The 48 Laws Of Power

If

youyearn

for

power,quicklylayhonesty

aside,

andtrain

yourself

in

theartof

concealingyour

intentions.Mastertheartand

you

will

always

havethe

upper

hand.Basictoan

ability

toconcealone’sintentionsisa

simple

tmthabouthumannature: Ourfirstinstinctisto

always

trust

ap-

pearances.

Wecannot

go

around

doubting

the

reality

ofwhatweseeand

hear—-constantlyimagining

that

appearances

concealed

something

else

wouldexhaustand

terrify

us.Thisfact

makes

it

relativelyeasy

toconceal

one’sintentions.

Simplydangle

an

objectyou

seemto

desire,

a

goalyou

seemtoaim

for,

infrontof

people’seyes

and

they

willtakethe

appearance

for

reality.

Oncetheir

eyes

focusonthe

decoy,they

willfailtonoticewhat

you

are

reallyup

to.In

seduction,

set

upconflictinghsignals,

suchas

desire

and

indiiference,

and

you

not

only

throwthemoff

the

scent,

you

inflame

theirdesireto

possessyou.

Atacticthatisofteneffectivein

settingup

ared

herring

isto

appear

to

support

anideaorcausethatis

actuallycontrary

to

your

ownsentiments.

(Bismarck

usedthisto

great

effectinhis

speech

in

1850.)

Most

people

will

believe
you

have

experienced

a

change

of

heart,

since

it

issounusualto

play

so

lightly

with

something

asemotionalasone’s

opinions

andvalues.

Thesame

applies

for

any

decoyed

object

ofdesire:Seemtowantsome-

thing

inwhich

you

are

actually

notatallinterestedand

your

enemieswill

bethrownoilthe
scent.

making

allkindsoferrorsintheircalculations.

During

theWarofthe

Spanish

Succession

in

1711,

the

Duke

of

Marl-

borough,

headofthe

Englisharmy,

wantedto

destroy

a

key

French

fort,

becauseit

protected

avital

thoroughfare

intoFrance.Yetheknewthatifbe

destroyed

it,

theFrenchwouldrealizewhathewanted-toadvancedown

thatroad.

Instead,then,

he

merelycaptured

the

fort,

and

garrisoned

itwith

someofhis

troops,making

it

appear

as

if

hewanted

it

forsome

purpose

of

his
own.
TheFrenchattackedthefortandthedukeletthem
recapture

it.

Once

they

hadit

back,

though,

theydestroyed

it,

figuring

thatthedukehad

wanteditforsome

important

reason.Nowthatthefortwas

gone,

theroad

was

unprotected,

and

Marlborough

could

easily

march

intoFrance,

Use

this

tactic

inthe

following

manner:Hide

your

intentionsnot

by

closing

up

(with

theriskof

appearing

secretive,

and

makingpeoplesuspi-

cious)

but

bytalkingendlessly

about

your

desiresand

goals—~just

not

your

realones.Youwillkillthreebirdswithonestone:You

appearfriendly,

open,

and

trusting;you

conceal

your

intentions;

and

you

send

your

rivals

on

timeconsumingwild~goose

chases.

Another

powerful

toolin

throwing

people

oh’thescentisfalsesincer-

ity.Peopleeasily

mjstake

sincerity

for

honesty.

Remember-theirfirstin

stinctistotrust

appearances,

andsince

they

value

honesty

and

want

to

believe
in
the

honesty

of

thosearound

them,

they

will

rarely

doubt

you

or

see

throughyour

act.

Seeming

tobelievewhat

yousaygivesyour

words

greatweight.

Thisishow

Iago

deceivedand

destroyed

Othello:Giventhe

depth

ofhis

emotions,

the

apparentsincerity

ofhisconcernsaboutDesde—

rnona’s

supposedinfidelity,

how

couldOthellodistrusthim?Thisisalso

howthe
great

conartistYellowKidWeil

pulled

thewooloversuckers’

eyes:Seeming

tobelieveso

deeply

inthe

decayed

object

hewas

dangling

LAW

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