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Good Sunday Afternoon, Fellow FDR Comrades for Anarcho-Capitalism, Peaceful Parenting, Rationality, and Stefan Molyneux Please Notice Me Senpai! Since I've noticed a few other listeners/forum-ers have posted similar topics about how helpful FDR and Stefan-senpai has been, I decided it was high time I shared my experience (from after graduating high school) and how Stefpai was instrumental in my success. During the Summer and Autumn of 2016, I had greatly pondered whether or not to go to college. You see, I want to be a novelist. That means writing books and convincing someone I'm worth his time and my product is worth selling. What does college have to do with that? "Maybe the piece of paper would magically grant me opportunities"... Or so I thought, until I watched what Stefpai had to say to similar ex-kids my age. I decided I'd be wasting time and money (and I mean lots of time and money!) if I decided to get a "Liberal" Arts Degree and risking my sanity if I purposely put myself in an environment where everyone (or at least the majority) think in ways I am diametrically opposed and probably even want me dead for the crime of being a heterosexual White male with Rightist politics. And so from late December to mid January, I followed Stefpai's wisdom of actually entering the Free(ish) Market I claimed to uphold and defend and also beat the temptation of living my youth as a welfare parasite. In six weeks, along a schedule like this: Mondays; Talk to employers/manager's on the phone I've met or yet to meet; Wednesdays; Spend from noon to 6:00 pm knocking on every store from mom-and-pop's to smoking dens (cough cough) and Target to find a job (or at least seduce the employer into expediting my hiring). Thursdays; Review with my therapist (which I got on the advice of the Stefpai) what I was doing and how I'm doing it; Saturdays; Plan out what I'd be doing the following week. Eventually, after being to literally 90-something shops (with some repeats where I felt a little more time and persistence could get me a job) my resume was finally reciprocated by a young and wise Pakistani business owner who wanted someone to train and teach as a protege so he could expand his already successful enterprise. What was this enterprise? I had no idea. I forgot I even I submitted my resume to him. However, the morning after the call I followed Stefpai's business mindset of remembering it was the customer whose weight sustains the business, and respecting the role of my future (and now current) employer whose own energies had turned a dusty and empty space into a workshop full of technical gadgets I couldn't even begin to name. I knew nothing of technology (beyond vidya games) or how to repair them (I never break them), let alone how to do web designing, security, or finances. And yet, the man hired me. I knew he would too. When asked the loaded questions of "what would you do in X scenario" I gave answers that both my employer and his financial partner liked, which seemed to greatly compensate for my non-existent work history or experience in tech. And by God was this an opportunity; I went, nearly overnight, from parasite to workingman. However, this was just the beginning. I spent the last few weeks in training (unpaid but free, 30 hours a week) and now with only one week left I'm confidant in saying I now know what an LCD is and how to unscrew the multitude of tiny screws on iPhone 6S + Gorilla Voodoo Machine and finally secure not just my first job but something that could lead to a pretty stable and financially secure groove from which I can devote myself to my true career as a novelist. And so, with the security of employment and the persistence that promises Victory, this young bachelor's story begins. Now I just have to put in the work and learn what I can, seeing how far I can go while doing what I love (writing) so that once that's done I can start again the process of persistence and tenacity (redundant emphasis, I know) to actually sell what I've spent 6 years working on since I was 12. That was my FDR helping IRL for business and careers story, what about YOU?

ye, I can relate I was on welfare for pretty much all my adult life. Hate work, hated the idea of work, hated the people that wanted me to work. Work was simply being exploited by someone, doing something you didnt want to do, every day, for most of your life, until you died. It seemed crazy to me that, just in order to have a house and food, you had to spend 8 hours of your day doing dull and pointless tasks. I had multiple failed degree attempts behind me, years of depression. When I found FDR, I went into therapy. Listened to hundreds of podcasts and call in shows. Gradually learned that work didnt have to be like that. It could be a mutual exchange of value. You could bring value to a company, and they could reward you for it. A chance came up for a data analyst ( not exactly something I was interested in, but it was working in IT and with computers, so it was somewhat appealing), the interviewer seemed interested in the skills I could offer, and I think I actually gave an ok interview, but in the end, I didnt get the job. The job came up again a few months later, I applied again, and somehow ended up with the job. While the job was initially as a data analyst ( a glorified data entry and data checking job), I showed that I could be useful in automating tasks and using my programming skills to develop software for use in data analysis. So I am now pretty much a full time software developer, and enjoying it. I was really lucky to find, in pretty much my first job, a boss that could recognise that I had something to offer, and to take a chance on it. And if it was a job washing dishes, I would probably still think the same about work in general. But it can happen that even without any previous work experience, if you go in with the idea of giving value, and not be scared to try things out, to put forward ideas, and to work outside what you were taken on for, that you can be surprised.

