7 Reasons Why You Will Never Do Anything Amazing With Your Life
A unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in life.
“To follow the path that others have laid before you is a reasonable course of action, therefore all progress is made by unreasonable men.”
-Steve Jobs
Yeah that’s right; you heard me… I’m talking to you… I’m calling you out.
I’m looking you in the eyes, (ok well, not really since you are probably reading this article, but figuratively, I am burning a cyclops type hole in your face right now) and telling you that you don’t stand a chance.
I’m telling you that if you can read this article, look through this list and not claim it as your own, then you should be a little worried.
Actually, you should be very worried. You should drop everything and immediately question your existence on earth. You should find a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, raise your hand and slap yourself in the face.
Got it? Now repeat that until you come to your senses and continue reading whenever you’re ready.
I’m Talkin’ Bout Street Skills Son!
I’m not talking about the: study hard, party light, graduate top-of-your-class skills.
I’m not even talking about the: slack-off, skip class, smoke weed, drink and party but still graduate, skill-set your $50,000+ diploma has lead you to believe you have.
“I’m talking ’bout, step out your door, make some moves, and get-some-shit-done, kind of skills! Some, move out your mama’s house, quit your job — say “fuck the world” — and then actually go do it, kind of skills”.
The kind of skills you develop in the real world, outside the bubble of your parents protection or the ideological indoctrination that has overwhelmed our entire educational system.
Skills that can be had by anyone willing to pay the price to get them. Skills that are quickly becoming extinct.
I’m talking about skills that cannot be taught in a classroom or in a textbook. Skills you can only learn by doing; by learning how to fly after jumping off the cliff.
Skills that can only be developed when you find your true self. When you put yourself on the line or otherwise expose yourself to the possibility of failure.
The skills you can only develop when you are willing to risk it all in order to do that one amazing thing.
Skills that up until now, you thought you had.
“Basically, what I am trying to tell you is that, in this game called life, you don’t stand a chance…
1 :: Because You Have Not Failed Enough
Because you are comfortable in your mediocrity; because you choose not to try.
Because it is easier to talk about learning that new (programming?) language as opposed to actually learning it.
Because you think everything is too hard or too complicated so you will just “sit this one out”, or maybe you’ll, “do-it-tomorrow”!
Because you hate your job but won’t get a new one; because it is easy to reject rejection.
Because while you’re sitting around failing to try, I am out there trying to fail, challenging myself, learning new things and failing as fast as possible.
Because as I fail, I learn, and then adjust my course to make sure my path is always forward. Like the process of annealing steel, I’ve been through the fire and pounded into shape. The shape of a sword with polished edges and a razor sharp blade that will cut you in half if you are not equally hardened.
2 :: Because You Care What Others Think About You
Because you have to fit in.
Because you believe that being different is only cool if you’re different in the same way that other people are different.
Because you are afraid to embrace your true self for fear of how the world will see you. You think that because you judge others, this means that those people must, in-turn, be judging you.
Because you care more about the stuff you have as opposed to the things you’ve done.
Because while you’re out spending your money on new outfits, new cars, overpriced meals or nights at the bar, I’ll be investing in myself. And while you try to fit in with the world I’ll make the world fit in with me.
Because I will recklessly abandon all insecurities and expose my true self to the world. I will become immune to the impact of your opinion and stand naked in a crowd of ideas; comfortable in knowing that while you married the mundane I explored the exceptional.
3 :: Because You Think You Are Smarter Than You Are
Because you did what everyone else did; you studied what they studied and read what they read.
Because you learned what you had to learn in order to pass their tests and you think that makes you smart.
Because you think learning is only something people do in schools.
Because while you were away at college, I was studying life; because instead of learning about the world in a classroom I went out and learned it by living.
Because I know more than any piece of paper you could ever frame from a university. Because smart is not what you learn, it’s how you live.
Because I might not have a degree but I challenge you to find a topic that I can’t talk to you about cohesively.
Because I could pass your tests if I had to, but you couldn’t stand for a single second in the face of the tests that life has thrown me. Tests that are not graded on a bell curve or by percentages; tests that are graded by one simple stipulation: survival!
4 :: Because You Don’t Read
Because you read the things you are required to read or nothing at all.
Because you think history is boring and philosophy is stupid.
Because you would rather sit and watch “E!” or “MTV” instead of exploring something new, instead of diving head first, into the brain of another man in an attempt to better understand the world around you.
Because you refuse to acknowledge that all the power in the world comes from the words of those that lived before us. That anything you desire can be had by searching through the multitude of words that are available to us now more abundantly than ever before.
Because you are probably not reading this article even though you know you should.
Because the people that are reading this already know these things.
Because you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
5 :: Because You Lack Curiosity
Because you get your news from copy-cat members of the state-controlled media.
Because you are unwilling to ask this simple question… “What if it’s all a lie?”, and accept the possibility that maybe it is; that just maybe, the methods of mass media are under direct orders to: keep you distracted.
Because you call me a know-it-all but refuse to call yourself a know-nothing-at-all.
Because I thirst for knowledge, regardless the topic.
Because while you’re busy playing Candy Crush, or Megalopolis, I am reading about string theory and quantum mechanics.
Because while you waste your time with Tosh.o I am learning how to edit video, build websites and design mobile apps.
Because if we were to go heads-up in a debate, I would crush you. I would make it a point to defeat my own argument; from every imaginable angle; in order to understand everything you might be able to use against me.
Because I would dedicate myself to understanding both sides of the argument so thoroughly that I could argue your side for you and win; even after having just handed you a defeat in the same debate.
6 :: Because You Don’t Ask Enough Questions
Because you do not question authority.
Because you don’t question yourself.
Because you don’t understand the power of properly placed questioning in life, respectful disagreements and standing up for what you know to be right in the face of someone telling you otherwise. Unable to question reality; stuck in a self imposed survival strategy within a matrix-style monotony.
Because I know that you will give me all the information I need to destroy you by letting you talk.
Because I study human behaviors and you ignore everyone but yourself.
Because I watch how you say the things you say just as closely as I listen to what you say; and you say way too much!
Because control comes, not from spewing your ignorance like some incurable case of logorrhea, but from properly structuring the context of your questions.
Because I study the premise of your argument and destroy it from the ground level before you even get a chance to establish your ideas.
7 :: Because You Can’t Handle The Truth
Because you refuse to admit that you don’t even know the things you don’t know.
Because there isn’t an article online that would make up for all the time you have wasted in life.
Because even if I told you everything could be different tomorrow you would wait until then to begin doing anything about it.
Because even when you think I’m not, I’m aware of my surroundings.
Because you think that since I have not acknowledged you, it means that I have not seen you.
Because, you walk around with your head up your ass, oblivious to the world around you. Blissfully ignorant of the reality that sits so close to your face that if you stuck your tongue out, just once, you would taste it and realize how delicious the truth actually is.
Because you would become an instant addict. Unable to pull yourself from the teat of truth. Finally able to understand your lack of understanding, and then you would see; then you would know that the only thing holding you back from doing something truly amazing, is you.
Learn more about Raymmar.com and the Unhireable Project
maybe the author should read more, your opening quote that you attribute to steve jobs is actually from long before by george bernard shaw “all progress is due to the unreasonable man” maybe steve jobs did not like to quote his sources I guess that diminished his sense of self importance which is what your article is about? as to your version of guilt and the protestant work ethic, its circular logic, if you dont care what others think you dont care if your life amounts to nothing but a grain of sand on the beach, which in reality all lives do, name me 10 of the most influential humans and 10 of the wealthiest humans from the 19th century?
Why not finish your article with a Gandhi quote “I am the poorest man in the world, I have nothing, I am the richest man i the world, I want nothing! Our lives from the person seen as the least important of your age to the person widely seen as the most important are mere drops in the ocean. Accepting these simple truths allows you to find peace of mind in a simple life with no fame, as well as peace of mind in a complex life with fame
Hello there Spuznut, author here. Thanks for being the thousandth person to clarify the GBS reference. While Steve might have been paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw, it was the tyrannical ego of Jobs which I was channeling in this article. That being said, I read plenty, and my views have also evolved a lot since I wrote this article 5 years ago.
I do like the Ghandi quote, and appreciate you sharing your thoughts productively as opposed to demeaning or attacking me. There is much to think about in those simple words. Have a great weekend.
Because you are crap
Who are you? I don’t think you will do anything greater than make a mediocre article that comes up on google search, with no meaningful non-cliche advice. This comment is lame, but doesn’t attempt to be “amazing”. This article is one that comes up when considering ending life, and upon seeing the lameness of humans that think they are of importance, makes one realize that most people, including the one which constructed this article, are unnecessary, and makes me want to be homicidal and not only suicidal. My hope is that you will kill your offspring and yourself, as there are too many crappy people in the world.
this comment actually made me feel a little bit better
This is to that hate comment that was made… Jesus Christ what the actual fuck is wrong with you you fucking cunt. Your a pathetic excuse for a human this whole article is focused on trying to help you and it’s free to read! It’s better than you could do so fuck you and your stupid god damn miserable life. Your the one that needs to kill yourself. Fuck you
Do you know the difference between the possessive ‘your’ and the contraction ‘you’re’? Before attacking others, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the rules of basic grammar.
this is so cutting because its so true for me i read it and i felt like shit that’s me. Id really love to be cool and different and do yoga and paint and read but i never do. I spent half of my life staring at screens and the rest of the time i think about how nice it would be if i did something that i actually liked doing or if i learnt an instrument or something. i probably sound dumb amongst all these deep intellectual comments but this hit me so hard i felt i needed to share.
Hello Erin. Tell me about it…..
This article is really just a perfect version of myself arguing with a shitty version of myself. Metaphorically at least. The key is finding that one thing you do better than everybody else, and then finding a way to get paid for doing that.
That’s undoubtedly an accurate answer. Minus the sentence; “metaphorically at least”
It’s most certainly the reality of you arguing with yourself. Only you had control of what the entry would say as a finished product. While writing it, you certainly probably debated sentences & how they were worded. You Edited it during the initial writing as opposed to review and editing it at the end, You used the backspace key often just as much as the
Enter key. You had control to debate yourself. And I’ll wager that you did. But I doubt few understand that you are the type of person to do so, solely for anticipation of your post to be easily read, but make it a real son of a bitch for the average person to decypher.
How I figure it, This is not my world. I’m just living in it. Survival is key. Or so we are led to believe survival is key. Nobody alive on this earth has any proof that dying and passing on is a bad thing. Nobody can prove that it’s the end. You may be thrown through dimensions to another host to live on. The only side to that story is what other people have made it to be during mankind.
I’m not interested in dying because I knew at a young age that I will die eventually. and that I can’t do anything to alter that. So dying has no importance to me. Doesn’t place fear in me either. I’m more interested in being dead. Can a being’s conscious be destroyed?! Does killing a person kill their conscious?! If you bash someone’s brain to a bloody pile of tissue fragment, does that mean you killed the conscious too?!
My unofficial answer to that would be, “Only if the conscious wanted to die.” How they chose to. The way to eternal life Isn’t in the blob of fat and muscle tissue we drag around every day. The way to eternal life is to develop your own conscious, and embed it in others.
Jesus Christ was a carpenter. Son of god. Learned everything he could. And teaching all of that to people that wanted to know it.
Jesus Christ is alive today in millions of fragments called people.
Hell maybe even animals. But Christianity is only a majority based opinionated religion passed on for thousands of years. Doesn’t make it real thing. I say this and I’m in fact have been baptized at a young age. For fun.
Me?! 25. Male. White. Or Less tan a black person. It’s however you wanna look at me. I have woken in an unfamiliar place before, beaten half to death with no memory of what happened to cause it. Or who did it. I’ve been in and worked in 31 states in the u.s. I regret not spending recreational time in most of them. But because I had to work and had to have money to spend on mostly all non-renewable shit. I’m poor. I’m in debt almost 60k. 70k new Truck repossessed in may. I also made 100,000 last year. And now I have nothing. So my question to you friend, is how do I earn money. Not just exchange it. I want to earn money in real time. Almost as if I were gambling. Except I don’t wanna wager any of my money. It’s a bullshit disgrace of a lie “ gotta spend money to make it” that’s horse shit. How do you earn lots of money. Instead of producing something that eventually turns to money, then it’s spent again. I Just want to spend other people’s. In a hyper theory state of expression.
How do I become a non renewable resource?
I will debate if you wish via private email. Not to flood this blog or post.
-regards Zach
Zacharyschroyer@gmail.com
Lastly subject topic the email “glass sailboat” if you intend to communicate with me. Otherwise I won’t waste time on it.
I like all the shit that’s bad for you. Peace. Love. Cold beer. Bull riding. Pussy. Cocaine. I question all. Even the origin of the subject at question. Including myself.
Been amazing, thanks.
Seven reasons that is affamation of pessamism and the epitat of competetive values. Competative values are the surest way to nullify self esteem.Therefore the failure i beleive to have been abjectly stated are an affermation of our success as the cause acheived by the victory.For what is wealth without the experiential purpose thereof.For that is will beyond the limitation of self magnified by the true magnanomy of will and ultimate purpose for the reasoning of being properly identifying the antigenic success of pessamism in all who survive the fear of need
Huh?
Im going to book mark this page. I think google is slacking. I literally put this into google and found this page at #2 on Googles own list: “im coming for you google. record this :) i love you, but your greed has gone to far. you are a crap hole now”
Special people can not be happy without us unspecials :)
I love all this vague, platitudinous bullshit that people with blogs love to shit out all over the net.
They fail to realize that success is an inherent mindset ingrained in people who are special. Only special people succeed. Ever. If hard work and determination was all it took to be successful literally everybody would be. This is evident throughout history, throughout all recorded civilization.
Only special people get to be happy. The rest of us have to knuckle through abject misery until we die unsatisfied and alone.
You’re right, but not completely. That specialness is not necessarily something you get from birth – it’s something you can catch on during life, but it’s still specialness. It’s the specialness one gets not from just “hard work and determination”, but from the right kind of them – where one takes feedback, where one learns from failure what went wrong instead of doing what most people do when they take failure as “proof that this is not meant to be”.
It’s comfortable idea to place the responsibility of becoming awesome on something external and uncontrollable, but it doesn’t help to achieve. It just helps to silently cry while “other special ones” do the things we wanted to do ourselves.
I wouldn’t say that everyone would like to put hard work and determination into their desires… They “would like” logically, but emotionally only a few people ever overcome this and even less of those few manage to reach the level where they crack the code of awesomeness and really become it.
I couldn’t have said it any better myself! Thanks Bee.
The only absolute truth is that the world is a mouth filled with teeth and we are food.
This is a great visual. Love that. Thank you.
Had a crap start to the day, needed some motivation. The first thought came to my mind was to read this article again today! Definitely helped! Thank you for your words!
I recommend this article to athletes who need the motivation to get better. Great read, really makes you think deep about what you’re doing with you’re life.
Nice article. I am genuinely in love with the speech that steve jobs gave (not sure what university it was at?) but its always very inspiring when im lacking in motivation/confidence etc..
Sorry, I mean the quotes originally from George Bernard Shaw “Man and Superman”, but it’s clearly developed a life of its own.
I have been told this before and yes, the original context for this quote is from GBS but this particular arrangement is from Jobs which I am sure he got from GBS. Thanks for the love on the website and sharing your thoughts.
Excellent post, and I love your about/why page, but you know Steve Jobs got that quote from , right?
First off, “excellent” read. Was to be expected for some to flex those opinion muscles. Its been proven fact that “truths” can cut like a knife. Especially when subconsciously you can relate, whether you like it or not. Its an eye catching topic that clearly is directed for self reflection. Not to be taken as a personal assassination of your character. I actually read most of the comments, and the author attracted some very intellectual folks for debate. i just grew weary of the peons queuing in. Nothing more than good ol’ constructive criticism.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and yes, there were some intelligent debaters in the comments below, but most people who are responding missed the bigger point of the article. One which you point out quite simply.
“Its an eye catching topic that clearly is directed for self reflection. Not to be taken as a personal assassination of your character.”
This is exactly what it was. It was supposed to piss everyone off and make them question the way they live in this world. Myself included and I go back to this article regularly to do just that.
Thanks for getting it!
so basically you are asking people to live their life to the fullest like get involved to difficult situations and succeed or not succeed but get stronger…that’s a very good advice but at the same time a stupid one only an idiot would go out asking for trouble(although I don’t think that is what you suggest) ;p you could always plan ahead and calculate each situation before you find yourself in a world of shit. Oh and I criticize myself every day…people who didn’t like your post were the kind of people too and don’t like someone shoving in their face things they regret not doing…probably most of them did a lot of stuff but don’t give a credit to themselves. Certainly there are those who are blind or just in denial but heck they just need one good smack in the head (like you did) to wake them up. Anyways I believe it is a good post (although harsh) but don’t say people that don’t get the message suck it might be because you are shoving shit all over their eyes and not letting them see !
If doing “amazing things” with your life means turning into a self-agrandizing, judgmental asshole who just wants to “destroy” everyone in intellectual arguments – you’re doing it wrong. Your game might be more sophisticated than others, but it’s still a game, and you are still playing in the exact same matrix as everyone else.
My ass is killin’ me…I fit about half of this. Really powerful man. I do understand my lack of understanding and I deeeeefinitely KNOW I’m not smart. I’m a genius compared to what I used to be though. Damn…that shit makes me want to go do something man. LOL No clue what though.
I was on my own for around 8 years and I was so lost, addiction got me, it’s all I ever saw in life, it’s what I knew. Some people are more prepared than others in so many ways. More to learn than others + different life situations. Life is crazy beautiful. This is the inspiration I needed to keep trying though. I really needed this. TY
Thank you! I’ll be bookmarking this to come back to.
Admittedly, I was offended by this article at first before realizing its true nature. Anger usually points to something that needs to be changed. Anyone who is uncomfortable with complacency should be fired up by this, because we can all do better at something, at everything. Period.
Also, this article makes for a powerful set of self affirmations if you change the ‘you’s to ‘I’s and the negatives to positives and blahblah.
C:
Where is end of quote (the in bold) before the first item of your 7.
Raymar, you respond to this post as if you know the people she is talking about…it’s not that you do not know them (you don’t) but more that you can’t. Its not mathematically possible. You say you’ve met some people who are satisfied w what they’ve been given. Ok. But how does that make you an expert on the people who she is talking about? It doesn’t. There are many people out there that don’t want to be amazing by your definition, like she said. And you don’t know why they are satisfied, but you say because you met some people who were given things by their parents or government, then that equates or qualifies you to know about the 100s of thousands of people she mentions. That’s like meeting one black person and thinking you know all black people. Or reading one article on Wall St and think you are an economist. She is talking about a particular group of people whom you have never met yet you say they bitch and moan. You say they never do anything. And you say they never have felt the amazing feeling you describe. LOL…..you do not have the slightest idea of what they think, what they feel, or what they perceive…hehehe, you just think you do. You dont have the slightest idea of what they feel about their own self worth. You don’t know how they feel about the “rich” man. They may actually be rich men and women. Amazing people do not proclaim to know facts about a whole group of people whom they have never met, simply because they trust the ideas their mind conjure up. Because it “feels true”, does not make it true. Weird.
