The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

These are my notes from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Each one contains a core idea from the book that stood out. The goal of writing my notes this way is that each could be it's own independent idea with the need for the specific context within the book.

Mold Yourself Like Clay

The greatest task you’ll ever engage in is taking control of the process. It’s a moral obligation most people choose to neglect. Remake who you are. Work on evolving yourself up. Take pleasure in forming and molding your character like clay. When you decide to take control of the process, you gain a lot of power, stopping others from molding you into the person they want you to be and instead molding your character into who you want to become.

A Reputation Is Built by One Quality

Your reputation will always precede you. Erwin Rommel, a German general, had a reputation for cunning and deceptive maneuvering. When people heard he was coming through the desert during WW2, the British would evacuate even if they outnumbered his troops 5:1. Reputation is a form of leverage—requiring energy to build but paying dividends after it has been built. A good reputation is built around one quality that sets you apart. This point of differentiation allows your reputation to spread like wildfire because people will begin to talk about you. Allow your reputation to do the work for you by making it so simple it becomes a “business card” that gets stuck in people’s minds.

Emotional Osmosis

We pick up on the emotions and behaviors of others. The 5 chimps theory states that we become the 5 people that are closest to us. No one understood this better than Napoleon. He surrounded himself with people that possessed the qualities he admired most, like Talleyrand. Napoleon saw the way he was with other people—his wit and charm—and tended to keep him close, enjoying and picking up on his qualities while he ruled. The people around you will inflict you with their gravities. Avoid people that possess your defects at all costs. Be around people that reinforce the positive assumptions.

Effortless Difficulty Creates Magic

The events that repeatedly leave us in awe are ones that are acts of god: lightning in the sky, floods, sunsets, and vast views. There is a certain type of gracefulness they embody. In 1528, Baldassare Castiglione captured this principle in his book The Book of the Courtier. He called it sprezzatura, which is the capacity to make difficult things easy. The artist of the Renaissance kept their work hidden from the world as they created it. The principle of sprezzatura gave each piece a magical effect—presenting a sense of ease and beauty, all of the effort that went into their creation was hidden from the world. This is what magic is: created from hours of work to perfect the sleight of hand needed for it to appear effortless and evoke awe.

Involve Others in the Process

A statue was being sculpted when an unskillful artist put a hole in the figure’s leg. Piero Soderini, the mayor of Florence, believed they had wasted money on the statue. Michelangelo believed it could be salvaged and got to work. As he was putting the finishing touches on the statue, Soderini came to judge it. He believed the nose was too big. Michelangelo realized he was standing with the wrong perspective but rather than argue with him, he had Soderini come stand below him on the scaffolding. With his chisel in hand, he grabbed some dust that layed on a plank and let it fall on him. Having Soderini approach it from the right perspective, he then believed the nose was fine. Michelangelo only made it appear as if he’d done something. He made him feel a part of the process.

The Value of Inaction

What price does action carry? We have convinced ourselves that we need to be in motion. Action often appears the only way to triumph. Real value in action is a result of what you do not do. Your actions only drive substantial value when you have the mental bandwidth to overcome the obstacles you face. What you don’t allow yourself to get dragged into is the most important factor for how you maintain valuable action. Nietzsche said, “The value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains, but in what one pays for it—what it cost us.” The best investors realize this is critical to making leveraged decisions. Introduced during the 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual meeting, Charlie and Warren gave a name to their strategy of inaction: sit on your ass investing. Many of the best investors only make 1-3 investments per year. They use inaction as a way to combat action bias and do-something syndrome to create value with the actions they do take. Don’t waste valuable time and peace of mind.

Rhythm and Timing

When events unfold, rhythm and timing are critical. When you control the patterns and pace, you determine how the events unfold. Franklin Roosevelt understood the need for particular orders and timing. After he was elected to office, he went radio silent — the nation was in suspense as the economy was headed for a meltdown. Roosevelt refused to meet with the sitting president and said nothing about his plan. He didn’t reveal his cards, heightening the nation's anxiety. As soon as he was sworn into office though, Roosevelt went to work—putting the pieces of his plan into place rapidly. This became known as the "Hundred Days," which was a monumental moment that altered the country's sentiment. It's less about what you do that matters than how you do it.

Measure Your Actions by Long-Term Effects

Every action causes a reaction. The short-term reaction is irrelevant. You may win an argument with someone. In the short-term, they agree. Over time, we revert back to our old habits and because of that agreement people eventually grow to resent you long-term. Each action that evokes an emotion is like planting a seed. You should engage in activities with others that will allow the sentiment they hold for you to grow into a strong oak while avoiding situations that will eventually create weeds in the long run. It’s always best if everyone gets what they want. People are more open to persuasion that way.

Luck as a Teacher

Luck is always at play in any endeavor. To say it's not is foolish. It seems counterintuitive but good luck is worse than bad luck if you're a frequent receiver of it. Good luck does nothing but deceive you — hiding your faults and flaws. Bad luck can be demoralizing at times, but it teaches you a lot of wisdom. In moments of bad luck, that's when we learn the much-needed lessons of patience, timing, and preparation. Without these you will never be able to turn the momentum of good luck into velocity that can sustain itself in the future.

