Contents

Also by Robert Greene

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

1   Master Your Emotional Self

The Law of Irrationality

The Inner Athena

Step One: Recognize the Biases

Step Two: Beware the Inflaming Factors

Step Three: Strategies Toward Bringing Out the Rational Self

2   Transform Self-love into Empathy

The Law of Narcissism

The Narcissistic Spectrum

Examples of Narcissistic Types

3   See Through People’s Masks

The Law of Role-playing

The Second Language

Observational Skills

Decoding Keys

The Art of Impression Management

4   Determine the Strength of People’s Character

The Law of Compulsive Behavior

The Pattern

Character Signs

Toxic Types

The Superior Character

5   Become an Elusive Object of Desire

The Law of Covetousness

The Object of Desire

Strategies for Stimulating Desire

The Supreme Desire

6   Elevate Your Perspective

The Law of Shortsightedness

Moments of Madness

Four Signs of Shortsightedness and Strategies to Overcome Them

The Farsighted Human

7   Soften People’s Resistance by Confirming Their Self-opinion

The Law of Defensiveness

The Influence Game

Five Strategies for Becoming a Master Persuader

The Flexible Mind—Self-strategies

8   Change Your Circumstances by Changing Your Attitude

The Law of Self-sabotage

The Ultimate Freedom

The Constricted (Negative) Attitude

The Expansive (Positive) Attitude

9   Confront Your Dark Side

The Law of Repression

The Dark Side

Deciphering the Shadow: Contradictory Behavior

The Integrated Human

10   Beware the Fragile Ego

The Law of Envy

Fatal Friends

Signs of Envy

Envier Types

Envy Triggers

Beyond Envy

11   Know Your Limits

The Law of Grandiosity

The Success Delusion

The Grandiose Leader

Practical Grandiosity

12   Reconnect to the Masculine or Feminine Within You

The Law of Gender Rigidity

The Authentic Gender

Gender Projection—Types

The Original Man/Woman

13   Advance with a Sense of Purpose

The Law of Aimlessness

The Voice

Strategies for Developing a High Sense of Purpose

The Lure of False Purposes

14   Resist the Downward Pull of the Group

The Law of Conformity

An Experiment in Human Nature

The Court and Its Courtiers

The Reality Group

15   Make Them Want to Follow You

The Law of Fickleness

The Entitlement Curse

Strategies for Establishing Authority

The Inner Authority

16   See the Hostility Behind the Friendly Façade

The Law of Aggression

The Sophisticated Aggressor

The Source of Human Aggression

Passive Aggression—Its Strategies and How to Counter Them

Controlled Aggression

17   Seize the Historical Moment

The Law of Generational Myopia

The Rising Tide

The Generational Phenomenon

Generational Patterns

Strategies for Exploiting the Spirit of the Times

The Human Beyond Time and Death

18   Meditate on Our Common Mortality

The Law of Death Denial

The Bullet in the Side

A Philosophy of Life Through Death

Acknowledgments

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Author