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Monday, July 09, 2007

Meet Bob......

Hi there...

How's your day going??

Good I hope.

I'd like you to meet my friend Bob.

Bob is what you might call your "average" American.

He has big dreams for himself, including a long healthy life, a happy family, a loving wife, a comfortable retirement, and hopefully to have some fun along the way.

Bob has always been a really solid guy. He had a paper route when he was 12 years old that made him over a hundred and fifty dollars a week. He got straight "A's" across the board in school, except in French class where he got a "B". He applied to a good college and got accepted and had a really great experience.

Another shining example of the American Dream...

Bob's favourite movie is "Forrest Gump", a story about how by having a solid set of core values, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and being a contributing member of society you can experience the best of everything America has to offer.

It's incredibly uplifting...

If you haven't seen it yet do yourself a favour and rent a copy ASAP. I'll be sure to let Bob know that you did.

This week Bob turned 30. His life is really just getting started. He has so much to look forward to.

Recently he's just been hired into a Fortune 500 company where he's got all sorts of cool perks like culturally diverse cafeterias where he can get egg rolls and butter-chicken in the same meal, or company get-aways to Denver Colorado where they do team building exercises and come up with mission-statements that focus everyone in on their goals.

Everything seems to be on track. Like, you know... a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

How could anything possibly go wrong??

Well, there's a few things on the horizon that Bob hasn't seen coming. This is the stuff that didn't really get covered in college or even in Forrest Gump.

First off, like most good Americans Bob likes to eat "Three square meals a day". That includes many good old fashioned American restaurants like McDonalds and Denny's, where loves to get the "All American Grand Slam".

This, combined with sitting in an office all day, causes Bob to get fat.

Bob has no idea that you're supposed to eat 6 small meals a day. Heck, Bob doesn't even know what a "macro-nutrient ratio" is, let alone that the largest meal of the day is supposed to be eaten at breakfast and not before bed.

Of course, like most well-informed citizens Bob is far too concerned about the exotic diseases he reads about on CNN.COM while he's procrastinating at work -- like AIDS, AlQueda spread Anthrax, and even the dreaded Bird Flu-- than to worry about the much less interesting possibility of eventually dying because he's simply overweight.

See, when you ask Bob how old he'll live to be he says "Probably 75 or 80". Secretly though, Bob thinks he'll live to be a hundred or even a hundred and three. He's just too modest to say it out loud.

It never occurs to him that while the average American man lives to his late 70s, most of them have physiques that aren't really worth living in past 40 -- and that if he doesn't proactively take on habits like lifting weights and eating properly that his knees and cardiovascular system won't even be able to muster a simple jog up his quaint American street.

Beyond that, Bob also has a big debt on his credit card and he's in several thousand over his head right now.

It's funny, because when Bob got approved for his new credit card he felt so cool and adult being entrusted with the privilege of having credit.

What he didn't realize, and what credit card companies bank on, is that studies consistently show that given credit, the vast majority human beings will be inclined to exchange the intangible numbers in a computer for the tangible goods that they can hold in their hands.

By allowing himself to go into debt more than 2 weeks pay (at least for "stuff" as opposed to investments like property or education), Bob is basically setting a pattern that ensures he'll live with a lifetime of debt -- paying interest upon compounding interest, always pushing for a "life-style upgrade" over just paying down credit cards and living debt-free.

Bob just keeps forgetting that he lives in the most consumer-driven society in the history of the world -- a culture that is literally *designed* so that you can have a fist full of cash, blink, and find that it's all gone.

"Where did it go?? Uhhhh... You know... Stuff."

Luckily Bob has big plans...

Someday, who knows when but sooner or later, Bob plans to start a really cool business where he's going to make the big bucks.

He knows, after all, that he's a really creative guy because all his friends tell him that he has the most awesome MySpace.

