The Daily Laws [eBook - NC Digital Library] : 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature

Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular path. You may remember this something as a signal calling in childhood when an urge out of nowhere, a fascination, a peculiar turn of events struck like an annunciation: This is what I must do, this is what I've got to have. This is who I am. --James Hillman As you become more sophisticated, you often lose touch with these signals from your primal core. They can be buried beneath all of the other subjects you have studied. Your power and future can depend on reconnecting with this core and returning to your origins. You must dig for signs of such inclinations in your earliest years. Look for its traces in visceral reactions to something simple; a desire to repeat an activity that you never tired of; a subject that stimulated an unusual degree of curiosity; feelings of power attached to particular actions. It is already there within you. You have nothing to create; you merely need to dig and refine what has been buried inside of you all along. If you reconnect with this core at any age, some element of that primitive attraction will spark back to life, indicating a path that can ultimately become your Life's Task. Also by Robert Green Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Preface January: Your Life’s Task January 1: Discover Your Calling January 2: Reconnect with Your Childhood Obsession January 3: The Voice January 4: It Is Already within You January 5: Know What You’re Drawn to and Immerse Yourself in It January 6: Change Is the Law January 7: Money and Success January 8: Occupy Your Own Niche January 9: Find Inspiration from Your Heroes January 10: Embrace Your Weirdness January 11: What Makes You Feel More Alive? January 12: The Obstacle Is the Way January 13: Master the Small Things January 14: Avoid the False Path January 15: Let a Sense of Purpose Guide You January 16: There Are No Superior Callings January 17: The True Source of Creativity January 18: Stop Being So Nice January 19: Listen to Your Inner Authority January 20: See Mastery as Salvation January 21: Depending on Others Is Misery January 22: Use Resistance and Negative Spurs January 23: Create a Ladder of Descending Goals January 24: Combine Your Fascinations January 25: Change Yourself from within, Little by Little January 26: Avoid the Counterforces to Mastery January 27: The Real Secret January 28: The Path Is Not Linear January 29: Become Who You Are January 30: Trust the Process January 31: The Source of All Power February: The Ideal Apprenticeship February 1: Submit to Reality February 2: What the Mentor Needs February 3: You Have One Goal February 4: Value Learning above Everything Else February 5: Accumulate Skills February 6: Consider Yourself a Builder February 7: The Only Shortcut to Mastery February 8: The Perfect Mentor February 9: Redefine Pleasure February 10: Learn from Everything February 11: Enter the Cycle of Accelerated Returns February 12: Learn by Doing February 13: How to Learn Quickly and Deeply February 14: Move Toward Resistance February 15: Concentrated Practice Cannot Fail February 16: Love the Detailed Work February 17: The Painful Truth February 18: Two Kinds of Failure February 19: Choose Time February 20: Understand How the Brain Works February 21: Create the Need for You February 22: Absorb Purposeful Energy February 23: Never Enough Knowledge February 24: Surpass Your Master February 25: Keep Expanding Your Horizons February 26: Venture Outside Your Comfort Zone February 27: Establish Your Own Style February 28: To the Master Goes the Knife February 29: Take the Hacker Approach March: The Master at Work March 1: Awaken the Dimensional Mind March 2: Get to the Inside March 3: Cultivate the Craftsman Ethic March 4: The Creative Process March 5: Look Wider and Think Further Ahead March 6: The Gift of Our Original Mind March 7: Keep the Mind Moving March 8: Retain Your Sense of Wonder March 9: Impatience Is Your Enemy March 10: Knowledge Is Your Superior March 11: Intensity of Focus March 12: Perfect Yourself through Failure March 13: Creative Endurance March 14: Immerse Yourself in the Details March 15: Make Your Work Come to Life March 16: Alter Your Perspective March 17: These Powers Can’t Come Cheaply March 18: The Power of Desire and Determination March 19: The Deadening Dynamic March 20: The Master’s Brain March 21: The Universal Master March 22: On Meditation March 23: Listen to Your Frustration March 24: The Mind as a Muscle March 25: Cultivate Negative