The 48 Laws of Power for People Who Aren’t Evil Egomaniacs

This is a post from reddit user jdarbuckle.

Some of you might have tried reading The 48 Laws of Power, a classic book on human psychology written by Robert Greene. Most of the laws are undeniably true. However, if you have any sense of morality, the book may leave you feeling very uncomfortable. Some of the laws are great, like, “Win through your actions, never through argument.”

Other laws might leave a bitter taste in your mouth, like, “Let others do the work for you, but always take the credit.”

The examples given in the book are from historic stories of political leaders who would elegantly backstab each other to increase their position.

These leaders would all eventually get backstabbed as well. This makes it almost seem like a book of what not to do if you want any chance at living a healthy and successful life.

The Right Way to Build Personal Power

Trying to gain power is not a bad thing. Power is wonderful, and our world is filled with good heroes who wield it well.

Your personal power is important, and it is what helps you become a valuable person with a high quality of life. Many of us have had our power taken away at some point, or never learned how to build it in the first place. That’s why we often go seeking for it, but what we find is usually broken and selfish habits. Strategies like using your anger to get what you want works like black magic in that every time we use it, it only hurts us in the end.

So, let’s unlock your personal power through a different set of laws. True power comes from being valuable, honest, and giving. The 48 Laws of Power book is written in a way to get ahead by manipulating others which is a shallow way to live. If you want to enjoy true power, the kind that comes from opening your heart to the world there are revisions to the laws below.

The Revised 48 Laws of Power

✘ Law 1: Never outshine the master.

✔ Law 1: Stay humble and respect your mentors. Realize when you are causing envy in your authority figures.

✘ Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends, learn to use enemies.

✔ Law 2: Understand we all make mistakes, and set up your life so that the actions of your friends or enemies does not make or break you.

✘ Law 3: Conceal your intentions.

✔ Law 3: Keep your intentions pure and for the good of the world. You will radiate more power than being shady.

✘ Law 4: Always say less than necessary.

✔ Law 4: Speak parts of the truth, and do it whenever it is necessary. However be aware when you are being too blunt or causing envy.

✘ Law 5: So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life.

✔ Law 5: So much depends on your reputation, that’s right. But try to build it based on good works and there’s no need to guard it. False attacks can be quickly brought into the light and destroyed.

✘ Law 6: Court attention at all cost.

✔ Law 6: Attract the right kind of attention by providing value in your life situations.

✘ Law 7: Let others do the work for you, but always take credit.

✔ Law 7: Empower people to do work that helps both of you, and you will never need to take the credit.

✘ Law 8: Make other people come to you. Use bait if necessary.

✔ Law 8: Make other people come to you by always offering solutions to their problems. If you can’t solve the problem, delegate the work.

✘ Law 9: Win through your actions, never through argument.

✔ Law 9: Yup. Actions speak louder than words. Smile and take the high road to win arguments. Realize that there is only a few things you can control in life.

✘ Law 10: Infection: Avoid the unhappy and the unlucky.

✔ Law 10: Surround yourself with people who lift you up, so you can all help the unhappy and unlucky find personal freedom too. Try to avoid sarcastic losers or haters who are prone to envy. 

✘ Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you.

✔ Law 11: Wrong. Teach a man to fish, and he will be an endless source of fish for you.

✘ Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.

✔ Law 12: Do your best to use honesty and generosity to disarm your team members so you can trust each other.

✘ Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy.

✔ Law 13: Ask for completely one-sided help sparingly. Instead, take care of yourself and find ways to work together that makes life easier for everyone. Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do for them.

✘ Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy.

✔ Law 14: Be a reliable friend. Give to the people you care about since very few friends are going to be as reliable as you and you’ll stand out.

✘ Law 15: Crush your enemy totally.

✔ Law 15: If you are confronted with evil, try to crush your enemy totally.

✘ Law 16: Use absence to increase respect and honor.

✔ Law 16: Don’t overstay your welcome or overstep your bounds. Give your best to a few people and projects, which makes your time and presence extremely valuable to others.

✘ Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.

✔ Law 17: Variety is the spice of life. Take risks, move fast, and don’t think about things like keeping others in suspended terror. People will just be excited to go on the ride with you.

✘ Law 18: Do not build fortresses to protect yourself – isolation is dangerous.

✔ Law 18: It’s true: loneliness kills. Find other people to go through life with, and help each other when times get tough. Give and take.

✘ Law 19: Know who you’re dealing with- do not offend the wrong person.

✔ Law 19: When dealing with powerful people, you are bulletproof if your actions come from good intentions for everyone involved.

✘ Law 20: Do not commit to anyone.

