LAW 24: Play the Perfect Courtier

Law 24 seems to be a combination of previous laws, and about taking stock and measuring your success so far, which makes it the perfect law to hit our midway point with. Jon and Dre focus on the laws within the law, and ponder their roles as courtiers

What do high school students have in common with apes? Potentially more than you might realise. Jon and Dre dig into the art of flawless courtiership, and how that fits in with modern hierarchies. They discuss how understanding the rules of court can help you get ahead at work and life. 

Learn how to give a terrible, generic compliment from Jon, hear why Dre is considering dressing like a Renaissance prince and join the pair as they explore how to thrive as a courtier. 

This episode includes:

• "The perfect courtier thrives in world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters yields to superiors and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.”
• The impact of gracefulness and indirectness on being a good courtier, including key behaviours and strategies that you should always be employing.
• The difference between good courtiership and obsequious, over-the-top worship.
• How facts can be appropriated by another to strengthen their own opinion rather than changing to yours. 
• The important of a balance between effortlessness and hard work.
• How politeness can help shape people and events.
• Does sexuality affect how people view your sartorial choices?
• The importance of tailoring your speech and behaviour for the situation – why burping at the table would lead to cheers in one country and a scolding in another. 
• Beau Brummel’s fall from grace, and why you should never joke about appearances or taste.
• Alexander the Great vs Callithenes, or why you shouldn’t always speak your mind. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Rupaul’s Drag Race 
• The ‘gay gene’ study 
• “It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility, is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counter--an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy. A sensible man will be generous in the use of it.” - Arthur Schopenhauer
• Game of Shame – the Game of Thrones shame app 
• The Apprentice TV show 

Challenge:

• Pick one the elements described that you do worst and give examples of where you go wrong. Email us at "hello AT voicesinthedark DOT world" with an example and we will give you back a ‘try this’ task to help you play the perfect courtier. 

Join us as we continue our 48 Laws of Power review, exploring Robert Greene’s provocative and compelling book, in which he lays bare the history, practice, psychology, and philosophies of power that ultimately shape all human relations. Often seen as a handbook for the ‘modern Machiavelli’, we take a closer look, beyond the hyperbole, and discuss how understanding and implementing these Laws can actually enrich your life personally, professionally and spiritually.

Jon and Dre aim to get to the heart of each of the Laws, grapple with their sometimes disturbingly amoral nature, and discuss what the Laws mean in everyday life (often revealing their own experiences – good and bad – when they’ve either observed or transgressed them).