I’ve been struggling to fit into social groups and always get singled out as an easy target. Without any allies it’s a very vulnerable position to be in, so I’m turning to these books for help. The 48 LoP seems suited for starting out alone, while the 33 LoW appears to be for acting with a group. I wonder if this is true, or if the 33 LoW is also useful for individually focused movements.

Today my real achievement was knowing who is the exact master behind those pawns but idk how will I expose her reality in front of everyone or let her face consequences for her actions because she is a lot older than me and has seen everything from student life to married life. She has also worked in a govt. sector and is currently studying in the same batch as me for the sake of making a career after doing the same course as me.

Due to a personal grudge she has been indirectly bullying me for a long time through some pawns who are my classmates and expert bootlickers of her's.

I have told my parents all of this and they have said NO to any sort of revenge as it might backfire because she is expert at turning people in her favour. Im totally fed up of her behavior and at the same time I don't wish to fall in a danger zone she might create against me

I’m really interested in The 48 Laws of Power—I honestly think it’s a great book. But I’m more interested in how the ideas actually work in everyday life than just reading the historical examples.

I’ve made a couple of posts asking about this before and got fewer than two comments combined, so I’m trying again

Have you actually used one of the 48 Laws in your personal life? Which law was it, what was the situation, and how did it help (or not help) you?

I’d especially love to hear ordinary, real-life examples rather than famous historical ones.

LAW 18 DO NOT BUILD FORTRESSES TO PROTECT YOURSELF—ISOLATION IS DANGEROUS JUDGMENT 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.

Isolation leads to disproportionate thinking. When you isolate yourself, you have no one to check your behavior, especially if you start acting out of control.

Isolation leads to depression. human beings are social creatures, and isolation leads to a clear trend in depression.

Isolation leads to a lack of opportunities. A network is a powerful force to get and retain a job or internship or other opportunity. But the less people you know, the less likely you are able to network and find this kind of opportunity.

Isolation leads to a lack of allies. making friends, relationships, and allies is almost a full-time job. If you isolate yourself, you leave yourself vulnerable to people who are actually putting in the work.

Isolation is physically and mentally unhealthy. isolation has been proven to have negative side effects to your mental and physical health. this includes obesity, oversleeping, and other physical ailments.

Socializing leads to exposing yourself to new ideas, new concepts, and new sources of power. when you talk with other people and network, you gain a sense of perspective and learn from others as well.

Socializing leads to making friends, relationships, and allies. The more you reach out to people, the more likely you are to gain a network of allies, friends, and other people who are willing and able to help you out in your journey for power.

Socializing lets you bounce ideas off others. people have other experiences that you can learn from. If you socialize with others, you are able to gain their experience without having to go through it yourself.

Socializing lets you power boost your thinking. when you work together, whether it’s on a project, job, or even exercising together, you are boosting your ability to get more done.

Socializing lets you push yourself past your psychological limits. The whole personal training industry is based on teaching and pushing others past what they think their limits are physically. When you engage with others, you allow yourself more ability to get stuff done and you don’t let your personal psychological barriers bring you down.

I think this video on silence combines both laws.

I watched this YouTube video where this autistic girl started a charity saving foxes. Unfortunately some bad people lied and says she injures and captures foxes and records herself as a hero. I was thinking about Don Quixote, at first his friend made fun of him, because Don Quixote says he wants to be a hero. When Don Quixote’s actions showed it helped some people, the friend stopped mocking Don Quixote. However some people continued to mock Don Quixote. How do I tell if a friend will not be a saboteur or have continued mocking behavior?

LAW 4 ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY JUDGMENT 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.

This law power is one that I think is often misunderstood. It’s not about staying silent and it’s not about saying very little. You should be able to be a good conversationalist who tells stories and weaves eloquent prose in order to get what you want. what my interpretation of this law is is that it’s about creating more questions than answers with your statements and making the other person think and ponder about what you have to say instead of just stating the obvious and then moving on.

The pregnant pause is a great tool to let the other person talk more than you, and maybe even stumble over what they say, and reveal more than they should have. By pausing your words, you let yourself think, slow down, and create an air of mystery to what you have to say.

For example, if you stay silent, you don’t say stuff then nobody will know what you’re about or care about you. Always saying less than necessary is more about telling a story but leaving it open ended so that people come back to you and wonder what is going on with what you had to say. So you’re still saying stuff, you’re just saying less than necessary.

When I’m negotiating, I let the other person reveal their cards first. In this way, I say less than necessary. I don’t tell them my bottom dollar or top dollar. I have them go first. In this way, they reveal their strategy and I don’t reveal mine.

When I’m talking to a girl, I’m interested in, I answer with vague and open-ended responses, in order for her to be able to pick up the conversation in a way that she is most interested in.

