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The No. 1 Self - Development Anti Hack

thegrowinglife.com — An excellent piece on self development hack. Its a must read!

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  • ABinns, on 06/27/2008, -15/+11Dead-on article about what you really DON'T want to be -- and why. Loved it!!
  • buffduff, on 06/28/2008, -13/+6Clay Collins has written another wake up call. Get real with yourself and live an unreal life.
    • WoollyMittens, on 06/28/2008, -2/+4How much do you get paid to fluff up articles with your meaningless comments? And why don't you make u believable ones?
  • warrior007, on 06/28/2008, -10/+4I'm so not a real person according to this. Nice!
  • danielrichard, on 06/28/2008, -10/+5Haha. Liked it when you wrote that "many of us live “stepping stone lives.”"

    One of the things I talk about to my friends would be that we aren't already in the starting process. We are already in it and that we should be progressing.

    That's one for being not a totally real person. :)

    Great one you have there dude!
  • Shilpan9166, on 06/28/2008, -11/+7Clay has written another thought provoking post. A lot of wisdom from a guy who never cease to amaze me with his creative thinking!
  • skelliewag, on 06/28/2008, -11/+4I've never been so proud to be fake ;)
  • louiebaur, on 06/28/2008, -11/+6Great article!
  • ElAssoWipo, on 06/28/2008, -15/+22He's got it the other way around. He's real people. It's those lemmings I see having the same day every single day who aren't real people. Purposely putting themselves in a box so they can earn just enough money to pay for their debts because everytime they make a dollar they replace what they have with the same crap but in a more expensive and popular version, with a master they have to answer to and they ***** ask permission to take a piss.

    That's not human.
    • Peck3277, on 06/28/2008, -6/+2What were you reading?
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -3/+7It's funny how many people recognized themselves in the article and then dugg you down for it :D

      Someone's reality just got hurt.
    • fritzek, on 06/28/2008, -0/+0You're completely wrong. That's exactly what "being a human" stands for.
    • flashback99, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1the author is a ***** homeschooler:

      "I was home-schooled/unschooled during the 1980s. My parents yanked me from school because I resisted classroom teaching. At a very young age, I somehow knew that the schooling process was *****. I knew that my school existed for 100 reasons other than enriching the minds of its students. I somehow knew that my school was there to – as much as anything else – create obedient members of society and slowly habituate students to accept arbitrary rules without question. I could somehow tell that my school was in place to discourage the trouble making that often comes when children start thinking for themselves."
      • suminona, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5The thing I don't like about about homeschoolers is that they haven't fulfilled their lifetime bored-out-of-their-mind-staring-at-chalkboard quota. How can you be a functional, productive member of society without being trained in the essential art of enduring tedium?
      • flashback99, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1The thing I hate is that these pretentious people blame schools they never attended for their own inadequacies. It's important to feed your mind, but it takes effort too. The point is not to become brainwashed to a fictitious "system", but to learn how to pursue your own interests and stimulate your mind, while learning the techniques to do so. It's like a gym for your head. If you don't train, you will remain weaker in the mind than your friends who went to school.

        Then to compensate, you then invent superficial jargon for straightforward and obvious concepts, to make your simple minded thoughts sound complex to other simple minded people.
  • Dodgyboat, on 06/28/2008, -8/+4Love it
  • phorty40, on 06/28/2008, -8/+4i feel so mechanical
  • mysedai, on 06/28/2008, -14/+6Wait just a second. Will Farrell's character in Anchorman didn't swear by Sex Panther. He said it smelled like pure gasoline. Brian Fantana swore by it. Because, you know, studies how that 60% of the time, it works every time.
    Those guys suck.
    • mysedai, on 06/28/2008, -0/+7Digg went weird on me, and posted this here instead of the Booty Sweat comment section. I don't know why, since I hadn't even been to the post yet...
      I new return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
    • Laminarcissus, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1Since the article's down I haven't read it yet, so I was really trying to sort out what it possibly could have said to make that relevant.

      Too bad, that was probably more fun than the real thing.
  • bonez56, on 06/28/2008, -13/+4penis
  • ligyron, on 06/28/2008, -20/+14Self-development is masturbation.
  • DrSnugglebunny, on 06/28/2008, -5/+28Do what you enjoy and don't worry too much what others are doing. If that means the 9-5 shift, that's fine, if it means being "unreal," that's fine too.
  • Disillusion, on 06/28/2008, -6/+15I think many of us "real" people would happily become "unreal" if we could figure out another way to get money. Homeless people would fit into this "unreal" category, but I don't want to resort to that to simply shed the title.
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -2/+10There are tons of different ways to get money, especially with the internet, there are no excuses these days.

      If you live in western society and have an iq greater than 100, and own a computer and internet connection... you can make much more than the average salary, without ever leaving your house. All you need to do is a little research.

      You can start a business online and get to about 2-5k per month, from zero invested dollars (if you have a computer and internet connection and higher than 100 iq that is)... in just about 1-2 years or so.Then quit your dayjob.

      The guys at the TDC have a great basic overview of how to start off:
      http://www.ThirtyDayChallenge.com/challenge/1177

      Another way is, you don't have to start a small online business, you can be a FREELANCER. Freelancers have existed since like forever. You get paid per-project, and earn more than most "real people". Just about most major fields on earth offer a freelancer opition. Tons of options here:

      http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/default.asp
      http://www.elance.com/p/landing/buyer.html

      and like 2398 others... those two are just the top 2.

      The term "real people" here is used as sarcasm, as most of us freelancers and small enterpreneurs have been told "so why don't you get a real job" since the day we got free.

      That's why we instantly get the "real people" joke.

      them: "why don't you get a real job"
      me: so i can work just like you in a cubicle a job i hate, with a boss i despise, and have absolutely no flexibility in my time or growth, for half to third of what i already earn.... hmmmm :) Lemme think this over :)

      Personally i got to where i am by a combination. I worked as a freelance photoshop artist about 2-3 hours a day [while surfing digg at the same time i'm "working"]... (earning twice what most real people around me earned in 9 hours long shifts they hated)

      At the same time, I worked 2-3 hours a day building that start-up. So in a total of 4-6 hours a day, i earned 3 times what i'd earn in a 9-to-5, while building a startup online business.

      And guess what, i'm much less talented and dumber than most of the digg crowd. If i could do it, anyone on digg can.
    • Laminarcissus, on 06/28/2008, -1/+7It's interesting how the grass is often greener, however.

      By his definition, I've been an "unreal" person my whole life. Serial entrepreneur, long periods of near twenty-four hour work set off by months of having no responsibilities, etc.

      And as he listed the characteristics of a "real" person - regular schedule, defined responsibilities, normal family life, that's what I found myself craving.

      I wouldn't trade what I have, but there are great sacrifices and huge rewards to both sides of that equation. No one can be right saying that one is better than the other.
  • AgentAnderson, on 06/28/2008, -5/+44Let's all be non-conformist, just like this guy is telling us to!
    • Albumen, on 06/28/2008, -1/+6Yeah, I'm with you!!


      Where are you taking me?
    • CarStan, on 06/28/2008, -0/+4Yes, We're all individuals.

      Yes, We're all different.
      • fuze44, on 06/28/2008, -0/+1You're unique! (Just like everyone else)
      • p3ngwin, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1PROCRASTINATORS OF THE WORLD UNITE!..........tomorrow.
    • suminona, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1I can't stand anti-non-conformists. They're always so smug.
    • r00fus, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1I'm a unique snowflake!
  • sjmunroe, on 06/28/2008, -7/+1Once Again Clay, an excellent post about the myth of productivity and how to avoid falling into it. Very much with you on all you're saying.

    Very akin to my slacktivity manifesto http://snipurl.com/2qh6b

    Keep up the good work.


