Quotes About Power

The man of power welcomes conflict, using enemies to enhance his reputation as a surefooted fighter who can be relied upon in times of uncertainty.

Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who wants to keep his authority must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires. THE PRINCE, Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527

Con demasiada frecuencia creemos que el poder cambia a la gente, cuando en realidad la muestra tal como es.

Do not underestimate the power of Tafari. He creeps like a mouse but he has jaws like a loin. - Balcha of Sidamo's last words before entering the monastery.

Those who seek to achieve things should show no mercy. Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B.C.

Since power is a human creation, it is inevitably increased by contact with other people.

Understand: once people know what pleases you and what angers you, they turn into trained poodles, working to charm you with apparent good behavior.

To bring power, fantasy must remain to some degree unrealized, literally unreal.

fear is an emotion we find hard to resist or control

It takes patience and humility to dull your brilliant colors, to put on the mask of the inconspicuous. Do not despair at having to wear such a bland mask--it is often your unreadability that draws people to you and makes you appear a person of power.

The ability to measure people and to know who you're dealing with is the most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power. Without it you are blind: Not only will you offend the wrong people, you will choose the wrong types to work on, and will think you are flattering people when you are actually insulting them.

You can never be sure who you are dealing with. A man who is of little importance and means today can be a person of power tomorrow. We forget a lot in our lives, but we rarely forget an insult.

They become infected with the leader's aggression and get to act it out on others, perhaps those below them. But such an environment is tiring, and those serving the aggressor are constantly taking hits to their self-esteem. With most aggressors, the turnover is high and the morale low. As the ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles once wrote, "Whoever makes his way into a tyrant's court becomes his slave, although he went there a free man.

it does sometimes happen that it is better to let your enemies destroy themselves, if such a thing is possible, than to make them suffer by your hand.

Hace falta más talento para amar que para mandar ejércitos. NINON DE L'ENCLOS

The other face of Janus looks constantly to the past—though not to remember past hurts or bear grudges. That would only curb your power. Half of the game is learning how to forget those events in the past that eat away at you and cloud your reason.

Finally, those who claim to be nonplayers may affect an air of naïveté, to protect them from the accusation that they are after power. Beware again, however, for the appearance of naiveté can be an effective means of deceit

Timidity has no place in the realm of power; you will often benefit, however, by being able to feign it. At that point, of course, it is no longer timidity but an offensive weapon: You are luring people in with your show of shyness, all the better to pounce on them boldly later.

Powerful people judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind.

Only the weak rest on their laurels and dote on past triumphs; in the game of power there is never time to rest.

Monopolies often turn inward and destroy themselves from the internal pressure.

Power depends on the ability to fill a void ...

Elevate yourself above the battlefield.

The way to recover the meaning of life and the worthwhileness of life is to recover the power of experience, to have impulse voices from within, and to be able to hear these impulse voices from within. —Abraham Maslow