Capability March 26: Pay Attention to Negative Cues March 27: The Power of Peak Experiences March 28: Move Beyond Intellect March 29: Fuse the Intuitive with the Rational, A March 30: Fuse the Intuitive with the Rational, B March 31: Connect to Your Destiny April: The Perfect Courtier April 1: Never Outshine the Master April 2: Make the Master Feel Glorious and Superior April 3: Find Out Who Holds the Strings April 4: Know When to Take and Give Credit April 5: Remake Yourself into a Character of Power April 6: Seem Dumber Than Your Mark April 7: Do Not Be the Court Cynic April 8: Master Your Emotional Responses April 9: So Much Depends on Reputation April 10: Always Say Less Than Necessary April 11: Appeal to People’s Self-Interest April 12: Use Your Enemies April 13: Better to Be Attacked Than Ignored April 14: View the World as a Vast Interconnected Palace April 15: Create a Cultlike Following April 16: Do Not Commit to Anyone April 17: Stay Above the Fray April 18: Startle the Snakes April 19: Tailor Your Flattery April 20: Be Royal in Your Own Fashion April 21: Be Merciless with Your Enemies April 22: Sow the Seeds of Doubt April 23: Fear the Power of Infection April 24: Avoid the False Alliance April 25: Enter Action with Boldness April 26: Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless April 27: Despise the Free Lunch April 28: There Is No Revenge Like Oblivion April 29: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability April 30: Never Appear Too Perfect May: The Supposed Nonplayers of Power May 1: Everyone Is a Player in the Game May 2: Take on the Toxic Types May 3: Judge Them on Their Behavior, Not on Their Words May 4: The Appearance of Naiveté May 5: Be Careful Whom You Offend May 6: See Through the False Front May 7: The Subtle-Superiority Strategy May 8: Look at Their Past May 9: See Through the Emotional Outburst May 10: Don’t Mistake Extra Conviction for Truth May 11: The Pattern May 12: Be Wary of the Noble Gesture May 13: Recognize Deep Narcissists before You Fall for Them May 14: The Grandiose Leader May 15: The Machiavellian Gift May 16: The Fake Traditionalist May 17: Deciphering the Shadow May 18: Look Beneath the Mask May 19: Demanding Equality May 20: The Unambitious Front May 21: The Aggressive Pleaser May 22: Determine the Strength of People’s Character May 23: Don’t Always Believe Your Eyes May 24: Easy Money May 25: Avoid the Drama Magnet May 26: The Sincerity Ploy May 27: Detect Their True Motives May 28: The Effective Truth May 29: Nothing Personal May 30: Everyone Wants More Power May 31: Know Who You’re Dealing With June: The Divine Craft June 1: Wear the Appropriate Mask June 2: Use Absence to Increase Respect June 3: Take Control of Your Image June 4: Play on People’s Instinct to Trust Appearances June 5: Create Dramatic Effects June 6: Play Your Role Well June 7: Never Impugn People’s Intelligence June 8: Distract Them from Your Real Goal June 9: Give People the Opportunity to Feel Superior June 10: Infect the Group with Productive Emotions June 11: Strike the Shepherd June 12: Use the Surrender Tactic June 13: Lead from the Front June 14: Deter with a Threatening Presence June 15: The Art of Presence and Absence June 16: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal June 17: The Seductive Visuals June 18: Never Reform Too Much at Once June 19: Make Others Come to You June 20: Display a Hint of Weakness June 21: The Slow Power Grab June 22: Control What You Reveal June 23: Play to Their High Self-Opinion June 24: Demonic Language June 25: Create an Air of Mystery June 26: Never Conventional June 27: Play to People’s Fantasies June 28: Renew Your Aura of Authority June 29: Mirror Their Values June 30: Play the Honest Rogue July: The Seductive Character July 1: Look at the World through the Eyes of a Seducer July 2: Delay Satisfaction July 3: Direct Your Gaze Outward July 4: The Empathic Attitude July 5: Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo July 6: The Soft Sell July 7: Appear to Be an Object of Desire July 8: The Anti-Seducer July 9: Make Them Want to Spoil You July 10: Set Off Viral Effects July 11: Friend to Lover July 12: Flout Their Expectations July 13: Make Use of Contrasts July 14: Create Calculated Surprises July 15: Heighten the Experience July 16: Enter Their Spirit July 17: Create Temptation July 18: Prove Yourself July 19: Lure Others into Your Fantasy World July 20: Be a Source of Pleasure July 21: The Law of Covetousness July 22: Create a Wound July 23: Pay Attention to Detail July 24: Make Them Fetishize You July 25: Play with Ambiguity