Top 500 Robert Greene Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Focus Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Interesting Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Mastery Quotes

2. “The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Creative Quotes, Quotes About Skills

3. “Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Study Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Practice Quotes, Mastery Quotes, Quotes About Skills

4. “Always say less than necessary.”

— Robert Greene

5. “Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Work Ethic Quotes

6. “Win through your actions, never through argument.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Strategy Quotes, Victory Quotes, Actions Speak Louder Than Words Quotes

7. “Be relentless in your pursuit for expansion.”

— Robert Greene

8. “When it comes to mastering a skill, time is the magic ingredient.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Practice Quotes, Mastery Quotes, Quotes About Skills

9. “True genius, in strategy or anywhere, lies in self-control, self-mastery, presence of mind, fluidity of thought.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Strategy Quotes, Mastery Quotes

10. “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”

— Robert Greene

11. “You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear.”

— Robert Greene

12. “Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Mistake Quotes

13. “Boldness makes even the smallest animal dangerous.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Boldness Quotes

14. “If you’re just letting the time pass at your job, it’s just dead time and you’ll never get it back. If at that job you’re learning and you’re observing and you’re seeing about people and connections, it’s suddenly alive time.”

— Robert Greene

15. “Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others – that is too high a price to pay.”

— Robert Greene

16. “Be royal in your own fashion: Act like a king to be treated like one.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Fashion Quotes

17. “Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Strategy Quotes, Military Quotes

18. “Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.”

— Robert Greene

19. “Actually, your past successes are your biggest obstacle: every battle, every war, is different, and you cannot assume that what worked before will work today.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Strategy Quotes

20. “The human tongue is a beast that few can master.”

— Robert Greene

21. “The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken.”

— Robert Greene

22. “Mastery is not a question of genetics or luck, but of following your natural inclinations and the deep desires that stir you from within.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Desire Quotes, Mastery Quotes, Luck Quotes

23. “Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.”

— Robert Greene

24. “No moment is wasted if you pay attention and learn the lessons contained in every experience.”

— Robert Greene

25. “For the future, the motto is, “No days unalert.””

— Robert Greene

26. “If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.”

— Robert Greene

27. “Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.”

— Robert Greene

28. “The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role you are doomed.”

— Robert Greene

29. “No one is really going to help you or give you direction. In fact, the odds are against you.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Life is Hard Quotes, Demotivational Quotes

30. “When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.”

— Robert Greene

31. “You cannot make anything worthwhile in this world unless you have first developed and transformed yourself.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Firsts Quotes

32. “Hasty climbers have sudden falls.”

— Robert Greene

33. “Life goes by very fast. And the worst thing in life that you can have is a job that you hate, that you have no energy in, that you’re not creative with and you’re not thinking of the future. To me, might as well be dead.”

— Robert Greene

34. “The need for certainty is the greatest disease the Mind faces.”

— Robert Greene

35. “Do not envy those who seem to be naturally gifted; it is often a curse, as such types rarely learn the value of diligence and focus, and they pay for this later in life.”

— Robert Greene

36. “Never take your position for granted and never let any favors you receive go to your head.”

— Robert Greene

37. “Defeat Them in Detail: The Divide and Conquer Strategy. Look at the parts and determine how to control the individual parts, create dissension and leverage it.”

— Robert Greene

Featured in: Strategy Quotes

38. “We must create our own world or we will die from inaction.”

— Robert Greene

39. “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.”

— Robert Greene

40. “Deception is a developed art of civilization and the most potent weapon in the game of power.”

— Robert Greene

41. “There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.”

— Robert Greene

42. “Real action and true helpfulness are perhaps the ultimate charm.”

— Robert Greene

43. “Be as fluid as water, do not give your enemies anything solid to atack.”

— Robert Greene

44. “The conventional mind is passive – it consumes information and regurgitates it in familiar forms. The dimensional mind is active, transforming everything it digests into something new and original, creating instead of consuming.”

— Robert Greene

45. “People around you, constantly under the pull of their emotions, change their ideas by the day or by the hour, depending on their mood. You must never assume that what people say or do in a particular moment is a statement of their permanent desires.”

— Robert Greene

46. “It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause by yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.”

— Robert Greene

47. “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”

— Robert Greene

48. “People are more complicated than the masks they wear in society.”

— Robert Greene

49. “Any titles, money, or privilege you inherit are actually hindrances. They delude you into believing you are owed respect.”

— Robert Greene

50. “An ecosystem that has the maximum amount of diversity is the richest.”

— Robert Greene