Best 60 Robert Greene Quotes
We have curated a list of the best quotes from Robert Greene. Let’s get a look at the quotes.
Robert Greene is an American-based author who writes books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six books and every one of them is an international bestseller.
The books are:
- The 48 Laws of Power
- The Art of Seduction
- The 33 Strategies of War
- The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent
- Mastery
- The Laws of Human Nature
In this article, we are going to read some quotes by Robert Greene but ultimately those quotes are from one of these six books. Now let’s get into the list of quotes.
List of Best Quotes from Robert Greene
1. “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”
― Robert Greene
2. “If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.”
― Robert Greene
3. “Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent”
― Robert Greene
4. “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.”
― Robert Greene
5. “LAW 4
Always Say Less Than Necessary
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
6. “LAW 46
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.”
― Robert Greene
7. “LAW 25
Re-Create Yourself
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
8. “Think of it this way: There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.”
― Robert Greene
9. “Many a serious thinker has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.”
― Robert Greene
10. “LAW 38
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.”
― Robert Greene
11. “Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.”
― Robert Greene
12. “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”
― Robert Greene
13. “There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.”
― Robert Greene
14. “The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”
― Robert Greene
15. “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter”
― Robert Greene
16. “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
17. “When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.”
― Robert Greene
18. “No one is really going to help you or give you direction. In fact, the odds are against you.”
― Robert Greene
19. “Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than
― Robert Greene
20. “People around you, constantly under the pull of their emotions, change their ideas by the day or by the hour, depending on their mood. You must never assume that what people say or do in a particular moment is a statement of their permanent desires.”
― Robert Greene
21. “person who cannot control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.”
― Robert Greene
22. “For the future, the motto is, “No days unalert.”
― Robert Greene
23. “Despise The Free Lunch”
― Robert Greene
24. “The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus.”
― Robert Greene
25. “You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is a powerful move. What you do not react to cannot drag you down in a futile engagement. Your pride is not involved. The best lesson you can teach an irritating gnat is to consign it to oblivion by ignoring it.”
― Robert Greene
26. “Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated”
― Robert Greene
27. “People are more complicated than the masks they wear in society.”
― Robert Greene
28. “To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And this presents a great danger.”
― Robert Greene
29. “A Prince asked the dying Spanish statesman, “Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies?” “I do not have to forgive all my enemies,” answered the stateman, “I have had them all shot.”
― Robert Greene
30. “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.”
― Robert Greene
31. “Sweet are the thoughts that savor of content, The quiet mind is richer than a crown…”
― Robert Greene
32. “do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
― Robert Greene
33. “When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.”
― Robert Greene
34. “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.”
― Robert Greene
35. “Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself.”
― Robert Greene
36. “friendship and love blind every man to their interests.”
― Robert Greene
39. “Never be distracted by people’s glamorous portraits of themselves and their lives; search and dig for what really imprisons them.”
― Robert Greene
40. “He who poses as a fool is not a fool.”
― Robert Greene
41. “Do not fight them. Instead, think of them the way you think of children, or pets, not important enough to affect your mental balance”
― Robert Greene
42. “The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.”
― Robert Greene
43. “Become who you are by learning who you are.”
― Robert Greene
44. “The human tongue is a beast that few can master.”
― Robert Greene
45. “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.”
― Robert Greene
46. “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.”
― Robert Greene
47. “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. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.”
― Robert Greene
48. “There is too little mystery in the world; too many people say exactly what they feel or want.”
― Robert Greene
49. “Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”
― Robert Greene
50. “If we experience any failures or setbacks, we do not forget them because they offend our self-esteem. Instead, we reflect on them deeply, trying to figure out what went wrong and discern whether there are any patterns to our mistakes.”
― Robert Greene
51. “Sadness of any sort is also seductive, particularly if it seems deep-rooted, even spiritual, rather than needy or pathetic—it makes people come to you.”
― Robert Greene
52. “Nothing is stable in the realm of power, and even closest of friends can be transformed into the worst of enemies.”
― Robert Greene
53. “The passive ironic attitude is not cool or romantic, but pathetic and destructive.”
― Robert Greene
54. “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.”
― Robert Greene
55. “Hide your intentions not by closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals-just not the real ones.”
― Robert Greene
56. “If, for example, you are miserly by nature, you will never go beyond a certain limit; only generous souls attain greatness.”
― Robert Greene
57. “You must understand the following: 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.”
― Robert Greene
58. “Everything that happens to you is a form of instruction if you pay attention.”
― Robert Greene
59. “Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. It is sometimes better, then, to use enemies as enemies rather than transforming them into friends or allies.”
― Robert Greene
60. “Power is a game, and in games, you do not judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effects of their actions.”
― Robert Greene
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Wrapping up
That is the list of best quotes from Robert Greene, If you liked it then don’t forget to share this on your social media handles and if you have any suggestions then please let us know by commenting down below.
Sourabh Sharma is a hobbyist book reader, Entrepreneur, and a literature student at Delhi University. A blog writer by day and a book reader by night, he is oathed to discuss himself in a third person but can be persuaded to do so from time to time.
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