July 26: Know When to Withdraw July 27: Know When to Be Bold July 28: Communicate to People’s Senses July 29: The Pursuer Is Pursued July 30: The Thrill of Illusion July 31: Poeticize Your Presence August: The Master Persuader August 1: The Hypnotist’s Art August 2: Play on Their Competitive Spirit August 3: Make Them the Star of the Show August 4: Channel Overpowering Emotions August 5: Win through Your Actions August 6: Keep Them Guessing August 7: Consider Their Self-Interest August 8: Avoid Argument August 9: The Moral Effect August 10: Anchor Their Ego August 11: Master the Art of Insinuation August 12: Use Their Emotions August 13: Penetrate Their Minds August 14: Leave People with a Feeling August 15: Create Compelling Spectacles August 16: Use Their Rigidity August 17: Persuade with a Light Touch August 18: Make Them Feel Your Point August 19: Let Them Win on the Minor Points: August 20: How to Deal with the Irritating August 21: The Master Motivator August 22: The Lure of the Unfamiliar August 23: Find Their Thumbscrew August 24: Mix Harshness and Kindness August 25: Cultivate the Third Eye August 26: Appeal to Their Unrealized Greatness August 27: Transform Yourself into a Deep Listener August 28: Instill a Feeling of Inner Security August 29: Infect People with the Proper Mood August 30: Imagine Them in the Best Light August 31: Come to Terms with Your Own Self-Opinion September: The Grand Strategist September 1: Elevate Yourself Above the Battlefield September 2: Control the Entire Chessboard September 3: Attack the Center of Gravity September 4: Avoid Tactical Hell September 5: Place Yourself in Shih September 6: Never Attack Your Opponents Head-On September 7: Divide and Conquer September 8: Exploit the Chaos September 9: See the Larger Dangers That Loom in the Future September 10: Never Seem Defensive September 11: The Warrior’s Creed September 12: Time Is All You Have September 13: Think of the Unintended Consequences September 14: Crowd Out Panic September 15: Drop Your Preconceived Notions September 16: Force Them Off the Negative September 17: Balance Ends and Means September 18: The Piecemeal Strategy September 19: Make Use of the Cat’s-Paw September 20: Hit from Unexpected Angles September 21: Get Them to Reveal Their Intentions September 22: Create Maximum Disorder September 23: Develop Your Fingerspitzengefühl September 24: Retreat to Gain Perspective September 25: Stay Away from the Corners September 26: Let Go of the Past September 27: Give Yourself Space to Maneuver September 28: Plan All the Way to the End September 29: Assume Formlessness September 30: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For October: The Emotional Self October 1: The Primary Law of Human Nature October 2: There’s Nothing Stronger Than Human Nature October 3: The Inner Athena October 4: Analyze, Scrutinize, Question October 5: Do Not Let Success Intoxicate You October 6: See into Your Own Nature October 7: Rationality: A Simple Definition October 8: The Madness of Groups October 9: The Power of Association October 10: Think for Yourself October 11: Beware the Fragile Ego October 12: See Things as They Are, Not as Your Emotions Color Them October 13: Change Your Circumstances by Changing Your Attitude October 14: Confront Your Dark Side October 15: Create Mental Space from the Group October 16: Test for Envy October 17: See into the Spirit of the Times October 18: Think Like a Writer October 19: Accept People as Facts October 20: See Beyond the Moment October 21: Recognize Your Aggressive Impulses October 22: Lost in Trivia October 23: The Lost Self October 24: Know How Little You Know October 25: Examine Your Emotions to Their Roots October 26: Resist Simple Explanations October 27: See Your Shadow October 28: Move Closer to What You Envy October 29: Manage Your Grandiose Tendencies October 30: The Myth of Progress October 31: You Are the Obstacle November: The Rational Human November 1: Hope for Us All November 2: Keep Free of the Emotional Whirlpool November 3: Increase Your Reaction Time November 4: Make Envy a Spur to Achievement November 5: Know Yourself Thoroughly November 6: Who Is to Blame? November 7: Practice Mitfreude November 8: Supreme Patience November 9: Channel Your Grandiose Impulses November 10: Transcending Tribalism November 11: Ascend the Mountain November 12: Break the Codes of Convention November 13: Suffer Fools Gladly November 14: Project Saintliness November 15: Adopt a Generous Spirit November 16: Integrate the Shadow Side November 17: Balance Imagination and Reality November 18: Focus