Long Time. The famous seventeenth-century Ming painter Chou Yung relates a story that altered his behavior forever. Late one winter afternoon he set out to visit a town that lay across the river from...
If you lead the sucker down a familiar path, he won't catch on when you lead him into a trap.
Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
DESPISE THE FREE LUNCH JUDGMENT 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 cle...
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when yo...
A natural response when people feel overwhelmed is to retreat into various forms of passivity. If we don’t try too much in life, if we limit our circle of action, we can give ourselves the illusion of...
Those who make a show or display of innocence are the least innocent of all.
If no resistances or obstacles face you, you must create them. No seduction can proceed without them.
You like to imagine yourself in control of your fate, consciously planning the course of your life as best you can. But you are largely unaware of how deeply your emotions dominate you. They make you...
You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move. What...
To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And t...
The mighty lion toys with the mouse that crosses his path—any other reaction would mar his fearsome reputation.
People are more complicated than the masks they wear in society.
Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent
Just imagine for a day that you do not know anything, that what you believe could be completely false. Let go of your preconceptions and even your most cherished beliefs. Experiment. Force yourself to...
It is not much good being wise among fools and sane among lunatics.
It is natural to want to employ your friends when you find yourself in times of need. The world is a harsh place, and your friends soften the harshness. Besides, you know them. Why depend on a strange...
At your birth a seed is planted. That seed is your uniqueness. It wants to grow, transform itself, and flower to its full potential. It has a natural, assertive energy to it. Your Life's Task is to br...
A man said to a Dervish: Why do I not see you more often? The Dervish replied, Because the words ‘Why have you not been to see me?’ are sweeter to my ear than the words ‘Why have you come again?
A Prince asked the dying spanish statesman, Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies? I do not have to forgive all my enemies, answered the stateman, I have had them all shot.