experimenting with a frame, not sure if I’m entirely behind it but let’s see how it feels: i’ve come to believe, from years of experience and study, that you can use the public commons as a context for becoming more powerful, in almost every dimension you can think of
what is power? power is the ability to get what you want. it’s the ability to influence outcomes. becoming smarter, stronger, more sensitive. more courageous. better with people, better at getting things done, better at knowing things. becoming more dynamic, high-agency
not everyone likes this, and i accept that. i like to think i’m not some tedious bore who’s hyperfixated on power and nothing else. I think the point of power is really just to nourish and support people. it’s not to be hoarded jealously. it’s to be shared. carefully.
I also like to goof off and screw around etc because if you’re not having fun, what’s the point? but that’s not really what i want talk about
i want to talk about the fact that Uncle Ben is absolutely right: with great power comes great responsibility there is no avoiding this. every form of capital is a form of power. so for eg, if you’re hot, that makes you powerful, and with that power comes responsibility
you might not want it! some girls have that responsibility thrust upon them when they’re like, 13. suddenly they have people worshipping them for their attractiveness and they have no idea wtf to do with it. it’s hard. it’s literally like having superpowers you didnt ask for
with every form of “empowerment” comes an equivalent weight of responsibility, and I so rarely see anybody talk openly about this publicly, probably because it’s very easy for it to come across as bragging or whining. “oh it’s so difficult to be hot”. it actually is, though
one of my powers is i have the ability to see clearly through cultural fogs and convoluted issues. which means i can direct people’s thinking with my words. i’ve seen what irresponsible people do with that power. they typically sell it to the highest bidder. it’s grotesque
that’s also not what i wanna to be talking abt rn. I thinkI want to talk abt how funny it is that people pay lip service to empowerment without talking about the truth of what that really entails. people make shitty choices bc they dont want responsibility
most people pay lip service to a lot things. curiosity. optimism. honesty. they’ll say it’s good but they don’t really mean it, not past the threshold of the social norm. if you’re *radically* curious, optimistic, honest, and empowering, you become threatening to the status quo
and I don’t mean that like in some grand conspiratorial sense like you’re gonna run afoul of some shadowy government institution or whatever. I mean it in a v straightforward, local social sense. the status quo meaning your social reality. family. friends.
not only will many people want your approval if you’re Hot, many of them will also despise you for it, dehumanize you for it. this is true for all kinds of capital – it’s true also if you become rich, successful, etc.
ah, bingo. THIS is what I’m trying to talk about. that power is alienating, isolating. we’re supposed to accept that We Live In Society/Capitalism, but if you get really good at it, people will hate you for it. & how this fucked up state of affairs keeps things stuck as they are
it means that (mostly) only the most cold, clinical, sociopathic types walk the path and accumulate power, and then obviously they deploy that power towards their cold-hearted goals, and then we further reinforce this BS idea that power is heartless. it doesn’t have to be
when I was a child I promised myself that I would figure out how this fucking game works and what it takes to get what i want, 1. without compromising who i am, and 2. i promised to share everything i learn with the next kid like myself. so yea. i’m here to honor that promise
it would be game-theoretically easier for me to just not talk about this stuff and just enjoy the benefits of the relative position and trajectory i’ve carved out for myself, have a glass of wine about it and not give a fuck, but i do care. lol. that’s my curse. i’ve always cared
and you see HOW MUCH OF DISCOURSE IS BULLSHIT this is where I yell at fucken ALMOST EVERYONE SO MUCH of it is designed to keep people EXACTLY AS THEY ARE but it’s because most of yall dont want real power because you’re scared and that’s totally understandable
so my thing here, to be kind about it, is i have to smile and nod as I watch people BS each other 99% of the time, and keep an eye out for the 1%, 0.1% of other ppl like myself who also are willing to walk the path, become more powerful, influence outcomes for the better
i’ve done a pretty good job of it so far I would say! I have assembled a crew of people who are doing real shit! and i’m still in the early days of a process that I intend to continue for the rest of my life, and I expect each decade to be more productive than the last
tbh i think part of why i wrote this thread is basically i’ve been feeling internally tormented at not having said the quiet part out loud re: what I do. I am here to make people powerful, and not in the hallmark card sense. i’m very serious about this
i mean, i do say it from time to time, I think? but if I go too long without being clear and direct, the fog starts to set in in my own thinking. I typically talk about my books in oblique ways (to hopefully deter bad actors), but they are really Paths to Power, both of them
and i guess i also wanna just clarify (mainly for myself?) that one of the tensions i experience on the timeline is between people who are serious about becoming more powerful/responsible and people who are just talking shit
those of u who have dreams, be sure to protect them. don’t give up on your dreams. review them regularly. it’s not over until you make that dream a reality. then dream bigger dreams and help the next kid. i am here primarily to encourage the people who are steadfast about this
i spent many years trying to help ppl who aren’t sure if they’re serious about their dreams or not, and i feel for them, but i think i’m sort of graduating from that to increasingly prioritizing the people who are sure. those ppl end up helping more ppl in turn
yea that’s about it for this thread, cheers n thx
maybe a clarification to say: i dont think poorly of ppl who dont reall have any big dreams or ambitions or whatever. congrats on not being cursed!! 😂 enjoy yourself! do whatever! im happy for u! but i wont pretend i’m not who i am, to make u feel better