A lot of this sounds just like my mentor Michael Bernoff.
It reminds me of: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person_p2/
My friend liked this post on FB and I instantly thought of this Cracked article. I’ve sent this to her saying “look, THIS is how it’s done”.
As for Raymmar, dude, chill, we get you, you’re too intelligent for this word, too cultured, too well read, you’re pretty, you have a huge dick (even I wet my panties slightly when I read this pretentious thing..because…you).
But David Wong from Cracked wiped the floor with you with his article.
Inspiring/motivating people can bed one without being demeaning, pretentious and self-absorbed.
But yeah…I get you. People like me are dumb E!-watching-Kardashian-loving-airheads. You’re an intellectual. So go you.
I’ve read that article on cracked actually. Very well written indeed. However, your comments sound like you were too busy sarcastically defending a bruised ego to understand the true depth of this article.
But I did laugh when I read your reply, so, go you!
John 16:33
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
:D I loved this
all true, solid piece.
I’m sorry, but you do realize that your cohesive set of arguing and debating skills is solmewhat close to ‘if they disagree with me, I’ll say they’re pissed because they saw themselves in it’? Pathetic…
Thank you so much for this. Lately i’ve been reflecting on my life and have realized i have many internal problems that i have yet to solve and all this is holding me back. Everything you just said applies to me and i’m still on the journey to improve. I’m still in high school and i have realized i do a lot of comparing and conform way too much. I have all these goals but do little to achieve them, beside of course day dream and learning how to achieve them, but never taking action. I truly dont know myself and this is why i believe what you just wrote applies to me so much. You seem like you have a good sense of self, so let me know what you did to achieve this. Again thank you for the post and keep up the good work :).
The key to genuinely understanding the article is to watch the rubics cube video…that ties everything together. It reveals that the article is not a mean spirited jab, but rather a wake up call to people who forgot that there is value in not taking the easy way out or giving up…but rather…work hard and reintroduce yourself to the process of learning. Hard work and learning, although painful and tough, are what successful people seem to be doing. I thought it was kinda clear. My main problem w the writer was more toward the definition of “exceptional’ and toward the idea that beneath every “exceptional person”, you’ll probably find a scoundrel.
He and I have exchanged several thousand words concerning that, but if you try and re read the article and watch the accompanying video it becomes evident that the article is constructive rather than destructive,
I appreciate you saying that Dave. I am trying to present some ideas and subjects in a different voice than some people are used to and I think that offends them.
This thing is not perfect and the entire website is a work in progress but it has proven effective. And most of the time my intentions are not to get you to change your mind, only to force you to understand why you feel the way you do.
I like that people disagree. I think it is necessary to challenge your position and decide whether the new facts are in line with your prior understanding on any topic in life and then make your own decision about what you are going to believe.
My greater point is that too many of us are ok with not knowing anything. Other than what we think we know. I just think more people could push themselves to become better versions of the same person.
I do not want to change anything other than a few minds about how we can all talk and interact. We can disagree and still make progress. There is enough fluffy, rah-rah stuff out there already. My work is intended to offend your sensibilities at times, stir your emotions, challenge your position and otherwise make you uncomfortable in your own thoughts.
I want to push you, and I want you to push me back. And somewhere in the middle we will balance out some amazing ideas and share them with the world.
Thanks for your thoughts Dave. It will be quite interesting to see how far this thing can actually go and only time will tell how amazing an experiment this might actually be.
https://raymmar.com/earlyadopters/
all this goes to my life. i will never do anything special and i have a dream job that might fail in a few days
Maybe some of us don’t want to be “amazing”…whatever that is supposed to mean. I wonder what the writer of this puffed up bit of crap called a blog entry did or is doing that is so amazing that he can sit in judgment of others? I call BS on the whole thing. You claim we’ll never be amazing because we care what others think of us…well I don’t give a damn about what YOU think of me, yet you’re arrogant enough to think everyone should care what you think! Bite rocks, moron.
Nice name play. I am never surprised that all of the negative comments come from people who are not willing to identify themselves.
You obviously care what I think. I didn’t even have to tell you what I thought of you. You read an article and all of a sudden became the victim while some people read it and became the hero.
And p.s. you must have cared what I thought since you read it and then commented. So your argument is flawed and lacks any valid standing. You are insecure and you dont even know it.
For those who don’t get the name play.
mis·an·thrope
noun: a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.
synonyms: hater of mankind, hater, cynic; More
Wow Miss Ann Thorpe, Your so vain I bet you thought this was directed at you?!
I know of a few people that are satisfied with whatever is given to them. Either from their parents, or from their government. They bitch and moan, but never do anything….. The problem is, they have never experienced the satisfaction of a job well done, of accomplishment.- they dont know it, they think they are happy but they have never felt that “amazing” feeling of self worth,
they are usually quick to tell everyone they dont care what they think, “Dont judge me” and get aggressive in defense.
Obviously they are Jealous of the “Rich man” and I think deep down they sort of “guilty conscious” as they know there “Worth” is more of a burden than a asset
All I got from this article is a long-winded and unendearing rant from a man who, in an impressively dickish display of irony, seems to think he’s smarter than he actually is.
Thank you! Finally some sense.
If that is how you see the world then I would not want to see it through your eyes. This article was not about me but you would have had to get past yourself to realize that.
Funny how different the responses are from the people who get it vs the people who do not. And looking through the comments you can see plain as day that there are two distinct ways of looking at this article.
1. It empowers you because you understand the battle that is being waged between two forms of an individual ego, you see the passion of achievement and desire for truth
or
2. They automatically make themselves in to the victim and then get mad because they think I am talking directly to them. These people are shallow and are the real selfish monsters around us. The ones that pretend to be tolerant and open while living a completely different way.
Whatever you want to think. These words are my art. You read them, as well as millions of other people. Obviously I did something right.
What are you doing to make a difference?
Why the fuck is Steve Jobbs talkin shit to me!?
I read your last reply and from the very 1st line, I can tell that I surely caused you confusion. Your response was not in unison with the comment i made previously. It’s as if I was talking about how sweet oranges are and you replied that cats don’t even like oranges and so my logic is off. So if you misunderstood, it probably can be traced back to me not being clear.
Its very tangled now, not sure is I actually can clear it up. I think where I caused confusion was in the whole 3rd paragraph. I can see where you might have thought I was talking about you. I was not. What I meant to say is that you made what I thought was a rhetorical comment…and like all rhetorical comments, they are not specific. The comment was “We have perverted the free market, the economy, the media, our methods of education” etc……to be clearer, what I meant was that everyone says those anonymous we statements, instead of naming names. So I was not suggesting at all that you were blaming other people and not yourself. I was accusing you of making a rhetorical statement like “we pervert the free market” rather saying the exact names of those that pervert the free market….Not Raymmar……but Steve Jobs, Jamie Dimon, Riley Bechtel, Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay, the Keating 5, Michael Milken, the guy who was hired to dispose of small pox infected blankets but sold them to the indians, the guy who bought 10,000 defective rifles and sold them to the cavalry, and the list goes on and on and on.
So I was not blaming you or even talking about you.
Then you reply on about evil and other things and mention that there are still good businessmen and politicians that want to do good….yeah, duh…..they are the ones I label “exceptional” not the Steve Jobs of the world. I agree 100% You said the masses are still good….yes, yes, yes….read back to my 1st reply to this blog how I said that ordinary people are the true exceptional people, then Jonathon Swift disagreed and it started….but I’m with you in a lot of this ideology.
Then you go on further saying I’m not offering up a solution yet I tell you that you are wrong. Well, again. I do not ever remember saying you were wrong as far as any idea you had concerning how to fix it. I remember saying I agree w your whole rubics concept but dont remember saying you were wrong about anything….but if you thought I did, again, it is probably a case of me being unclear.
As for my solution….you can start with my 1st reply to this blog….the beginning of a solution is understanding that we have a skewed definition of what an exceptional person is, and how they should be “adored”. I’m the one who said ordinary people are just as worthy to have a place in the world so I don’t know how you could say I want to Shit on people. Steve Jobs shit on people, not me. Second, get rid of money, scarcity, and debt. raymmar, check out the Venus Project….. https://www.thevenusproject.com/ And learn that there are many ways to improve life if only you can start thinking outside the box…WAY outside the box.
Then you go on for a few more paragraphs that again, I understand the words, but those ideas had little to do with what I was talking about.
What I was talking about was the absolute fact that people are creating empires at other peoples expense, not philosophy on good and evil. Just the fact that there are criminal activities, w horrendous results, global in nature done by men who are NOT viewed as criminals, but RATHER, viewed as exceptional, job creators, who are the pillars of society. It disgusts me.
I guess what disturbs me the most is that I do not understand how another human being cannot understand that people get ahead at the expense of others. The bodies pile up, it is history…not nonsense…history. If you dispute history, then the discussion is sadly over.
If you can’t connect the dots between what I said and what you were saying then we are way off base here.
I understand what you are saying and I know you were not blaming me directly but of course I am part of we. And you are too. You are making huge generalizations about success only coming at the cost of others so why wouldn’t generalizations make sense in other places of our conversation.
So in your example, my argument is only valid if I name names? You list 5-6 people and some examples of people doing shitty things and them expect people to assume that all business owners are bad because obviously they all abuse and exploit their employees.
Steve jobs never made anyone rich, didn’t help shape the future of technology and communication and fuck the rest of them too because hell, we should all just have things handed to us?
What you fail to understand is that we need the “me’s” of this world. We need the assholes and hard asses who are willing to make the hard decisions. Life is not fair, neither is business. Outcomes should not be fair either.
So I was not blaming you or even talking about you.
I agree that it will be the overwhelming amount of average individuals that save is as a whole but they must be ready. To stand up and step out of the systems that have all been so perverted as we talk about in this conversation.
I agree with getting rid of Manipulations of the system but currency in and of itself is not bad.
I know about the Venus project and there are many parts of it that I agree with bit there are other parts that stink of utopian control and ideological fantasies.
Then you have to wonder who is going to own and build it. Would they not be tempted to do the same thing with their social experiment than those that came before? What about the industrious worker. How will they innovate and produce? Start businesses and drive commerce?
I’m pretty far out of the box man. I’m as far out of the box as you can get without getting thrown into a padded box with a white jacket on.
I just think that the empowered individual and the ability to fail and succeed based in individual merit is a better system than anything that has been tried over the years.
Sure, it has become perverted but throwing out the same system that has allowed so many to climb out of poverty because some people are atill poor is a bad idea.
If we could get the bloated government out of our lives and actually allow some semblance of a free market to succeed them we might have a chance.
Look at the internet for instance. It is the last real free market in existence. Many people can get scammed, lots of people do and for the most part we all love it and use it for good.
The gov is coming after that hard as well. They want to insert themselves into the government and control the rules to that game like they have with everything else.
I think you are seeing a shift towards conscious capitalism and you are seeing companies that are balancing profit with personality as well as doing right by their customers.
The biggest perversion that we have is our bloated government who has to stick their hands into every aspect of our lives as if we were not capable of making our own decisions. As if they were doing any better job at running things than the individual producer would be able to do.
The fact that money makes the world go round and the rules of money have been skewed to favor those with it and punish those without it means that we have a lot of work to do but I’m not sure we should throw the baby out with the bath water.
People do not have to get ahead at the expense of others. Quite the contrary, I am trying to get ahead by helping others.
I am trying to show that there is another way and hopefully sparking some other interesting thoughts on how the world could work better along the way.
Could I do it faster if I didn’t care? Yes.
Could I make more money if I screwed people over? Yes.
Could I change everything and push people to look at the world a little differently? Yes, yes and yes.
I can go point/ counterpoint all night….I think we are at a point that we partly agree and partly disagree on most of the points of discussion. Yes, people do not “have” to get ahead at the expense of others, duh, I own a bizness and I am getting ahead at no ones expense, except maybe my wife, who wants me home more. It boils down to identifying those who get ahead at others expense, and those that don’t…and we (including you and I and society) need to stop glorifying those who do….simple. Celebrate the good guys, expose the bad guys.
The last 2 things I want to mention are that using the “we need the assholes who make the “hard decisions” argument is old and not based in fact. its philosophy, opinion. Tyrants used that excuse centuries before you or I were born.Just sayin.
Number 2….you understand the concept of the kid in the candy shop? Again, its not me, its a matter of factual history, that when “bloated governments” stop regulating the free market, the free market starts doing what it did with this past subprime mortgage crisis, which as you know already, started with derivative deregulation….again, not my cherry picked opinion, just history and there are 1000 examples.
ps….I don’t think you know as much about the Venus project as you think. Especially when you ask, “who will start business or drive the commerce? In their concept, there are no business and and there is no commerce.
You have a pessimistic view of man if you think innovation will cease if don’t have to scratch and claw for everything. In the Venus project world i think you will get more innovation than at any time in history. Capitalism is what stunts innovation. We are a curious species, we will never stop inventing and innovating and experimenting…..it has to do w genetics. And mathematically, there are more in poverty today than at any time in history, so getting rid of the system that helped people in poverty pull themselves out wont hurt. And the Venus people, dreamers as they certainly are state up front their concept is not perfect….just better.
we need a world like logan’s run hell die at 30 not bad simple life
Wrong again. The sub-mortgage crisis was not solely the banks fault. It was regulation that enticed them to loan the money for next to nothing and created an environment for people to exploit. Both the banks and the government are to blame and to think otherwise is ignorant.
This is why I say you only see half of the issue. You are only half enlightened. I agree that we could go back and forth forever on this and I like your “celebrate the good, expose the bad” mentality.
As for the Venus project, there were many things I liked about it. But I do not think it would work. Not yet at least. I also still have questions about who owns it? Who runs and operates it? Who funded it to get started? Etc. If we have perverted every other social structure with greed and everything we have already discussed then what makes you think that the Venus project would not fall prey to the same pull?
Scratching and clawing is a big part of how people learn to survive. I would rather go to war with someone who was battle tested as opposed to someone who has no idea what to do when the shooting starts.
Same in life. I want to surround myself with people who have succeeded in spite of what life has thrown them, not with people who are looking forward to having things handed to them. I have a hard time trusting anyone who has not gone through some difficult life situations because learning how to survive no matter what is important. Something we do not teach people by pretending that no one is keeping score.
There is always a score.
Raymmar…………..you replied to 2 of my posts but from my perspective one reply contradicts the other reply. In one, you say that the idea of getting ahead at the expense of others is nonsense. Then in the other reply you say….
“We have perverted the free market, the economy, the media, our methods of education, our religious organizations, our individual values and any semblance of decency as the societal default. We are now selfish, power-hungry, money-loving assholes who want only for ourselves.”
So Raymmar…..its “we” who have done the perverting….but what? Only as “we”, never as a “me”….it’s always the anonymous “we”…but what about the individuals? Here, you are simply spewing rhetoric, like any politician, saying we do this we do that, we must change, and we must rise above, and we must this and we must that…..of course its always out of the question that “I” must do anything…only the “we” part of the world is perverted and not the “me” part of the world.
When you thought up the idea that we have perverted the free market, the economy etc…..are you saying that we perverted all these things without the attempt of getting ahead at other peoples expense? Really? As if ambition is a virtue. How can you not understand that when you privatize Bolivia’s water rights by getting your friends at the World Bank to lend Bolivia money (that everyone knows in advance cannot be paid back) and then gets handed on the silver platter to Riley Bechtel for 2.5 billion, that that is not getting ahead at other peoples expense. The Bolivian people of that city had to pay, literally, half a months pay for enough water to drink, cook, bathe, and laundry….but you’re saying that is not a sacrifice. Thats not an expense. They must have been pleased to do it. The 2.5 billion disappeared, but I guarantee you it didn’t go to the average citizen of Cochabamba. So a small group of people split up 2.5 billion and the citizens get to pay half their salary for “rain”…the thing that falls out of the sky for free. But its not at their expense.
And then you have Riley Bechtel, the architect of the whole maneuver. Raymmar, he is one of you, and Jonathon Swifts “exceptional” people. he watched your video on the rubiks cube. He said to himself….”I know the moves, I memorized the procedure, I did the footwork, and I had the balls to put everything into action, I am exceptional”…and Raymmar dutifully stood and clapped. Bechtel made back his billions and more before the Bolivian people rose up and went into the streets and took their water back.
But your logic says that people don’t get ahead at the expense of others. Dude, you really need a dictionary to learn what the word expense means.
The difference between you and me, Raymar and Swift, is that you will go so far as to say yes, “we” have perverted this and that…but I say it’s not “WE”….it’s Riley Bechtel, its Jamie Dimon, its Steve Jobs, it’s half of those you call exceptional, who would lay their grandmother over a railing for 5 dollars a pop when the 7th fleet is in town, just to make a few dollars more…..But that wouldn’t be a granny’s expense, because getting ahead at other people’s expense is nonsense.
First of all, I always say “we” because “I” am part of society. And in America it is about the people. Or at least it was at one point. I take full responsibility for my actions and that is why I am building this website. There were no contradictions in those replies if you get passed the assumption that I was blaming everyone else and not myself. Something you might not be able to do yet since you do not know me or my work that well.
You are wrong once again with your analysis.
What makes profit evil? What makes a gun evil? What makes power evil?
The people that use it to take advantage of others. There are people who manipulate, lie, chat and steal and yes, lots of it happens in business but it also happens in the streets. It happens everywhere you interject people because we all get the choice to be good or evil in every moment of our existence.
Some people fall in love with evil because they see how easy it is to manipulate the masses. They discover that they can make money by manipulating emotions, economies, etc. Then greed sets in and it gets even worse but this is not the default. There are still honest businessmen and politicians trying to make a difference. We have just been forced to focus on a few because the impact of their greed has been overwhelming to our society. I think the masses are still good though and that is another place we might differ in opinion.
How do you propose we fix it then? You tell me that I am wrong and yet you proffer no solution yourself.
Tell me how shitting on people is the way to make a difference? Why not encourage the individual to be amazing? Why not push people to realize how bad we have fucked up as a nation but reassure them that we can fix it if we are willing to make a difference.
Yes “we” not me. I can do my part and you can do yours but without a critical mass we are nothing other than a couple loud mouths in the crowd.
You cannot tell me that what I have done or experienced in life is not worth the effort I am putting into it. You cannot tell me that the lives I have impacted are not real. You can not tell me that there is no power in stepping out and building something for yourself.
The true difference between you and I is that I think a collection of empowered individuals makes for a really solid whole and you think that the whole should be stronger than the individual. You would sacrifice the individual for the good of the whole, not realizing that the whole cannot stand without strong pillars of support inside it. People who are willing to take the arrows, fight the fight and do what it takes so others can be free as well.
I push myself and I push others because together we make up a better whole. If we were to all just sit around and subsist then the whole would eat us all and we would be totally lost to the oligarchy of obsolescence. We will have given all power to a choice few and it will never become available to us again.
Our freedoms will not be restored once they are taken and we are so close to having them all stripped from us.
You are not wrong Dave, you just are not looking at the whole picture. You only see half of it.
Like most people. You have allowed your ideology to blind you from the truth. Both sides are wrong. We are all wrong. We are all sitting around waiting for someone else to fix it when what we need is to go around and start fixing ourselves.
