding

overmorethansixthousandmilestothe

voyage.

Oncethefleet

passed

the

Cape,

the

Japanesespread

anotherfalse

story:

They

were

sailing

tolaunch

acounterattack.SotheRussiansmadetheentire

journey

to

japan

onconr

batalert.

By

thetime

they

arrived,

theirseamenwere

tense,exhausted,

and

overworked,

while

the

Japanese

hadbeen

waiting

attheirease.

Despite

the

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