### Book:There are times when the need for attention must be deferred, and


### Book:when scandal and notoriety are the last things you want to create. The


### Book:attention you attract must never offend or challenge the reputation of


### Book:those above you—not, at any rate, if they are secure. You will seem not


### Book:only paltry but desperate by comparison. There is an art to knowing


### Book:when to draw notice and when to withdraw.


### Book:Lola Montez was one of the great practitioners of the art of attracting


### Book:attention. She managed to rise from a middle-class Irish background to


### Book:being the lover of Franz Liszt and then the mistress and political adviser


### Book:of King Ludwig of Bavaria. In her later years, though, she lost her sense


### Book:of proportion.


### Book:In London in 1850 there was to be a performance of Shakespeare’s


### Book:Macbeth featuring the greatest actor of the time, Charles John Kean.


### Book:Everyone of consequence in English society was to be there; it was


### Book:rumored that even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were to make apublic appearance. The custom of the period demanded that everyone be


### Book:seated before the queen arrived. So the audience got there a little early,


### Book:and when the queen entered her royal box, they observed the convention


### Book:of standing up and applauding her. The royal couple waited, then bowed.


### Book:Everyone sat down and the lights were dimmed. Then, suddenly, all eyes


### Book:turned to a box opposite Queen Victoria’s: A woman appeared from the


### Book:shadows, taking her seat later than the queen. It was Lola Montez. She


### Book:wore a diamond tiara on her dark hair and a long fur coat over her


### Book:shoulders. People whispered in amazement as the ermine cloak was


### Book:dropped to reveal a low-necked gown of crimson velvet. By turning their


### Book:heads, the audience could see that the royal couple deliberately avoided


### Book:looking at Lola’s box. They followed Victoria’s example, and for the rest


### Book:of the evening Lola Montez was ignored. After that evening no one in


### Book:fashionable society dared to be seen with her. All her magnetic powers


### Book:were reversed. People would flee her sight. Her future in England was


### Book:finished.


### Book:Never appear overly greedy for attention, then, for it signals


### Book:insecurity, and insecurity drives power away. Understand that there are


### Book:times when it is not in your interest to be the center of attention. When in


### Book:the presence of a king or queen, for instance, or the equivalent thereof,


### Book:bow and retreat to the shadows; never compete.LAW 7


### Book:GET OTHERS TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU,


### Book:BUT ALWAYS TAKE THE CREDIT


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your


### Book:own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and


### Book:energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end


### Book:your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do


### Book:yourself what others can do for you.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF


### Book:THE LAW


### Book:In 1883 a young Serbian scientist named Nikola Tesla was working for


### Book:the European division of the Continental Edison Company. He was a


### Book:brilliant inventor, and Charles Batchelor, a plant manager and a personal


### Book:friend of Thomas Edison, persuaded him he should seek his fortune in


### Book:America, giving him a letter of introduction to Edison himself. So began


### Book:a life of woe and tribulation that lasted until Tesla’s death.


### Book:IIII TORTOISE THE LELP AND THE HIPPOPOI


### Book:\1]


### Book:One day the tortoise met the elephant, who trumpeted, “Out of my way,


### Book:you weakling—I might step on you!” The tortoise was not afraid and


### Book:stayed where he was, so the elephant stepped on him, but could not crush


### Book:him. “Do not boast, Mr. Elephant, I am as strong as you are!” said the


### Book:tortoise, but the elephant just laughed. So the tortoise asked him to cometo his hill the next morning. The next day, before sunrise, the tortoise ran


### Book:down the hill to the river, where he met the hippopotamus, who was just


### Book:on his way back into the water after his nocturnal feeding. “Mr Hippo!


### Book:Shall we have a tug-of-war? I bet I’m as strong as you are!” said the


### Book:tortoise. The hippopotamus laughed at this ridiculous idea, but agreed.


### Book:The tortoise produced a long rope and told the hippo to hold it in his


### Book:mouth until the tortoise shouted “Hey!” Then the tortoise ran back up


### Book:the hill where he found the elephant, who was getting impatient. He gave


### Book:the elephant the other end of the rope and said, “When I say ‘Hey!’ pull,


### Book:and you’ll.see which of us is the strongest. ”Then he ran halfway back


### Book:down the hill, to a place where he couldn’t be seen, and shouted, “Hey!”


### Book:The elephant and the hippopotamus pulled and pulled, but neither could


### Book:budge the other-they were of equal strength. They both agreed that the


### Book:tortoise was as strong as they were. Never do what others can do for you.


### Book:The tortoise let others do the work for him while he got the credit.


### Book:ZAIREAN FABLE


### Book:When Tesla met Edison in New York, the famous inventor hired him


### Book:on the spot. Tesla worked eighteen-hour days, finding ways to improve


### Book:the primitive Edison dynamos. Finally he offered to redesign them


### Book:completely. To Edison this seemed a monumental task that could last


### Book:years without paying off, but he told Tesla, “There’s fifty thousand


### Book:dollars in it for you—if you can do it.” Tesla labored day and night on


### Book:the project and after only a year he produced a greatly improved version


### Book:of the dynamo, complete with automatic controls. He went to Edison to


### Book:break the good news and receive his $50,000. Edison was pleased with


### Book:the improvement, for which he and his company would take credit, but


### Book:when it came to the issue of the money he told the young Serb, “Tesla,


### Book:you don’t understand our American humor!,” and offered a small raise


### Book:instead.


### Book:Tesla’s obsession was to create an alternating-current system (AC) of


### Book:electricity. Edison believed in the direct-current system (DC), and not


### Book:only refused to support Tesla’s research but later did all he could to


### Book:sabotage him. Tesla turned to the great Pittsburgh magnate George


### Book:Westinghouse, who had started his own electricity company.


### Book:Westinghouse completely funded Tesla’s research and offered him a


### Book:generous royalty agreement on future profits. The AC system Tesla


### Book:developed is still the standard today—but after patents were filed in his


### Book:name, other scientists came forward to take credit for the invention,


### Book:claiming that they had laid the groundwork for him. His name was lost inthe shuffle, and the public came to associate the invention with


### Book:Westinghouse himself.


### Book:A year later, Westinghouse was caught in a takeover bid from J.


### Book:Pierpont Morgan, who made him rescind the generous royalty contract


### Book:he had signed with Tesla. Westinghouse explained to the scientist that his


### Book:company would not survive if it had to pay him his full royalties; he


### Book:persuaded Tesla to accept a buyout of his patents for $216,000—a large


### Book:sum, no doubt, but far less than the $12 million they were worth at the


### Book:time. The financiers had divested Tesla of the riches, the patents, and


### Book:essentially the credit for the greatest invention of his career.


### Book:The name of Guglielmo Marconi is forever linked with the invention


### Book:of radio. But few know that in producing his invention—he broadcast a


### Book:signal across the English Channel in 1899—Marconi made use of a


### Book:patent Tesla had filed in 1897, and that his work depended on Tesla’s


### Book:research. Once again Tesla received no money and no credit. Tesla


### Book:invented an induction motor as well as the AC power system, and he is


### Book:the real “father of radio.” Yet none of these discoveries bear his name.


### Book:As an old man, he lived in poverty.


### Book:In 1917, during his later impoverished years, Tesla was told he was to


### Book:receive the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical


### Book:Engineers. He turned the medal down. “You propose,” he said, “to honor


### Book:me with a medal which I could pin upon my coat and strut for a vain


### Book:hour before the members of your Institute. You would decorate my body


### Book:and continue to let starve, for failure to supply recognition, my mind and


### Book:its creative products, which have supplied the foundation upon which the


### Book:major portion of your Institute exists.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Many harbor the illusion that science, dealing with facts as it does, is


