782 Quotes by Robert Greene

You must value learning above everything else.

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.

There is nothing to be gained by insulting a person unnecessarily. Swallow the impulse to offend, even if the other person seems weak. The satisfaction is meager compared to the danger that someday he or she will be in a position to hurt you.

Sometimes any emotion is better than the boredom of security.

If you are trying to mislead your enemies, it is often better to concoct something ambiguous and hard to read, as opposed to an outright deception – that deception can be uncovered and enemies can turn their discovery to their advantage, especially if you think they are still fooled and act under that belief.

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.

Our continual connection to social media makes us prone to new forms of viral emotional effects. These are not media designed for calm reflection.

What people lack in life is not more reality but illusion, fantasy, play.

To a remarkable extent, our hunting ancestors reversed this process. The longer they spent observing something, the deeper their understanding and connection to reality. With experience, their hunting skills would progress. With continued practice, their ability to make effective tools would improve.