Law 40: Despise the free lunch
‘What is offered for free is dangerous—it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for’
These are the opening words to Law 40:’Despise the free lunch’, of Robert Greene’s notorious classic ‘The 48 Laws of Power’. The words are a clear admonition against falling for the ‘free lunch’ . The term ‘free lunch’ is used by Greene as a metaphor for anything that comes too easy, things that seem too serendipitous in nature. The free lunch is often an illusion, a trick that is played on the ignorant.
The trick that is played
We all love instant gratification, it’s just the way that we have been wired, so naturally we despise things that require us to put in work. This is why the free lunch is so appealing, when someone offers us that diet pill that promises rapid weight lose we can’t help but to buy in. When someone promises an easier life for a seemingly small price, our eyes light up as we daydream of our new Lamborghini Aventador.
The problem with the free lunch is that it goes against the laws of the universe:
- Electric current moves from a higher potential to lower potential,
- Energy cannot be created only harnessed
- The 2nd law of Thermodynamics shows us that ‘Entropy’ ( disorder) is what the universe tends to do
- It’s almost always easier to break shit than to fix it
If you look around you will notice that everything requires work, you will never be successful just by doing nothing or putting in less energy than what is needed. If things were different rivers would flow straight, and you would reap the rewards of massive success by sitting on your ass and watching Caitlyn Jenner. The free lunch is for daydreamers let them jump into the rabbit hole, while we play by the real worlds rules.
Choose the road less traveled
Now that you understand that nothing good comes easy, you can now appreciate hard work. You can appreciate hard work and fall in love with the grind because you can see its integrity. There are no illusions when it comes to hard work in the real world only tangible results. When you start to see the fruits of your labor, it no longer feels like work but like a game. It starts to feel like that Pokemon game you used to play ( or maybe Pac Man if you’re from back in the day ), the more time you spent playing the better you got.
Abundance mindset
Assume the abundance mindset, always believe that your faculties can create new success for you. Why get the free sausage on bread when you can buy a gourmet grass fed stake meal? ‘What has worth is worth paying for’. I am not suggesting you spend your money recklessly on every piece of GUCCI or Prada that you can find, but instead I am advocating for you to invest in yourself. Pay the few hundred to attend that seminar, spend the money on the books to educate yourself, buy the free range eggs over the caged ones. Assume abundance in everything you do, do not fall for the poverty mindset.
Seek Independence
No one owes you shit, so stop looking for the easy way out. Ultimately you should seek to be in a position in which you do not depend on other people. I am not saying to go into solitude and hide in the Himalayas like a Yeti, I am advising that you unshackle your unnecessary bonds. Don’t stay at that dead end job just because of the monthly pizza coupons you get, think bigger own the pizza shop. Whenever something appears too good to be true, or it feels like you are cheating the Universe; remember to despise the free lunch.
If you liked my interpretation of Law 40, make sure to check out the other 47 Laws out of Robert Greenes ‘The 48 Laws of Power’. Link to the book is below.
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