The Laws of Human Nature

This is the BEST book that I read during July 2020.

It took way more than a month to read (same as the 48 Laws Of Power) because it is a dense and BIG book. Almost 600 hundred pages, huge pages, filled with valuable insights and knowledge.

This is a book that should be read several times as it has so much information that it will be hard to digest and internalize in just one go. You should thoroughly highlight and bookmark it so that you can come back to specific points that you want to review. Especially for stories that you might want to come back to.

It will take a while to read but it’s worth it.

Flow: 4/5, it takes a while to finish so don’t expect it to be a quick read. Take your time.

Actionability: 5/5, the book is FILLED with specifics and recommendations on how to apply the insights and knowledge it shares.

Mindset: 5/5, the great stories that are shared will be great to help you remember the lessons and expand the way you think about human nature.

Some Of My Highlights:

• “First, the Laws will work to transform you into a calmer and more strategic observer of people, helping to free you from all the emotional drama that needlessly drains you.”

• “Second, the Laws will make you a master interpreter of the cues that people continually emit, giving you a much greater ability to judge their character.”

• “It is a therapeutic and liberating experience to be drawn outside of ourselves and into the world of another. It is what attracts us to film and any form of fiction, entering the minds and perspectives of people so different fro ourselves.”

• “Rationality is the ability to counteract these emotional effects, to think instead of react, to open your mind to what is really happening, as opposed to what you are feeling.”

• “What I fear is not the enemy’s strategy but our own mistakes.”

• “What consumed Pericles as a thinker and a public figure was how to get out of this trap, how to be truly rational in an arena dominated by emotions.”

• “In his conception, the human mind has to worship something, has to have its attention directed to something it values above all else.”

• “Pericles trained himself to never react in the moment, to never make a decision while under the influence of a strong emotion. Instead, he analyzed his feelings.”

• “They became infected with the lure of easy money. This made even the most educated investor emotional.”

• “Bubbles occur because of the intense emotional pull they have on people, which overwhelms any reasoning powers an individual mind might posses. They stimulate our natural tendencies toward greed, easy money, and quick results.”

• “It is hard to learn from experience when we are not looking inward, at the true causes.”

• “It has been shown that chimpanzees can feel envy and the desire for vengeance, among other emotions.”

• “…we do not have conscious access to the origin of our emotions and the moods they generate. Once we feel them, all we can do is try to interpret the emotion, translate it into language. But more often than not we get this wrong.”

• “Progress and technology have not rewired us; they have merely altered the forms of our emotions and the type of irrationality that comes with them.”

• “Rational people are aware of this and through introspection and effort are able, to some extent, to subtract emotions from their thinking and counteract their effect. Irrational people have no such awareness. They rush into action without carefully considering the ramifications and consequences.”

• “Rational people demonstrate over time that they are able to finish a project, to realize their goals, to work effectively with a team, and to create something that lasts.”

• “Rational people can readily admit their own irrational tendencies and the need to be vigilant. On the other hand, irrational people become highly emotional when challenged about the emotional roots of their decisions. They are incapable of introspection and learning. Their mistakes make them increasingly defensive.”

• “The way to recognize this in yourself and in others is by noticing behavior that is suddenly childish in its intensity and seemingly out of character.”

• “In some ways, we are programmed to repeat the early experience in the present. Our only defense is awareness as it is happening.”

• “This deep understanding of ourselves and our vulnerabilities is a key step toward becoming rational.”

• “Also, when gains come quickly we tend to lose sight of the basic wisdom that true success, to really last, must come through hard work. We do not take into account the role that luck plays in such sudden gains.”

• “Unexpected losses of a string of losses equally create irrational reactions.”

• “The solution here is simple: whenever you experience unusual gains or losses, that is precisely the time to step back and counterbalance them with some necessary pessimism or optimism.”

• “Observe with as much detachment as possible, finding time and space to be alone. You need perspective.”

• “Therefore, your first step toward the rational is always inward.”

• “Dig below any trigger points to see where they started.”

• “Make understanding people a fun game, the solving of puzzles.”