Unfortunantly, Bob has been spending most of his time outside work reading Maxim Magazine and downloading Top 40 Hits and Ring-Tone Rap from iTunes. Bob doesn't really spend a lot of time reading the classics or challenging his mind anymore because he's always burnt out from being immersed in the coorporate culture at his work.

What Bob doesn't understand is that while he was born as an intelligent guy, intelligence and focus and creativity are like muscles which have to be engaged and worked out on a consistent basis.

The fact that he was a straight "A" student (other than in French, of course) is really no longer relevant -- and in the past five years he's become the mental-equivalent of the fat guy who keeps talking about how he used to be in the best shape "back in the day".

Well, that's too bad. Bob might not be about to become the next Timothy Ferris or Bill Gates.

Oh well...

However life really isn't all about the money... and life isn't necessarily even about living a long time.

Life is ultimately about quality. Living a happy, fulfilling life.

Bob knows that no matter what, he has what a lot of guys will never have. Bob has found his true love... his wife Suzy.

It was at a party back in college that Bob and Suzy first met. They had mutual friends and hit it off after Suzy accidentally spilt Bob's drink over by the keg.

"That's OK..." Bob told her as he helped to clean it up. Later that night they hooked up and they've been together ever since.

Life has been good for Bob and Suzy. In the past few years they've bought themselves a great house and had a couple of wonderful kids.

Bob has been working long hours at work to provide everything that Suzy could ever need. They still have sex once a week (after watching "The West Wing"), and while it might not be the who's-your-daddy marathon it used to be, the fact of the matter is that they're still very much in love.

What Bob doesn't know however, is that while his cholesterol-clogged heart is pounding on overdrive as he thrusts aimlessly through his 4 and 1/2 minutes of sex to orgasm, Suzy is on her back imagining that charming cutie-pie Matthew McConaughey who she saw in the movie "The Wedding Planner" and with his shirt off in People magazine.

Of course, Suzy loves Bob to death. But Suzy has needs. She's a woman, and she's a human being.

And Bob is just sooo......... Bob.

Anyway, while Bob is off for the weekend in Denver Colorado eating butter-chicken and crafting mission-statements, Suzy has been thinking about calling back that funny waiter boy who'd served them at Denny's.

He'd slipped her his number on the back of the bill right under Bob's nose, saying that they were into similar kinds of gardening.

It seems weird that he'd be the type of guy who would be into gardening, but really, he seemed to have good intentions and Suzy really wants to get some new plants to show to Bob when he gets back home.

Suzy calls up her waiter-boy and he invites her over to his house. Reluctantly, and after a lot of humour from her waiter-boy, Suzy decides that it's no big deal to drop by.

She arrives and they have a few laughs and a few drinks...

Things get a little playful and silly and next thing you know Suzy is on her back (and various other positions she never knew about) getting railed by Mr. Denny's.

Somehow it just.... happens.

This makes Suzy feel incredibly guilty, and she's very distant from Bob when he gets back home.

Bob gets cranky without his weekly post-Wing luvin', which makes Suzy seek more attention from her waiter-boy, which causes her to continue on getting railed..... and railed in a way that Bob hasn't railed her in years.

Eventually Suzy can't take the lying and divorces Bob -- taking the two kids, the dog (did I mention they have a dog??), and half of Bob's Fortune 500 pension plan.

Woops.

Bob has no idea that any of this could be his own fault, believing that he'd done everything for Suzy that a decent husband could ever do. He hates her and in court he indignantly calls her a "Deceitful bitch".

Flashforward another 2 decades and now Bob is alone at 50 years old, divorced, broke, fat, unhealthy, and a workaholic. He's got himself a big juicy slice of the new American Dream.

Well, at least he can watch Forrest Gump to brighten up his day..... *shrug*

See, what Bob doesn't understand is that like all people -- he's been living under a cultural myth.

All society's have cultural myths, and really, America's myths are amongst the best and most empowering.

What the American myth tells you is that if you're a good person, you serve the system, and you work hard -- everything in your life will be O.K.