### Book:beyond the petty rivalries that trouble the rest of the world. Nikola Tesla


### Book:was one of those. He believed science had nothing to do with politics,


### Book:and claimed not to care for fame and riches. As he grew older, though,


### Book:this ruined his scientific work. Not associated with any particular


### Book:discovery, he could attract no investors to his many ideas. While he


### Book:pondered great inventions for the future, others stole the patents he had


### Book:already developed and got the glory for themselves.


### Book:He wanted to do everything on his own, but merely exhausted and


### Book:impoverished himself in the process.Edison was Tesla’s polar opposite. He wasn’t actually much of a


### Book:scientific thinker or inventor; he once said that he had no need to be a


### Book:mathematician because he could always hire one. That was Edison’s


### Book:main method. He was really a businessman and publicist, spotting the


### Book:trends and the opportunities that were out there, then hiring the best in


### Book:the field to do the work for him. If he had to he would steal from his


### Book:competitors. Yet his name is much better known than Tesla’s, and is


### Book:associated with more inventions.


### Book:To be sure, if the hunter relies on the security of the carriage, utilizes the


### Book:legs of the six horses, and makes Wang Liang hold their reins, then he


### Book:will not tire himself and will find it easy to overtake swift animals. Now


### Book:supposing he discarded the advantage of the carriage, gave up the useful


### Book:legs of the horses and the skill of Wang Liang, and alighted to run after


### Book:the animals, then even though his legs were as quick as Lou Chi’s, he


### Book:would not be in time to overtake the animals. In fact, if good horses and


### Book:strong carriages are taken into use, then mere bond-men and


### Book:bondwomen will be good enough to catch the animals.


### Book:HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.


### Book:The lesson is twofold: First, the credit for an invention or creation is as


### Book:important, if not more important, than the invention itself. You must


### Book:secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or


### Book:from piggy-backing on your hard work. To accomplish this you must


### Book:always be vigilant and ruthless, keeping your creation quiet until you can


### Book:be sure there are no vultures circling overhead. Second, learn to take


### Book:advantage of other people’s work to further your own cause. Time is


### Book:precious and life is short. If you try to do it all on your own, you run


### Book:yourself ragged, waste energy, and burn yourself out. It is far better to


### Book:conserve your forces, pounce on the work others have done, and find a


### Book:way to make it your own.


### Book:Everybody steals in commerce and industry.


### Book:I’ve stolen a lot myself.


### Book:But I know how to steal.


### Book:Thomas Edison, 1847-1931


### Book:KEYS TO POWERThe world of power has the dynamics of the jungle: There are those who


### Book:live by hunting and killing, and there are also vast numbers of creatures


### Book:(hyenas, vultures) who live off the hunting of others. These latter, less


### Book:imaginative types are often incapable of doing the work that is essential


### Book:for the creation of power. They understand early on, though, that if they


### Book:wait long enough, they can always find another animal to do the work for


### Book:them. Do not be naive: At this very moment, while you are slaving away


### Book:on some project, there are vultures circling above trying to figure out a


### Book:way to survive and even thrive off your creativity. It is useless to


### Book:complain about this, or to wear yourself ragged with bitterness, as Tesla


### Book:did. Better to protect yourself and join the game. Once you have


### Book:established a power base, become a vulture yourself, and save yourself a


### Book:lot of time and energy.


### Book:A hen who had lost her sight, and was accustomed to scratching up the


### Book:earth in search of food, although blind, still continued to scratch away


### Book:most diligently. Of what use was it to the industriuus fool? Another


### Book:sharp-sighted hen who spared her tender feet never moved from her side,


### Book:and enjoyed, without scratching, the fruit of the other’s labor. For as


### Book:often as the blind hen scratched up a barley-corn, her watchful


### Book:companion devoured it.


### Book:FABLES, GOITCHOLD LESSING, 1729-1781


### Book:Of the two poles of this game, one can be illustrated by the example of


### Book:the explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa had an obsession—the


### Book:discovery of El Dorado, a legendary city of vast riches.


### Book:Early in the sixteenth century, after countless hardships and brushes


### Book:with death, he found evidence of a great and wealthy empire to the south


### Book:of Mexico, in present-day Peru. By conquering this empire, the Incan,


### Book:and seizing its gold, he would make himself the next Cortés. The


### Book:problem was that even as he made this discovery, word of it spread


### Book:among hundreds of other conquistadors. He did not understand that half


### Book:the game was keeping it quiet, and carefully watching those around him.


### Book:A few years after he discovered the location of the Incan empire, a


### Book:soldier in his own army, Francisco Pizarro, helped to get him beheaded


### Book:for treason. Pizarro went on to take what Balboa had spent so many years


### Book:trying to find.


### Book:The other pole is that of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, who, late in his


### Book:career, found himself deluged with requests for paintings. He created a


### Book:system: In his large studio he employed dozens of outstanding painters,one specializing in robes, another in backgrounds, and so on. He created


### Book:a vast production line in which a large number of canvases would be


### Book:worked on at the same time. When an important client visited the studio,


### Book:Rubens would shoo his hired painters out for the day. While the client


### Book:watched from a balcony, Rubens would work at an incredible pace, with


### Book:unbelievable energy. The client would leave in awe of this prodigious


### Book:man, who could paint so many masterpieces in so short a time.


### Book:This is the essence of the Law: Learn to get others to do the work for


### Book:you while you take the credit, and you appear to be of godlike strength


### Book:and power. If you think it important to do all the work yourself, you will


### Book:never get far, and you will suffer the fate of the Balboas and Teslas of the


### Book:world. Find people with the skills and creativity you lack. Either hire


### Book:them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take


### Book:their work and make it your own. Their creativity thus becomes yours,


### Book:and you seem a genius to the world.


### Book:There is another application of this law that does not require the


### Book:parasitic use of your contemporaries’ labor: Use the past, a vast


### Book:storehouse of knowledge and wisdom. Isaac Newton called this


### Book:“standing on the shoulders of giants.” He meant that in making his


### Book:discoveries he had built on the achievements of others. A great part of


### Book:his aura of genius, he knew, was attributable to his shrewd ability to


### Book:make the most of the insights of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance


### Book:scientists. Shakespeare borrowed plots, characterizations, and even


### Book:dialogue from Plutarch, among other writers, for he knew that nobody


### Book:surpassed Plutarch in the writing of subtle psychology and witty quotes.


### Book:How many later writers have in their turn borrowed from—plagiarized—


### Book:Shakespeare ?


### Book:We all know how few of today’s politicians write their own speeches.


### Book:Their own words would not win them a single vote; their eloquence and


### Book:wit, whatever there is of it, they owe to a speech writer. Other people do


### Book:the work, they take the credit. The upside of this is that it is a kind of


### Book:power that is available to everyone. Learn to use the knowledge of the


### Book:past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a


### Book:clever borrower.


### Book:Writers who have delved into human nature, ancient masters of


### Book:strategy, historians of human stupidity and folly, kings and queens who


### Book:have learned the hard way how to handle the burdens of power—their


### Book:knowledge is gathering dust, waiting for you to come and stand on their


### Book:shoulders. Their wit can be your wit, their skill can be your skill, and


### Book:they will never come around to tell people how unoriginal you really are.You can slog through life, making endless mistakes, wasting time and


### Book:energy trying to do things from your own experience. Or you can use the


### Book:armies of the past. As Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn by


### Book:experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”


### Book:Image: The Vulture. Of all the creatures in


### Book:the jungle, he has it the easiest. The


### Book:hard work of others becomes his work;


### Book:their failure to survive becomes his


### Book:nourishment. Keep an eye on


### Book:the Vulture—while you are


### Book:hard at work, he is cir


### Book:cling above. Do not


### Book:fight him, join


### Book:him.


### Book:Authority: There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life


### Book:without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire


### Book:knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another’s brow, you


### Book:win the reputation of being an oracle. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:There are times when taking the credit for work that others have done is


### Book:not the wise course: If your power is not firmly enough established, you


### Book:will seem to be pushing people out of the limelight. To be a brilliant ex


### Book:ploiter of talent your position must be unshakable, or you will be accused


### Book:of deception.


### Book:Be sure you know when letting other people share the credit serves


### Book:your purpose. It is especially important to not be greedy when you have a


### Book:master above you. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the


### Book:People’s Republic of China was originally his idea, but it might never


### Book:have come off but for the deft diplomacy of Henry Kissinger. Nor would


### Book:it have been as successful without Kissinger’s skills. Still, when the time


### Book:came to take credit, Kissinger adroitly let Nixon take the lion’s share.


### Book:Knowing that the truth would come out later, he was careful not tojeopardize his standing in the short term by hogging the limelight.


### Book:Kissinger played the game expertly: He took credit for the work of those


### Book:below him while graciously giving credit for his own labors to those


### Book:above. That is the way to play the game.LAW 8


### Book:MAKE OTHER PEOPLE COME TO YOU—USE


### Book:BAIT IF NECESSARY


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is


### Book:always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own


### Book:plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You


### Book:hold the cards.


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:At the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the major powers of Europe gathered


### Book:to carve up the remains of Napoleon’s fallen Empire. The city was full of


### Book:gaiety and the balls were the most splendid in memory. Hovering over


### Book:the proceedings, however, was the shadow of Napoleon himself. Instead


### Book:of being executed or exiled far away, he had been sent to the island of


### Book:Elba, not far from the coast of Italy.


### Book:Even imprisoned on an island, a man as bold and creative as Napoleon


### Book:Bonaparte made everyone nervous. The Austrians plotted to kill him on


### Book:Elba, but decided it was too risky. Alexander I, Russia’s temperamental


### Book:czar, heightened the anxiety by throwing a fit during the congress when a


### Book:part of Poland was denied him: “Beware, I shall loose the monster!” he


### Book:threatened. Everyone knew he meant Napoleon. Of all the statesmen


### Book:gathered in Vienna, only Talleyrand, Napoleon’s former foreign minister,


### Book:seemed calm and unconcerned. It was as if he knew something the others


### Book:did not.


### Book:Meanwhile, on the island of Elba, Napoleon’s life was a mockery of


### Book:his previous glory. As Elba’s “king,” he had been allowed to form a court—there was a cook, a wardrobe mistress, an official pianist, and a


### Book:handful of courtiers. All this was designed to humiliate Napoleon, and it


### Book:seemed to work.


### Book:That winter, however, there occurred a series of events so strange and


### Book:dramatic they might have been scripted in a play. Elba was surrounded


### Book:by British ships, their cannons covering all possible exit points. Yet


### Book:somehow, in broad daylight on 26 February 1815, a ship with nine


### Book:hundred men on board picked up Napoleon and put to sea. The English


### Book:gave chase but the ship got away. This almost impossible escape


### Book:astonished the public throughout Europe, and terrified the statesmen at


### Book:the Congress of Vienna.


### Book:Although it would have been safer to leave Europe, Napoleon not only


### Book:chose to return to France, he raised the odds by marching on Paris with a


### Book:tiny army, in hopes of recapturing the throne. His strategy worked—


### Book:people of all classes threw themselves at his feet. An army under


### Book:Marshal Ney sped from Paris to arrest him, but when the soldiers saw


### Book:their beloved former leader, they changed sides. Napoleon was declared


### Book:emperor again. Volunteers swelled the ranks of his new army. Delirium


### Book:swept the country. In Paris, crowds went wild. The king who had


### Book:replaced Napoleon fled the country.


### Book:For the next hundred days, Napoleon ruled France. Soon, however, the


### Book:giddiness subsided. France was bankrupt, its resources nearly exhausted,


### Book:and there was little Napoleon could do about this. At the Battle of


### Book:Waterloo, in June of that year, he was finally defeated for good. This


### Book:time his enemies had learned their lesson: They exiled him to the barren


### Book:island of Saint Helena, off the west coast of Africa. There he had no


### Book:more hope of escape.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Only years later did the facts of Napoleon’s dramatic escape from Elba


