Robert Greene's laws, one at a time — each opening on the history that produced it, then turning on the reader's own life.
Parts19
StatusCOMPLETE
Series06 / 06
All 19 parts
Each part stands on its own
Parts 01–05
01Never Outshine the MasterImpressing the person above you and pleasing them are opposite moves, and Fouquet and Galileo's opposite fates show which one actually keeps you safe.02Never Trust a Friend With Your CrownBasil's rise shows how gifts a friend never has to earn eventually stop registering as gifts at all, while a deliberately kept enemy stays honest out of necessity.03Conceal Your IntentionsA lie can be caught and disproved, but concealing what you actually want leaves nothing on the record for anyone to catch.04Always Say Less Than NecessaryRyleyev talked himself back onto the gallows with one clever line, showing why fewer words carry more weight than a case fully explained.05So Much Depends on Reputation — Guard It With Your LifeZhuge Liang stopped an army with an open gate and a lute because his record, not the fort, was what his enemy was actually reading.
Parts 06–10
06Court Attention at All CostsBarnum's circus boss put it bluntly — you don't need a good name, you need a name — and a century of showmen since have proved him right.07Get Others to Do the Work — But Always Take the CreditTesla believed his work would speak for itself and died broke for it, while Edison took credit as a method and is remembered as a genius.08Make Them Come to YouDrawing on Togo Heihachiro's naval trap and Talleyrand's engineering of Napoleon's escape, this chapter argues that whoever is forced to move first has already lost control of the exchange.09Win Through Your Actions, Never Through ArgumentA Roman engineer proved his masts were correct and was flogged for the proof, while Michelangelo kept his commission by letting a patron believe he'd fixed a nose he never touched.10Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and the UnluckyLola Montez left a trail of ruined men behind her, and this chapter uses it to separate a person just drowning from an infector who needs the crisis to stay needed.
Parts 11–15
11Learn to Keep People Dependent on YouA mercenary who saved Siena was killed for it anyway, while Bismarck built his career by propping up a weak king on purpose, to argue that being needed is safety and being merely useful is not.12Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to DisarmThe Duke of Chiang executed his own minister to lull a rival's guard, and Victor Lustig returned Capone's money untouched, both proving one visible honest act buys cover for what stays hidden.13Never Ask for Mercy. Ask for Advantage.Stefano di Poggio asked a tyrant for mercy and reminded him of an old debt, and was executed for it, which this chapter uses to argue self-interest is the only lever that actually moves people.14Pose as a Friend, Work as a SpyInformation decides who has the advantage before any open conflict starts, and the people around you are gathering it from you right now, in plain small talk.15Do Not Build Fortresses — Isolation Is DangerousRetreating from fear feels like safety, but every retreat shrinks the room you live in until you are alone with the worst version of yourself.
Parts 16–19
16Do Not Commit to AnyoneStaying permanently half-available keeps you wanted, but the same trick that manufactures desire also manufactures distance, and it never compounds into closeness.17Seem Dumber Than Your MarkLetting someone feel smarter than you disarms their suspicion, but the reputation you bury on purpose does not always dig itself back up when you need it to.18Divide and ConquerA fictional dialogue on how fear, religion and media get turned into distraction — and why the people being divided rarely notice who is doing the dividing.19Know Who You're Dealing WithTreating every person's temperament as interchangeable is how an ordinary joke or a piece of honest criticism turns into a grudge you never saw coming.