When we fix ourselves as individuals then we can start worrying about how to handle the whole. Until then may the mob rule (democracy) be gentile as it draws us into a tyrannical existence.
Raymmar T.:
I loved reading your article Raymmar; your writing style is intense, personal, inspirational and infuriating all at once. I have the urge to commend you for your fervor, but I also must comment on the weaknesses of your article. You lacked not in your style or prose, they were both effective and unique (as this massive comment list denotes), but in your content. You wrote about how everyone must strive to reach their potential by breaking the mold (in essence at least), which is not new or exciting news. Furthermore, you overlooked the fact that the world needs the people who hate their work, and only fill a spot in the assembly line. They are essential for the exceptional to succeed.
Please do not see only insult in my comment, but recognize it as a critique. I recommend that you continue your bold writing technique, but refine your content. If you would like someone to run your thoughts past you may contact me, and if you need references, just ask.
Jonathan Swift.
Jon…not sure where you get your info from, but I have found no evidence that the world needs the people who only fill a spot on the assembly line. There is tons of evidence that the owner of the assembly line needs that spot filler, but not the world. Unless you think the assembly line owner “is” the world. In that case you are probably one who dreams to one day own the assembly and the factory. Owners are not “exceptional”…..they are just people who have no problem getting ahead at other peoples expense. That is not exceptional, actually the owners of the assembly line are a dime a dozen.
The world can survive just fine without assembly lines and those who man them. But why let facts get in the way of a good discussion.
Your computer was built on an assembly line and your clothes were as well (pretty sure you need those)… If those people heed Raymmar’s words and abandon their jobs the world as we know it would collapse, and hence the exceptional people could never succeed. I apologize for skipping an elementary thought process; I am writing to Raymmar though not you, and after reading the content on his website I decided he would be able to make simple logical connections. Please do not waste your time posting a reply of the same caliber as your last.
Dave, I was with you for a second until you started spewing this better at the expense of others nonsense.
The economy is not a zero sum game and they call it creating jobs because new products spawn innovation which means revenue and work for other people.
have corporations perverted that to an extent? Yes. Does the employee have a say in the matter? Kind of.
It is getting more and more difficult for someone to become independent. To live outside of the system which is work and school and every other social construct that you live in. All intended to keep you preoccupied, entertained and dumb.
If it is so easy to be an owner then why not go out and own something? Why do people continue to work? Why then are we not all owners of some means of production other than the goods or value we can create as individuals?
Your logic is flawed.
Yes, Jon……if all the assembly line workers heeded Raymmers words, the world would collapse. And what happens when things collapse? History shows that they get rebuilt, and sometimes they get rebuilt better. Get it? Unless you think this is as good as it gets, or you were born on the right side of the tracks. But for the rest of us, a little bit of Raymmer will make the world a better place…….how you like the caliber of my comments now?
I cannot believe I need to do this for you, but I will spell it out for your own good: In a world without assembly lines and factories (like the one you are describing) people would make their own goods or buy them from local surplus. This happened in history already, it was called the Cottage System, and it was replaced by the Industrial Revolution. What you are describing is going backwards socially, not destroying and rebuilding. During the Cottage System period, innovation was stifled because exceptional minds were wasted on menial tasks. This is the essence of my original comment; if you still do not understand, or have questions on the Cottage System vs. the Industrial Revolution email me at Jonathan.Swift5@gmail.com.
The Cottage System, YES, the Cottage System…..that thing that happened in history already, right before the awakening of the Industrial revolution. That mean old Cottage System that stifled innovation of the “exceptional” people. yeah, the Cottage System, when everyone was equal, everyone, worldwide loved and tolerated one another, everyone owned property, as was the rule throughout history….the Church was benevolent, and kind, and existed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, and there were no monarchies who would give out land, gold, and monopolies to their friends and families and collect taxes to fund wars in foreign lands to rape the natural resources of any land they could conquer. Yeah I remember those days of Cottage System that was saved by the Industrial revolution…so all the “equal” people of the world could stop making their own shirts and bread, and embrace the wonders of factory work, owned by the “exceptional” people. Schucks, how could I be so stupid to not understand how the “exceptional” people would bribe politicians to get factory space for free, be allowed to dump polluted water in the rivers, and keep laws in place to make sure the disposable assembly line workers, stay happily on the assembly line. What a wonderful time to be an exceptional person. And Jon, you are part of that broken system that wants to perpetuate that broken system. You are one the people who look at the Emperor’s new clothes and and compliment him on how beautiful they are, like all the other “exceptional” members of the club. But the real exceptional person is the kid who simply says the King is naked.
You are mistaking slave labor and shitty work environments with the fact that replicable systems allow us to be efficient. It is the same thing that led to the industrial revolution and it is the same thing that is driving us into the information revolution.
It has nothing to do with making a specific thing as it has to do with the ability to make something all together. What I mean by that is having the ability to create something from scratch, take a risk, work hard and be rewarded for that effort.
We have perverted the free market, the economy, the media, our methods of education, our religious organizations, our individual values and any semblance of decency as the societal default.
We are now selfish, power-hungry, money-loving assholes who want only for ourselves.
People are starting to realize once again that they can bring value to the world without being part of the system (look at me for example). As more people become enlightened and understand the value of their individuality we will see a rush towards independent thought and creative inspiration. Something I think we are right no the verge of.
We have two choices.
We either keep going in the same direction. This ends in mass war, poverty, and a totalitarian government.
Or, we turn 180 degrees. Allow the individual to innovate, remove restrictions on small business owners, and allow Americans to do what they do best! Kick – Ass! At whatever it is they want to kick ass at!
I understand that as a premise but I wont accept it. I think everyone has room for improvement and would benefit from pushing themselves.
I agree that there must be mediocrity in order for there to be success but what I fear is that we are all being trapped in that mediocrity and it seems as if most of us love it.
This is perfect. All the people leaving negative comments on here are nothing but noise. While they focus on hating you, you are focused on bettering your life. With more success comes more hate. But it’s funny to me because they spend so much energy going out of their way to put you down and criticize your work… Then I wonder to myself… Who’s energy is focused on them? Nobody. That’s why you’ll never see a statue of a hater. Keep doing you man. Would love to connect as well. First time ever coming across your work and I must say I am very impressed. Gonna’ be gaining some knowledge on your website for sure son!
It is funny and frustrating. The people who react negatively often miss the point of the entire article. They assume it was about me. Or even about themselves.
Take Micki’s comment below. – He assumes he knows me or anything about what I have done or am doing. He was offended by the article and had to defend his hard work and choice of lifestyles.
He refuses to see what is right in front of him. A movement of non-conformity that is becoming common.
You can not see what I am doing because you cannot see past yourself. You must look deeper than the words. You must look at the deeper struggle inside of this story.
The battle is one we all face and I wrote this as much for myself as I did of myself. If you actually knew me you would know these things but instead you just made assumptions.
Its all good. I still appreciate your thoughts.
At the end of the day, you read it and it moved you to respond.
Thanks for playing.
..”Do not heed advice from those not willing to share in responsibility when faced with consequences of said advice”. Majority still succeed with a degree and regular, old hard work Mr Junior Know-It-All Garden-Variety “Non-Conformist”, here on planet reality. Clearly, you must be accomplishing simply amazing stuff out there, hence the need and the time to spew out volumes of trite, Cpt Obvious directives. Get over yourself already.
I can guarantee if we were to meet face-to-face, I’d find a whole heap of topics of which you know jack and shit about…
That’s weird! Only in person? If only we had a system for you to share those thoughts with me easily online.
LOL……I concur…..if only there were a way to get a heap of topics listed other than face to face. Then they could be discussed, so we could see who knew both jack and shit about…then the guarantees could be applied…but until that is developed, we only have this internet forum. hey, I got an idea, why doesn’t Alex just find the topics and display them here, then we can judge if Raymmar knows either, jack, or shit, or both about them.
That is basically the point I was trying to make Dave! I do not pretend to know everything. I know the things I know and that is a miniscule amount in the grand scheme of all knowledge. All I am trying to do is to push people to be the best version of themselves as possible. Not sure what positive contribution Alex meant to make but like most people, anyone can hate.
I have taken the time to put the thoughts out there. To collect my ideas and present them to the world for them to be openly critiqued.
I know that putting them out there makes me vulnerable to learning I am wrong but it also allows me to get better, grow smarter and meet people like you all who might be able to share some insight and share concepts, ideas, etc.
Who knows, maybe Alex knows everything and it’s just taking him a long time to write it all out so we can learn from him.
Sorry to hook up on this comment but I saw no ”comment” link…
Anyways, this article mostly comes out to me as a bigoted and smug one, made by a snowflake-wannabe that thinks his standards for ”amazing” account for another being’s standards for the same word. I have nothing against you, because I don’t know you; but this sort of attitude always sets me on edge.
On what grounds do you base yourself to say that ”“I’m talking ’bout, step out your door, make some moves, and get-some-shit-done, kind of skills! Some, move out your mama’s house, quit your job — say “fuck the world” — and then actually go do it, kind of skills”” equates having done something amazing in life ?
I don’t want to say ”fuck the world”. I mean, how hard is it to say such a ”badass” thing ? Does it take any sort of gut to say that ? No, it doesn’t; I wouldn’t want to quit my job, because we live in the real world, not lala land where you can quit your job and still sustain a decent life; As for the quit your mama’s house, I think it’s common sense for an adult to leave his parents’… Yet, I’ve already done plenty of things I’d consider amazing (though according to you, they are not) and I’m setting to do more amazing things.
So please reconsider your words. You might have good intentions and might be ”right” but the way you state things just makes you come out as trying too hard at being edgy.
F-
Must stand for funny, or the grade I am going to give you for your half assed comment.
I am tired of being nice to the idiots who stumble onto this website and then think they should tell me how to do the things that they are incapable of doing themselves.
Funny you say so much with so little about who you are or even a name to reply to you by. As you can see, I have plainly laid my thoughts out here for the whole world to critique. Where can we find more about all of your great ideas?
Had you scrolled through the other comments not only would you have found the answer to your questions but you would have realized that there was a place to enter your own comments instead of jumping in in the middle of the first thread you saw.
I am not surprised though because you are the same idiot this article was written for and about.
You are the same ass clown who thinks the world should only work the way they see it and then get mad when something is not what you expect.
“So please reconsider your words. You might have good intentions and might be ”right” but the way you state things just makes you come out as trying too hard at being edgy”
– Why would I change a thing. Those words crawled under your skin and smacked you in the face. They did exactly what they were intended to do. They came out of me and affected you. I planned it that way. I wanted to piss you off. I was trying to get under your skin and guess what, you let me.
You did not have to read this article, you could have stopped half way through and just hit the back button but you didn’t. You did not have to comment but you did. You hated what you read because it made you feel uncomfortable and you had to defend your feelings. You had to defend yourself not only to me but to the world. That is how insecure you are.
This article has been read and shared by millions of people and your lack of understanding does not mean you could do it any better or even tell me how I should do it different.
“No, it doesn’t; I wouldn’t want to quit my job, because we live in the real world, not lala land where you can quit your job and still sustain a decent life; As for the quit your mama’s house, I think it’s common sense for an adult to leave his parents’… Yet, I’ve already done plenty of things I’d consider amazing (though according to you, they are not) and I’m setting to do more amazing things.”
– This proves that I was right. You took offense at me calling you out. You got mad that my definition of amazing was not the same as yours and you took issue with it. Enough to get mad and leave a comment.
Your mind is too simple son. You sound young and you sound ignorant to the world. We do live in a lala land and you are playing in it. You can quit your job, you can go provide for yourself. You can do something amazing and no, moving out of your moms house is not enough.
Thanks for your thoughts but you have some learning to do. You missed the entire point of this article, mostly because you were too busy thinking it was about you or even me for that matter.
I apologize for the misunderstanding. I meant in person because when online, people can google anything we talk about and pretend to know about it. I just found your post pretensious (Not trying to insult you, just stating my thoughts). And I say it with some conviction because I like things most people have no interest in. And it’s a lot less common than say, poetry, physics, or anything else. I say this because as much as you say you can speak about anything with a great level of knowledge, if you find someone sufficiently passionate about something, you’ll notice how little you know about the subject, and how your speaking cohesively about anything is actually just a scraping of the surface. What you said was a relative fact. You can throw loose facts you’ve read about anything, and if someone’s just talking out of his/her ass, he/she will shut up. If you find someone who loves the subject and learns about it for fun, not even intending to learn about it, but reading and absorbing knowledge, you’ll get taught a lesson in humility. Oh, and the E! or MTV thing made me laugh, because it applies to a whole bunch of people I know, but I don’t really watch TV at all. :P I’m trying to keep this a civilized discussion between ME and YOU (no fanboys), because though the original post seems to aim at aggressivenes, it’s really not supposed to be, so don’t take it the wrong way. And by the second comment, I can see you don’t come off as pretensious, but if you look at the article in the right light, you have to admit you kind of come off as such. F stated the truth. I thought you said you could handle it. Your response to him is unjustified, especially the ‘F must stand for funny’. You’ll go a long way if you discuss things instead of acting like an asshole. (again, no offense.) I can say that the article doesn’t apply to me, I can say that it might not apply to you. I can even admit that the article can be an homage to self made man who talk the talk and have walked the walk. But the article does sound smug, and the fact that you made little to no argument against F other than insulting him, because his comment was not disrispectful, even if it went against you, shows me that you don’t walk the whole walk, at the very least. You’re tired of being nice to idiots, well, maybe idiots are tired of being nice to you if that’s the way you go about. Stepping out the door or out of your mom’s house doesn’t mean doing something amazing. Starting and achieving succes in a business venture doesn’t mean doing something amazing. You want to see something amazing? Try the little kid who gets killed trying to provide for his mother and sister, seeing as the father is absent, in any undeveloped or even developed country. Try the child that gets cancer and lives with it without ever complaining. Try the single mother who works 8 jobs to feed her family, who goes without eating so her children can eat. Try the men who actually know how hard life outside the developed countries are, the orphans who grew up to be somebodies. Doing something amazing isn’t necessarily bringing something new to the world, making money, achieving career success, or being knowledgeable. Doing something amazing is standing what most people wouldn’t be able to stand, it’s not giving up, pressing on when all common sense says you should give in. A lot of people noone’s ever heard of do something amazing with their lives. Just my 2 cents.
Thank you.
This blog is complete bullshit and here’s why every single person on the planet has something to contribute. If you want to do something amazing with your life be a decent person, help the poor give to charity, understand there is no I in team work. Surgeons and doctors do amazing thing’s for people as well as many others who help people only by doing something good to other’s can we be doing something amazing even down to cheering people up or listening to those who need an ear in order to stop suffering etc beyond helping others nothing we do is amazing and that’s the truth.
Yes, those are all nice things. And we should do those as well but if that is what you consider Amazing then our bar has definitely been lowered.
Sorry Raymmar, you might want to check to see if you have drank the coolaid. That’s not meant to be an insult. I am 100% certain that you do not hold the patent on the definition of the word amazing. There literally is no such thing as amazing, or beautiful, or greatness. These are illusions. Illusions created by people who have a stake in outcomes, or in other words, created by those who have a horse in the race. THERE IS NO BAR. There is no lower bar or upper bar. For example, beauty (as is amazingness) is in the eye of the beholder. Nothing in creation is more amazing or greater than any other thing, only that you attach meaning to it does any of these illusions exist. But, this literal truth is so far off from the American storyline we are all brainwashed with, that it is not recognizable. So if Dan says that a simple act of compassion is as or more ”amazing” than something else, He is equally correct as you are. And the interesting thing is, it does not matter how many people you can get to agree w you, majority does not create truth. I loved your rubics cube story A LOT…so much that I sent it to my 14 year old daughter because you succinctly put ideas I want her to learn in under 3 minutes that it would take me eons to convey. Thanks for that. Lastly, don’t admire Steve Jobs too much, he was successful as a businessman but a failure as a human being. And he was not that smart. He could not figure out that getting ahead at other peoples expense is not something you can hide from everybody.
Dave, I actually agree with pretty much everything you said.
I agree that what happens in our heads is what we perceive as reality. My point was that we are so often satisfied with the status quo for fear of failing. We no longer push ourselves or others to do more with the skills they were given.
As for jobs, I admire what he did and I see a lot of myself in him. That being said, I have a lot of role models and influencers. None of which is the be all end all in my life.
I take influence and opinions of others and dissect them into my own. I explore the success and failures of others and try to break it down in relation to what I am working on and see how I can learn from their experiences.
I am a creative explorer and I love to look at the world around me for what it is, not for what I want it to be and that is something that many people miss out on.
I’m glad you liked my Rubik’s cube piece. I had fun telling that story.
This entire website is about getting people to ask hard questions. About themselves, the world and the way they interact with it.
It’s not about telling people what to think, it’s about pushing them to explore what they think and why they think it.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts
Completely agree.
Hear, hear!
Every single thing in life is connected, there are no gap’s, there is only existence, there is no nothingness because that would be non existence. By observation it’s obvious that all mass is infinetly big and at the same time infinetly small depending on the scale of the life form that’s observing, we are small compared to sky scrapers yet we are huge as far as life forms unseen by the human eye are concerned as so on. Everything that will be invented and known by people in a billion years time is already possible and doible right now and has been since man began that’s a fact, the only reason it will take a billion years isn’t because we need all the progress made from this generation until then it’s because people believe it has to take a billion years to achieve and that’s why it will take that long no other reason. By strategic observation we learned that divinci was inspired to fly because the birds of the air triggered his curiosity hence why his plan resembled a bird in shape, he would have succeeded had he been awaire of the propulsion system however no one man alone has enough brain to unravel the codex of the matrix to crack it’s codes to create thing’s as rapid as we would like and just as well because it is impossible to maintain order in kaous by that I mean if everybody everywhere could think of an invention and create it instantly at will where would we be? so there is a reason beyond humanity why enlightenment is delivered at the rate it is because the fact is that we are a creation by the creator placed on earth to create also as we are here in his image and he is the best scientist there ever has been and ever will be.
I guess. If you want to try and interject religion.
This was not about that though. IT was about putting your best foot forward. And anyone can do that, secular, religious and otherwise.
Thank you for your feedback and for reading.
I agreed with you for about 80% of your comment though. The infinitely dynamic spread of life and matter is amazingly intriguing and to even be considering it is important. Regardless of what outcome an individual comes to, the quest for the answer is so often the only important part. (Enter some quote about this being about the journey, not the destination)
We rarely take the time to challenge our minds with thoughts like these.
It’s annoying when bloggers give uncontextualized motivating advice like this. Most of all because the advice typically has less to do with motivating other people than it does with the blogger telegraphically explaining why his life is so awesome and fulfilling. Except in this case the author, through his constant use of “I”, was pretty explicit in explaining why his life is so awesome and fulfilling (and so much more so than other people.)
Author: It’s nice that you’re proud of your life, but if you are only proud of it because it gives you opportunities to show how much more engaged and interesting you are than others, then you’re really just as shallow and disengaged as everyone else.
Want to do something amazing with your life? Do something (anything really) for itself alone. Don’t write a blog entry bragging about the fact that you did it and how it makes you special somehow. Just enjoy the fact that you’re doing it.