The basic idea is that "The System Works..."

This is of course, a sweeping generalization, and we could debate all day long on the true nature of the American myth. Hopefully we can at least agree that we've covered the basic gist of it.

Social myths are overall a good thing. They give us a common bond, and empower us with the confidence to lead our lives feeling secure and at ease.

The issue, of course, is that times change. Things are moving fast... evolving faster than they ever have before.

In this day and age the educational system is oftentimes simply not equipped to keep up with the constantly changing landscape of our society.

The educational system (and people's resulting systems of beliefs) tends to move at the vexingly slow pace of any other cumbersome bureaucracy.

Academia is typically rigid and rarely fluid -- at least towards certain issues. To implement new knowledge into a cirricululm often takes several years if not several decades.

That's where the self-actualization (or "self-help") movement comes in...

The self-actualization movement is always on the cutting-edge of the curve.

It's privatized and competitive (meaning that if it's not cutting-edge then it gets weeded out by lack of demand) and so it has to adapt to the changing trends quickly and stay current at all times.

Knowledge like "Success with women" is on the so-called cutting edge right now, and it's not taught in school to people like Bob.

Why??

Because it's still in it's infancy and it's a response to the changing social climate of the past 10 or 20 years.

It doesn't matter that the "main guys" can take a news reporter out into a social gathering and prove the success-with-women principles in real time. It's *still* not yet accepted by the mainstream and it won't be for many years to come.

That's totally fine....

The people who are ready to seek out a better way will inevitably find what they need (especially with the publicity these days), and those who prefer to remain in their "comfort-zone" will remain there until they decide that they've had enough.

As you've hopefully "clicked" by now, the first principle of self-actualization is to understand social conditioning and the unchallenged assumptions and myths under which you live.

Only by doing so can you achieve self-knowledge and begin to evolve.

If you're able to understand what's *really* going on, then the American dream is still absolutely possible.


For real.

Ab-so-f-ing-lutely.

We still live in what is historically the most affluent and lowest mortality-rate society that has ever existed. We live in a truly phenomenal world.

It's really just a matter of staying ahead of the curve and questioning your assumptions -- and making a habit of continually correcting and re-correcting your course as you become a smarter and smarter guy.

That means being "in-the-know" about how the world works, and not just assuming that the system is going to "take care of everything" for you.

It's a point of taking personal responsibility.......

Becoming an "Architect Of Lifestyle Design"......

You want the American Dream?? You want your own dream?? You have to be the guy who makes it happen for yourself and stay on top of all the crucial areas -- ie: the old "Health, Wealth, and Relationships..."

It's not hard, and the resources to teach you how to do it are readily available -- but you have to actually use them and follow through.

If you do, you can absolutely live an awesome and fulfilling life.

Anyway, I hope if Bob reads this that he doesn't think that I'm talking trash behind his back... :)

I'm honestly just trying to be a good friend.

That's it!!


Tyler

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic post Tyler. I was reading that and thinking abck to when I had left High School, and happily accepted that I would become a 'grey man' and lead a 'grey life' because thats what I was told would make me happy, and the system was designed to make me happy.

Your comments on mental excersion are a wonderful juxtaposition to the physical excercise comment. Made me thank myself for focusing choosing to focus on both, and not give up either.

Keep it up. Look forward to Blueprint.

Anonymous said...

First!

Anyways, great article Tyler.

The chuck video was very interesting.

Awesome!

Anonymous said...

This is unreal.
Tyler, you truly are a phenomenal writer with very deep insights.

I have been thinking/generally holding an awareness of these concepts for a long time now, but you have said it more elegantly and more succinctly than I ever could.

Best wishes and best of luck.

Anonymous said...

This is one of the best articles I've read in a log time. It's just so graphic and really opened my eyes on how many people look at life. I kind of knew this already, but I never really "felt" it, because I am not like Bob myself. But I've seen these patterns in my friends.

