Robert Greene Quotes Page 5

“The greatest battle of all is with yourself — your weaknesses, your emotions, your lack of resolution in seeing things through to the end. You must declare unceasing war on yourself.”

“The secret enemy, though, will react with anger. Any strong emotion and you will know that there’s something boiling under the surface.

Often the best way to get people to reveal themselves is to provoke tension and argument.”

“Understand: in life as in war, nothing ever happens just as you expect it to.”

“When you have success, be extra wary. When you are angry, take no action. When you are fearful, know you are going to exaggerate the dangers you face.”

“You must cut yourself loose from the past and open your eyes to the present.”

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

“Your mind is the starting point of all war and all strategy. A mind that is easily overwhelmed by emotion, that is rooted in the past instead of the present, that cannot see the world with clarity and urgency, will create strategies that will always miss the mark.”

“Your past successes are your biggest obstacle: every battle, every war, is different, and you cannot assume that what worked before will work today.”

“A person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.”

“Always say less than necessary. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.”

“An emotional response to a situation is the single greatest barrier to power, a mistake that will cost you a lot more than any temporary satisfaction you might gain by expressing your feelings.”

“At the start of an affair, you need to heighten your presence in the eyes of the other. If you absent yourself too early, you may be forgotten.”

“Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work — it only raises questions.”

“By withdrawing something from the market, you create instant value.”

“Do not try to help or do favors for those who envy you; they will think you are condescending to them.”

“Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.”

“Extend the law of scarcity to your own skills. Make what you are offering the world rare and hard to find, and you instantly increase its value.”

“Extravagant words and gestures immediately raise suspicion.”

“Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”

“Friendship and love blind every man to their interests.”

“Going slower makes what you are doing more interesting — the audience yields to your pace, becomes entranced.”

“He who poses as a fool is not a fool.”

“Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions.”

“Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.”

“Make alliances with those below you, and elevate them to positions of power to secure their support in times of need.”

“Make yourself too available and the aura of power you have created around yourself will wear away. Turn the game around: Make yourself less accessible and you increase the value of your presence.”

“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 flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence.”