Introduction to The 48 Laws of Power

When Robert Greene first developed some of the ideas that eventually became the book The 48 Laws of Power, he was working, comfortably but rather unhappily, as a writer in Hollywood. This put him in a position to be able to observe the rich and powerful. He saw that many of these people shared traits strikingly similar to those of powerful historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, and decided it may be useful to collect these ideas in a single book. In 1995, he pitched his idea to book packager Joost Elffers.

That book became The 48 Laws of Power, and was first published in 1998. The purpose of the book was to serve as a practical guide for those who want to either become powerful themselves or arm themselves against the powerful. According to Greene, the 48 laws contained in the book are distilled from 3,000 years of history and from careful observations of figures like Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, Haile Selassie I, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, Carl von Clausewitz, and P.T. Barnum.

Since then, The 48 Laws of Power was become a sensation, touted as a game changer by everyone from Warren Buffet to Jay-Z. In fact, in Jay-Z’s 2011 “PrimeTime,” he actually raps about the book.

The 48 Laws of Power has sold over 1.2 million copies in the U.S. alone and has been translated into 24 languages. Fast Company declared the book a “mega cult classic”, and The Los Angeles Times wrote that the book turned Greene into a “cult here.”

That’s not to say that The 48 Laws of Power hasn’t drawn plenty of criticism. Some people lambast the book as immoral and Machiavellian. It has been labeled as a guide book for backstabbers. Greene has responded to these criticisms by saying, “These laws … people might say, ‘Oh they’re wicked’, but they’re practiced day in and day out by businesspeople. You’re always trying to get rid of your competition and it can be pretty bloodthirsty, and that’s just the reality.”

Law 1: Do Not Outshine the Master

You should strike to always make those who are above you feel comfortable in their superiority. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try to impress them or please them, but if you go too far, you might actually do just the opposite. You might make them feel afraid or insecure.

Instead, make your “masters” seem more bright than you are and you will reach the heights of your own power one day.

Law 2: Be Wary of Friends and Learn to Use Your Enemies

Always be wary of your friends. They are more likely than others to become envious of you, so they will be apt to betray you more quickly. They can also become spoiled and harsh very quickly.

You have more reason to be afraid of your friends than of your enemies. If you want someone on your side who is loyal, turn to a former enemy. This former enemy will have something to prove. If you don’t have an enemy, figure out how you can make them.

Law 3: Hide Your Intentions

When you act, don’t ever reveal to others the reasons behind your actions. This keeps people off balance. It’s better for you if others are in the dark. If they don’t know the purposes for your actions, they can’t prepare a defense.

You can even trying guiding others down the wrong path. Give them the wrong impression, surround them with smoke and haziness, so that by the time they realize your true intentions, it will be too late.

Law 4: Say Less Than Is Necessary

Don’t try to impress people with your words. Even if you are a wordsmith, in general, the more you say, the simpler you appear. You also start to sound desperate and out of control. People who say less come across are more powerful and intimidating. The more words that come out of your mouth, the more likely you are to say something thoughtless.

Of course, there are times when it is not wise to be completely silent. Silence can around suspicious. In these situations, say something vague and open to interpretation. Others cannot deceive you or overcome you if they are not sure about your position.

Law 5: Guard Your Reputation with Your Life

Reputation forms the foundation of power. If you have the right kind of reputation, you can use it to intimidate others and be victorious. However, once you develop a weak reputation, you become vulnerable, and others will feel emboldened to attack you from all sides.

Be aware of and in control of how others perceive you. Be strategic about how you appear to others. Control your exterior to portray your image, emotions, and thoughts to your advantage. Make your reputation immune from attack. Stay vigilant for potential attacks on your reputation and end them before they happen.

And, in the meantime, learn how to make your enemies vulnerable by attacking their own reputations. Then simply step back and let public opinion do them in.

Law 6: Court Attention at all Cost

The world craves people who are larger-than-life, who rise above the mediocrity. With this in mind, don’t be afraid to develop qualities and traits that set you apart from others and draw attention. Don’t be afraid to court controversy, as long as it doesn’t harm your reputation. It’s almost always better to be attacked than to be ignored.

