Never outshine the master --
Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies --
Conceal your intentions --
Always say less than necessary --
So much depends on reputation : guard it with your life --
Court attention at all cost --
Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit --
Make other people come to you : use bait if necessary --
Win through your actions, never through argument --
Infection : avoid the unhappy and the unlucky --
Learn to keep people dependent on you --
Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim --
When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude --
Pose as a friend, work as a spy --
Crush your enemy totally --
Use absence to increase respect and honor --
Keep others in suspended terror : cultivate an air of unpredictability --
Do not build fortresses to protect yourself--
isolation is dangerous --
Know who you're dealing with--
do not offend the wrong person --
Do not commit to anyone --
Play a sucker to catch a sucker : seem dumber than your mark --
Use the surrender tactic : transform weakness into power --
Concentrate your forces --
Play the perfect courtier --
Play on people's need to believe to create a cultlike following --
Enter action with boldness --
Plan all the way to the end --
Make your accomplishments seem effortless --
Control the options : get others to play with the cards you deal --
Play to people's fantasies --
Discover each man's thumbscrew --
Be royal in your own fashion : act like a king to be treated like one --
Master the art of timing --
Disdain things you cannot have : ignoring them is the best revenge --
Create compelling spectacles --
Think as you like but behave like others --
Stir up waters to catch fish --
Despise the free lunch --
Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes --
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter --
Work on the hearts and minds of others --
Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect --
Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once --
Never appear too perfect --
Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop --