"Don't Learn It Too Late!" - Find & Achieve Your Unique Purpose In 90 Minutes | Robert Greene

Greene says we are mostly asleep to our own patterns, and that if you cannot admit you are self-absorbed, no amount of reading will make a difference. Introspection requires being alone and is often unpleasant.

Greene says envy is embedded in human nature, visible in hunter-gatherer gift rituals and in chimpanzees, and social media accelerates it. He adds that someone who insists they are different from everyone else is revealing deep narcissism.

Greene says tools like the internet start out liberating, then human nature perverts them into spaces for manipulation, trolling, and venting the shadow. He says algorithms are designed to stir emotion, which makes people more self-absorbed.

Greene cites the claim that 90 to 95 percent of communication is non-verbal and says Erickson mastered it while paralyzed by polio. He says the starting point is deep presence and attention to people's moods, not trying to read their thoughts.

Greene meditates 45 minutes every morning, and says it exposes petty thoughts and builds humility. That gap between stimulus and reaction helps him avoid reacting, including with heightened emotions after his stroke.