### Book:come to light. Before he decided to attempt this bold move, visitors to


### Book:his court had told him that he was more popular in France than ever, and


### Book:that the country would embrace him again. One of these visitors was


### Book:Austria’s General Roller, who convinced Napoleon that if he escaped,


### Book:the European powers, England included, would welcome him back into


### Book:power. Napoleon was tipped off that the English would let him go, and


### Book:indeed his escape occurred in the middle of the afternoon, in full view of


### Book:English spyglasses.What Napoleon did not know was that there was a man behind it all,


### Book:pulling the strings, and that this man was his former minister, Talleyrand.


### Book:And Talleyrand was doing all this not to bring back the glory days but to


### Book:crush Napoleon once and for all. Considering the emperor’s ambition


### Book:unsettling to Europe’s stability, he had turned against him long ago.


### Book:When Napoleon was exiled to Elba, Talleyrand had protested. Napoleon


### Book:should be sent farther away, he argued, or Europe would never have


### Book:peace. But no one listened.


### Book:Instead of pushing his opinion, Talleyrand bided his time. Working


### Book:quietly, he eventually won over Castlereagh and Metternich, the foreign


### Book:ministers of England and Austria.


### Book:Together these men baited Napoleon into escaping. Even Koller’s


### Book:visit, to whisper the promise of glory in the exile’s ear, was part of the


### Book:plan. Like a master cardplayer, Talleyrand figured everything out in


### Book:advance. He knew Napoleon would fall into the trap he had set. He also


### Book:foresaw that Napoleon would lead the country into a war, which, given


### Book:France’s weakened condition, could only last a few months. One


### Book:diplomat in Vienna, who understood that Talleyrand was behind it all,


### Book:said, “He has set the house ablaze in order to save it from the plague.”


### Book:When I have laid bait for deer,


### Book:I don’t shoot at the first doe that comes to sniff,


### Book:but wait until the whole herd has gathered round.


### Book:Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:How many times has this scenario played itself out in history: An


### Book:aggressive leader initiates a series of bold moves that begin by bringing


### Book:him much power. Slowly, however, his power reaches a peak, and soon


### Book:everything turns against him. His numerous enemies band together;


### Book:trying to maintain his power, he exhausts himself going in this direction


### Book:and that, and inevitably he collapses. The reason for this pattern is that


### Book:the aggressive person is rarely in full control. He cannot see more than a


### Book:couple of moves ahead, cannot see the consequences of this bold move


### Book:or that one. Because he is constantly being forced to react to the moves


### Book:of his ever-growing host of enemies, and to the unforeseen consequences


### Book:of his own rash actions, his aggressive energy is turned against him.In the realm of power, you must ask yourself, what is the point of


### Book:chasing here and there, trying to solve problems and defeat my enemies,


### Book:if I never feel in control? Why am I always having to react to events


### Book:instead of directing them? The answer is simple: Your idea of power is


### Book:wrong. You have mistaken aggressive action for effective action. And


### Book:most often the most effective action is to stay back, keep calm, and let


### Book:others be frustrated by the traps you lay for them, playing for long-term


### Book:power rather than quick victory.


### Book:Remember: The essence of power is the ability to keep the initiative,


### Book:to get others to react to your moves, to keep your opponent and those


### Book:around you on the defensive. When you make other people come to you,


### Book:you suddenly become the one controlling the situation. And the one who


### Book:has control has power. Two things must happen to place you in this


### Book:position: You yourself must learn to master your emotions, and never to


### Book:be influenced by anger; meanwhile, however, you must play on people’s


### Book:natural tendency to react angrily when pushed and baited. In the long


### Book:run, the ability to make others come to you is a weapon far more


### Book:powerful than any tool of aggression.


### Book:Study how Talleyrand, the master of the art, performed this delicate


### Book:trick. First, he overcame the urge to try to convince his fellow statesmen


### Book:that they needed to banish Napoleon far away. It is only natural to want


### Book:to persuade people by pleading your case, imposing your will with


### Book:words. But this often turns against you. Few of Talleyrand’s


### Book:contemporaries believed Napoleon was still a threat, so that if he had


### Book:spent a lot of energy trying to convince them, he would only have made


### Book:himself look foolish. Instead, he held his tongue and his emotions in


### Book:check. Most important of all, he laid Napoleon a sweet and irresistible


### Book:trap. He knew the man’s weakness, his impetuosity, his need for glory


### Book:and the love of the masses, and he played all this to perfection. When


### Book:Napoleon went for the bait, there was no danger that he might succeed


### Book:and turn the tables on Talleyrand, who better than anyone knew France’s


### Book:depleted state. And even had Napoleon been able to overcome these


### Book:difficulties, the likelihood of his success would have been greater were


### Book:he able to choose his time and place of action. By setting the proper trap,


### Book:Talleyrand took the time and place into his own hands.


### Book:All of us have only so much energy, and there is a moment when our


### Book:energies are at their peak. When you make the other person come to you,


### Book:he wears himself out, wasting his energy on the trip. In the year 1905,


### Book:Russia and Japan were at war. The Japanese had only recently begun to


### Book:modernize their warships, so that the Russians had a stronger navy, butby spreading false information the Japanese marshal Togo Heihachiro


### Book:baited the Russians into leaving their docks in the Baltic Sea, making


### Book:them believe they could wipe out the Japanese fleet in one swift attack.


### Book:The Russian fleet could not reach Japan by the quickest route—through


### Book:the Strait of Gibraltar and then the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean—


### Book:because these were controlled by the British, and Japan was an ally of


### Book:Great Britain. They had to go around the Cape of Good Hope, at the


### Book:southern tip of Africa, adding over more than six thousand miles to the


### Book:voyage. Once the fleet passed the Cape, the Japanese spread another


### Book:false story: They were sailing to launch a counterattack. So the Russians


### Book:made the entire journey to Japan on combat alert. By the time they


### Book:arrived, their seamen were tense, exhausted, and overworked, while the


### Book:Japanese had been waiting at their ease. Despite the odds and their lack


### Book:of experience in modern naval warfare, the Japanese crushed the


### Book:Russians.


### Book:One added benefit of making the opponent come to you, as the


### Book:Japanese discovered with the Russians, is that it forces him to operate in


### Book:your territory. Being on hostile ground will make him nervous and often


### Book:he will rush his actions and make mistakes. For negotiations or meetings,


### Book:it is always wise to lure others into your territory, or the territory of your


### Book:choice. You have your bearings, while they see nothing familiar and are


### Book:subtly placed on the defensive.


### Book:Manipulation is a dangerous game. Once someone suspects he is being


### Book:manipulated, it becomes harder and harder to control him. But when you


### Book:make your opponent come to you, you create the illusion that he is


### Book:controlling the situation. He does not feel the strings that pull him, just as


### Book:Napoleon imagined that he himself was the master of his daring escape


### Book:and return to power.


### Book:Everything depends on the sweetness of your bait. If your trap is


### Book:attractive enough, the turbulence of your enemies’ emotions and desires


### Book:will blind them to reality. The greedier they become, the more they can


### Book:be led around.


### Book:The great nineteenth-century robber baron Daniel Drew was a master


### Book:at playing the stock market. When he wanted a particular stock to be


### Book:bought or sold, driving prices up or down, he rarely resorted to the direct


### Book:approach. One of his tricks was to hurry through an exclusive club near


### Book:Wall Street, obviously on his way to the stock exchange, and to pull out


### Book:his customary red bandanna to wipe his perspiring brow. A slip of paper


### Book:would fall from this bandanna that he would pretend not to notice. The


### Book:club’s members were always trying to foresee Drew’s moves, and theywould pounce on the paper, which invariably seemed to contain an inside


### Book:tip on a stock. Word would spread, and members would buy or sell the


### Book:stock in droves, playing perfectly into Drew’s hands.


### Book:If you can get other people to dig their own graves, why sweat


### Book:yourself? Pickpockets work this to perfection. The key to picking a


### Book:pocket is knowing which pocket contains the wallet. Experienced


### Book:pickpockets often ply their trade in train stations and other places where


### Book:there is a clearly marked sign reading BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS.


### Book:Passersby seeing the sign invariably feel for their wallet to make sure it


### Book:is still there. For the watching pickpockets, this is like shooting fish in a


### Book:barrel. Pickpockets have even been known to place their own BEWARE


### Book:OF PICKPOCKETS signs to ensure their success.


### Book:When you are making people come to you, it is sometimes better to let


### Book:them know you are forcing their hand. You give up deception for overt


### Book:manipulation. The psychological ramifications are profound: The person


### Book:who makes others come to him appears powerful, and demands respect.


### Book:Filippo Brunelleschi, the great Renaissance artist and architect, was a


### Book:great practitioner of the art of making others come to him as a sign of his


### Book:power. On one occasion he had been engaged to repair the dome of the


### Book:Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. The commission was


### Book:important and prestigious. But when the city officials hired a second


### Book:man, Lorenzo Ghiberti, to work with Brunelleschi, the great artist


### Book:brooded in secret. He knew that Ghiberti had gotten the job through his


### Book:connections, and that he would do none of the work and get half the


### Book:credit. At a critical moment of the construction, then, Brunelleschi


### Book:suddenly developed a mysterious illness. He had to stop work, but


### Book:pointed out to city officials that they had hired Ghiberti, who should


### Book:have been able to continue the work on his own. Soon it became clear


### Book:that Ghiberti was useless and the officials came begging to Brunelleschi.


### Book:He ignored them, insisting that Ghiberti should finish the project, until


### Book:finally they realized the problem: They fired Ghiberti.


### Book:By some miracle, Brunelleschi recovered within days. He did not have


### Book:to throw a tantrum or make a fool of himself; he simply practiced the art


### Book:of “making others come to you.”


### Book:If on one occasion you make it a point of dignity that others must


### Book:come to you and you succeed, they will continue to do so even after you


### Book:stop trying.


### Book:Image: The Honeyed


### Book:Bear Trap. The bear hunter


### Book:does not chase his prey; a bearthat knows it is hunted is nearly


### Book:impossible to catch and is fero


### Book:cious if cornered. Instead, the


### Book:hunter lays traps baited with


### Book:honey. He does not exhaust


### Book:himself and risk his life in


### Book:pursuit. He baits, then waits.


### Book:Authority: Good warriors make others come to them, and do not go to


### Book:others. This is the principle of emptiness and fullness of others and self.


### Book:When you induce opponents to come to you, then their force is always


### Book:empty; as long as you do not go to them, your force is always full.


### Book:Attacking emptiness with fullness is like throwing stones on eggs.


### Book:(Zhang Yu, eleventh-century commentator on The Art of War)


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:Although it is generally the wiser policy to make others exhaust


