One of the best books I'm currently reading

[darksprezzatura]

Everyone's heard of The 48 laws of power by Robert Greene.

Years ago I speed read the bullet points or "laws" as a summary.

Now that I'm finally reading it, my appreciation for it has sky rocketed.

I rank this book in the leagues of the Book of Pook.

And don't suggest it to your friends.

 

[Kotaix]

I've got Mastery by him. I need to get 48 next.

 

[christie]

Ok. I will read it soon. I've been buying faster than I've been reading but I loved the 50th Law written with 50cent so I'm sure I'll love 48 laws and Mastery. I thought I saw one of his book titles about war on the shelf at the bookstore too. *I can't drive by the bookstore anymore until I get caught up*

 

[Mike41090]

I finished it a few weeks ago. The stories the author uses makes it very easy and intriguing to read and most importantly, helps glue the law to your memory, Atleast for me since I’m somewhat of a history buff. Just finished Elon Musk’s autobiography which I recommend as well. Now starting a book on the stock market to expand my knowledge on the money I put in.

 

[ubercat]

Great book. Can be a bit dangerous in terms of creating a win lose mindset. Depends who you want to be.

there is no doubt that hard ass power players get to the top this is been proven by plenty of research.

If that's who you want to be go for it.

I am in the only play a player bucket.

which to be honest is a bit of a pain in the ass because you have to be a bit more nuanced and it's more work. But if anyone's going to save the planet it sure as hell ain't going to be sociopaths. And I have a slim hope that humanity can evolve a little bit. Anyway I digress.

So it's teddy Roosevelt s approach of walk softly but carry a big stick. You use psychological techniques to encourage collaboration and increase the negative costs of being an arsehole.

so if you have chosen the road less traveled I would suggest reading books like connect first and the new psychology of leadership. They will help you to build collaborative frames. And balance out greens power politics stuff.

 

[ubercat]

Let's take a quick example. You get into work a little bit late and your toxic workmate saysvsomething like " ....late again. Or good of you to make it"

now what you don't want to do is start justifying yourself. That makes good old asshat Jimmy the boss of you.

Now you could say Jim being your usual friendly self I see loud enough for a few people to hear and then go talk to somebody else.

Or you could say nice one judge Judy with her famous hand chopping gesture and then glance off to other people and say look at this guy. So you're pointing out he's a judgmental prick.

now if Jimmy really is a huge ass hat No retreat No surrender type you might do that.

The problem is it gives him no room to back down and it's escalating.

So you could say yeah Jimmy like you I wish we lived in a world where there are no car accidents but I'm pretty sure the guy in front of who crashed was having a much worse day than me. Bit crazy. So what was the craziest thing that ever happened to you on the way to work?

Now Jimmy may continue with his ass hattery and just grunt at you.

But to the people listening you've moved the focus away from you being late to this is life and **** happens. And if Jimmy doesn't get that maybe he really is a big ass hole. And fits in with greens law of keeping your enemies closer

 

[ubercat]

So LA what do you think of my second post there. Potential path?

 

[darksprezzatura]

Did you like reading Mastery?

I've got Mastery by him. I need to get 48 next.

 

[darksprezzatura]

Let's take a quick example. You get into work a little bit late and your toxic workmate saysvsomething like " ....late again. Or good of you to make it"

now what you don't want to do is start justifying yourself. That makes good old asshat Jimmy the boss of you.

Now you could say Jim being your usual friendly self I see loud enough for a few people to hear and then go talk to somebody else.

Or you could say nice one judge Judy with her famous hand chopping gesture and then glance off to other people and say look at this guy. So you're pointing out he's a judgmental prick.

now if Jimmy really is a huge ass hat No retreat No surrender type you might do that.

The problem is it gives him no room to back down and it's escalating.

So you could say yeah Jimmy like you I wish we lived in a world where there are no car accidents but I'm pretty sure the guy in front of who crashed was having a much worse day than me. Bit crazy. So what was the craziest thing that ever happened to you on the way to work?

Now Jimmy may continue with his ass hattery and just grunt at you.

But to the people listening you've moved the focus away from you being late to this is life and **** happens. And if Jimmy doesn't get that maybe he really is a big ass hole. And fits in with greens law of keeping your enemies closer

I'd give a slight smirk and carry on.

 

[ubercat]

Yep ignore and override is always a good default option. However if you let them land too many jabs it starts to add up. I d say what I set out is for repeat offenders (enemies or worse frenemies). And I d say just like with the ladies the delivery matters more than the words

 

[sosumba]

When I finished the book it felt like just a compilation of stuff the author had read from browsing wikipedia with a bit of commentary in between. Some things were interesting in a historic context but apart from that, I think that this book is overhyped. After finishing it I was left feeling like I just read some well putt together words from a daiting guru that had read two books about daiting, without having any real experience himself.

 

[TheProspect]

The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene is a great read too. He basically lays out the seduction process with 24 steps/principles.


Here are a few that I like,

#4: Appear to Be an Object of Desire––Create Triangles
Few are drawn to the person whom others avoid or neglect; people gather around those who have already attracted interest. To draw your victims closer and make them hungry to possess you, you must create an aura of desirability––of being wanted and courted by many. It will become a point of vanity for them to be the preferred object of your attention, to win you away from a crowd of admirers. Build a reputation that precedes you: If many have succumbed to your charms, there must be a reason.

#12: Poeticize Your Presence
Important things happen when your targets are alone: The slightest feeling of relief that you are not there, and it is all over. Familiarity and overexposure will cause this reaction. Remain elusive, then. Intrigue your targets by alternating an exciting presence with a cool distance, exuberant moments followed by calculated absences. Associate yourself with poetic images and objects, so that when they think of you, they begin to see you through an idealized halo. The more you figure in their minds, the more they will envelop you in seductive fantasies.

#23: Master the Art of the Bold Move
A moment has arrived: Your victim clearly desires you, but is not ready to admit it openly, let alone act on it. This is the time to throw aside chivalry, kindness, and coquetry and to overwhelm with a bold move. Don't give the victim time to consider the consequences. Showing hesitation or awkwardness means you are thinking of yourself, as opposed to being overwhelmed by the victim's charms. One person must go on the offensive, and it is you.

 

[ubercat]

Just to conclude. With my fictional Jimmy a showdown will come. We re designed to keep score. So ignoring is a great move but you don't want it to be your only move

 

[ubercat]

Greenes seduction laws should be pretty old news to anyone here.

Social proof
Push pull
Archetypes

I m a big fan of the 80/20 80% be busy and have a purpose. 20% be a bit different.