early in my self-improvement journey i was recommended Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power so many times it became a negative signal. the reason i avoided it may surprise you: i do not want power.

i have a tendency to take things to extremes, sometimes referred to as going Full Retard. avoiding the book was an effort to remain authentic, even if psychological tactics do provide a little more hand in life. but eventually i did read it under 1 condition: no notes.

for an actual book summary i recommend my friend Nat’s post. in this piece i’ll instead reverse those laws of power. because if something is true, the opposite ought also be.

Law 1: Never outshine the master

before becoming a full time entrepreneur i had a few bosses and was reasonably deferential. but if i thought my ideas were better than theirs i told them, or i told their* boss. this is how i got fired from Red Bull.

Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies

since 2017 i’ve default-trusted everyone. this judgment paradigm was taught to me, ironically, by a friend (boss) who apparently committed massive fraud at our company and has since disappeared.

although enemies have helped my products or ideas go viral, still i lean into friendships, even if they sometimes screw me.

Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions

i’ve always been an open book. capitalism is partially to blame. since age 12 i wanted to make money, and since age 32 i’ve wanted to be left alone in the woods.

perhaps by following this law i could sell more, or seduce more, but more is not my intention.

Law 4: Always say less than necessary

i’m a talker. i do not make the mistake of “saying things i don’t mean,” but i do often offend people and i’m OK with that. i also prefer to be underestimated, and sounding a bit like an idiot helps achieve that effect.

Law 5: So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life

i do take reputation seriously, but only to spite Law #3. to achieve my plain Jane intent of getting stronger, smarter, and richer every day i’ve observed that when people believe you, life is easier.

when your employee believes you will fire them; when your spouse believes you will fix something; when an investor believes you will make them a return; when you believe you can do 1 more rep at the gym.

Law 6: Court attention at all costs

nah, i’m good. i deleted my social media and am never going back. learning how to garner attention only damaged my perspective of humanity. those in a permanent state of attention-seeking (see: Instagram users) are pathetic.

Law 7: Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit

i prefer the opposite. work harder than your team members, then share the work using the word “we.” from an entrepreneur’s perspective the real credit happens on payday.

Law 8: Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary

in the words of Marsellus Wallace, “that’s pride, f-ing with you.” being persuasive affords the ability to visit targets directly (cold email, girl at bar) and make things happen. bait is teenage drama.

Law 9: Win through your actions, never through argument

this law is merely incomplete. first argue to inflame your enemy, then follow through with action to make them want to kill themselves.

Law 10: Infection: Avoid the unhappy or the unlucky

another pride law. i’ve seen many tweets by peers saying some version of “i no longer argue with people.” they mis-read the chapter. one of my themes in 2025 is to take money from people who hate me. and guess what: it’s easier and more lucrative than avoiding them.

Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you

in high school i had a friend who insisted on paying for our group’s movie tickets and popcorn. when i asked him why years later he said “because then i got to choose the movie.“

some people need to be needed, i am proudly not one of them. with the exception of my family, if you need me, you are a loser and i have taught you nothing.

Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim

nah, just more tactics from Mean Girls.

Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self interest, never their mercy or gratitude

once in Bali i did a currency exchange at a gift shop, maybe $50 or so. the cashier’s hands moved quickly but i (default) trusted him. while walking out of the store i counted just $20 in my hands.

i went back inside and made a few light threats. most Balinese are 5 foot nothing and do not have a gym membership. this was ineffective however. so instead i spotted his religious statues in the store, pointed at them, and said “please, do the right thing.” he gave me back the rest of my money.

it’s better to first appeal to mercy or gratitude, so long as you’re willing to escalate if that fails.

Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy

unless you work at the disgraced FBI, life is not that serious. enough people will happily share their secrets (for free) because it strokes their ego. if asking isn’t enough, offer to pay them as an Expert.

Law 15: Crush your enemy totally

as i’m anti war, here let “enemy” just be a competitor to your business. but if my competitors are totally destroyed, they might go do something else and hurt me more. no thanks.

allow your enemies to barely hang on. not for their benefit, but for yours.

Law 16: Use absence to increase strength and honor

by recently removing myself from physical and digital social circles i may be doing this unintentionally. but you’ll just have to trust me: when i am around i am much more influential.

Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror, cultivate an air of unpredictability

the opposite of this — being predictable — has proven more useful for me as it deflects common victimhood tropes.

when someone skeptically asks for my ‘secret to success’ and all i can tell them is that i wake up, read books, drink iced coffee, and work until my eyes hurt, they are more likely to give up than get inspired.

Law 18: Do not build a fortress to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous

hard disagree. my transition from NYC, San Francisco, Austin, and Seoul to a 50 acre compound was the best decision i ever made. isolating myself creates space to think and choose happiness.

Law 19: Know who you’re dealing with, do not offend the wrong person

be yourself. if that offends the wrong person, worst case you get to find out if you’re a coward.

Law 20: Do not commit to anyone

i was not put on this earth to be a Cobratate man child. commit to a few people (wife, friends) and move on to bigger things.

Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker, seem dumber than your mark

perhaps the only law i subconsciously follow. however i perceive it more like code switching. when i’m around farmers i don’t talk about idempotency. when i’m around dorks i don’t talk about cows.

Law 22: Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power

Jesus calls us to turn the other cheek, which i rarely do. fighting fire with fire is more fun and i should work on this.