Anonymous said...

Wow - love the article...

This is exactly how I feel about leaving my job and moving away and starting my new business.

Now off to the gym to pound weights :)

Jason said...

Felt like the post was building something alot bigger. I always enjoy your writing, but I'd love it if you explored more in depth the types of social/cultural conditioning that the average joe is influenced by... and how it really is. nevertheless always enjoy reading your stuff, I just hope to hear more of your personal thoughts and theoretical musings as opposed to motivational speeches.

Anonymous said...

I think it was beautifully written :-)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely cracking post tyler. If only Bob knew! In my life im trying to help Bob out all the time like this.. Generally Bob doesn't want to know, or maybe he will be interested for the duration of the conversation, but in 5 mins he will forget and carry on his life as is. If only I had some sort of script, a pitch that i could whip out that would make people take their life by the proverbial horns.

Also Tyler what happened to 2 posts a week?? : <<

Unknown said...

This post is directed at the people reading this blog, wishing for something more than they currently have, and are at the edge of taking a workshop but haven't really been tipped off to the other edge yet. Tyler, you are incredible in marketing your vision to people envisioning something more, wishing for something more than they have and have a nagging feeling of emptiness inside. You are exploiting their weekness and their ego, because reading your post, they will want this "something more", this "something that nobody else has", this feeling of being on the top of society and living a life that few people have the courage to live. Your post will make them tip over and buy a workshop. Tyler, you are a marketing genious. However, I will not fall into the trap, because I have already got a fulfilling life of my own, since I am striving after my own goals, not goals that you create in me by installing a feeling of lack inside of me and appealing to my ego.

Anonymous said...

as always...clap...clap...bravo

spitkicker

Anonymous said...

LOL!

Thanks for the cautionary tale. But what is the SOLUTION?

Exercise, economic prudence, intellectual endeavors, and productive ambition are some solutions for Bob. They are EASY solutions because they are 100% within his control because they involve only him.

However, Bob's relationship with Suzy is beyond his sole control because it involves more than just him.

What is the solution there?

Don't get married? Assume all women are unfaithful? Constantly work to attract your wife? Forget relationships and just fuck around? Take an RSD workshop? Move to Hawaii and just have a live-in girlfriend?

I'd be interested in hearing your take on that.

Anonymous said...

What's up Tyler? Sweet post. Really thought-provoking . . . and totally on-point, per usual.

I think there's a little Bob inside me that'd I'd like to bludgeon . . . :)

Anonymous said...

Eye-opening and empowering!

Unknown said...

This post is just downright inspiring to me.

A few years ago, I was very overweight. I finally cracked, bought a book called Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, and followed it religiously. Within six months, I dropped 70lbs, and now weigh a lean 165.

Around that time, I was having no success in my love life, and at the age of 20, I'd yet to even kiss a girl. Two years later, and I am finally confident in myself, and happy with the successes in my love life.

But this post has reminded me of my weakness: wealth. After reading this post, a gear has shifted in my head. I need to work on my career.

I've had a vast source of knowledge to help me with the other areas, but I am totally lost in the area of business. Besides Think And Grow Rich, which I am currently reading, what books on the topic have you found influential?

Optimus said...

Sometimes you are such a mack daddy ass pimp I am a little bit overwhelmed.

Anonymous said...

I can see you like 'The Four Hour Workweek' ...

Another awesome post, thanks.

Anonymous said...

TyLer, you have a knack for ramming a point home and really pressing someone`s buttons....amazing article.

It`s not just the success with women thing we have to take care of, its everything else also (in an indirect way even more important that SWW)

Anonymous said...

mind blowing..

Anonymous said...

love your writing man, keep it up

Anonymous said...

Solid man,,, overcoming these myths has been the biggest obstacle for me, but it is extremely rewarding to be able to say that I live my life according to my values and beliefs not someone else's.

Maloney said...

