Mindset

“Are you Mike Cernovich?!” Why yes, I am. And now I’m here to talk with you about fame.

You will never have a deep emotional connection with another person (with some exceptions).

When you’re famous, your secrets have currency. “Friends” will leak to the media for a quid-pro-quo or out of a Girardian / mimetic desire to hurt you.

(Rene Girard in a sentence: People don’t know what they want, so they’ll try destroying you to take what you have.)

Why do you think famous people only hang out with other famous people? If everyone in the room is famous, then everyone has a shared interest in secrecy.

But famous people rarely go deep even with other famous people, because you never know what might leave the room.

Human connection is the sine qua non of the human experience. When you lose the ability to connect through shared stories and mutual vulnerability, you lose what it means to be human. This is also why famous people often have breakdowns, failed relationships, and sometimes vanish to the wilderness.

Your biggest fans will become your biggest haters. 

The people you get to know today will feel betrayed tomorrow if you stop giving them adequate attention. It’s simply not human nature to say, “I got to know that person for a while, and then we all moved on. Good times!”

People will become emotionally attached to an idealized vision of you, and if you don’t answer their emails quickly enough, they’ll start to say, You’re too good for me now, huh?

One young man I spent hours helping years ago and helped avoid suicide still stalks me because he felt betrayed when I stopped answering his emails. (Hey, I saved the guy’s life. I don’t need to swap stories all day every day about nonsense.)

I thought it was nice to answer emails, but the replies kept coming, and how can I keep up? People take your inattention personally. Everyone thinks they are the center of the universe, and how dare you not drop everything you are doing to listen to their bullshit.

(I’m going to be a bunch of emails and texts from people asking if the above paragraphs are about them. That is how self-absorbed people are. They can’t read an article, empathize with me, and instead will make it about themselves.)

Your fans will think they own you.

Do you know what it’s like to have a job where a boss is always telling you what to do? Multiply that by millions, and you’ll understand what it’s like being famous. Everyone will tell you what you should be doing with your life, and they believe they have the right to order you around.

 

You won’t make as much money as you think.

Outside of A-list superstardom, fame converts poorly to dollars. To make money online, you want to build a niche.

Everyone loves to “mock” Gorilla Mindset, but it’s my seminars and coaching and consulting that keep the lights on.

In fact, I would make more money if I quit doing journalism and media stuff today. (Which, yes, leads one to ask what the f-ck I am doing with my time.)

People will set you up in honey pot operations.

If you’re a famous man, you think there must be some “perks” to fame. Remember that people who are attracted to you for your fame aren’t honorable people. Maybe someone is trying to frame you, or trap you, or is simply insane. Look at how many men are losing their livelihoods based on the flimsiest allegations. Ryan Lizza went from top dog at the New Yorker to nothing, based on stuff his ex-girlfriend said, which had nothing to do with his employment.

You can’t talk about being famous, because that’s a humblebrag and douchey.

No one will tell you the severe burdens of fame, because they are afraid of being attacked. Oh, you think you’re important now?!

The need to destroy is the animating force of humanity.

You can’t tell jokes. Your words will be taken literally. They will be taken out of context. Your satire will be treated as sincere.

Tomi Lahren joked that her dog was being noisy, and she “kicked” her five times. She told this on her Instagram, and as we all know, she adores that dog.

And you wouldn’t actually kick a dog on live TV, as the dog would yelp. (Someone is going to ask how would I know this, it must be because I kicked a dog!)

However that one joke got her called all sorts of names, and even PETA went after her.

You can’t make mistakes, as social media hate mobs will stalk you forever.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen used to share his insights freely with the world. Then one day he said something inaccurate, and sort of stupid. Rather than have people say, “Welcome to being human,” the mob scalped him. Now he lays low, which he should.

Four young Jewish women were no-platformed because their mom is controversial speaker and writer Pamela Geller.

For the rest of their lives, these Jewish women will have people who monitor their every move. When they book a venue, stalkers will start calling in death threats. And that’s not even because of what they said, this viciousness is because of whom their mom is!

I tell all of my famous friends to stay off social media. Don’t post anything except maybe inspirational quotes or links to your events.

The upside benefit is low, and the downside risk is your livelihood.

Fame re-wires your brain, and you’ll forever be “chasing the dragon.”

Because I never wanted fame, it hasn’t affected me. Friends and I joke about how silly it is, and people who meet me all say, “You don’t act like you’re famous!’

