In this episode, I talk to international bestselling author Robert Greene about strategy, seduction, and the sublime. Robert implores us to get comfortable with the dark side of human nature and society. He argues that by acknowledging the reality of human interactions, we can use certain strategies to help us effectively navigate the workplace, our relationships, and daily life. We also touch on the topics of empathy, imagination, charisma, power, and his upcoming book on transcendence and the sublime.

Chatting with Robert is always such a delight as we have many mutual areas of interest. I have been a long-time admirer of his books, and remember reading them in college and thinking that he seems to just get it. I hope you enjoyed this high-level discussion as much as I did.

Bio

Robert Greene is an author and speaker known for his books on strategy, power and seduction. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a degree in classical studies. He has written six international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature. Recently, he published The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery. Greene’s books are hailed by everyone from war historians to the biggest musicians in the industry including Jay-Z, Drake, and 50 Cent.

Website: powerseductionandwar.com

Twitter: @RobertGreene

Topics

02:12 Robert’s health 

03:43 The Daily Laws 

04:58 What is a radical realist? 

10:10 Empathy is like a telepathic connection

14:59 The human desire for fantasy

18:50 Etiquette is deception

22:17 How to live with the harsh truths of reality

28:03 Poeticize your presence

31:16 Channel pain into charisma

35:36 Stop being so nice all the time

39:08 Mix harshness and kindness

42:36 The primary law of human nature 

46:08 Embrace your dark side

50:33 Schadenfreude vs mitfreude

53:46 The Pygmalion Effect

56:17 The integration of the shadow

01:02:05 The Law of the Sublime

01:08:14 The “post-mortem life”

01:10:03 The sublime is in the everyday