5 Lessons From the "48 Laws of Power" that Will Make You Powerful

What is the "48 Laws of Power" Book About?

Robert Greene's masterpiece serves as a guide on power and the best ways to gain it in everyday situations. The 48 laws continue to be morally provocative and frequently go against common sense. The book was published in 1998 and it was the result of Greene's personal experience of being outwitted and taken over throughout his life. The author effectively turned his terrible experiences into a best-seller by using them as a foundation for writing his book.

The book delves deeply into human nature and our primal hunger for power, as demonstrated by centuries' worth of accumulated wisdom built up by thinkers and doers like Sun-Tzu, Machiavelli, and von Clausewitz. With extreme attention to detail and compelling historical anecdotes, Greene delves into the realities of human darkness. The author's research led to a list of "timeless and definitive laws" that everyone should be aware of if they want to avoid leading a miserable life.

Greene rejects the idea that reading his book is only for entertainment. Rather, he challenges the reader to examine power as an example of the art of patience, deceit and most importantly, indirection. Whether you choose to use this information for offense or defense is up to you. Ultimately, though, we are all forced to bear the consequences of complying with and breaking the laws of power even if we reject them. 

The Best Quotes From 48 Laws of Power

These are the best 5 quotes we found from The 48 Laws of Power. We'll provide you with a summary of Greene's thoughts on each law and examples of relevant concepts we've come across.

1. Never Outshine the Master (Law 1)

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior in your desire to please and 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.

Starting with one of the easiest power laws to understand. It can be attractive to show off one's abilities when working in a hierarchical workplace to climb the corporate ladder. However, this approach ignores the insecurities of the people you are trying to impress.

In this case, strategic modesty is the appropriate response and the secret to power isn't giving up on your abilities and skills. It's the refusal to show them. Insecure people should be avoided at all costs. You shouldn't let your strong relationship with a superior lead you to believe that the law doesn't still apply. According to an old moral principle: It takes great talent to conceal one’s talent or skill.”

2. Always Say Less Than Necessary (Law 4)

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. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

People enjoy listening to themselves speak and nothing is more satisfying than talking about ourselves. However, as the philosopher Alan Watts once stated, "You will never hear what anybody else has to say if you talk all the time." Being able to bite one's tongue and listen instead in such a world offers more benefits than just giving one an advantage over others in terms of knowledge. It's also a powerful example of control.

Take General David Petraeus of the US Army as an example. A significant portion of his spirit has been given to his exceptional strength and level of fitness. When questioned about how he maintained this myth among his soldiers, the general once replied, "I don't talk about it." Considering that someone did not create myths by "orchestrating the myths."

3. Keep Others In Suspended Terror (Law 17)

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

The third quote from 48 Laws of Power influences the ability to see patterns even when none exist. We often put separate facts and events we learn about in sequence, using our imagination to fill in the blanks. You can use this phenomenon in your actions to create an air of suspenseful unpredictability.

How are your opponents supposed to plan their strategies against you if they are having trouble figuring you out? This is taken a step further by the insane theory of negotiations. US President Richard Nixon popularized it by utilizing it during the Cold War. They won't dare to provoke you because they can't anticipate your next move.

4. Master the Art of Timing (Law 35)

Never seem to be in a hurry — hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment: sniff out the spirit of times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition. 

Almost everything can be made or broken by timing and pace. The conference speech you deliver, the opening joke you tell to get people laughing, and the long-awaited promotion. Greene suggests that you should consider time to be a flexible concept. To reach your objective, you can, at the very least, affect how you and others perceive yourself. For that reason, Greene made three distinctions regarding the concept of time:

Long time: Thinking strategically and with less emotion can be achieved when you slow down. Thus, it should to be your default. You become aware of how pace can be used against you once you take your time with everything.

Forced time: Depending on the circumstance, the goal here is to make people hurry or wait. They are compelled by this to lose their temper, behave irrationally, and make quick decisions. The objective is to mess with other people's timing, kind of like the OODA Loop.

End time: The key to this idea is to seize the moment when it presents itself and act decisively. Your patience is useless if you don't know what you want to accomplish. Your skilled timing is useless if you lack the confidence to act decisively and firmly when the time comes.

5. Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker — Seem Dumber Than Your Mark (Law 21)

No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart — and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

Those who are consistently misjudged should find special resonance in this 48 Laws of Power quote. Because, if we know how to use it, being underestimated can be a simple way to gain power. Greene is aware that even the suggestion of being simple-minded is a serious offense. Being intelligent is arrogance, an illusion that you can exploit by granting your opponent the appearance of intellectual dominance. 

The Columbo Method is one example of this. It carries the name of the legendary inspector Columbo, the odd lead character in the eponymous vintage detective series. The homicide detective who smoked cigars was well-known for his inappropriate outfits and perpetually confused manner. It served as his primary tool for uncovering the infamous and intelligent killers he investigated.

Protect Yourself Rather than Take Advantage of Others

In conclusion, Robert Greene observes "So much of power is not what you do but what you do not do - the rash and foolish actions that you refrain from before they get you into trouble" In this way, being aware of the power dynamics is completely different from being "evil" or "asocial."

The purpose of the laws is not only to acquire power but also to protect you from shady people. Equipping yourself with that knowledge is the path to true virtue in becoming as strong as you can be and then learning to control that strength.