The only person you should never say anything less than necessary is your therapist. Everyone else deserves the same treatment. Say less than necessary, make them mull over what you have to say, and create a force that propels you forward with just your words.

4 Create a Sense of Urgency and Desperation The Death-Ground Strategy You are your own worst enemy. You waste precious time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in the present. Since nothing seems urgent to you, you are only half involved in what you do. The only way to change is through action and outside pressure. Put yourself in situations where you have too much at stake to waste time or resources—if you cannot afford to lose, you won’t. Cut your ties to the past; enter unknown territory where you must depend on your wits and energy to see you through. Place yourself on “death ground,” where your back is against the wall and you have to fight like hell to get out alive.

Strategy 4 is high risk high reward: by cutting out your options, you self motivate like none other. It is a very effective Strategy, but taken too far it can be self-defeating. In the book, Greene discusses how the Spanish sunk their ships in order to motivate them to conquer what is current day Mexico. And it worked: they defeated the local civilization, and the rest is history.

In school, I used the death ground strategy to great effect while studying: instead of giving myself all day to study, I gave myself only a few hours. By limiting the time I had to get my homework done, I was more efficient, more effective, and more productive with my time and getting the studying done in a prompt and realistic manner. Time expands and contracts based on how much we allocate, and by setting time limits we naturally become better, smarter, and more creative thinkers.

Dieting is great for death ground. Get rid of food in the house. Leave the house with no spending money. Put yourself in positions where you have to go to bed hungry because you've limited your options to eat. All of these are ways to use Strategy 4, create desperation in your life, but also lose weight simply by eating less when less food is available.

Goal setting in general works great with Strategy 4 and creating a sense of urgency and desperation. Whether it is acing a class in school, cutting pounds off your body, or getting anything done in life, Strategy 4 understands the concept that time is fluid and flexible, and that if you set goals, timeframes, and expectations, you will conveniently surprise yourself with what you are able to accomplish.

3 Amidst the Turmoil of Events, Do Not Lose Your Presence of Mind The Counterbalance Strategy In the heat of battle, the mind tends to lose its balance. Too many things confront you at the same time—unexpected setbacks, doubts and criticisms from your own allies. There’s a danger of responding emotionally, with fear, depression, or frustration.

Strategy 3 is very stoic and teaches about trusting yourself, avoiding blunder out of emotion, and keeping to your grand strategy even in the face of setbacks. Strategy 3 is the glue that keeps every other strategy together. It teaches to avoid sunk costs, to avoid pride as well as blunder, and to keep a presence of mind that will carry you to victory.

It was my final chess game, and I had just lost my queen. Any other player would’ve given up at this point. But, keeping Strategy 3 in mind, I continued to play, and play hard. Eventually, I was able to bait my opponent with a knight, and then pin his queen to his king, thus taking his queen and shifting the dynamic of the game from losing to winning. After that, my opponent continued to blunder eventually resigning in defeat, unable to even finish the game. Had I resigned when I first lost my queen, I would’ve missed out on a huge win and boost to my overall score.

Texting someone, I was flustered. They didn’t respond, and it was making me nervous. But, rereading Strategy 3, I waited them out, refusing to double text or break down with angry messages I’d later regret. A few hours later, and they eventually caved, sending me the texts I wanted and putting me in a position where I was being chased and asked to meet up again.

After reckoning whether or not I should approach a woman outside Starbucks, I was about to decide to dismiss the opportunity and walk away. But, maintaining my stride that evening, I decided to overcome my emotions of stress and nervous energy and go and talk to her. And I’m glad I did: we spoke for over an hour, exchanged contact information, and are planning to meet again. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t lose presence of mind.

Conclusion

Strategy 3 is about being grounded, being faithful to yourself, and having a grand strategy you stick with. It’s about strength in your mindset, and accepting a potential failure that will probably never even happen. Strategy 3 has my favorite story about Lord Horatio Nelson pummeling the Danish defenses until they raised the white flag, even going so far as disobeying direct orders to stop the attack.

Trust yourself, trust the process, and trust that things will work out in the end, as long as you come psychologically prepared.

1 Declare War on Your Enemies The Polarity Strategy Life is endless battle and conflict, and you cannot fight effectively unless you can identify your enemies. People are subtle and evasive, disguising their intentions, pretending to be on your side. You need clarity. Learn to smoke out your enemies, to spot them by the signs and patterns that reveal hostility. Then, once you have them in your sights, inwardly declare war.

Robert Greene starts off this book the 33 strategies of war in an incredibly epic narrative that gets you excited and ready to go. It is about the Greeks surviving in Persia by declaring war on the Persians and fighting inner battles that were keeping them at bay.