Law 23: Concentrate your forces

i’ve never concentrated on anything. i always have 5 ventures, 2 hobbies, 8 inboxes. not saying i enjoy this but it’s worked out fine. we’d have more Elon Musks if teachers didn’t prioritize personal comfort over childhood development.

Law 24: Play the perfect courtier

people like this have a lot of LinkedIn connections. i prefer an aura of psychopathy that only attracts a niche group of admirers.

Law 25: Re-Create Yourself

one time i wrote/published an embarrassingly low quality song called Mediocre Man. it’s more fun to humble yourself and laugh at those who want to be powerful than shapeshift into something you’re not.

every bit of forever (internet) content i’ve created — from an off-hand blog comment to a song, book, or smart contract — says “ryanckulp” beside it.

Law 26: Keep your hands clean

no. take full ownership of your actions. skin in the game or death.

Law 27: Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult like following

as a Christian i am quick to call out cults of all flavors. but i can appreciate the art of cult messaging, for example when it’s used to sell products that don’t harm anyone.

Law 28: Enter action with boldness

here again i approach this entrepreneurially. authenticity and sincerity outperform posturing.

Law 29: Plan all the way to the end

this is by definition impossible if you’re doing something that has never been done before. but it might work for less ambitious people, i wouldn’t know.

Law 30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless

this is a top-5 takeaway for most fans of the book. it’s also one of the most disgusting tactics. in exchange for cool points (short term benefit), abusers of this law dishearten those in their come-up stages, quite literally preventing future winners from even existing.

one day this social debt will have to be paid back.

Law 31: Control the options, get others to play with the cards you deal

a lot of game theory goes into this Law, and i’m not denying it “works.” but i think human nature drives all of us to seek full control over some things, at least some of the time.

denying others their own kingdom to expand yours is a zero sum game, which isn’t a game worth playing. better to go where you’re wanted, not where you can convince people you’re needed.

Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies

herein lies the Democratic Party’s entire strategy. let’s take a look at Nat’s notes:

“People rarely believe that their problems arise from their own misdeeds and stupidity. Someone or something out there is to blame— the other, the world, the gods— and so salvation comes from the outside as well.“

Law 33: Discover each man’s thumbscrew

a useful exercise when pondering ideas like this is to take them to their logical conclusion. here, that conclusion is the world finding your thumbscrews. do you want that? if not, act accordingly.

Law 34: Be royal in your own fashion. Act like a king to be treated like one

no. give praise to the only king, Jesus Christ, and think of yourself less.

Law 35: Master the art of timing

i think “master” implies “become an expert at,” right? which takes a lot of repetitions. so here we’re called to be duplicitous at others’ expense in order to one day, maybe, make all the right moves.

but entrepreneurs only need good timing once. they only need a great product once. we only need to hire a few awesome people once. mastering an art that can instead be accidentally invoked is superior.

Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring them is the best revenge

this law encapsulates the body positivity movement, which disappeared as soon as Ozempic appeared.

Law 37: Create compelling spectacles

similar to Law 6 but with a small allowance for nuance.

landing on the moon was a totally unnecessary feat, a compelling spectacle. but downstream it inspired millions of scientists and today you can get satellite internet from the Mojave desert.

Law 38: Think as you like but behave like others

reminds me of Judas.

Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish

i won’t argue against staying calm and collected, but know your audience. when the oppression olympics are in full swing it is indeed lucrative to cry on camera, so long as a Cash app handle is in the video’s description.

Law 40: Despise the free lunch

i take back what i said in Law 21. this is the only law with which i wholeheartedly agree. still i pay for many others’ lunches…

Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes

until i’m sore in the lungs: know your audience! there is no longer such a thing as a Great Man. was Christopher Columbus an explorer or brutal colonizer? did Churchill save the West or is he a war criminal?

perhaps the law should be rewritten: “only step into shoes of a man considered great by some.”

Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter

i interpret this as “scapegoating is good.” but this technique offers temporary relief at best. the correct approach is always to find and fix the root problem, even if it’s you.

Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others

we’re all playing different games. a beautiful woman or handsome man might manipulate an admirer but it takes brilliance to change the world. decide which one is more appealing to you.

Law 44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect

this only (sorta) works among rational players, who are also more keen to notice themselves being played and thusly end the session. in the real world, showing people exactly what they’re doing wrong achieves nothing. see 100s of police body cam videos for evidence.

Law 45: Preach the need to change, but never reform too much at once

this is most politicians. no matter who we elect, they don’t do what they said they’ll do. then when pressed they claim the system moves too slow. why aspire to be like a politician?

Law 46: Never appear too perfect

still thinking about this one. can share those demons later if asked nicely.

Law 47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for. In victory, know when to stop

surprised that this is a law. modernity tells us to keep aiming higher. more followers, more pounds lost, more money. respect to Robert Greene for making this case.

Law 48: Assume formlessness

stand for something. it may not work out, but a legacy of dedication beats a legacy of opportunism.

no more laws

welp, i guess this was a book review after all.

clearly i disagree with (and don’t live my life according to) at least 90% of Robert Greene’s observations. which could mean i’m a moron, since 48 Laws of Power sold 1+ million copies and i’m rocking a free WordPress.

i also felt each law’s pressure as i wrote these rebuttals. for example, should i have titled the post “48 Laws of Weakness” instead of Vulnerability? doesn’t Weakness seem like a better antonym to Power? yet i didn’t, because i don’t want to label myself as weak. so again, fair play to Greene.