The 48 Laws of Power: the Law 1 to 8

Ashura9

Ashura9

JF-Expert Member
Oct 21, 2012
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The 48 Laws of Power
Law 1: Never Outshine The Master

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Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

King Louis XIV and his Finance Minister Fouquet
In 17th century France, Finance Minister Nicholas Fouquet had spent enormous sums in building a magnificent château on his estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte. He then threw a lavish party to show off his connections, cultivated manner and charm. Thinking this move would make him an indispensable asset to the king, Fouquet had actually offended his master who did not like the fact people were more charmed by his finance minister than by him. He unintentionally outshone his master, King Louis XIV, making the King feel insecure. In 1661, at age 23, Louis XIV visited Vaux-le-Vicomte, the country estate of his finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, and was outraged by its magnificence. The King found a convenient excuse to get rid of Fouquet who then spent the next 20 years of his life in prison. King Louis XIV went ahead to build Palace of Versailles which was much more grander and lavish than the Chateau built by Fouquet to display his charms and connections.

How Galileo used the Law in his favor?
Galileo was clever in observing this law by giving glory to his patrons. In order to solve his perennial problem of funding, he dedicated his discovery of the moons of Jupiter to the Medici, since the royal symbol of the Medici family was the planet Jupiter. He then commissioned an emblem for them, with each moon representing one of the sons who revolved around the patriarch. The Medici family became his major patron, appointing him their official court mathematician and philosopher, thereby giving him a more comfortable life and a steady salary.

Lesson:
• Present your ideas in a way that they echo your boss’s thought
• Act less smarter than your boss
• Do not take your position at work or in life for granted
• Always make sure to make it seem like you want to seek the superior's expertise and advice. Discreet flattery is very powerful.
 
The 48 Laws of Power: the Law 2: Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies



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Problem about working with friends is that it confuses the boundaries and distances that working requires. If both partners in the arrangement understand the dangers involved, a friend often can be employed to great effect. You must never let your guard down in such a venture, however; always be on the lookout for any signs of emotional disturbance such as envy and ingratitude. Nothing is stable in the realm of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the worst of enemies.

Michael III of the Byzantine Empire and his friend, Basilius
Michael III of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-ninth century A.D. placed too much trust in his friend,Basilius. They had met a few years before, when Michael had been visiting the stables just as a wild horse got loose. Basilius saved Michael's life. His strength and courage had impressed Michael, who immediately raised Basilius from the obscurity of being a horse trainer to the position of head of stables. He loaded his friend with gifts and favors until became inseparable. Basilius was sent to the finest school in Byzantium, and the crude peasant became a cultured and sophisticated courtier. Michael turned the peasant Basilius into a sophisticated and educated courtier. Basilius later on became greedy for more wealth and power and had his former benefactor and best friend Michael III murdered.
Michael III staked his future on the sense of gratitude he thought Basilius must feel for him. He had created a monster. He had allowed a man to see power up close—a man who then wanted more, who asked for anything and got it, who felt encumbered by the charity he had received and simply did what many people do in such a situation: They forget the favors they have received and imagine they have earned their success by their own merits.


I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. - Abraham Lincoln

Song Dynasty Ruled China for 300 Years
For several centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty (A.D. 222), Chinese history followed the same pattern of violent and bloody coups, one after the other. Army men would plot to kill a weak emperor, then would replace him on the Dragon Throne with a strong general. The general would start a new dynasty and crown himself emperor; to ensure his own survival he would kill off his fellow generals. A few years later, however, the pattern would resume: New generals would rise up and assassinate him or his sons in their turn. To be emperor of China was to be alone, surrounded by a pack of enemies—it was the least powerful, least secure position in the realm.
In A.D. 959, General Zhao Kuangyin became Emperor Song. Emperor Song knew that his "friends" in the army would chew him up like meat, and if he somehow survived, his "friends" in the government would have him for supper. Emperor Song persuaded his generals to retire to a life of nobility and give up their dreams of grabbing his throne one day. He spared those who conspired against him, and was able to win over enemies with his generosity. Song was finally able to break the pattern of coups, violence, and civil war—the Song Dynasty ruled China for more man three hundred years.

