48 Laws of Power - Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
Listen closely, because this is the law that separates the wise from the buried. I have sat upon thrones—literal and metaphorical—and I have watched countless ambitious souls rise only to be crushed at the peak of their ascent. Not because they lacked talent. Not because they lacked vision. But because they committed the cardinal sin of making their master feel small. The Throne Recognizes Only One Sun You think your brilliance will be celebrated? Think again. When you outshine the one who holds power over you, you do not inspire admiration—you inspire fear. And fear in a superior is not the productive kind that commands respect. It is the paranoid kind that demands your removal. I have seen generals more skilled than their kings. Advisors more brilliant than their emperors. Artists more gifted than their patrons. Where are they now? Forgotten. Exiled. Dead. Their talent became their tombstone because they could not master this simple truth: the light that shines brighter than the...