I had previously written about the first 12 laws in the concise 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. This is a sequel with the next 12 laws.

The more I read this book, the more I realise power is innate. We have so many powerful traits within us that we don’t even know they are power moves.

I’ve noticed some patterns about powerful people from the book. I’m sure you’re wondering what they are. They include hypocrisy, strategic thinking, being brutal and many more.

We’ll look through laws 13-24 in this post and I hope you can identify what makes you powerful. Enough of my rambling, let’s explore the laws below.

LAWS 13-24

13. When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude: From the giver’s perspective, think about what is in it for me. What does the giver stand to gain from the help they are rendering to you? Then blow it out of proportion.

14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy: Talking too much will make you talk to the wrong person. It is easy for people to pretend to be your friend to get information to destroy you. The word destroy is far-fetched but you don’t want information about you getting to the wrong person. I will say be careful about what you say and don’t go about trusting everyone.

15. Crush your enemy totally: Okay, don’t think extreme like literal crushing. If you are aware someone is not on your side, there is no need to force a friendship, Let them go. This is because they might secretly hate you and find a way to bring you down. Don’t keep them around, no neutral approach here. Let them get a clear signal that they mean nothing to you.

16. Use absence to increase respect and honour: You don’t want to be too accessible. Be exclusive, let your absence be felt! Anyone familiar with economics will know scarcity creates value. Powerful people are not very accessible.

17. Keep others in suspense- Cultivate an air of unpredictability: The way I see it, being predictable is boring, be as unpredictable as possible. Leave them guessing.

18. Do not build fortresses to protect yourself- isolation is dangerous: Isolating yourself keeps you away from valuable information. You should always aim to be in the know. Try to mingle to get information from people.

19. Know who you’re dealing with- do not offend the wrong person: Understand the different people around you before you make your power move. You don’t want to create an enemy that will go to any lengths to seek revenge.

20. Do not commit to anyone: Committing to people is dangerous, I’ve learnt this the hard way in the past. Maintain your independence and make people pursue you. As human beings, this is almost impossible but don’t attach yourself to people or things. Exclusivity is where your power lies.

21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker- seem dumber than your mark: This law is easy. Make the victim seem smarter than you and they will never think you have an ulterior motive.

22. Use the surrender tactic- transform weakness into power: Never give an oppressor the satisfaction of defeating you. It unsettles them as they were most likely hoping for a reaction from you. It is better to surrender, accept defeat and take time to plot your revenge instead.

23. Concentrate your forces: A focused man is a powerful man. Let’s face it, there is a lot of distraction everywhere but power requires focus.

24. Play the perfect courtier: This is an interesting law because it comes with its own set of laws. What does courtier mean? This is a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen. To play the perfect courtier, you have to do the following:

⁃ Don’t bring too much attention to actions

⁃ You don’t want to appear like you’re working too hard. Let it look easy.

⁃ Don’t go about flattering everyone, make them work for it.

⁃ Be noticed.

⁃ The way you talk, and present yourself should be altered depending on who you’re dealing with.

⁃ Get somebody else to break the bad news

⁃ Your boss wants a subordinate, not a friend. Let them start the friendship.

⁃ Don’t criticize those directly above you.

⁃ Be frugal with asking for favours from those above you.

⁃ Don’t joke about appearance or taste

⁃ Do not be a court cynic

⁃ Be self observant

⁃ Master your emotions

⁃ Fit the spirit of the times

⁃ Be a source of pleasure

There is a lot to unpack in this post. If you made it this far, I want to believe you’re power-hungry or an inquisitive individual.

Hope to write again soon.