Lessons for Working With Friends and Enemies
• Friends will not openly disagree with you in order to avoid arguments.
• Enemies expect nothing so they will be surprised when you are generous.
• An enemy spared the guillotine will be more grateful to you than a friend.
• When you decide to hire a friend you will discover qualities she has kept hidden, be on the lookout for any signs of emotional disturbance such as envy and ingratitude.
• Skill and competence are more important than friendly feelings.
• Hiring friends will limit your power.
• All working situations require a kind of distance between people.
• You destroy an enemy when you make a friend of him.
• An enemy at your heels keeps you sharp, alert, and focused.
 
The 48 Laws of Power: the Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions


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Have you ever heard of a skillful general, who intends to surprise a citadel, announcing his plan to his enemy? Conceal your purpose and hide your progress; do not disclose the extent of your designs until they cannot be opposed, until the combat is over. Win the victory before you declare the war. In a word, imitate those war like people whose designs are not known except by the ravaged country through which they have passed. (Ninon de Lenclos, 1623-1706)

It takes effort to control your tongue and monitor what you reveal. It is much more prudent to tailor your words, telling people what they want to hear rather than the coarse and ugly truth of what you feel or think. More important, by being unabashedly open you make yourself so predictable and familiar that it is almost impossible to respect or fear you, and power will not accrue to a person who cannot inspire such emotions.

Train yourself in the art of concealing your intentions. Master the art and you will always have the upper hand. Our first instinct is to always trust appearances. This fact makes it relatively easy to conceal one's intentions. Let's talk about how People Conceal Intentions and Fool You.

1. Use Decoyed Objects of Desire to Throw People Off
Support an idea or cause that is actually contrary to your own sentiments but will help you achieve your goal. Use this tactic in the following manner: Hide your intentions not by closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals!—just not your real ones. You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear friendly, open, and trusting; you conceal your intentions; and you send your rivals on time-consuming wild-goose chases.

2. False Sincerity
People easily mistake sincerity for honesty. Remember—their first instinct is to trust appearances, and since they value honesty and want to believe in the honesty of those around them, they will rarely doubt you or see through your act. Seeming to believe what you say gives your words great weight. Remember: The best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their roguish qualities. They cultivate an air of honesty in one area to disguise their dishonesty in other. Honesty is merely another decoy in their arsenal of weapons.

3. Bland Facial Expression
Behind a bland, unreadable exterior, all sorts of mayhem can be planned, without detection. This is a weapon that the most powerful men in history have learned to perfect.

4. Noble Gesture
People want to believe apparently noble gestures are genuine, for the belief is pleasant. They rarely notice how deceptive these gestures can be.

5. Appearing to Belong to a Group
The tendency to mistake appearances for reality—the feeling that if someone seems to belong to your group, their belonging must be real. This habit makes the seamless blend a very effective front. The trick is simple: You simply blend in with those around you. The better you blend, the less suspicious you become. Remember: It takes patience and humility to dull your brilliant colors, to put on the mask of the inconspicuous. Do not despair at having to wear such a bland mask—it is often your unreadability that draws people to you and makes you appear a person of power.

How do People Apply these Ways to Fool You ?
Simply dangle an object you seem to desire, a goal you seem to aim for, in front of people's eyes and they will take the appearance for reality. Once their eyes focus on the decoy, they will fail to notice what you are really up to. Politicians use this all the time.

