Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
The 48 Laws of Power (New Version) summary
Robert Greene
The secret methods to getting what you want
Listen to the first key idea
Key idea 1 of 12
4.2 (685 ratings)
33 mins
12 key ideas
Audio & text
What is The 48 Laws of Power (New Version) about?
The 48 Laws of Power (1998) takes an irreverent look at the fundamental characteristics of power – how to understand it, defend against it, and use it to your advantage. This Blink offers compelling insights, backed by historical examples, into the dynamics of competition and control.
About the Author
Robert Greene is an American author, public speaker, and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. The 48 Laws of Power is the first of five international best sellers penned by Greene about strategy, power, and success.
Table of Contents
Key idea 1 of 12
Don’t outdo the master.
Have you ever tried to impress your boss, only to have your efforts backfire on you? Well, you may have accidentally violated the first law of the game of power, which is, in Greene’s words, to never outshine the master.
The first law of power dictates that we should appear humble to our superiors, the people who have more power than we do.
After all, powerful people want to be the center of attention; trying too hard to impress them can shift attention away from them and onto you, hurting their pride in the process.
But what’s even worse is acting superior to them, a move that could lead your boss to think of you as a threat to their position. If this happens, they may – they probably will – attempt to remove you from your position entirely.
Take the relationship between King Louis XIV of France and Nicolas Fouquet, the king’s finance minister. A smart and loyal advisor, Fouquet became indispensable, but this didn’t guarantee him the position of prime minister when the incumbent minister died. To gain the king’s favor, Fouquet threw a lavish party at his extravagantly furnished chateau to show the king how well-connected and influential he was.
The next day, Fouquet was arrested by order of the king. Louis XIV felt overshadowed, and he accused the minister of stealing to amass such extravagant wealth. The veracity of the accusation was beside the point. Fouquet lived out his remaining days in a prison cell.
So now you know: acts of extravagance and demonstrations of personal brilliance might not impress your boss. Quite the contrary. So how can you gain favor? Well, a better strategy is to always make the person in charge look better than everyone else, including yourself.
Take Galileo Galilei as an example. He desperately needed funding for his research and found an ingenious way to get it. He had spent years begging various patrons for funding, but would usually receive gifts instead of the necessary cash. So he decided to focus on one family – the Medicis – when, in 1610, he discovered the four moons of Jupiter.
Shortly before, Cosimo II de’ Medici had established Jupiter as the symbol for the Medici dynasty. When Galileo discovered Jupiter’s four moons, he linked his discovery to the enthronement of Cosimo II de’ Medici, proclaiming it a cosmic event that heralded the family’s ascendancy. He said that the four moons represented Cosimo II and his three brothers, while Jupiter itself was Cosimo I, the father of the four Medici brothers. This tickled his patron’s ego, who interpreted the discovery as a heavenly omen confirming the family’s greatness.
By making the Medici family appear glorious and aligning their name with the cosmos, Galileo secured himself a salaried position as the official philosopher and mathematician of Cosimo II. He never had to beg for funding again.
Want to see all full key ideas from The 48 Laws of Power (New Version)?
Key ideas in The 48 Laws of Power (New Version)
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Who should read The 48 Laws of Power (New Version)
- Entrepreneurs looking to gain the upper hand in their market
- Anybody who wants to acquire power – or protect themselves and others from it
- People interested in the history of power dynamics
Categories with The 48 Laws of Power (New Version)
Books like The 48 Laws of Power (New Version)
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers