The 48 Laws Of Power

Visual

images

often

appear

ina

sequence,

andtheorderinwhich

they

appear

creates a

symbol.

The firstto

appear,

for

instance,

symbolizes

power;

the

image

atthecenterseemstohavecentral

importance‘

NeartheendofWorldWar

II,

orderscamedownfromGeneralEisen-

howerthaxAmerican

troops

weretoleadthe

way

intoParisafteritsliber~

ationfromtheNazis.TheFrench

general

Charles

de

Gaulle,however,

realizedthatthis

sequence

would

imply

thattheAmericansnowcom-

manded

the

fateof

France.

Through

much

manipulation,

deGaullemade

certainthatheandtheFrenchSecondArmoredDivisionwould

appear

at

theheadofthe

liberating

force.The

strategy

worked:Afterhehadsuccess

fullypulled

off

this

stunt,

theAlliesstarted

treating

himasthe

newleader

ofan

independent

France.DeGaulleknewthataleaderhastolocatehim’

self

literally

attheheadof

his

troops.

Thisvisualassociation

is

crucialtothe

emotional

response

thatheneedstoelicit.

Things

change

inthe

game

of

symbols:

Itis

probably

no

longerpossiv

bleto

pose

asa“sun

king,”

orto

wrap

themantleofDianaaround

you.

Yet

you

canassociate

yourself

withsuch

symbols

more

indirectly.

And,

of

course,

you

canmake

your

own

mythology

outof

figures

frommorere-

cent

history,

people

whoare

comfortably

deadbutstill

powerfully

associaw

fiveinthe

publiceye.

Theideaisto

giveyourself

an

aura,

astaturethat

your

normalbanal

appearancesimply

willnotcreate.

By

herselfDianede

Poitiershadno

suchradiant

powers;

shewasashuman

and

ordinary

as

mostofus.Butthe

symbol

elevatedherabovethehuman

lot,

andmade

herseemdivine.

Usingsymbols

alsohasacourtierlike

effect,

since

they

areoften

gen-

tlerthanbrutishwords.The

psychotherapist

Dr.MiltonH.Ericksonal-

ways

tried

to

find

symbols

and

images

thatwouldcommunicatetothe

patient

in

ways

thatwordscouldnot.When

dealing

witha

severely

trou~

bled

patient,

hewouldnot

question

him

directly

butwouldtalkabout

something

irrelevant,

suchas

drivingthrough

thedesertin

Arizona,

where

he

practiced

inthe19505.In

describing

thishewould

eventually

cometo

an

appropriatesymbol

forwhathe

suspected

wastheman’s

problem.

Ifhe

feltthe

palient

was

isolated,

say,

Dr.

Ericksonwouldtalkofa

single

iron-

wood

tree,

andhowitsisolationleftitbattered

by

thewinds.

Making

an

emotionalconnectionwiththetreeasa

symbol,

the

patient

would

openup

more

readily

tothedoctor’:

probing.

Use

the

power

of

symbols

asa

way

to

rally,

animate,

and

unite

your

troops

orteam.

During

therebellion

against

theFrenchcrownin

1648,

those

loyal

tothe

kingdisparaged

therebels

bycomparing

themtothe

slingshots

(inFrench,

fiandesl

thatlittle

boys

useto

frightenbigboys.

Cardi~

naldeRetz

decidedto

turnthis

disparaging

term

intotherebels’

symbol:

The
uprising

wasnowknownasthe

Fronde,

andtherebelsas

fivndeurs.

Theybegan

towearsashes

in

their

hats

that

symbolized

the

slingshot,

and

thewordbecametheir

rallyingcry.

Withoutittherebellion

might

well

have

petered

out

Always

finda

symbol

to

representyour

cause—themore

emotional

associations,

thebetter.

Thebest

way

touse

images

and

symbols

isto

organize

themintoa

LAW 37 .315