Mike Cernovich

Like most everyone else, rich people are unhappy. This observation leads many to conclude that money does not buy happiness, although they are only partially right. Money by itself does not buy happiness, but an optimized lifestyle (which costs money) can make you happy.

The problem with money is the habits we acquire while making it. When you have no money, you’ll do anything to make it. You’ll work double or triple shifts. You’ll avoid vacations. You’ll work a job that sucks.

Even if you acquire money, you’ll live those same habits. But having money is a classic case of, “What got you here won’t get you there.” What got you money won’t bring you to happiness.

As an example, a reader writers in:

Your podcast is AMAZING! I have listened to every single episode. Question: I am worth 1 million dollars. I am also in business with someone who does not share my values and who is likely going to cheat me. Do you remain in business with this person knowing you’ll be able to make more money?

That’s a great problem to have and many without money would say, “Must be nice.” Others will say that you need 10 million to be “rich.”

Regardless, I’ve known rich men who committed suicide, gone on drug binges, and lost their minds. We all have the same human problems.

Most of these are mindset problems regardless shame, guilt, feelings of self-worth, and a quest for meaning.

Money has a cost. I ask myself these two questions:

• Is making more money worth the cost of watching my back wondering if a business partner is cheating me?
• Is making more money worth the cost of doing something I don’t like?

Working with unethical and sleazy people will take a toll on your mindset. You’ll be devoting energy fighting off bad vibes rather than creating good vibes. You’ll be running defense rather than offense.

Money is a question of values.

What do you value most in life?

I value time freedom and peace of mind. I disdain acrimony in my personal and professional life. If you’re unethical or even a pain in the ass, I won’t work with you.

And I won’t work with a person on a per-project basis. If there’s a bad vibe, it’ll annoy me and only get worse. Business partners are long-term only.

If you can't see yourself working with someone for life, don't work with them for a day.

— Naval (@naval) September 16, 2014

But if someone is a pain in the ass or if I don’t trust him or her fully, what’s that going to do with my mindset?

My focus will be shifted to protecting myself from a thief and meditating in order to purge myself of their spiritual toxins.

What if I focused on using my mental powers and mindset exercise to visualize my dreams and play offense rather than defend myself from toxic people?

My approach has worked for me, because I have an alignment between my personal values and business.

Making more money would make me sick. I’d be one of those rich guys who hates his life.

As it is, my life is a dream. It’s better than I could have imagined it.

The long story short.

When you NEED the money, do what you gotta do. In fact you’ll have to deal with a lot of drama and negative people in order to start making money, because people without money lack options.

Meditate, relax, and apply Gorilla Mindset to push through those bad times.

When you have financial freedom, stop making choices based around money.

The entire reason to make money is to have the freedom to design a no-compromise lifestyle based on your values.

When you can live a life without compromises or regrets, you’ll approach happiness. If you compromise your values, you’ll be miserable and likely have a psychological breakdown.

Living life on your terms if an offensive game.

Living life on your terms means setting the agenda. Only work with people you want to work with. Only talk to people you want to talk with.

You no longer need to explain yourself to people. If someone bores you, move on. If someone annoys you, why waste your time?

Remember that life is about focus and energy.

Where are you focusing your vision and how are you applying your energy?

Are you focusing your vision on negative people and then using your energy to fight off bad vibes and toxic emotions?

How much more energy would you have if you weren’t always recovering from negative experiences?

Imagine if you focused your vision on positive people and productive habits. You’ll have more energy to get your work done.

Finding more energy is often a matter of focus. If you have to hype yourself up to talk to someone or do something, there’s a misalignment in values.

When you change your focus, more energy will follow.

The devil is in the details, of course, which is why I wrote Gorilla Mindset. You can change every aspect of your life here.

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A spike of adrenaline hits, jolting me away, “This car is about to smash into you.”

The car wasn’t about to smash into me. It only appeared that way as I was driving on the “wrong side of the road,” which mean the correct side of the road in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rules from society control your emotional response to life.

In the United States, we drive on the right-hand side of the road. When we turn left, we move into oncoming traffic. When you turn right, we move with traffic.

