[Beyond Borders]

I just went and watched Total Recall at the theater, and it occurred to me how American culture (and probably all humankind) has this recurring fantasy of waking up with skills you never had to sacrifice to build - that you never had to try for. This is a recurring theme in a lot of pop culture stories - Bourne Identity, the Matrix, Total Recall, etc.

Seems to me to be pretty representative of the tendency for us to always want that magic bullet. People don't want to put in the effort it takes to play the piano, speak new languages, seduce women, or master martial arts. They just want to push a button, take a pill, or download a program.

It's kind of depressing on one hand, I suppose, but it also serves as a reminder that it's pretty easy to compete against a population of people who walk around half-dead, never trying to put their hands on the things they want. Dreaming is one thing. Actually getting off your ass and feeling a little pain to grab what you want - that's what separates the men from the boys.

[Cincinnatus]

(08-07-2012 10:02 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

People don't want to put in the effort it takes to play the piano, speak new languages, seduce women, or master martial arts. They just want to push a button, take a pill, or download a program.

Or win the lottery.

[MikeCF]

I thought the same thing when Green Lantern came out.

"I found a magic ring. Now I'm a super hero!"

[peterthephoenix]

People want the fantasy. Why do you think roleplaying games are so popular? Because it give them a taste of the life they could never lead. The majority of people are enslaved to the life they currently lead. The hum-drum monotony of a 9-5 cubicle job in the home city, a nagging cow wife and 2 kids.

I watch the movie Limitless regularly, but just for inspiration on the lifestyle I am moving towards.

One thing the red-pill does is that it helps break your conditioned thinking about women. And from there it becomes easier to apply it to other areas of your life.

[Hades]

Yeah it's kind of human nature to attribute skills to the person, rather than as a product of a person's effort (and sometimes just talent). A lot of people reason that "So and so can do X, I think I'm as good as so-and-so, ergo I should be able to do not only X, but Y as well". Whenever I hear that little voice niggling me, I just remind myself that it's just pride trying to fuck with my thinking and I get back to work.

[Grit]

I would say that embracing the reality of endless practice is even worse. Its too easy to find some limiting belief that makes you invalidate the whole pursuit.

The number one skill IMHO is being confident that skillz can happen. Like you know that you might not have a skill now, and the thought of practice doesn't discourage you but actually makes you happy knowing you have a lot of work to do. But thats a character trait and not a skill i guess.

PS fantasy worlds are nice when you can get hit with false rape claims, divorce, alimony payments, or child-molestation at any given time. Careers and reputations can go away really fast. I bet lots of guys think "better to get my kibbles of happiness than to risk the system."

[alphaspiraton]

(08-07-2012 10:02 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

Dreaming is one thing. Actually getting off your ass and feeling a little pain to grab what you want - that's what separates the men from the boys.

Beautifully said.

[Shrodax]

(08-07-2012 11:28 PM)MikeCF Wrote:  

I thought the same thing when Green Lantern came out.

"I found a magic ring. Now I'm a super hero!"

To be fair, the same effect pretty much applies to every mainstream superhero. They're either born with powers by being aliens or gods (Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman), mutate powers through genetics or radiation (X-Men, The Hulk), develop powers through a science experiment gone awry (Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Captain America), or they just happen to be born into money (Batman, Iron Man).

Interestingly, I just realized it's often the supervillian who spends any time putting in hard work, meticulously building an empire, or hatching a scheme. Like in Star Wars, Palpatine spends years slowly taking control of the Empire through an elaborate plan, only to have it all ruined by a kid who suddenly discovered he could use the Force. Now I wonder what this says about our society and culture.