12 Raw Truths About Gaining Power & Respect - Robert Greene (4K)

In this engaging conversation, Robert Green and Chris Williamson discuss Green's influential book "The 48 Laws of Power" and its special anniversary edition. They explore Green's collaboration with designer Joost Elffers, the problem with modern philosophy, and the importance of grounding philosophical ideas in real life. Green emphasizes the value of acquiring knowledge and skills, the significance of reputation and credibility, and the necessity of adapting to changing circumstances. They also touch on masculinity, the importance of channeling aggression positively, and the balance between presence and absence in maintaining influence. Green's forthcoming book on the sublime promises to challenge readers' perceptions and offer a transformative experience.

• Robert Green discusses his previous appearance on the podcast and the growth of the show.
• Chris thanks Robert for sending a special edition of "48 Laws of Power."

"The first time that you came on the show was episode 78... I'm on 820 now."

• Chris acknowledges the significant growth of the podcast since Robert's last appearance.

"I also wanted to say thank you for sending me the special edition of 48 Laws of Power."

• Chris expresses gratitude for receiving a unique edition of Robert's book.

• Robert discusses the innovative design of the special edition of "48 Laws of Power."
• The design includes gold embossing and unique page edges that reveal images when splayed.

"It's leatherbound, gold emboss, 48 on the front... as you splay the pages out in one direction, it's your face... in the other, it's that famous portrait of Machiavelli."

• The book's design is both aesthetically pleasing and innovative, using an old technique with modern technology.

"He researched it and found in the 18th century this was a technique... he was able to replicate it through digital technology."

• The designer, Yast Elfers, used historical techniques combined with modern technology to create the book.

• Discussion on the perceived decline of modern philosophy and its detachment from practical life.
• Robert emphasizes the importance of philosophy that connects to daily life and personal growth.

"For me, philosophy has to have a direct connection to my life... to my soul, to my day-to-day affairs."

• Robert prefers philosophy that is applicable to everyday life rather than abstract theories.

"Zen can be described as the ultimate realistic philosophy... it's taking you back to what is truly real."

• Robert appreciates Zen philosophy for its practical and realistic approach to life.

• Robert criticizes the modern academic approach to philosophy and psychology.
• He highlights the tendency of academia to react against established ideas for attention.

"Academia is all about having some novel stance... whereas the truth is more rounded."

• Robert believes that academia often focuses on contrarian positions rather than holistic understanding.

"So many times with I find particularly now in the world today particularly in Academia is the necessity to say you're against something."

• He points out that modern academics often position themselves in opposition to gain recognition.

• Emphasis on the importance of acquiring knowledge and skills for personal and professional growth.
• Robert shares his personal journey of acquiring skills over 18 years before finding success.

"When you develop that skill when you're serious about it... you change your brain you rewire your brain."

• Developing skills is crucial for rewiring the brain and preparing for future opportunities.

"I had spent 18 years or so acquiring high levels of skill in writing."

• Robert's personal experience highlights the importance of skill acquisition over time.

• Discussion on the subtle role of intuition and a sense of fate in guiding life decisions.
• Robert believes that intuition can guide individuals even if they are not fully conscious of it.

"Sometimes you don't realize it but your body and your brain have a sense of even the future."

• Intuition can provide a sense of direction and purpose, even if not fully understood at the moment.

"There is something in you that is guiding you towards certain things."

• Internal guidance and intuition play a significant role in decision-making and life direction.

• Robert discusses the negative impact of cynicism on creativity and personal growth.
• Emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of wonder and amazement.

"Cynicism reduces everything to this one level... it has nothing to do with reality."

• Cynicism oversimplifies the complexity and richness of life, hindering personal growth.

"The ability to express wonder and amazement and seem like you mean it is a rare and dying talent."

• Maintaining a sense of wonder is crucial for creativity and personal fulfillment.

• Importance of reputation in acquiring and maintaining power.
• Reputation can be a tool for intimidation and influence without direct confrontation.

"So much depends on reputation... through reputation alone you can intimidate and win."

• Reputation is a cornerstone of power, and maintaining it is crucial for influence and success.

"When you have no talents, you have no skill... life is a series of endless confusion."

• Lack of skills and reputation leads to confusion and lack of direction in life.

