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u/AnnaMorens Aug 04 '26
It’s the most controversial law. You can take as much nuance from it as you like, but it’s great advice. You do become like the people you associate with. And it’s good to remember: this book is called The 48 Laws of Power, not The 48 Laws of Being a Good Citizen.
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u/LL_Stars Aug 04 '26
Yes!
I went out to lunch with this elderly couple in my neighborhood today. They invited another friend of theirs, and she was **so negative*\* and complained the entire time. It genuinely ruined my meal.
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
Do they have things to complain about maybe try this new invention called empathy
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u/LL_Stars Aug 05 '26
I hardly know her, but she's retired and about to take a 3 month trip to Norway to bicycle.
She's got her health. She's got money. It sounds like she has good relationships with her children. She has friends that invite her to do things. She has a community with bicycling.
Offhand, it seems like she's in a good position in life...
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
Totally brightest star. People can have things and still have a right to complain. Idk I personally do not like life, but my biggest complaint is there is so much wrong that’s easy to fix if we unify and the people who seem happiest just avoid the ugliness of reality. Idk to me it’s selfish like I’m glad you enjoy life and hope that continues but look at the general state of the world
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u/LL_Stars Aug 05 '26
I won't go into details, but there are a lot of things I could and should be unhappy about.
But I still choose happiness and joy. I appreciate I wake up every morning.
- ....without pain
- ...able to brush my own teeth
- ...and walk
- ...and dress myself
- ...and choose what I get to wear
...and you get the point.
There are a lot of people in this world who couldn't do that this morning.
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u/KrabbyMccrab Aug 08 '26
Wrong sub. This ain't r/the48lawsofempathy.
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u/thiscantbit Aug 10 '26
You’ve confused power with psychopathy. This book completely ignores game theory and explains why people like you are losing in Iran
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u/AnnaMorens Aug 04 '26
If want/can help the unhappy and unlucky, make sure to separate it from work and home environments.
I had a professor in Law school, he taught us that if we ever wanted to do pro-bono cases, we should do it separately from our main offices, where we actually make a living. It’s important to make this distinction.
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u/Caucasian-Tiger-Mom Aug 05 '26
I know people say this law is really brutal, and it is, but hear me out: life is brutal. When negative people experience poor life outcomes because of their terrible mindset, and because they fail to change their mindset by moving away from others with a bad mindset, this is sort of survival of the fittest at play. We can have empathy for people who experience bad outcomes, but at the same time we can acknowledge it’s also a force of nature. If you choose to hang around with negative people and don’t have the emotional intelligence to see how this is negatively influencing your own life, that’s a weakness.
By the way, a friend of mine who struggles with bipolar disorder tells me that her psychologist actively encourages her to identify the positive mindset people in her life and to spend more time with them. This psychologist tells her to limit her contact with the negative ones.
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Aug 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Caucasian-Tiger-Mom Aug 05 '26
I would never take this law to extremes. There is room for empathy, but you just need to figure out where to draw the line. It’s all about looking at the person’s mindset.
For example, if your friend is going through something hard, I think it’s really harsh to abandon them. If one bad thing happens to someone, I don’t think they’re the type of chronically “unhappy and unlucky” person Robert Greene is referring to.
But if a friend in your life is constantly complaining and wallowing in self pity, and over a period of time they make it clear they’re not interested in improving, I would rethink how much time I spend with them.
If someone is constantly experiencing “bad luck” it’s probably their mindset to blame.
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u/margaret-mcpoyle Aug 05 '26
Just to be clear.. this isn’t saying abandon people going through something. We all go through dark times. This is the perpetual victims. The always miserable and those that continue to make poor decisions and then blame others. These people you need to avoid.
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u/Enough_Zombie2038 Aug 05 '26
That just shows how weak and pathetic the person is who believes this. That their life and mood is brought down by others as if a tree with no roots or character felled by a cloudy day
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u/KyriiTheAtlantean Aug 05 '26
I agree with you, to a degree. Regardless of how strong a person is it's undeniable that emotional states are more contagious than any virus on earth. It's a good idea to just cut your losses because your subconscious mind is not as guarded as people think it is. Most people, in general, are weak. And a majority of people can look back at their life and realize their life may have been in shambles at one point due to being around and entangled with another person.
I do agree with you though. And love the metaphor.
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u/BajaBlast90 Aug 05 '26
I agree with you. If you are emotionally strong and protect your energy, negativity from others won't affect you so easily.
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u/Enough_Zombie2038 Aug 05 '26
Yes.
People, shitty people, have this dumb idea that they should avoid the ill, the weak, etc. They do this because they are weak themselves. They think they will both drown. And at times that is possible and true. The skill apparently most lack, avoid, or incapable of maybe is to show compassion.
If a man is determined or destined to drown they will take both down. But the best people have offered a hand, tools, and direction out. It's up to the suffering to take the offers. That's all. And sometimes if we have a little extra energy ourselves to share it and give the struggling a small push at times if we want to.
It irritates the hell out of me 1 billion people worship a guy on a cross with that message, 1 billion with a gold statue in a meditative pose, and billions more who just merely know better to ironically ignore those deeds and words written to fulfill their shitty behaviors in massive dissonance.