I see the 'new' Self-Help industry as a repackaging of the ideals of 'The American Dream': In short, that each is the the Master of his own destiny, that each can have anything he want if he is willing to work for it.

The scenario you presented perhaps illustrates the most-stereotyped (and perhaps most common) display of where we tend to sttle for less than what we are capable of. However, there are plenty of people who THRIVE in that same exact scenario: work hard for a Fortune 500 Company, claw their way up the ladder, support a loving wife and a few kids, retire at 55-60 and live happily ever after. So the problem is that Bob is a loser -- not that he lives a fairly cookie cutter suburban American existence.

As for his wife, she's every bit the deceitful bitch Bob claims her to be. She's the other half of the equation that failed, and should have taken issue with her disappointing husband before slutting out. And I highly doubt Bob was closing his eyes and picturing her middle-aged, post-childbirth bag of flesh in his fantasies.

I completely agree with the PREMISE of this post, if not the way it was illustrated: It's on YOU to get the life you want -- and if you don't, well, you'll have to deal with being fat, old and lonely (maybe).

Distant Light said...

This is what I've been missing. Who I was I had neglected it. Why? because I was in a very stressful time period. Graduating, picking what you want to do in college, and actually deciding of I want to go to college.

It always brought me back to what you just described. Before this year I'd have laughed at everyone who would think if they get a business then they'll make money just like that.

Also when I used to talk about how the quality of your life is up to you and not other people. I had forgotten all of that this year and it's affected me badly.

I no longer train to someday go into UFC or PFC. I never worked out as hard as I used too when I decided Army is where I'm headed. I never continued my food quest in hopes of tasting foods of different cultures and what high quality food taste like. I never continued to seek out places for me to travel or what next extreme sport I'd try. I basically gave up on what I considered was "Life" and that was having the most fun before you die. Apirl to now hasn't been fun at all and this is probably the lowest I've ever been.

This helpped me remember who I am and where I was heading before I realized I'd be graduating.

Nice Post

Anonymous said...

Awesome awesome article,

Thanks for your long winded insights Ty... Reading your writing is like reading through Ayn Rand. There's TONS coming down the pipe but I don't want it to stop.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this article, nice work! Lots of good points about how you can live your life perfectly according to external western ideals (three square meals, perfect grades, high salary, retirement plan, married, etc) yet not look after the things which really matter.

Anonymous said...

Very....VERY motivating!

Anonymous said...

Good stuff,

I like the way RSD actually has a certain wisdom to it, unlike many other dating companies.

This is an excelent example.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!
I found this very inspiring and will recommend it to friends.

Anonymous said...

Of course, if every guy became alpha/ a PUA/ freethinker, we would lose the benefits that our society provides for us-- we would be living in a society of uncertainty, strife, and hardship.

Thanks, Bob, for working hard to make the world a better place for me to exploit.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. I can't tell you how many people I know who have it in their heads that if they just follow the stardard formula (college, job, wife, etc.), than everything will eventually fall into place and they'll be happy and live their dream life. Its their reason for not pushing themselves, and unfortunately most of them are probably destined to wake up one day at age 80 and realize they never really lived the life they wanted. I've tried communicating this to my friends in the past. Typically, they casually concede that I'm probably right, shrug, and go back to watching sports center. But hey, what can you do. To each their own I guess.

Anonymous said...

Toi boi said: "Also Tyler what happened to 2 posts a week?? "

Let him just concentrate on the Blueprint because it's gonna be a hit ! :D

Bigtime said...

Great article man! Haha, Bob... what a legendary fellow. Very on-point message beneath the humour though, and I totally agree with what you're saying. I find all the resources currently available an absolute God-send and feel extremely privileged to have been born into this generation.

I'm very much looking forward to attending the Blueprint Superconference and bootcamp weekend in London and meeting you and the other RSD guys.

Keep up the good work!!

Anonymous said...

... Bob had bitch tits.

Anonymous said...