Get over yourself. This blog was not about me. It was about the constant struggle, internal or otherwise, to be the best version of yourself possible.
I actually think its funny that the people who criticize it cannot see that. Probably because they are too worried about pretending they are better than everyone else to see when someone is walking around emotionally naked right in front of them.
I appreciate your feedback but you completely missed the point of this article.
How is it not about you? As noted by MJ, it is all about the “I”(s). I’m willing to speculate that this blog exists out of frustration, frustration that most have little patience for your conversations that likely evolve quickly into tiresome lectures starring you as the all-knowing Oz.
Raymmar: I can’t reply to your post, so I’ll just write my reply here.
Dude, this article is totally about you. Don’t get me wrong. You have some pretty inspirational stuff here, but it’s all geared towards how you chose to live your life and can’t easily be generalized to how others should live their’s. For example, take a point from your reason # 3:
“Because while you were away at college, I was studying life; because instead of learning about the world in a classroom I went out and learned it by living.”
What does this mean? Does this mean you’re proud you didn’t go to college? Should we all follow your example and go out and study life instead of going to college? What if someone wanted to be a cardiovascular surgeon? Or what if they wanted to be a financial analyst? How do these life outcomes fit into your criteria for what it takes to do something “amazing” in life?
Maybe your message is “Live the life you want to live with engagement and independence. Don’t simply conform to the structures and expectations around you.” But given what you’ve written, this message has been buried underneath layers of self-aggrandizement.
I get what you are saying to an extent.
Of course the article is about me, I wrote it. However, the situations in it are not all mine. Or, I guess it might be better to say that you can not be certain what side of the situation I was on.
Many of the examples were from interactions and experiences in my life.
As for your particular example, mine was a message to people about pushing and exploring for themselves. Some people do that in college and some people don’t. Some people also think that their degree is somehow a free pass to success and those are the people I was targeting with this article.
The people who think that for some reasons the world owes them something.
The reason this article (and most of my work) gets traction online is because of the perspective I put on the things I say. I have a hard tone and am confident in my self but I am not arrogant. I am in touch with the ultimate ego but that ego is a selfless one.
I say the things that many people think but cannot bring themselves to let go past their lips. I have to be bulletproof (or at least pretend to be) or I would never survive.
Thanks for your thoughts and I have nested replies turned off because they look hideous on mobile devices. Something we are working on with some custom development.
We are in the early stages of a fresh idea on how to look at the world here and I am not quite sure how it all plays out.
Thanks for taking a peek inside my head and for sharing your thoughts.
Exactly. I find post like these not really about offering genuine advice. Instead, it’s one of those “Top 5 ways…” articles that are written to be shared on facebook.
I don’t get that impression at all…..the impression I got was that there are solutions for people who dream of being more successful in life, (i mean successful in the way of achieving goals that they, themselves have chosen to chase) and feel sad or depressed (or not) because they have not reached the goals. This guy says the solution is NOT to CHEAT, NOT to PRETEND…NOT to FAKE IT….but rather to LEARN THE RULES….MEMORIZE the MOVES….SEEK the PIECES….SEARCH out the KNOWLEDGE….DO the HOMEWORK……WORD HARDER……and then……………………………you wake up reaching the goals you decided you wanted to reach and if that satisfies you, then cool.
Nailed it Dave. Thanks for reading. I think Ed might have actually been agreeing with us but I couldn’t tell either. Oh well.
Those who get it get it, those who don’t, never will.
I think this is an interesting perspective on, well, life in general. It’s written style is also very unique, one in which many writers shy away from for fear of offending the public eye. I have to give my respects to the author of this piece for it’s “cut-throat” style. I think that the information being presented is also true to some degree and contains well-meaning incentive to push people into action. However, I think that what this article’s advice could be misused very easily. For example, if I am a working class citizen and I decide to quit my job in order to pursue a dream – I have thus left myself at the mercy of my bank account until this “dream” gets off the ground. This “dream” may take days, weeks, or even years to finally yield any decent profit. If I were smarter, and (as the article suggests) read, researched, and fully explored this idea and pursued it while continuing my job, I still may fail. How many times I failed in the past make no connection to whether I will fail in the present. If my “dream” is owning my own business, I am still at the mercy of the market. Deep-seated hard work, as the article mentions, is what is supposed to make our dreams come true, but there are ultimately a wider range of other factors that contribute to whether this dream makes it off the ground or not. The overall purpose of this article being to motivate people did achieve it’s purpose, even though the information presented may not necessarily be realistically applicable to certain situations or individual “dreams” people may have.
Thanks for your thoughts. The style is essentially how I talk to myself. Some people criticized it but I think most of the world secretly loved it.
Thanks for sharing.
I shared this but I also prefaced it with this is kinda pretentious horseshit. Pretty much a know it all rant. That has more to do with how much weed you smoke and watch other people live while you squeal.
Bahaha. David, is that you?
The video gave me the chills.
Powerful.
Thank you.
Steve Jobs is a Mainstream Sheep
People in the Matrix try to pretend that super successful people transcend the Matrix. But by definition, you can’t succeed in the Matrix unless you are in the Matrix. Steve Jobs’s success is due to his complete submission to the Matrix.
The Matrix is about seeking great success or eking out sufficient happiness from working hard in the Matrix. Successful people are used as sticks beating us on the back to try harder to be like them.
On a personal note, I REALLY did all the things in Raymmar’s list. Two of the things I created are completely extraordinary, i.e. outside of the Matrix. Therefore, I am not successful in the Matrix.
Im inspired and blown away!
Thanks for the love. Glad you liked it.
Genius!
Just calling them like I see them. Thanks for the love!
I have no problem with this tone but I don’t really get the purpose of this article.
If the reader put themselves as attackers, they would feel no problem at all.
If the reader put themselves as defenders, they would find offensive.
Because the author is the writer. So he is not passive ( creating information). He is the attacker. Therefore, he’s certainly OK with what he wrote.
But we are the reader. We are passive (we are getting information). We are the defenders. Therefore, we’re certainly not OK with what he wrote.
If the author of this article read an article from another author with the same tone like this, he would find offensive too.
“5 :: Because You Lack Curiosity”: don’t believe everything you read, every word you hear, included this article. “What if it’s all a lie”.
Thanks for the feedback, but as the Author I have a slightly different perspective. I agree with your point, that the reader and author have different ways of looking at the article, (creating vs absorbing information) but I also have to disagree and say that I wrote it in this tone because this is specifically how I wanted the world to read it.
I wanted the conflict. I wanted to the anger. I was inspired by a post written in a similar style. It is how I talk to myself and how I think the world would talk to us if we knew that the world was trying to kick our ass.
I think many people are not challenging themselves because we have made it too easy to be comfortable. Comfortable is the norm and without a certain level of discomfort there can be no real change.
The article was intended to make the reader uncomfortable in an attempt to provoke internally driven change. The only kind that can lead to real results.
Thanks for you thoughts though.
I got your points. By the way, I have a question: What should we react when we just perceive new information which makes us feel uncomfortable? (for example this article)
If we believe it immediately, it might cause negative results if that information does not fit our perspectives. Too open might lead to overloading information, misleading.
If we don’t believe it immediately, we might lose the chance for self-improvement. Too conservative might lead to unable to develop.
Making decisions is not so easy :D. Hope get your advice soon :D.
I think, as in many situations in life, it is up to us to take in the new information and compare it to our experiences (old information) and then see how that piece of the puzzle fits in with the other pieces we already have in place. I use the puzzle analogy because sometimes you might have another piece of information in the wrong place but that doesn’t mean that the piece doesn’t belong, it just means we might have to set it to the side until we understand how it fits into the bigger picture.
Life is a funny puzzle like that. We find small pieces of information along the way and then spend the rest of our time figuring out how all the pieces fit together.
Very great views from you guys. Good analogy.
I have a way to deal with the information that discomfort your mind, like you want to agree and ignore your blog ( 2 sides are attacking each other).
The solution for that is that we need to remove “All-or-Nothing” thinking, it means when I’m reading your article, I’m not agree with all your opinions but pick 1 only for myself ( agree with 1 only) and ignore the rest of it.
Your article is actually about me. I graduated 2013 and still don’t have a job. I stop looking for a job when I failed on my applications while my classmates and friends already got work. And now I know i put myself in a real difficult situation. I don’t possess the courage to wake and get back up on track.
Sounds like you have already given up. That is not the way to get anything done in life. You need to rethink how you look at the world if you plan on ever doing anything worthwhile in it. I understand doubt and not being sure of your abilities at an early age but you have a lot of life left to live. Welcome to the site by the way and thanks for registering as well. Maybe we will get your articles submission so we can review the full submission?
Well its been a year now and i still don’t know what to do for my life xD.. And about the article i don’t have one but I’m thinking about making it? :D
This article was a true eye opener on various aspects of life. I have always told myself not to hold myself back, and I haven’t, I have always shot for goals, but while doing that I was still missing the important details of success. My name is Benjamin and I am 16 years old, I am a computer programmer. I absolutely love to create and invent new things, I have had the craving of innovation in my heart since I can remember. As a kid I always wanted to build things that no one had built before and I had no idea how I could do such a thing. It was not until my Freshman year of high school I discovered a whole new level of possibilities I previously never knew exist. This ability to create was above my comprehension. I decided I was going to take my first step into this world of creativity and do what many could not do and eventually do what no man has done before. I had the right mind set at the time, I was not going to give up, I was going to learn a Programming language. The only problem is I started on a low level language that limited my full potential of creativity. It is a very good language but it not what I need. I still only know the lower level language and I have created amazing things with it, but because of your article, I am now dedicated to learn the programming language I will need for the rest of my life. I am going to build amazing things and nothing will stop me. I have failed many times but each time I go back to it I am better at it, I have been programming in a language I had previously given up on very well and this is my inspiration to keep going.
I am going to continue to read this article when I am in need of motivation, many times society will throw me down to their level and I will give up for a while, sometimes I doubt my ability to learn something new but in reality it is ignorance which holds me back. This also applies to many other aspects of life, this applies to everyone, including You. It honestly feels good to wright this article and know I am going to succeed. My dream is to drive the world into a future that was previously thought to be impossible. I believe it is possible, and no I will not be able to do it myself, but I do think with the help of others that have the same motivation it can be done. The world can be changed by anyone for good and can be changed for the bad as well.
Once again, I highly appreciate this article and the opportunity to open my eyes and look at what is going on in the world and how to counteract society and bring myself forth to challenges I have always been too scared to face. You are great. Thank you.
You should read this poem if you haven’t already: ‘be the best of who you are’. Not everybody wants to be the same and nor they are meant to. But thank you for the article. It is always good to push ourself forward.
Yep….pauses to relfect and apppreciates the validation ;)
Thank you for your powerful words. Don´t mind about the complaining and unfocused comments. Predictable, non surprising and – non relevant ;) Best regards, San
Or, I could just completely disregard what you say and go about my day. I won’t ever compromise. I’ll keep being mediocre, if it makes me happy.
If fitting it makes me happy, I’ll do that too. If not, I won’t.
Smart is not living. Experience is living. Smart is doing the correct thing WITH that experience. Everyone has their own way of doing things. The world is an imperfect place, so people will do imperfect things. There is no need to try, if others will do so. If others will do so, I will be happy in my mediocrity, while others will be happy in their excellence. I don’t care if you call me ignorant, stupid, or hardheaded. If someone is unhappy with mediocrity, they’ll change. But I’m happy as I am. We’re adapting creatures, so I’ll adapt to what makes me happy and satisfied.
I read what I want to read. What I choose to read. Nobody else has a say in that matter. Weather or not what I read is important to others is up to everyone else. It’ll be important to me. And I care not for what others think is important.
You also seem to think that everyone reading this is a mainstream 16 year old. I don’t play Candy Crush or Megalpopld[ffdwf. I don’t even own a phone. I don’t need one. Nor do I watch the news. It doesn’t concern me so much that I go out of my way to sit down and watch it. I have all the information that I need at my fingertips. Call me a sheep, it won’t matter. While you’re having to deal with the insecurities of being against the world, I’ll be snugly inside of it, happy as can be.
I can handle the truth. I just don’t acknowledge it. There are differences. Say I have my head planted firmly up my ass, I’m still very happy in my mediocrity. You are the one trying to rile me up, and get me to get angry, passionate, to change and do something with my life and be positive. The only person here trying, is you. So why should I?
I understand that you were talking to yourself. This was, more or less, my response to it to myself.
I don’t know where to start but hey, you are right. Too each their own. That is the beauty of America. Just don’t expect the people that do to pay for the people that don’t.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. My intention with this article was to get people to think. To challenge themselves and to understand why they do the things they do.
If you are happy then that gives you a leg up on most people.
Thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts.
wow… author needs to get over themselves big time. if there’s one person i’d never take advice from it’s someone who sees themselves as more superior and insightful than I am, without knowing me at all. degrees won’t matter in carving a path to success at the end of the day, but your attitude will definitely be a part of it and put-down people just won’t win in the end, karmically or in the company of others. PS no one cares that you read books on string theory in your spare time, I would rather discuss the subject with friends of mine who have made Physics their life pursuit via a phD. have you ever considered that you, too, know nothing about most things?
like many have said, yourself included, it’s what you do not what you say. be humble, for as your own article should remind you, “you’ll never become great” or whatever it was you were trying to say.
Bahaha. The irony of your comment is brutal. Telling me how much my article sucks, when the article first told you you suck.
Guess it hit you pretty close to home, or you are the insecure one, because you had to come and defend yourself in the comments and then try to tear me down, when the actual purpose of the article was to build you up. Something you might have realized if you weren’t so busy being so much better than the guy who you claim is no good at all. Something that should not be hard to do.
But that is not how it played out is it? Instead you had to say something. You had to get involved and tell me how wrong I was. No one would have been the wiser had you just clicked the back button and gone on with your life but you wanted to prove how wrong I was. You had to show me how much smarter than me you were and therefore make yourself feel better about the ass whooping my words gave you. Don’t worry, it happens a lot. You can see it in the comments here and all over the internet as this article has been read millions of times. All of those people must have been so stupid to read and share this article. We are all so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. No way there was a deeper message to be had. If only you could have gotten out of your own way and actually seen it.
P.s. for the record, my attitude is exactly why people read this blog. Because they are tired of little wimps crying about people who are blunt or better than them. Because people like you are crying about being nice or because the world is full of little pansies running around worrying about how someone might get hurt so lets just all be nice to each other. Fuck that. The world is not nice. It is not easy. It is not intended to be equal, or nice, or friendly. It is just intended to be. Be what? That is for you to decide…. Be original. Be yourself. And for God’s sake, don’t be a pussy. That’s pretty much the solution to everything right there. Let the Nobel Prize committee know for me would you???
okay. enjoy the high and mighty road, since apparently readers are not allowed to have opinions in your world. i was just looking for a good way to waste time reading some Medium.com articles, but back to my day, no time for novel-length responses as you seem to have.
Yay, you’re the winner!
PS – have you ever cared more about something than you care about yourself? I suspect not, hence the shouting.
Read my reply to Sam. Same applies for you!
well written.. on one hand, I can understand it is quite disruptive for some people. I think the author meant it to be irritating so that people can push themselves out of their comfort zone. Thus, I see a positive aspect. On the other hand, the author had demonstrated clustering people into “stereo-types” – I clearly disagree –>> For example, I play candy crush yet at the same time I read string theory and quantum mechanics. so let’s not stereotype people. perhaps there are many people who are outliers and do not necessarily fit into a stereotype.
You are pretty spot on. And I agree, it’s just hard to say all that and still present the while story so concisely. I know many brilliant people who like to play games on their phones.
None of my statements were absolutes although many of them were interpreted as such.
So, erm, what’s so great about you exactly?
Why does that matter? Are you the final judge on all that is great? You must be one bad ass to know everyone in this world who has done something great. Wonder what that feels like?
Nope! Precisely the reason I find it so bizarre that you write such a condescending article because at the end of the day no one has the right to judge and that includes YOU too.
You missed the entire point of the article. Read some of my relies to other comments as I don’t feel like getting into it again.
You are reading it to literally and this is not an article that was meant to be read like that. It is a huge metaphore for the internal struggle to be great. It has nothing to do with me being better than anybody.
Read it again and pretend you were sitting across from the baddest dude in the planet. What would he be saying to you? If you were sitting across from Steve jobs for instance.
I wrote this as I imagined he would talk to me and how I talk to myself. It was a struggle between my inner sensibilities and desire to be excellent.
I couldn’t have agreed more to each and every point of yours. I am going through the same things in life at the moment and the fact is I have a french final tomorrow morning(something I havent been able to pass in the past 5 years of my graduation), and yet I have no idea what i am going to write tomorrow. It is my last chance at redeeming a degree but somehow i do not regret taking it up or “wasting time” on getting to know the real world outside the wall that confine most people to think like the sheep. I do not regret taking spontaneous trips and ending up with 2 dollars in my pocket while i make my way back home. After all “all the good decisions lead you to the door but the bad one’s are the one’s that teach you how to unlock them”. Cheers mate.
Boy is that violent. And your tone is so smug.
Please note that most people really don’t care about knowing something about everything, but everything about something and that doesn’t make them losers. It’s the difference between specialists and multipotentialites, and there’s nothing wrong with either.
I read this article, and immediately shared it with 5 close friends that i know. We think the same, we five can relate to this. And by the way, i am a nice guy, trust me and i love helping me.Then, i noticed there were few comments below, i could not believe the article made some people react so negatively, i don’t know why,but i did not find you coming across as someone who is “arrogant” or someone who seems to have narcissistic personality. disorder as some one mentioned below, its nothing to do with feeling superior or inferior.. i was so into the writing, focused on the writing style, it was real, true, original, and trust me i usually don’t comment on articles, but this one was unique. I mean, i am beginning to not give a shit, to say it as it is, and to give that straight talk, real talk, from the heart. You only live once man, so the hell should you care. I thank you for saying it as it is, for coming out in the street and exposing yourself – the real you. Yeah man, i think i will be here a long, you will find me around, keep bringing that original stuff man. Yeah, i am talking you man, the real you. Cheers. Mahad
Haha. Thanks for the love. Believe it or not we are the majority. This thing has gone viral all around the world and that didn’t happen because the majority of the people didnt like it. It happened because it was exactly what you said it was.
Fresh, different, harsh and true. But also entertaining. The people who don’t get it will never get it but you should definitely stick around. I’m just getting started and this is going to be a fun ride.
I would respond to your article but as you’re “learning how to edit video, build websites and design mobile apps,” I am raising my children teaching them things that I have learned throughout my life and passing on my memory and genes for generations to come. While you were “studying life; because instead of learning about the world in a classroom I went out and learned it by living” I was learning things that have been passed down by the greatest minds who ever lived and surrounding myself with the top brilliance of the day. Some of these minds put a man on the moon, can accelerate particles close to the speed of light and wrote the string theory and quantum mechanics books you are reading but are failing to understand. I have spent too much of my precious time responding to this article because I live my life and do not waste time comparing it to others for the sake of belittling them.
I would respond to your comment… but wait, I already am. That was weird. For a moment I almost thought the words I was typing were about to make sense.
Let me get this straight, you wanted to tell me about how awesome your life was while telling me how shitty mine really is? That’s weird, its almost as if I had just read an article like that somewhere.
