stir up waters & free lunch

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Law 39

Stir up Waters to Catch Fish

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

Again this looks good on paper but it's not so easy in actuality. Making people angry while you stay calm is pretty simple. It also makes then even more angry because they see how calm you are. Maybe it's because I'm a woman... I haven't seen so many men doing this so naturally... But I'm used to doing this. You kind of learn to shut things out in order to get things done. At this point in my life, it's easy to put a smile on my face (even when I want to throw something) for the greater good.


Law 40

Despise the Free Lunch

What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

I guess it's good then that not many things are free then. As for paying full price... I don't think there's anything wrong with getting a Burberry bag 15% off in Bloomingdales. I can understand why paying your own way is important. Even I get fidgety when guys pay for me... It usually involves a hidden obligation. But on the other hand, some of my friends and I occasionally pay for each other when we go out. But on the next trip, someone else pays. As a college student, it's not so simple to keep money circulating... And the general public cannot do that either. Maybe when this book was written things were different but things are pretty tough these days.