We are all judged by appearances. Anything that isn’t seen simply doesn’t matter. If you become lost in the crowd, then, you don’t matter. Stand out from others and be conspicuous. Draw attention to you like you’re a magnet. Do what you have to to make yourself seem larger than life. Shine more brightly than those around you.

Law 7: Have Others Do The Work, but Always Take the Credit

The world is like a jungle—we’re all just animals fighting for power and resources. There are some who live by hunting and killing. There are others who live off the hunting of others.

Don’t be afraid to use the work, knowledge, and wisdom of other people to get ahead. This will save you a lot of time and energy, it will give you the appearance of skills and abilities you may not have, and it will make you appear more efficient. Let your helpers be forgotten and yourself be remembered. Time is a scarce resource. Conserve your energy and time. Don’t ever do anything for yourself that others can do for you, then find a way to make that work your own.

Law 8: Make Others Come to You

People who are aggressive are usually not in control. They have blinders on that only allow them to see a couple steps ahead, and are not able to anticipate the eventual outcomes triggered by their aggressive conduct. What’s more, their aggression earns them plenty of equally aggressive, or worse, more cunning enemies. When this happens, all of their aggressive energy is used against them.

There’s no point in trying to win if you never feel in control, if you’re always simply reacting rather than directing. Aggressive action and effective action are two very different things. Better to hold back, weigh your options, and lay traps for others. Stay calm at all costs. Force others to act and to come to you, abandoning their own plans in the process. Once you do this, you are in control.

Law 9: Win Actions, Not Through Argument

Words can be slippery, and we all know that. Since argument is made up of words, and words can be illusive, argument does not usually have a very strong foundation. And, even if argument does persuade us to change our views and agree with the arguer, it usually just takes a short time for us to go back to our old way of thinking.

Also, even when we win an argument, that victory is superficial. The resentment we’ve likely stirred up in our opponent will be much stronger and longer-lasting than any change in their opinion.

Better to get people to change their views through your actions. Show them, don’t tell them.

Law 10: Don’t Be Infected by the Unhappy and Unlucky

Emotional states are just as infectious as a contagious disease. Avoid miserable people—their misery can contaminate and kill you. You may think you are helping them by trying to make them feel better, but you are really just allowing them to drag you down. Spend time around happy, fortunate people instead.

How do you recognize an infector? They are people who live turbulent lives, who have lots of broken relationships, who seem to attract misfortune, and who are chronically unhappy or dissatisfied. You should flee these people as soon as you encounter them. Don’t befriend them. Don’t try to help them. Don’t argue with them. Don’t pass them on for help to your friends or acquaintances. Simply avoid at all costs.

Law 11: Keep People Dependent on You

In a world with scarce resources, necessity is king. If you want to be independent, you must set it up so that others will always need you or want you. Freedom comes from being relied and depended on. As long as others need you, you don’t have anything to be afraid of. But if you are not needed, you will be abandoned at the first opportunity.

How can you make others need you? Get yourself deeply involved in the work of your superiors, and develop talents and skills that are unique and irreplaceable (or, at least, the appearance of these talents and skills). Have in your back pocket ideas for other places or people who will need you.

Law 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Neutralize Your Enemies

Don’t be afraid to make open-hearted gestures of generosity and honesty towards your enemies. These types of gestures can often wipe away the memories of less generous actions and can cause even the most suspicious of your enemies to let their guard down. Once their guard is down, once they are vulnerable, you will be in a better position to influence and overcome them.

Law 13: Appeal to Other’s Self-Interest, Not Their Mercy or Gratitude

We all need help from others at times. When that time comes from you and you must ask another person for help, don’t seek help by reminding the other person of the ways you have helped him or her in the past, and don’t try to make the other person feel sorry for you. These tactics will simply cause the other person to feel manipulated and to resist helping you.

Instead, find something in what you want from him or her (or in your connection to each other) that benefits him or her. Emphasize that benefit. The only way to get others to do things for you is to show how, in doing so, they can gain something for themselves.

Law 14: Act Like a Friend, Work Like a Spy

The more knowledge you have about your rivals, the better position you will be in. Use spies, and act as a spy yourself, to gather as much information as possible. This will keep you a step ahead and a head above. Learn how to ask the right questions, even in social situations. Find out your rivals’ objectives and vulnerabilities.