Thanks for playing.
Congrats for your article, really like it!
Thanks for reading it. Glad you liked it.
Bullshit.
Because this article is braggadocio and self-promotion masquerading as “life advice”.
It’s intended to intimidate people and make them feel inferior by comparison.
Because making cocktail party conversation about string theory and quantum mechanics is not a substitute for holding a science degree.
Because comparing oneself to Steve Jobs does not elevate one to Steve Jobs’ level.
Because writing apps, editing video and building websites may be admirable, but is not superior to knitting, gardening, exercising, or volunteering for charity, or the thousands of other ways people challenge themselves.
Your arrogance blinds you and yet you call my message self-promotional and braggadocio. It was intended to get people to think for themselves and ask themselves some tough questions but you obviously have it all figured out.
So I just wonder why the fuck you felt you needed to share your thoughts?
Why would you read something, think it sucked and then take the time to comment? Maybe the article hit too close to home and you couldn’t stand the way it made you feel so you had to flex your intellect and try to tear me down.
You miss the point of the entire article. Read some of my comments below because I am tired of dealing with ignorant people who just don’t get it.
LOL at everyone who took this faaar too seriously (especially the Ayn Rand fan, but then he’s probably got bigger problems), instead of applying a little critical thinking. I found this kinda validating, and think the author is an asshole; who i’d definitely love to grab a drink with sometime :p
Bahaha. This might be the best comment yet. And yes, I’m down for the beer whenever you are!
This is probably the most powerful article I’ve ever read/listened to. It was like an episode from game of thrones. I love the enthusiasm and the call to opening your mind. And I love the offensive language because without shaking someone off of their feet you will not get their attention. You sir inspire me!
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the appreciation and agree 100%. Push the limits of acceptability in order to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Mr. Tirado,
Thank you very much for writing this, it is always refreshing to see someone has a struggling mind like many people, except that you care to expose your dialogue. Some of us have internal fights too, some of us even are rude to ourselves like I’ve seen a lot of people interpret your monologue but like you said, one has to expose and be open with things as they are just to be truthful, no matter a lot of people doesn’t like it.
I want to thank you as well to care enough to answer to every comment. I don’t think you’re rude, quite the opposite. I may not agree with some things you’ve written but I do see you answering everybody and this speaks of the follow up responsibility you have with your own words. I may have seen your article a little late but I look forward to keep reading you.
Sincerely,
Ramona
Ramona, thanks for the kind words and understanding where I am coming from with these words.
If you can understand the struggle inside my head, then you can see how writing becomes my therapy.
People who don’t get it are too busy being mad at themselves to appreciate the beauty of their own lives. Let alone the beauty of the expression of another’s life.
I answer because I care. As often as I can I respond to everyone because at the end of the day I am just as broken as anyone and I’m just trying to start a few conversations about things no one wants to talk about.
Thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts.
The only one of these that may apply would be number 3 as I sometimes overestimate my capabilities. However, with enough persistence I expect my business to become successful. Preferably sooner than later.
Mmmm, nothing like an article based on the degradion of an imaginary, perfectly flawed reader and the huge, towering monstrous sea of arrogance that washes away any legitimate advice that might have been present. The overtones of a conspiracy theorist at heart are also quite exquisite. “Copy-cat members of the state-controlled media?” Really? Everyone’s not out to get you and the government doesn’t run everything. That’s why we have corporations….
You sir are obviously right. Everyone walk away now… nothing to see here…. This guy Josef figured me out.
Guess I’ll go do something else now.
Get a clue. You completely missed the point of the article. You let your arrogance convince you that this article was about me or you. It smacked you around so much in your head that you couldn’t help but feel offended so you had to comment on it and act smart, but really what you did was expose to all of us how stupid you truly are.
Everyone who thinks this article is about them is a complete fool. To those who think it is about me… You are also a complete fool. It is about life, and the individual willingness to participate or jut sit back and watch. It is pretty much that simple.
At the core, these are just words. A collection of thoughts from my head, strung together in a purposeful way, in an attempt to make them into an interesting story. Random thoughts, floating in my head, assembled in a way to get people to think and react. Intended on driving thoughts into the deepest parts of your brain and letting them writhe around inside you. Designed to make you question yourself and the world around you.
And guess what???? It fucking worked. Like it or hate it the shit worked. Millions of people let this thing crawl into their head and take residence. You are really no different than any of them. Well… maybe a little different.
You see, where most people understood what this was, you decided it was something else. Instead of letting the words inspire you and push you to question your surroundings, you decided you knew me. You decided that these words were autobiographical and that I was intent on destroying my reader. You decided that it was an expose on my awesomeness as a human and the trouncing of the lesser beings around me. You decided to be shallow and wrong.
If these are the lenses through which you look at the rest of the world it is not hard to see why we are in deep shit as a nation.
P.s. the media is worthless but thanks for trying to defend them. Not saying there aren’t pockets of truth out there but for the most part, mass media is a joke. And obviously corporations are to blame. Just like government. No way either of those are just large aggregations of people making decisions right? #YourLogicIsFlawed
This article just completely went over so many heads. After reading through the comments it seems that maybe 1 out of 10 people understood where it was supposed to take them. I saw one guy claim that since there was 1 typo the whole article was irrelevant. Other people tried to assess this as a foundation for being financially successful. Others just saw it as complete arrogance and narcissism. It’s like these people were already coming up with ways to shoot it down halfway through. One thing is for sure, number 7 seems to be a major recurring issue with the majority of these comments. At Least the ones I read.
Anyway, this has really put a lot of things into perspective for me. Major overhauls don’t happen overnight, and I’m not expecting to wake up tomorrow and have everything in it’s right place. It will never be that way, but that’s okay because that means the drive and will and curiosity never has to end. I just wish I could say something more than ‘thanks’.
Lots of people didn’t get it but this article has been shared hundreds of thousands of times and has had millions of views in the last few months which makes me think that most people did get it.
The ones who took it personally or got offended are often the ones standing in their own way. Unable to see that an article like this is intended to empower, not restrict the reader.
Thanks for getting it.
This post hit me really hard. It hit me like a ton of bricks, because it called out everything about me. This could have had my name on the top of it. After reading it, I’m not feeling necessarily positive and okay. I feel like I got called out. I feel uncomfortable with myself. But I think this is the point. I really needed this. Thank you man.
It still hits me like a ton of bricks too and I wrote it. Have no fear, it’s never about relishing on what you have not done, it’s about being honest with yourself and realizing it’s never too late to do something new.
Thanks for being honest and for sharing your thoughts.
This article is inspiring. I would compare it with the movie “Fight Club” as it is about the mess around most people’s head. Lots of thoughts, little action, more stress for things we didn’t start.
I would like to hear your opinion about over-thinking and less feeling.
I am a big proponent of people going out and just doing things.
I had no idea how to build a website when I started Raymmar.com and look at it now.
I had no idea what I was doing when I got in front of the camera for the first time but I wanted to learn so I started playing around and my second video has more than 300k views and I have the beginnings of a great YouTube channel.
Same with the podcasts we just launched. Who knows where those end up.
The world is out there and I think people should do a better job of just going out there and grabbing it.
I find it funny that people are focusing on and getting riled up over the tone of this article. It is clearly meant to make you think. I didn’t absorb anything that didn’t apply to me; the rest, eh, it’s your way of saying what you want to say. Most of the article, I didn’t really interpret as arrogant except for the few the explicit “i pone you” statements, haha!
I can actually see why people might think what they do, but those people suck.
They are too shallow to look past their own selfishness in the rush of trying to tell me how selfish I have been.
The truth is that I have actually exposed them for what they are and they had to defend themselves. Publicly at that. They read the article, let it crawl into their head and it pushed them to respond, interact or otherwise get involved.
It’s quite an interesting result if you think of this article in the context of this website being a huge social experiment.
#HaveISaidTooMuch
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
If you aren’t shaking the boat every once in awhile you aren’t living to your full potential. just imagine if the post was written in the cliche “7 things to improve in your life” style, it would just be white noise in all of the other thousands of other articles that try and tell us how to live our lives. Yet this one sticks out as the one which can grab my attention, slap me in the face, and tell me i am wrong but ultimately leave me with a smile on my face and an odd sense of motivation This was very effective and i think that because he made it personal with calling the reader out and placing himself in the know-it-all writer position he agitated some of us, and might i add quite cunningly. His goal as a writer of something as powerful as this is to get the audience to read and then execute the things that he has challenged us to do. He decided to do this by getting all of us agitated and offended, to get us to say “Well who is he to tell me what i am or am not!” and then go and prove him wrong. his goal was not to get everybody to happily agree that we arent living to our full potential it was to get people so pissed off and mad that we would start to live up to it.
Granted, this is only the way that i interpreted it, and as a high school senior, with my whole life ahead of me, i am going to refer to this post throughout my life as motivation to change the world. This was a very inspiring post and I am going to share this as much and as often as I can.
You are wise beyond your years Daniel son! Most people can’t get out of their own way to understand the message behind this article and here you come out of left field and make it so apparently simple for them.
Trust me, half of them still won’t get it. Thanks for understanding and for sharing your thoughts. Much love!
Can you write more posts like these! Soo inspirational and motivating!!
There is definitely more like this coming. We are just getting started!
Definitely more articles coming. There is a lot like this throughout the blog. Feel free to explore and make sure you subscribe as we are working on some really neat stuff in the next few months.
The people who took this article personally honestly need to take an good look at themselves and what it is in them that finds a public address so goddamn personal.
It might just be because you know he’s spot on when it comes to people with your loser mentality.
Yeah, I always wonder how people let an article get under their skin so much. If it’s not your cup of tea, just move on. No need to huff and puff about it.
I think you are probably right though, people hate being called out and an article like this might have hit closer to home than they want to admit.
The people who took this article personally honestly need to take an honest look at themselves and what it is in them that finds a public address so goddamn personal.
It might just be because you know he’s spot on when it comes to you.
Hits nail on head.
First reaction: ” Who the fuck is he? ” like most of the responders… But how can you simply leave a message without digging deeper… And what is most astonishing is even when the blogger himself explains the content of his writing threw diverse response to other people…. Most of you probably didn’t read them at all by the way you wrote back…. so offended and denouncing the man for writing is inner battle against himself… And even more disgusting from most reply is you probably have the same kind of inner battle with yourself and can’t accept that someone puts it right in your face, disturbing your own fuckin’ ego!! You know, just a little research could had change your perspective on the man… You know what i did? Goggle, Raymmar Tirado, search! You see, It doesn’t mean I know him that much… BUT… by reading or watching some of his videos and reading some of his response to all of you, I came to the conclusion that ; Hey, this guy’s trying to shake things up a little. Try to understand before you speak or write something…. Lack of curiosity and your head way up your ass.
Pardon me if I made some mistake in my writing.
Thanks so much for getting it. I really appreciate you taking the time to understand where I was coming from and why I take the tone that I do. Your support is much appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time and sharing your thoughts.
Thanks Raymar. I think you’re absolutely right! These people who chose to embrace the mundane are the ones toiling the soil to serve our food, they’re the people who clean our streets, the people who do our laundry, they’re the ones using their brawn to construct our buildings, they’re the people who taught you how to read, the people who entertain you, they’re the people consuming your products, the people stuck in shifts to assist the sick or serve mad customers… These people got nothing better to do, so they just end up doing what the rest of the people do, learning what other people learn, and following what they are told, or maybe they just go on with what they’re doing because the circumstances are not in their favor! They’re the ordinary people that serves as backdrop to make amazing people look even better! The mundane exists to highlight the extraordinary!
Of course, I’m being sarcastic. It’s such a pity that you look at us in this light. Like the things we do never makes an impact.
I really liked this. I’ve tried to talk to millennials in forums before and all I get is negative defeatist attitude. This is the good swift kick in the butt they need. Chuckle. The world isn’t going to give it to you. Yes you generally do have to put out some kind of effort.
I can agree with a lot of what is being said, but of course there is never just one way to do something. Life has definitely taught me that. Successful people come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Just look at Duck Dynasty if you doubt this.
Sometimes finding the simplest or elegant way is the best way. In today’s heavily connected world effort may not be the overriding factor. It may just be insight and only insight into something everyone else has missed…and of course a copy of Steve Blank’s The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. which totally eliminates the need for a business plan. The wall that stops every good idea from happening.
Pushing through failure is how I live, I am not afraid to take those risk. You’re all living in shadow, programmed lives. When I’m down I’m coming alive.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/7-proofs-that-you-are-amazing/
After reading both this article and your comments clarifying that this is supposed to be a back-and-forth dialog inside your own mind, I do have some remarks.
First and foremost, I do agree with some of your thoughts in that the vast majority of people fail to succeed at their dreams because they don’t fail enough, or care too much about vanity, or never leave the crowd, or that they don’t read, or that they lack curiosity, etc. These are basic points that nearly every success story will repeat in one form or another. If you’re not willing to put in 10,000 hours of solid, constant work, you’ll never compete as a world-class anything.
That being said, I believe you are vastly confusing a famous life and an amazing life. The brutal truth of it is, virtually no one will be famous. Even those who find a world-fame in their life time (and what a small slice of the pie it is), they will be barely a footnote 20 years later in some obscure text. After a century or two, they too are forgotten like the rest of us. A thousand years, even slimmer odds to be known (1 in billions and billions at best). Eventually, no matter how famed you may have been, your life too will disappear and join the ranks of countless others forgotten.
Amazing, however, does not need world-recognition. And while I realize that what constitutes an “amazing life” is very subjective, I’ll share what I find to be far more amazing than someone who reads books on string theory, who can argue both sides of theology, philosophy, ethics, or economics while sitting comfortably in his or her ivory tower. No matter how many debates you win, diplomas you have (or think you are on par with), or truths you shatter, none—in my mind—will ever compare to what’s below.
I’m amazed at the corpsman that rushes through withering fire to save the life of a fallen enemy soldier, not because he’s looking to capture the man who was trying to kill his friends, but because he realizes the man bleeding to death is a human too and no longer a threat.
I’m amazed at the single parent who not only raises a child to resist social pressures in all forms, but instills core values that teach that child that a person’s worth is not defined by his or her socioeconomic status, history, intelligence, job, or physical appearance, but rather all people have an intrinsic value that, pardon the religious allusion, make them nothing short but holy.
I’m amazed by the same child that beats all the odds that are stacked against him or her, and grows into a productive, happy, well-adjusted member of society.
I’m amazed at the countless service personnel who work for fire departments, hospitals, are EMTs, etc. that work long hours for little pay, that constantly go to a job that demands so much of their soul with so little in return, and are at extreme risks for burnout, PTSD, alcoholism, etc. because even the strongest people eventually break to pressure if they aren’t careful. The amount of lives they have saved and helped to rebuild far outweigh any theorizing you might do with Brian Greene or Stephen Hawking (and I greatly respect them both).
I’m amazed by people who look to build others up in a world that constantly looks to tear others down.
I’m amazed by people who give all that they have to help others without an ounce of desire for recognition or reward.
I’m amazed by people who talk soft and never give into temptation to use a big stick.
I’m amazed by the selfless when its so easy to rationalize being selfish.
I’m amazed by people who can suffer the most horrific tragedies at the hands of others, and not only still find peace and beauty in the world, but can somehow forgive those who injured them and move on with their lives.
Regards.
I agree with you that all those things are amazing. I never mentioned what amazing was, just encouraged people to go be amazing at something… Anything.
I was hoping to push people and inspire them to go out and chase something bigger than themselves, whatever that may be.
I never claimed to be anything other than me. If you read any of my other stuff you would see that this is just a journey for me. This is one big social experiment and I have no idea where it leads or what comes of it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and taking the time to write such a detailed reply.
shortly said, I would like to know how many times you have done (or tried) something extraordinary?
Also, my opinion about this article is – you’re not extraordinary, just because of your provocative approach of your article and a voice.
you see, there are 2 basics emotions – love and fear. If this article would come from love, it would be more supportive, than provocative. Also, your article & text reveals your inner feeling of seeing yourself (or trying to be) better than others. People that are subconsciously sure about themselves don’t need to push others down in any way. Your approach is not supportive, which means, you’re just polishing your own picture in a mirror..
I agree with some of your ideas, but the spirit of this article is pretty self-indulgent
That is how you see it. It’s art so to each their own. Thanks for reading.
YOU’RE ALL A BUNCH OF IDIOTS! ahem, now that I’ve got your attention… I have read the article in Serbian language first, and although a lot was lost in translation and it strikes you as even more “offensive” in my language, I fully agree with the aggressive approach used here. If it was said “7 ways to try and make you think”, “this was an argument between the voices in my head, therefore, not meant to offend you” or “some people only read what they’re told, but not you, I’m sure you’re smart and well-read, random person who reads this.” it wouldn’t really have had the same impact on you, would it? This way, it definitely got to you, whether it made you get into some introspection or do exactly what he mentioned: “You think that because you judge others, this means that those people must, in-turn, be judging you”. You judged, (‘He thinks he’s better than the rest of us’, ‘He’s narcissistic, has a diagnose etc.’) and you felt like you were being judged by him (‘Who is he to tell me how to live my life’, ‘What do you mean I haven’t failed enough’, ‘You don’t know anything about me) thus feeling the need to defend yourself (referring to all the ‘life stories’ typed out in the comments). “7 Because you can’t handle the truth” “Because you don’t question yourself.” You were so quick to disregard the article, call it a ‘load of crap’ etc., you never questioned your opinion on it, which (I assume) you formed seconds after (or while) you read it, without stopping to think. “Because you call me a know-it-all but refuse to call yourself a know-nothing-at-all.” Now, I purposely tried to quote the article and the comments as much as my patience would allow me, simply to point out how, exactly by denying his logic and way of thinking you actually proved his point. Does that piss you off even more? I hope so. As I’ve heard, denial is the first, and anger the second stage on the road to change, so you might be headed in a good direction. I’m quite aware of the fact that most people won’t stop to read this, but if you did, I’d say you’re curious, a tad bit interested in change and apparently, different opinions and points of view. You’re perfectly capable of questioning, see, you’ve got it in you, cheers to you!
Ahhhhhhh!
Like light coming through the clouds.
What a brilliant, examination of the entire premise of the article and responses!
You are officially hired as my official comment ass kicker!
Thanks for getting it and also understanding the process behind my writing it.
Thanks for understanding the hypocrisy of the ignorant who claim to hate this message without exploring why it made them feel that way.
Most of all, thanks for reading and taking the time to break down your thoughts.
It is not that hard to see what you were trying to do through provocation. Provocation can be useful. However, if so many “ignorant hypocrites” missed the point, can we really call this article successful?
Yes. I think most people get the meaning and understand the premise. That is why it is being shared around the globe hundreds of thousands of times. I am pretty sure that is a decent indicator of the success of the article.
Getting a few thousand views to a blog article is hard enough, let alone getting millions, having it picked up by the Huffington Post and having people from all over the world reach out to let me know the impact it had on their mindset about life.
I applaud you for the widespread views of your article. My question/reflection is how impactful will your message be if so many readers take offense or feel provoked in the wrong way? Are we measuring impact by the number of shares or the actual positive effect on a reader? And how can we really know that effect?
