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a thing that came up in my ii salon today, kind of in a tangent of a tangent, is that I "got to where I am", without much money, no university education, etc, mostly by taking myself seriously, and conducting myself like what I do and say matters, and has consequences
this isn't a widespread norm. a lot of people, for example, quote tweet bad things, because they don't feel like they are personally responsible for bad norms. they see themselves as small, weak, powerless, insignificant. I see myself as large, strong, powerful, significant
part of taking yourself seriously is that some people will cringe at the earnestness, and feel compelled to retaliate with status regulation. they will laugh at you, call you a clown, full of yourself, etc. but if your confidence is grounded in your work, IME you can go past them
I didn't wake up one random morning and decide the above on a whim, it comes from like 20 years of reading, writing, reflection, conversations with thousands of people, and a deliberate, continuous effort to become the person I wanted to become https://t.co/Ob3BsOT5n7
@AgainstGop IME a lot of this can be addressed through sheer volume of positive interactions with other people. the difference between a clueless "ran for office and his own family didn't vote for him" and "grassroots candidate who tonnes of people know and love". legitimacy thru engagement
I share things like this because I remember wishing somebody would share their experience with me. Somewhere there's a kid who just needs to know that this is *possible*. I know how this can be perceived negatively, but that's an acceptable cost in my view
A lot of people who are better positioned than you will fumble their bags. You can win by just holding steadfast and refusing to fumble the bag. Les Brown's story of how he became a disc jockey is especially excellent to illustrate this (5:47): https://t.co/JxKJs3d1U6
"It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." At any moment I am prepared to give a speech, presentation, interview someone "out of my league". I do my homework. I know my stuff https://t.co/tvh6a0HatF
I'd like to be successful, sure, and more than that I want to see everyone around me be 10x more successful. We can raise our standards, challenge each other to greatness. As David Ogilvy said, strive for the company of immortals. L.F.G.