Robert Greene Vol 2 Seduction and War

Robert Greene is one of the best authors out there in the field of psychology. In the Art of Seduction, 33 Strategies of War and the 50th Law, he offers an amazing amount of insight on winning with people. This week we explore these three books.

ART OF SEDUCTION

Part I: Seductive Characters

1. Sirens
2. The Rake
3. Charmer
4. Charismatic
5. Ideal Lover
6. Dandies
7. Naturals
8. Coquettes
9. Stars

Anti-Seducers

• Brute
• Suffocator
• Moralizer
• Tightwad
• Bumbler
• Windbag
• Reactor
• Vulgarian
• Greedy

Part 2: The Seductive Process

Phase I: Separation

1. Choose The Right Victim

• Unhappy
• Imaginative
• Manly
• Shy and introverts
• Disorganized & lost
• Lots of time
• Boring life

2. Create a False Sense of Security
3. Send Mixed Signals
4. Appear an Object of Desire —Create Triangles
5. Create a Need— Stir Anxiety and Discontent
6. Master the Art of Insinuation
7. Enter Their Spirit
8. Create Temptation

Phase II – Lead Astray

9. Keep them in Suspense- What’s Next?
10. Use Words to Sow Confusion
11. Pay Attention to Details
12. Poeticize Your Presence
13. Disarm with Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability
14. Confuse Desire and Reality
15. Isolate The Victim

Phase III – The Precipice

16. Prove Yourself
17. Effect a Regression

• Infantile
• Oedipal
• Ego Ideal
• Reverse Parental

18. Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo
19. Use Spiritual Lures
20. Mix Pleasure with Pain

Phase IV – Moving in for the Kill First

21. Give Them Space to Fall— The Pursuer Is Pursued
22. Use Physical Lures
23. Master the Art of the Bold Move
24. Beware the After Effects

 

33 STRATEGIES OF WAR

The 33 Strategies of War is a treaty on all the strategies and techniques that people have deployed in war.

Part I Self-Directed Warfare

1: Declare war on your enemies: Polarity Strategy

2: Do not fight the last war: Embrace Chang

3: Keep your presence of mind: Counterbalance

4: Create urgency and desperation: Death-ground

Part II Organizational Warfare

You’ll rarely win by yourself: you need leadership skills and to bolster team morale.

5: Avoid groupthink: Command-and-control

6: Segment your forces: Controlled-chaos

7: Transform your war into a crusade: Morale

Part III Defensive Warfare

8: Pick your battles: Perfect-economy

9: Turn the tables: Counterattack

10: Threatening presence: Deterrence

11: Trade space for time: Non-engagement

Part IV Offensive Warfare

The biggest danger come from the unexpected. When you attack first at their vulnerabilities you take action and minimize the unexpected.

12: Lose battles & win the war: Grand strategy

13: Know your enemy: Intelligence

14: Overwhelm with speed: Blitzkrieg

15: Control the dynamic

16: Hit them where it hurts: Center-of-gravity

17: Defeat them in detail: Divide and conquer

18: The flank attack: Turning

19: Envelop the enemy: Annihilation

20: Manoeuvre them into weakness

21: Negotiate while advancing: Diplomatic war

22: Know how to end things: Exit strategy

 

Short term defeat is better than long term disaster

Part V Unconventional Warfare

The greatest element of surprise comes using new strategies that nobody expects. As people push for novelty though, says Greene, there’s a race to the extremes, leading to dirtier wars.

23: Blend fact and fiction: Misperception

24: Line of least expectation: Ordinary-Extraordinary

25: Occupy the moral high ground: Righteousne

26: Deny them targets

27: Seem to act for the greater good: Alliances

28: Give rope to hang themselves: One-upmanship

29: Take small bites: Fait Accompli

30: Penetrate their minds: Communication

31: Destroy from within: The Inner Front

32: Seeming to submit to dominate: Passive-Aggression

33: Sow panic with terror: Chain Reaction

 

50th LAW

Fearless, Self-reliant and Honest

Act bold, unconventional, be fluid, act with sense of urgency

Must confront fear not avoid

See Reality: Open, curious, expand knowledge, analyse self, look at deeds not words

Be Self-reliant: Own your time, create little empires

Opportunity in crisis

Calculated Momentum: Go with the flow

Know when to be aggressive

Respect the process: Mastery

Know your Environment from Inside Out

Push beyond Limits Self-belief

Lead from the Front

Confront your Mortality

 

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