    Steve
  • ModernGeek, on 06/28/2008, -4/+17As someone who quit his GeekSquad job, dropped out of University, had the girl of his dreams move out and run away to Florida with her parents, I can say that there is great reason as to why people "keep it real". If you want to follow your dreams, you are going to have to fall hard, and probably fall hard again, and again, and again.... However, I for one, am glad to not be working at MegaCorp developing software, or even worse, working as some Fortune 1000 companies IT guy. I went out and did all of these things to start my company, and so far, it has been going very well other than some mass disapproval from some key people in my life, and of course, the financial trouble it brings in the beginning. The only people who change things are the ones crazy enough to think they can.
    • pault107, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3Why the 'mass disapproval'? What is it that you do?
    • r00fus, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1If you read the article, the douche-bag scorns you as well: he thinks you just gave up one master for another (yourself).
  • jdpalite, on 06/28/2008, -3/+20I have one big problem with this article. He lists the defining characteristics of "real people". However he risks lumping everyone who gets up between 5 and 7, are married, have separate home and work lives, etc. into one big group of conformist "suits" that are so easy to judge without getting to know them.

    He kind of addresses this at the end with "the fake unreal life" - but not really.

    I fit into 4 or 5 of the "real people" categories, but I don't fit into the others. I am what I wanted to be when I grew up. I am married. I do get to take chances and I have engaged in long-term travel and plan to again within the next 3-5 years.

    Right now I have a great career that I love. I get up at 6am to get to work by 8:30 because I value having enough time in the morning to start the day correctly. I have a separate life and home and at work (thank god).

    I have no desire to turn into a corporate monkey, but I (and many other people!) have the self-awareness not to turn into a corporate monkey if working in a corporate situation!

    So what does that make me, or any of the other people who fit into some of these categories? Are we automatically lost with a skewed sense of legitimacy and priority? I think the first part of self-development is learning how to accept other people and how they are as multifaceted as you are - you only see the surface at first glance.

    It's about tolerance, understanding, and not making snap judgements. If you can't do that, who cares how real you are?
  • FLUX, on 06/28/2008, -10/+3You can only hack a computer.I didnt even read the article because of hack in title the makes it automatically lame and dugg down
    • mayormc, on 06/28/2008, -0/+0I don't know what I hate more "Guru" "Geek" or "Hack"
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2The term hacking is not an exclusively computer term. Research it.Its just how it got popular.
    • sharonella, on 07/08/2008, -0/+1Hack as a VERB refers to what you do when you break into computer files. Hack as a NOUN is a person who either slogs away at a job - or more correctly used, is a person who gets appointed to a job they are probably underqualified for & earns way more money than they deserve for it, usually referred to as a "political hack". Syndicated radio talk show host Howie Carr talks about political hacks all the time....
  • txtphile, on 06/28/2008, -4/+5"He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is
    intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes
    himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who
    goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

    He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues
    long; he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity."

    People have been saying this since (probably) before recorded history. Somehow it never catches on.
  • WoollyMittens, on 06/28/2008, -4/+5So the conclusion is not to be a pathetic sheep, if you have the balls to take the risks. It's never the status-quo addicted worker drones that find success.

    People don't use their freedom effectively. They sell themselves to employers and banks like meat. A result of this is the shocking loss of freedom we had to endure the last decade. NOBODY protests. They all value their golden cage too much.
  • ufia, on 06/28/2008, -5/+3Being a real person with a 8 to 5 job is not about conformism or being institutionalized. It's about being responsive to the people who count on you. Sure some jobs sucks more than others, but someone as to do it. Those garbage bags won't pick themself up on their own.

    A lot of these alternative thinkers act like they are above it all, as if they finally figured the meaning of life, they can now do whatever they want, and are mocking the real people who "live in other people’s realities".

    But wouldn't you be the first to complain if, for example, you have something important to email, but you can't, the mail server is down for an undetermined period of time. The only operator who can bring it back up suddenly decided to go on a mountain bike trip or something, and nobody is answering the phone to let you know at what time the operator will fell like coming back to work.

    But then again, if your day job consists of picking your nose in boredom all day, and your absence from the office would not inconvenience anyone. I can understand how you would start losing the focus in life. Go ahead, tell the government to ***** off, go live in cardboard box if that is such a great improvement on your career.
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3Your point is correct, yet not at the same time.

      Yes, if there was no one to collect my garbage bags in the morning i'd be distressed.

      No, that in no way, shape or form means or is indicative that i personally need to work a "real" job myself.

