What's in it for me????

[SoldMySoul]

"What's in it for me???" is the first step of a man unplugging from the Matrix. I commend you.

However,

In order to get what he wants in this world, he'll have to plug back in, from time to time, in his own way. And in order to acquire all the wealth and power he could ever want, his mindset becomes one of "What can I do for you?", "you" being humanity as a whole. A good man knows that his reward is directly equal to his contribution; so in order to advance, he knows he must only increase his contribution.

I absolutely loved your idea about "What can I do for you?" That is a fantastic way to handle it and I think I will give that attitude a shot. Put myself first and foremost, but do not stop doing the things that were already rooted deep in my core values such as giving and being helpful to my fellow man. While doing so being mindful of my best interest. Loved your response and it was very succinct.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

This could help!

Quotes from Black Face Thick Heart:

"If you live your life with your heart and wallet exposed, you´ve got to be willing and prepared to be hurt and to lose your wallet as well."

"Through experience we see our compassionate generosity often abused. It seems to some, the more you give them, the more you should give. These people act as if you owe them. To the ruthless, gratitude for past kindness does not exist. The only thing that matters to them is the question “What have you done for me lately?”. They´ll always find sweet and trusting individuals to take advantage of."

This is from another book:

"In the bustle of all the things she does for others, the person doing them is fading away. She can server others best by taking care of herself. If she does not provide for her own needs, there´ll be nothing there to provide for others."

 

[Victory Unlimited]

Yo SoldmySoul,


Actually, since you've taken the time to further flesh out your thoughts on this thread, you seem to be in a great place to advance and to grow.

I would encourage every man to take the time to reflect on the reality that "selfishness" in and of itself, is not always an inherently bad term.

It's just that in most of our terminology, it is used with a malevolent thought behind it. The reality of SELFISHNESS is that it's just a mindset.

It's a recognition of SELF "awareness". And once a man is self aware, he can THEN go about finding ways to use and/or abuse that awareness that he's been given.

So the choice is ALWAYS ours.

We can either use our oftentimes "newfound" self awareness to be intrusively aggressive at achieving our own best interest at the WORST interest of other people...OR...we can use our self awareness as a Kevlar vest--------"bulletproofing" us against OTHER people who are working against OUR best interest.

Again, the choice is always OURS.

At the end of the day, self awareness is the precursor for SELF LOVE.

Any man, woman, or child who actually "loves" him or herself WILL NOT allow him or herself to be "willingly" unfairly and/or summarily disenfranchised or taken advantage of.

Self awareness is like a thick piece of black chalk------a piece of chalk that if used correctly, will give YOU the power to draw a boundary line on the ground on which you stand--------a line on the ground that clearly defines where being treated respectfully ENDS and being treated "disrespectfully" BEGINS.

Self Awareness on a "good" day, should be the bridge that leads to SELF RESPECT.

And self respect can have a positively SYNERGISTIC effect on your overall success as a man.

Self respect can be BOTH your most dependable ARMOR and your greatest WEAPON in the battle to live your BEST LIFE possible.

A man who respects himself, loves himself.

And a man who loves himself can become mentally, spiritually, and emotionally balanced "enough" to use his self awareness for his greater good without having to become totally callous in regards to the needs of others.



Soldier on.

 

[SoldMySoul]

Yo SoldmySoul,


Actually, since you've taken the time to further flesh out your thoughts on this thread, you seem to be in a great place to advance and to grow.

I would encourage every man to take the time to reflect on the reality that "selfishness" in and of itself, is not always an inherently bad term.

Thank you sir!!! Well, I talked it out more trying to explain my overall feelings behind me post. I initially stated I didn't care if I were viewed as selfish, but that was not one hundred percent accurate. I want the members to view it objectively from my point and subjectively from theirs. If you take my post out of context it could be viewed as me being a selfish a$$hole.

Some of the more astute and seasoned posters picked up on my general feeling and understood exactly what I meant. For the others I wanted to give a better idea of what I was trying to convey. Maybe the heading threw them into that direction.