Do this constantly, not just when you have your own specific objectives in mind. You never know when the information will come in handy.

Law 15: Completely Crush Your Enemy

If there’s an enemy you have reason to fear, you must crush him totally. Don’t just weaken or disarm him. Crush him. If you leave one piece of him intact, he will eventually regain his strength and become an even stronger foe, seeking revenge. Don’t stop halfway. Annihilate totally, both in body and in spirit.

Law 16: Absence Increases Respect and Honor

At the beginning of a relationship, whether a friendship, romantic relationship, or business relationship, you should make sure you are in the presence of the other as much as possible. Don’t be absent at the beginning, or you’ll be forgotten. But once there is a solid relationship formed, absence, rather than constant presence, makes you seem more valuable and interesting.

You may have observed, in the context of a long-term romantic relationship, that the more one partner pursues the other partner, the less interest the pursued shows in the pursuer. The pursuer becomes too accessible. There is no room for imagination and mystery, and the pursued starts to feel suffocated.

Too much of any resources causes that resource’s price to go down. The more you are available to others, the less valuable you appear. Once you have established yourself, it’s good to occasionally and temporarily withdraw.

One of the best ways to create value is through scarcity. Those things that are scarce all of a sudden seem more deserving of our interest and respect. Those things that are common seem barely worth paying attention to.

Law 17: Be Occasionally Unpredictable to Keep Others in Suspended Terror

We are all creatures of habit and we all have a need to find predictability and pattern in other’s behavior. When others see you as predictable, they feel a sense of control. Others will always be trying to figure out your motives and what you’ll do next. They will try to use what they perceive to be your unpredictability against you.

To combat this, every once in a while, strike at them when they are least expecting it. Be completely and deliberately unpredictable. This will keep them on the defensive and unsettled, which will make them afraid of you. They will work themselves into knots trying to explain your behavior.

Law 18: Never Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself

From a military perspective, building a fortress to isolate yourself is a mistake. In doing so, you become an easy target for your enemies and are forced to rely only on yourself.

Human beings are social creatures. We, and our survival, depend on social interaction and reliance on others. And, while the world can be dangerous and building a fortress may seem like the safest option, being isolated in a fortress actually exposes us to more danger than it protects us from. It cuts us off from critical resources and information and makes us a conspicuous, stationary, contained target. Instead of isolating yourself in a fortress, circulate among others. Find allies. Become part of more and more groups. Let the crowd shield you from your enemies.

Law 19: Understand Who You’re Dealing With, and Don’t Offend the Wrong Person

The world is full of complex people. No matter how savvy you are, you can never safely assume that you know how others will react to you and your actions. If you offend the wrong person, you may make yourself a lifelong target for that person.

It’s important, then, to choose your rivals and enemies carefully. Never target the wrong person. If you must behave in a way another person will find objectionable, be polite and respectful. Do not insult them, even if they seem ridiculous, because you never know when that type of behavior will come back to haunt you.

Law 20: Do Not Commit to Others

Never let others drag you into their trivial disagreements. Be interested and supportive of your allies, but never rush to take sides. Don’t commit to any one side or cause. Stay independent, and don’t be afraid to play others against each other. Find a way to be neutral and let others fight it out. Stand back and wait. When the fighters have worn themselves out, they will be easy to influence and overcome.

When you take sides, others feel like they possess you or are in control of you. You lose the perception of power. But if you stay neutral, others will work hard to win you over. Give them the hope of your commitment, but never the satisfaction.

Law 21: Play Dumber Than Your Mark

Intelligence plays a huge role in others’ views of themselves. Everyone likes to feel smarter than the next person. That’s why it’s important to never overtly or inadvertently insult the intelligence of another person, particularly someone you want to use. You must make that person feel smart. In fact, you must make them feel smarter than you. Don’t be afraid to come across as unintelligent. This will disarm them, and they will never be suspicious of you. They will keep you around, because you make them feel good about themselves. And the more you’re around them, the more you will be able to subtly influence them.

Law 22: Use Surrender to Turn Weakness Into Power

Sometimes, you will find yourself in a temporarily weakened position. That’s OK, as long as you know how to handle the situation. When you are weak, don’t fight back simply out of principle. Instead, surrender. When you surrender, you give yourself time to plan, to recover, and to wait for your rival’s power to subside. If you fight back, you risk defeat. Be patient, bide your time, and wait until you have a good opportunity to regain the power.

