Over the course of my lifetime I slowly evolved a social strategy that helped me overcome my natural aspiness and social anxiety. This evolved into a personal philosophy.
- Try to make every person you meet your friend or at least predisposed to friendliness. (It’s actually not very difficult.)
- Try to help every person you meet even if it’s something minor like complimenting, appreciating, or commiserating.
- Try to make every person you meet, at least once in a while, remember you. This isn’t terribly hard if you (a) smile a lot, (b) find something nice to say, like an observation of something they do well.
- Preen. It’s not complicated. Look like you TRY. Groom, dress, speak. Learn how to speak clearly in complete sentences, read a few books, and dress conservatively within your class and cultural boundaries. This means you are reliable.
- Upgrade friends, associates, work position as frequently as you find utility in doing so. The good friends will remain, those that are holding you back must not.
- Pick a set of conditions in life you would be happy with achieving. Not one ideal, not one favorite, but a spectrum that you would be happy with from low cost to high cost to you. Try to advance whatever will bring about most of them whenever you can. And make sure it doesn’t depend on anyone giving you attention. That’s the curse. Need for approval and attention. You don’t want to get hooked on it.
- Make very few promises. And if you do make a promise don’t commit to a time frame. If you commit to a time frame only commit to doing your best and do your best and document that you have done so. If you must commit to a time from and promise then make sure you have enough money to pay others to get it done.
- Work harder than everyone else at achieving that condition.
- Suppress your urge to consume and acquire anything that is not both excellent, useful, and beautiful. It is better to have a few very good things than many not good things.
- Buy a heavily depreciated used luxury car for cash if you can, and maintain it.
- Acquire all assets that you can that you can’t spend.
- Take on no debt that doesn’t get you an asset you can’t spend.
- Marry early and well, or late and well, but do not marry without evidence of the person you’re marrying succeeding in the social, economic, and political marketplaces. This is the most expensive
- The stock market is for gamblers with inside information and suckers. And it’s going to get worse as the boomers pull their money out and the millennials and underclasses cannot produce goods and services of sufficient multipliers to replace it.
Most personal philosophies are means of insulating yourself from lack of control over the universe. This philosophy is a means of taking control of yourself within that universe. Successful, healthy, wealthy, happy people use time, and laying one brick of success at a time because they enjoy laying those bricks. Some of us are exceptional and can outwork everyone else socially, physically, mentally and emotionally. If you are one of those people you are already doing these things. For most mortals you will not win your dreams by accident. You will build them over time. Or not. The current era is organized to destroy you and your dreams. Help me change that. Propertarianism. The Natural Law of Reciprocity. Rule of Law under it. De-politicization, de-financialization, re-familialization.