If anyone is familiar with Ayn Rand, she liked the idea of being selfish and there is even a society that teaches or advises people to be that way. Atlas Shrugged, a fantastic fvcking book I might... If you are a liberal, not so much as it is viewed by many as THE CONSERVATIVE MANIFESTO.

I will still put me first and once I am taken care of I will tend to others.

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

OP, I think I should clarify what I meant with my "What can I do for you?" allegory. I was not suggesting you should be a doormat, or that you should put the interests of others above your own; actually, "what can I do for you?" is an unselfish mentality for making yourself rich and powerful, which would seem contradictory but it is not.

"What can I do for you?", "you" being humanity, is the way by which you can achieve anything you could ever want. Fantastic fortunes of wealth and power are created by men who create great things and render great service on behalf of humanity. It goes with my evolution as a man; I was first enlightened and freed upon adopting a "what's in it for me?" mentality. Then, I realized that in order to achieve my ambitions, I would have to devote myself to creating something for humanity.

For instance-

Henry Ford "gave" the world the first affordable, mass-produced automobile. And he became the richest man upon it.

Bill Gates gave the world the PC.

James J. Hill gave America the Great Northern Railroad.

And on and on.

You see, we are taught when we grow up that people who acquire wealth are evil, greedy, and selfish. And maybe sometimes they are. But I find it far more empowering to view the accumulation of wealth simply as the yardstick of a man's contribution to the world. The greater his contribution, the greater his reward.

So what can I do for you?

 

[TheAsianLoverReturns]

OP, I think I should clarify what I meant with my "What can I do for you?" allegory. I was not suggesting you should be a doormat, or that you should put the interests of others above your own; actually, "what can I do for you?" is an unselfish mentality for making yourself rich and powerful, which would seem contradictory but it is not.

"What can I do for you?", "you" being humanity, is the way by which you can achieve anything you could ever want. Fantastic fortunes of wealth and power are created by men who create great things and render great service on behalf of humanity. It goes with my evolution as a man; I was first enlightened and freed upon adopting a "what's in it for me?" mentality. Then, I realized that in order to achieve my ambitions, I would have to devote myself to creating something for humanity.

For instance-

Henry Ford "gave" the world the first affordable, mass-produced automobile. And he became the richest man upon it.

Bill Gates gave the world the PC.

James J. Hill gave America the Great Northern Railroad.

And on and on.

You see, we are taught when we grow up that people who acquire wealth are evil, greedy, and selfish. And maybe sometimes they are. But I find it far more empowering to view the accumulation of wealth simply as the yardstick of a man's contribution to the world. The greater his contribution, the greater his reward.

So what can I do for you?

Interesting viewpoints. The most brutal dictators were socialist.


Mao Tse Tung (50-70 million killed) Communist
Joseph Stalin (23 million) Communist
Adolf Hitler (12 million) Socialist
Pol Pot (1.7 million) Communist
Kim Il Sung (1.6 million) Communist

 

[SoldMySoul]

Interesting viewpoints. The most brutal dictators were socialist.


Mao Tse Tung (50-70 million killed) Communist
Joseph Stalin (23 million) Communist
Adolf Hitler (12 million) Socialist
Pol Pot (1.7 million) Communist
Kim Il Sung (1.6 million) Communist

Mao Tse Tung leads the list by far too and some of the you know who's people loved this dictator. I will give his initials----------------------Barry Soetoro.

The thing is once you learn the concept of looking after yourself because life is not what you thought whether it is women or business or just whatever, you cannot never go back to being the way you were. Once you see the emperor naked, it is over with.

Once you see how things are you forced to change your style or how you play. If you don't, you will be taken advantage of that is for sure.

OP, I think I should clarify what I meant with my "What can I do for you?" allegory. I was not suggesting you should be a doormat, or that you should put the interests of others above your own; actually, "what can I do for you?" is an unselfish mentality for making yourself rich and powerful, which would seem contradictory but it is not.

I was not talking about you specifically. I did understand your meaning and that of Mr. Positive's. Main idea being: Don't lose yourself or values with the change of attitude.. Now, what can do for me? Keep giving great advice here on the forum!