### Book:themselves chasing you, there are opposite cases where striking suddenly


### Book:and aggressively at the enemy so demoralizes him that his energies sink.


### Book:Instead of making others come to you, you go to them, force the issue,


### Book:take the lead. Fast attack can be an awesome weapon, for it forces the


### Book:other person to react without the time to think or plan. With no time to


### Book:think, people make errors of judgment, and are thrown on the defensive.


### Book:This tactic is the obverse of waiting and baiting, but it serves the same


### Book:function: You make your enemy respond on your terms.


### Book:Men like Cesare Borgia and Napoleon used the element of speed to


### Book:intimidate and control. A rapid and unforeseen move is terrifying and


### Book:demoralizing. You must choose your tactics depending on the situation.


### Book:If you have time on your side, and know that you and your enemies are


### Book:at least at equal strength, then deplete their strength by making them


### Book:come to you. If time is against you—your enemies are weaker, and


### Book:waiting will only give them the chance to recover—give them no suchchance. Strike quickly and they have nowhere to go. As the boxer Joe


### Book:Louis put it, “He can run, but he can’t hide.”LAW 9


### Book:WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER


### Book:THROUGH ARGUMENT


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is


### Book:really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is


### Book:stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is


### Book:much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your


### Book:actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:In 131 B.C., the Roman consul Publius Crassus Dives Mucianus, laying


### Book:siege to the Greek town of Pergamus, found himself in need of a


### Book:battering ram to force through the town’s walls. He had seen a couple of


### Book:hefty ship’s masts in a shipyard in Athens a few days before, and he


### Book:ordered that the larger of these be sent to him immediately. The military


### Book:engineer in Athens who received the order felt certain that the consul


### Book:really wanted the smaller of the masts. He argued endlessly with the


### Book:soldiers who delivered the request: The smaller mast, he told them, was


### Book:much better suited to the task. And indeed it would be easier to transport.


### Book:The soldiers warned the engineer that their master was not a man to


### Book:argue with, but he insisted that the smaller mast would be the only one


### Book:that would work with a machine that he was constructing to go with it.


### Book:He drew diagram after diagram, and went so far as to say that he was the


### Book:expert and they had no clue what they were talking about. The soldiers


### Book:knew their leader and at last convinced the engineer that it would be


### Book:better to swallow his expertise and obey.After they left, though, the engineer thought about it some more. What


### Book:was the point, he asked himself, in obeying an order that would lead to


### Book:failure? And so he sent the smaller mast, confident that the consul would


### Book:see how much more effective it was and reward him justly.


### Book:When the smaller mast arrived, Mucianus asked his soldiers for an


### Book:explanation. They described to him how the engineer had argued


### Book:endlessly for the smaller mast, but had finally promised to send the


### Book:larger one. Mucianus went into a rage. He could not concentrate on the


### Book:siege, or consider the importance of breaching the walls before the town


### Book:received reinforcements. All he could think about was the impudent


### Book:engineer, whom he ordered to be brought to him immediately.


### Book:Arriving a few days later, the engineer gladly explained to the consul,


### Book:one more time, the reasons for the smaller mast. He went on and on,


### Book:using the same arguments he had made with the soldiers. He said it was


### Book:wise to listen to experts in these matters, and if the attack was only tried


### Book:with the battering ram he had sent, the consul would not regret it.


### Book:Mucianus let him finish, then had him stripped naked before the soldiers


### Book:and flogged and scourged with rods until he died.


### Book:THE SULTAN AND THE VIZIER


### Book:A vizier had served his master for some thirty years and was known and


### Book:admired for his loyalty, truthfulness, and devotion to God. His honesty,


### Book:however, had made him many enemies in the court, who spread stories of


### Book:his duplicity and perfidy. They worked on the sultan day in and day out


### Book:until he too came to distrust the innocent vizier and finally ordered the


### Book:man who had served him so well to be put to death. In this realm, those


### Book:condemned to death were tied up and thrown into the pen where the


### Book:sultan kept his fiercest hunting dogs. The dogs would promptly tear the


### Book:victim to pieces. Before being thrown to the dogs, however, the vizier


### Book:asked for one last request. “I would like ten days’ respite,” he said, “so


### Book:that I can pay my debts, collect any money due to me, return items that


### Book:people have put in my care, and share out my goods among the members


### Book:of my family and my children and appoint a guardian for them.” After


### Book:receiving a guarantee that the vizier would not try to escape, the sultan


### Book:granted this request. The vizier hurried home, collected one hundred


### Book:gold pieces, then paid a visit to the huntsman who looked after the


### Book:sultan’s dogs. He offered this man the one hundred gold pieces and said,


### Book:“Let me look after the dogs for ten days.” The huntsman agreed, and for


### Book:the next ten days the vizier cared for the beasts with great attention,grooming them well and feeding them handsomely. By the end of the ten


### Book:days they were eating out of his hand.


### Book:On the eleventh day the vizier was called before the sultan, the charges


### Book:were repeated, and the sultan watched as the vizier was tied up and


### Book:thrown to the dogs. Yet when the beasts saw him, they ran up to him with


### Book:wagging tails. They nibbled affectionately at his shoulders and began


### Book:playing with him. The sultan and the other witnesses were amazed, and


### Book:the sultan asked the vizier why the dogs had spared his life. The vizier


### Book:replied, “I have looked after these dogs for ten days. The sultan has seen


### Book:the result for himself. I have looked after you for thirty years, and what is


### Book:the result? I am condemned to death on the strength of accusations


### Book:brought by my enemies. ”The sultan blushed with shame. He not only


### Book:pardoned the vizier but gave him a fine set of clothes and handed over to


### Book:him the men who had slandered his reputation. The noble vizier set them


### Book:free and continued to treat them with kindness.


### Book:THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND


### Book:GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:The engineer, whose name has not been recorded by history, had spent


### Book:his life designing masts and pillars, and was respected as the finest


### Book:engineer in a city that had excelled in the science. He knew that he was


### Book:right. A smaller ram would allow more speed and carry more force.


### Book:Larger is not necessarily better. Of course the consul would see his logic,


### Book:and would eventually understand that science is neutral and reason


### Book:superior. How could the consul possibly persist in his ignorance if the


### Book:engineer showed him detailed diagrams and explained the theories


### Book:behind his advice?


### Book:The military engineer was the quintessence of the Arguer, a type found


### Book:everywhere among us. The Arguer does not understand that words are


### Book:never neutral, and that by arguing with a superior he impugns the


### Book:intelligence of one more powerful than he. He also has no awareness of


### Book:the person he is dealing with. Since each man believes that he is right,


### Book:and words will rarely convince him otherwise, the arguer’s reasoning


### Book:falls on deaf ears. When cornered, he only argues more, digging his own


### Book:grave. Once he has made the other person feel insecure and inferior in


### Book:his beliefs, the eloquence of Socrates could not save the situation.It is not simply a question of avoiding an argument with those who


### Book:stand above you. We all believe we are masters in the realm of opinions


### Book:and reasoning. You must be careful, then: Learn to demonstrate the


### Book:correctness of your ideas indirectly.


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:In 1502, in Florence, Italy, an enormous block of marble stood in the


### Book:works department of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore. It had once


### Book:been a magnificent piece of raw stone, but an unskillful sculptor had


### Book:mistakenly bored a hole through it where there should have been a


### Book:figure’s legs, generally mutilating it. Piero Soderini, Florence’s mayor,


### Book:had contemplated trying to save the block by commissioning Leonardo


### Book:da Vinci to work on it, or some other master, but had given up, since


### Book:everyone agreed that the stone had been ruined. So, despite the money


### Book:that had been wasted on it, it gathered dust in the dark halls of the


### Book:church.


### Book:This was where things stood until some Florentine friends of the great


### Book:Michelangelo decided to write to the artist, then living in Rome. He


### Book:alone, they said, could do something with the marble, which was still


### Book:magnificent raw material. Michelangelo traveled to Florence, examined


### Book:the stone, and came to the conclusion that he could in fact carve a fine


### Book:figure from it, by adapting the pose to the way the rock had been


### Book:mutilated. Soderini argued that this was a waste of time—nobody could


### Book:salvage such a disaster—but he finally agreed to let the artist work on it.


### Book:Michelangelo decided he would depict a young David, sling in hand.


### Book:Weeks later, as Michelangelo was putting the final touches on the


### Book:statue, Soderini entered the studio. Fancying himself a bit of a


### Book:connoisseur, he studied the huge work, and told Michelangelo that while


### Book:he thought it was magnificent, the nose, he judged, was too big.


### Book:Michelangelo realized that Soderini was standing in a place right under


### Book:the giant figure and did not have the proper perspective. Without a word,


### Book:he gestured for Soderini to follow him up the scaffolding. Reaching the


### Book:nose, he picked up his chisel, as well as a bit of marble dust that lay on


### Book:the planks. With Soderini just a few feet below him on the scaffolding,


### Book:Michelangelo started to tap lightly with the chisel, letting the bits of dust


### Book:he had gathered in his hand to fall little by little. He actually did nothingto change the nose, but gave every appearance of working on it. After a


### Book:few minutes of this charade he stood aside: “Look at it now.” “I like it


### Book:better,” replied Soderini, “you’ve made it come alive.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Michelangelo knew that by changing the shape of the nose he might ruin


