Robert Greene Quotes Page 3

“Many a serious thinker has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.”

“Never appear too perfect. Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.”

“Never be distracted by people’s glamorous portraits of themselves and their lives; search and dig for what really imprisons them.”

“Never take your position for granted and never let any favors you receive go to your head.”

“Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.”

“Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”

“The best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their roguish qualities. They cultivate an air of honesty in one area to disguise their dishonesty in others. Honesty is merely another decoy in their arsenal of weapons.”

“The human tongue is a beast that few can master.”

“There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.”

“Think as you like but behave like others. If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.”

“When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.”

“When you show yourself to the world and display your talents, you naturally stir all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.”

“People will constantly attack you in life. One of their main weapons will be to instill in you doubts about yourself – your worth, your abilities, your potential. They will often disguise this as their objective opinion, but invariably it has a political purpose – they want to keep you down.”

“Your fears are a kind of prison that confines you within a limited range of action. The less you fear, the more power you will have and the more fully you will live.”

“Try to persuade a person by appealing to their consciousness, by saying outright what you want, by showing all your cards, and what hope do you have? You are just one more irritation to be tuned out.”

“When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.”

“Information is useless unless you know how to interpret it.”

“People rarely believe that their problems arise from their own misdeeds and stupidity.”

“Your days are numbered. Will you pass them half awake and halfhearted or will you live with a sense of urgency?”