Decoyed Objects of Desire and Making a Woman Fall in Love
The Marquis de Sevigne was inexperienced in the art of love. He confided in the infamous courtesan of seventeenth-century France, Ninon de Lenclos, to instruct him on how to seduce a difficult young countess. She made him follow a plan over a number of weeks, where the Marquis would be appearing in public always surrounded by beautiful women, in the very places the countess would be expected to see him. He was supposed to assume an air of nonchalance. This increased the jealousy of the young countess, who was not sure of his interest in her. One day the Marquis, unable to control his passion, broke from Ninon’s plan, and blurted out to the countess that he loved her. After this admission, the countess no longer found him interesting and avoided him. The whole premise of dating is based on games, wild moves and being unpredictable. If you display your feelings too soon it becomes an artless show of passion. A door closed that would never open again. In seduction, set up conflicting^ signals, such as desire and indifference, and you not only throw them off the scent, you inflame their desire to possess you.

Otto von Bismarck became Prime Minister of Prussia
Otto von Bismarck was a deputy in the Prussian parliament at a time when many fellow deputies thought it was possible to go to war against Austria and defeat it. Bismarck wanted to go on war but he knew that the King was not in favour of it. He also knew the Prussian army was not prepared, so he devised a clever way. He publicly stated his praises for the Austrians and talked about the madness of war. Many deputies changed their votes. Had Bismarck announced his real intentions, arguing it was better to wait now and fight later, he would not have won. Most Prussians wanted to go to war at that moment and mistakenly believed their army to be superior to the Austrians. Had he gone to the king his sincerity would have been doubted. By giving misleading statements about wanting peace and concealing his true purpose, Bismarck’s speech catapulted him to the position of prime minister. He later led the country to war against the Austrians at the right time, when he felt the Prussian army was more capable and united Germany.

Duke of Marlborough used this in the Spanish Succession
During the War of the Spanish Succession in 1711, the Duke of Marlborough, head of the English army, wanted to destroy a key French fort, because it protected a vital thoroughfare into France. Yet he knew that if he destroyed it, the French would realize what he wanted—to advance down that road. Instead, then, he merely captured the fort, and garrisoned it with some of his troops, making it appear as if he wanted it for some purpose of his own. The French attacked the fort and the duke let them recapture it. Once they had it back, though, they destroyed it, figuring that the duke had wanted it for some important reason. Now that the fort was gone, the road was unprotected, and Marlborough could easily march into France.

Iago deceived and destroyed Othello by being Sincere
Given the depth of his emotions, the apparent sincerity of his concerns about Desdemona's supposed infidelity, how could Othello distrust him? Sincerity is a tricky tool: Appear over passionate and you raise suspicions. Be measured and believable or your ruse will seem the put-on mat it is.

Henry Kissinger used Bland Face to win opponents
Henry Kissinger would bore his opponents around the negotiating table to tears with his monotonous voice, his blank look, his endless recitations of details; then, as their eyes glazed over, he would suddenly hit them with a list of bold terms. Caught off-guard, they would be easily intimidated. As one poker manual explains it, "While playing his hand, the good player is seldom an actor. Instead he practices a bland behavior that minimizes readable patterns, frustrates and confuses opponents, permits greater concentration."

Spies use "Appearing to Belong to a Group" Method
During the Cold War of the 1950s and '60s, as is now notorious, a slew of British civil servants passed secrets to the Soviets. They went undetected for years because they were apparently decent chaps, had gone to all the right schools, and fit the old-boy network perfectly.
 
The 48 Laws of Power: the Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary


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There are times when it is unwise to be silent. Silence can arouse suspicion and even insecurity, especially in your superiors; a vague or ambiguous comment can open you up to interpretations you had not bargained for. Silence and saying less than necessary must be practiced with caution, then, and in the right situations. Let us take a look at 6 ways to exert more power by practicing listening.

1. Make People Reveal More About Themselves
Speaking less will make people reveal more about themselves. This is information you may be able to use against them later on. Your short answers and silences will put them on the defensive, and they will jump in, nervously filling the silence with all kinds of comments that will reveal valuable information about them and their weaknesses. The longer you listen, the more others move their lips and teeth. As they move their lips and teeth, you can thereby understand their real intentions.

