The 48 Laws Of Power

6 LAW 1

an

unforgivable

miscalculationofhisown

importance

andhe

paid

forit

with hislife. Remember the

following:

Never take

yourposition

for

granted

andneverlet

any

favors

you

receive

go

to

your

head.

Knowing

the

dangers

of

outshiningyour

master,

you

canturnthisLaw

to

youradvantage.

First

you

mustflatterand

puffupyour

master.Overt

flattery

canbeeffectivebuthasits

limits;

itistoodirectand

obvious,

and

looksbadtoothercourtiers.Discreet

flattery

ismuchmore

powerful.

If

you

aremore

intelligent

than

your

master,

for

example,

seemthe

opposite:

Makehim

appear

more

intelligent

than

you.

Act

naive.

Makeit

seemthat

you

needhis

expertise.

Commitharmlessmistakesthatwillnot

hurt

you

in

the

long

runbut

will

giveyou

thechancetoaskforhis

help.

Mastersadore

such

requests.

Amasterwhocannotbestowon

you

the ofhis

experi-

ence

may

directrancorandillwillat

you

instead.

If

your

ideasaremorecreativethan

your

master’s,

ascribethemto

him,

inas

public

amanneras

possible.

Makeitclearthat

your

advice

is

merely

an

echoof

hisadvice.

If

yousurpassyour

masterin

wit,

itis

okay

to

play

theroleofthecourt

jester,

butdonotmakehim

appear

coldand

surlybycomparison.

Tone

down

your

humorif

necessary,

andfind

ways

tomakehimseemthedis-

penser

ofamusement

and

good

cheer.If

you

are

naturally

moresociable

and

generous

than

your

master,

becarefulnottobethecloudthatblocks

hisradiancefromothers.Hemust

appear

asthesunaroundwhich

every-

one

revolves,

radiating

power

and

brilliance,

thecenterofattention.If

you

arethrustintothe

position

of

entertaining

him,

a

display

of

your

limited

means

may

win

you

his

sympathy.Anyattempt

to

impress

himwith

your

grace

and

generosity

can

prove

fatal:Learnfrom

Fouquet

or

pay

the

price.

Inallofthesecasesitisnotaweaknessto

disguiseyourstrengths

if

intheend

they

leadto

power.Byletting

othersoutshine

you,

you

remain

in

control,

insteadof

being

avictimoftheir

insecurity.

Thiswillallcomein

handy

the

dayyou

decidetoriseabove

your

inferiorstatus.

If,

like

Galileo,

you

canmake

your

mastershineevenmoreinthe

eyes

of

others,

then

you

are

a

godsend

and

you

will

be

instantlypromoted.

Image:

The Starsinthe

Sky.

Therecanbe

only

onesunata time. Never

obscure the

sunlight,

or

rivalthe sun's

brilliance‘,

rather,

fadeintothe

sky

and

find

ways

to

heighten

the master star’s

intensity.