--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be brutal with the past, especially your…" description: "\"Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.\" — Robert Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png" --- # Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no… ![“Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.” quote by Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png) > “Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.” [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates harsh self‑criticism and rejecting external doctrines to achieve authentic personal power. **In simple terms:** Be ruthless with your past and reject imposed philosophies. Key Takeaway Discard limiting beliefs and self‑imposed constraints. Themes personal power self‑discipline critical thinking independence Mood intense reflective Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - career planning - relationship boundaries - creative projects - political strategy Key Concepts philosophical rebellion self‑analysis mental resilience Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs are you accepting without question? - How can you balance self‑critique with self‑compassion? A Different Perspective May foster excessive self‑criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [No respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-respect/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I hate the past - especially my own past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-hate-the-past-especially-my-own-past/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [Its hard to forget the past especially if it is strained to enter into our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/its-hard-to-forget-the-past-especially-if-it-is-strained-to-enter/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Don't make your life miserable for wasting your time to look back from the past. especially if those are bitter memories...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhoejhuejhue/don-t-make-your-life-miserable-for-wasting-your-time-to-look-back/) [Jhoejhuejhue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhoejhuejhue/) > [Why do we always dwell on the past..especially what hurts us the most...its time to put a stop to it n let it go..maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristal-celina/why-do-we-always-dwell-on-the-past-especially-what-hurts-us-the-most/) Cristal Celina > [I don't want to do anything over again, ever again. I want only to do what I haven't done. There's no "again." There's only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-don-t-want-to-do-anything-over-again-ever-again-i-want-only-to-do/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [I hate the way war is seen as something inherently brutal and ugly. Yes, much of war brings out the worst part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-hate-the-way-war-is-seen-as-something-inherently-brutal-and-ugly/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [When I was a kid I got no respect. The time I was kidnapped, and the kidnappers sent my parents a note they said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/when-i-was-a-kid-i-got-no-respect-the-time-i-was-kidnapped-and-the/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I have been in relationships where a man has disrespected me, and I don't need to be friends with that man anymore. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-saldana/i-have-been-in-relationships-where-a-man-has-disrespected-me-and-i/) [Zoe Saldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-saldana/) > [Liberals are some of the most arrogant, condescending smart alecks, but they're just pure ignorant, and they fit the bill of people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberals-are-some-of-the-most-arrogant-condescending-smart-alecks-but/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [We are but one of the multitude, in no respect better than any other in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/we-are-but-one-of-the-multitude-in-no-respect-better-than-any-other/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Ratings are king and the money keeps flowing, and partisanship is so strong today that people rely on a few sources absolutely instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/ratings-are-king-and-the-money-keeps-flowing-and-partisanship-is-so/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [You figure they cheat at the ballpark, they'll cheat on the golf course, they'll cheat in business, and anything else in life. Players may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-feller/you-figure-they-cheat-at-the-ballpark-they-ll-cheat-on-the-golf/) [Bob Feller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-feller/) > [Manners are manners. Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase have no respect. I don't want my kid seeing Nastase play. The demeanor you show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-laver/manners-are-manners-jimmy-connors-and-ilie-nastase-have-no-respect-i/) [Rod Laver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-laver/) > [Khamzat was one of the trolls tweeting Luque knocking me out, so I have no respect for him. I'm down to fight him. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belal-muhammad/khamzat-was-one-of-the-trolls-tweeting-luque-knocking-me-out-so-i/) [Belal Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belal-muhammad/) > [The kingly office is entitled to no respect. It was originally procured by the highwayman's methods. It remains a perpetuated crime, can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-kingly-office-is-entitled-to-no-respect-it-was-originally/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Robert Greene > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-afraid-i-m-just-too-intense-to-have-soft-ideas-you-know-about/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Let me spell it out: with the psychotic boss, nothing you do is ever quite right. They set traps, asking you to do things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-me-spell-it-out-with-the-psychotic-boss-nothing-you-do-is-ever/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Evil or manipulative people don't need a book, they just do it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/evil-or-manipulative-people-don-t-need-a-book-they-just-do-it-anyway/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Everybody knows what they were kind of drawn towards or what they're gifted at and it's more of courage and looking at yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/everybody-knows-what-they-were-kind-of-drawn-towards-or-what-they-re/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Remember: your bosses prefer to keep you in dependent positions. It is in their interest that you do not become self-reliant, and so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/remember-your-bosses-prefer-to-keep-you-in-dependent-positions-it-is/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I want to be able to write, that's my first love and I don't want to deviate from it even though I probably could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-want-to-be-able-to-write-that-s-my-first-love-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-s-sometimes-hard-to-talk-about-politics-and-art-obviously-i-have/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [If you change and adapt your persona, you are seen as inauthentic; if you stay the angry young man, you fade from attention or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-you-change-and-adapt-your-persona-you-are-seen-as-inauthentic-if/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Your energy, your spirit are important considerations. Feeling petty and frustrated can have reverberating consequences for your ability to think strategically and reach your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/your-energy-your-spirit-are-important-considerations-feeling-petty/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic- as people give into it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/fear-creates-its-own-self-fulfilling-dynamic-as-people-give-into-it/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [What I like about the internet, what I see there is that its much more democratic. I have much more control, and if what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-i-like-about-the-internet-what-i-see-there-is-that-its-much-more/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-is-hard-for-us-to-imagine-now-but-our-earliest-human-ancestors-who/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Let us call this quality the Original Mind. This mind looked at the world more directly—not through words and received ideas. It was flexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-us-call-this-quality-the-original-mind-this-mind-looked-at-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) [Explore all 511 Robert Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More Brutal quotes > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [I find that truly heartbreaking that, like, it's such a common, constant thing in people's lives - a brutal abuse of people by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/i-find-that-truly-heartbreaking-that-like-it-s-such-a-common-constant/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minka-kelly/i-think-brutal-honesty-is-extremely-important-don-t-be-afraid-of/) [Minka Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minka-kelly/) > [When my friends have been heartbroken, I give them a shoulder to cry on and some brutal advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-higgins/when-my-friends-have-been-heartbroken-i-give-them-a-shoulder-to-cry/) [Maura Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maura-higgins/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/) [Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/) > [I do have one very brutal writing ritual. If I'm working in the morning, I don't allow myself a cup of tea until I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/i-do-have-one-very-brutal-writing-ritual-if-i-m-working-in-the/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 790 Brutal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Greene" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your-own-and-have-no-respect-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your-own-and-have-no-respect-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/robert-greene-498_brutal_be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your_1639317.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no respect for the philosophies that are foisted on…” — Robert Greene", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Greene", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be brutal with the past, especially...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your-own-and-have-no-respect-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/be-brutal-with-the-past-especially-your-own-and-have-no-respect-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```