100 Robert Greene Quotes

American author and speaker Robert Greene was born on May 14, 1959.

Greene specializes in writing novels about power and strategy. 'The 48 Laws Of Power', 'The 50th Law', 'Mastery', 'The 33 Strategies Of War', 'The Art Of Seduction', and 'The Laws Of Human Nature' are six of his International and New York Times bestsellers.

Greene instructs us on how to separate ourselves from our own emotions and develop self-control by using the theories and examples of many different people, including Pericles, Martin Luther King Jr., Queen Elizabeth I, and many more. He demonstrates how to look through people's facades, cultivate empathy that leads to understanding, and reject conformity to find your calling.

(Below are 25 of the best Robert Greene quotes on life! Read his about life, success, strategy and other values.)

"In the end, the money and success that truly last come not to those who focus on such things as goals, but rather to those who focus on mastery and fulfilling their Life's Task."
-'Mastery'.

"Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life's artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist."
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"We are all in search of feeling more connected to reality—to other people, the times we live in, the natural world, our character, and our own uniqueness."
-'Mastery'.

"People are more complicated than the masks they wear in society."
-'The Art Of Seduction'.

"No one is really going to help you or give you direction. In fact, the odds are against you."
-'Mastery'.

"The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces. Creative endeavors are by their nature uncertain."
-'Mastery'.

"Our natural tendency is to project onto other people our own beliefs and value systems, in ways of which we are not even aware."
-'Mastery'.

"Understand: people will constantly attack you in life. One of their main weapons will be to instil in you doubts about yourself—your worth, your abilities, your potential."
-'The 50th Law'.

"They will often disguise this as their objective opinion, but invariably it has a political purpose—they want to keep you down."
-'The 50th Law'.

"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." 
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways."
-'Mastery'.

"Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay."
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you."
-'The Laws Of Human Nature'.

"Sweet are the thoughts that savour of content; the quiet mind is richer than a crown"
-'Farewell To Folly'.

"Her words could be banal enough, but were spoken so sweetly that listeners would find themselves remembering not what she said but how she said it."
-'The Art Of Seduction'.

"Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge."
-'Mastery'.

"It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection."
-'The Laws Of Human Nature'.

"The best way to neutralize our natural impatience is to cultivate a kind of pleasure in pain—like an athlete, you come to enjoy rigorous practice, pushing past your limits, and resisting the easy way out."

-'Mastery'.

"Anger is the most destructive of emotional responses, for it clouds your vision the most."
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

In the end, life is short, opportunities are few, and you have only so much energy to draw on.
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"Understand this: The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role, you are doomed."
- 'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"Celebrities generally congregate around other celebrities; academics and intellectuals are cloistered in their worlds; people like to associate with those of their kind. If we leave these narrow worlds, it is usually as an observer of another way of life."
-'The 50th Law'.

"Life has more meaning in the face of Death."
-'The 33 Strategies Of War'.

This is a practical and understandable handbook for anybody seeking power, keeping an eye on power, or arming themselves against power. 'The 48 Laws of Power' was created and designed by Joost Elffers, and will be remembered as the essential and contentious guide to modern manipulation.

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

"Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies."

"Oysters open completely when the moon is full, and when the crab sees one, it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it, and the oyster cannot close again, so that it serves the crab for meat."

"Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish."

"Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent"

"Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener. Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519"

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

"If you want to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is impudent or their offer ridiculous."

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

"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."

"...But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will turn wild and cause you grief."

"Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are."

"Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience."

"Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions—your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life."

"Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act Like a King to be treated."

"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."

"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."

"By acknowledging a petty problem, you give it existence and credibility."

"The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone."

"For the future, the motto is, 'No Days Unalert'."

"If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem."

"When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike."

"There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous."

"Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter"

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

"Remember: 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."

This book is a guide to the subtle social game of daily life informed by the most clever and successful military principles in war, synthesizing dozens of political, spanning world civilizations, religious and philosophical texts, and thousands of years of violent conflict.

"Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it."

"Do not fight them. Instead, think of them the way you think of children, or pets, not important enough to affect your mental balance"

"Events in life mean nothing if you do not reflect on them in a deep way, and ideas from books are pointless if they have no application to life as you live it."

"It is your own bad strategies, not the unfair opponent, that are to blame for your failures. You are responsible for the good and bad in your life."

"Understand: your mind is weaker than your emotions. But you become aware of this weakness only in moments of adversity--precisely the time when you need strength."

"But 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."

"What best equips you to cope with the heat of battle is neither more knowledge nor more intellect."

"Think of the mind as a river: the faster it flows, the better it keeps up with the present and responds to change. The faster it flows, the more it refreshes itself and the greater its energy."

"What makes your mind stronger, and more able to control your emotions, is internal discipline and toughness."