### Book:the entire sculpture. Yet Soderini was a patron who prided himself on his


### Book:aesthetic judgment. To offend such a man by arguing would not only


### Book:gain Michelangelo nothing, it would put future commissions in jeopardy.


### Book:Michelangelo was too clever to argue. His solution was to change


### Book:Soderini’s perspective (literally bringing him closer to the nose) without


### Book:making him realize that this was the cause of his misperception.


### Book:Fortunately for posterity, Michelangelo found a way to keep the


### Book:perfection of the statue intact while at the same time making Soderini


### Book:believe he had improved it. Such is the double power of winning through


### Book:actions rather than argument: No one is offended, and your point is


### Book:proven.


### Book:THE WORKS OF AMASIS


### Book:When Apries had been deposed in the way I have described, Amasis


### Book:came to the throne. He belonged to the district of Sais and was a native


### Book:of the town called Siuph. At first the Egyptians were inclined to be


### Book:contemptuous, and did not think much of him because of his humble and


### Book:undistinguished origin; but later on he cleverly brought them to heel,


### Book:without having recourse to harsh measures. Amongst his innumerable


### Book:treasures, he had a gold footbath, which he and his guests used on


### Book:occasion to wash their feet in. This he broke up, and with the material


### Book:had a statue made to one of the gods, which he then set up in what he


### Book:thought the most suitable spot in the city. The Egyptians constantly


### Book:coming upon the statue, treated it with profound reverence, and as soon


### Book:as Amasis heard of the effect it had upon them, he called a meeting and


### Book:revealed the fact that the deeply revered statue was once a footbath,


### Book:which they washed their feet and pissed and vomited in. He went on to


### Book:say that his own case was much the same, in that once he had been only


### Book:an ordinary person and was now their king; so that just as they had


### Book:come to revere the transformed footbath, so they had better pay honor


### Book:and respect to him, too. In this way the Egyptians were persuaded to


### Book:accept him as their master.THE HISTORIES. HERODOTUS. FIFTH CENTURY B.C.


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:In the realm of power you must learn to judge your moves by their long-


### Book:term effects on other people. The problem in trying to prove a point or


### Book:gain a victory through argument is that in the end you can never be


### Book:certain how it affects the people you’re arguing with: They may appear


### Book:to agree with you politely, but inside they may resent you. Or perhaps


### Book:something you said inadvertently even offended them—words have that


### Book:insidious ability to be interpreted according to the other person’s mood


### Book:and insecurities. Even the best argument has no solid foundation, for we


### Book:have all come to distrust the slippery nature of words. And days after


### Book:agreeing with someone, we often revert to our old opinion out of sheer


### Book:habit.


### Book:Understand this: Words are a dime a dozen. Everyone knows that in


### Book:the heat of an argument, we will all say anything to support our cause.


### Book:We will quote the Bible, refer to unverifiable statistics. Who can be


### Book:persuaded by bags of air like that? Action and demonstration are much


### Book:more powerful and meaningful. They are there, before our eyes, for us to


### Book:see—“Yes, now the statue’s nose does look just right.” There are no


### Book:offensive words, no possibility of misinterpretation. No one can argue


### Book:with a demonstrated proof. As Baltasar Gracián remarks, “The truth is


### Book:generally seen, rarely heard.”


### Book:Sir Christopher Wren was England’s version of the Renaissance man.


### Book:He had mastered the sciences of mathematics, astronomy, physics, and


### Book:physiology. Yet during his extremely long career as England’s most


### Book:celebrated architect he was often told by his patrons to make impractical


### Book:changes in his designs. Never once did he argue or offend. He had other


### Book:ways of proving his point.


### Book:In 1688 Wren designed a magnificent town hall for the city of


### Book:Westminster. The mayor, however, was not satisfied; in fact he was


### Book:nervous. He told Wren he was afraid the second floor was not secure,


### Book:and that it could all come crashing down on his office on the first floor.


### Book:He demanded that Wren add two stone columns for extra support. Wren,


### Book:the consummate engineer, knew that these columns would serve nopurpose, and that the mayor’s fears were baseless. But build them he did,


### Book:and the mayor was grateful. It was only years later that workmen on a


### Book:high scaffold saw that the columns stopped just short of the ceiling.


### Book:They were dummies. But both men got what they wanted: The mayor


### Book:could relax, and Wren knew posterity would understand that his original


### Book:design worked and the columns were unnecessary.


### Book:The power of demonstrating your idea is that your opponents do not


### Book:get defensive, and are therefore more open to persuasion. Making them


### Book:literally and physically feel your meaning is infinitely more powerful


### Book:than argument.


### Book:A heckler once interrupted Nikita Khrushchev in the middle of a


### Book:speech in which he was denouncing the crimes of Stalin. “You were a


### Book:colleague of Stalin’s,” the heckler yelled, “why didn’t you stop him


### Book:then?” Khrushschev apparently could not see the heckler and barked out,


### Book:“Who said that?” No hand went up. No one moved a muscle. After a few


### Book:seconds of tense silence, Khrushchev finally said in a quiet voice, “Now


### Book:you know why I didn’t stop him.” Instead of just arguing that anyone


### Book:facing Stalin was afraid, knowing that the slightest sign of rebellion


### Book:would mean certain death, he had made them feel what it was like to face


### Book:Stalin—had made them feel the paranoia, the fear of speaking up, the


### Book:terror of confronting the leader, in this case Khrushchev. The


### Book:demonstration was visceral and no more argument was necessary.


### Book:The most powerful persuasion goes beyond action into symbol. The


### Book:power of a symbol—a flag, a mythic story, a monument to some


### Book:emotional event—is that everyone understands you without anything


### Book:being said. In 1975, when Henry Kissinger was engaged in some


### Book:frustrating negotiations with the Israelis over the return of part of the


### Book:Sinai desert that they had seized in the 1967 war, he suddenly broke off a


### Book:tense meeting and decided to do some sight-seeing. He paid a visit to the


### Book:ruins of the ancient fortress of Masada, known to all Israelis as the place


### Book:where seven hundred Jewish warriors committed mass suicide in A.D. 73


### Book:rather than give in to the Roman troops besieging them. The Israelis


### Book:instantly understood the message of Kissinger’s visit: He was indirectly


### Book:accusing them of courting mass suicide. Although the visit did not by


### Book:itself change their minds, it made them think far more seriously than any


### Book:direct warning would have. Symbols like this one carry great emotional


### Book:significance.


### Book:When aiming for power, or trying to conserve it, always look for the


### Book:indirect route. And also choose your battles carefully. If it does not


### Book:matter in the long run whether the other person agrees with you—or iftime and their own experience will make them understand what you


### Book:mean—then it is best not even to bother with a demonstration. Save your


### Book:energy and walk away.


### Book:GOD AND ABRAUIM


### Book:The Most High God had promised that He would not take Abraham’s


### Book:soul unless the man wanted to die and asked Him to do so. When


### Book:Abraham’s life was drawing to a close, and God determined to seize him,


### Book:He sent an angel in the guise of a decrepit old man who was almost


### Book:entirely incapacitated. The old man stopped outside Abraham door and


### Book:said to him, “Oh Abraham, I would like something to eat.” Abraham was


### Book:amazed to hear him say this. “Die, exclaimed Abraham.”It would be


### Book:better for you than to go on living in that condition.”


### Book:Abraham always kept food ready at his home for passing guests. So he


### Book:gave the old man a bowl containing broth and meat with bread crumbs.


### Book:The old man sat down to eat. He swallowed laboriously, with great


### Book:effort, and once when he took some food it dropped from his hand,


### Book:scattering on the ground. “Oh Abraham, ” he said, “help me to eat.”


### Book:Abraham took the food in his hand and lifted it to the old man’s lips. But


### Book:it slid down his beard and over his chest. “What is your age, old man?”


### Book:asked Abraham. The old man mentioned a number of years slightly


### Book:greater than Abraham’s old age. Then Abraham exclaimed: “Oh Lord


### Book:Our God, take me unto You before I reach this man’s age and sink into


### Book:the same condition as he is in now. ” No sooner had Abraham spoken


### Book:those words than God took possession of his soul.


### Book:THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND


### Book:GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY


### Book:Image: The Seesaw. Up and down and up and down go the arguers,


### Book:getting nowhere fast. Get off the seesaw and show them your meaning


### Book:without kick ing or pushing. Leave them at the top and let gravity bring


### Book:them gently to the ground.


### Book:Authority: Never argue. In society nothing must be discussed; give only


### Book:results. (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881)REVERSAL


### Book:Verbal argument has one vital use in the realm of power: To distract and


### Book:cover your tracks when you are practicing deception or are caught in a


### Book:lie. In such cases it is to your advantage to argue with all the conviction


### Book:you can muster. Draw the other person into an argument to distract them


### Book:from your deceptive move. When caught in a lie, the more emotional and


### Book:certain you appear, the less likely it seems that you are lying.


### Book:This technique has saved the hide of many a con artist. Once Count


### Book:Victor Lustig, swindler par excellence, had sold dozens of suckers


### Book:around the country a phony box with which he claimed to be able to


### Book:copy money. Discovering their mistake, the suckers generally chose not


### Book:to go the police, rather than risk the embarrassment of publicity. But one


### Book:Sheriff Richards, of Remsen County, Oklahoma, was not the kind of man


### Book:to accept being conned out of $10,000, and one morning he tracked


### Book:Lustig down to a hotel in Chicago.


### Book:Lustig heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he was looking


### Book:down the barrel of a gun. “What seems to be the problem?” he calmly


### Book:asked. “You son of a bitch,” yelled the sheriff, “I’m going to kill you.


### Book:You conned me with that damn box of yours!” Lustig feigned confusion.


### Book:“You mean it’s not working?” he asked. “You know it’s not working,”


### Book:replied the sheriff. “But that’s impossible,” said Lustig. “There’s no way


### Book:it couldn’t be working. Did you operate it properly?” “I did exactly what


### Book:you told me to do,” said the sheriff. “No, you must have done something


### Book:wrong,” said Lustig. The argument went in circles. The barrel of the gun


### Book:was gently lowered.


### Book:Lustig next went to phase two in the argument tactic: He poured out a


### Book:whole bunch of technical gobbledygook about the box’s operation,


### Book:completely beguiling the sheriff, who now appeared less sure of himself


### Book:and argued less forcefully. “Look,” said Lustig, “I’ll give you your


### Book:money back right now. I’ll also give you written instructions on how to


### Book:work the machine and I’ll come out to Oklahoma to make sure it’s


### Book:working properly. There’s no way you can lose on that.” The sheriff


### Book:reluctantly agreed. To satisfy him totally, Lustig took out a hundred one-


### Book:hundred-dollar bills and gave them to him, telling him to relax and have


### Book:a fun weekend in Chicago. Calmer and a little confused, the sheriff


### Book:finally left. Over the next few days Lustig checked the paper every


### Book:morning. He finally found what he was looking for: A short article


### Book:reporting Sheriff Richards’s arrest, trial, and conviction for passingcounterfeit notes. Lustig had won the argument; the sheriff never


