48 Laws of Power - Law 6: Court attention at all costs

                                                      Here's something most people don't talk about: hiding your talents isn't humble, it's actually wasteful. If you have knowledge, skills, or ideas that could help others, keeping them to yourself doesn't serve anyone. Think about the teacher who has a brilliant way of explaining difficult concepts but never shares it beyond their classroom. Or the person with a solution to a common problem who stays silent in meetings. Their invisibility doesn't help them or anyone else.

Being visible also matters for people who have historically been pushed to the sidelines. When someone from an underrepresented group speaks up, they're not just promoting themselves—they're opening doors for others like them. The woman who voices her opinion in a male-dominated meeting, the first-generation professional who pursues leadership, or the person with a disability who advocates for accessibility—their visibility carries weight beyond personal gain.

There's another important point: if you have something true and important to say, you need people to hear it. Activists, whistleblowers, and reformers throughout history understood that good intentions mean nothing if no one knows about them. Sometimes visibility isn't about ego—it's about making sure important truths don't disappear into silence.

Where Attention-Seeking Goes Wrong

The problem with "at all costs" thinking is right there in the phrase—the costs. When seeking attention harms others, it crosses an ethical line. This happens when people exploit tragedies for their personal brand, manufacture fake controversies to get clicks, spread lies because they're more attention-grabbing than truth, or violate others' privacy and dignity to stay relevant.

Another issue is when visibility becomes disconnected from actual substance. We've all seen the "activist" who cares more about followers than actual change, the "expert" who recycles shallow advice for engagement, or the "philanthropist" whose charity work is really just a photo opportunity. When attention becomes the goal instead of a tool for something meaningful, it rings hollow.

There's also the problem of taking up too much space. If you're constantly dominating conversations, talking over people who should be heard, or using your privilege to drown out other voices, you're not just seeking attention—you're stealing it from others who deserve it too.

A Better Approach: Visibility with Integrity

The key is alignment between who you really are and how you show up publicly. This means talking about things you genuinely care about, not just what gets reactions. It means sharing both your struggles and successes, not just the highlight reel. It means being consistent across different situations rather than changing your personality based on what gets the most attention.

When you seek visibility, ask yourself: "Who benefits from this?" If the main answer is "my ego" or "my status," pause and reconsider. Better reasons include sharing expertise that helps others learn, advocating for people who don't have access to platforms, showing others what's possible through your example, or adding a needed perspective to an important conversation.

Not every voice needs to be the loudest in every conversation. Sometimes the most ethical thing is to listen rather than speak, to amplify voices closer to an issue rather than centering your own, to acknowledge the limits of what you know, or to create space for others instead of filling all the space yourself.

Visibility in Everyday Life

In personal relationships, ethical visibility means sharing your experiences when it deepens mutual understanding, genuinely celebrating others' achievements without making it about you, and making sure quieter people in the group get heard. It doesn't mean constantly redirecting every conversation back to yourself or using other people's stories as jumping-off points for your own.

At work, it means accurately crediting collaborative efforts, recommending colleagues for opportunities, and using any platform you have to advocate for your team's resources and recognition. It doesn't mean claiming credit for group work, speaking over others, or climbing the ladder on other people's backs.

In advocacy or activism, it means using whatever privilege you have to transfer power, elevating grassroots voices, and doing important work even when nobody's watching to give you credit. It doesn't mean performative allyship that makes you look good, treating others' struggles as tourism, or speaking for people instead of amplifying their own voices.

When to Stay Quiet

Sometimes the most ethical choice is not to seek visibility at all. If someone else is better positioned to speak because of their lived experience, let them take the lead. If making something public would violate privacy or put vulnerable people at risk, keep it private. If quiet work behind the scenes would be more effective than public performance, do that instead. Not everything needs an audience, and not every audience needs you.

This is particularly important to remember because the people who most need visibility often feel the most conflicted about claiming it. Women are often socialized to be modest. People from collectivist cultures may resist individual spotlight. Survivors of trauma fear judgment. Meanwhile, people with unearned privilege often feel entitled to attention and comfortable grabbing it. Being ethical about visibility means being aware of these dynamics.

Making It Practical

Here's how to put this into practice: regularly check your motivations by asking why you're seeking a platform and who truly benefits. Create ways to get honest feedback about how your visibility affects others. Find people you trust to call you out when you misuse attention. Deliberately use whatever visibility you have to lift others up without expecting anything in return. Remember that attention often comes from luck, privilege, and timing—not just merit.

The real goal isn't to be the most visible person in the room. It's to show up authentically in places where you have something meaningful to contribute. It's being memorable through genuine engagement rather than manipulation. It's creating impact that naturally generates visibility rather than manufacturing attention for its own sake. It's letting your actual work and character speak for themselves.

Conclusion

Visibility is a resource. Like any resource, you can use it wisely or waste it, deploy it for good or exploit it for vanity. The ethical questions aren't "Should I seek attention?" but rather: What am I making visible—truth, beauty, justice, or just myself? Does my platform create space for others? What does my visibility serve—genuine contribution or hollow performance? Am I showing up authentically or presenting a carefully curated facade?

In a world full of manufactured personas and attention-hacking, authentic presence becomes powerful. Being genuinely seen—flaws and all—and using that visibility to serve something larger than your ego is where real impact happens. Court attention not at all costs, but at the right cost, for the right reasons, in the right way. Your visibility should illuminate, not manipulate. It should open doors, not close them for others. It should serve truth, not just serve you.

That's the kind of attention worth pursuing. That's visibility with integrity.