Robert Greene
Power, seduction and mastery, coldly observed
Personal Growth
About
Greene spent years in dead-end jobs before The 48 Laws of Power made him the most banned author in the American prison system. He researches like a historian and writes like a strategist, drawing on courtiers, con men and generals to describe how influence actually operates rather than how we would prefer it to.
Read Greene when you would rather see the game clearly than pretend it is not being played.
Resilience
They develop a resiliency and confidence that others lack.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Psychology
Emotions turn us inward, away from nous, away from reality.
The Laws of Human Nature, ch. "The Law of Irrationality" · 2018
Personal Growth
Natural talent or a high IQ cannot explain future achievement.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Personal Growth
Feeling motivated and energized, we can overcome almost anything.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Resilience
The body could decay but the mind would continue to learn and adapt.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Personal Growth
This power of the mind could be unleashed only after years of experience.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Personal Growth
You will begin to think for yourself instead of reacting to what others give you.
The Laws of Human Nature, ch. "The Law of Irrationality" · 2018
Personal Growth
This long stretch of time played a critical, elemental role in our mental development.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Philosophy
In our culture we tend to equate thinking and intellectual powers with success and achievement.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Personal Growth
Rationality is not a power you are born with but one you acquire through training and practice.
The Laws of Human Nature, ch. "The Law of Irrationality" · 2018
Personal Growth
The longer and harder they looked, the more they could distinguish between an opportunity and a danger.
Mastery, Introduction · 2012
Resilience
Like an athlete continually getting stronger through training, your mind will become more flexible and resilient.
The Laws of Human Nature, ch. "The Law of Irrationality" · 2018
Psychology
To imagine that we are not always in control of what we do is a frightening thought, but in fact it is the reality.
The Laws of Human Nature, Introduction · 2018
Psychology
But in the moment that we feel anger, we are not reflective or rational—we merely ride the emotion and point fingers.
The Laws of Human Nature, Introduction · 2018
Psychology
It is as if we harbor a stranger within us, a little demon who operates independently of our willpower and pushes us into doing the wrong things.
The Laws of Human Nature, Introduction · 2018