2. People Listen/Interpret Your Every Word Carefully
Speaking Less will force people to listen/interpret your every word carefully. Your silence will make other people uncomfortable. Humans are machines of interpretation and explanation; they have to know what you are thinking. When you carefully control what you reveal, they cannot pierce your intentions or your meaning. They will leave a meeting with and they will go home and ponder your every word. This extra attention to your brief comments will only add to your power. Masters of enigma Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp knew the power of saying less and keeping people guessing. The less Duchamp talked about his work, the more it was talked about in the art circles. Andy Warhol recognized it was hard to talk people into doing what you wanted, so when interviewed, he would give vague and ambiguous answers and let the interviewer find his own interpretation.

3. Once The Words Are Out, You Cannot Take Them Back
Keep them under control. Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.

4. The More You Say, The More Common You Appear
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike.

5. Saying Less Will Keep You From Saying Something Foolish or Even Dangerous.
Around 454 B.C, Coriolanus was a great military hero of ancient Rome. People held him in awe. He decided to run for senate and he spoke his mind, hardly able to control his arrogance and boastfulness. He slandered and insulted people. The more speeches he made, the less people respected him. He suffered the people’s wrath and was eventually banished from the city.

6. People Will Not Deceive You As They Will Never Know Your Position
Louis XIV was a man of very few words. His infamous "I shall see" was one of several extremely short phrases that he would apply to all manner of requests. Louis was not always this way; as a young man he was known for talking at length, delighting in his own eloquence. His later taciturnity was self-imposed, an act, a mask he used to keep everybody below him off-balance. No one knew exactly where he stood, or could predict his reactions. No one could try to deceive him by saying what they thought he wanted to hear, because no one knew what he wanted to hear. As they talked on and on to the silent Louis, they revealed more and more about themselves, information he would later use against them to great effect. In the end, Louis's silence kept those around him terrified and under his thumb. It was one of the foundations of his power. As Saint-Simon wrote, "No one knew as well as he how to sell his words, his smile, even his glances. Everything in him was valuable because he created differences, and his majesty was enhanced by the sparseness of his words."

Saying less than necessary is not for kings and statesmen only. In most areas of life, the less you say, the more profound and mysterious you appear. By saying less than necessary you create the appearance of meaning and power. Also, the less you say, the less risk you run of saying something foolish, even dangerous.
 
The 48 Laws of Power:
Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life


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Why is Reputation Important?
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. In the social realm, appearances are the barometer of almost all our judgments. Your reputation will protect you in the dangerous game of appearances, distracting the probing eyes of others from knowing what you are really like, and giving you a degree of control over how the world judges you — a powerful position to be in.

A strong reputation increases your presence and exaggerates your strengths without you having to spend much energy. It can also create an aura around you that will instill respect, even fear. In the fighting in the North African desert during World War II, the German general Erwin Rommel had a reputation for cunning and deceptive maneuvering that struck terror into everyone who faced him. Even when his forces were depleted and the British tanks outnumbered his by five to one, entire cities would be evacuated at the news of his approach. As they say, your reputation inevitably precedes you, and if it inspires respect, a lot of your work is done for you before you arrive on the scene, or utter a single word.

During China’s War of the Three Kingdoms (A.D.207-265), General Liang was able to fool his rival Sima Yisimply by letting his track record for being an undefeated leader in battle do the work for him. Liang’s troops were far outnumbered by Sima Yi’s, yet he devised a clever last resort plan. Liang donned a Taoist robe and played the lute upon the wall of the city he was defending. His soldiers opened the gates and hid. When Sima Yi’s troops advanced upon the unguarded city, Yi recognized his opponent sitting alone upon the wall. Fearing a trap, Sima Yi called his soldiers to retreat.

