1. Never Outshine the Master: Avoid attracting too much attention or appearing more capable than those in positions of authority.
2. Conceal Your Intentions: Keep your plans under wraps, as revealing too much can make you vulnerable.
3. Control the Options: Be the one to set the choices available to others to control the outcome.
4. Get Others to Do the Work for You: Delegate effectively to maintain your own position of power.
5. Avoid Dependence: Do not rely too much on others; make yourself indispensable.
6. Court Attention at All Costs: Ensure you are noticed and talked about to increase your influence.
7. Get Others to Come to You: Make people come to you, creating a sense of importance and control.
8. Make Other People Come to You: Do not go to others unless it's necessary; make them come to you.
9. Win Through Actions, Never Through Argument: Demonstrate your abilities rather than engaging in fruitless arguments.
10. Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky: Stay away from negative influences that can drag you down.
11. Learn to Keep People Dependent on You: Cultivate relationships where others rely on you for support.
12. Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim: Be strategic in your honesty and generosity to manipulate situations in your favor.
13. Appeal to People's Self-Interest: Frame your desires in a way that aligns with others' self-interest.
14. Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy: Gather information by appearing friendly while keeping your true intentions hidden.
15. Crush Your Enemy Totally: Don't leave room for a comeback; eliminate opposition completely.
16. Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor: Create a sense of scarcity to increase your value.
17. Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an air of unpredictability to keep others on edge.
18. Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself: Isolation can lead to vulnerability; instead, adapt and be flexible.
19. Know Who You're Dealing With—Do Not Offend the Wrong Person: Be aware of others' power and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
20. Do Not Commit to Anyone: Keep your options open; avoid binding yourself to a single person or group.
21. Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker—Seem Dumber Than Your Mark: Lull others into underestimating you to gain the upper hand.
22. Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power: When in a weaker position, use strategic surrender to gain advantages.
23. Concentrate Your Forces: Focus your efforts and resources rather than spreading them thin.
24. Play the Perfect Courtier: Blend in, adapt to the environment, and navigate social dynamics.
25. Re-Create Yourself: Continuously reinvent yourself to stay relevant and adaptable.
26. Keep Your Hands Clean: Avoid direct involvement in dirty work; maintain a clean and respectable image.
27. Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following: Tap into people's desire for something to believe in to build a devoted following.
28. Enter Action with Boldness: Act decisively and with confidence to create a strong impression.
29. Plan All the Way to the End: Consider the long-term consequences of your actions and plan accordingly.
30. Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless: Present your achievements in a way that downplays the effort involved.
31. Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal: Influence the choices available to others to control the outcome.
32. Play to People's Fantasies: Appeal to what people desire and imagine to gain their favor.
33. Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew: Identify the key vulnerability or weakness in others to gain leverage.
34. Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act with grandeur and style to create a powerful image.
35. Master the Art of Timing: Choose the right moment to act for maximum impact.
36. Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Avoid wasting energy on unattainable goals; focus on what is within your reach.
37. Create Compelling Spectacles: Stage events and experiences that captivate and leave a lasting impression.
38. Think as You Like But Behave Like Others: Balance personal thoughts with conforming to social expectations.
39. Stir Up Waters to Catch Fish: Create chaos to exploit the opportunities that arise in the confusion.
40. Despise the Free Lunch: Be wary of anything offered for free, as it often comes with hidden costs.
41. Avoid Stepping Into a Great Man's Shoes: Do not try to imitate those in power; instead, find your own path.
42. Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter: Disrupt the leadership to weaken the entire group.
43. Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others: Influence people emotionally to gain their support and loyalty.
44. Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect: Reflect the behavior of others to disarm and manipulate them.
45. Preach the Need for Change, But Never Reform Too Much at Once: Advocate for change, but implement it gradually to avoid resistance.
46. Never Appear Too Perfect: Show vulnerability to make others comfortable and to avoid resentment.
47. Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For—In Victory, Know When to Stop: Avoid overextending and jeopardizing your position by knowing when to stop.
48. Assume Formlessness: Be adaptable and flexible, taking on different forms as the situation requires.
