The 48 Laws Of Power

LAW 40

page

333

DESPISETHEFREELUNCH

Whatis

offered

for

free

is

dangenms—~itusually

involveseithera

trick

or

ahidden

obligation.

Whathasworth

isworth

payingforBypayingyour

own

wayyoustay

clear

ofgratitude,guilt,

anddeceit.Itisalso

often

wise

to

pay

the

fullprice-—there

isno

cutting

cornerswithexcellence.Belavishwith

yourmoney

and itcirru-

lating,forg'enemsity

isa

sign

anda

magnetforpower.

LAVV4]

page

347

AVOIDSTEPPINGINTOAGREATMAN'SSHOES

What

happensfirstalwaysappears

betterandmore

original

thanwhatcomes

afterIfyou

succeeda

great

man

orhave

ajarnousparent,you

willhaveto

accomplish

doubletheirachievementstooutshinethem.Do

not

get

lostintheir

shadow,

orstuckina

past

not

ofyour

own

making:

Establish

your

ownnameand

identityby

changing

course.

Slay

the

overbearingfathei;disparage

his

legacy,

and

gainpowerbyshining

in

your

own

way.

LAW’ 42

page

358

STRIKETHESHEPHERDANDTHESHEEPWILLSCATTER

Trouble

can

often

betraced

to

a

singlestrong

indi-oidual——the

stirrer,

the

arrogantunderling,

the

poisonerof

goodwill.you

allowsuch

people

roomto

operate,

otherswillsuccumbtotheir

influence.

Donot

wait

for

the

troubles

they

causeto

multiply,

donot

try

to

negotiate

with

them—thty

areirredeemable.Neutralizetheirin»

jluencebyisolating

or

banishing

them.Strikeatthesource

of

thetroubleandthe

sheep

willscatter.

LAVV 43

page

367

WORKONTHEHEARTSANDMINDS

OF

OTHERS

Coercioncreatesareactionthatwill

eventually

work

againstyou.

Youmustseduceothersinto

wanting

to

movein

your

direction.A

personyou

haveseducedbecomes

yourloyalpawn.

Andthe

way

toseduceothersisto

operate

ontheirindividual

psychologies

andweaknesses.

Softenup

theresistant

byworking

ontheir

emotions,

playing

onwhat

they

holddearandwhat

they

fear:

Ignore

theheartsandminds

of

othersand

they

will

grow

to

hate

you.

LAVV«'

page

3 76

DISARMANDINFURIATEWITHTHEMIRROREFFECT

Themirror

reflectsreality,

butitisalsothe

perfect

tool

fordeception:

When

you

mirror

your

enemies,

doing

ex~

actly

as

they

do,

they

cannot

figure

out

yourstrategy.

TheMirror

Eflect

mocksandhumiliates

them,

making

themoverreact.

Byholdingup

a

mirrorto

their

psyehes,you

seducethemwiththeillusionthat

you

sharetheir

values;

byholdingup

amirrortotheir

actions,

you

teachthemalesson.Fewcanresistthe

powerof

theMirror

Effect.

LA‘/V 45

page

392

PREACHTHENEEDFOR

CHANGE,

BUT

NEVERREFORMTOOMUCHATONCE

Everyone

understandstheneed

forchange

inthe

abstract,

butonthe

day-to-day

level

people

arecreatures

of

habit.Toomuchinnovationis

traumatic,

andwillleadtorevolt.

Ifyou

arenewtoa

positionofpower,

oran

outsider

trying

tobuilda

power

base,

makeashow

ofrespecting

theold

wayofdoingthings.Ifchange

isnec-

essary,

makeit

feel

likea

gentleimprovement

onthe

past.

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