Transcription
At times, life might seem like it's all fun and games. We'd like to think that nothing is going on behind the scenes and that everything is really as it seems. The reality, however, is much different. And then will come times in your life when you'll need to be a powerful person. What does that really mean, then? What does power even look like?
Contrary to popular belief, power has nothing to do with being aggressive or mean to people. No, power is something much more than that. Some of the greatest military heroes of ancient Rome were extremely powerful, and they used their power to crush their enemies. There are times in life when you have no other choice but to be powerful. And with the top 10 laws from the 48 Laws of Power, you'll be able to exercise immense power anytime, anywhere, and with anyone.
Law Number One: Always say less than necessary. When talking to someone, a powerful person always says less than necessary. We've all been around a friend or family member who's always talking about something. After being around this person for more than a few minutes, did you start to get the feeling that they're not in control of themselves? As humans, most of us instinctively like to talk more than we should. But by always saying less than necessary, you'll appear powerful, mysterious, and in control. When you do say something, make it vague and open-ended. Saying less than necessary will make you appear powerful and intimidating. By saying less than is needed, you're much less likely to say something foolish. This law is especially useful if you ever get stopped by the police and need to protect your rights.
Law Number Two: Court attention at all costs. In society, everyone is judged by their appearance, whether we like it or not. To be a powerful person, be conspicuous and stand out. Do whatever it takes to be more mysterious, colorful, or larger than anyone else in the real world. This means going against social norms. The YouTube-famous bodybuilder did this by taking his shirt off in public and behaving in unexpected ways. Another example is Connor Murphy, a YouTuber whose channel is growing at an insanely fast rate. This guy takes his shirt off and does crazy things in front of attractive girls, and with nearly 1 million views per day, he is being rewarded handsomely for it.
Law Number Three: Avoid the unhappy and unlucky. Emotional states are just as infectious as diseases. And it might make you feel good to listen to another person's misery, but too much of it will do you more harm than good. We've all had that one unfortunate friend who seems to attract all kinds of bad luck. Hang around them long enough, and all of a sudden you start getting caught up in the same misfortune. To avoid infection, spend your time around people who are happy and fortunate.
Law Number Four: Learn to keep people dependent on you. To be a powerful person, you need to be needed and wanted. The more others rely on you, the more freedom and power you will have. You should make people depend on you for their prosperity and happiness. The game of power applies to most corporate jobs. To use this law in such a setting, you must do whatever is needed to make yourself indispensible; it will make it so that the company would lose too much if they fire you.
Law Number Five: When asking for help, appeal to the person's self-interest and never to gratitude or mercy. There will come a time in your life when you'll need to ask someone for a favor. If you approach it from the angle of reminding them of the good deeds or past assistance you've given them, they'll find a way to ignore you. To exercise power, approach the favor with something that will benefit the other person and make it sound like an unrepeatable offer for them. Once the person realizes that he stands to gain from the request, he'll be glad to help you.
Law Number Six: Pose as a friend but work as a spy. When playing the game of power in any industry, you need to know your rivals and competitors. As a spy, you can gain priceless information that will allow you to stay one step ahead of the competition. If you're the one playing the spy, learn how to uncover secrets and information about your rivals during polite social encounters. Play this role well enough, and you can get the other person to reveal their intentions and even their weaknesses to you.
Law Number Seven: Use absence to increase respect and honor. Everything, from people to objects, is about supply and demand. When the supply is low, the demand goes up. The gasoline that powers your car is a great example. When oil refineries have tons of oil, the supply goes up, and the price that you pay at the pump goes down. But when the supply goes above the demand, the price per gallon of gasoline goes down. The same is true for people. We've all had a girlfriend or boyfriend, and at first they weren't always available, which increased the demand and made them more desirable to be around. A year later, they started hanging around the house all the time and never really left at all. This caused the supply to increase, and our demand for the person started to decrease.
Law Number Eight: Know who you're dealing with and don't offend the wrong person. When playing the game of power, you must always know who you're dealing with. This is true for every area of life. The world is filled with many types of people. The strategy you used on one competitor might cause another to spend the rest of their life trying to get revenge on you. Think about the comments section on YouTube; pick on ten people, and maybe none of them will fight back. But if you don't know your enemies, you might unknowingly start something with someone who has enough knowledge to ruin your life. For a great example of this, watch the movie *IT* with Pierce Brosnan.
Law Number Nine: Play a sucker to catch a sucker. Seem dumber than your mark. Nobody likes to feel dumb. To play the game of power, always trick the other person into thinking you're not as smart as you really are and make your enemy feel smart. Once the person is convinced that they're smarter than you, they'll never suspect your ulterior motives. Imagine you own a tech company, and a competitor is working on the same app as you, and upon the release of said app, the company stands to gain millions of dollars. Your company is working on the same app, but you need more time to release it. By making your competitor think that you know nothing about the app, you can uncover crucial information about his progress and do whatever is needed to make sure you release the app first.
Law Number Ten: Recreate yourself. Never accept the role that society has forced on you. Instead, create a new identity for yourself and make sure you command attention and never bore your audience. You must always be the master of how people perceive you and never let others define your personal brand. By creating a new identity for yourself—one that isn't forced upon you by society—you will wield great power, and your character will seem enormous.
Life, and business especially, can be a giant game of power, and the game doesn't care whether you want to play or not, and it has no problem playing without you. You and everyone else are already on the board, and the opposing pieces are coming to take you out. Use the top ten laws of power correctly, and your chances of winning will increase. With that said, until next time, thanks for watching, and be sure to grab yourself a copy of the 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.