Robert Greene Interview, Part 7: "Understanding Our Own Character"

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

SYNOPSIS

"You can't really change your character; you are not going to become somebody you are not; get over that self-help illusion. You are imprisoned in this character; it is better to understand it to be realistic. Play at the margins, and transform what you can transform." - 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.

Unlike the self-help industry, Greene does not believe in a dramatic change of one's character. He perceives fixed character as a result of deep patterns of behavior that often escape the higher self's inspection and manipulation. In this clip, Robert elaborates on how one's undesirable behavior can be modified and how some negative traits contain a possibility of something very positive if one knows how to turn it around.

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 5, Knowing Yourself
Part 6, Recognizing The Right Amount Of Passion
Part 8, Handling Adversity
Part 9:Suppressing Real Emotion
Part 10: The Real Meaning of Progress