How to Find the Right Story for Your Research

"I couldn't find a story that felt right. I wanted to write about octopuses, because octopuses are very popular now," he says. "All kinds of people are saying it's like a cult. The people who've read this book,. they all know this is like the weirdest book ever written about an animal and a human interaction."

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Episode notes

Today’s guest Robert Greene is the author of numerous motivational books such as The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery, and The 33 Strategies of War (just to name a few), and he joins me to discuss various topics such as basketball coach Phil Jackson’s legacy, how he approaches meditation, the new book that he is writing about the sublime, the process behind writing his first book, his thoughts about current artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, and so much more.

Robert takes the time to answer a few questions that were sent in from listeners on Twitter, including who some of his go-tos are for philosophical mentors, what his take is on health and fitness, how he goes about operating against his biases when researching and writing, etc. He also talks about his love of cats and describes some of the cats that he has had over the course of his lifetime.

It was such an honor having Robert on the podcast because his books have definitely changed my life. If you enjoy this conversation with Robert Greene, please be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app if you aren’t subscribed already! I would also really appreciate it if you would share the podcast with at least one other person you know who might also enjoy it and if you would leave me a five-star review! That really helps the show out!

Time Stamps

0:41 - Welcome to the show, Robert Greene!

2:49 - Robert talks about Phil Jackson.

5:53 - Robert meditates for about forty minutes every morning.

6:30 - How does Robert approach meditation?

9:21 - Robert discusses his stroke several years ago and why it changed his plan for a book.

10:38 - How did Robert’s stroke affect his relationship with the sublime?

11:28 - Robert shares a near-death experience that he had.

14:53 - What does Robert do to put himself in the shoes of his writing subjects?

18:35 - Learn about Robert’s religious journey.

20:59 - Robert talks a bit about Buddhism.

25:29 - Robert explains what his inner voice was saying when he wrote his first book.