Robert Greene Quotes Page 6

“Never seem to be in a hurry — hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually.”

“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.”

“Once envy reveals itself for what it is, the only solution is often to flee the presence of the enviers, leaving them to stew in a hell of their own creation.”

“Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”

“Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.”

“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.”

“The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.”

“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.”

“Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear.”

“Use absence to create respect and esteem. If presence diminishes fame, absence augments it.”

“When you beat an enemy, make your victory complete. Crush him into nonexistence.”

“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.”

“A man grows bored with a woman, no matter how beautiful; he yearns for different pleasures, and for adventure.”

“A person in love will surrender.”

“According to Freud, seduction begins early in life, in our relationship with our parents. They seduce us physically, both with bodily contact and by satisfying desires such as hunger, and we in turn try to seduce them into paying us attention. We are creatures by nature vulnerable to seduction throughout our lives.”

“Arrange an occasional 'chance' encounter, as if you and your target were destined to become acquainted — nothing is more seductive than a sense of destiny. Lull the target into feeling secure, then strike.”

“At certain points in history it may be fashionable to be different and rebellious, but if a lot of people are playing that role, there is nothing different or rebellious about it.”

“Charmers. First, they don’t talk much about themselves, which heightens their mystery and disguises their limitations. Second, they seem to be interested in us, and their interest is so delightfully focused that we relax and open up to them.

Finally Charmers are pleasant to be around. They have none of most people’s ugly qualities — nagging, complaining, self-assertion. They seem to know what pleases.”

“Desire is both imitative (we like what others like) and competitive (we want to take away from others what they have).

As children, we wanted to monopolize the attention of a parent, to draw it away from other siblings. This sense of rivalry makes people compete for the attention.”

“Experienced hunters do not choose their prey by how easily it is caught; they want the thrill of the chase, a life-and-death struggle — the fiercer the better.”

“Express what others are afraid to express and they will see great power in you.”

“I give my mind the liberty to follow the first wise or foolish idea that presents itself.”

“If everything in a dream were realistic, it would have no power over us; if everything were unreal, we would feel less involved in its pleasures and fears. Its fusion of the two is what makes it haunting.”

“If no resistances or obstacles face you, you must create them. No seduction can proceed without them.”

“Make your targets afraid that you may be withdrawing, that you may not really be interested, and you arouse their innate insecurity, their fear that as you have gotten to know them they have become less exciting to you. These insecurities are devastating.

Then, once you have made them uncertain of you and of themselves, reignite their hope, making them feel desired again. Hot and cold, hot and cold — such coquetry is perversely pleasurable, heightening interest and keeping the initiative on your side. Never be put off by your target’s anger; it is a sure sign of enslavement.”

“Many men are intimidated by beauty and prefer to worship it from afar; others are drawn in, but not for the purpose of conversation. The Beauty suffers from isolation.”