This is because fame didn’t hit me until a few years ago. My brain was fully developed. And since I never wanted fame, it’s “Meh” to me.

If you get famous when you’re younger, it’ll re-wire your brain. You’ll become addicted to fame. You’ll obsess over your image, Google and Twitter name search yourself obsessively, and it will feel like weeks of agony if people aren’t talking about you for a day.

Fame will become a drug, and like any junkie, you’ll do anything to chase the dragon of a high. This will lead to short-term impulsive decisions that will harm you for the rest of your life.

People will get angry at you for making a living.

I started a new company to help people develop an edge in life.

And you know what happened.

The same thing that happened when I wrote a book. People got angry, and let me know I was selling out.

HOW DARE YOU SELL ANYTHING?!

The reason people can read for free is because others buy books, attend seminars, and try out Gorilla Mind.

Rather than be grateful, most people get resentful.

Yes, most people get angry. At me. Someone who provides value for people, for free, simply for offering products and books that others may voluntarily buy.

Thankfully I tell those most people how I feel, which is that they need to Get The Eff Off My Website.

And thank you to the generous many who support me.

 

Why I Made Myself Famous

As a shy introvert, I remained anonymous for years. I then read a book by Frank Kern, and in this book, he explained that in America, people only respect you if you’re a celebrity.

Fame is influence, and America is heading in the wrong direction. In the UK, people go to prison for jokes. Germany is a police state. Pedophile gangs are allowed to roam freely. What will happen to America if I do nothing?

I made myself famous because that was the most effective way for me to serve my country in the current times.

The downsides are considerable.

But yesterday I was walking in Old Town San Diego and saw a great young man with his girlfriend. We had a nice chat, and these are common.

My “fan base” (I hate using that word) includes the best people this country and world have to offer. People everywhere smile and thank me.

Knowing great people love me, and that together we are making the world a better place, offsets the considerable downsides of my fame.

And I view my role as a Founding Father (or Mother). They risked their lives for freedom. I am fighting and risking my life for a cause greater than myself, and the downsides of fame are simply a cost of being a patriot.

Unless you want your life to be upended, do not seek fame.

And if you do become famous, know the risks.

 

P.S. If you like my writing, you’ll love Gorilla Mindset, and the Gorilla Mind line of products.

Since I was 19 or 20, I started taking nootropics, or what losers call “brain pills.” I’ve always wanted an edge in life, and always pushed my body and mind beyond real or perceived limits.

This is why everyone in Los Angeles says they will write a book and make a film, and never do. Where as I:

• Wrote and published a book that sold over 80,000 copies (and is still selling well) and won awards.
• Produced a film on free speech, and am in post-production on a second feature-length film.
• Broke some of the biggest stories of the year, including the John Conyers story.
• Became recognized worldwide, from nothing, no network, no big donors, just sheer force of will.
• Made some huge mistakes, got my butt kicked badly in life, and got up and kept moving.

I also manage to have a family life, cover breaking news in an entertaining way, face off the most aggressive journalists in the game and….You get the point.

Now ask what the haters have done…

Ask yourself what people who hate on “brain pills” get done.

I’ve tried nearly every nootropic formulation, and 4 years ago began working on my own formulation. Each batch had problems, and we never could nail down the right combination of ingredients. I shelved the idea of having my own product, moved to Vietnam with my wife, and wrote Gorilla Mindset.

Yet the nootropic idea lingered. It was an unsolved challenge in my life, and once we returned to the U.S., I began working on a product line in earnest.

Around a year ago, my business partner and I nailed it. The formulation was on. It was better than anything I had ever taken. We ordered samples, lab tested them (the results were outstanding), and then ordered our first batch of 10,000 bottles.

I was excited not only because this was a product I believed in, but because also this was a new business.

We were excited for launch, and then something horrible happened. The company we ordered from started giving us problems (to put it mildly). We had to find a new company.

But that’s neither here nor there, as far as YOU are concerned.

New readers might not know this, but I’ve been around for 15 years, writing in various forms. Credibility is everything. As Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

A lot of people hate me for various jokes and satirical articles and even for my sincere views about world affairs, but you’ll notice that no one has ever accused me of not being honest.

I let you know right away that I am marketing to you.

There isn’t any fine print. (Also, “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”)

I always resented having people be sneaky about selling me a product, or people are vague.