### Book:bothered him again.LAW 10


### Book:INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND


### Book:UNLUCKY


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as


### Book:infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man


### Book:but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate


### Book:sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you.


### Book:Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, Marie Gilbert came to Paris in the


### Book:1840s to make her fortune as a dancer and performer. Taking the name


### Book:Lola Montez (her mother was of distant Spanish descent), she claimed to


### Book:be a flamenco dancer from Spain. By 1845 her career was languishing,


### Book:and to survive she became a courtesan—quickly one of the more


### Book:successful in Paris.


### Book:Only one man could salvage Lola’s dancing career: Alexandre


### Book:Dujarier, owner of the newspaper with the largest circulation in France,


### Book:and also the newspaper’s drama critic. She decided to woo and conquer


### Book:him. Investigating his habits, she discovered that he went riding every


### Book:morning. An excellent horsewoman herself, she rode out one morning


### Book:and “accidentally” ran into him. Soon they were riding together every


### Book:day. A few weeks later Lola moved into his apartment.


### Book:For a while the two were happy together. With Dujarier’s help, Lola


### Book:began to revive her dancing career. Despite the risk to his social


### Book:standing, Dujarier told friends he would marry her in the spring. (Lolahad never told him that she had eloped at age nineteen with an


### Book:Englishman, and was still legally married.) Although Dujarier was


### Book:deeply in love, his life started to slide downhill.


### Book:His fortunes in business changed and influential friends began to avoid


### Book:him. One night Dujarier was invited to a party, attended by some of the


### Book:wealthiest young men in Paris. Lola wanted to go too but he would not


### Book:allow it. They had their first quarrel, and Dujarier attended the party by


### Book:himself. There, hopelessly drunk, he insulted an influential drama critic,


### Book:Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon, perhaps because of something


### Book:the critic had said about Lola. The following morning Beauvallon


### Book:challenged him to a duel. Beauvallon was one of the best pistol shots in


### Book:France. Dujarier tried to apologize, but the duel took place, and he was


### Book:shot and killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most promising young


### Book:men of Paris society. Devastated, Lola left Paris.


### Book:In 1846 Lola Montez found herself in Munich, where she decided to


### Book:woo and conquer King Ludwig of Bavaria. The best way to Ludwig, she


### Book:discovered, was through his aide-de-camp, Count Otto von Rechberg, a


### Book:man with a fondness for pretty girls. One day when the count was


### Book:breakfasting at an outdoor café, Lola rode by on her horse, was


### Book:“accidentally” thrown from the saddle, and landed at Rechberg’s feet.


### Book:The count rushed to help her and was enchanted. He promised to


### Book:introduce her to Ludwig.


### Book:Rechberg arranged an audience with the king for Lola, but when she


### Book:arrived in the anteroom, she could hear the king saying he was too busy


### Book:to meet a favor-seeking stranger. Lola pushed aside the sentries and


### Book:entered his room anyway. In the process, the front of her dress somehow


### Book:got torn (perhaps by her, perhaps by one of the sentries), and to the


### Book:astonishment of all, most especially the king, her bare breasts were


### Book:brazenly exposed. Lola was granted her audience with Ludwig. Fifty-


### Book:five hours later she made her debut on the Bavarian stage; the reviews


### Book:were terrible, but that did not stop Ludwig from arranging more


### Book:performances.


### Book:AND THE


### Book:A nut found itself carried by a crow to the top of a tall campanile, and by


### Book:falling into a crevice succeeded in escaping its dread fate. It then


### Book:besought the wall to shelter it, by appealing to it by the grace of God,


### Book:and praising its height, and the beauty and noble tone of us bells.


### Book:“Alas,” it went on, “as I have not been able to drop beneath the greenbranches of my old Father and to lie in the fallow earth covered by his


### Book:fallen leaves, do you, at least, not abandon me. When I found myself in


### Book:the beak of the cruel crow I made a vow, that if I escaped I would end my


### Book:life in a little hole. ”


### Book:At these words, the wall, moved with compassion, was content to shelter


### Book:the nut in the spot where it had fallen. Within a short time, the nut burst


### Book:open: Its roots reached in between the crevices of the stones and began


### Book:to push them apart; its shoots pressed up toward the sky. They soon rose


### Book:above the building, and as the twisted roots grew thicker they began to


### Book:thrust the walls apart and force the ancient stones from their old places.


### Book:Then the wall, too late and in vain, bewailed the cause of its destruction,


### Book:and in short time it fell in ruin.


### Book:LEONARDO DA VINCI. 1452-1519


### Book:Ludwig was, in his own words, “bewitched” by Lola. He started to


### Book:appear in public with her on his arm, and then he bought and furnished


### Book:an apartment for her on one of Munich’s most fashionable boulevards.


### Book:Although he had been known as a miser, and was not given to flights of


### Book:fancy, he started to shower Lola with gifts and to write poetry for her.


### Book:Now his favored mistress, she catapulted to fame and fortune overnight.


### Book:Lola began to lose her sense of proportion. One day when she was out


### Book:riding, an elderly man rode ahead of her, a bit too slowly for her liking.


### Book:Unable to pass him, she began to slash him with her riding crop. On


### Book:another occasion she took her dog, unleashed, out for a stroll. The dog


### Book:attacked a passerby, but instead of helping the man get the dog away, she


### Book:whipped him with the leash. Incidents like this infuriated the stolid


### Book:citizens of Bavaria, but Ludwig stood by Lola and even had her


### Book:naturalized as a Bavarian citizen. The king’s entourage tried to wake him


### Book:to the dangers of the affair, but those who criticized Lola were


### Book:summarily fired.


### Book:In his own time Simon Thomas was a great doctor. I remember that I


### Book:happened to meet him one day at the home of a rich old consumptive: He


### Book:told his patient when discussing ways to cure him that one means was to


### Book:provide occasions for me to enjoy his company: He could then fix his


### Book:eyes on the freshness of my countenance and his thoughts on the


### Book:overflowing cheerfulness and vigor of my young manhood; by filling all


### Book:his senses with the flower of my youth his condition might improve. He


### Book:forgot to add that mine might get worse.


### Book:MONTAIGNE, 1533-1592While Bavarians who had loved their king now outwardly disre


### Book:spected him, Lola was made a countess, had a new palace built for


### Book:herself, and began to dabble in politics, advising Ludwig on policy. She


### Book:was the most powerful force in the kingdom. Her influence in the king’s


### Book:cabinet continued to grow, and she treated the other ministers with


### Book:disdain. As a result, riots broke out throughout the realm. A once


### Book:peaceful land was virtually in the grip of civil war, and students


### Book:everywhere were chanting, “Raus mit Lola!”


### Book:Many things are said to be infectious. Sleepiness can be infectious, and


### Book:yawning as well. In large-scale strategy when the enemy is agitated and


### Book:shows an inclination to rush, do not mind in the least. Make a show of


### Book:complete calmness, and the enemy will be taken by this and will become


### Book:relaxed. You infect their spirit. You can infect them with a carefree,


### Book:drunklike spirit, with boredom, or even weakness.


### Book:A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI,


### Book:SEVENTEENTH CENTURY


### Book:By February of 1848, Ludwig was finally unable to withstand the


### Book:pressure. With great sadness he ordered Lola to leave Bavaria


### Book:immediately. She left, but not until she was paid off. For the next five


### Book:weeks the Bavarians’ wrath was turned against their formerly beloved


### Book:king. In March of that year he was forced to abdicate.


### Book:Lola Montez moved to England. More than anything she needed


### Book:respectability, and despite being married (she still had not arranged a


### Book:divorce from the Englishman she had wed years before), she set her


### Book:sights on George Trafford Heald, a promising young army officer who


### Book:was the son of an influential barrister. Although he was ten years


### Book:younger than Lola, and could have chosen a wife among the prettiest and


### Book:wealthiest young girls of English society, Heald fell under her spell.


### Book:They were married in 1849. Soon arrested on the charge of bigamy, she


### Book:skipped bail, and she and Heald made their way to Spain. They quarreled


### Book:horribly and on one occasion Lola slashed him with a knife. Finally, she


### Book:drove him away. Returning to England, he found he had lost his position


### Book:in the army. Ostracized from English society, he moved to Portugal,


### Book:where he lived in poverty. After a few months his short life ended in a


### Book:boating accident.


### Book:A few years later the man who published Lola Montez’s


### Book:autobiography went bankrupt.In 1853 Lola moved to California, where she met and married a man


### Book:named Pat Hull. Their relationship was as stormy as all the others, and


### Book:she left Hull for another man. He took to drink and fell into a deep


### Book:depression that lasted until he died, four years later, still a relatively


### Book:young man.


### Book:At the age of forty-one, Lola gave away her clothes and finery and


### Book:turned to God. She toured America, lecturing on religious topics, dressed


### Book:in white and wearing a halolike white headgear. She died two years later,


### Book:in 1861.


### Book:Regard no foolish man as cultured, though you may reckom a gifted man


### Book:as wise; and esteem no ignorant abstainer a true ascetic. Do not consort


### Book:with fools, especially those who consider themselves wise. And be not


### Book:self-satisfied with your own ignorance. Let your intercourse be only with


### Book:men of good repute: for it is by such assot iation that men themselves


### Book:attain to good repute. Do you not observe how sesame-oil is mingled


### Book:with roses or violets and how, when it has been for some time in


### Book:association with roses or violets, it ceases to he sesame-oil and is called


### Book:oil of roses or oil of violets?


### Book:A MIRROR FOR PRINCES. KAI KAUS IBN ISKANDAR.


### Book:ELEVENTH CENTURY


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Lola Montez attracted men with her wiles, but her power over them went


