Stop shallow water from running, it will rage; tread on a worm and it will turn. Robert Greene More Quotes by Robert Greene More Quotes From Robert Greene Understand: you are one of a kind. Your character traits are a kind of chemical mix that will never be repeated in history. There are ideas unique to you, a specific rhythm and perspective that are your strengths, not your weaknesses. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you. Robert Greene unique character thinking You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear. Robert Greene headings be-prepared your-future Understand: 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. Robert Greene political doubt people Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay. Robert Greene waste mind pay True genius, in strategy or anywhere, lies in self-control, self-mastery, presence of mind, fluidity of thought. Robert Greene presence-of-mind self lying You have the power to think differently about who you are. You have the ability to turn off the critical voice inside of you. That's not you. That's coming from the culture. That's coming from the outside of you. You've internalized the voice of your parents, your teachers, your friends. Robert Greene voice teacher thinking The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role you are doomed. Robert Greene roles want world Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are. Some people are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger. 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. Robert Greene pride worry people I believe that everything happens for a reason, and what seems bad at first might in fact be something of a blessing. Robert Greene everything-happens-for-a-reason blessing believe No moment is wasted if you pay attention and learn the lessons contained in every experience. Robert Greene lessons pay attention Those qualities that separate us are often ridiculed by others or criticized by teachers. Because of these judgments, we might see our strengths as disabilities and try to work around them in order to fit in. But anything that is peculiar to our makeup is precisely what we must pay the deepest attention to and lean on in our rise to mastery. Robert Greene makeup teacher order 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. Robert Greene mastery focus genius Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. 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. Robert Greene smart perfect order You can die from someone else's misery — emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead. Robert Greene emotional may men The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways. Robert Greene mastery skills creative 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. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish. Robert Greene saying-less powerful people Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself. Robert Greene justify complaining trying 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. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life. Robert Greene roles identity character If you view everything through the lens of fear, then you tend to stay in retreat mode. You can just as easily see a crises or problem as a challenge, an opportunity to prove your mettle, the chance to strengthen and toughen yourself, or a call to collective action. By seeing it as a challenge, you will have converted this negative into a positive purely by a mental process that will result in positive action as well. Robert Greene challenges views opportunity I have an argument that to master any field, it's simple: it's a function of time. How much you devote yourself to the process, how much experience you get, how much you're willing to expand your limits, how willing you are to develop your own style. If you're willing to put 10,000 hours, something amazing is going to happen. Robert Greene style limits simple