Hi, i'm Bob.

Nice meeting y'all.

Starkad said...

Great post, but Timothy Ferriss' next to Bill Gates? Come on. I know there is huge hype about the four hour workweek but really it isn't THAT great. The idea is great, but the book itself is a hodgepodge of old ideas with some of his time management thrown in.

To compare him to one of the richest men in the world is insane.

Anonymous said...

"The truth will set you free." Thanks Tyler!

Jedi said...

Mate

this is pure gold again TD.

The rat race, the system, whatever you want to call it is designed to keep guys like us from pursuing our dreams. They need all of the floor sweepers, garbage collectors and the like in their places to ensure the system continues to operate.

It's the reason the media tries to dumb things down - the news, the TV shows, the advertising etc. Keep people in their mental trance so they don't decide to buck the system and pursue what would truly make them happy.

It's the reason there is so much resistance to achieving this and getting to that place. A lot of internal battles along the way as people are fighting years of social conditioning and values that were installed into them at a young age by their parents.

I could talk about this for hours mate.

Thanks again. You are an inspiration!

Jedi..

Anonymous said...

Awesome article Tyler!

One of the things that really helped me in this article is realising that a lot of people and like myself procrastinate in having to accomplish goals and i would really like to thank you for pointing that out for me.

Thanks a lot

Jason Abdian said...

DAMMIT BOB!

Anonymous said...

ur so great tyler.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking this too yusha.p. Great reply man!


yusha.p zei...
This post is directed at the people reading this blog, wishing for something more than they currently have, and are at the edge of taking a workshop but haven't really been tipped off to the other edge yet. Tyler, you are incredible in marketing your vision to people envisioning something more, wishing for something more than they have and have a nagging feeling of emptiness inside. You are exploiting their weekness and their ego, because reading your post, they will want this "something more", this "something that nobody else has", this feeling of being on the top of society and living a life that few people have the courage to live. Your post will make them tip over and buy a workshop. Tyler, you are a marketing genious. However, I will not fall into the trap, because I have already got a fulfilling life of my own, since I am striving after my own goals, not goals that you create in me by installing a feeling of lack inside of me and appealing to my ego.

Anonymous said...

I am Bob's Prostate.

I get cancer... I kill Bob.

Anonymous said...

The last two years I have been working a very stressful, but boring, job after I graduated. The money was good, and I convinced myself that I liked what I was doing, despite having less time for friends, working out, parties, reading, etc.

Then one day I just though fuck it. I quit, started instead on a PhD-program which made me less money but was more intellectually challenging and demanded less hours. I am in top shape again, very social, manage to read 1-2 books per week and I have improved my gaming vastly. All in all, this was the best decision I have made in a long, long time.

Pooah said...

Great post Tyler. Thanks again.

Nowadays it is rare to find people, who can see widely to everything. I mean that by the society people have stucked to think One-way thinking(And there is no other options). It is like destiny for them. People often says things like "Id love to move spain, Id love to do that and that" But it is very sad, that rarely ppls dont have enough strenght to do those important moves about their lives.

I love your blog, everytime your posts give me alot of thinking. Actually I wonder why the heck Neil Strauss made your character to be so stupid in the game book.

This is a bit offtopic, but whateva. Im a finnish dude who is trying to practive pick -upping. And it would be a SO much easier to live in USA, with your PU community. But I have to believe in my own dreams and DO them.

Anonymous said...

tight article again. loved it.

Reading some of the other posts though its interesting how some ppl can come up such different wack responses to it.

shows you bob still lives.....

Anonymous said...

While Bob fattens up, let's look at one of the biggest cultural myths, one that's killing most of you slowly right now.

You see, nobody told Bob that those "heart-healthy" vegetable seed oils are the reason why heart attacks went from a real rarity in 1910 to the most common cause of death; that the sharp increases in obesity and diabetes following the 80's coincide with the replacement of saturated fats in restaurant frying and processed foods; that every anthropologist knows that the sharpest decline in human health in history was when we invented agriculture and started eating those healthy whole grains; that humans evolved to be in ketosis full-time (fueled mainly by fat, not carbohydrates).

