my morning run is done.
i have now realized and understand that google is taking over the world via the internet.
going to our lttle spot 2night for all that may be interested.
music at the moment is whatevers on the radio.
quote for you:
"show me how pretty the world is, cause i envy the way that you move" ~ matt nathanson
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
WhiZ DumB
Wisdom is knowing what you want out of life, why you want it, and how you're going to get it. ~ Anonymous
Clues, Riddles, Revelations
"what is art but a way of seeing" - Saul Bellowwhen the daylight hours give way to darkness, i try to write good articles for this blog. Othertimes when you see posts appearing on this blog i want you to know that they have been created from the materials of my innermost thoughts. in fiction, life is borrowed or stolen
from many other places
don't believe everything you see
look for keys to unlock mysteries
48 Rules of Power
Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
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.
Law 2: Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies
Be wary of friends- they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them. (Read the entire Law 2)
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary
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.
Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation- Guard it with Your Life *
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.
Law 6: Court Attention at All Cost
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.
(Read the entire Law 6)
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 a godlike 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.
Law 8: Make other People Come to you- use Bait if Necessary
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.
Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
Law 10: Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky *
You can die from someone else's misery- emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.
Law 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once you selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift- a Trojan horse- will serve the same purpose.
Law 13: When Asking for Help, Appeal to People's Self-Interest, Never to Their Mercy
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself. (Read the entire Law 13)
Law 14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.
Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
Law 16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
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.
Law 18: Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself- Isolation is Dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere-everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from-it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people, find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then- never offend or deceive the wrong person.
Law 20: Do Not Commit to Anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others- playing people against one another, making them pursue you.
Law 21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker- Seem Dumber than Your Mark
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.
Law 22: Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor's sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you- surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.
Law 23: Concentrate Your Forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another- intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.
Law 24: Play the Perfect Courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.
Law 25: Re-Create Yourself *
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions- your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Law 26: Keep Your Hands Clean
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as unwitting pawns and screens to disguise your involvement.
Law 27: Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.
Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
Law 29: Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead. (Read the entire Law 29)
Law 30: Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work- it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
Law 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.
Law 32: Play to People's Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.
Law 34: Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act Like a King to Be Treated Like One
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
Law 35: Master the Art of Timing *
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 the 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.
Law 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them is the Best Revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles *
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power- everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.
Law 38: Think as You Like but Behave Like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
Law 39: Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
Law 40: Despise the Free Lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous- it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price- there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man's Shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
Law 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual- the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them- they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others *
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.
Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect.
Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform Too Much at Once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.
Law 46: Never Appear Too Perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
Law 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed for; in Victory, Learn When to Stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.
Law 48: Assume Formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.
Warning: The authors cautions Reversals of these Laws in certain cases. Of the 48 Laws,
only seven are irreversible- Law #5, 10, 19, 25, 35, 37, 43. These are marked with *.
Ponder on spiritual laws (Golden Rule, Karma, Prayer) that supercede all of the above.
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.
Law 2: Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies
Be wary of friends- they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them. (Read the entire Law 2)
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary
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.
Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation- Guard it with Your Life *
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.
Law 6: Court Attention at All Cost
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.
(Read the entire Law 6)
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 a godlike 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.
Law 8: Make other People Come to you- use Bait if Necessary
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.
Law 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
Law 10: Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky *
You can die from someone else's misery- emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.
Law 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once you selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift- a Trojan horse- will serve the same purpose.
Law 13: When Asking for Help, Appeal to People's Self-Interest, Never to Their Mercy
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself. (Read the entire Law 13)
Law 14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.
Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
Law 16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Law 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
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.
Law 18: Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself- Isolation is Dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere-everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from-it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people, find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then- never offend or deceive the wrong person.
Law 20: Do Not Commit to Anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others- playing people against one another, making them pursue you.
Law 21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker- Seem Dumber than Your Mark
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.
Law 22: Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor's sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you- surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.
Law 23: Concentrate Your Forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another- intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.
Law 24: Play the Perfect Courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.
Law 25: Re-Create Yourself *
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions- your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Law 26: Keep Your Hands Clean
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as unwitting pawns and screens to disguise your involvement.
Law 27: Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.
Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
Law 29: Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead. (Read the entire Law 29)
Law 30: Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work- it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
Law 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.
Law 32: Play to People's Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.
Law 34: Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act Like a King to Be Treated Like One
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
Law 35: Master the Art of Timing *
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 the 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.
Law 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them is the Best Revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles *
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power- everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.
Law 38: Think as You Like but Behave Like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
Law 39: Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
Law 40: Despise the Free Lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous- it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price- there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man's Shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
Law 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual- the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them- they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others *
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.
Law 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of the Mirror Effect.
Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform Too Much at Once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.
Law 46: Never Appear Too Perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
Law 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed for; in Victory, Learn When to Stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.
Law 48: Assume Formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.
Warning: The authors cautions Reversals of these Laws in certain cases. Of the 48 Laws,
only seven are irreversible- Law #5, 10, 19, 25, 35, 37, 43. These are marked with *.
Ponder on spiritual laws (Golden Rule, Karma, Prayer) that supercede all of the above.
The Kirsten Joy Quotes
You know what's sad about being abroad and having your phone in a roaming mode? It seldom rings.
I used to think that forwarded messages and other unsolicited messages are just distractions from my busy workload (sometimes, even a waste of time especially if I'm in the middle a very important work and beating the deadline!!!) but now, every single beep is like a sound of heavenly music to my ears. That is, if I hear it. Because now that I rarely hear the message tone, there are times that I don't recognize it anymore! =)
I'd like to recognize and give credit to my friend Kirsten Joy for sending me messages even if I could only reply once in a while because of higher roaming rates. I'm glad there's Chikka to let me reply to her via the internet too but it's limited and she's charged after a certain number of messages.