### Book:beyond the sexual. It was through the force of her character that she kept


### Book:her lovers enthralled. Men were sucked into the maelstrom she churned


### Book:up around her. They felt confused, upset, but the strength of the emotions


### Book:she stirred also made them feel more alive.


### Book:As is often the case with infection, the problems would only arise over


### Book:time. Lola’s inherent instability would begin to get under her lovers’


### Book:skin. They would find themselves drawn into her problems, but their


### Book:emotional attachment to her would make them want to help her. This was


### Book:the crucial point of the disease—for Lola Montez could not be helped.


### Book:Her problems were too deep. Once the lover identified with them, he was


### Book:lost. He would find himself embroiled in quarrels. The infection would


### Book:spread to his family and friends, or, in the case of Ludwig, to an entire


### Book:nation. The only solution would be to cut her off, or suffer an eventual


### Book:collapse.The infecting-character type is not restricted to women; it has nothing


### Book:to do with gender. It stems from an inward instability that radiates


### Book:outward, drawing disaster upon itself. There is almost a desire to destroy


### Book:and unsettle. You could spend a lifetime studying the pathology of


### Book:infecting characters, but don’t waste your time—just learn the lesson.


### Book:When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue,


### Book:don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will


### Book:become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence or suffer the


### Book:consequences.


### Book:Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much….


### Book:I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius….


### Book:Such men as he be never at heart’s ease whiles they behold a greater


### Book:than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.


### Book:Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare. 1564-1616


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:Those misfortunates among us who have been brought down by


### Book:circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we


### Book:can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or


### Book:unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive


### Book:actions and unsettling effect on others. It would be a great thing if we


### Book:could raise them up, change their patterns, but more often than not it is


### Book:their patterns that end up getting inside and changing us. The reason is


### Book:simple—humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and


### Book:even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time.


### Book:The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong


### Book:infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense.


### Book:They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to


### Book:see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of


### Book:their problems you have been infected by them.


### Book:Understand this: In the game of power, the people you associate with


### Book:are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste


### Book:valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt


### Book:by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others. Never


### Book:underestimate the dangers of infection.There are many kinds of infector to be aware of, but one of the most


### Book:insidious is the sufferer from chronic dissatisfaction. Cassius, the Roman


### Book:conspirator against Julius Caesar, had the discontent that comes from


### Book:deep envy. He simply could not endure the presence of anyone of greater


### Book:talent. Probably because Caesar sensed the man’s interminable sourness,


### Book:he passed him up for the position of first praetorship, and gave the


### Book:position to Brutus instead. Cassius brooded and brooded, his hatred for


### Book:Caesar becoming patliological. Brutus himself, a devoted republican,


### Book:disliked Caesar’s dictatorship; had he had the patience to wait, he would


### Book:have become the first man in Rome after Caesar’s death, and could have


### Book:undone the evil that the leader had wrought. But Cassius infected him


### Book:with his own rancor, bending his ear daily with tales of Caesar’s evil. He


### Book:finally won Brutus over to the conspiracy. It was the beginning of a great


### Book:tragedy. How many misfortunes could have been avoided had Brutus


### Book:learned to fear the power of infection.


### Book:There is only one solution to infection: quarantine. But by the time


### Book:you recognize the problem it is often too late. A Lola Montez


### Book:overwhelms you with her forceful personality. Cassius intrigues you with


### Book:his confiding nature and the depth of his feelings. How can you protect


### Book:yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging


### Book:people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they


### Book:give for their prob-Image: A Virus. Unseen, it lems. Infectors can be


### Book:recognized by the misfortune they draw on them-enters your pores


### Book:without selves, their turbulent past, their long line of broken


### Book:relationships, their un-warning, spreading silently and stable careers, and


### Book:the very force of their character, which sweeps you up slowly. Before


### Book:you are aware of and makes you lose your reason. Be forewarned by


### Book:these signs of an infec the infection, it is deep inside you. tor; learn to see


### Book:the discontent in their eye. Most important of all, do not take pity. Do not


### Book:enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged,


### Book:but you will be unhinged.


### Book:The other side of infection is equally valid, and perhaps more readily


### Book:understood: There are people who attract happiness to themselves by


### Book:their good cheer, natural buoyancy, and intelligence. They are a source of


### Book:pleasure, and you must associate with them to share in the prosperity


### Book:they draw upon themselves.


### Book:This applies to more than good cheer and success: All positive


### Book:qualities can infect us. Talleyrand had many strange and intimidating


### Book:traits, but most agreed that he surpassed all Frenchmen in graciousness,


### Book:aristocratic charm, and wit. Indeed he came from one of the oldest noblefamilies in the country, and despite his belief in democracy and the


### Book:French Republic, he retained his courtly manners. His contemporary


### Book:Napoleon was in many ways the opposite—a peasant from Corsica,


### Book:taciturn and ungracious, even violent.


### Book:There was no one Napoleon admired more than Talleyrand. He envied


### Book:his minister’s way with people, his wit and his ability to charm women,


### Book:and as best he could, he kept Talleyrand around him, hoping to soak up


### Book:the culture he lacked. There is no doubt that Napoleon changed as his


### Book:rule continued. Many of the rough edges were smoothed by his constant


### Book:association with Talleyrand.


### Book:Use the positive side of this emotional osmosis to advantage. If, for


### Book:example, you are miserly by nature, you will never go beyond a certain


### Book:limit; only generous souls attain greatness. Associate with the generous,


### Book:then, and they will infect you, opening up everything that is tight and


### Book:restricted in you. If you are gloomy, gravitate to the cheerful. If you are


### Book:prone to isolation, force yourself to befriend the gregarious. Never


### Book:associate with those who share your defects—they will reinforce


### Book:everything that holds you back. Only create associations with positive


### Book:affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all


### Book:the therapy in the world.


### Book:Authority: Recognize the fortunate so that you may choose their


### Book:company, and the unfortunate so that you may avoid them. Misfortune is


### Book:usually the crime of folly, and among those who suffer from it there is no


### Book:malady more contagious: Never open your door to the least of


### Book:misfortunes, for, if you do, many others will follow in its train…. Do not


### Book:die of another’s misery. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:This law admits of no reversal. Its application is universal. There is


### Book:nothing to be gained by associating with those who infect you with their


### Book:misery; there is only power and good fortune to be obtained by


### Book:associating with the fortunate. Ignore this law at your peril.LAW 11


### Book:LEARN TO KEEP PEOPLE DEPENDENT ON


### Book:YOU


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted.


### Book:The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people


### Book:depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing


### Book:to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Sometime in the Middle Ages, a mercenary soldier (a condottiere),


### Book:whose name has not been recorded, saved the town of Siena from a


### Book:foreign aggressor. How could the good citizens of Siena reward him? No


### Book:amount of money or honor could possibly compare in value to the


### Book:preservation of a city’s liberty. The citizens thought of making the


### Book:mercenary the lord of the city, but even that, they decided, wasn’t


### Book:recompense enough. At last one of them stood before the assembly


### Book:called to debate this matter and said, “Let us kill him and then worship


### Book:him as our patron saint.” And so they did.


### Book:The Count of Carmagnola was one of the bravest and most successful


### Book:of all the condottieri. In 1442, late in his life, he was in the employ of the


### Book:city of Venice, which was in the midst of a long war with Florence. The


### Book:count was suddenly recalled to Venice. A favorite of the people, he was


### Book:received there with all kinds of honor and splendor. That evening he was


### Book:to dine with the doge himself, in the doge’s palace. On the way into the


### Book:palace, however, he noticed that the guard was leading him in a different


### Book:direction from usual. Crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs, he suddenlyrealized where they were taking him—to the dungeon. He was convicted


### Book:on a trumped-up charge and the next day in the Piazza San Marco, before


### Book:a horrified crowd who could not understand how his fate had changed so


### Book:drastically, he was beheaded.


### Book:THE TWO HORSES


### Book:Two horses were carrying two loads. The front Horse went well, but the


### Book:rear Horse was lazy. The men began to pile the rear Horse’s load on the


### Book:front Horse; when they had transferred it all, the rear Horse found it


### Book:easy going, and he said to the front Horse: “Toil and sraeat! The more


### Book:you try, the more you have to suffer.” When they reached the tavern, the


### Book:owner said; “Why should I fodder two horses when I carry all on one? I


### Book:had better give the one all the food it wants, and cut the throat of the


### Book:other; at least I shall have the hide.” And so he did.


### Book:FABLES. LEO TOLSIOY, 1828-1910


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Many of the great condottieri of Renaissance Italy suffered the same fate


### Book:as the patron saint of Siena and the Count of Carmagnola: They won


### Book:battle after battle for their employers only to find themselves banished,


### Book:imprisoned, or executed. The problem was not ingratitude; it was that


### Book:there were so many other condottieri as able and valiant as they were.


### Book:They were replaceable. Nothing was lost by killing them. Meanwhile,


### Book:the older among them had grown powerful themselves, and wanted more


### Book:and more money for their services. How much better, then, to do away


### Book:with them and hire a younger, cheaper mercenary. That was the fate of


### Book:the Count of Carmagnola, who had started to act impudently and


### Book:independently. He had taken his power for granted without making sure


### Book:that he was truly indispensable.


### Book:Such is the fate (to a less violent degree, one hopes) of those who do


### Book:not make others dependent on them. Sooner or later someone comes


### Book:along who can do the job as well as they can—someone younger, fresher,


### Book:less expensive, less threatening.


### Book:Be the only one who can do what you do, and make the fate of those


### Book:who hire you so entwined with yours that they cannot possibly get rid of


### Book:you. Otherwise you will someday be forced to cross your own Bridge of


### Book:Sighs.OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:When Otto von Bismarck became a deputy in the Prussian parliament in


