《The 48 Laws of Power in Practice》**Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
Advertisement
Always make those above you feel superior and never try to overshadow them as a way of trying to impress them.
Everyone including powerful people has insecurities so when you bring those out in people, be ready for the backlash. At the very least, it means a mentor will stop helping you. The key to power is making the people above you look good and feel good.
It's counterintuitive because most people think they need to impress to get ahead, but that could be dangerous if the wrong person feels threatened. Think of a powerful head of state that turns on his supporters after being contradicted. Or all the backstabbing in that movie Showgirls when the star of the show felt threatened.
I was filled with absolute dread during the months after I graduated college. I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do, and already failed a few times in trying to get into corporate America. I badly wanted to work in the fashion industry and one day a huge opportunity fell in my lap. While I was in college, I worked at a high-end women's boutique and the owner called me out of the blue. She had a vendor who needed help with their booth at M.A.G.I.C. and she would recommend me if I was interested. She was planning to go there to buy for the store as well, so we would travel to Las Vegas together. This was a huge break for me, and so I jumped at the chance.
When I worked at the boutique, the other salespeople would gossip about how she could be jealous and cruel, but she'd always been nice to me. After the tradeshow, we hung out together along with her assistant. Oftentimes, she would ask for our opinions, and while her assistant always said something agreeable, I foolishly spoke my mind. It happened to be my birthday so we went out for a nice dinner together with the two guys I had worked for at the trade show booth. Earlier in the trip, my old boss had said something about having a thing with one of the guys previously, which is a detail I should have put more weight on at the time.
Advertisement
After dinner, she ended up calling it an early night because she was pregnant at the time, and went back with her assistant to our shared hotel room. But I ended up staying out late with the guys; after all, I just turned 21 in Vegas! At some point in the night, she called me but it was too loud and I was probably too drunk to register the conversation. It was late (or early) when I got back to the hotel room so I tried to sneak in as quietly as possible but who knows if I was actually being quiet.
The next morning, I could feel the tension in the air. I still remember her asking me "Did you have fun?" with the blankest stare. Everything I did seemed to irritate her more after that. My phone died on the plane ride home. And when we got back to the airport, she told me that I needed to find my own way home.
Looking back, I broke law #1 in so many different ways. Can you count them all?
Advertisement
- In Serial134 Chapters
Not A Fairy Tale
When Ethan met his untimely end at the hands of a gang that had tormented him his entire life he found himself before a being that called itself Nexus, the creator of all. For some reason Nexus decided to revive Ethan into another world. Now reborn in a small elven village as the son of two loving parents Ethan, now Altair hopes to finally live a life he can be proud of, a life that he can enjoy to its fullest. But his old life keeps haunting him in his new life making it harder than he would have liked it to be when he was reborn. But still, his new life was happy. Until tragedy struck and he was left with only one thing in this new world, a saying that he would have to remember for a long time: "Life is not a fairy tale!"
8 94 - In Serial38 Chapters
YIBO IS MINE! ✔
this is just a short story
8 153 - In Serial44 Chapters
The Wind Waker
On a journey to save his sister, a boy is caught in a struggle older than the great sea. ====== One thousand years ago, the greatest hero of all Time fought against Time's greatest enemy.The people rejoiced in the victory, but when the evil returned, the hero did not. Watching the unstoppable destruction, the golden godessess buried the land of Hyrule in water, keeping their foe from conquering the kingdom. Hyrule is now only a word on a page to the people on the great sea.Even though Hyrule is lost to them, they still cling to old traditions. And after all these years, the era without a hero will finally end.The legends will be reborn.Reborn on an ocean breeze. Published also on Scribblehub, Wattpad, and Deviantart. The original game, and the names of many characters and places are all originally created by Nintendo, and they are thus the owner of said characters and places.
8 74 - In Serial126 Chapters
A Reincarnated Demon’s Life of Wonder
When people die, where do they end up to?I don't know about anyone else, but when I died, I arrived at the strangest Heaven of all times. And I got a chance to reincarnate with all of my memories! Jackpot! If you look away from the fact I had to reincarnate as a damn monster which is the lowest of all the bottom feeders? And I had to represent one of the worst goddesses ever!? And to make things worse, my "birthplace" was a freaking Dungeon! And not your everyday Dungeon with level 1 slimes and goblins, but a freaking Dungeon-turned-world-destroying-facility! Still, you gotta work with what you have. So see how I survive in this crazy new world!! ...But I promise I won't be mad if the bosses get debuffed. No? Damn... ---This is a story first written on Scribblehub, but with added details that were added later on in the story. Do note that the action part does not start immediately in the first volume. The artwork for the different arcs is done through wombo.com. This is just something I write in my free time. Schedule: Fridays, sometimes on Mondays as well. English is not my first language, so there is a chance for lousy grammar to pop up now and then.
8 216 - In Serial29 Chapters
To Blunt The Sharpest Claw
The Velvet Paw of Asquith Novels are a series of New Fable genre novels that involve cats and dogs and high adventure and romance and espionage and food-fights and hotels and explosions and car chases. With large casts, exotic locations and an absurdity only possible in the absence of human characters, the Velvet Paw of Asquith Novels blend Wind in the Willows with James Bond, though with more cafes and fewer badgers. This submission is the third title in its Morigan Trilogy, beginning two-thirds of the way through the series' longest adventure yet. Here's a quick recount of what's happened so far: When Oscar Teabag-Dooven, a Velvet Paw of Asquith, is ordered to investigate how a mysterious poet, the Ar'dath-Irr, is able to travel instantaneously around the world, two very bad things happen. Firstly, he meets Lydia, an insane librarian who punches everyone in the face, and secondly, the Ar'dath-Irr reveals he is intent on taking over the world. Although this second thing might be considered worse than the first, Oscar feels differently following Lydia’s destruction of a cafe, a library and his face in one afternoon. In comparison, thwarting world domination just seems easier. Along with Binklemitre, a fellow Velvet Paw of Asquith, and Lydia, Oscar infiltrates the Ar’dath-Irr’s realm of dark poetry to discover the dog not only intends wrenching the world apart but has no intention of cleaning up afterwards. As a result, Oscar decides it’s all too hard and goes home to have a bath. After lots of arguing and the sort of food fight that posh restaurants were invented for, Lydia and Binklemitre convince him that they must stop the Ar’dath-Irr for several reasons, one of them quite serious. A vibrant cast of characters collide as Oscar, Lydia and Binklemitre battle the Ar’dath-Irr and his disciples in an adventure involving exploding cafés and appalling hotels, car chases and inadvertent surgery, dreadful poetry, lots of arguments and at least one temper-tantrum, all of which draw the three into dark and convoluted corners of a world they weren’t aware existed. Moreover, any chance of sitting down and discussing things over some buns disappears when Lydia punches the Ar’dath-Irr in the face. This results in her having a psychotic episode and Oscar getting run over by an ambulance. Although Binklemitre suffers neither, he witnesses both, which is almost as dreadful, though not nearly so messy. An enormous battle ensues, followed by a dinner party and then everything explodes.
8 330 - In Serial58 Chapters
Does Hell Have an Adventurers' Guild?
I have decided to try out a different style. I cannot say much at this point, the story is mostly fantasy/romance and will evolve as I go, but it will involve an "adventurers' guild" in a demonic setting. MC will be a reincarnator becoming a denizen of hell, I will add vital description as I go. Gore will be used with reason, some bad words here and there and severe explicit or traumatizing content will be announced in advance, but it will not be the focus of the work.
8 165
Prev Chap
Next Chap
Chap List
Boy
Girl
