48 Laws of Power: Preface

The book's preface talks about how some people view power (and those that via for it) as "evil, asocial, a relic of the past" (p. xviii). I don't think I consider power evil per se...but I do see something wrong with going after power. I guess that's because of society and how we've been raised. People, very rarely, try to go after power out right. But the truth is there are always going to be others with power...why not have it as well?

A friend of mine told me that in order to get to the top, I would have to step on some people. Being my optimistic self, I wondered why it couldn't be another way. But in the end, I know he's right. The reason being that others will step on me in order to get to the top. But what I've come to realize is that I don't have to necessarily have to crush people when I step on them (I guess this is my optimistic way of seeing it lol).

One of the best pieces of information I read from the preface is one of the most crucial things one must learn in order to gain power is to master one's emotions. Anger is especially a dangerous emotion. Anger clouds one's judgment because it tends to narrows one's view...makes them focus on the now as opposed to the long term.

I don't mean to make it sound like emotions are this horrible thing. Emotions can be great...I mean they are what make life worth living; things like love, joy, happiness, hope. At the same time, these same emotions can cloud one's judgment...especially love. Women being abused by the significant other are blind to the fact that they are in a harmful relationship because of love. People miss the schemes of others because of their love for them...they think that they would never do anything that wasn't in their best interest. The same emotions that make life so great can be one's downfall.

In the end, the section that talks about emotions is not to bash them or say that one should try to not feel...instead it talks about controlling them...making sure that others don't use them to rob you of your power.

The 48 Laws of Power

So I know it's been awhile since I've last written (chalk it up to life) but I'm going to try and write a little more frequently now. I recently picked up Robert Greene's The 48 Laws of Power. The book basically talks about power...how to get it...how to lose it...how to protect yourself against it.

I really enjoyed The 50th Law so I decided to check out Greene's book on power. This book is quite a bit longer than The 50th Law but I definitely think it'll be worth the read. I'm getting ready to enter the (sometimes) vicious world of law and I want to be as well equipped as possible.

So I am going to do my best to try and keep track of what I read...my thoughts...etc etc.

The 50th Law

This is a video from 50 Cent promoting his book The 50th Law. I think it's a great book...everyone should definitely check it out.

Yates vs. Lee...Unsportsmanlike Conduct?

So I was driving to work this morning and I was listening to the radio. I heard that Yates beat Lee in basketball 170-35, a Texas record. While that was cool, I didn't really think much of it until the question was raised about whether or not Yates had unsportsmanlike conduct for beating Lee by so many points. This got me thinking...was it really unsportsman conduct? You know what, no, it wasn't. Sportsmanship is shaking the opposing team's hand after the game, whether you win or lose. Sportsmanship is not acting like it's the end of the world because you lost one game. We all fail at some point in life. That's just how it is.


The coach at Yates even put in his third string players during the game. Those kids had every right to play as hard as they could. They want to move off the third string and become starterss and one of the best ways to do that is to show the coach your skills. You can't do that by slacking off. Are we really going to fault the kids for playing their best?


We have become a society where losing is unheard of...where everyone wins something...a participation ribbon...a certificate...something teaching that mediocracy is okay. We teach our kids that as long as you try you're a winner. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but life doesn't work that way and we are doing future generations a serious disservice by letting them think otherwise. Bun B said it best...in life there are people that win small and win big...there are also people that lose small and lose big. Lee just happened to be one of the ones that lost big. Let's not forget that it is just a game. This is not going to ruin their lives...there will be other games to play...over chances to "win" in life. If the players from Lee high school feel disrespected, hurt, or embarrased then they should take that all those negative emotions and channel them into getting better...into improving themselves. That's the real lesson that we should be teaching kids...sometimes life knocks you down, hard, the best thing you can do is learn from that and become better.