• Discussion on the importance of practical wisdom (phronesis) in effective leadership.
• Stupid and incompetent leaders can cause more harm than evil ones due to their certainty and lack of foresight.

"More harm is caused in this world by stupid incompetent people than by evil people."

• Stupidity and incompetence, especially in leadership, can lead to disastrous outcomes.

"When you have leaders who are so certain... they enter a country into a war that they haven't thought out."

• Certainty without foresight in leadership can lead to poor decision-making and negative consequences.

• Reputation precedes individuals and can influence perceptions and interactions.
• Power is fundamentally psychological, not purely based on achievements or metrics.
• Mastering psychological tactics is essential for rising to positions of power.

"The CEO of a company, he doesn't get there based on... it's not like baseball where his balls and strikes... it's about psychology."

• Leaders often ascend to power through psychological mastery rather than objective metrics.

"People rise to positions of power because they know how to play the game... they know how to play the Optics... intimidate... say less than necessary."

• Understanding and leveraging reputation is crucial in various domains, including business and social interactions.

"If your company is known for always putting on good parties, then you get to benefit from that."

• A strong reputation can exponentially grow and continue to work for you, while a damaged one can severely impact even your best efforts.

"When you're starting to go down, even your best work will sometimes be derated."

• Credibility is invaluable and irreplaceable; once lost, it cannot be bought back.

"Credibility is the one thing that you should never sell because you cannot buy it back."

• Social media actions can have long-term consequences on reputation.

"People post things on social media when they're young not realizing that 5 years later... it's going to ruin your reputation."

• Consistency in reputation is essential for maintaining credibility and trust.
• A consistent reputation helps people form a clear and simple understanding of who you are.

"If you're like all over the map and you're going over here, your reputation is about that, it looks weak."

• Inconsistency can lead to perceptions of being untrustworthy and lacking a core identity.

"If you can't be consistent... it makes you look like you have no soul, no core."

• Consistency must be genuine and not appear contrived.

"People are fine with people changing their mind as long as... show me you're working."

• Reputation can be weaponized to undermine opponents.
• Highlighting inconsistencies in an enemy's reputation can be highly effective.

"If you're very Machiavellian... poke holes in your enemy's reputation and you will destroy them."

• Historical figures like PT Barnum used such tactics to their advantage.

"PT Barnum played that game to ruin other people's reputation."

• Being irreplaceable is crucial in a competitive world.
• Everyone has unique qualities that make them irreplaceable.

"If you're replaceable, you will be replaced... the only defense against that is to be irreplaceable."

• Social pressures often push individuals to conform, but true power lies in embracing one's uniqueness.

"The pressure continually on us is to fit into a group... to have their ideas, their values."

• Recognizing and nurturing your unique traits can lead to success and fulfillment.

"Your oddness, what makes you weird... that is who you are."

• Historical examples show that embracing uniqueness leads to significant contributions to culture and society.

"Look at your Elon Musk, your celebrities... they're one of a kind."

• Knowing oneself and embracing one's unique traits is essential for personal and professional success.
• Suppressing unique traits can lead to unhappiness and a lack of fulfillment.

"If you lose that... you will be unhappy, you will be alienated from who you are."

• Courage is needed to stand out and embrace one's differences.

"Sometimes you need a little bit of koness, you need a little bit of courage to stand up and say I'm okay being different."

• Individuality contributes to cultural diversity and vitality.

"Your mutation, your difference... you're going to contribute something new to the culture."

• Non-conformity is often the key to standing out and achieving extraordinary success.
• People are valued for their unique traits, not for how average they are.

"We love people for their eccentricities... no one's ever said, 'I'm just boted with how predictable all of her opinions are.'"

• Embracing one's unique traits is seen as a duty to oneself and to humanity.

"It's our duty to embrace the things that only you can do."

• Social conditioning can drown out one's true self and unique voice.
• It's essential to listen to and nurture that inner voice that guides you towards your true interests and passions.

"That little voice in you is going, Robert, you should be a writer... as you get older, you don't hear it anymore."

• Overcoming social conditioning involves recognizing and resisting the pressure to conform.

"You're afraid of being different... but look at all the powerful people in this world."

• Genetics and early experiences shape one's unique traits and inclinations.
• These traits often guide individuals towards their true calling and areas of success.

