My 10 Rules of Life in Our Changing World

Topics

1. Question everything in the modern world
2. Pursue a life of meaning and purpose
3. Lifelong learning and curiosity
4. Strength training and long walks
5. Small groups of friends that you’re close to.
6. Break your comfort zone. Regularly
7. Read for at least 1 to 2 hours every day to succeed
8. Build habits – more powerful than willpower to discipline
9. Learn to question your mind.
10. Learn about economics, wealth and money.
11. Bonus – Coming threats to our way of life.

Time to wake up and create a compelling future

Yes, I have passed the half-century mark of my life, filled with success beyond my youthful dreams and laced with mischief beyond all sensibility. So, I can say that I am pretty qualified to talk about these rules because the older I get and the more I learn, the more I realise that I know fuck all about what’s going on out there. However, despite that realisation, my mission is to never stop exploring and learning by moving forward, being adaptable and most importantly, being as resilient as a cockroach after a nuclear war.

These are my ten rules (or opinions) for living in the most interesting time in our human history. As a student of history, it’s clear that it has never been easier to learn and gain knowledge for oneself. Also, never has it been easier to be paralysed by the sheer amount of opportunity and information that comes into our lives every minute. Sadly, though, it has also never been easier to become fat and lazy on your couch of opulence, with all the overnight deliveries and instant gratification at your fingertips. We have become bloated Simpsons cartoon characters now who bow down to kiss the feet of the technology god.

Now, it is easier than ever to thrive out there despite the doom and gloom on our screens, but it’s also easy to stagnate into a husk of a human being, all bitter, twisted and alone. There are many ways to prevent this from happening to you, and I hope you take away at least one or two key points from this article that prompt you to think. As a prolific reader, I’ve compiled a list of books (at the end) that have helped me tremendously in making sense of my world and taught me how to achieve my goals, including travelling, photography, beer-chasing, trading, nature-loving, and pursuing a writing and coaching life. I’ve sorted the list of books by the powerful influence they had on me, particularly, but you can read them in any order, really. I promise they will expand your mind.

No.1 Question everything in the modern world

Maybe the Matrix movie series was right in its premise. We are all asleep with our minds jacked into some kind of simulation or computer game. Whatever it is, we’re seeing the end of our system that has been designed to keep the population in check and focused on the same ‘unified’ goals. We know this because the lies and control that the elite and political classes are trying to impose on us are getting more frenetic. Increasingly, people are waking up and asking probing questions and long may that continue.

Mainstream Media (MSM) lies all the time. These are the most self-serving bastards of all. MSM is now only good for sports results and the bottom of bird cages. Occasionally, you may find a truly unbiased journalist, which is as rare as a unicorn. So, find their X account, YouTube channel, or something similar, follow them, and follow the people they follow.

Become a pathological contrarian. By definition, a contrarian is a person who questions all popular opinion and consensus. It certainly helped me see through many lies, scams, and bogus political promises that most people fall for, and sadly, still continue to believe. Everyone who now publishes online has some kind of agenda. Yup, even me – I want to grow a following of people who are waking up to all the lies, and who will buy what I am selling to sponsor my beer fund.

Politicians have long been using Mainstream Media to promote policy and ideologies, meaning that the MSM are totally aligned with their ideological beliefs and dug in as tightly as a tick on a buffalo’s arse. You’ve all heard the saying – “Repeat a lie often enough, and it becomes the truth”, or the Illusory Truth Effect as it is known. Develop a healthy dose of scepticism, even for those on the same side of the argument as you.

Social Media companies have evolved from being friend networks to vampiric platforms geared for advertising and control by algorithms overseen by behavioural psychologists. You don’t, and never will, stand a chance of breaking their hold on you, the algorithms that is, not psychologists, unless you learn how they are manipulating you.

Echo chambers have been formed based on your online habits, then used against you to herd and corral you wherever they want you to go, and to show you what they need you to see, keeping you swiping and clicking on mindless junk. Except for Mini Schnauzer videos – you can never watch enough of those.

Online tribalism. We (society) are being divided into online tribes (thanks to echo chambers), based on whatever product, trend, service or ideology is the next special soup of the day, whether that be a new iPhone, ChatGPT, or cultural Marxist ideology.

Ignorant people are easy to condition and herd around the place (from crisis to crisis). People who’ve been conditioned their whole lives to trust the word of institutions and paid ‘experts’ via articles, videos, and posts about whatever perceived crisis is at the top of the list. Step aside from the ignorant masses with their mass hysteria whenever something jerks them out of their sugar-induced stupor. Walk your own path of education and knowledge. I know walking that path alone will be scary, but that is where the real freedom is.

"See the wider picture of what our world has become - resilience Life coaching"

No.2 Pursue a life of meaning and purpose

There is nothing more important to a human than having a purpose. It may change as you grow through your life, but you will need to check in on it on a regular basis to make sure it is forward-focused. This is part of growing through your life.

Find your why. Start with your values (integrity, compassion, generosity, courage, respect, etc.), then make a list of what makes you smile and laugh. Figure out what makes you excited to get up in the morning and make this your why for now. Find a purpose to get up that is not solely related to a ‘job’ or ‘work’. AI is going to eliminate much of what we used to consider as lifetime careers, specialisations, or providers of everyday purpose. We need to explore alternative meanings that we can incorporate into our futures.

Practice Gratitude. Every morning, take a moment to be grateful for waking up. So many people, of all ages, didn’t make it through the night. You did, so be thankful. I have five short gratitude affirmations I recite every morning, the minute my feet touch the floor.

Mindfulness. Mark out time in your day to quieten your mind. Don’t be one of those losers who say, “I don’t have time,” or “I can’t find the time.” Make the damn time. We make time for all sorts of meaningless things like scrolling through meaningless memes and following dancing TikTok loons. Learn to meditate and understand breathwork to help with the stresses and anxieties of your life.

Find your purpose. No, this is not some corporate retreat nonsense with you having to come up with a list of [insert fancy mind-numbingly boring corporate mantras here]. These are your horizon goals. Your mission in life. Those magical things, way off down the line, maybe 20 years from now, that get you excited and lift your eyes from the drudgery of today’s crap to help give you direction. When you’re knee-deep in everyday self-imposed tasks and struggling to see a way out of it, the purpose of your life (future self) can lift your gaze to make sure you are still on the right path to that happy place you’ve chosen for yourself.

Relationships and community. We are social animals and need offline connections. You won’t find solid relationships or a sense of real community when you spend all your time scrolling online or playing online games. Discover real-world communities that align with your interests. If they don’t exist, team up with some friends and create them.

Be a multi-purpose human. The days of a linear life from cradle to grave are gone. The single career, or hyper-specialised path, is a thing of the past. Regardless of your age, you need to develop several skills that can generate revenue for you. AI and a decaying GDP economic model mean that the definition of purpose and work will alter in the very near future. That is no longer up for debate, however, we are now just arguing about the timeline.

I would rather be a year or two too early than a single day too late. For example, right now I’m still selling my photographs on agency sites. I’m selling my novels and non-fiction books. Also, still day trading that I taught myself during Covid. I’m making money from coaching men, and I’m looking into doing a diploma to be an electrician in the next few years. Being multi-purpose across very different things means earning income from different areas, but more critically, it involves a variety of skills that build overall resilience.

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