In the spirit of giving honest feedback, I’ll let you know my impression of the article. When I first started reading it, I felt refreshed at how you took on this difficult topic. But as I kept reading, I could not get passed the negativity. I felt put down rather than pushed forward. I also felt from you a sense of arrogance, not pride in your accomplishments. I don’t think you meant to do that, but it turned me off and turned me away from the more important message on self-reliance.
I normally don’t respond this in-depth in comments. Actually, I rarely comment in these forums. I do want to point out that there are a lot of people who want honest, objective answers for how to approach their lives. I hope you continue to pursue that work.
I would say that if your opinion of the article was actually what was happening it would not be shared as often as it is so that is actually a pretty strong indicator of how most people are receiving it.
I can know the effect it is having because of the feedback and number I messages I am getting telling me what an impact the article had on the readers life. That’s quantifiable data.
As for the arrogant approach, I think you miss the point of my tone entirely. I am yelling at myself as much as the reader and
I’m pretty sure that is the only way to judge whether or not it is having a positive impact. Let me ask you this, did you share it? Probably not since you did not like the tone of the article. However, hundreds of thousands of people have shared it which means that they did, or that it hit home in some context.
I think you miss the point of the tone. It was supposed to get under your skin. It was supposed to make you think. It was purposefully designed to make the reader uncomfortable. Not because I think I am better than anyone, smarter or have even accomplished more but because I look at the world different than most.
I look at the world as a place where anything is possible and if I work hard enough I can make anything a reality. That is the context of the voice. I was yelling to inspire myself as much as the reader.
I would be interested in understanding why you decided to pick this one as the conversation to get involved in if this is not something you normally do? Why did you keep reading and then decide to share your thoughts.
I really do genuinely want to know. Most of what i do is about stirring the pot and starting conversations so I would just be interested to know what made this different than the other times where you decided to share your opinion on the article.
So fucking eloquently said. Bravo.
Raymmar, I too find this article offensive. Yes, you have the time to write a blog. Good on you. How many children do you have? How many years of higher education and training did you have to accomplish? How many years have you been married? How many languages do you speak? How many instruments do you play? You write as if you are the only person in the world who actually worked hard in college. As if only writing code is an acceptable “amazing” thing to do. Ironically, you yourself say that the only people who do what they are supposed to do in life are the ones reading the article. So why write it? Why be obnoxious and narcissistic and condescending? I’ve done a thing or two in my life, and I am not ashamed that I have not yet done anything “amazing.” By my standards, neither have you.
I’ll reply, as the same question came into my mind (and he didn’t answer it). You can find his profile on Linkedin and Facebook, and find that probably he hasn’t done much in his life, maybe rarely he jumped out of his comfort zone.Also, yes, he’s not married (according to Facebook), so he’s yet not in a real-life situation in which he might choose between feeding a family with a kids and having his ‘pride’ and attitude.
Said enough ;)
I also find it mind-boggling that he presents us with Steve Jobs’s photo and quotation as if it came from him. And yes, he has not answered, although he is quick to answer and insult other commentators.
I try to keep up with the comments as best I can but it gets hard at times. Sorry for missing your last comment.
The opinion that I was “obnoxious and narcissistic and condescending” in this article is a personal one. A viewpoint which you are entitled to since this is art and interpretation is subjective. However, those were not and are not my intentions.
Define amazing? Do you know my story? Sure you looked at my FB and LI profiles but what did that tell you? Those are my tools for sharing messages to the world. I am actually divorced and have had to make many “real-life situations” where I have had to make tough choices.
Who’s defining my success? You? Money? Society? You obviously missed the point of the entire article and well… for that I have no answer. I will continue on my path and maybe one day you will look back and get to say you trolled my comments one time and told me I was a nobody.
Who knows, maybe I will always be a nobody, but that has nothing to do with it. I am happy. I am living my dreams and I am playing this game called life by my rules only.
That’s pretty fucking amazing if you ask me.
Raymmar- I thoroughly enjoyed the purpose of this article and think that every university student should read it.You were not disregarding a college degree (as some have stated in the comments), but rather that if someone feels a degree is all that is needed in life, he or she will never succeed.
I am a teacher at a conservative university and would really like to share this with my classes. However, the profanities make it impossible. Are you up for the challenge in making this G rated (language wise) so that I can really proselyte your message? I am not wanting you to water down your article, but more to make it appropriate for all ages. Let me know, and again thank you for stating something this is not said (or thought) enough. ~Paul
Thanks for seeing the bigger message. I appreciate you inderstanding and taking the time to reach out and share your thoughts.
That being said, the language was just me representing my true inner voice and inserting my colorful personality through the words.
You can feel free to censor the few obscenities but I’m not changing it on any of my channels.
I appreciate you sharing the message but it has been seen by millions and somehow they were all able to look past a few curse words. Feel free to edit them out but please be sure to leave the context in tact and share the source.
They should know that conservatism doesn’t mean stale and that’s the entire premise of what I do.
Raymmar- I have no problems removing the 3 obscenities, but I just didn’t want you to think I was censoring your thoughts. I know many people were able to look past these expletives (if they even had an issue with them, which is a topic for another time) being that your message rang dead true and needed saying.
I have a good friend who has millions of followers on YouTube and he has been told on several occasions that large organizations and brands have been able to use his footage for commercials and other things because his videos were family friendly (which meant significant income for him). I only bring this up because you were able to reach a large audience with this article, and I know you could reach an even larger audience if the content stayed true to the meaning without using profanity.
However, I hope you don’t take this as your mother scolding you. Your content is amazing and it is your choice in how you present it. Furthermore, I know I represent a dwindling demographic in today’s world.
Anyway, again thank you for your strong words of wisdom. I sincerely wish you the best on your path of self-actualization. ~Paul
I understand your concerns. I try to keep my profanities to a minimum, especially with this type of content but sometimes, I just have to drop an F-bomb to make the point.
There are people with millions of followers on YouTube who stay true to themselves and their voices as well.I guess there are people from all schools of thought on this topic. To each their own I guess.
I didn’t take it as a scolding. I have pretty tough skin and of all the critiques I have received so far, yours was pretty mild.
Thanks again for the encouragement and I promise to not use profanity in all my work. Just once in a while when I feel it fits the message and helps people understand my tone, emotion and passion!
I appreciate understanding my side, and I am glad you took it the way I intended it. Concerning my YouTube comment, my purpose wasn’t to say that he had millions of followers because he was family friendly, just that he had more opportunities to monetize than those individuals who, though having great content, decided to color their content differently Ü.
Understood and appreciated.
Just read this, and I thought, “Man, Google is looking for Raymmar!” https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html
Great read! So on point. Where do I apply! Lol
Whatever other folks say, I love your article and writing. Inspiration and useful!
I have some issues with this article. The whole point of the article is essentially “You’ll never succeed because you suck at life. Stop sucking at life.” Apparently some people find verbal abuse motivating, but it has always had the opposite effect on me.
When I read articles like this, it triggers memories of me being suicidal and telling myself that I’m a burden on my friends and family, that I’ll never be happy because I’m a worthless loser, and since I’ll never do anything of value, I might as well just remove myself from the human population. When I read something like “… [Y]ou should be very worried. You should drop everything and immediately question your existence on earth” it’s hard for me not to flash back to the things I told myself when I just wanted to get into a warm tub and slit my wrists.
Ben,
As someone who has struggled with suicidal thoughts for a long time I understand where you are coming from.
However, you miss the point if the article. If the time is not for you then don’t read it. If someone says something you don’t like, then don’t listen. That’s what I’m saying here.
That’s the irony behind all of the negative comments. This article is about falling in love with yourself. About embracing yourself and pushing yourself to be better.
It’s intended to pull you back from the cliff, not push you over it. Don’t ever give up. That in itself is amazing!
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outl0strokewidth0 strokec2 Reading this, I feel like I could have written it, but don’t think I would. It is very in your face, almost down your throat, or through you chest even, which I appreciate – I trained and managed dozens of sales professionals who made hundreds of thousands of dollars/year for themselves this same way – I would challenge who they think they are and make them prove something each day. I never went to college, I barely graduated HS, but was then awarded an academic letter by accident (?). I jumped from job to job right after HS and partied like an Olympian. I started my own advertising company at 19 and sold it by 22. By the time my friends finished college, I had enough in the bank to pay off most of their loans, oh, and a few years of real world business management and development experience. I was addicted to sales training and self help seminars for a year or two. I learned the stock market, options trading and offshore banking all on my own. I retired for a couple of years and traveled the world, then went back to work for the company I had previously sold, while getting my series 7 and learning trades at a major firm. I did under the table back alley white collar business deals too, whatever it was, I could figure out the angle which would optimize the position of one side. I worked with commercial real estate, became licensed and developed training programs which made people shit tons of money and saved our clients msgnitudes more (100s of millions annually). I was the best, people loved me, my team respected me, everyone was having fun, I had a huge dick and everyone knew it. But then things started to change for me. I was living in Europe running an operation which serviced 13 countries and I was pissed off at my bosses over lack of opportunity. I began judging who they were and what their motivations were and began to see them as inferior members of society. They wanted me and it was pathetic, but they didn’t see me as a peer which really hurt me. The worst part was, is that at that time, there was nothing more I wanted than to be one of them. I became disgusted with myself. I negotiated a new contract with them where I would work 10 days per month at my discretion and I just traveled. The time spent in the office was on planning trips. Everyone present respected me as I was the head honcho who cared about them individually, but as for the execs I paid no regard. I continued to see the world and developed my own idea of what is important in this life, I now believe that the answer is very simple – t’s you, it’s me, it’s us. Taking care of humanity is really all I have to do, today or anyday. Giving a crap about people has become important to me and now I run around the world trying to see whats really going on and lend a hand when I can. I intermix with those most unlike me and seek understanding, and when doing this, the only objective is to truly just have a good time with them. I stopped watching the news about 8 years ago, I read books from both perspectives, I learn languages to be able to communicate more deeply and I enjoy preparing and eating meals with people. I work here and there and get paid sometimes for it. I feel good about myself and I still have a big dick, nowadays I just don’t feel the need to show it to everyone. Peace and love.}
Hey you should make a video of you reading this or some kind of audio. I think it would be more powerful
Agree. Something along these lines. Short powerful vid and animation: https://youtu.be/HvCT5eAGR5o
Working on it. Thanks for the suggestion.
“…diving head first, into the brain of another man in an attempt to better understand the world around you.”
I love this line. I never really thought about reading like that; it makes it sound so much more exciting and open-minded. So thank you for the different perspective. :)
I can see why you love that line it is flipping spot on!
“…diving head first, into the brain of another man in an attempt to better understand the world around you.”
You are a full retard and omtimist
Amazing post – though the “because of..” tended to make me forget what the first-first sentence was. Nevertheless, it touched me. I love when people actually write down things the way I actually think about them. Amazing. And I think I spent about 15 minutes reading these comments here. That is also one thorough conversation going on here and some people do actually have good points as others well.. you know. In conclusion I think that if there weren’t these arguments stated here with other people, the post maybe would miss a thing or two – one gets more deeper understanding of the whole meaning of this post when reading your arguments with other people. Greetings from Estonia and best wishes to you (:
Thanks for your thoughts. I wondered if I used because too much but if you hear it in my tone, as the emotion rolls off my tongue you understand ye passion with which I wrote this piece.
Some people get it, some people don’t. I wanted to start a conversation and I did. All over the world about becoming something better.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Thank you for this inspiring and awakening post. I am at a standoff where my career and the pursuit of my passions are colliding and it’s words like these that I draw solace and clarity from.
That is a tough hurdle to face. My decision was made for me but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Follow your heart.
Thank you for this inspiring and awakening post. I am at a standoff where my career and the pursuit of my passions are colliding and it’s words like these that I draw solace and clarity from.
“I am both of those things but they do not define me. Who are you to tell me what I am or am not? What have you done? How have you exposed yourself to the world? Where is your article on Huffington Post? Viral Blog or cohesive thought put out to the world in an attempt to help form its direction? What are you doing that makes you the authority on anything other than being a dick?”
It seems that you are doing all of these things.
Hello Mr Tirado,
I read your article and found it similar to Sartre’s existentialism where he mentions the fear of the unknown (like you slightly mentioned in #2 and #7). You also mentioned about not questioning authority, which I think is similar to postmodernism! I learned these a while ago, and have been having these same arguments in my head and have never came to a conclusion because I don’t think there is one. Your article title mentions why one will never achieve anything amazing in his/her own life, but I think the word “amazing” is simply a fabricated word just like “perfection”. We cannot expand beyond this so-called amazement or perfection because our knowledge no matter how much we learn will always be in a box and if you want to go beyond this box, well you can’t because you don’t know what you don’t know. All I have concluded from existentialism, postmodernism, as well as your article is to live life how ever you please, and accept your own faults because they are your own choices! Sorry if I branched out or don’t even make sense, but it was nice coming across your article and reading about it! Thanks for writing!
You said a lot if things there but pretty much nailed it at the end. Be yourself, live life and push yourself to be better.
I don’t really want to get into a philosophical debate about the meaning of amazing but I think we can agree that if everyone tried to be the best version of themselves as possible and we all just mind our business as opposed to our neighbors business the world might just have a chance at being a better place to live in.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
The truest article ever written… Thanks for sharing :)
Wow, this article is an eye opener for me! Although this article is painful to read, alot of it clears up some of the confusion of why I am not as far in life as I could be.
It also enlightened me to the reasons behind my successes, the few that I have.
Anyways, thanks to the author for the article, and I think now I am going to go analyze what I am uncomfortable with, work against that discomfort, and feel some pain.
Sayonara.
Whoa! People getting pissed off the author for writing something HE wanted to on HIS own blog! What oh what could be the reason? That he showed them that their little lives sucked? Like the shock and rejection Neo faced when he was pulled from the Matrix? If you don’t like what you are reading, close that tab and go read some newspaper or watch a TV show or some programmed news channel or listen to some synth-pop like everyone does, reassuring yourselves on how awesome your pathetic lives are. The less there are people trying to do something, the more chances of success for those who are actually trying to do something.
Keep up the anger Raymmar! It is therapeutic. Gets me through life.
Haha. Go figure. They must all have bigger, better blogs and know how to do it all so much better. I mean… Obviously.
Oh my God. I don’t even know what to say right now. This is
one of the most amazing things I have ever read and I think something is
different somewhere because of it. Do you know I have sat here and read this
article three straight times and I’m still so blown away. I’m everywhere on
this page, I would swear you wrote this for me. On one hand, I feel insulted
and violated that someone should make such blatant assumptions about the me,
someone you have never met…but on the other HONEST hand, I realize I feel
violated because it’s all true at the deepest, most personal levels. I feel
insulted because I can’t believe I’ve not seen these things before. This
article makes me honestly ashamed that I’ve let 40 years of my life just
disappear behind me while I drift through life pretending and lying to myself
about the things that should have always been the most important.
But things are damn straight going to be different now. It’s
going to take some training and work, I tend to have a difficult time breaking
habits, but I feel like my eyes are open now. I feel completely exposed and
know what changes I have to make, what things are truly important. These words
are a life-changer. I could barely get through it the first time, my eyes were
so full of tears. I’ve read a lot of things that are inspiring and that make me
feel good about the future, but this tore me completely apart and left me in a
wreck on the floor — a tangled heap of broken and mangle pieces. But inside
that wreckage there is the spark of something beautiful that has been there all
along. Covered up by years of stress, distraction, and my own ego. My inability
to discern what’s really important and to stay focused on the things that truly
matter.
You are right. My life has mostly been a lie, and I see that
very clearly. There are so many thoughts and emotions swirling around in my old,
stupid head that I can’t put it all into words. I can’t imagine that anyone
could really READ this and not be affected in the very center of their being.
You have just given me a blessing here, sir. And I’m deeply
grateful to you for it.
This article was intended to do just what you said. REach into your soul, rip it up through your mouth and smack you in the face with it. It did the same to me as I was writing it.
This was not about me making other people feel bad, or thinking that I was better than anyone, it was about doing exactly what you said it did for you.
It was supposed to push you, make you uncomfortable and force you to know why you exist. In whatever way you were meant to exist.
It is different for all of us but I am glad you are one step closer to finding out. I know I am far from the end of my quest but I love the adventure and maybe one day the world will say that I did something truly amazing but for now, I’ll just keep doing my thing and doing it my way.
Thanks again, your words inspire me to keep pushing harder.
Yo! This was a huge inspiration. I love it.. This article reflects my own thoughts, in a more precise and developped way. I like the aggressive aspect of the article and your way of “throwing” your thoughts in the face of the reader, for me it was a source of motivation and I didn’t think of it as if it was a way to offend me. Your ideas were more than relevant for me, since I’m developping a clothing brand than defends the principles of deviant behaviour and stands against “self-censorship”. Thanks for enlightening a younsters mind.. I would love to have a conversation with you around this topic. Peace
My pleasure. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think the tone would ruffle a few feathers but that was my intent. I wanted it to be as big a reality slap to the reader as it was to me when I first discovered I had the power inside me. We all do. We just aren’t taught that anymore.
I’m the “I” in this. And it feels good to read something I would write, if I wrote.
I understand you completely Raymmar Tirado.
Well played.
Thank you.
Thank you for not reading it and immediately assume I was yelling at you. For understanding that we are all in this constant struggle to be amazing and it does actually take some individual effort!
“Because I might not have a degree but I challenge you to find a topic that I can’t talk to you about cohesively.”
I will agree with most of the others that the article is quite narcissist, however, to me, the article looses any of its validity just for the above extract. What can you say for a person that states the above?
Good marketing though. Catchy title, into the trend of “fail and succeed” articles and an offensive tone to attract comments. congrats for that
Well… Pick a topic and let’s find out!
That was one of the lamest things I’ve ever read. Starting each lame piece of patronizing advice with “BECAUSE” made it come across even more self-important and snarky. A chore to skim through
Yes you are right. It sucked so bad it was shared hundreds of thousands of times.
Nobody really read it, they just wanted to show other people how bad it was.
And you? You didn’t log in to leave a comment or anything. Just another normal day on the internet where I read and comment on shit I don’t like.
I agree with you
Great article. Author: please don’t listen to the people who probably got too offended and could not see the point of the article because of their own defensiveness (most people can’t take criticism and their brain tends to freeze up when they feel that they might be getting criticized, not allowing them to see or hear anything beyond that).
People reading the article: yes, it may sound harsh at times but try to see beyond that and ignore any moments when you feel like this guy’s being an asshole. He just wants us to WAKE UP and he makes some really good points!
Thanks for getting it!
I couldn’t say it any better! FINALLY SOMEONE WHO GETS IT! It was a WAKE UP CALL! And author already said his intention was to help, motivate and make a c h a n g e, positive impact on you! Say: “THANK YOU ANYWAY”, be polite, and then do what you please.
Again, thanks for getting it. The people who don’t get it are prob just too busy getting in their own way to see that they have no clue.
Amazing, blunt, and in your face article. I loved it.
I quit my safe, boring corporate engineering job last year to do my own thing and I have not regretted it one bit. I have learned more in this short amount of time than my 5 years in college or 2+ years in corporate America. I’ve learned Spanish, started my own business, and am 100x happier than I was before (even though my salary has been cut in half).