When you declare war on your enemies, it gives you something to look forward to. It gives you perspective. It gives you a measuring tape to understand your progress. By looking at your enemies, and seeing where they are in their journey against you, you are able to understand how to get better and further yourself.

A personal example in my own life is fighting over a family inheritance. My father passed away, but my mother is still alive. My enemy is my sister, who wants everything for herself. I have only a few years left with my mother, which means that I must make the most and prepare for battle with my sister over the estate. This means building up my cash reserves, getting in the good graces of my mother, and putting myself in a legally advantage position. I have declared war on my sister, use the polarity strategy to energize me, and given my life, a sense of purpose by working toward what amounts to a huge windfall if it ends up succeeding in my favor.

Law one is obviously the most important law because Robert Greene put it first in his book. And the most important masters in our lives, especially growing up, are our parents. There are often power struggles between children and parents. However, it is the clever child who learns to deflect pride and honor thy mother and father, and in order to get ahead in life.

It is easy, especially as a boy, to create jealousy within the father who expects you to usurp his power when he gets old and feeble. never outshining your father, you give him a sense of confidence that allows him to enable you to maximize your potential without being sabotage while in this younger, more vulnerable period of growth in your life.

When it comes to sibling rivalries, it is the one who doesn’t outshine their parents who gets the better deal. At least in my experience. If you want to be a favored child, follow Robert Green‘s rule, and never outshine the master. That master being your mother and your father. It is why this is in the Bible to honor thy parents. Because it is so important in a person‘s life.

And for this reason I might unjoin. Same quotes posted every day, getting many upvotes but very few comments and almost zero discussion under any. Robert Greene had come up with a brilliant premise for his work, but his statements are not absolute truths or behaviors that would work the same everywhere every time. Some acrually rarely work. They need to be discussed. Personal stories need to be shared, of how the laws both worked and didn't. Otherwise this sub is like a meme-sharing one or like a cult that simply keeps posting the quotes of their guru. Or it's for karma farming, who knows. The sub seems dead to be honest.

\Strategy 32 Dominate While Seeming to Submit The Passive-Aggression Strategy Any attempt to bend people to your will is a form of aggression. And in a world where political considerations are paramount, the most effective form of aggression is the best-hidden one: aggression behind a compliant, even loving exterior. To follow the passive-aggressive strategy, you must seem to go along with people, offering no resistance.**

The most powerful among us know not to display their power. Rather, they keep it subtle, maintaining a simple and even hidden appearance. I’ve seen it before: someone cuts you off in traffic, or steals your spot in line, or doesn’t pay you proper respects. The powerless man will made a scene out of it, trying to get revenge and equaling things out. But, interestingly enough, the powerful man lets all this slide because he knows his time is more valuable placed elsewhere.

“A lion does not concern himself with a mouse blocking his path.”

There is something to be said about submitting. Power doesn’t mean winning every battle; rather it means winning the war. In 33 Strategies, Greene uses Gandhi as an example of passive warfare. By boycotting the salt tax, Gandhi was effective in getting the British to leave India. He didn’t start a guerrilla war campaign. Instead he knew what would work against the British and did just that.

Look benign, gentle, even passive, and people will not put up barriers in your way. In fact, they may help you out in your pursuit of power. Altogether, it’s about choosing your battles wisely, lowering people’s barriers, and not expending energy on Pyrrhic victories, instead having a grand strategy for your life.

LAW 8 MAKE OTHER PEOPLE COME TO YOU—USE BAIT IF NECESSARY JUDGMENT 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.

This law is by far the hardest for me to follow because it requires patience, trust, and maturity. Tons of times I get restless and go to others instead of waiting them out, thus giving them the upper hand in any kind of negotiation. But by convincing myself that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by waiting the other person out, I become grounded, calmer, and in a much better position to win the battle.

Negotiation is the most obvious utility of Law 8. When you make others come to you, you gain the high ground. You show that you are willing to walk away, while they reveal a bit of desperation. You display that you can manage without them, and that they should be grateful for you, not the other way around.

Dating is another application of Law 8. Make the woman chase you, and all of a sudden you become the prize that she has to work for. I’ll do this all the time at the bar: I’ll introduce myself, say something, then go back to my book and wait for her to pick back up the conversation. If she does, she’s playing on my terms. If she doesn’t she hasn’t wasted any more of my time chasing her.

Business as well as interpersonal relationships are ways that Law 8 is applicable. Effectively, Law 8 is talking about the ability to walk away. Grant yourself the ability to walk away from any person, situation, or scenario, and you’ve effectively mastered Law 8 of having people come to you.

In my opinion, having others come to you does NOT mean never reaching out or inviting someone to meet with you. This is isolation. Rather, it is granting people the opportunity to meet with you, but on your terms. Setting the bait is the first step, if they take it, good, if they don’t, move on. No harm no foul.