[stevewillows]

This may be based on Law 10 of the 48 Laws of Power.

"You can die from someone else’s misery. Emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead."

– Robert Greene / 48 Laws of Power

http://cgt411.tech.purdue.edu/covey/48_laws_of_power.htm

[bradleysmith]

I thought the same thing. Great read.

[stevewillows]

I listened to the audio book version - - the man sounds like the Devil himself. Great book though - - I recommend it to everyone I know.

[bradleysmith]

if you havent read it, He also did The Art of Seduction in a similar 'rules through historic case-by-case basis' style, but focused on relationships. its every bit as icky, and definitely just as good.

Robert Greene always reminds me of the quote by Sandy Lerner I heard on NPR somewhere:

"the first rule of any game is to know you're in one"

[stevewillows]

Icky is probably the best word to describe it. There is a certain power to understanding how to maneuver a situation and use it to your advantage.

With Laws, I found the 'never outshine the master' principal to be invaluable when meeting a new group of people.

As an aside, tomorrow is your first HN birthday. HB!

[bradleysmith]

I've always liked Law 9 'Win through your actions, never through argument'. It's good to remember most arguments won are Pyrrhic victories.

hah yeah thanks. I'd been lurking for years before I realized this was a community to stay with (and build reputation with) on the internets. I always think of how much I'd read it in college (graduated 09), and kick myself for not grabbing my name then. I think it was a year or two of following before I knew what y-combinator was :).

[stevewillows]

We all lurked for a bit. :)

I've spent most of the day talking with different people about this book. There's a lot of really great wisdom that often gets overshadowed by the few manipulative techniques.