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Ever wonder how you can be mysterious? Or how being mysterious might benefit you in work and life? Mystery can bring you power. If you’re mysterious, people want to know more, and their lack of knowledge and desire to figure you out gives you power over them. Use the examples below to learn why and how to be mysterious to gain more power over others.
Overview of Law #14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy Collecting information through spying is essential to wielding power. When you know your opponent’s secrets, you can predict his behavior and control him. You can enlist spies to gather intelligence for you, but it’s better to be a spy yourself. Adopt a friendly manner and you’ll get people to spill their plans and weaknesses. Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy.
Overview of Law #21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker Play a sucker. Make your intended victims feel as though they’re smarter than you are, and they won’t suspect you of having ulterior motives. Seem dumber than your mark.
Do you ever wonder how to be unpredictable? Do you wonder why you’d want to be? Learning how to be unpredictable can help you gain power by taking your enemy by surprise. We’ll cover how to be unpredictable, why you’d want to be unpredictable, and what history can teach us about the power of unpredictability.
Who was Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord? And how did the aristocrat manage to remain a powerful French diplomat and politician after the French Revolution brought down the monarchy? In particular, what can we learn by analyzing the Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship? The Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship was a complex one. Napoleon didn’t trust Talleyrand, but Talleyrand was too good an aide to give up. We’ll cover the 7 lessons about maintaining power we can learn from analyzing the Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship and Talleyrand’s canny diplomacy strategies.
Overview of Law #7: Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit. Use their skill, time, and energy to further your ambitions while taking full credit. You’ll be admired for your efficiency and accomplishments, while your helpers will be forgotten.
Overview of Law #16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor Once you’ve become well-known and admired, use absence to increase respect and honor. The more you’re seen and heard from after a certain point, the more you cheapen your brand. People will lose interest and respect for you. But if you make yourself scarce for a while, you’ll renew people’s respect and appreciation.
Overview of Law #10: Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and the Unlucky People who are perpetually miserable spread misery like an infection, and they’ll drown you in it. Avoid these people like the plague. Conversely, if you associate with happy people, you’ll share in the good fortune they attract and spread. Seek them out. Infection: Avoid the unhappy and the unlucky.
Overview of Law #22: Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power Surrendering can be a tool of power. When you’re weaker, surrender rather than fighting for the sake of honor. This gives you time to build strength and undermine your victor, while you wait for his power to weaken. You’ll win in the end. You can transform weakness into power.
Overview of Law #6: Create an Air of Mystery We judge everyone and everything by appearances; what we can’t see doesn’t count. Make sure you stand out from the crowd. Create an air of mystery. Portray yourself as larger, more mysterious, and more exciting than anyone around you.