1. Never outshine the master
2. Never put too much trust in friends
3. Conceal your intentions
4. Always say less than necessary
5. So much depends on your reputation
6. Court attention at all cost
7. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit
8. Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary.
9. Win through your actions, never through arguments
10. Avoid the unhappy and unlucky
11. Learn to keep people dependent on you
12. Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.
13. When asking for help appeal to people’s self interest, never to their mercy or gratitude
14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy.
15. Crush your enemy totally
16. Use absense to increase respect and honour
17. Cultivate an air of unpredictability
18. Do not build a fortress to protect yourself; isolation is dangerous
19. Know who you are dealing with - do not offend the wrong person
20. Do not commit to anyone, but be courted by all
21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker, seem dumber than your mark
22. Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
23. Concentrate your forces
24. Play the perfect courtier (never seem to be working too hard)
26. Keep your hands clean
27. Play on people’s need to create a cult like following
28. Enter action with boldness
29. Plan all the way to the end
30. Make your accomplishments seem effortless
31. Control the options - get others to play with the cards you deal
32. Play to people’s fantasies
33. Discover each man’s thumbscrew
34. Be royal in your own fashion - act like a king to be treated like one
35. Master the art of timing
36. Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring them is the best revenge.
37. Re create yourself; create compelling spectacles
38. Preach the need for change but never reform too much
39. Stir up water to catch fish (Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective)
40. Despise the free lunch (be generous, build allies)
41. Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes
42. Strike the Shepard and the sheep will scatter
43. Work on the mind and heart of others
44. Disarm and infuriate with mirror effects
45. Preach the need for change but never reform too much at once
46. Never appear too perfect (most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies.)
47. Do Not go Past The Mark You Aimed For, In Victory Learn When To Stop