If you have a great product, don’t play games, don’t hide, man up or woman up and make your pitch.

I WANT you and everyone you know to buy and read Gorilla Mindset. Buy extra copies to donate to schools and libraries. I am shameless about this, because it’s a great book. (And I assume, if you like what you read, you want me to be able to keep working and providing you value.)

Gorilla Mindset has over 2,000 ratings in reviews across Audible and Amazon. I’m proud of Gorilla Mindset, which again, doesn’t matter to YOU.

(One tip for those of you who sell products. Don’t tell people how excited you are. Make the sale about the buyer. What excites them? Or, do as I say, not as I do…)

If you don’t want me to earn a living as a writer, then you’re a toxic person, and I don’t want you reading me. That doesn’t mean everyone who reads me has to every buy anything, and in fact, no one should ever feel obligated to ever buy anything. But if you begrudge someone for working and making a living, you’re simply not the kind of person I want around me.

Imagine I went to your place of work and said, “What kind of LOSER is trying to get paid for working?!” That’s exactly what it sounds like when someone gets upset about me saying, “Here’s what I’m selling, and want you to buy.”

Gorilla Mind is an incredible product, and there are two formulations – Rush and Smooth.

Rush is what I would have taken during my “bro years.” It’s an intense experience. At my current stage in life, it’s “too powerful” for me.

Smooth offers intense focus with zero jitters.

The biggest difference between Rush and Smooth is that Smooth contains theacrine, which has caffeine like effects without the caffeine jitters.

The preference for Rush and Smooth is individual. Some people love rush, others don’t. I have taken both, and prefer Smooth.

How I personally use Gorilla Mind Smooth.

I wake up and do my morning routine.

Then I take 3 capsules with a large iced coffee. (I don’t eat breakfast, and my first meal is around 1 or 2 p.m.)

On days off, that’s it. On days when I go to the gym, I take another 3 capsules 30-60 minutes before lifting.

I only sell products I personally use.

If you’ve been around for years, you’ve seen me recommend a ton of products that work, even though no one has sponsored those recommendations.

We will be expanding the Gorilla Mind line of products.

We also recently launched Gorilla Dream, which is a phenomenal sleep aid.

 

These products are among the best on the market.

They are what I personally use, and while most of my friends and family aren’t “nootropic people,” they’ve all been thrilled with Gorilla Dream.

Not everyone wants to be as focused and intense as I am (sometimes even I wish to be less intense), but everyone needs a good night’s sleep.

Check out our products.

Or don’t.

The choice is entirely up to you.

• Go to the Gorilla Mind store today.

“You’re going to to be given a trespassing ticket,” the security officer told me, so I answered, “I’m not leaving. Call the police.”

Why did a woman put her dog in an overhead bin on a United flight? Because she was told to. She complied. We live in a police state. Do what you are told. Even ostensible acts of rebellion, like a school walk-out, are mandated by school administrators. Teachers force students to be used as political props. We call this “the resistance.”

Back to telling some thieves to call the police on me…

I was at a world-famous resort with my wife and sister. My wife purchased a beer from a beer tent, and I grabbed a glass of red Zinfandel for myself and my sister. We were sitting around when two security agents came over, demanding to see my wife and sister’s identifications.

My sister showed hers, and that satisfied them. My wife showed them her Global Entry card, which according to the security officer was an “invalid” ID. He then said we would have to leave, and I told him he had better give us a refund. “No, you won’t be given a refund.”

At this point in the story, what do most people do? They put their dog in the overhead bin. They do what they are told. That’s not what I did.

“This is racial profiling, and I am filing a civil rights complaint. Bring a lawyer out immediately, as this is a civil rights issue.” The guard was taken aback, and called a higher level of security.

Soon we have a huddle of five security guards. I explained to them that if a Global Entry card isn’t valid ID, that was their fault for selling my wife a beer, and that this was nonsense. I had a receipt proving my wife purchased her beer on premises. They screwed up, not us.

They told me I passed alcohol to my wife, and I told them to pull up security footage. “We don’t have cameras out here, sir.” Yes, they told me repeatedly they did not have security cameras on the premises. They lied to my face.

While this is happening, I couldn’t help but imagine that it was a petty dispute. Why did these security people hassle us? And I also wondered what people who aren’t me do in these situations? Do you really need to have a law degree, litigation experience, and an ability to handle conflict well in order to have a normal day at the park?