In South Africa, drivers drive on the left hand side of the road. The driver’s side is also on the passenger’s side of the car, and you must shift gears using your left hand.

These seem like banal differences, and they are.

What struck me is how often I’d FEEL that I was doing something wrong.

Traffic rules are social constructs, and as long as everyone follows the same rules, there aren’t any problems.

There’s nothing inherently right or wrong about the side of the road you drive in. My experiences as a driver in the U.S. had conditioned my feelings.

When driving I’d feel something was wrong, and my parasympathetic nervous system would kick in to warn me that what I was doing was wrong.

I was doing something wrong. I was breaking the rules. I had to go against my entire understanding of how the world worked in order to drive a car.

Why do you feel the way you do? Because of rules others created.

Why do I write about shame and status often?

Shame is a feeling. When we are ashamed we blush, our heart rate quickens, we feel a spike of adrenaline, our mouths dry out, and we feel stressed. Our posture even changes, becoming more closed off.

Shame tells us we are doing something wrong. Shame stops us from living life on our terms.

Shame occurs when you’ve broken the rules.

Where did those rules come from?

Do we live under rules are arbitrary as the lane of traffic we drive in?

Why are you ashamed of doing something wrong?

We feel shame when breaking the rules. What and who are the source of those rules? What is the purpose of those rules?

Did you, after meditating in a cave, create the rules that govern your life? Or did you simply follow rules others created?

Think about the rules of the modern man. Think about the life plan The Simulation has created.

Why do those rules exist other than to enslave you?

Why should you follow them?

You can reprogram how you feel with the power of your mind.

You should feel shame daily, at least at first. When you feel pain, you are being attacked by the global hive mind.

Feelings of shame are feedback from The Simulation. Shame is an indication that you’ve done something wrong.

Maybe what did was wrong, or maybe you’ve violated a norm as arbitrary as traffic laws.

What are you ashamed of?

You don’t have to tell me, although you can post a comment.

But you need to ask yourself what you are ashamed of. Are you ashamed to be caught doing something? If so, why?

Do you feel nervous or anxious before taking action? If so, there’s a reason for that.

You feel shame because you’re about to break a rule that someone else created.

Maybe you want to follow those rules.

Or maybe not.

People tell me every day they hate me and they share their feelings in an effort to shame me.

It doesn’t work, as I understand that those who attack me are foot soldiers for an evil Simulation – one that seeks to make us hate one another.

Today I feel no shame.

It took me years to get over feeling ashamed. I felt shame for a lot of reasons.

• As a kid I was ashamed of my home, as there were holes in the carpet.
• I was ashamed of being fat.
• I was afraid people wouldn’t like my writing and would call me stupid or evil.
• I was afraid friends would abandon me for throwing out controversial ideas for discussion.
• I was afraid to launch Gorilla Mindset, as no one would buy it. (Rejection = shame.)

What is is like to be shameless?

I’ll give you the cons first.

You will be full of doubt. Rules bring certainty. We all know them. How do you know if the rules you’re writing for yourself will work? Get used to asking yourself that question every night before bed. For years.

You’ll feel out of balance. Rules offer quiet comfort. If you fail at life, you can always say, “I followed the rules. The system is a scam. It’s not my fault!”

The shameless man knows his success or failure is entirely on him. Your rules means your results are your responsibility. You cannot blame anyone.

As you begin to follow your own rules, your fellow slaves will revolt. You must get used to being criticized and attacked – even and perhaps especially by your “friends” and those who “love you.”

You’ll have to cut ties with “friends” and family, as they will try brining you down to their level – the level of a common slave who is unwilling to live life on his terms.

The cons are many, and it’d be dishonest to discount them. You will be lonely at first, as few will understand you. You will be attacked and you may be fired from a job. Your wife might divorce you as she wants you staying home watching TV with her rather than have you out enjoying life.

What are the pros of being shameless?

Imagine unlimited freedom.

Feeling inspired every day, as political correctness doesn’t limit your thinking.

Imagine limitless potential while feeling great about yourself from the moment you wake up until you’re exhausted from a long day of an amazing life.

It takes years to develop a mindset of shamelessness.

Get started today.

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