      See... there's an interesting thing about society and science. It only progresses as fast as it needs to.

      By now, we could have had garbage collection, transport (of all kinds) be completely automated and robot-driven... Had society invested a priority in it. It didn't... Why?

      Because there was no pressure to.

      See, it's a self-propelling cycle. The more people quit 9-to-5s, the more society and science is propelled to automate and remove humans from mechanical jobs.

      Eventually, we will reach a point where the only "jobs" that humans do are those that are entirely creativity based. We'll have outsourced all other tasks to automation. It's just a matter of time.

      "Go ahead, tell the government to ***** off, go live in cardboard box if that is such a great improvement on your career."

      That's a sure-fire sign you're a victim of the 9-5 brainwashing. Their easiest method is...

      You'll either follow THE PLAN or you'll end up a bum.

      Never telling you there are ton of other alternatives.
  • lukak, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1
  • jcorn1, on 06/28/2008, -6/+3Love the site, not crazy about labels like real or unreal. The message is powerful and got me thinking, though.
  • CarStan, on 06/28/2008, -7/+21what a ***** article. All i read was: "YOU SUCK, because you live a normal lfe, I ROCK and am so much better than you, because I dont have a real job. You should all be like ME and give up your job. Spare a dime and klick on my ads maybe?"
  • docjunkie, on 06/28/2008, -2/+2humans, follow your intuition
  • NihilistZealot, on 06/28/2008, -3/+1The article is a little long winded and abstract. I think reading some Nietzsche, and looking into nihilism has a more direct message about not following expected norms.
  • Silv3Ro, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1When we leave the city's chaos and spend some time in contact with nature, we feel relaxed, because we have escaped the artificial world we live in. The trees around us don't live to achieve goals, they live to live. Human beings, though, have the ability to think abstractly, and therefore need a reason to live, to exist... (some believe that it wasn't God that created us, but us that created God). Each one of us has their own "level".... on one hand, we can pitty those that can't be happy because they drive a BMW while their neighbour has a Ferrari, but on the other hand we can't live like trees....
  • flashback99, on 06/28/2008, -4/+14This young *****, i mean "unreal person" has never met a real homeless person, or experienced poverty first hand.

    I hate these pretentious arguments that try to lump people into categories, while ignoring these so-called real peoples individual motivations.

    I call this an "argument from comfort"

    This is dangerous and stupid thinking.
  • drgmdp, on 06/28/2008, -7/+1***** GURUS

    do whatever makes you feel good and don't follow this kind of losers
  • jbird32275, on 06/28/2008, -5/+2What this guy is talking about is being a *****-up. I did that for a while when I was 19. I dropped out of college and said "I'm just going to have some fun for a few years". That's what I did. I was drunk a lot, got arrested a few times, made some really good lifetime friends etc...
    Some days I regret doing it some days I wouldn't take back a minute. Fortunately, I went back to school, got married, have kids and a good job. A lot of ***** ups don't make it back. But maybe I'm better for acting like a loser for a few years, maybe not, who knows.
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -0/+5You have fallen victim to the most common brainwashing. The one where they tell you there are only 2 realities.

      Follow the plan or be a drunk bum.

      There is such a thing as a third option. In fact, there are dozens of other options.

      What they tell you is that there's just 2 ways to be:

      The plan:

      Get good grades, finish college, get a cubicle job, get a nice wife, make children, invest into retirements funds, retire, move to florida, die.

      The bum:

      Drink, have tons of anonymous sex, live in a box, hug trees, don't shower and sing hippie songs while talking about energies and touching crystals.

      That's NOT reality. Reality is a lot more varied than that. It's not about choosing between just those two.

