Control the options: Get others to play the cards you deal: The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make… Read More

Make your accomplishments seem effortless: your actions must seem natural and executed with all the toil and practice that go into them, and also with all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work — it… Read More

Plan all the way to the end: The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you… Read More

Enter action with boldness: If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it.Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity.  Everyone admires the bold; no one admires the timid. I’m not… Read More

Keep your hands clean: You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement. Is there a connection to being on top and not having “blood” on your hands? I… Read More

Re-Create yourself: Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power… Read More

Concentrate your forces: conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You can more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another — intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one… Read More

Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power: When you are weaker; never fight for honors sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover; time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first.… Read More

Play a sucker to catch a sucker — seem dumber than your mark: no one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart — and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior… Read More

Do not commit to anyone: It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you. Professional versus personal vignette is the dichotomy I would argue.… Read More

Play the perfect courtier: The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no… Read More

Know who you’re dealing with — do not offend the wrong person: there are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They… Read More

Do not build fortresses to protect yourself — isolation is dangerous: the world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere — everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from — it cuts you off from the valuable information, it makes you conspicuous… Read More

Use absence to increase respect and honor: Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave.… Read More

Crush your enemy totally: All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation:… Read More