How To Build A Reputation?
In the beginning, you must work to establish a reputation for one outstanding quality, whether generosity or honesty or cunning. This quality sets you apart and gets other people to talk about you. You then make your reputation known to as many people as possible (subtly, though; take care to build slowly, and with a firm foundation), and watch as it spreads like wildfire. Reputation is a treasure to be carefully collected and hoarded. Especially when you are first establishing it, you must protect it strictly, anticipating all attacks on it.

Make your reputation simple and base it on one sterling quality. This single quality—efficiency, say, or seductiveness—becomes a kind of calling card that announces your presence and places others under a spell. A reputation for honesty will allow you to practice all manner of deception. Casanova used his reputation as a great seducer to pave the way for his future conquests; women who had heard of his powers became immensely curious, and wanted to discover for themselves what had made him so romantically successful.

4 Ways To Safe-Guard And Grow Your Reputation

1. Never appear desperate in your self-defense against the slander of others
Do not let yourself get angry or defensive at the slanderous comments of your enemies, it reveals insecurity, not confidence in your reputation. Take the high road instead, and never appear desperate in your self-defense.

2. Sow doubt and spread rumors about your rival
An attack on another man's reputation is a potent weapon, particularly when you have less power than he does. He has much more to lose in such a battle, and your own thus-far-small reputation gives him a small target when he tries to return your fire.
P.T. Barnum used such campaigns to great effect in his early career. But this tactic must be practiced with skill; you must not seem to engage in petty vengeance. If you do not break your enemy's reputation cleverly, you will inadvertently ruin your own. Even if they vehemently deny it, people will still be wondering why they are so defensive. Barnum used this tactics to ruin his competition's Peale's reputation by sowing doubts about Peale's museum stability and solvency. Doubt is a powerful weapon: Once you let it out of the bag with insidious rumors, your opponents are in a horrible dilemma. On the one hand they can deny the rumors, even prove that you have slandered them. But a layer of suspicion will remain: Why are they defending themselves so desperately? Maybe the rumor has some truth to it? If, on the other hand, they take the high road and ignore you, the doubts, unrequited, will be even stronger. If done correctly, the sowing of rumors can so infuriate and unsettle your rivals that in defending themselves they will make numerous mistakes. This is the perfect weapon for those who have no reputation of their own to work from.

3. If you go too far in attacking another’s reputation, it draws more attention to your wrongfulness than to the person you are slandering.
Thomas Edison, considered the inventor who harnessed electricity, believed that a workable system would have to be based on direct current (DC). When the Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla appeared to have succeeded in creating a system based on alternating current (AC), Edison was furious. He determined to ruin Tesla's reputation, by making the public believe that the AC system was inherently unsafe, and Tesla irresponsible in promoting it. To this end he captured all kinds of household pets and electrocuted them to death with an AC current. When this wasn't enough, in 1890 he got New York State prison authorities to organize the world's first execution by electrocution, using an AC current. But Edison's electrocution experiments had all been with small creatures; the charge was too weak, and the man was only half killed. In perhaps the country's crudest state-authorized execution, the procedure had to be repeated. It was an awful spectacle. Although, in the long run, it is Edison's name that has survived, at the time his campaign damaged his own reputation more than Tesla's. He backed off. The lesson is simple—never go too far in attacks like these, for that will draw more attention to your own wrongfulness than to the person you are slandering.

4. Use humor or gentle mockery at your rival’s expense
When your own reputation is solid, use subtler tactics, such as satire and ridicule, to weaken your opponent while making you out as a charming rogue. The mighty lion toys with the mouse that crosses his path—any other reaction would mar his fearsome reputation. Once Barnum did have a reputation of his own, he used the fake hypnotism demonstration: He ridiculed his rival Peale's reputation. He was extremely successful. Once you have a solid base of respect, ridiculing your opponent puts him on the defensive and draws more attention to you, enhancing your own reputation. Outright slander and insult are too strong at this point; they are ugly, and may hurt you more than help you. But gentle humor and mockery suggest that you have a strong enough sense of your own worth to enjoy a good laugh at your rival's expense. A humorous front can make you out as a harmless entertainer while poking holes in the reputation of your rival.

