Put forward by Robert Greene in a book, here are some timeless laws that powerful people have always adopted.
- Never outshine the master ...
- Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies.
- Conceal your intentions.
- Always say less than necessary.
- So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life.
- Court attention at all costs.
- Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.
- Make other people come to you; use bait if necessary.
- Win through your actions, never through argument.
- Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky.
- Learn to keep people dependent on you.
- Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.
- When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interests, never to their mercy or gratitude.
- Pose as a friend, work as a spy.
- Crush your enemy totally.
- Use absence to increase respect and honor.
- Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.
- Do not build fortresses to protect yourself. Isolation is dangerous.
- Know who you're dealing with; do not offend the wrong person.
- Do not commit to anyone.
- Play a sucker to catch a sucker: play dumber than your mark.
- Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power.
- Concentrate your forces.
- Play the perfect courtier.
- Re-create yourself.
- Keep your hands clean.
- Play on people's need to believe to create a cult-like following.
- Enter action with boldness.
- Plan all the way to the end.
- Make your accomplishments seem effortless.
- Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal.
- Play to people's fantasies.
- Discover each man's thumbscrew.
- Be royal in your fashion: act like a king to be treated like one.
- Master the art of timing.
- Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.
- Create compelling spectacles.
- Think as you like but behave like others.
- Stir up waters to catch fish.
- Despise the free lunch.
- Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes.
- Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.
- Work on the hearts and minds of others.
- Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.
- Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once.
- Never appear perfect.
- Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop.
- Assume formlessness.
