I Wrote This NEW Book to Change How You Live Your Life in 2027 | Robert Greene

Summary

Robert Greene discusses his book The Law of the Sublime, which explores how people can recover a sense of wonder and feel more connected to the world. He argues that adults often become preoccupied with their egos, worries, and schedules, leaving little attention for what is around them. Greene says his stroke and near-death experience made the world feel vivid and newly alive—and inspired him to help readers seek that perspective without such a crisis.

Key wellness and life strategies

• Practice outward attention. Notice the world as if seeing it with fresh eyes: colors, trees, the sky, animals, and ordinary details. Greene contrasts a child’s wide-ranging curiosity with the adult tendency to focus mainly on the self.
• Return to the present moment. Greene describes children as being “inside” the flow of time, while adults often stand outside it, dwelling on the past or planning for the future. He suggests occasionally experiencing time as a flow of sensation and movement, while recognizing that everyday responsibilities still require planning.
• Seek awe in accessible ways. You do not need extraordinary travel or dramatic experiences to find wonder. Paying close attention to nature, children, animals, or the scale and history of the universe can shift perspective.
• Look beyond the ego. When self-focused worries or insecurities arise, notice them and consider whether acting on them will help. In relationships, Greene recommends shifting attention toward what you can give the other person rather than repeatedly seeking reassurance or keeping score.
• Let relationships involve vulnerability. Greene describes deep love as combining physical attraction with a sense of spiritual connection. He says that lowering defenses and being more open can encourage trust and closeness.
• Pursue meaningful work, not only status. Greene argues that money and fame are poor sole aims. Creating, mastering a craft, or pursuing an absorbing interest can be satisfying motivations that may also lead to success.
• Build perspective for difficult times. A sense of connection to other people and to something larger than oneself may help people face mortality, loss, illness, and other hardships. Greene presents this as a way of living more fully, not simply as a route to achievement.
• Distinguish lasting wonder from quick stimulation. Greene calls drugs, alcohol, compulsive entertainment, and similar escapes examples of a “false sublime”: they may offer temporary relief or intensity but can lead to wanting more. He favors wonder arising from attention, imagination, nature, relationships, and lived experience.
• Use practical exercises. Greene says the book includes exercises at the end of its chapters to help readers experience its ideas rather than treat the subject as purely academic.
• Remember that life is short. Greene’s closing advice is to act with urgency and appreciation, while recognizing that life can change unexpectedly.

Greene also discusses the sublime through themes including love, nature, animals, the cosmos, consciousness, and death. He shares ideas about near-death experiences and panpsychism—the possibility that consciousness is widespread in the universe—as questions and interpretations, not established conclusions.

Presenters and sources

• Presenters: Lewis Howes (host) and Robert Greene (guest).
• People and works referenced in the conversation: Marcel Proust; Steve Jobs; Bruce Greyson (whose name appears garbled in the subtitles); Pamela Reynolds Lowery; Jill Bolte Taylor; Wayne Dyer; J. A. Baker’s The Peregrine; and Mozart.