How To Improve A Bad Reputation?
Perhaps you have already stained your reputation, so that you are prevented from establishing a new one. In such cases it is wise to associate with someone whose image counteracts your own, using their good name to whitewash and elevate yours. It is hard, for example, to erase a reputation for dishonesty by yourself; but a paragon of honesty can help. When P. T. Barnum wanted to clean up a reputation for promoting vulgar entertainment, he brought the singer Jenny Lind over from Europe. She had a stellar, high-class reputation, and the American tour Barnum sponsored for her greatly enhanced his own image. Similarly the great robber barons of nineteenth-century America were long unable to rid themselves of a reputation for cruelty and mean-spirit. Only when they began collecting art, so that the names of Morgan and Frick became permanently associated with those of da Vinci and Rembrandt, were they able to soften their unpleasant image.
 
Or rather would call it "How to be a Sociopath in 48 Ways".
This hefty tome's lessons range from the
common sensical to the downright wrong.
Reading through, you will most likely find an
example of someone you despised for each of
the laws. If you pick and choose, follow some
and not others, you run the risk of following
generalized and ill-suited advice, and will most
likely have some bad experiences. If you follow
the book's laws moderately, people will point
you out and your game will be over. If you
follow and digest the entire essence of the book,
and live by these "laws" every day, then you
surely have crossed the line into the path of evil.
The author says the book is amoral...
 
Ashura9 said:
The 48 Laws of Power
Law 1: Never Outshine The Master

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Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

King Louis XIV and his Finance Minister Fouquet
In 17th century France, Finance Minister Nicholas Fouquet had spent enormous sums in building a magnificent château on his estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte. He then threw a lavish party to show off his connections, cultivated manner and charm. Thinking this move would make him an indispensable asset to the king, Fouquet had actually offended his master who did not like the fact people were more charmed by his finance minister than by him. He unintentionally outshone his master, King Louis XIV, making the King feel insecure. In 1661, at age 23, Louis XIV visited Vaux-le-Vicomte, the country estate of his finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, and was outraged by its magnificence. The King found a convenient excuse to get rid of Fouquet who then spent the next 20 years of his life in prison. King Louis XIV went ahead to build Palace of Versailles which was much more grander and lavish than the Chateau built by Fouquet to display his charms and connections.

How Galileo used the Law in his favor?
Galileo was clever in observing this law by giving glory to his patrons. In order to solve his perennial problem of funding, he dedicated his discovery of the moons of Jupiter to the Medici, since the royal symbol of the Medici family was the planet Jupiter. He then commissioned an emblem for them, with each moon representing one of the sons who revolved around the patriarch. The Medici family became his major patron, appointing him their official court mathematician and philosopher, thereby giving him a more comfortable life and a steady salary.

Lesson:
• Present your ideas in a way that they echo your boss’s thought
• Act less smarter than your boss
• Do not take your position at work or in life for granted
• Always make sure to make it seem like you want to seek the superior's expertise and advice. Discreet flattery is very powerful.
Click to expand...


Follow these rules; and you will end up ruining half of your life.
The Robert Greens, The Nietzsches, The Henry Kissinger, The Zibgniew Brzezinskis and the likes are already halfway that path.
 
Law 6: Court Attention at all Cost


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Be ostentatious and be seen. . . . What is not seen is as though it did not exist. ... It was light that first caused all creation to shine forth. Display fills up many blanks, covers up deficiencies, and gives everything a second life, especially when it is backed by genuine merit. (Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658)
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.
Why Fame Is Important In Every Field Of Work
Burning more brighty than those around you is a skill that no one is born with. You have to learn to attract attention. At the start of your career, you must attach your name and reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people. This image can be something like a characteristic style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about. Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star.