Bob enjoys his box of Cattle Feed Crunchies--wheat husks baked in corn oil--oblivious to the fact that they feed that stuff to cattle because it's the fastest way to make cattle fat. It doesn't occur to Bob that his nutrition information has been paid for by the American food oil industry since the 1940s. He doesn't know that the money he spends on Lipitor to keep his cholesterol down goes to "buying" studies (and researchers) that hide the truth that the cholesterol theory of heart disease has been refuted.

I don't mind, because I don't want the Bobs of the world to drive up the price of the meat, fish, cream, cheese, fruits, and coconut oil that makes up most of my diet. But those of you who don't want to join Bob in a grain-and-omega-6-assisted suicide will need to dig a lot deeper to learn the truth about nutrition and degenerative disease. (Start with Gary Taubes' free online articles, then try Michael Eades and Ray Peat.)

I think this blog appeals to people who want to replace their reality with a better one. I hope you don't mind discovering that, once again, just like when Mom told you how to get the girl, you have been lied to.

Robert said...

Good one Tyler, thanks for doing the thinking for us! :)

TabooTruth said...

I really hope your blog is the precursor to the pickup community becoming more engaged in the issues of the day and not just focusing on banging girls.

I mean, yes, it is about living life to the full. However, we live in a world in which thousandsof children die a day from malaria, and genocide and oppression are a reality for much of the world's population. We continue to live our lives as cubicle monkeys and sports junkies. Can people be motivated to think outside of their bi-weekly paycheck that lets them pay off the big house, fancy car, and big screen TV? Or, are we condemned to mindless consumerism? Keep up the fight, Tyler, and let's hope humanity can do better.

Yusha, you may have a point, but it doesn't take away from people's ability to question themselves after reading his post.

Anonymous said...

Tyler are you following politics at the moment. I have a feeling you'd like 'Ron Paul' I assume you've heard of him. I'd love you to do a post about his philosophy of individual liberty and personal responsibility.

Anonymous said...

his name is Robert Paulsen. his name is Robert Paulsen. his name is Robert Paulsen.


LOL
--
gruenfeld

Anonymous said...

brilliant writing about an really interesting topic! Thank you Tyler!

Jerry said...

this is so true, I just got back from Oahu, and I certainly didn't have any money while I was there but I met so many friendly people and traveled the entire island with guys I met the first day. I mean I never felt so alive! The quality of life was just amazing, it was my american dream in fruition. As a matter of fact, as my room mate sits in his room playing WoW and I am getting ready to go out for a small excursion. Still on the Hawaiian sleep schedule I will spend my time not being in my comfort zone AT ALL b/c I am so used to sitting on my ass when I am exhausted. All this b/c your articles, not so much motivation anymore, but just common sense at this point. Simply said: don't rely on hand outs and hearsay to get you through life. Great example is the movie Gattaca, check it out, see ya!

Anonymous said...

Really insightful post. Really motivates me to not only go out to get laid but so i don't turn out in a marriage like Bob's.

-JimSmith

Anonymous said...

This sort of nonsensical belief that life will work out just fine if you

1) get ur degree
2) get a well paying job
3) get a wife
4) have kids

is prevalent around the world

Its the exact same situation over here in Singapore.

Anonymous said...

thanks for your article Tyler! It's really wide opening and you point out exactly what this society don't dare to, putting the responsibility of our happiness inside ourselves instead out ourselves. It's hard but it's real...we have to adopt the continue bettering principle because reaching happiness it's not the point but continuing in the track for a better existence.
there's always something better something waiting out there to challenge you even more so as you say don't be lazy and stay in what you imagined once as happiness because that doesn't make good for us.

Thanks for everything!

Anonymous said...

wow