Law 23: Concentrate Your Forces

Finding a rich mine and digging it deeper and deeper is a more profitable strategy than moving from one shallow mine to another. In the same way, you should concentrate your time and energy at their strongest point. Be intense, don’t spread yourself thin. Look for key resources and allies that will help you and give you power for a long time to come.

Law 24: Play the Perfect Courtier

The world is a place where everything is dictated by power and political deftness. This is the type of world in which a perfect courtier thrives. What does it mean to be the perfect courtier? This is someone who uses flattery strategically, who knows how to behave around superiors and, when he does assert power over others, does so obliquely and gracefully.

Law 25: Re-Create Yourself

Society will try to impose various roles on you. Don’t accept those roles. Determine your own identity by creating a new one. Make it one that doesn’t bore those around you and that demands attention. Be in control of how others see you—don’t let others define your image. Make sure your public words and actions are always in line with your chosen identity.

Watch out for unvarnished sincerity. Wearing your heart on your sleeve may seem like the easy thing to do, but the people who do this regularly come across as annoying and embarrassing. They may get sympathy in the moment, but in the long run, they will be seen as weak and self-obsessed.

Law 26: Keep Your Hands Clean

Your good name and reputation are critical to your success, and they depend more on what you hide than what you show others. Never allow your image to be soiled by bad deeds or mistakes. You must appear to be powerful, civil, and efficient at all times. You must maintain a spotless appearance. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, so the way you can “keep your hands clean” is to conceal those mistakes. Find a scapegoat—whether a person, event, or object—on which to place the blame.

In the same vein, don’t get your hands dirty with dirty deeds. In the Cat’s Pay fable, the monkey grabs the paw of his friend, the Cat, and uses that paw to pull chestnuts from the fire. In doing so, he is able to enjoy the chestnuts without risking injury to himself. If you have an unpleasant or unsavory task you must do, don’t do it yourself. Find someone to do the dangerous or dirty work for you. Let others be the apparent bad actor or bearer of bad news.

Law 27: Take Advantage of People’s Need to Believe

A prerequisite for being powerful is having a group of people who are willing to do what you want—a following, if you will. You may think it’s a huge job to create this kind of following, but it can actually be very simple.

You see, people have an instinctive and overwhelming need to believe in something (anything!). You can make yourself, or your case, the focal point of that need. Give them something to believe in, and a reason to believe in it. Keep your words and promises ambiguous. Emphasize enthusiasm over prudence and clear thinking. Give your followers rituals to adhere to, request sacrifices on your behalf. You’ll find that they’re all to happy to do this, and you will have built yourself an army of people who are at your beck and call.

Law 28: Act with Boldness, Not Timidity

Most people are timid. Most people instinctively seek to avoid conflict and tension. Most people want to be liked by as many others as possible. And, while we all fantasize about taking bold action from time to time, few of us actually do it. We are too nervous about the consequences, or about what other people will think about us. We don’t want to stir anything up or make ourselves a target.

This is timidity, even if we tell ourselves it is only practicality or concern for others. Timidity is not altruistic; it is selfish. It is a way of living that is overly caught up in thoughts about ourselves and what people think of us.

Boldness is other-oriented. Great things are accomplished by the bold, not by the timid. When you feel strongly about something, you should act boldly. That’s not to say that you should dive headfirst into an action you have not thought out or are unsure of. This will only affect your execution. Instead, act boldly towards something you feel strongly about.

Law 29: Plan Until You Reach the End

Most people think they are planning for the future and thinking ahead. But most people are wrong. What they are actually doing is forming vague plans based on what they would like the future to look like, but giving in to their desires in the meantime. They are ruled by their hearts not their heads. They abandon even those vague plans they’ve formed as soon as they encounter obstacles. They are caught in the moment, reacting emotionally without thinking ahead.

Don’t do this. Form a plan from the beginning and keep making concrete plans right to the end. And stick with those plans. Make your plans specific. Consider all possible outcomes, obstacles, and consequences. This way, you are unlikely to become caught off guard and you will know how to proceed forward.