"Obsessional thoughts, past experiences (whether traumas or successes), and preconceived notions are like boulders or mud in this river, settling and hardening there and damming it up."

"No one can teach you this skill; you cannot learn it by reading about it. Like any discipline, it can come only through practice, experience, and even a little suffering."

"The first step in building up presence of mind is to see the need for it—to want it badly enough to be willing to work for it."

"The river stops moving; stagnation sets in. You must wage constant war on this tendency in the mind."

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

"Everything in life can be taken away from you and generally will be at some point. Your wealth vanishes, the latest gadgetry suddenly becomes passé, your allies desert you."

"Your mind is the starting point of all war and all strategy."

"But if your mind is armed with the art of war, there is no power that can take that away. In the middle of a crisis, your mind will find its way to the right solution."

"No matter how far we progress, we remain part animal, and it is the animal in us that fires our strategies, gives them life, and animates us to fight. Without the desire to fight, without a capacity for the violence that war churns up, we cannot deal with danger."

"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."

"The prudent Odysseus types are comfortable with both sides of their nature. They plan ahead as best they can, see far and wide, but when it comes time to move ahead, they move."

"For what the leaders are, that, as a rule, will the men below them be. —Xenophon (430–355 B.C.)"

"Knowing how to control your emotions means not repressing them completely but using them to their best effect."

"Having superior strategies at your fingertips will give your manoeuvres irresistible force."

"Our successes and failures in life can be traced to how well or how badly we deal with the inevitable conflicts that confront us in society."

"Understanding the world too well, you see too many options and become as indecisive as Hamlet."

Greene studied classical studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is residing in Los Angeles as of 2022. Greene's works are praised by everyone from military historians to the top singers in the industry, apart from having a strong following in the business sector and a deep following in Washington, DC, including Drake, Jay-Z, and 50 Cent.

"In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious." 
-'Mastery'.

"There is too little mystery in the world; too many people say exactly what they feel or want."

- 'The Art of Seduction'.

"The truth is that creative activity is one that involves the entire self - our emotions, our levels of energy, our characters, and our minds."
-'Mastery'.

"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."
-'The 50th Law'.

"The real poetry and beauty in life comes from an intense relationship with reality in all its aspects. Realism is in fact the ideal we must aspire to, the highest point of human rationality."
-'The 50th Law'.

"When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are."
-'The Art Of Seduction'.

"Become who you are by learning who you are."
- 'Mastery'.

"It is in fact the height of selfishness to merely consume what others create and to retreat into a shell of limited goals and immediate pleasures."
- 'Mastery'.

"Nothing is stable in the realm of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the worst of enemies."

"The world around us, he wrote, is far more complex than we can possibly imagine. With our limited senses and consciousness, we only glimpse a small portion of reality."
- 'Mastery'.

"For each weakness, there is a corresponding strength."
-'The Laws Of Human Nature'.

"Furthermore, everything in the universe is in a state of constant flux. Simple words and thoughts cannot capture this flux or complexity."
- 'Mastery'.

"Daily Law: The person with the more global perspective wins. Expand your gaze."
-'The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature'.

"The only solution for an enlightened person is to let the mind absorb itself in what it experiences, without having to form a judgment on what it all means."
- 'Mastery'.

"When she was writing, she could completely forget herself and inhabit her characters. It was a religious-like experience of losing the ego."
-'The Laws Of Human Nature'.

"The mind must be able to feel doubt and uncertainty for as long as possible."
- 'Mastery'.

"In other words, concentrated practise over time cannot fail but produce results."
- 'Mastery'.

"As it remains in this state and probes deeply into the mysteries of the universe, ideas will come that are more dimensional and real than if we had jumped to conclusions and formed judgments early on."
- 'Mastery'.

"What withdraws, what becomes scarce, suddenly seems to deserve our respect and honor."
-'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"To accomplish this, he wrote, we must be capable of negating our ego. We are, by nature, fearful and insecure creatures. We do not like things that are unfamiliar or unknown."
- 'Mastery'.

"Hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself and over time."
-'The 48 Laws of Power'.

"To compensate for this, we assert ourselves with opinions and ideas that make us seem strong and certain."
- 'Mastery'.

"Know What You're Drawn to and Immerse Yourself in It"
-'The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature'.

"Many of these opinions do not come from our own deep reflection but are instead based on what other people think. Furthermore, once we hold these ideas, to admit they are wrong is to wound our ego and vanity."
- 'Mastery'.

"Do not show all your cards. An air of mystery heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation—everyone."
-'The 48 Laws Of Power'.

"Truly creative people in all fields can temporarily suspend their ego and simply experience what they are seeing, without the need to assert a judgment, for as long as possible. They are more than ready to have their most cherished opinions contradicted by reality."
- 'Mastery'.