Self Improvement is masturbation

[Julian]

Everyone lives for such consumerist artificial and materialistic things and needs. Our selfish wants overtaking everything in our lives. hedonistic pleasure, instant gratification and the narcissistic expressions with modern technology and our culture of vapid and shallow surface level group thinking.


is there no one else here who aspires for true greatness? complete selfless service to others..to humanity, to the world, to GOD. achieving actual great things, touching peoples lives and leaving a positive impact on this earth. fighting for good at every corner and putting themselves out there for a change to the world...


i would rather be rich in spirit then rich in physical wealth. all the paper chasing we do just seems to futile and pointless in the grand scheme of things...and that true spiritual development comes from taking actions that come from good intentions. IDK bros just stream of concious posting now but arent any of you sick of chasing puzzy, the next update to your luxury vehicle etc etc. just living that hollow life. banging different chicks and just being a wage cuck at some job.

what happened to being revolutionaries in our fields of service...movers and shakers and real men of virtue out there changing the world? when did we become drug/internet/porn/social media addicted an obsessed and just all around betas as a society.

 

[bigneil]

is there no one else here who aspires for true greatness? ...putting themselves out there for a change to the world...

Yes, I patented a computer graphics system that should have made the web 3D by now, but people resist change. Still working on it.

Every man must aspire for greatness, and great women will follow - in that order. Your goal can never be to be with a girl. I cringe when I hear modern songs say things like "The girl is my destiny".

 

[TheMonkeyKing]

i would rather be rich in spirit then rich in physical wealth

In the book Freakonomics, Stephen Levitt talks about rewards and incentives for work. He says there are three primary rewards for undertaking any activity: moral; social and financial.

-On one side of the scale, where social or moral incentive is high, financial reward must be relatively low, otherwise the drive of the incentive is lost.
-One the other side, where moral and social gains are relatively low, financial reward is needed as a motivator.

This is why doctors, nurses, police, firemen, teachers and service folk are treated and paid poorly. The powers that be know that these altruists will continue working for the sake of the work anyway.

Conversely, most folks in the public eye for example, regardless of what they are known for, are (heavily) compensated financially for their lack of social and moral achievement; because, it must be said, the vast majority are obsolete.

It is possible (and beneficial) to be both financially and spiritually well off, but it's a fine balance, in my opinion.

 

[ChristopherColumbus]

Nicomachean Ethics is a good read. Would also recommend 'After Virtue' by Alasdair MacIntyre.

That said, I am deeply ambivalent about philosophy... though it helps to have a philosophy of this and that in so far as it opens up a free imaginative space. A philosophy of science is crucial given that most people are brainwashed by popular science today. And of course you need a philosophy of women, in order to also distance yourself from them... and recognize the diamond in the rough. Ethics is another study very important if men are to arm themselves against a tide of decadence. Aristotle, Kant, and perhaps Heidegger. Heidegger is good on technology, and how it radically changes the ethos of the age.

Work I only consider a tax on my time, and don't take it seriously in this mediocre bureaucratic age. Leisure is essential. I guess there is a bit of a cult of self-development these days, but if it's not egocentric, and in the spirit of culture, art, resistance, and the public good then that can't be too bad a thing.

 

[playa99]

In my opinion being a man is about 2 things:

1: The relationships you build.
2: Having a cause.

In the book Freakonomics, Stephen Levitt talks about rewards and incentives for work. He says there are three primary rewards for undertaking any activity: moral; social and financial.

-On one side of the scale, where social or moral incentive is high, financial reward must be relatively low, otherwise the drive of the incentive is lost.
-One the other side, where moral and social gains are relatively low, financial reward is needed as a motivator.

This is why doctors, nurses, police, firemen, teachers and service folk are treated and paid poorly. The powers that be know that these altruists will continue working for the sake of the work anyway.

Conversely, most folks in the public eye for example, regardless of what they are known for, are (heavily) compensated financially for their lack of social and moral achievement; because, it must be said, the vast majority are obsolete.

It is possible (and beneficial) to be both financially and spiritually well off, but it's a fine balance, in my opinion.

Love Freakonomics. I'd recommend anyone to buy all their books. It does a good job in explaining A LOT about human behavior.

 

[TheMonkeyKing]

Doctors and nurses are paid well

Depends which country they live in; and, how far they are willing to be corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry.

Nicomachean Ethics is a good read.

I have that on my shelf, along with the Social Contract and several others, waiting.

That said, I am deeply ambivalent about philosophy. It helps to have a philosophy of this and that... in so far as it opens up a free imaginative space. A philosophy of science is crucial given that most people are brainwashed by popular science today.

Though I would agree with the above. The more profound ideas that are dreamed up, the more likely they are to be used against humanity. Theories, such as the likes' of Levitt and Freud for example, are employed by governments, industry and media to manipulate the masses quite successfully. A good documentary of Freud is Century of the Self. Explains almost everything you need to know about modern day US culture.

Love Freakonomics. I'd recommend anyone to buy all their books. It does a good job in explaining A LOT about human behavior.

It is very accessible.