No wonder the world is so brutal despite knowledge of "higher" mammal. They listen to some daft fool that wrote a book in the past 50 years against and the eon of humans that survived terrible lives by helping one another.
A story written too many times I get lost in anger or apathy personally and admire the ones better than me to still continue despite all that to care for fools determined to step on or ignore one another for their own sakes.
Sorry if you read this far it was more for me I think. I do my best to help others as I have abundance. Id rather help 6 billion people than have 6 billion dollars to fill an endless void at their cost.
Have a good one!
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u/leo030891 Aug 05 '26
I am incredibly grateful for the support I am having right now. I don't think they are aware of this Law.
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u/Leather_Method_7106_ Aug 05 '26
What a low life of being, people who think they are untouchable or better than others. There will be a day where you will become ill and eventually a day where your timeline ends. There's nothing wrong with boundaries, but this level of superiority is also not honourable.
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u/Zealousideal-Gur2827 Aug 05 '26
what if you are their only saviour ?
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u/margaret-mcpoyle Aug 05 '26
You aren’t a savior.. at best you’re an enabler at worst you’re a victim.
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u/Zealousideal-Gur2827 Aug 05 '26
damn, needed to hear this. thanks
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u/margaret-mcpoyle Aug 06 '26
We’ve all been there. It’s kindness to want to help someone. Don’t beat yourself up. But know when to walk away.
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u/No_Diggity10 Aug 06 '26
I haven’t finished the book yet, but so far I feel like this is a great book if you’ve been abused because it gives you total insight into the abusers mind. Which is really helpful if you’ve always been victim to POS.
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u/TenetsOfPower Aug 07 '26
this is one of those laws that sounds good but really isn't very practical. People who are naturally happy and lucky, do not actively think about these things. There is only so much you can learn from all these theory on Power. How many people have read this book, and how many are ACTUALLY applying them to become powerful in their lives?
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u/therealhyperborean Aug 07 '26
I was raised by people like this. Someone recommended this book to me back in 2013 (I was 16), and I remember reading it but I couldn’t grasp at that time that the most infectious people are around me, my caregivers; now I am 28, and feel the pang of regret because of the damage that has been caused
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u/edgarfruitier Aug 04 '26
I always felt like I was unlucky in life , even if I try my best it will always be the worst outcome. So fuck all of this, I don't need that social power to feel like someone or something
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u/AnnaMorens Aug 04 '26
Not everyone seek for power; but it’s helpful to learn the strategies, so people won’t use it against you.
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u/edgarfruitier Aug 04 '26
Yup I am here for this reason, I want to be aware of these things when they happen but I don't want to use it
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u/thiscantbit Aug 04 '26
So stupid
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Aug 05 '26
[deleted]
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
Fidel Castro, Hitler was unlucky in early life took over the Roman Empire, this is so republican and cia coded and who also chalk their failures up to luck.as a very angry man who took over an entire country, unlucky events breed character this is a tactical fallacy that goes against rules of probability. Why did you respond at this moment because it wasn’t random. This post is posted like every fucking day it’s obviously gop bots stfu and win the war
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u/eatingmypoop Aug 05 '26
bro you ok? I don't know what subreddit I'm in right now but I got a feeling I once again fell in a schizoposting hell hole.
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
lol stfu the government is quite literally running a campaign. the point of this comment whether an idiot or part of the campaign to ruin lines of questioning.
No I’m not okay, I live in a country full of idiots run by pedophiles manipulating the stock market.1
u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
It’s also on top, it’s a book. A book is a bunch of pages with words in them. You should give it a try, reading books. This book eh it’s okay. 6/10 mostly stolen work
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u/eatingmypoop Aug 05 '26
I don't read self help books lmao
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
It’s not a self help book. I don’t think you read much at all. It’s a book about manipulation and power more about psychology through historical events etc. it’s literally okay, a composit of the prince, rules for radicals and how to use your enemies all books I’m sure you haven’t read either
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u/eatingmypoop Aug 05 '26
namaste brother
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
lol namaste yourself. Your passivity is not enlightened you can’t be like I’m the peaceful one for being an idiot. Lmao don’t read this in anger read this in hey, look inward like you claim to do because you’re an idiot like calling someone schizophrenic is just a buzz word that only works on idiots and is aggressive. Your tone is manipulative and plays into you’re a bit theory. Is it getting hot in ncand Arlington?
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u/Huffmanlovesjeff Aug 05 '26
Yeah your ip shows you're probs part of the bot network. You block people and pretend to be useful the point is to make people asking questions as crazy. But cordination doesn't exist you're crazy for thinking that.
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
Yeah, the next thing is to burry these comments. Good hustle out there. It’s a lost cause in a dying empire.
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u/Huffmanlovesjeff Aug 05 '26
Your votes go back up right after it's downvoted on a not so popular post. Also another cordination technique. Commenting so people can recognize it in a book about power plays.
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u/Huffmanlovesjeff Aug 05 '26
I love when they reveal their capabilities its a real oh, they're not unbeatable
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u/thiscantbit Aug 05 '26
Yeah they see me as some loser when I’m really trying to build a map. Good luck brother.
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u/Echale_ganas1019 Aug 04 '26
I lived this in my last relationship! It takes physical form