We Are Making Dangerous, Lonely & Broken Men! - Manipulation Expert, Robert Greene! 48 Laws Of Power

Robert Greene joins Steven Bartlett for a wide-ranging conversation on power, human nature, and what's going wrong for modern young people, especially men. He argues that purpose comes from going inward and acquiring deep skills rather than chasing money, fame, or the illusory 'realm of possibility.' Greene confronts uncomfortable truths about envy, narcissism, and the fact that everyone is an actor playing social games. He links loneliness, pornography, and dopamine culture to a wider crisis of meaning, and discusses politics, Trump's mastery of attention, and the danger of simple solutions in chaotic times. He closes by reflecting candidly on the stroke that took away his ability to walk and write normally, and the gratitude it gave him.

• Claims envy and always wanting to be superior is the most motivating factor of 90% of human behavior.
  00:00:31
• Admits he personally feels envy of Ryan Holiday, who is 30 years younger and has written more books.
  00:51:10
• Recounts how a chance meeting in Italy at his lowest, suicidal point led him to write The 48 Laws of Power.
  01:04:46
• Bluntly attacks pornography and social media as disembodying and manipulative, saying users are 'being played.'
  01:19:27
• Calls his own side, the Democratic left, 'buffoons' and 'fools' who 'blew this election.'
  01:54:55
• Reveals the new book has taken about six years because, post-stroke, he must handwrite everything and dictate it.
  02:17:50
• Admits he had a stroke and isn't sure his body can take another two years of writing.
  02:18:52
• Says his dream in 10 years is simply to walk up a hill again, and he would cry with joy to do it.
  02:35:38

• Advises taking a $30,000 startup job over a $150,000 Goldman Sachs role in your 20s because you'll learn far more.
  00:21:28
• Chimpanzees display envy, giving the 'stink eye' when one gets a grape and another doesn't.
  00:48:01
• In ancient hunter-gatherer tribes, gift-givers had to share with everyone to avoid being murdered out of envy.
  00:49:04
• Cites the stat that loneliness has a health impact equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
  00:55:18
• Describes how William James's 'as if' strategy can manufacture confidence by acting confident.
  01:41:56
• Says Trump is the master of Law 27, courting attention at all costs, with a cult-like following.
  02:07:27
• Tells the story of Christopher Columbus conning Spanish royalty by carrying himself like nobility.
  02:25:07
• Argues 'the world moves out of the way of boldness,' citing Elon Musk as bold even when he doesn't admire him.
  02:31:59
• Distinguishes loneliness (painful disconnection) from solitude (a relief and a source of skills).
  01:00:30
• Uses Howard Gardner's five intelligences to argue Kobe Bryant is as intelligent as Einstein, differently.
  00:43:18