Robert Greene Interview, Part 5: "Knowing Yourself"

Media December 03, 2020 / By Milena Z. Fisher, Ph.D.

SYNOPSIS

"You can't become anything that you want - I'm sorry. That's not reality; let's wake up. You have limitations. (...) You have to know who you are (...) you need a lot of self-awareness and self-knowledge." - Robert Greene

In 2019, TCP's Milena Z. Fisher visited Robert Greene, the author of many international bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature, etc. to have a conversation about his views on creativity. You can read Milena's subsequent article A Voice Of Wisdom In Creativity Quarrel: "Mastery" by Robert Greene in which she summarizes why mastery is such an essential read for anyone interested in creativity.

This segment contains a short overview of one of Greene's most important tenets: overthrowing the popular fallacy that "you can become anyone you want to be" just by utilizing hours of practice. Greene finds that type of advice naive, debilitating, and dangerous. Knowing and understanding one's limitations and strongholds is the key here. "Know thyself," as ancient Greeks told us. Practicing the wrong type of skills is a waste of time. Quality and intensity of focus while perfecting skills you naturally possess is far more fruitful than numerical, quantitative hours spent on a random project.

Watch other clips from this series:

Part 1, The Importance of Mentorship
Part 2, The Meaning of Freedom
Part 3, The Lack of Attention
Part 4, Understanding Your Emotions
Part 6, Recognizing The Right Amount Of Passion
Part 7, Understanding Our Own Character
Part 8, Handling Adversity
Part 9:Suppressing Real Emotion
Part 10: The Real Meaning of Progress