There’s no sense in arguing with people who disagree or find this article “offensive”. They will be happy with their boring, mediocre, safe life which never really amounts to anything.
You nailed it! Good for you.
I agree to an extent but I did start the conversation so I enjoy the back and forth a bit.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
so you’re arrogant, and you wrote an arrogant article to pump yourself up. putting others(everyone) down, to make yourself feel superior. have fun designing mobile apps, since clearly nobody is doing that at all.
You missed the whole point of the article.
I think the reaction of many people reading this, reflected in their comments below, is evidence that in order to bring about positive change, you must be positive and encouraging and not let your own limited and negative observations get in the way of becoming that positive driving force. I believe you have good intentions and this article constitutes the first step in getting to where you’re aiming to go, but you do have a long way to go. I suggest you consider reaching out to folk in order to get there and embrace the people around you positively. In my opinion, even by switching this article from the affirmative into the interrogative; “How, Why, When”, would be more effective in engaging your readership in a positive way. We need to move together and support each other, after all we’re interdependent.
You guys are so freaking funny. You keep telling me how to change to be more successful and reach more people when it is exactly because I am who I am that people are listening.
I’ll leave being nice to you. You can go out and tell everyone that they are nice, and awesome, even though they aren’t and I’ll keep spitting the truth.
We will see who is more successful at sparking change.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Interesting article! To realize your weaknesses, and to understand the curious things that you are not doing but others do…..
I like this part; “Because you refuse to acknowledge that all the power in the world comes from the words of those that lived before us. That anything you desire can be had by searching through the multitude of words that are available to us now more abundantly than ever before”.
Thanks, I needed to read this today!
Thank you for reading.
I can’t believe what I’m reading in these comments! People feel the need to defend themselves?!?! Wait…I do believe what I am seeing here. So often, people feel the need to open their mouths and offer some excuse to someone else, or bash someone else for saying something that strikes their fragile little nerves, rather than visiting where the problem really lies. Inside themselves. If you are so completely happy with what you are doing…why do you need to defend it? Why call someone else’s point of view dumb?
I say…bravo Mr. Tirado! I have had recent events in my life reveal to me almost ALL of what you are saying here. And you speak the truth (for me anyway, I have had such a similar argument in my own head, it’s scary. Are we related? ;) This article just assured me that regardless of the fear that tries to sneak in and take over, I am on the right track and I’m not crazy. Well, I am, but we might agree that that’s a good thing.
It’s a funny dichotomy–going with the status quo is easy, yet so many people who do so have such a hard time with it, and they’re miserable. I lived that way, until recently, when I finally decided to jump out of the box that society has tried to lock me up in. It is scary, I do fail, I get rejected, I go forward with ideas that in hindsight were stupid. I don’t necessarily love any of that in the moment. Actually, I hate it. Until I accomplish something. Then, I love all those hardships, because I know that those are what pushed me to wherever I am in the present.
I am sure you are a busy man, but I am in need of a mentor! If you have the time, I would love to hear from you via personal email. If not, well then at least you have just gained a new follower. Thank you for your brilliant words.
Thanks for understanding the intent of the article. Please subscribe and come back often. We are working on a lot of things here and we are going to connect the creative independent talent all around the world.
‘Because You Have Not Failed Enough’ I would add, ‘Because taking risks is hard, scarey and you might fail.’ Yep, so much easier to duck and hide than to stand out in front of everyone and say, ‘Follow me.’
‘Because You Care What Others Think About You.’ I love this one. Granted I care what my kids think of me, and my wife, and maybe my priest, my brothers and my sisters. Still, stop being afraid of what others might think and go do what you think you should be doing.
‘Because You Think You Are Smarter Than You Are.’ I am not much interested in how smart someone is. I am much more interested in how hard they are willing to work; how much they can commit to a project.
You can stop after these three. If college kids can figure this out, the world is their marketplace.
Really great article! Its very awesome to see you put yourself out there for the whole world to see. Excellent read to get back on track or be introduced to a winning mindset. Its also interesting to notice your weaknesses or perceived weaknesses and identify them in myself! Thanks for that!
Also really like your site design, its quite similar in aesthetic to my own ;)
After reading this I had a flashback from the movie “Friday” after Craig knocked Debo out with an uppercut and the camera pans to Smokey screaming at the top of his lungs “that’s My Dawg, That’s… My… Dawg”. Case In point this was a much needed mental refresher that should be spread to every indoctrinated “Career Minded” Student.
Great article my friend. It may not immediately be clear to many that this isn’t really targeting certain types of individuals but is trying to challenge you (the reader) to look at what could possibly be the reason you haven’t gotten off the ground. I guess… Anyway, great stuff man
Right on. This was as much a reminder to myself as it was to the reader. I imagined someone saying these things to me as a reminder to be the one guy and not the other in the article.
The reason this article is irritating: it is not made apparent that these are two voices within yourself. It sounds like you’re arrogant and UNintelligent enough to assume you are the only one who is “untraditional” and a “self-educator”, while all the readers are lemmings. This then goes against the very argument or belief you seem to be promoting in this piece. Not to mention: it is not a dichotomy. One can have a formal diploma/ education and still be an original thinker, skeptical of the spoonfeeding media that surrounds us. In fact, it almost seems like you are trying to compensate for your lack of objective achievement by dismissing those who have followed that path in life.
I guess you could think that if you only read one article and decided to put me in some box you just created. How you interpret my art is up to you but how I create it is up to me.
what, you can’t see several possibilities for the meaning of any given idea? I always find these five months too late. FUCK.
Nice article. Maybe. Perhaps it is telling of me that I shall never be sure.
Plato’s Cave-In.
badaTSSSs.
Man that slap hurt! I love it though because you’re spot on. Taking yourself out of comfort, security and ‘certainty’ is HARD. I did it myself a few years ago- I used to be a teacher. Now I wouldn’t trade living and working on my terms for anything else. Did I say it was (and continues to be) tough? Hell yeah, but….it’s oh so much fun.
Amen!
This article looked like it was going to be a good one, until about halfway through. Maybe it was the 61 “because”s, or maybe it’s cause it started to feel like you started angrily smashing on your keyboard. What an irritating piece of writing. I respect the overall message that was intended through the first half or so, though.
You have a typo in the second line of “I’m Talkin’ ‘Bout Street Skills Son!”. I think I’ll take my advice from someone who is competent enough to proofread their work.
Yeah, because that is what’s important. I am a one man operation. I build the site, write the content and everything else.
Good one though, I bet you feel smarter now.
You sound passive aggressive.
Would you like to hear what I’ve done with my life, and what I’ve been through in my life?
Having an arrogant man like yourself, spewing nothing but ignoranec, YES, ignorance, is why public speech on internet should be censored. This article is simple and not informative at all. In fact it is only some guys yapping.
Thanks for the read though. A human brain can never have too much useless information.
Frank maybe it’s time for you to retire your Grammar Police badge, and instead… I don’t know, maybe spend your time writing a blog so we all can see what perfect grammar looks like? It’s on my bucket list to gaze my eyes upon, because the good Lord (and some friends) know sometimes I have to scrub up my grammar like it’s a stellar crime scene.
1. I fail as much as I can with objective of getting
better every time I come back (I try new things to improve my business and as I’ve
never done that certain thing before chances are first time around I will fail,
I then get feedback and try again)
2. Because you care about what people think – in my
business if I cared about what people thought about me I could never got to where
I have got to, when I first began my business most people disagreed and criticised
what I did therefore If I cared I wouldn’t
of proceeded. Only sheep care about what others think of them.
3. You think your smarter than what you are (you
have an ego problem) I thought I knew everything when I first started out and this held
me back so much. These days I accept when I’m wrong, I’ll never try come across
like an expert, I am open minded and I am always open to criticism. Does not
mean to say I am not confident in what I do. One thing learnt is age is irrelevant
and you continue to learn every day.
4. Because you don’t read – I read the books, to
gain new skills. I struggled to communicate with people at the start so I
bought a book how to communicate and then went out to practise the skill.
5. Because you lack curiosity – I’m always
researching to find more to enable me to become the best version of myself. My mission
is not to be the greatest but like I said it’s to be the best version of myself.
6. Because you don’t ask questions – If I want
something in life ill find someone has what I want and will ask them as many
questions as possible to find out how I can achieve the same. I’ll keep asking until
I get the answers.
7. You can’t handle the truth – I surround myself
with people who are striving to be the best, I surround my self with people who
are willing to tell me the truth. I take criticism all the time, if it applies
ill use it and move forward.
This is what I got from this
article and it totally makes sense to me. Thank you for the article Ive shared
it with my team. you can use this article to improve your life or you can use it to hate on your life.
When you think big it makes those
who think small feel uncomfortable. Im with you my friend.
Apologies for the writing, English is another skill I need to learn ;)
Kevin
Thanks for such a detailed reply. Good for you! Keep on kicking ass!
you sound like a person with narcissistic personality disorder.
Thank you. Lol
This was an article I wrote to myself. Started as an argument in my head and evolved into what it is now. Don’t pretend to know me because you read half an article.
Thanks for your feedback though.
I agree with your assessment
Suzi you are studying to be a head-shrink? If so may I suggest perhaps a little more study-time or another career choice. You are a little off base on this NPD assessment. The cultural rot of ‘the narcissist’ is what Mr. Tirado fights against daily. Some traits of the narcissistic personality are; They feel they deserve special treatment above anyone, they exaggerate their importance, and lack empathy for anything but themselves.
Oh, Snap! That sounds like a liberal to me, so perhaps most liberals have narcissistic personality disorder as well?
If you really believe that structural and societal issues don’t influence your outcome, you’re a sociopath. 43% of people born into families in the bottom quintile stay there as adults. 40% of children raised in the top quintile will stay there as adults. Only 4% of people born in the bottom quintile will rise to the top quintile as adults. We do not live in a meritocracy by any stretch of the imagination. To deny the structural and societal influences that trap the poor in generational poverty is to condone the system under which we find ourselves and be in agreement with the sociopaths that seek to uphold the status quo.
57% people don’t stay in the bottom quintile. 60% of children do not stay in the top quintile. 4% of people born in the bottom quintile will rise to the top quintile as adults. We live in a meritocracy by any stretch of the imagination and you are just distorting numbers that aren’t definitive and possibly a result of biased research.
40% of people born in the top quintile stay there and only 4% of people born in the bottom quintile rise there. You’re insane if you think that that’s how a meritocracy works. If we lived in a meritocracy, ~10% of people born in the bottom quintile would move to the top quintile and ~10% of people born in the top quintile would stay there, on average. https://www.pewstates.org/uploadedFiles/PCS_Assets/2012/Pursuing_American_Dream.pdf
So then we should all just give up? I see your point. That is a way better solution.
No, we need to unite and organize to set the country back on the path to the thriving middle class we had from 1945 until 1971/72 unless you’re content with the countries inevitable slide back into the Gilded Age.
We just need to shrink the government considerably and empower the individual again. I agree we are destroying the middle class.
Settle the country to the past … where we have already been? The past that lead us straight into this mess?! Oh, heck no flipping way! We have a sacred responsibility to act like Americans. As a US Citizen we are obliged to move our country forward, not backwards.
Only a sheep would follow the Pied Piper of Lies down the path this country is going which is directly towards a tyrannical oligarchy that sacrifices the blood and sweat of it’s people on the altar of the Military/Security/Police State and the ever expanding corporatocracy. Corporate profits are at an all time high while debt, unemployment, and wealth disparity are higher than they were during the great depression. You need to wake up and start standing up for your neighbors because after they’re thrown out on their asses, YOU’RE NEXT.
You assume I follow folks Mr Forester, how amusing
that is to me!
We were on the right path until people who consequently ignorant and politically illiterate allowed their national sovereignty and the basic principles of self-determination to be co-opted by plutocrats. If you insist on dragging the rest of the country down this path with you, there won’t be a country left to move forward with.
What path…the path of the past mistakes we are on now? We need fresh and new ideas not repeats of the same stale ones. We need to get out of our comfort-zones and stop the insanity of jumping back on the hamster wheels of life! The Plutocrats and the poor have always been, and will always be with us those are facts. So, what changed? Think outside that box you are in.
We were on the right path in the 40s, 50s, and 60s until Nixon opened trade with communist China and flooded the US with goods produced with near slave labor and uncoupled our currency for the gold standard, forever devaluing it through inflation and rampant printing without taxation to take it out of circulation. 90% top tax rates are out of the comfort zones of most people because they’ve been watered down and brainwashed to believe that tax breaks for the wealthy creates jobs for the middle class. It doesn’t, it never has, and the CRS did a study that proved their was no correlation between those two things. Until we get the middle class back to work earning family sustaining wages and equalizing social mobility for the those born into poverty with those born to the rich, this country has no future. The robber barons have returned and no one bats an eyelash as they extract trillions in blood money from this country while our children go without food, our poor go homeless, our elderly go without needed medicine, and our veterans go without healthcare. What changed? The people changed. They became impassive to the plight of their neighbors because it “wasn’t their problem”. People know what made America great post WW2 and the path back to that greatness is obvious but the majority are too cowed and too afraid to make the necessary sacrifices to bring us back there.
Hey now – America will always have a future, as long as those of us who are not fair-weather patriots are around.
The people changed. You are on the right track and have the correct time frame. Nice, my question is this: How does one control the mindset of so many without them being aware of it?
Jedi mind tricks?
What was one of the greatest changes in American history after WW2 …..?
(drum roll)
:) I know; I’m full of questions. You seem
full of answers, no doubt you can handle them.
I’m not going to address the idea that the US is impervious to collapse or dissolution. Historically, all empires eventually crumble under the weight of their own corruption. And yes, the people changed in same ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. The greatest change in American history after WW2 was that they put a television in every US household. How do you control the mindset of so many without them being aware of it? You brainwash them by centralizing the dissemination of all information in the hands of 5 corporations. If you can control what people know, than you can control how they will react and if you repeat lies over and over again, eventually people start to believe them. It doesn’t make the lie any truer; it just means more people are wrong.
Zach,
I can’t tell if you agree or disagree with my perspective but I could not agree with you more.
I would actually take it one step further and say that it has gotten worse over time. We have begun to accept lies as truth and where this road leads is far beyond the reach of my imagination. Although I have some pretty interesting ideas of how it looks.
I would encourage you to read some of my other stuff if you want a better perspective about who I am and my message as a whole.
I agree with you can grow as an individual by doing all the things on this list but that your financial success is heavily limited by the family you were born into and that 4 out of 10 people in the top 10% of incomes are there because they inherited their parents success, whether they actually earned it based on their merits or not. It’s absolutely gotten worse over the last 40 years. We took the greatest economic powerhouse the world has ever known with one of the highest upward social mobilities the world has ever known and reversed just about every advancement we had achieved over the previous 40 years. I don’t think anyone can imagine exactly where continuing down this road will take us but I think if you look at the collapse of the empires that proceeded us (Russian, Japanese, British, Persian, Chinese, Mongolian, Roman) none of them ever return to former glory (with the possible exception the Chinese and only after a millennium). After reading some of your responses to the other comments, I think we see things more eye to eye than I initially thought based on my limited exposure to this single article.
Again, I agree with the premise, mostly, but I don’t think we can stop fighting to change it.
I’m not sure about your numbers but I know a lot of self made men and I know that there are a lot of people trying to make something of themselves.
I agree that we will never reclaim the title once we collapse the empire but we are not there yet.
We can wake up the masses and empower the individual. We can shake up the system and still make a difference in this world.
I’m just trying to do my small part. Thanks for your thoughts.
Just out of interest what do you mean by fair weather patriots? Someone who supports America for it’s ideals of liberty, but draws the line when they act as world police. Someone who is proud to be part of a country with such a strong identity and culture, but doesn’t want to be associated with the installation of puppet dictators and facilitation of the flow of wealth in to a small number of pockets? A country without any choice in politics, with parties funded to the point and campaigns crafted beautiful so that popular consensus is split right down the middle, and the turkeys will once again happily vote for christmas?
Zack what makes those 4% rise to the top… yeast?
Why did only 4% rise to the top and not the other ~6% that would have risen as well? Either they were extremely lucky and beat their odds or their success was so great that they managed to make to make it into the top 10% even while being held back. Even if every single one of them was ahead of the curve, the other 60% failed because of the system.
So, work on changing the system. :)
You just sound like a Type A with severe OCD. Quit patting yourself on the back, like you said “You’re not as smart as you think you are.”
I am both of those things but they do not define me. Who are you to tell me what I am or am not? What have you done? How have you exposed yourself to the world? Where is your article on Huffington Post? Viral Blog or cohesive thought put out to the world in an attempt to help form its direction? What are you doing that makes you the authority on anything other than being a dick?
Mr. Tirado,
I find this article somewhat offensive to the reader. Although I find the titles very interesting and gripping, I would like to say that the writings following them were irritating to read. The article was very enjoyable overall. However, I think that you were focusing just a little bit too much on yourself. There were instances with “I did this. I did that” where I didn’t quite enjoy reading through. I am a freshmen from the University of Georgia and I’ve done extensive independent researches and studies on Graph Theory, a branch of mathematics. And even then, I wasn’t offended when you unintentionally disregarded my work. What I was angry about was when you claimed yourself to be this unmatched superior person, while you’ve never even introduced yourself. This article boasts a ‘I am writing this and I am god if I said so’ attitude. It is akin to wearing short to church. Mr. Tirado, I would to hear from you soon.
This article was a battle between the voices in my head. It was me talking to myself. I do not refute the benefit for some in higher leaning but that is not what this post was about.
I can understand your response here (that you were talking to yourself). I saw this article as a wake up call for myself, something for people to internalize and use as motivation. It did not make me feel defensive. How could you actually be criticizing anyone reading the article – of course you don’t know the people reading it, so that could not be possible. Instead, I think you have given a gift to people on how to challenge themselves and to reach beyond their comfort zones. I suppose it’s a tough love, drill sergeant approach rather than butterflies and happy thoughts. But there is room for both. I have difficulty being tough on other people (so I would not likely write from this perspective), but I do want to push myself to be exceptional in any way I can, so I appreciated reading it. Thank you for taking the time to write this, and for sharing it.
I love you for understanding that! Thanks for putting it so eloquently. I might copy and paste it to share with the other haters.
I am very self critical of myself. I am my own drill sergeant because I have to be. Because that is the only way I get better.
So when I write I am just giving you a glimpse into the chaos that is my brain.
I agree with 2303sunshine. It was thought-provoking and a detailed confirmation for what most of the article’s readers already knew anyway. Very well-written, straightforward and engaging from the title to the comments. Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for your thoughts.
/signed
Wow Raymmar, that changes EVERYTHING! If you could have somehow indicated in the article itself that these were your internal voices it would have been remarkable. I relate to such dilemmas and internal conflicts. The problem is, I believe, that you let the world see you in a negative light and just add to the judgment you were already putting on yourself from inside. You don’t deserve criticism. But next time try to make that more clear – for your own sake.
I don’t know if you got a chance to read my response to your article, so here it is- https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/7-proofs-that-you-are-amazing/ thanks for generating this important discussion. And you should know that YOU are AMAZING!