Court of Louis XIV
The court of Louis XIV contained many talented writers, artists, great beauties, and men and women of impeccable virtue, but no one was more talked about than the singular Due de Lauzun. The duke was short, almost dwarfish, and he was prone to the most insolent kinds of behavior—he slept with the king's mistress, and openly insulted not only other courtiers but the king himself. Louis, however, was so beguiled by the duke's eccentricities that he could not bear his absences from the court. It was simple: The strangeness of the duke's character attracted attention. Once people were enthralled by him, they wanted him around at any cost.

Thomas Edison - The Greatest Inventor in the World
The great scientist Thomas Edison knew that to raise money he had to remain in the public eye at any cost. Almost as important as the inventions themselves was how he presented them to the public and courted attention. Edison would design visually dazzling experiments to display his discoveries with electricity. He would talk of future inventions that seemed fantastic at the time—robots, and machines that could photograph thought—and that he had no intention of wasting his energy on, but that made the public talk about him. He did everything he could to make sure that he received more attention than his great rival Nikola Tesla, who may actually have been more brilliant than he was but whose name was far less known. In 1915, it was rumored that Edison and Tesla would be joint recipients of that year's Nobel Prize in physics. The prize was eventually given to a pair of English physicists; only later was it discovered that the prize committee had actually approached Edison, but he had turned them down, refusing to share the prize with Tesla. By that time his fame was more secure than Tesla's, and he thought it better to refuse the honor than to allow his rival the attention that would have come even from sharing the prize.
 
Law 7: Get Others to Do the Work for You


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Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you an aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

Just ask Thomas Edison. He was the consummate genius of other people’s efforts. After hiring a Serbian scientist and inventor by the name of Nikola Telsa who toiled day and night to improve Edison’s antiquated invention, dynamos, or as we know them today generators. Telsa was told by Edison that he would receive $50,000 for redesigning this system of electrical current. Within a year Telsa created an improved version of the dynamo and instead of receiving $50,000, he was given a raise by Edison who knew that his company would get credit for the work that was done by Telsa.

Nikola Telsa is a prime example of what not to do. He was never credited for any of his work. He was the inventor of the alternate current system (AC) which is synonymous with Westinghouse. Financiers divested Telsa from the credit, patents and riches that he would have received which approximates at $12 million instead of the $216,000 that he accepted as payment. He was not even acknowledged for his patent filed in 1897 when another man, Guglielmo Marconi took credit for inventing the radio. Telsa is the true father of the radio.

This is a sad yet true story about a man who was obsessed with his work, yet really never got the accolades, or the money, nor the respect that he deserved. Edison on the other hand saw the requisite to hire the best in the field to do work that he himself would take credit for. This does not beg the question, who would you rather be? Rather it is a cautionary lesson.

4 Reasons Why You Should Utilize Others



1.Nobody likes a run-down, burned-out hero


If you insist on doing all the work yourself then you will never get very far. Hiring someone or others to do the work for you will give you a godlike quality that others will admire. Take artist Peter Paul Rubens for example, he assembled a vast array of outstanding artists to paint canvases so that when a client would visit Rubens’s studio it appeared to the client that Rubens was working arduously on his painting when in essence the painting was already nearly finished.

2. There are some skills that you do not possess

Hiring people who possess skills that you yourself lack is probably one of the wisest decisions you can make. Like in the case of artist Rubens, he hired different types of artists. One artist specialized in robes; another specialized in backgrounds and so on. This is what enabled him to appear to be working diligently on his paintings. Although he had procured others to do these paintings, he was able to put his name on the work, thus being the genius who got the credit and the money.

3. Standing on the shoulders of giants can be brilliantly manipulated

Isaac Newton, a genius in his own right made his discoveries built on the achievement of others. Shakespeare borrowed plots and other works from several writers and we can only guess how many people plagiarized the works of Shakespeare himself. Using the knowledge of the past just makes you a clever borrower and this in of itself is genius.