Law 30: Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless

Work hard, research, practice, plan ahead, but make your accomplishments seem as if they were executed with ease. Don’t let others know all of the sweat and cleverness behind those accomplishments. Pretend as if you were barely trying. If you let others know your tactics and tricks, you will look weaker, and those tactics will just be used against you.

Law 31: Make Others Play with the Cards You Deal

The best way to influence others is to make them feel as if they are in control. When dealing with others, present to them different options that all result in the outcome you seek. Force them to choose between the lesser of two evils, both of which benefit you. This causes them to feel as if they have a choice, when they are actually your puppets.

Law 32: Play to Others’ Fantasies

We all tend to want to avoid the truth when that truth is unpleasant or harsh. When dealing with others, don’t ever force them to confront an ugly truth unless you are ready to deal with the anger that comes along with it. People don’t want to acknowledge that their problems often come from their own actions and stupidity. They would much rather blame their problems on someone else.

Therefore, always recognize that most people choose to ignore harsh reality in favor of a more pleasant fantasy. We all do this, not just the delusional. If you can tap into those fantasies, you can derive great power from them. If you can become a source of pleasure or relief for people around you, you will gain power over them. Promise them the moon. Encourage them to see themselves in a fantasy light.

Law 33: Discover Others’ Weaknesses

One of the key things to understand about other people is that everyone has a weakness, a hole in their psychological wall that you can exploit if you can find it. That weakness is often a deep insecurity, a secret pleasure, or an overwhelming emotion or desire. Once you figure out what it is, you can use it to your advantage.

This is, of course, sometimes more easily said than done. While some people wear their weaknesses on their sleeve, others go out of their way to hide them. So how do discover these weaknesses?

Watch people closely and listen to them carefully. Always seem interested and sympathetic, so that they let their guard down and talk openly with you. Share a secret with them (either a real one or a made up one) and they will likely be inclined to do the same. Watch carefully their body language and facial expressions in different situations. Find out who they idolize and look up to, and who they despise.

Law 34: If You Want to Be Treated Like a King, Act Like One

Sometimes powerful people are tempted to adopt an aura of the common man, in an attempt to send a message to their subjects or subordinates that they are relateable or share common backgrounds. This is a mistake. Others see through it, and think less of that person. The leader, then, will gradually lose the loyalty and respect of the subjects and will instead receive contempt.

So don’t carry yourself like a common person, carry yourself like a king. Kings hold themselves in very high regard and expect (and receive) the same treatment from others. If you behave regally and confidently, you will make yourself seem worthy of a crown.

Law 35: Master the Art of Timing

Time is not real, it is artificial. It is a concept we have created to make the universe seem more concrete and more defined. Because time is a human construct, it is also moldable and subject to manipulation. To be powerful, you should master time. Don’t ever appear to be in a hurry—this makes you seem out of control of yourself and of time. Demonstrate unending patience, as if you are certain that everything you want will eventually come to you.

Understand the importance of timing when it comes to taking action and making plans. Learn to stand back and wait when the timing for action is not ripe, and strike immediately when the timing is right.

Law 36: Ignoring What You Cannot Have Is the Best Revenge

It’s a fact of life that we can’t always have what we want. Frequently, it’s those very things that we want the most that seem to elude our grasp. The more we want it, the more we chase. Ultimately, we end up becoming slaves to our desires. We become pathetic. We become caught up and anxious over a problem or a desire and lose sight of everything we have to offer.

We should not allow this to happen. Instead, we need to turn our back on those things we want but cannot have. We must show that we have nothing but contempt and disdain for those things. This will deny the very credibility and existence of the problem, and it will make our enemies see us as all the more powerful. When the things we cannot have or the things that bother us appear trivial to us, we seem superior over those things.

Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles

The best way to influence someone is to appeal to their emotions. For some people, words, logic, and science are not the way to do this. Instead, grand symbolic gestures and vivid imagery are what cause them to have strong emotional responses. Once you’ve elicited this emotional response, you can get them to do pretty much whatever you want them to, or at least distract them from the fact that you are attempting to manipulate them.

Law 38: Think Whatever You Want, But Behave Like Others

You may have an unconventional, unorthodox way of thinking about certain things. That’s alright, as long as you don’t let it show.