✔ Law 20: As you mature, you move from dependence and independence to interdependence. Commit to projects that matter, and take your due credit for success or failure. Do not engage in anything that moves you back to dependence.

✘ Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker- seem dumber than your mark.

✔ Law 21: No one likes to be talked-down to. Be patient, keep things simple, and ask leading questions to help others come to conclusions by themselves.

✘ Law 22: Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power.

✔ Law 22: Brilliant. By choosing not to fight & assuredly lose, you can simply continue building your empire while enemies burn each others’ castles down around you.

✘ Law 23: Concentrate your forces.

✔ Law 23: Focus on a few interests. Our time and energy are limited.

✘ Law 24: Play the perfect courtier (royal advisor).

✔ Law 24: Learn to give solid advice, and you will never be out of the loop. Do not grovel. Powerful people sense attempts at manipulation from a mile away, and if you happen to succeed, it’s only because they’ve decided to play along and manipulate you back.

✘ Law 25: Re-create yourself.

✔ Law 25: If who you are and what you do isn’t working or making you happy, level up.

✘ Law 26: Keep your hands clean.

✔ Law 26: Keep your hands clean, but that doesn’t mean outsource the dirty work. Refuse the dirty work as much as possible but realize that not job is beneath you. Even Holocaust survivors talked about their factor work in their testimonies.

✘ Law 27: Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult-like following.

✔ Law 27: Give people something real, transformative, and effective to believe in. Become someone striving to reach an ideal to inspire others.

✘ Law 28: Enter action with boldness.

✔ Law 28: Absolutely. Believe in yourself, fight for yourself, and come out swinging against any odds.

✘ Law 29: Plan all the way to the end.

✔ Law 29: Understand your actions have consequences. Make choices based on the best solution for everyone involved.

✘ Law 30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless.

✔ Law 30: Climb mountains, tell no one. Your work will speak for itself.

✘ Law 31: Control opinions: get others to play with the cards you deal.

✔ Law 31: Give people choices and recommendations that always lead to positive results for both of you.

✘ Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies.

✔ Law 32: When speaking to others, speak to their best version of themselves.

✘ Law 33: Discover each man’s thumbscrew.

✔ Law 33: When someone shows you their weakness, help them turn it into a strength for lifelong loyalty. Don’t use blackmail for short-term control that turns into lifelong grudges instead.

✘ Law 34: Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one.

✔ Law 34: Hold yourself to a high standard. You are the hero of your own story, your own personal coach. Walk with the confidence of knowing you are an equal with all others, and watch doors open for you.

✘ Law 35: Master the art of timing.

✔ Law 35: Use observation, research, and plain old trial-and-error to learn how to say or do the right things at the right time.

✘ Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them is the best revenge.

✔ Law 36: True wealth and happiness comes from an elimination of desire for wants, not the fulfillment of desire for wants.

✘ Law 37: Create compelling spectacles.

✔ Law 37: Do great work that inspires, touches, and solves problems.

✘ Law 38: Think as you like but behave like others.

✔ Law 38: You cannot help people who do not feel comfortable around you. Lead from within. Don’t stand out for the wrong reasons.

✘ Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish.

✔ Law 39: Stay calm and don’t make decisions out of anger to avoid being caught by people who follow these old rules. If you want, ask for favors from friends to see who is actually loyal.

✘ Law 40: Despise the free lunch.

✔ Law 40: Try to discuss win-win opportunities. However, realize that people usually act out of self-interest.

✘ Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes.

✔ Law 41: Be yourself and carve your own path.

✘ Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.

✔ Law 42: Ask “What’s the root of this problem?”

✘ Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others.

✔ Law 43: You will be more successful by speaking to the emotions of other people, not just their rational side. At times, appeal to interest not reason.

✘ Law 44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.

✔ Law 44: Such a twisted way to state the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. Explain to others how you do not want to be treated with a steady voice and a locked-in gaze, if this becomes an issue.

✘ Law 45: Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once.

✔ Law 45: Too much change is difficult for everyone. When working towards the greater good, sell the vision while taking smaller steps and celebrating wins.

✘ Law 46: Never appear too perfect.

✔ Law 46: No one is perfect. Laugh about your most embarrassing mistakes and realize that making mistakes is the only way we can grow.

✘ Law 47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory know when to stop.

✔ Law 47: Set tiny habits, achieve them, and review your progress.

✘ Law 48: Assume formlessness

✔ Law 48: Be like water: adapt and flow in different situations. Deal and accept change. Stick to your core values – such as kindness, gratitude, self-compassion, and sincerity. Forgive yourself for making mistakes. Mistakes are there to help you grow.