I am not even sure why I am posting this here. It's not really a subject that is popular, but I just need to get this off my back. For the past decade I have been vegan. For me it was partly for my health and also what I considered ethical reasons. I have always known vegans are going to be seen as weirdos and somewhat annoying by mainstream but I was always fine with that. I also accepted that my lifestyle would be rejected by my conservative friends. It wasn't easy to walk the walk for my beliefs, but I found a way to make peace with it. Also it didn't turn out to be quite as unpleasant an experience as I thought initially going in. Most of the time people were baffled by my eccentric diet. Some even laughed at me, but one way or another most outsiders were at the very least accepting. As long as I didn't push it on them they were fine. What I found surprising was, people around me including my conservative friends were kind to me, and even changed a few of their own habits only because they saw the benefits I was getting. I was glad for them not because they were fulfilling my ideal fantasy but because they were enjoying the same positive benefits. But then over the past few years, maybe the last five years, something changed. Veganism became really popular with the mainstream left. I was never a preachy vegan because I believe strongly in self expression rather than group conformity. But over the last 5 years as I can tell veganism has lost something essential. It's been hijacked, and has become associated with an entire dogma. I don't know if Veganism may not be accepted by everyone, and I was totally fine with that. Now I am seeing this diet being pushed as the Utopian diet. The bastards on the left have taken something. They have stolen what was a free enterprise, lone individuals had worked hard to build bridges only to have their efforts co-opted by Marxists. I can't tell you how frustrating that is. I am not sure how many people here would even understand where I am coming from but the closest analogy I can think of is like seeing the thing you cared most about stolen from you piece by piece. It's hard to explain how the message you believed in was exploited. I am not sure why I am even posting this. I guess I just didn't really know why I have become so put-off by veganism these days. So I have decided to walk away from the vegan movement entirely. I want nothing to do with their message anymore, because it's being used to serve evil. I will still continue the diet, but that's about it. And I say to everyone here. Eat what you want. I care about animals but I care more about your freedom. Because if other humans are enslaved as a result of helping animals than I am not being consistent with my beliefs. I hope I am making sense.

This made me smile http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/populist-personalities-the-big-five-personality-traits-and-party-choice-in-the-2015-uk-general-election/ I wonder what the implications are.

The ability to, at any given moment, manifest several potentialities within the context of what is possible (universals) through one's actions. A crude example: You're going to eat dinner at a Seafood restaurant (universal) but you can tell the waiter (manifestation) that you want cod or haddock or scallops or some combination (potentialities.) In this context, Free Will is the ability to choose between what seafood you'll have even though it is determined that you will eat seafood.

If you're interested in philosophy you should be reading the 'Great Books', or the 'Western Canon'. These books are described as 'the great conversation'. The Idea is since Homer there has been a continuous philosophical discussion down the generations. Each book in the Western canon keeps this conversation going, and it comments on the previous books. There are many different lists of what is in the Western Canon. Some lists put more emphasis philosophy written in theory form, some lists put more emphasis on philosophy written in novel form. This link below is to a set of 500 books which are the most important philosophy books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World Some of the books are more interesting and more important than others. Some are really easy to read, some are quite dry and hard to read. Some I disagree with so much that it fills me with fury. Some of these books are so damn good that I'd prefer to be in their company than anyone else. But every book is rewarding because you understand the world in a new way, you can see how different people think, and you can see where all of our political differences stem from. If you prefer to read fiction then Harvard Classics have a similar set which you should be able to pick up quite cheap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics In the old days when only the elite went to university, in the days when a higher education meant a general education rather than a specialised vocational education, this is what they studied. The goal of many people is to read all of these books in 10 years. I've been complimenting my reading with audio books so I can get through books while I'm driving or walking the dog. A lot of these audio books are up on Audible and Naxos Spoken Word Library.

Yes, but lucky for me I really enjoy my own company.