There may be fewer mighty tyrants commanding the life and death over millions, but there remain thousands of petty tyrants ruling smaller realms, and enforcing their will through indirect power games, charisma, and so on. In every group, power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people, for this is one area in which human nature will never change: People will congregate around a single strong personality like planets orbiting a sun.

Do not waste precious time trying to steal a sheep or two ...

... the moment when you stop has great dramatic import. What comes last sticks in the mind as a kind of exclamation point. There is no better time to stop and walk away than after a victory.... As lawyers say of cross-examination, "Always stop with a victory.

In the evolution of species, protective armor has almost always spelled disaster. Although there are a few exceptions, the shell most often becomes a dead end for the animal encased in it; it slows the creature down, making it hard to forage for food and making it a target for fast-moving predators. Animals that take to the sea or sky, and that move swiftly and unpredictably, are infinitely more powerful and secure.

Be like a slippery ball that cannot be held: Let no one know what gets to you, or where your weaknesses like.

Be like a slippery ball that cannot be held: Let no one know what gets to you, or where your weaknesses lie.

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

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

Power requires self-discipline.