For the future, the motto is, "No days alert.

— Robert Greene

Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do NOT do, what you do not ALLOW yourself to get dragged into.

— Robert Greene

Hesitation creates gaps. Boldness obliterates them.

— Robert Greene

How can we explain such inclinations? They are forces within us that come from a deeper place than conscious words can express. They draw us to certain experiences and away from others.

— Robert Greene

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

In following your inclinations and moving toward mastery, you make a great contribution to society, enriching it with discoveries and insights, and making the most of the diversity in nature and among human society.

— Robert Greene

It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six million years ago were remarkably weak and vulnerable creatures. They stood less than five feet tall. They walked upright and could run on their two legs, but nowhere near as fast as the swift predators on four legs that pursued them. Furthermore, they were skinny—their arms could not provide much defense. Furthermore, they had no claws or fangs or poison to resort to if under attack. To gather fruits, nuts, and insects, or to scavenge dead meat, they had to move out into the open savanna where they became easy prey to leopards or packs of hyenas. So weak and small, they might have easily become extinct. And yet within the space of a few million years (remarkably short on the timescale of evolution), these rather physically unimpressive ancestors of ours transformed themselves into the most formidable hunters on the planet. What could possibly account for such a miraculous turnaround?

— Robert Greene

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

It is time to reverse this prejudice against conscious effort and to see the powers we gain through practice and discipline as eminently inspiring and even miraculous.

— Robert Greene

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

— Robert Greene