Let me share with you some messages sent to me by Kirsten:
"Don't count the things you think you've done for someone. Count the number of times you felt better just because you made them happy."
"Life itself is a challenge that we ought to face. We lose some, we win some. But if we never give up, we'll discover that sacrifices has the greatest rewards. God cares."
"Trials exist not because God wants to test you. That is a lie. He already knows your capabilities more than you could imagine. Trials exists because you need to learn one thing: Faith."
"Do what makes you happy. Life is not based on the money you've got and the success you've achieved. It's all about being happy with who you are, who you love and who makes your life worth living."
"Friendship isn't ranked by whom we have known the longest, who came first or who cares the best. It's about who came and never left."
"Prayer is the best shield against all trials. A heart to heart talk with God will lessen your burden for He will never say no to those who have faith in Him."
"When we sigh about our problems, they grow double. When we laugh about them, they become bubbles. Have a bright, light and bubbly day."
"Why did God make the world round? So that no matter how small or insignificant you think you are, wherever you stand on it, you are always on top!"
"Often we stand at life's crossroads and view what we think is the end but God has much bigger vision and He tells us "relax, it's just a bend, not the end."
"It is by love that we serve. It is by patience that we understand. It is by trials that we gain wisdom. And it is by sharing that we become a blessing."
"No one ever fulfilled a dream without failure. No one perfected the law without violation. No one ever loved without a broken heart. Above all, no one can live alone without God."
"God makes us brave when we are afraid, makes us strong when we are weak. But most of all, He teaches us to hold on to Him when things keep on falling."
I used to think that forwarded messages and other unsolicited messages are just distractions from my busy workload (sometimes, even a waste of time especially if I'm in the middle a very important work and beating the deadline!!!) but now, every single beep is like a sound of heavenly music to my ears. That is, if I hear it. Because now that I rarely hear the message tone, there are times that I don't recognize it anymore! =)
I'd like to recognize and give credit to my friend Kirsten Joy for sending me messages even if I could only reply once in a while because of higher roaming rates. I'm glad there's Chikka to let me reply to her via the internet too but it's limited and she's charged after a certain number of messages.Let me share with you some messages sent to me by Kirsten:
"Don't count the things you think you've done for someone. Count the number of times you felt better just because you made them happy."
"Life itself is a challenge that we ought to face. We lose some, we win some. But if we never give up, we'll discover that sacrifices has the greatest rewards. God cares."
"Trials exist not because God wants to test you. That is a lie. He already knows your capabilities more than you could imagine. Trials exists because you need to learn one thing: Faith."
"Do what makes you happy. Life is not based on the money you've got and the success you've achieved. It's all about being happy with who you are, who you love and who makes your life worth living."
"Friendship isn't ranked by whom we have known the longest, who came first or who cares the best. It's about who came and never left."
"Prayer is the best shield against all trials. A heart to heart talk with God will lessen your burden for He will never say no to those who have faith in Him."
"When we sigh about our problems, they grow double. When we laugh about them, they become bubbles. Have a bright, light and bubbly day."
"Why did God make the world round? So that no matter how small or insignificant you think you are, wherever you stand on it, you are always on top!"
"Often we stand at life's crossroads and view what we think is the end but God has much bigger vision and He tells us "relax, it's just a bend, not the end."
"It is by love that we serve. It is by patience that we understand. It is by trials that we gain wisdom. And it is by sharing that we become a blessing."
"No one ever fulfilled a dream without failure. No one perfected the law without violation. No one ever loved without a broken heart. Above all, no one can live alone without God."
"God makes us brave when we are afraid, makes us strong when we are weak. But most of all, He teaches us to hold on to Him when things keep on falling."
Mother Teresa Quotable Quotes
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."
"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."
"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."
"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise."
"Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own."
"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try."
"Good works are links that form a chain of love."
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
"I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness."
"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
"I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God."
"I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?"
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
"If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."
"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."
"Intense love does not measure, it just gives."
"It is a kingly act to assist the fallen."
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
"It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy."
"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
"Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world."
"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
"Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given."
"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."
"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."
"Loneliness is the most terrible poverty."
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action."
"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home."
"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."
"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus."
"One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody."
"Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."
"Peace begins with a smile."
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."
Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience.
Mother Teresa
"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted."
The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.
Mother Teresa
"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."
"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."
"The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."
"The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done."
"There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those."
"There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible."
"There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
"There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use."
"We are all pencils in the hand of God."
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
"We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do."
"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."
"We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much,for so long,with so little,we are now qualified to do anything with nothing."
"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."
"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."
"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise."
"Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own."
"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try."
"Good works are links that form a chain of love."
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
"I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness."
"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
"I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God."
"I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?"
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
"If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."
"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."
"Intense love does not measure, it just gives."
"It is a kingly act to assist the fallen."
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
"It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy."
"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
"Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world."
"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
"Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given."
"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."
"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."
"Loneliness is the most terrible poverty."
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action."
"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home."
"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."
"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus."
"One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody."
"Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."
"Peace begins with a smile."
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."
Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience.
Mother Teresa
"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted."
The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.
Mother Teresa
"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."
"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."
"The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."
"The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done."
"There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those."
"There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible."
"There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
"There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use."
"We are all pencils in the hand of God."
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
"We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do."
"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."
"We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much,for so long,with so little,we are now qualified to do anything with nothing."
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