The 48 Laws of Power in Practice

Law 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For; In Victory, Know When to Stop

After you succeed in your goal, there is peril in taking things too far. You can quickly make enemies or fall from your position.

Application –

There are several ways that people go past the mark they aimed for. One way is by being a "sore winner"; people who gloat over their success make enemies quickly. Others let success go to their head, which eventually causes them to lose the things they worked so hard for. They become complacent or start behaving badly, and the ego becomes the decision maker. Finally, as the saying goes "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Because when someone grants you a favor, it's in poor taste to ask for more.

The artist Kanye West is the poster child of becoming uber-successful and then taking things too far. At the height of his career, Kanye was one of the world's best-selling artists after becoming a huge influence over hip hop. He went on to marry one of the most famous and successful businesswomen in Hollywood, Kim Kardashian. Later he started a coveted brand called Yeezy and collaborated with famous fashion brands including Adidas, Balenciaga, and the Gap.

Then Kanye began to think he was a God, and even stated so in his 2013 album Yeezus. When he tried to run for president, I honestly thought it was meant to be ironic. But it was a real campaign based on principles such as bringing prayer back to school and advocating for an ethic called consistent life (which is very interesting if you look it up). This marked a dramatic fall from grace. Kanye acted like someone who could do anything without consequence. He began harassing his now ex-wife Kim and her new boyfriend. He went off the rails on Twitter with rants including antisemitic hate speech. And because of it, he's been dropped as a collaborator from all of the brands who worked with him. It's hard to say if his reputation will ever recover. One day, people may wonder why they ever wanted a pair of Yeezys.

King of Bling –

B came by our group of desks to drop off some samples we requested. Looking around the room with a sly smile, before whispering "hey, don't forget about the Dodger game this weekend. We have a private box and access to the members' lounge." "We'll be there!" my coworkers and I beamed.

At the time, I worked for a thriving fast fashion business, managing an account with over 20 million units a year. Part of my job was to purchase all the materials that went into our apparel, including any embellishments, which the industry calls "trims". Remember when metal studs and crystals were exploding from store racks everywhere? (Scary to think they are trending again.) Well B was our rep, and he brought all the bling. Every week, he would come to our office to engage with a dozen or so of my coworkers to facilitate orders, and sometimes dole out perks. He was probably earning a handsome commission.

Over time, I got to know B personally. My friends and I would drop in on social events he invited us to, which were usually lavish affairs that ran big tabs each night. He and his friends were flashy. But the business was booming, and he was enjoying life. I was happy for B when he got a new girlfriend, whom he could not stop talking about. But by the way, he described her, she was expensive. He talked about her affluent family and listed the names of her celebrity friends. They were about to move in together and sign a lease for an apartment in Beverly Hills.

Then one week, I saw him at the office moping around. So I pulled him aside and asked him what was wrong. Sadly his girlfriend had left him and he had to break their lease early. He needed two grand now to put toward another apartment, but was waiting on a commission check that wouldn't come for two weeks. As a friend, I offered to lend him the money. It was a huge sum for me at the time, but I had just gotten a tax refund. I wasn't worried because I would get repaid in two weeks.

Two weeks came and went. At work, I could see that B was losing focus, and the account suffered as a result. Mistakes were being made with the product, and he wasn't bringing the samples we needed on time to book more business. He was spiraling. As you may have guessed, I never got my money back. He had his mother write me a check for $500 once, but I never saw the rest of it. One day, I was sick of asking to be repaid so I told B that all debts were forgiven. The rest of what he owed me was my gift to him I said, and an expensive lesson for me. I learned to only lend money I can afford to lose. But the more important lesson was that getting to the top is not the same as staying there.