      Ever heard of a freelancer? Or an enterpreneur? How about einstein, or ghandi, or mother theresa. You're not limited to those 2 choices.
      • jbird32275, on 06/28/2008, -1/+3No, I'm not a victim. I made a choice. I knew what I would get into.
        I did both of the "two choices" you put forth. I drank, had tons of anonymous sex but showered regularly. After I was done I figured I'd give responsibility a try. So, I went back to school, got good grades, finished college, became an entrepreneur, sold the business, got a corner office in a multi-billion multi-national company, got a nice wife, made children, invested into retirements funds.
        So you can see I've done both of your "choices" and some of your third. I was an entrepreneur, I do a little freelancing on the side. Admittedly I haven't tried being einstein, or ghandi, or mother theresa.
        You may not know as much as you think. I bet you think you think outside of the box and you know a better way and you're not going to conform. Quit reinventing the wheel. Relax, it's all been done.
        So before you judge and call me a victim. Go out and find out who you are. That's what I did.
      • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1You totally missed the point. You read it, but you didn't read it. I'm not telling you there are 2 options, i'm telling you that's what society would have you believe.

        They tell you "you either work the plan and the 9 to 5 or you are an irresponsible bum". They don't even let you know there a billion ways to be.

        Im telling you there are an *infinite* amount of directions or ways you can live. And you reply "well i lived both of them".

  • MrESaulved, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3That's funny, I always thought the World is what you make of it..
  • RoccoMcTaco, on 06/28/2008, -2/+4Seemed like masturbation to me. A diplomatic attempt at saying "If you work 9-5, are married and have kids, you're sheep" (even though he said he wasn't trying to say that, yet the term is "real" vs "unreal" person. I don't like that term.
    I grew up not wanting to be part of the rat race. Been mostly freelance/independent for over a year, getting gigs and working on a startup with someone who has their own company. Sometimes it's hard, and I still look for "real"work. I don't mind the 9-5. I like riding a crammed train in the morning seeing beautiful women. Here, in this city, blue collar/white collar; I don't think everyone "hates" their jobs; I'd say most it may be "meh", but it could be worse. At least it's a means to an end. I'd rather deal with some ho-hum than be stressed out about how I'm going to pay bills month to month. Work hard, play hard.
    Some people don't care about being defined by their job; there's more to life than that and I think that's cool, as long as you make yourself useful and get some ends. But to say that makes you "real" or not is *****. How about just calling it "working for yourself" or not? Swallow your pride.
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -0/+5I think the whole term "real" came out of sarcasm.

      Most freelancers have heard the term "why don't you get a real job/life" at some time from nine-to-fivers. I think this was just a sarcastic shout back to that.
  • gzusfreak, on 06/28/2008, -2/+6Okay, so, in order to stop being a "real" person and become an "unreal" person you give up your job, dont get married (to another "real" person and have "real" children), and live your life however you want?

    Great idea! Except for the part where you give up your job to do whatever you want (which most of the time NEVER works out) and live to be old and senile without someone at your side.

    I think if you ever consider doing this its because you are probably not satisfied at all with your life. So, rather than just throwing everything away, why not change up the routine? Get a job that you like to do (who cares if it pays less, at least you like to do it). Find someone that you absolutely enjoy spending time with. Take time to plan trips and take vacations so you can actually go through with these plans. Id much rather be a "real" person. I want to joys of being a real person. I want to happy and sad times. The completely horrible times. And the times where everything is just bliss. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and a will to keep living in a truly real world, not something made up to be the way I want it to be.
    • AlekNovi, on 06/28/2008, -3/+3"Great idea! Except for the part where you give up your job to do whatever you want (which most of the time NEVER works out) and live to be old and senile without someone at your side."

      Of course it never works out... when you don't try :D

      When was the last time you tried?
  • DetpackJump, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1I used the stepping stone method to get a 9-5 job that I really like. And I take long Christmas vacations.
  • cjstone, on 06/28/2008, -1/+11I've been unreal, and I've been real. Right now, I like being real.

    I think the worse thing about being "unreal" is how often you end up depending on the magnanimity of "real" people for your next check, or ride, or favor, or connection. It can get old for either side. No one is truly "independent".
  • mike23w, on 06/28/2008, -1/+4The author seems unhappy with his (past corporate) life and assumes everyone else must be unhappy too.