"My wanting to be a writer or Tiger Woods wanting to be a golfer... there's probably some genetic component in it."

• Recognizing and embracing these traits can lead to a more fulfilling and successful life.

"Knowing what makes you different is going to guide you past these dangerous moments in life."

• Personal experiences often reveal unique traits that can be leveraged for success.
• Childhood experiences and traits can be transformed into strengths in adulthood.

"The things that you're punished for when you're a child... you're often rewarded for if you can just find a way to alchemize them as an adult."

• Reflecting on personal anecdotes can provide valuable insights into one's unique traits and how to harness them.

"My solitude as a child was maybe something that I lamented... yet it's a superpower when I become an adult."

• Understanding and leveraging reputation, uniqueness, and self-knowledge are key to personal and professional success.
• Embracing one's unique traits and resisting social pressures to conform can lead to a more fulfilling and impactful life.
• Personal anecdotes and historical examples illustrate the importance of these principles in achieving extraordinary success.

• Discusses the importance of being comfortable with what makes you different despite societal pressures to conform.
• Reflects on personal experiences of returning to comforting activities from childhood, such as throwing a ball against a wall.
• Highlights the concept of a "weirdness role model" – someone who breaks the norm and inspires others to embrace their unique behaviors.

"You keep coming back to being alone; you keep coming back to throwing the ball against the wall in some metaphoric way."

• Emphasizes the recurring return to personal, comforting activities that reflect one's true self.

"I came up with a name for that which is a weirdness role model, and it's somebody who does a thing that sort of breaks the ceiling on what you thought was acceptable behavior."

• Introduces the idea of "weirdness role models" who inspire others to embrace their unique traits and behaviors.

• Explores the concept that the human brain evolved under immense pressure, requiring constant stress to function optimally.
• Discusses how pressure and deadlines can drive productivity and creativity.
• Contrasts the detrimental effects of boredom and lack of pressure with the motivating force of stress.

"Your brain needs pressure; it needs constant pressure and stress, and pressure is not a bad thing."

• Asserts that pressure and stress are essential for brain function and productivity.

"Create pressure for yourself; it's a good thing."

• Encourages self-imposed pressure to enhance productivity and creativity.

"The pressure of getting that done in five years made him do it in five years."

• Uses Thomas Edison’s example to illustrate how setting public deadlines can drive achievement.

• Discusses how early success can be detrimental, leading to a lack of discipline and perspective.
• Highlights the importance of experiencing failure to build resilience and strategic thinking.
• Uses examples from the music industry, particularly hip-hop, to illustrate how failure can lead to innovative approaches and long-term success.

"Sometimes success when in your 20s is the worst thing that can happen to you because you have no discipline, you have no perspective."

• Emphasizes the potential negative impact of early success on personal and professional development.

"If I had been given the chance to write the 48 Laws of Power when I was in my 20s and I had success, it would have ruined me."

• Reflects on personal experience, suggesting that delayed success provided valuable perspective and discipline.

• Explores how social expectations can both hinder and motivate personal and professional growth.
• Discusses the importance of understanding and leveraging one’s own insecurities and social needs to achieve goals.
• Highlights the balance between embracing one's uniqueness and using social pressures to drive progress.

"Use the social mores to kind of pull you to where you want to be."

• Suggests leveraging social expectations to motivate and guide personal and professional growth.

"I've never canceled because of something that hasn't been a justifiable reason."

• Illustrates the importance of consistency and reliability in maintaining professional commitments.

• Stresses the value of continually challenging oneself to maintain energy and motivation.
• Discusses the balance between setting achievable challenges and avoiding complacency.
• Uses personal examples of writing diverse books to illustrate the importance of taking on new challenges.

"Each book that I do, I'm now on my eighth book, is different from the other one."

• Highlights the importance of diversity in projects to maintain motivation and creativity.

"The challenge is good because it gets my energy levels going."

• Emphasizes that taking on new challenges is essential for maintaining energy and enthusiasm.

• Discusses the value of having critics and opposition as a means to improve and prove oneself.
• Highlights the role of constructive criticism in refining ideas and strategies.
• Uses historical and personal examples to illustrate the importance of embracing and learning from criticism.

