Interview with New York Times best selling American author Robert Greene

Earlier this week I had the immense pleasure of speaking to Robert Greene, an ambassador of T-minus30, in an interview for the Inspired Minds Community.

Robert Greene is the New York Times best selling American author known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and most recently the fabulous The Laws of Human Nature. Some say he is the number one modern-day philosopher of our time with his brilliant works on dissecting the very core of human behaviour.

If you haven't already, I'd really recommend you watch the full interview here👉

Inspired Minds is a global community of 54000 people from an interdisciplinary background in tech and science. We famously campaigned against trump when he banned the all future girl afghan robotics team from participating at the Washington robotics championships because they were Muslim - we tackle the big issues facing humanity like climate, health, education and gender inequality head on using emerging tech. Tminus 30 is our latest project uniting game changers to use philosophy, tech and science to build a better future.

At 10:30pm UK time whilst my friends were watching Netflix, I tuned into a Zoom with Robert Greene expecting to be hit with a sense of "oh my god am I REALLY talking to Robert Greene???" and whilst this did surface for a few short moments, it was soon replaced by enthusiasm and thoughtfulness about what he was saying.

Netflix, he says, can be an indicator of success. If someone finds their satisfaction through watching 10 episodes of Netflix in a row, then the chances are they aren't going to be very successful in the future because they rely on short term satisfaction. On the other hand, someone who derives satisfaction and achievement from writing a book that takes, say, 5 years to complete is someone much more likely to be successful (who's going to break the news to my friends watching Netflix whilst I recorded this interview.... ?).

And whilst it's more than totally okay to not be productive and not feel like you're thriving, using this time - and indeed, any time - to learn and better ourselves is one of the greatest gifts we can give our future selves. Most importantly, we shouldn't sit passive and let life happen to us. Instead, we must proactively seek to make every day count - be that me taking a course to learn a new programming language that will be useful for my course next year, or a friend reading a book that's been on their list for years.

Robert Greene is particularly keen on this message because he understands the value of time. In 2018 prior to the release of his book 'The Laws of Human Nature', he suffered a serious stroke which left him temporarily without the use of his left arm and leg (and, therefore, unable to swim - his favourite hobby). Since then, all the stories he read and books he wrote hit home with a new meaning which he was keen to convey to me - we're all going to die. This message is one I'd heard before from my boss, Sarah Porter, who proudly shows us her tattoo 'memento mori' whilst she reminds us about the inevitability of death.

Whilst this message applies at all times, it is particularly relevant in the age of coronavirus where, though each of us are suffering greatly, there are so many suffering more or who even may have lost their lives. And that's not to mention the people who live a degree of this reality everyday of their lives.

There was much I learnt from Robert, but perhaps my favourite thing he said (and, therefore, my parting words to you) was "your mind ___ "

If you haven't already, I'd really recommend you watch the full interview here👉

Join the Moonshot revolution! TMinus30 (T-30) is tackling humanities greatest challenges using emerging technology and unites the most powerful stakeholders, creators, decision makers and implementors of cutting edge tech from around the world on an interactive series of platforms.

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By Joana Baptista, Social entrepreneur, speaker and student

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09-10 September 2020

Basel, Switzerland

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