    I like my job, my friends and family, I can take a nap whenever I want. I'm happy.
    Why would I give this up?
  • beavismorpheus, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1When you tell someone to do something real, thats just a fancy way of saying do it my way. Nice neuro linguistic trick. Tell that girl to get a real man and put it in her butt.
  • sodade, on 06/28/2008, -0/+2I have a better way. Be just enough of a "real" person long enough to generate some carefully saved wealth. Long before retirement age, I will drop out of this lame corporate system. I won't be begging for your change either.
  • libkarl2, on 06/28/2008, -4/+2I'm kind of surprised by the amount of cubicle rats^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Diggers who reacted negatively to the article. Especially those who either took everything literally, or "read into" it.

    Right now I have a job that I am good at and covers the bills. If I ever have to choose between that and my sanity, I guess I'd rather be a sane bum than a mentally ill worker drone.
  • Septimus, on 06/28/2008, -3/+3Title should read how to be a jobless waster who contributes ***** all to society.
    • ragingflamerboy, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1Enjoy your office job and fat wife.
  • DKSprocket, on 06/28/2008, -3/+4Interesting how all the positive comments are getting buried and all the cynical comments are getting voted up. This says a lot either about the article or about digg. I know which one my money is on.
    • stonebear, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2There is suddenly a huge rush of shills and trolls posting inane nonsense, and friending like mad to build up influence on digg right now; it' really getting to big turnoff. I hate to see digg turn into Reddit, but I guess that's where the money is for Rose and Adelman. Ce' est la vie, I guess.
  • umbriago, on 06/28/2008, -0/+2Here's what I learned: even in non-conformity, there is conformity.

    (also, "whatever makes ya happy, man," something I totally agree with)
  • jkbowman, on 06/28/2008, -2/+5Best five minutes I've spent today.
  • akatherder, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1I've worked an 8-5 Monday-Friday job ever since I started my paid internship at 17. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have liked my jobs. I have flexibility in time and vacation. The work I have done has been meaningful. When it wasn't I moved on.

    Most importantly, taking this responsibility has allowed me to do the things I have always wanted to do. I have friends who started their own consulting "companies". They make half the money I do, and work is always... ALWAYS on their mind because it has to be for them to succeed. Everyone thinks they are going to be the next Google but they just bounce around between ignorant, pushy, demanding clients.

    I'll take a known evil any day if it allows me to be comfortable and enjoy life.
  • hiro, on 06/28/2008, -0/+6I kept waiting for him to get to his point, but he never did. Buried as lame teenage rambling
  • cbeach, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1You can complain about "The Corporation," but why prescribe your affected opinions on the rest of us?

    I, for one, love my 9-6 job, overall. Occasionally I dislike it, but I interact with some amazing people every day, in intense challenging situations. I have successes and failures and I'm becoming a better guy because of it. With the money I'm earning, I've paid off my debts and now have the potential to pack in my job and take 6+ months off to travel the world or implement a massive life change. But I don't want to. Not out of laziness, but because I am happy being a productive member of society in the function I've chosen. I chose my job. I worked hard to get there. Other people work to support me in my role. I make things to support people in their role. The society I have chosen is balanced and rewarding.

    I've read your opinion on how our career consumes our minds and denies us valuable time thinking about our own "perspective." Can I enquire what exactly you have found in your "perspective" that is so profound we all ought to quit our jobs as teachers, medics etc to experience it for ourselves? Can you give us some examples of these important thoughts that can only be acheived by quiting our humdrum day jobs?

    What exactly is your "unreal" alternative that you alude to? You've told me a lot about the life you assume I'm leading, but you've not really discussed any viable alternative. Tell me what your "unreal" life actually involves, and how it makes you a happier person.


  • fredfishwater, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0You get the impression the blogger believes that he has found the secret to life that everyone else hasn't figured out yet, that his perspective is somehow unique. It isn't. I'm sure many of us have been 'round that block before. I also think he's mis-interpreted the whole point of life. I don't believe the point is to run away form it. It's not to isolate yourself from it in your own little world. The point of life is to transcend it. To be in the world, and not necessarily OF the world. You don't like your cubicle life? Make something meaningful out of it. Write about it. Form a support group, embrace an external interest or distraction. Do SOMETHING. Dropping out of society and giving up on it all is just escapist.
    What if EVERYONE did what he's doing? How would a society like that work exactly?
  • Inox555, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0The "stepping stone" analogy reminds me of Alan Watts...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
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