Photo via Freedom Outpost
I’ve thought about writing this article for quite some time now, but never knew how to start it. I still don’t, but I’m a senior. I am running out of time. I don’t have much space so this will be a bit more concise than I would like.
I’ve met many people who have no idea what they are doing with their lives (self-proclaimed). I don’t think there is anything wrong with this: after all, we are young. However, I am absolutely sure of what I will do. I don’t think it’s because I am intelligent (tabula rasa) or narcissistic, I think it’s be-cause I’ve been given very good advice and have sought wisdom on my own volition. Almost all of this advice contradicts the dogma I’ve been spoon-fed as a member of the snowflake generation. For example, self-proclaimed value systems mean very little.
If I put 100 people in a room and asked them if they value their health, I’m sure at least 75% of the people there would say yes. But what if I asked them how many times they went to the gym this week or what their dietary choices were? What if I asked people if they valued intelligence and then asked them how many books they’ve read recently? What if I asked people if they cared about the superficial, and then asked them how long they spend shopping or on Instagram? What if I asked people if they valued their voice?
I write this because I know many people who self-identify as “good,” but somehow feel like they’ve been done a disservice by society. They eagerly await unanticipated alternatives because they are disgustingly entitled. They also champion snowflake doctrine: “everyone is special, everyone is smart, everyone is beautiful.” As Dash said in The Incredibles, “if everyone is special, no one is.” As someone who used to believe in these things, I assure you that it does not work. You just end up hating what you see in the mirror.
These people await change, but change does not come from satisfaction. “I am beautiful, smart, and creative,” cool, then you have no urgency to do anything with your life. Your value does not need to grow. You’ve peaked. What a wonderful deception. Strength does not come from sunshine. If we are not dissatisfied, then we have no reason to innovate, no reason to mobilize. Snowflake doctrine is a lie perpetuated by those who want to take accountability of the individual and put it on society. They want to change the world rather than change themselves, a fool’s errand. The problem is that society doesn’t have to care. That’s because there is nothing to gain by adopting kindergarten mentalities. There is morale ethics, right vs. wrong, and then there is empirical rationalization, what one gains by being right and loses by being wrong. Now one could assume that I am developing some kind of superiority complex. I am, but it of an unorthodox nature.
It is better to be outside of the hierarchy than at the top. “What’s a king to a god, what’s a god to a nonbeliever?” But we cannot be free to make our own decisions until we are free from necessary approval, paychecks, and societal pressures. This freedom comes from achievement, from competence, not incantations. Dreams must be built. Self-reliance comes from empowerment, not entitlement. Dissatisfaction drives change and dissatisfaction comes from a lack of infatuation; the urgency to go to the gym, studio, and library. It is more pragmatic to ask for broader shoulders than lighter boulders. People do not lack strength; they lack the will and desire to acquire it. The world of the establishment (SJW For-tress) is the world of satisfaction. It is how harmony is maintained. With no agency, those championing snowflake doctrine are left to linger in abstraction. They make no progress because they are “right,” yet they have nothing to show for it. They might as well be wrong. They are on a perpetual journey, and no one feels more cheated than the indecisive.
It is the difference between optimism and idealism. Idealists are hyper normative while optimists know that one has to get before they can give. Good deeds are put on the scoreboard, not good intentions. A man with nothing to give is just intentions, and it doesn’t really matter if they are good or evil because they never escape the mind. Idealists are entitled and delusional. Creativity is the only delusion that helps more than it hurts, and it comes from gratitude.
My point can be summarized as such: the reactive work for the proactive, and if life is comfort-able, why change? Regarding being outside of the hierarchy, I believe that there are two types of confidence. There is contextual: “I am better than those around me or am confirmed by society.” This kind of confidence is based on a cohesive narrative that is usually wrong, and narcissistic. Plenty of people ignore criticism from the dumb and ignorant, but they do not reject praise. Then there is intrinsic confidence: “I have the ability to will things into existence if I put my mind to it.” The first one can be robbed by context: “I am good at football,” Peyton Manning walks into the room. “I am successful,” Bill Gates. It is related to the hierarchy. The sec-nd type, intrinsic, is outside of the hierarchy; it is not removed by the presence of a king or a god. This is the confidence that I wish everyone had, not the former. But it takes a lot more work and mental fortitude, so I watch people get robbed by context daily.
I stress this because passion is what we do without qualification or validation. If integrity is how we act when no one is looking, passion is what we do when no one is looking. In finance, there are many kinds of risk, but I will relay two types to you now: the capacity for ruin and risk/reward. Attempting to step outside of the hierarchy is taking a risk/reward approach. Being in the hierarchy makes you susceptible to ruin. If you’re wrong with the crowd, you are like everybody else. If you’re right with the crowd, you get leftovers. If you’re wrong alone, you get ostracized. If you’re right alone, you get a Nobel prize.
I don’t want leftovers, and I don’t want to be like everybody else. When someone has taken all of the normal steps towards success and still fails, their story becomes a path and you don’t need to walk it. Nothing grows on a path. The inability to recognize insularity is the inability to conquer it. I’m not suggesting that we drop everything and become renegades, but mavericks. The only way to pass perfection is through innovation. Pragmatically, I do believe that people should do their day job until their night job pays, but I also know that most people can’t even moonlight. They are not free. They cannot pay with the naivete of a child.
To conclude, here’s my advice on creativity. The medium is half of the message. Technical ability is just the means of arriving at a statement; creativity decides what that statement will be. I believe that everyone has a statement (which commonly manifests itself as angst), but they lack the technical ability to go from concept to reality. You will get discouraged if you try to increase your technical ability while also caring about the opinions of others. Like Jake the Dog once said, “sucking at something is the first step to be-ing sort of good at something.”