One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift—a Trojan horse—will serve the same purpose.

1. Law #12: Use Selective Honesty and
Generosity to DisarmYour Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover
over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-
hearted gestures of honesty and
generosity bring down the guard of even
the most suspicious people. Once your
selective honesty opens a hole in their
armor, you can deceive and manipulate
them at will. A timely gift—a Trojan
horse—will serve the same purpose.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 1

2. Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com
2

3. [1] THROUGH AN ACT OF
APPARENT SINCERITY
AND HONESTY
▪ This is called selective honesty. Who will
distrust a person literally caught in the
act of being honest? This is an
unexpected, well-timed gesture that
conflicts the emotions and distracts the
one being disarmed and have the most
brutal and cynical beast in the kingdom
eating out of your hand. In ancient China
this was called the “giving before the
take.” The giving makes it hard for the
other person to see the taking.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 3

4. ▪ Count Victor Lustig is one of the best examples of this law at
work. Lustig was a con man of great distinction, refinement and
culture, and his knowledge of human psychology was his most
important characteristic. He was so confident in himself that he
was able to con Al Capone, the most feared gangster of his time,
out of $5,000. Capone never knew what happened because
Lustig disarmed him through selective honesty.
▪ Lustig returned $50,000 to Capone for allowing him to take the
money in order to double it in sixty-days. Lustig took the money
and left it in a safety deposit box until the sixty-days were up. He
went back to Capone, apologized profusely about the deal
falling through and returned the original $50,000. Capone had
already pegged Lustig as a con artist, but when Lustig returned
the money, it confused Capone and he dropped his guard and
gave Lustig $5,000 just for “being honest.”
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 4

5. [2] LEARN TO GIVE
BEFORE YOU TAKE
▪ It softens the ground, takes the bite out
of a future request, or simply creates a
distraction.
▪ And the giving can take many forms:
an actual gift, a generous act, a kind
favor, an "honest" admission—
whatever it takes.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 5

6. ▪ First impressions last a long time. If someone
believes you are honest at the start of your
relationship it takes a lot to convince them
otherwise.
▪ A con man by the name of Lord John Gordon-
Gordon proved to Jay Gould, another con man,
that phony Erie railroad stocks that Gould had
invested in was the work of top executives at
railroad. Gould was so grateful to Gordon-Gordon
that they became friends buying the controlling
interest of the railroad. Soon Gordon-Gordon
betrayed Gould and disappeared. Gordon-
Gordon was a con man, but his initial act of
honesty and support had so blinded Gould that it
took the loss of millions for him to see through the
scheme.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 6

7. ▪ Duke Wu of Cheng married off his daughter
and killed one of his ministers in order to
take over the powerful kingdom of Hu.
▪ The ruler of Hu heard that the minister was
executed for telling Cheng to conquer the
kingdom of Hu.
▪ Hu’s ruler also considered the marriage of
Cheng’s daughter and other acts of
kindness from Cheng and let down his
guard.
▪ A few weeks later Cheng forces swept
through Hu and took the country, never to
relinquish it.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 7

8. ▪ Few people can resist a gift, even from the most
hardened enemy, which is why it is often the
perfect way to disarm people. A gift brings out
the child in us, instantly lowering our defenses.
Although we often view other people's actions in
the most cynical light, we rarely see the
Machiavellian element of a gift, which quite
often hides ulterior motives. A gift is the perfect
object in which to hide a deceptive move.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 8

9. ▪ Unless you can make the gesture seem
sincere and heartfelt, DO NOT PLAY
WITH FIRE.
▪ If people see through it, their
disappointed feelings of gratitude and
warmth will become the most violent
hatred and distrust.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 9

10. ▪ When you have a history of deceit behind you,
no amount of honesty, generosity, or kindness
will fool people. In fact it will only call
attention to itself. Once people have come to
see you as deceitful, to act honest all of a
sudden is simply suspicious. Overt
deceptiveness will sometimes cover your
tracks, even making you admired for the
honesty of your dishonesty.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 10