The Jungle of Creativity

Tesla was obsessed with alternating-current systems (AC) while Edison believed in direct-current (DC). Arguably the two greatest minds of the 19th century would be at odds, sparking a war that would lead Edison to do anything to sabotage Tesla's research. Tesla did all the groundwork for other people to come along and file patents — eventually making AC systems the standard. In creative work there's hunters & scavengers. The people who do the hard work and those who just rely on the efforts of others. It's better to arbitrage the ideas of others than to spend countless hours struggling to bring about an idea that others will rip off going 2→1. Even Elon Musk uses the creative power/leverage of others to build rockets.

Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

There's a luxury enjoyed by creators who study people who have long passed. They get the admiration of others and skills while never being called unoriginal. The people today that study human nature, human stupidity and folly, and others that learned lessons the hard way stand on the shoulders of giants to stand out among their peers today. There are no new ideas, just the hard lessons yet to be learned from the experience of others. Ideas ripe for emulating with a little advantage.

Chess Not Checkers

Chess is not a game. Google the game theory behind it and you will find it is more of a computation. That's why chess prodigies like Josh Waitzkin got movies made about them. To win in chess you must be patient and foreseeing. The game is built on patterns. Every beginner learns the opening moves but each match has slight alterations — making it impossible to memorize the mates. It's almost impossible to get mated in the same way multiple times. When people observe you they try to predict your next moves by looking at the patterns. If people cannot predict your moves it gives you an advantage — they stay in a state of waiting, uncertainty, and confusion. You become the tactics master.

Alter the Playing Field

John D. Rockefeller began building his oil empire in the 1860s. He was buying up the smaller oil refineries. Adding to the share of the market he controlled. Eventually, people caught on and started to rebel. Rockefeller's ability to swiftly overtake competitors was met with resistance. Instead of pushing forward, he decided to change the playing field by buying up railroads and growing his control in other ways. Now when he went to buy them out and the owner refused, he ruined their business by raising transportation fees. They had no choice but to submit to his offers — no matter the cost.

A Need for Constant Conflict

Constant conflict plays a critical role in our progression. Without conflict, we grow lazy. Resistance is the only thing that makes us stronger. Most people's downfall comes from their inability to maintain a state of conflict, either choosing comfort in exchange for entropy or embarking in conflicts they cannot emerge victorious from without significant loss. Mao Tse-tung used Japan's invasion of China to rally his troops for a cause of good vs. evil. This conflict gave them the experience needed to later defeat the Nationalist party. When the conflict passed, he knew his people were trending towards weakness, so he encouraged disagreements with the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Always having a declared enemy. A known and chosen conflict provides the fuel needed to prove you're worthy. Robert Greene says, "A person who has something to prove will move mountains."

Keep It Vague, Keep It Simple

To create a movement, attention is needed to get it to critical mass. There’s two critical pieces to all the language used involving movements: a big promise and vagueness. Your words must be carefully chosen with heart to resonate with others. People believe others have specific words to describe vague concepts. If your language is too vague you lose interest and credibility. People look for a good frame of reference. Too specific and detailed makes people expect too much. A simple and vague appeal to complex problems is the sweet spot.

The Law of Concentration

A person with single-minded purpose cuts through obstacles with ease. Casanova mastered focusing on a single task until it yielded to him. When he was imprisoned in the inescapable prison of Venice, the only thing he focused on was escape. Engaging for months, he got changed to another cell, but that did not discourage him. Instead, he started again until he was free. Energy is saved and put towards the goal at hand rather than spreading yourself thin. This extra mental bandwidth is exactly what is needed to become the source of power that tips the scale and gets you to your goal. Concentration breeds intensity and gravity—the only things that rise above mediocrity.

Breaking Patterns of the Past

There is no better school than the past. When most people look at their past, it's burdened by hurts or grudges. Negativity laces this tendency within ourselves. Half of the battle is to forget those events and view them objectively. However, having a backward glancing eye is a constant education. Examining the mistakes and our actions becomes easier when we have a lens that can be applied to each of the situations. Principles provide an easy lens that allows us to extract value, lessons, oaths, and mantras from our past. Deriving these from our own experiences and the stories of others is a valuable skill required to break the patterns of the past we were once bound to.

Arm Yourself With Knowledge to Improve Your Aim

Joseph Duveen manipulated the millionaire art-collection market of the 1940s. He would learn everything there was to know about his prospects' habits, tastes, and patterns. Oftentimes, he would pay people close to them for information, getting to know each person better than himself. If you're ambitious and competitive, nothing should be left to chance—information acts as a "sixth sense" with yourself seeming clairvoyant. Using knowledge will ensure you hit your mark. You'll seem more charming, agreeable, and as if you have a superior sense of taste. Duveen used this to become Andrew Mellon's sole art dealer, even after Mellon swore off interest in ever meeting him.

Sell Yourself Like Christopher Columbus

Columbus had zero qualifications as an explorer. Previously, he was a merchant, but his ask raised his status. Compared to the others on the ship, he asked for less than them. Yet without Christopher Columbus, there would be no opportunity for them. Before he left, he hired the best there was. Columbus was no leader either. He mistreated his crew and had no navigational skills—relying on everyone around him to survive. The only reason he got to where he did was because of the way he carried himself. Columbus had confidence and a sense of vision that made others feel he was destined for great things. It was the bold demands that carried his future.