How to Gain Dangerous Power by Understanding People! | Robert Greene

Channel: Bold Fella
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q76J03CC2c

A music-scored montage of Robert Greene interview clips (Laws of Human Nature) on workplace power games, self-knowledge, and reading people's nonverbal cues. (Bold Fella re-titles compiled Greene footage; this is his framework, not cited research.)

Key points

• Work is political: doing good work is not enough. Make your boss look better rather than threaten them; be patient, learn skills, and observe the power game instead of rushing to impress. Whenever three people gather, there is ego and jockeying.
• Power games are toxic in a relationship. Dynamics are interactive and back-and-forth, so it is never wholly one person's fault; the one who plays subservient is often actually in control. Bring an attitude of giving and support, not control.
• A man needing the "final say" or to assert superiority over a woman comes from insecurity and weakness, and leads to an unfulfilling relationship; respect the other's boundaries.
• Wanting love more than anything is what makes some public figures charismatic - the audience senses the desire, communicated nonverbally.
• You do not really know yourself: emotions arise from the body/hormones and your mind only labels them after the fact, often misattributing the cause. Everyone is self-absorbed; admitting your own narcissism is the first step to controlling it.
• Reading people is an empathetic, non-verbal intelligence: attune to a person's overall "vibe," then specifics. The eyes (a "dead" or distracted gaze), the tone of voice (hardest to fake), and a genuine vs fake smile reveal a lot.
• Catch people off guard to glimpse a "micro-expression" of true feeling before they compose a fake smile.