### Book:1847, he was thirty-two years old and without an ally or friend. Looking


### Book:around him, he decided that the side to ally himself with was not the


### Book:parliament’s liberals or conservatives, not any particular minister, and


### Book:certainly not the people. It was with the king, Frederick William IV. This


### Book:was an odd choice to say the least, for Frederick was at a low point of his


### Book:power. A weak, indecisive man, he consistently gave in to the liberals in


### Book:parliament; in fact he was spineless, and stood for much that Bismarck


### Book:disliked, personally and politically. Yet Bismarck courted Frederick night


### Book:and day. When other deputies attacked the king for his many inept


### Book:moves, only Bismarck stood by him.


### Book:THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF


### Book:Then the Woman laughed and set the Cat a bowl of the warm white milk


### Book:and said, “0 Cat, you are as clever as a man, but remember that your


### Book:bargain was not made with the Man or the Dog, and I do not know what


### Book:they will do when they come home.” “What is that to me?” said the Cat.


### Book:“If I have my place in the Cave by the fire and my warm white milk three


### Book:times a day, I do not care what the Man or the Dog can do.” … And


### Book:from that day to this, Best Beloved, three proper Men out of five will


### Book:always throw things at a Cat whenever they meet him, and all proper


### Book:Dogs will chase him up a tree. But the Cat keeps his side of the bargain


### Book:too. He will kill mice, and he will be kind to Babies when he is in the


### Book:house, just as long as they do not pull his tail too hard. But when he has


### Book:done that, and between times, and when the moon gets up and the night


### Book:comes, he is the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to


### Book:him. Then he goes out to the Wet Wild Woods or up the Wet Wild Trees or


### Book:on the Wet Wild Roofs, waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone.


### Book:JUST SO STORIES, RUDYARD KIPLING, 1865-1936


### Book:Finally, it all paid off: In 1851 Bismarck was made a minister in the


### Book:king’s cabinet. Now he went to work. Time and again he forced the


### Book:king’s hand, getting him to build up the military, to stand up to the


### Book:liberals, to do exactly as Bismarck wished. He worked on Frederick’s


### Book:insecurity about his manliness, challenging him to be firm and to rulewith pride. And he slowly restored the king’s powers until the monarchy


### Book:was once again the most powerful force in Prussia.


### Book:When Frederick died, in 1861, his brother William assumed the


### Book:throne. William disliked Bismarck intensely and had no intention of


### Book:keeping him around. But he also inherited the same situation his brother


### Book:had: enemies galore, who wanted to nibble his power away. He actually


### Book:considered abdicating, feeling he lacked the strength to deal with this


### Book:dangerous and precarious position. But Bismarck insinuated himself


### Book:once again. He stood by the new king, gave him strength, and urged him


### Book:into firm and decisive action. The king grew dependent on Bismarck’s


### Book:strong-arm tactics to keep his enemies at bay, and despite his antipathy


### Book:toward the man, he soon made him his prime minister. The two quarreled


### Book:often over policy—Bismarck was much more conservative—but the king


### Book:understood his own dependency. Whenever the prime minister


### Book:threatened to resign, the king gave in to him, time after time. It was in


### Book:fact Bismarck who set state policy.


### Book:Years later, Bismarck’s actions as Prussia’s prime minister led the


### Book:various German states to be united into one country. Now Bismarck


### Book:finagled the king into letting himself be crowned emperor of Germany.


### Book:Yet it was really Bismarck who had reached the heights of power. As


### Book:right-hand man to the emperor, and as imperial chancellor and knighted


### Book:prince, he pulled all the levers.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Most young and ambitious politicians looking out on the political


### Book:landscape of 1840s Germany would have tried to build a power base


### Book:among those with the most power. Bismarck saw different. Joining


### Book:forces with the powerful can be foolish: They will swallow you up, just


### Book:as the doge of Venice swallowed up the Count of Carmagnola. No one


### Book:will come to depend on you if they are already strong. If you are


### Book:ambitious, it is much wiser to seek out weak rulers or masters with


### Book:whom you can create a relationship of dependency. You become their


### Book:strength, their intelligence, their spine. What power you hold! If they got


### Book:rid of you the whole edifice would collapse.


### Book:Necessity rules the world. People rarely act unless compelled to. If


### Book:you create no need for yourself, then you will be done away with at first


### Book:opportunity. If, on the other hand, you understand the Laws of Power and


### Book:make others depend on you for their welfare, if you can counteract theirweakness with your own “iron and blood,” in Bismarck’s phrase, then


### Book:you will survive your masters as Bismarck did. You will have all the


### Book:benefits of power without the thorns that come from being a master.


### Book:Thus a wise prince will think of ways to keep his citizens of every sort


### Book:and under every circumstance dependent on the state and on him;


### Book:and then they will always be trustworthy.


### Book:Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527


### Book:THE I I.M-IRI I AND THE AND


### Book:An extravagant young Vine, vainly ambitious of independence, and fond


### Book:of rambling at large, despised the alliance of a slately elm that grew


### Book:near, and courted her embraces. Having risen to some small height


### Book:without any kind of support, she shot forth her flimsy branches to a very


### Book:uncommon and superfluous length; calling on her neighbour to take


### Book:notice how little she wanted his assistance. “Poor infatuated shrub,”


### Book:replied the elm, “how inconsistent is thy conduct! Wouldst thou be truly


### Book:independent, thou shouldst carefully apply those juices to the


### Book:enlargement of thy stem. which thou lavishest in vain upon unnecessary


### Book:foliage. I shortly shall behold thee grovelling on the ground; yet


### Book:countenanced, indeed, by many of the human race, who, intoxicated with


### Book:vanity, have despised economy; and who, to support for a moment their


### Book:empty boast of independence, have exhausted the very source of it in


### Book:frivolous expenses.”


### Book:FABLES, ROBERT DODSLFY, 1703-1764


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:The ultimate power is the power to get people to do as you wish. When


### Book:you can do this without having to force people or hurt them, when they


### Book:willingly grant you what you desire, then your power is untouchable.


### Book:The best way to achieve this position is to create a relationship of


### Book:dependence. The master requires your services; he is weak, or unable to


### Book:function without you; you have enmeshed yourself in his work so deeply


### Book:that doing away with you would bring him great difficulty, or at least


### Book:would mean valuable time lost in training another to replace you. Once


### Book:such a relationship is established you have the upper hand, the leverageto make the master do as you wish. It is the classic case of the man


### Book:behind the throne, the servant of the king who actually controls the king.


### Book:Bismarck did not have to bully either Frederick or William into doing his


### Book:bidding. He simply made it clear that unless he got what he wanted he


### Book:would walk away, leaving the king to twist in the wind. Both kings soon


### Book:danced to Bismarck’s tune.


### Book:Do not be one of the many who mistakenly believe that the ultimate


### Book:form of power is independence. Power involves a relationship between


### Book:people; you will always need others as allies, pawns, or even as weak


### Book:masters who serve as your front. The completely independent man would


### Book:live in a cabin in the woods—he would have the freedom to come and go


### Book:as he pleased, but he would have no power. The best you can hope for is


### Book:that others will grow so dependent on you that you enjoy a kind of


### Book:reverse independence: Their need for you frees you.


### Book:Louis XI (1423-1483), the great Spider King of France, had a


### Book:weakness for astrology. He kept a court astrologer whom he admired,


### Book:until one day the man predicted that a lady of the court would die within


### Book:eight days. When the prophecy came true, Louis was terrified, thinking


### Book:that either the man had murdered the woman to prove his accuracy or


### Book:that he was so versed in his science that his powers threatened Louis


### Book:himself. In either case he had to be killed.


### Book:One evening Louis summoned the astrologer to his room, high in the


### Book:castle. Before the man arrived, the king told his servants that when he


### Book:gave the signal they were to pick the astrologer up, carry him to the


### Book:window, and hurl him to the ground, hundreds of feet below.


### Book:The astrologer soon arrived, but before giving the signal, Louis


### Book:decided to ask him one last question: “You claim to understand astrology


### Book:and to know the fate of others, so tell me what your fate will be and how


### Book:long you have to live.”


### Book:“I shall die just three days before Your Majesty,” the astrologer


### Book:replied. The king’s signal was never given. The man’s life was spared.


### Book:The Spider King not only protected his astrologer for as long as he was


### Book:alive, he lavished him with gifts and had him tended by the finest court


### Book:doctors.


### Book:The astrologer survived Louis by several years, disproving his power


### Book:of prophecy but proving his mastery of power.


### Book:This is the model: Make others dependent on you. To get rid of you


### Book:might spell disaster, even death, and your master dares not tempt fate by


### Book:finding out. There are many ways to obtain such a position. Foremostamong them is to possess a talent and creative skill that simply cannot be


### Book:replaced.


### Book:During the Renaissance, the major obstacle to a painter’s success was


### Book:finding the right patron. Michelangelo did this better than anyone else:


### Book:His patron was Pope Julius II. But he and the pope quarreled over the


### Book:building of the pope’s marble tomb, and Michelangelo left Rome in


### Book:disgust. To the amazement of those in the pope’s circle, not only did the


### Book:pope not fire him, he sought him out and in his own haughty way begged


### Book:the artist to stay. Michelangelo, he knew, could find another patron, but


### Book:he could never find another Michelangelo.


### Book:You do not have to have the talent of a Michelangelo; you do have to


### Book:have a skill that sets you apart from the crowd. You should create a


### Book:situation in which you can always latch on to another master or patron


### Book:but your master cannot easily ,find another servant with your particular


### Book:talent. And if, in reality, you are not actually indispensable, you must


### Book:find a way to make it look as if you are. Having the appearance of


### Book:specialized knowledge and skill gives you leeway in your ability to


### Book:deceive those above you into thinking they cannot do without you. Real


### Book:dependence on your master’s part, however, leaves him more vulnerable