"If everything is easy in life, if everyone loves what you're going to do, and you have no enemies, you have no opposition, nothing to resist, you're just going to be mush."

• Emphasizes the necessity of opposition and criticism for growth and improvement.

"Bring Robert in; he'll tell us it's [ __ ]."

• Reflects on the role of being a critical voice in business consultations to improve strategies and outcomes.

• Discusses the immense pressure that follows initial success, particularly in creative fields.
• Highlights the challenges of maintaining and surpassing the standards set by one's first successful project.
• Uses the example of Lewis Capaldi's documentary to illustrate the personal and professional pressures of following up on a successful debut.

"He has got, he's taken the chairlift to the top of Everest, and he goes, well, how am I supposed to top that?"

• Reflects on the immense pressure and expectations following an initial success.

"You have a lifetime to write your first book, and then, well, I mean, most people maybe two years for you six years to write your second."

• Highlights the contrast between the time and effort available for a debut project versus subsequent projects.

• Robert faced significant pressure and doubt while writing a book with 50 Cent, which pushed him to elevate his writing.
• The experience of overcoming doubt and pressure can either crush a person or make them stronger.

“It was the first time in my writing career writing books that I was facing failure, real failure.”

• Robert underscores the critical nature of the project and the high stakes involved.

“Having that kind of pressure like we talked about deadlines and having people doubt you, it can crush you but it can also make you a lot stronger.”

• Pressure and doubt can be transformative, strengthening one's resolve and abilities.

• Robert discusses the strategic use of absence to increase respect and admiration.
• The balance between absence and presence is crucial; too much absence can make one forgotten, whereas strategic absence can heighten interest.

“Use absence to increase respect. The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear.”

• Absence can enhance one's value and mystique.

“It’s a dance between absence and presence…you make people wonder about you.”

• A strategic balance between being present and absent can keep people intrigued and interested.

• The concept of variable schedule rewards in social media and gambling is analogous to the strategic use of absence and presence.
• Creating a sense of scarcity and breaking patterns can make brands and individuals more appealing.

“If you press a button…they will push the button way more aggressively.”

• Intermittent rewards increase engagement and interest.

“You need to have created the setup for that…breaking a convention before you've set a convention is just being sporadic.”

• Establishing a consistent pattern before breaking it can create surprise and maintain interest.

• Machiavelli’s idea that successful individuals must adapt to changing circumstances.
• Stagnation occurs when one fails to evolve with the times, leading to a decline in relevance and power.

“People rise to a position of an elevated position based on a certain quality that they have…a point is reached where the times change.”

• Success requires continual adaptation to new circumstances and challenges.

“He compared it…you have to be able to shift with fortune and ride it.”

• The ability to adapt and shift with changing circumstances is crucial for sustained success.

• The modern world’s negative connotations around masculinity and the need to redefine it positively.
• Masculinity should be about self-control, respect, and channeling aggression into productive outlets.

“You have to be comfortable with who you are and with your masculinity.”

• Embracing one’s natural tendencies while maintaining control and discipline.

“Respecting women is a sign of your strength…it comes from a position of strength.”

• True masculinity involves respect, self-control, and confidence without demeaning others.

• Robert’s upcoming book aims to challenge perceptions and reveal the world’s deeper, more exciting aspects.
• The sublime combines pain and pleasure, awe and terror, creating a profound impact on the human experience.

“I’m trying to make you realize that you’re looking at it in a very limited fashion.”

• The book aims to expand readers’ perspectives and challenge their understanding of the world.

“Every chapter I’m trying to challenge you and say that the world is different and actually much more exciting and interesting than you think it is.”

• The goal is to alter how readers perceive various aspects of life, from nature to death.

• Robert’s reflections on the importance of awe and dread in experiencing the sublime.
• The blend of awe and terror in the sublime can lead to a deeper appreciation and understanding of life’s complexities.

“The sublime is an unusual thing. It’s a combination of pain and pleasure, of awe and terror.”

• The sublime’s impact lies in its ability to evoke profound emotional responses through contrasting experiences.

“It’s going to be a weird book, and maybe it’ll fail. Maybe it’ll have 10 readers.”

• The book’s unconventional approach aims to provoke thought and challenge perceptions, regardless of its commercial success.