The higher level guard said I was trespassing. I told him I bought a ticket, and unless a refund was given to me, they were committing theft. I would not leave. “Call the police on me.”

At this point they aren’t sure what to do. What do you do with a guy who tells you to call the police on him? When I pulled out my smart phone and asked him to repeat what he just told me on camera, suddenly he didn’t want to talk so tough.

Now what happened? They made a mistake. Rather than accept responsibility for it, they wanted to hassle my family, lie to me, and try to intimidate me.

They lied about me passing wine to my wife, they lied about not having security cameras, they lied about having sold a beer to my wife. These are all verifiable lies.

Big businesses and big governments are used to making people roll over for them. We are conditioned to obey. Hollywood, Wall Street, the Media, and Government all demand compliance. Submit or die.

No, I won’t put my dog in the overhead bin, and neither should you.

Gorilla Mindset has been highlighted over 200,000 times, which is a lot of highlighting for a book you can read in two and a half hours, and Kindle offers a feature letting you see the 10 most popular highlights. Why were these passages heavily highlighted?

“To get more out of life, you must get more out of yourself. You must take personal responsibility for your thoughts and emotions. You must stop blaming the system. Your days of looking outside of yourself for answers are gone.

Most people, myself included before learning about mindset, tend to passively accept moods. We just sort of went through life feeling a certain way. Some of us felt bad, others felt good, and that was the way life went. Accepting personal responsibility for your thoughts and emotions is a huge shift.

“Gorilla Mindset shift: I am going to take an active approach to managing my state of mind.”

Of course, accepting personal responsibility for your thoughts and emotions isn’t much help unless you know what to do next.

“Now, imagine you believe the world is abundant. The world is one of endless resources and unlimited potential. What you do matters. Your choices matter. You matter. Each day is a new day full of infinite possibilities.

Shifting from a mindset that resources are scarce and you had better “get yours” to one of long-term planning and goal setting is one that eases your stress and helps keep you focused on your vision.

“Gorilla Mindset shift: Treat yourself like a treasured and trusted friend.”

We don’t treat ourselves well, especially when making mistakes. Sometimes life does suck and may seem like it’s over, but is that what you’d tell a friend? Taking the long view (abundance mindset) and advising yourself as you’d advise a friend are fundamentals to a proper mindset.

“Am I choosing, in this moment, to be the type of person I want to become?”

Checking in regularly ensures that you’re aligning your habits with your visions. What are you doing right now? And will that bring you closer to the vision you have for yourself?

“Imagine your consciousness is the judge or jury, or parent or friend that you must persuade. You want your conscious mind to believe in you. Framing is how your mind perceives whatever situation you are in. Framing is how you choose to think about, and thus perceive, a challenge.”

Framing is how you choose (remember, your thoughts and emotions are your personal responsibility) to view problems. Take a crisis as an example.

We’ve all had a life crisis, where everything seemed to go wrong. Crises, as bad as they seem at the time, are also a focusing agent. What are you afraid of losing most? That shows you your priorities. (Chances are, when you’re going through a crisis, you’re afraid of losing your family and friends, and you realize most of the stuff you cared about didn’t matter, and actually served as a distraction from what you value most.)

Once the crisis has passed, ask yourself if you’re losing focus.

Now that doesn’t mean a crisis is “good.” Let’s be honest. Terrible stuff happens in life. Yet choosing to view an event as terrible is a choice you make. There is no objective truth to how you emotionally interpret a process a situation.

“Gorilla Mindset shift: Reframe the issues. Choose to focus on how the difficulty you’re facing will make you stronger, more intelligent, more emotionally complex, or more resourceful.”

Spiritual growth requires emotional pain. I wish there were another way. It breaks my heart to tell you that you won’t be an emotionally complex, fully-integrated person without trauma.

Nearly every high-achievement person you look up to has been through some screwed up circumstances:

In 1962, the psychologist Victor Goertzel and his wife, Mildred, published a book called “Cradles of Eminence: A Provocative Study of the Childhoods of Over 400 Famous Twentieth-Century Men and Women.” They selected individuals who had had at least two biographies written about them and who had made a positive contribution to society. Their subjects ranged from Louis Armstrong, Frida Kahlo and Marie Curie to Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller.