Outwardly November 19: Destiny November 20: Focus and Prioritize November 21: Connect to What Is Nearest to You November 22: Embrace Whatever Happens to You November 23: Admire Human Greatness November 24: Seek the Upward Pull of the Group November 25: Transform Self-Love into Empathy November 26: The Confirmation Bias November 27: Assume You’re Misjudging the People Around You November 28: Make the Past Come to Life November 29: The Rider and the Horse November 30: Advance with a Sense of Purpose December: The Cosmic Sublime December 1: The Infinite and the Awesome December 2: A Most Improbable Occurrence December 3: Turn and Face Your Mortality December 4: The Universe Is within You December 5: Immerse the Mind in the Moment December 6: Alive Time or Dead Time? December 7: The Bullet in the Side December 8: Connect to Something Larger Than Yourself December 9: Encounters with the Inhuman and the Infinite December 10: See the Whole December 11: The Child’s Sense of Scale December 12: Life and Death December 13: How to View the World December 14: Release Yourself from Habits and Banality December 15: Create Physical Death Awareness December 16: The Near-Death Experience December 17: Let the Impermanence of It All Sink In December 18: Have a Sense of Urgency and Desperation December 19: Feel Reborn December 20: Know What Matters December 21: Let Death Awareness Disperse Our Differences December 22: The Ultimate in Stupidity December 23: Avoid the False Sublime December 24: Place Yourself on Death Ground December 25: This Too Will Not Last December 26: Journey Inside the Global Brain December 27: Amor Fati December 28: The Sky and the Stars December 29: Meditate on the Mysteries December 30: Accept Your Insignificance December 31: The Ultimate Freedom About the Author "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a year's worth of daily wisdom and guidance, distilled from the lessons of his six previous books and from never-before-published work Robert Greene, the bestselling author, philosopher, and life guide for millions of people, applies the wisdom of centuries to his mission of revealing the secret truths about the essential forces shaping our lives. His readers look to him to answer their most elemental question: "I want to become more powerful, stronger, more in control, the best at what I do. What's the secret to it?" The answer: Pick up The Daily Laws every single day. A beautifully designed volume that is perfect for bedside reading or gifting, The Daily Laws draws from Greene's body of work to offer a page of refined and concise wisdom for each day of the year, in an easy-to-digest lesson that will only take a few minutes to absorb. Each day will feature a Daily Law as well--a prescription or prompt for the reader to follow. Each month will center around a major theme: power, seduction, war, strategy, human nature, politics, productivity, mastery, psychology, leadership, adversity, or emotion. And each entry will be tagged to its source, so that readers who want to study the topic in more depth know where to look. "Daily study," Leo Tolstoy wrote in 1884, is "necessary for all people." More than just an entry point for new fans, this book will be a Rosetta stone for understanding and internalizing the many lessons that fill Greene's books, and will reward a lifetime of reading and re-reading"--. Provided by publisher A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the world’s foremost expert on power and strategy comes a daily devotional designed to help you seize your destiny. Robert Greene, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, has been the consigliere to millions for more than two decades. Now, with entries that are drawn from his five books, plus never-before-published works, The Daily Laws offers a page of refined and concise wisdom for each day of the year, in an easy-to-digest lesson that will only take a few minutes to absorb. Each day features a Daily Law as well—a prescription that readers cannot afford to ignore in the battle of life. Each month centers around a major theme: power, seduction, persuasion, strategy, human nature, toxic people, self-control, mastery, psychology, leadership, adversity, or creativity. Who doesn’t want to be more powerful? More in control? The best at what they do? The secret: Read this book every day. “Daily study,” Leo Tolstoy wrote in 1884, is “necessary for all people.” More than just an introduction for new fans, this book is a Rosetta stone for internalizing the many lessons that fill Greene’s books and will reward a lifetime of reading and rereading.