 

[Solomon]

This current generation lacks spirituality I'm not talking religion but spirituality

While people may hate on religion the bible spoke about this long ago in various books especially proverbs and Ecclesiastes

I highly recommend people read it, great read

 

[Von]

People lack Discipline

People want to be driven by their émotions.. even here with all the ego protection

But life doesnt work or care about your emotions

Human civilisation in the western world has succeeded at beating Nature (Nature vs Society)

Before Humans were forced by nature to do everything to survive...Society was built in ensuring our survival

So émotions were crushed for The good for the group (even if America invented individualism... People had to fight as a group to béat nature)

Now what are we afraid off? Some hyper hurricane? We will just move and rebuilt

Remember your parents or grand parents... they likely mentionned.... they did WHAT THEY HAD TO DO..... never what they WANTED

So alot was the concept of "duty"

Due to that alot of them wantd to give à life based on émotions to their kids.

There are pro and cons

But now we live in a world where man are confused about there place, woman are confused about their nature, nature is no more à challenge, society seeks to find à goal

 

[Von]

I can agree with the overall idea the OP is stressing, but I disagree with the connection of leisure or chasing women that is made here, because such things actually reflect many of the same core principles it takes to achieve a kind of greatness that has changed the world before.

Agriculture and the dawn of civilization itself allowed people to spend less time on the brink of survival so they can spend much more time thinking and philosophizing. Leisure and free time was essential to bringing about such radical changes, which eventually brought about great thinkers like Plato.

Historical individuals such as Copernicus and Galileo risked their careers and even their lives to pursue the truths their sciences revealed, even when it railed against accepted ideas, beliefs and norms. They were not guided by appeasement and conformity, like an AFC's approach to women. They were guided by results, like a Don Juan, and were able to pursue revolutionary ideas by thinking "outside of the box". Henry Ford encapsulates this when he once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Ask any true chump what a woman wants and he will give you a "faster horses" reply.

Einstein is claimed to have been a violin-playing womanizer who failed university entrance exams. Even if you question the accuracy of that, his own personal letters reveal at the very least that he was involved with more than one woman simultaneously, on several accounts, even in marriage (dude was basically spinning plates!). The world was still gifted with his Theories of Relativity.

And most people are familiar with Edison's claim that he did not fail 1,000 times or even one time when inventing the light bulb. He simply found 1,000 ways it cannot be done. Precisely the mindset every aspiring Don Juan should have through all rejection in his pursuits of women.

So while I agree many people end up far too enamored and sidetracked by trivial pursuits, I don't think the solution is to sacrifice any of it.

The solution is to simply keep your eyes on the prize.

I agréé with you

But would changé the conclusion

The solution is to keep your eyes on the road, the road being what you want/seeking... keep walking on that road

The prize will come but in what forms?

All the people you mentionned where scientist they were experiencing methods that lead to discovery

If we mention finance, Warren Buffet said "i always knew i would be rich, never expected it would be that fast"

So all of them had goals, they all experienced method towards the goals.

The prize is the reward for your method in achieving the goal

 

[Trump]

Everyone lives for such consumerist artificial and materialistic things and needs. Our selfish wants overtaking everything in our lives. hedonistic pleasure, instant gratification and the narcissistic expressions with modern technology and our culture of vapid and shallow surface level group thinking.

is there no one else here who aspires for true greatness? complete selfless service to others..to humanity, to the world, to GOD. achieving actual great things, touching peoples lives and leaving a positive impact on this earth. fighting for good at every corner and putting themselves out there for a change to the world...

Why can't you do both? Aspire to true "greatness" and touch people's lives while still driving a Bentley and living in a Penthouse?

Why does it have to be one or the other?

i would rather be rich in spirit then rich in physical wealth. all the paper chasing we do just seems to futile and pointless in the grand scheme of things...and that true spiritual development comes from taking actions that come from good intentions. IDK bros just stream of concious posting now but arent any of you sick of chasing puzzy, the next update to your luxury vehicle etc etc. just living that hollow life. banging different chicks and just being a wage cuck at some job.

I think you are confusing "value" with "wealth." I think if you have value everything else takes care of itself. The money will come, the women will come, and you will feel good inside.

But if don't have value, everything else feels empty. You are at a normal 9-5 job and go out with a 10/10? Doesn't feel great. You are at a normal 9-5 job and get paid millions? Doesn't feel great.

But if you have worked hard, learned your craft, touched people's lives, are an expert at what you do, created a need, and then went out with a 10/10 and got paid millions, then you are complete mentally and spiritually.

what happened to being revolutionaries in our fields of service...movers and shakers and real men of virtue out there changing the world? when did we become drug/internet/porn/social media addicted an obsessed and just all around betas as a society.

Around fall of 1992. But I see your point.

 

[raider87]

Anyone out there want a good read about the ego and the personality and how they develope in this life.
"A new Earth" by Eckhardt Tolle.
The ego chapters were mind blowing descriptions to me and i think can help any seeker out there looming for more knowledge of how the personality and the big crybaby works in our heads.
The one that feeds the desperation that weve all felt in our relationships

Good book, i thought it was better than "the power of now". Will read again soon.