I've read a lot of motivational books, such as The Purpose-Driven Life (I never got past the third chapter) and a bunch of other useless titles I no longer care to remember, but none were as effective and motivating as Robert Greene's The 33 Strategies of War! It is brutal and I love it! I mean, for sure, it's not going to make me charge into the sun with forty-four machine guns stashed in my pink Marti Ponti purse, ready to do battle against the Axis of Evil and the chick who stole my boyfriend, but it does inspire me to work harder! I'm probably not going to make history but I've never been that ambitious anyway. I just want to live life to the fullest and achieve my own success!
Anyway, the book mostly reflects on the history of foreign wars, as well as the failed and successful strategies of past generals and commanders, to create 33 strategies you can use in your daily life to get ahead and become an effective leader. But pop culture warriors are included as well, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Joan Crawford, and some Russian novelist. It's a little surprising how their stories of triumph somehow fit well with the rest of the book: Who would have thought that Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's heroic pounding of the Danish fleet- the risks he took to achieve victory, and Joan Crawford's risky departure from MGM, were somehow allied by nature? But of course, Joan Crawford is no Nelson.
From the book, a quote from Napoleon Bonaparte:
Doesn't it make you want to rule the world? :)
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