I did read your response and I thank you for taking the time to write it but I think it was a cop out. I get your positive tone but honestly I am so over people just pretending like life is easy and friendly and gymdrops and lollypops.
The reason this has gone viral internationally is because people are desperate for this type of content. The tone was purposeful. The tone was intended to crawl under your skin and make you uncomfortable. Not to passify and make people feel good about themselves.
Most people who looked past their own arrogance were able to see this and I am not accusing you of that here but so many people are quick to look at things only skin deep as opposed to actually digging deeper to see the true meaning of the art.
Thanks for sharing your comments.
Thank you for such a thought provoking article. I didn’t feel offended or insulted at all. Many of the things you talked about are things that I have experienced in my own life (and to some degree, I still experience).
I somehow felt vindicated in my own approach to life; because I have always gotten a lot of criticism for being an avid reader, and for my interests in life. I will admit that I often feel bad when people point these things out to me (about me).
Consequently, I’m very careful about what I talk about when in the company of other people; usually not saying too much. So, thank you, I needed that kind of talk.
I really like this article. Very well written… I couldn’t stop reading it I ended a call to finnish this article amazing work. I wish I would have written it!
Awesome! Thanks for the compliments. I wish I could write it again too. It is amazing what takes off online and how people respond to other peoples thoughts when shared in this fashion.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
I also found an unnecessary arrogant tone.
I grew up more in small town main stream then happily found my way to more authentic life in the fringes.
Sometimes tho I found people like the author in the fringes who seemed to hate everyone in the mainstream.
I hate the system of the mainstream and sheep mentality.
And I really hate the ladder system of I’m better than you. So i also hate out in the fringes when it’s just flip flopped to who you hate. That’s what I found here.
Change the system! My motto.
With less anger I think I’d find the push yourself attitude way more appealing.
Been listening to people like you my whole life. Guess what happened when I stopped listening!
#RealTalk
Thats what everyone tells you. Change this or do that. Make it different here or do that there. But what I have discovered over the last two years is that I know exactly who I am and no one can tell me different.
I have followed my passions and been through ups and downs but as soon as I stopped listening to people telling me to change my tone and “be nicer” I started building traction and gaining readership.
People are desperate for the hard hitting truth. I am a flawed individual and I think it is time we accepted that we all are. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t all be trying to step up our game. To be better at something. One thing. Whatever you need that to be. Family, community, friendship, blogging, business…whatever! Just DO something. But to live without a pursuit… without a dream, vision or desire? What kind of miserable existence that must be!
The fact you get more readership when you stop listening to advice of being nicer means two things to me. Things do seem to open up and flowwhen you are authentic and this world is now driven almost completely by assholes stepping on whoever they need to to get ahead. Congrats
I am nice… sometimes. I am just blunt. Suck it up.
Life is hard. Quit being a cry baby and take the tough criticism to heart. Why should I worry about hurting someones feelings with my words, on my blog?
Please, tell me again why your opinion of how the world should work is better than mine? Why your opinion to be nice is any different from my harsh approach. From my introspective approach to pushing people to be amazing? From making people uncomfortable in an attempt to inspire change. You think people change when everything feels nice and cozy? When life is gum drops and lolly pops? Get a clue!
What social waves are you making? Where is your art or your movement? How many people have you affected with your “nice” message?
Oh, and by the way, here you are, engaged in a conversation, with a guy you disagree with, on an article you claim to not like. Who is the winner? Who made the impact? Who crawled under your skin from across the internet?
It was me. I reached out and slapped you with my words and it hurt. It was meant to. It was supposed to do just what it did and that is the funny part about all of this.
I set out to do something and then I did it and somehow I am wrong? I should have done something different. Changed the message to what? Please you?
Who is the arrogant one now? Who is the one who is so full of themselves that an article online made them so uncomfortable they had to reach out and try to change the mind of a guy who clearly stated that your opinion was not important to the decisions he makes in life or otherwise.
To all of you haters: You wreak of insecurity and it is a shame that the most in need of the message of this article choose to ignore it, even after having had it kick them in the teeth.
I was actually giving you kudos for being authentic and not overly nice.
Even if you come across as an authentic ass. I don’t mind people with an edge. Just don’t think you or everyone else needs to go into constant slash mode.
I am sorry, I have been reading and responding to these things a mile a minute and I let a lot fly there that was not necessarily intended directly to you. I just hate that people think that people who try hard, or sound like me, or get in your face to try to inspire you are made out to be stepping on people.
I think if you actually knew me you would find that I love to help others and I am always looking to empower people to do better.
I just dont buy the BS any more. The people who talk about doing things but never really do. So I just started doing things and a few years later, here I am and the whole world is listening.
That is an empowering quest when you throw in everything else that rounded up the last decade of my life.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
you sound terribly cheesy and arrogant. you’d be perfect for those “life changing” conferences cycle they do in the us. they could even do a movie about you – a young blogger who know a couple of things about the internet and its language, and who has the superpower to inspire people. “Superblogger” sounds cool.
Oh how people pretend to know me because they read a single article. And I’m the cheesy, arrogant, self centered prick!
Thanks for your thoughts but you and the rest of the haters are exactly why this world is falling to shit.
You judge, criticize and indict without a bit of understanding. Your jokes are weak, your opinions are flawed and you project your insecurities to the world like a baby vomits on a new shirt.
Unable to control yourself, desperate to be heard but unwilling to speak out except in an attempt to divide and destroy.
I’ve read this article in serbian language( mother tounge). And I was so mad, but they did translate it with word destroy more than often,a lot more. So I ended up thinking who the fuck is this lunatic who thinks he can destroy anyone, why he thinks that everyone sees success as he does, why it is important for us to know what he knows and reads? And millions of other angry questions hit my head. Well even heading was all wrong, you have written anything amazing with life, and they’ve written anything at all. So much lost in translation… And now that I’ve seen some of your comments I can see that you are not just selfcentered (you are, but I am also so I can’t judge you for that:) but that you actualy want to wake people up…. Well you still care, but there are so many disgusting people out there and you can not make them different. I will not change the world, I will just be around those people that are great for me, fix my world and enjoy those I love, and hope that no one will hurt them. Nothing really ever changed when it comes to people, they repeat same mistakes over and over, only time passes by, and they change the way for doing the same mistake… Here is few extreme examples, people kill each other for lets say diamonds, but it is only the hardest rock and nothing more, they fight for money which is paper they got from cutting woods, very smart… You get penalty if you walk your dog without plastic bags by your side, but what is degradable? And do they stop by to think where it will go. They think that the Planet is really all those states, they believe they need to wote, they think that their religion is only true one, they kill animals for their horns like that is of some real value for them etc etc, I could do this all they long… Maybe I am just negative girl, but I don’t think there is hope at all for humans, and those great people can’t do much, they are in minority… We are not that important so if we go extinct nothing will really change, Earth will be here as long as Sun is here and that is the whole truth…
@raymmartirado:disqus the voice is rolling into me with the same hard tone
Because you feel offended by other people’s opinions and you cannot read between the lines. Because you take it personally instead of asking yourself if it fits you at all. Because you think there are superior and inferior people and that there is some sort of standard to compare yourself with. Because you can’t be true to yourself and admit where and why you are wrong. Because you have to feed your ego insead of feeding your soul.
Picked up right where I left off! Perfect.
I think this article was meant for someone like you (Khoa N.). No wonder you were offended, because you obviously do not understand it. As to the author, bravo for the article. Refreshing, very needed. If only those who this article is addressed to would react favourably.
Awesome post and spot on. I am doing what I deem to b amazing by hosting my own Internet radio show (no it’s not a podcast from my garage) – the chatterbox w/Crickette. I find the freedom and flexibility of it all highly addictive. I can’t turn it off – which is how I know it’s right. I get everything u r saying here: it’s the absolute truth! You must try again and again until you break through
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I too run a podcast but it is out of my living room. Nothing wrong with that. I actually have a pro style set up and it is a lot of fun to just have people come over and talk about random things that affect all of us in life.
8) There’s nothing amazing or meaningful left for humans to do, because human advancement is now inhibited. Burning our fuel, “treating” chronic illnesses, etc are the most profitable approaches, so good luck replacing them.
If you think there’s nothing amazing or meaningful left for people to do you’re lacking perspective. Nobody can successfully predict progress but there’s no way there would ever be progress with defeatism. Throw your hands in the air and say “I give up” meanwhile the rest of us will continue to look at problems and try our hardest to solve them.
I couldn’t agree more. I used to think we were screwed as I started to learn how big a hole we were in as a nation and now I think that we will save it. With people like us working our asses off to wake up the masses and not take no for an answer.
Bring it!
Wow..Viral is the word.I liked it.I agree with most of the parts.I have left my job to follow my passion and it has been going great!I am yet to fail enough though.!Thanks for writing and sharing :) Love
I do not mean people should fail on purpose or in business as a general rule. I mean that they should not be afraid to try something new, give it their all and then be content in knowing that it was not their particular cup of tea.
You are chasing your dreams! Good for you! Thanks for sharing.
What a load of crap.
“1 :: Because You Have Not Failed Enough”
Oh yeah? What is enough then? If I sell T-Shirts how many campaigns have to fail? 10? 50? 100? Do I get into $10,000 of debt just to fail enough? Or do I quit while I’m still ahead? I’d rather quit something that’s not working than continue on the road to perdition just so some jerk can tell me I have failed enough
“2 :: Because You Care What Others Think About You”
I don’t, but not every introvert is successful and some professions do require you to buy nice clothes and drive nice cars. A realtor that looks like crap doesn’t inspire confidence.
3 :: Because You Think You Are Smarter Than You Are
Since I don’t measure myself against other people, the point is irrelevant. What I think of myself only matters to me.
4 :: Because You Don’t Read
I read all the time, on Facebook, eBooks, news sites, blogs, so what? All the knowledge in the world won’t give you an edge if you’re a crappy salesman. The guy with the big personality and salesmanship will always beat me no matter what I know.
5 :: Because You Lack Curiosity
Why should I give a crap about string theory and quamtum mechanics? I’m not a theoretical physicist, so acquiring that knowledge lacks purpose, and anything that lacks purpose is evil.
I’m curious about things that make me money or entertain me. I doubt Steve Jobs was curious about French cuisine and Stephen King, yet I am.
6 :: Because You Don’t Ask Enough Questions
Questions to whom? To people that don’t give answers? Ridiculous.
7 :: Because You Can’t Handle The Truth
I embrace the truth in all it’s ugliness. I’m called a pessimist because I see A as A, not B or C.
We all serve an individual purpose on this earth. Some write great books, others read them, some make great food, others eat it, some serve in the military, others clap at the parade, but it’s unrealistic to feel bad about not doing something great when you lack either ability or drive or both.
Man is limited by many factors, and to deny them is to deny reality. As an Objectivist, I never deny reality. And while fans of Ayn Rand are often accused of being simplistic, we would never write a dumb article telling millions of people why they will never do anything great.
You totally missed the point of the article.
Not to mention that you read this “dumb article” all the way through and then decided to leave a novel of a comment on it. So who wins here?
This article started as an argument between the voices in my head. I wrote if for me and it just so happened to go viral.
You obviously have life figured out so I won’t respond point by point. I agree with much of what you said actually. But that again was not the point of the article.
Thanks for reading my dumb article and for sharing your thoughts. I wish you the best.
I’ll give you credit for writing an article that went viral, that everyone is sharing. But you see? I’m not like everyone else, I don’t just accept things at face value. Maybe I was harsh in calling it dumb, but it made me angry. I don’t blame anyone for my lack of success, but I don’t accept that your list will make me successful. I wish you the best as well, and I recommend you sign up for Google Adsense so you can start making money from PPC.
The list is not intended to make anyone successful. It was intended to get people to think. To dig inside themselves like I am doing myself and push themselves to be the best version of themselves as possible.
When I talked about failing I meant in a sense of going out and trying new things. Not accepting the status quo.
As for the advertising, I am not really interested in it at the moment. I am working on some monetizaiton strategies for this website but they will not involve spammy advertising to my audience.
Check out COI if you have not already. https://raymmar.com/my-blog/circles-influence/coi
I got an Error 404, but I have to give you kudos for taking criticism well. Your website looks really good to. This is the website that gave me the error.
https://raymmar.com/my-blog/circles-influence/#circles
Anyway, good luck in your endeavors.
Thanks for the heads up. I fixed the link. Thanks for the compliment and the critique. This is not about right or wrong brother. This is about the conversations and exploration of the human condition.
Oh and thanks for the love on the site design. The timing of this article going viral could not have been better. I was releasing the new site design this weekend as it was starting to take off so my soft launch turned into more of a hard launch. It is still a work in progress but I have some awesome stuff coming up in the near future and this site will continue to grow.
You guys sound like the TV show….”Big Bang Theory”…lol
Gregory,
What is your measure of success?
Your T-shirt example tells me that you may be too focused on one particular thing.
This (the subject of Rt’s post) isn’t about success with business alone. This is about success in our self betterment and becoming more understanding. Trying and failing at as many subjects/skills as we can in our finite little time on Earth. One can be very successful in business but have little or no wisdom.
Expand your focus to ‘knowledge’ and then you’ll see what he is talking about. If you take it personally, that’s on you.
Even if you look at the T-Shirt example you proposed, there are tons of other factors. Just to mention a few parameters:
How well do you know, understand and researched your customers? What kind of T-Shirt are you selling? Did you do market research before investing $10K? How saturated is the market? (The more saturated a market is, the more clever you’ll need to be to make it) How effective is your advertising method? Do you know if the advertising works at all? Have you done everything you can to gather real feedback as opposed to trying to guess what sells? Do you understand what is wanted and needed? Do you know what age/gender/culture/etc. is your target? (if that applies) Do you know what your target wants? Do you know how to inspire your target? Do you understand the principles of real market research and feedback? What are you changing between each attempt/campaign?
In general when things do not go well or as you hoped/imagined you have made the first successful step. You have successfully failed. Whatever you do, do not look at it just as “I failed”. I failed as planned/expected is the way to go especially in such a crowded market. Every bloody and his brother is making T-Shirts. Then you need to get up and roll up your sleeves and get out there! Get involved. Don’t just sit at home and figure figure. Get some real freaking life experience. Do it yourself. Get dirty and get ready for your next fail. Then analyze the shit out of it. Then learn and try again.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
Having a niche is not a bad thing, I have done t-shirts unrelated to guns and they have been huge failures, they don’t even get likes. Everything else you said is correct, to answer some of your questions, I’m not sure I know what my target wants, advertising is not a science and testing and polling can only get you so far. Sometimes a focus group for example hates something that everyone else loves, other times it’s the opposite. At this point I’ve learned when to kill a campaign, I follow the rule of 100 clicks, if I can’t make at least one sale with after 100 clicks on my advertising, I just kill the ad. This has saved me money.
Just defended you. You owe me a drink.
Haha! You rock! I would totally buy you a drink for it! Let me know if you are ever in Sarasota!
It’s because you and I think more like the 1 percent, and they think like the kind of people who are big into justification.
I agree that we do not teach this type of thinking anymore as a general rule but I won’t go as far as falling into the stereotype of percentages.
We all have a talent. Something that we were meant to do on this earth and I just want as many people as possible to understand and encourage themselves to step out of their comfort zone to do it.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. – we used to believe in this. Now we throw them out like wastes if society. Ignore them
Because they can’t play in your circles.
I don’t fit in your box. And by you, I mean society. So don’t try to put me in one.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Who is “You and I”? Who is “they”? Raymmar: valid points all around, but pitting yourself against “them” is a flaw. We are humans. You are them. You want to shake them and wake them? Then don’t pretend that you aren’t one.
You miss the point. I was them in this article. This was me telling myself what a bad ass would tell me in this situation. It was me struggling with the back and forth of success and failure. It was me reassuring myself that it has not been a waste of time. It was a lot of things but that’s why the people loved it. Because they understood that I was them. That I was flawed, am flawed and just struggling to be better.
Why so angry? I think you are failing to see the big picture here.
1. About failing enough… If you are in a business that makes you miserable, that’s a failure. If you are living your life in a way that doesn’t fulfill you, that’s a failure. You are thinking in terms of money as the only way a person can fail in life. Expand your mind!
2. OMG… Barbara Corcoran (The queen of Real State if you haven’t heard of her) became known for her crazy coat. “I marched into Bergdorf Goodman and I found this great 1970s coat with fur on the collar and this crazy brown color,” she laughs, remembering that day. “I wore it everyday.” She thought outside the box. And that alone set her apart from others.
3. Nothing to say here. This is possible the best thing you wrote in the entire post :o)
4. The guy with a big personality is very likely to be a very knowledgeable person!
5. I think you are missing the point here… you don’t have to read EXACTLY what’s on the post! haha “Open your mind to new things” is the main message here. Agreed?
6. I was putting on weight and I asked myself “Why”? Did some research and learned about wheat and weight gain. Cut the wheat, lost the weight. I asked a question, I went after the answers and as a result, I am not longer a fatass. Ask the internet anything, and you shall get the answer.
7. I don’t think you can handle the truth. But that’s ok :o)
Great article, Raymmar; I’m glad you took the time to write them out, and will print a subset of the items I need to work on the most. Thanks for the (always timely) reminder to push harder at improving ourselves.
Thank you for reading. It was fun to watch this article evolve and even more fun to watch people responding to it like they are.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Raymmar, what does it mean to “look through this list and not claim it as [my] own”? Thank you.
What I mean is that if you cannot read it and feel like you are the one talking then it means you are not pushing yourself hard enough.
This article started out as an argument in my head. A reminder to myself to try and get better every day.
Just so happens that lots of people read this one.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks.
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I have always read pretty much anything I could get my hands on, from magazine articles, to signs in doctor’s offices, lol! However, I have to take SOME exception to this article. Mainly I see my job as being a mom. We also have two businesses however, and I help run those, one is a carpet cleaning business, the other is Big Noise Productions, which is basically an event center, but we have mainly done DJ parties. I don’t know that we are doing big things in this world, for me, it is really enough to just raise and enjoy my kids. However, I do read everything I can on poverty, race, LGBT, and I really am trying to raise awareness, if I can do nothing else. Really, I just want my kids to be raised the old fashioned way, by a mom who’s THERE when they get home from school, and that may be my biggest contribution to the world.
Being a good mom is definitely amazing.
The basic premise of this article was to push people to be the best version of themselves as possible. That has nothing to do with fame or notoriety.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
And that’s just it isn’t it?? “the basic premise of this article was to push people to be the best version of themselves as possible”. I can’t believe the amount of people who actually took offence or had a problem with this article lol. How about anytime anyone writes anything positive, we just do whatever we can to yell louder that they are wrong…I love it.
Everything about everything you wrote…was 100 percent correct. You actually can’t argue it. If your opinion differ’s than that of the author…then guess what…you have a difference of opinion. The point is, haters will ALWAYS be haters, angry people will always be angry. Some of us though…will take all those stats and facts and shove them up something’s a$$ and make a difference. Doesn’t have to be for the world on a global scale, but we will make a difference no matter the magnitude and how many times we’ve had bad luck. No matter how many times our business fails, or other people have failed us. Never give up and stop complaining. It’s just Earth, don’t forget we all live here and there is way more to life on this planet than a mortgage and car payment.
DISCO
Preach it!