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.

Nihil Timendum Est

I was at the bookstore for about two hours a couple of days ago and I ran across this book called The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent. The book first caught my interest because it was in the management section and I saw 50 Cent's name on it. When I looked on the back cover I read "nihil timendum est" in gold foil letters...it means fear nothing. This caught my interest even more and I had to at least read the first couple of pages. Before I knew it, I had read the foreward and the introduction of the book. The book has to deal with the concept of fear and the role it plays in our lives.

The book begins by describing the initial role that fear played in our lives...that it was useful because it helped us stay alive and be more alert when we really needed it. However, over time an interesting thing happened, the actual fears that we faced decreased in intensity, but we became more fearful creatures. The media has done little to curb people's growing irrational fear. We are in a constant state of fear and anxiety...fear of being embarrassed, fear of losing our social status, fear of things that may never happen. This fear has become a hinderance to us. It keeps us from reaching our full potential. We stay in our comfort zones to avoid the anxiety and stress that comes with being put in fearful situations. The 50th law pretty much states that while we have little control over our environment, we do have control over our mind set in how we respond to the events that occur in our lives.

As I read this book, I can see the truth in it's words. I believe that fear is a major hinderance in our lives. Fear keeps us paralyzed...it keeps us from veering out into the unknown and learning just what we are made of. I think fear plays a major part of my life...fear that I won't succeed...fear that I'll disappoint...just fear of the unknown.

So my New Year's Resolution consists of applying ideas talked about in The 50th Law to my life and working on becoming fearless. And so the journey begins...