The 48 Laws Of Power

52 LAW 6

KEYSTOPOWER

Inthe

past,

theworldwasfilledwiththe

terrifying

andunknowable—

diseases,disasters,

capriciousdespots,

the

mystery

ofdeathitself.Whatwe

couldnot

understand

we

reimagined

as

myths

and

spirits.

Overthecen-

turies,

though,

wehave

managed,through

scienceand

reason,

to

illumi-

natethe

darkness;

whatwas

mysterious

and

forbidding

has

grown

familiar

andcomfortable.Yetthis

light

hasa

price:

inaworldthatisevermore

banal,

thathashadits

mystery

and

mythsqueezed

outof

it,

we

secretly

crave

enigmas, people

or

things

thatcannot be

instantlyinterpreted,

seized,

andconsumed.

Thatisthe

power

ofthe

mysterious:

Itinvites

layers

of

interpretation,

excitesour

imagination,

seducesusinto

believing

thatitconcealssome-

thing

marvelous.Theworldhasbecomesofamiliaranditsinhabitantsso

predictable

thatwhat

wraps

itselfin

mystery

willalmost

always

drawthe

limelight

toitand

make

uswatchit.

Donot

imagine

thattocreateanairof

mysteryyou

havetobe

grand

and

awe~inspirlng.Mystery

thatiswoveninto

yourday-to-day

demeanor,

andis

subtle,

hasthatmuchmore

power

tofascinateandattractattention.

Remember:Most

people

are

upfront,

canbereadlikean

open

book,

take

littlecaretocontroltheirwordsor

image,

andare

hopelesslypredictable.

Bysimplyholding

back,

keeping

silent,

occasionallyutteringarnbiguous

phrases,deliberatelyappearing

inconsistent,

and

acting

oddintliesubtlest

of

ways,you

willemanateanauraof

mystery.

The

people

around

you

will

then

magnify

thataura

byconstantlydying

to

interpretyou.

Bothartistsandconartistsunderstandthevitallinkbetween

being

mysterious

and

attracting

interest.CountVictor

Lustig,

thearistocratof

swindlers,

played

the

game

to

perfection.

Hewas

alwaysdoingthings

that

were

different,

orseemedtomakenosense.Hewouldshow

up

atthebest

hotelsinalimodriven

byajapanese

chauffeur;

noonehadeverseena

Japanese

chauffeur

before,

sothisseemedexoticand

strange.Lustig

would

dressinthemost

expensiveclothing,

but

always

with

something—a

medal,

a

flower,

anarrnband—outof

place,

atleastinconventionalterms.This

wasseennotastastelessbutasoddand

intriguing.

Inhotelshewouldbe

seen

receivingtelegrams

atall

hours,

oneafierthe

other,

brought

tohim

by

his

Japanesechauffeur—telegrams

hewouldtear

up

withutternoncha-

lance.

(In

fact

they

were

fakes,

completelyblank.)

Hewouldsitaloneinthe

dining

room,

reading

a

large

and

impressive-looking

book,

smiling

at

peo-

pleyetremaining

aloof.Vlfithinafew

days,

of

course,

theentire hotel

wouldbeabuzzwithinterestinthis

strange

man.

All

thisattentionallowed

Lustig

tolure

suckers

inwithease.

They

would

beg

forhisconfidenceandhis

company.Everyone

wantedtobe

seenwiththis

mysterious

aristocrat.Andinthe

presence

ofthis

distracting

enigma,they

wouldn’tevennoticethat

they

were

being

robbedblind.

Anairof

mystery

canmakethemediocre

appearintelligent

and

pro-

found.

It

made

Mata

Hari,

a

womanof

averageappearance

and

intelli-

gence,

seemlikea

goddess,

andher

dancingdivinelyinspired.

Anairof