4.Sharing the credit with others

There is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing the credit with someone especially when that someone is your superior. Take Henry Kissinger, the secretary of state under Richard Nixon. If it had not been for Kissinger’s diplomacy Nixon’s historic visit to the People’s Republic of China would not have been as successful as it was. Knowing when to hold back by not hogging the spotlight is also a talent that will be beneficial in the long term. Be wise in your decision. Make sure that your position is unshakable or you will be accused of pushing people out of the limelight and deception is not a word that you want associated with you.

Picture the vulture, he has it the easy. The hard work of others becomes his work due to their failure to survive and they become his nourishment. Keep an eye on the vulture. While you are working hard, he is hovering. Do not fight him, join him. He is vigilant, ruthless and quiet. Three qualities that you must acquire to secure credit for an invention or creation until you can make it your own. The credit for an invention is as important, if not more important than the invention itself. Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn from experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”
 
Law 8: Make Other People Come To You Use Bait If Necessary


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When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You hold the cards.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, the foreign minister to Napoleon can attest to this caveat. Talleyrand was a mastermind manipulator who was behind the dramatic escape of Napoleon after his exile to the island of Elba. Talleyrand knew that Napoleon’s arrogance was his weakness and he played to that weakness like a strategic poker player. Not showing his true feelings toward the emperor, Talleyrand bided his time, made the right connections, which helped create the most elaborate scheme to dethrone one of the world’s most infamous people, Napolean Bonaparte.

Strategies to Remember

Reacting rather than directing


Keep others reacting to your moves, keep them on the defensive. Play to their ineffectiveness to stay calm.


Aggression versus effective action

Don’t waste a lot of energy trying to make your point, bide your time like Talleyrand. Make the other person come to you, set the bait.


Control the situation

Know your opponents weakness. He who has control has the power.


Master your emotions

Never be influenced through your anger. Aggressive people are never in control.

Case and point: During the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, Japan was able to plant false information that made the Russian fleet go 6000 miles out of the way and forced the Russians into hostile territory. The Russian seamen were weak and exhausted by the journey and although Japan had the weaker naval militia, they planted the bait which gave them the upper-hand on the Russians and needless to say the Japanese crushed the Russians because of their reaction to the rumor.

5 Benefits to making your opponents come to you

1. It is a wise thing to lure your opponent on hostile ground; it is a subtle way to put him on the defensive.

2. Your opponent will be nervous which will cause him to rush his actions and make mistakes.

3. You want to create the illusion that your opponent is in control of the situation.

4. Oftentimes, your opponent’s greed, desires and emotions will be their great motivator which means that they can be easily led around and/or defeated.

5. Getting people to dig their own graves forces their hand and makes you appear powerful and demand respect.

Is there ever a good time to go to your opponent, you ask? Yes, of course there is an exception to the rule when you should go to your opponent. Depending on the situation, bait and wait is a wise choice but taking the lead to attack your opponent can be advantageous as well. The element of surprise does not give the opponent time to think of a counter attack. They are left at your mercy and must respond to your terms.

Your biggest issue is to know what tactic to use and the right time to use it. To bait and wait or to strike with force, that is the dilemma. You can be like the bear hunter who lays the honey bait trap. He doesn’t exhaust himself and risk his life to find the bear he lays a trap and waits patiently for the bear to come to him. Or if time is not on your side, strike quickly to intimidate and control. Choose your approach wisely.
 
how can one read these articles now that you have stacked them like tomatoes they are useless!!! Jaribuni kuwa wabunifu sio kurundika kurundika tu nyuzi, sasa watu watasomaje??? Kwa kuzitenganisha ilikuwa rahisi kwa msomaji kusoma, moja baada ya nyingine, nyie mamoderator sasa hamfikirii kabla ya kumuvuzisha nyuzi!!!!!.....
 
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