If you make a point of going against the mainstream way of looking at things, people will label you an attention-seeker. They will assume that you consider yourself superior and look down on them. They will see you as being contemptuous of their culture and ways. They will go out of their way to punish you for trying to be different.

Don’t let on that you admire a culture different than your own. Instead, blend in and highlight those things you share in common with people around you. If you want to share your controversial views, only do so with people who have similar views and who will be discreet.

Law 39: To Catch More Fish, Stir Up the Waters

When the waters are still and calm for your enemies, they have the time and clearheadedness to plan and plot. But when you stir up the waters—when you do things to arouse anger and emotion in your enemies—you force the fish to the surface, where you can catch them more easily. This takes your enemies out of their comfort zone, making them angry and irrational while you remain calm and measured.

To stir up the waters, play on your enemies’ strongest emotions: pride, hate, love, vanity. The angrier you make them, the more they will lose control. When they are out of control, they are easy to defeat.

Law 40: Despise the Free Lunch

Never trust anything that is offered for free. There are almost always hidden motives involved or strings attached. If something is worth having, it is worth paying for. And when you pay your own way, you free yourself from having to feel guilt or gratitude toward others.

Law 41: Avoid Stepping Into a Great Man’s Shoes

That which occurs first always looks more impressive and more original than anything that follows. If you succeed a great person, whether a superior, a parent, a sibling, or a colleague, don’t just step into their shoes. Take what they have achieved and double it. Outshine them in as many ways as possible. Never allow yourself to become lost in their shadow or stuck in the rut created by their path. Make your own name for yourself. Change course where appropriate. Shine in your own way.

Law 42: Take Down the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter

Unfavorable situations can often be blamed on a single, disruptive individual. There’s often one person who is stirring the pot and poisoning people against you. If you let that person continue to operate, they will continue to gather more followers. You must neutralize them as fast as possible. Don’t wait for them to cause more problems, and don’t try to reason or negotiate with them. Instead, isolate them from their followers, discredit them, make them look foolish. If you strike at the root of the problem, the problem itself will eventually go away.

Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Never try to coerce people to do what you want. This may be an effective short term solution in some situations, but it almost always has negative long term effects. People will resent being coerced by you, and will rebel or plot against you.

Instead of forcing people to your will, seduce them. Make them want to do what you want them to do. People who are seduced are people who are loyal and willing.

How do you seduce others? Figure out their weaknesses and desires and use those to your advantage. Soften any resistance by using their emotions. Play on those things that are important to them and those things they fear. Above all, stay aware of the states of their hearts and minds.

Law 44: Use the Mirror Effect to Disarm

To disarm your enemies, mirror them. Do exactly what they do, so that they cannot figure out what you are up to. This will cause them to feel mocked, humiliated, and angry, and they will overreact and lose control. Or it will seduce them into thinking that you share their values and thoughts, and this will make them easier to manipulate.

Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, But Make Change Gradual

Even though we all understand that change, in theory, can be good, human beings are creatures of habit. Too much change—even positive change—at once can be distressing and lead to rebellion.

When building a power base or newly in a position of power, don’t try to institute widespread, drastic changes at once. Instead, make small changes and do so gradually, showing a healthy respect for the old way of doing things in the meantime. Make the changes as gentle and unnoticeable as possible.

Law 46: Do Not Appear to Be Too Perfect

Making yourself seem better than others can be dangerous, but it’s even more dangerous to make yourself seem as if you have no weaknesses or faults. When you make yourself the envy of others, you make yourself a target for them.

In order to avoid appearing too perfect, make a point of occasionally showing defects. Admit to harmless faults. This will help you to repel envy and seem more relateable and approachable.

Law 47: In Victory, Learn When to Stop

When you are victorious, don’t let your guard down and don’t over-celebrate. The moment you win can be a moment when you are very vulnerable. Victory can cause you to be arrogant and brash and make you go to too far, which will only earn you more enemies.

Whatever you do, don’t let winning go to your head. Never stop planning and strategizing and analyzing. Once you reach your desired end point, know when to stop.

Law 48: Be Formless

When you take a define shape and have a visible plan, you make yourself vulnerable to attack. Instead of adopting a set form, stay flexible and adaptable. Stay on the move. Remember that there is no certainty in life, and nothing is fixed. The best way to stay safe is to stay fluid and formless, like water.