The Goertzels found that less than 15% of their famous men and women had been raised in supportive, untroubled homes, with another 10% in a mixed setting. Of the 400, a full 75%—some 300 individuals—had grown up in a family burdened by a severe problem: poverty, abuse, absent parents, alcoholism, serious illness or some other misfortune. “The ‘normal man,’ ” the Goertzels wrote, “is not a likely candidate for the Hall of Fame.”

Successful people lie about the hardships because showing vulnerability is seen as weak. But there’s a good chance the people you’ve read about were abused, had abusive parents, and had an emotional breakdown of some sort.

Thus, if you’re in a bad situation, you can reframe that as an opportunity for personal and spiritual development.

“Gorilla Mindset shift: Check into your body by using self-talk to understand what your body is doing and feeling in the present moment.”

“Gorilla Mindset shift: Walk with a purpose by talking to yourself as you walk, about how you are walking.”

Who reads mindset books? Introverts. Who lives inside our heads and often stumbles around and doesn’t focus on the physical world? Introverts face specific challenges, and Gorilla Mindset shows you how to overcome them.

“There’s no place I’d rather be. There’s no one else I’d rather see.”

Sometimes we do have specific places to be, and when we do, we need to be checked in. I remind myself, “There’s no place else I’d rather be.” Even if it’s not exactly true in the moment, if you must be there, why not tell yourself that?

A bonus story on mindfulness.

I had an amusing lesson on mindfulness a few days ago.

As I was walking my dog, he stopped to go to the bathroom for more times than I had bags. As we were only a block or two away from home, I huffed back annoyed that our walk had been disturbed.

As I grabbed the backs and went back tot he walk, Cyra laughed. Julius my dog laughed. It hit me.

Everyone but me was having a great time. And my problem was? Well my problem was that my planned walk had a detour, but it’s not as if this walk had to take a certain path. That was my own issue. I wasn’t being present, mindful, or in the flow.

Like a lot of people, we become task-orientated so much that we forget that not every task must be done a certain way. If you’re running errands or spending time with your family, there’s no outcome that must be determined. Stay present, be mindful, that’s Gorilla Mindset.

I’ve read every book out there on how to increase your cognitive performance, improve your memory, and add IQ. I’ve taken nearly every nootropic out there. I’ve been experimenting with brain enhancement for decades.

One of the best performance enhancing tips I’ve ever learned about was a five-minute brain warm-up.

Years ago I was browsing the $1 section of Barnes and Noble when I came upon a book promising to improve your cognitive performance. The book was full of exercises and brain warm-ups. I tried many of them. Most were so-so. One brain warm-up astonished me.

After performing the brain warm-up once, I was more fluent with words. My brain was faster. My focus was more intense. My short-term memory improved. I became a better writer.

The brain warm-up was created by John McEnroe’s sports psychologist.

For you youngsters out there, John McEnroe was an amazing tennis with a temper to match his talent. His blind rage made him struggle with getting in the moment.

 

Perform this five minute brain warm-up each morning before getting out of bed.

Count backwards from 100.

Speed is key. Don’t stop if you skip a number.

Find a noun that fits each letter of the alphabet.

Don’t just think of an object. Imagine the colors and shapes and sizes of the noun. This will activate your right brain (colors, images, shapes, sizes) and left brain (verbal, think of a word) simultaneously. This “brain crosstalk” will improve your overall cognitive performance.

• a – apple
• b – boy
• c – cronut
• d – etc.

Create a numbered list of female names, 1-10.

• 1 – Lisa
• 2 – Tina
• 3 – Sherry
• 4 – etc.

Create a numbered list of male names, 1-10.

• 1 – Edward
• 2 – Tom
• 3 – Bob
• 4 – etc.

Close your eyes and take 10 deep meditative breaths.

As you breath deeply, focus on oxygenating your brain. You should feel the blood vessels and capillaries surrounding your brain start to expand.

Open your eyes and start your day.

Why does this brain warm-up work?

The brain warm-up creates neurological connections in your brain by getting all hemispheres of your brain “talking” to one another.

It improves your working memory because you have to keep track of where you are in any given exercise. “Okay, I said d-door, so that means I need a word for e.”

It teaches you to think fast.

It stretches your vocabulary.

You learn how to get inside your head. To perform this brain warm-up, you are talking to yourself (finding words) and watching a movie (visualizing the objects).

It teaches you how to focus, as you can’t play with your smart phone while performing this exercise.

Try it out and let me know what you think.