This reminds me of the great classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, but with a darker premise. While Dale Carnegie approaches the levers of power from a standpoint of good intentions and good nature, Greene envelopes himself in the darkness of humanity. Both preach similar platitudes, though Greene seems to explore in greater depth.
Maybe this comes up later in the book, but I think the perception of personal stability in close relationships, especially marriage, is a powerful power dynamic. The most famous example of this is probably Bill and Hillary Clinton. The actions of the married couple matter less than just staying together. I have no idea what the Clinton’s private relationship is like but it doesn’t matter. They maintained their power because she stayed with him.
Thank you for this. Great stuff! This is a subset of the collection of what we should just label conventional wisdom. As a long-term corporate leader who has consumed copious books and teachings on leadership theory, it is the self-awareness stuff that returns the most benefit for just being better at everything. Weak leaders are often people not honest, or otherwise not knowing, in self-awareness of their true nature.
“In fact, it is a curse to have everything go right on your first attempt. You will fail to question the element of luck, making you think that you have the golden touch. When you do inevitably fail, it will confuse and demoralize you.”
This is one of the lessons in the great book The Alchemist: beginners luck.
Excellent! I’m hoping to use some of these ideas in my personal life. It was very helpful that you teased out the most compelling and useful ideas.
I wish I’d read this early in my career, learned some of this the hard way.
This is invaluable advice, and having been through some of the situations personally, it’s very true. Very valuable advice and I’ll be saving this one for reference.
Great reading there. I recently read Mastery by Robert Greene, which was excellent and of course contained many similar themes covered here. Not sure which was written first.
This reminds me of the great classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, but with a darker premise. While Dale Carnegie approaches the levers of power from a standpoint of good intentions and good nature, Greene envelopes himself in the darkness of humanity. Both preach similar platitudes, though Greene seems to explore in greater depth.
Maybe this comes up later in the book, but I think the perception of personal stability in close relationships, especially marriage, is a powerful power dynamic. The most famous example of this is probably Bill and Hillary Clinton. The actions of the married couple matter less than just staying together. I have no idea what the Clinton’s private relationship is like but it doesn’t matter. They maintained their power because she stayed with him.
Thank you for taking the time and putting that together. Enjoyed reading it....
Thank you for this. Great stuff! This is a subset of the collection of what we should just label conventional wisdom. As a long-term corporate leader who has consumed copious books and teachings on leadership theory, it is the self-awareness stuff that returns the most benefit for just being better at everything. Weak leaders are often people not honest, or otherwise not knowing, in self-awareness of their true nature.
“In fact, it is a curse to have everything go right on your first attempt. You will fail to question the element of luck, making you think that you have the golden touch. When you do inevitably fail, it will confuse and demoralize you.”
This is one of the lessons in the great book The Alchemist: beginners luck.
Excellent! I’m hoping to use some of these ideas in my personal life. It was very helpful that you teased out the most compelling and useful ideas.
I wish I’d read this early in my career, learned some of this the hard way.
This is invaluable advice, and having been through some of the situations personally, it’s very true. Very valuable advice and I’ll be saving this one for reference.
Thanks for another outstanding newsletter
Read these as a follow up
The Prince, Art of war, and the Peloponnesian War as the classics. The art of worldly wisdom by Balthasar Gracian is a hidden gem as well.
After these I’ve found a collection of successful figures letters’ to their sons to be full of pragmatic advice.
Lord chesterfields letters to his son
Letters from a Merchant to his son - George Lorimer
JD Rockefeller’s Letters to His Son
Great reading there. I recently read Mastery by Robert Greene, which was excellent and of course contained many similar themes covered here. Not sure which was written first.