Most people have childhood traumas. What matters is what you do now. The anger and hatred you carry in your heart destroy you and no one else. They exist because you were confused and misunderstood what happened. You need to understand that whatever happened to you was not bad; it was what you needed to become yourself. It is like going to the gym and then crying because life feels heavy afterward. It may seem that whatever happened was cruel to children, but it was what they needed (and I am not the one who decided this; whoever controls the universe did). So the resolution is simple. Be grateful. It was your initiation ritual. You are alive and well now. Greatness and happiness awaits!

Feminine cares about looks, because looks are a major signal of health, which increases the chances of reproduction. Masculine has many signals, where looks are a minor one. This is why men care about power and influence much more. Looksmaxing is feminine. Men specifically care about their looks only if they’re gay.

DOES IT MATTER OR WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT? Imagine you have a $20k car in your garage. You drive it when you need it. Sometimes you even call a taxi. Now imagine it’s a $50k car. Or $200k. $1M or even $5M. You drive these the same way, or sometimes you still call a taxi. What is the difference? “It’s more comfortable.” Really? There is not a big difference in comfort between a $20k and a $5M car. And if you want to experience all the power and luxury expensive cars offer, you can rent them — it’s not that costly. “I feel better in the more expensive car. I feel that I am on another level.” This is closer. You understand that to own such a car you need to be on another level, and that feeds your pride. “People will see me differently and treat me differently.” Finally. This is the only real reason to own such an expensive car — status. When you haven’t done anything meaningful in your life, you try to signal high status in other ways. Why do you need to signal status? To get what you want? Connections? Women? Pride? The same question applies to all the other things most people want: mansions, yachts, money, luxury items — anything expensive. Why do you want a big mansion? To run through its halls and rooms? No. To signal status and get what you want. Why do you want big money? To build something important? No. To signal status and get what you want. Everything people with a consumer mindset want is about signaling status and consuming more. And why do you want to consume more? There is no difference between one gram of pleasure and fifty-two. Eating $10k steaks won’t make your life much better than eating $50 ones. Consuming more and chasing pleasure will actually make your life worse — it will destroy your will to live. Elon Musk doesn’t need to drive a Bugatti to show his status. Or throw stacks of money at people. Or do anything like that. He wants to build a better world. That’s why he needs more money. And he wants to be effective and not waste time — that’s why he needs private jets. He doesn’t need to signal status, because he is a man creating his world. Most people misunderstand wealth, luxury, power, purpose, connections, and status because they are stuck in a childlike consumer state. Children must be consumers — that is how they survive. But when they grow up and mature, they become creators. And to create, we need resources, power, status, and influence. The more of these you have, the bigger things you can create. That is the purpose of resources — they are building materials, not just wood to burn. This topic is very important, because there is a big difference between acquiring resources to signal status, or becoming competent and using resources to create. One destroys the world, the other builds it. Here is the question for you: What do you really want?

In films, heroes are kind and polite, and villains are evil and rude. But in real life, the most beloved “heroes” are often the smartest villains. Be careful who you follow. The man with the biggest smile may lead you into the darkest slaughterhouse.

Some people are not willing to build their lives, but instead want to get paid to build lives for other people. Why?

Every idea, concept, ideology, event — everything has people for it and against it, and that’s a good thing. The only way to determine whether something is true and effective is to dive deep into the topic yourself and draw conclusions using your own understanding. It will affect your life; therefore, you should be responsible for finding your own truth.

I help many people level up and become successful. After deep communication, we determine their goals and all obstacles, then write a detailed plan that leads to success most of the time. But there is a final boss some people can’t defeat, which leads to failure. This boss is fake freedom, or “doing things my way”. It happens when everything is already determined and a very effective plan is written and agreed upon, and the only thing left is to start acting and executing. Some people then decide to change things to do it their way. They rely on their own experience, which did not lead them to what they want, instead of the experience of people who actually achieved those goals through effective processes and understanding. They follow their own free will and a couple of random “secrets” they found online. When you learn to play the guitar from a musician, you don’t try to bring your non-existent experience into the process.

If you see the wolf as a predator and yourself as prey, you will be scared and helpless. You are the most fierce predator the Earth has ever known. See the wolf as your puppy. You need to command reality, not submit to it.

Imagine what would happen if you went to the gym to feel intense discomfort instead of pleasure. So much time would not be wasted.

LOOKS? BEHAVIOR? WEALTH? ENERGY? WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS? There was a moment when China started cheaply replicating expensive items. First, they did it with smartphones, then with other electronics and equipment. Later, they started creating replica cars and sport motorcycles. Once, I was walking and saw a parked Chinese bike that looked exactly like a liter-class Japanese sportbike. I was impressed. I thought, what a beast. Then the owner came out, started it, and rode away. And it was laughable. Everything about it was a joke — the sound, how it moved, everything. But it looked exactly like the real deal. So what was the problem? The problem was that looks are only a part of a bigger picture. When we meet someone, we subconsciously assign them a rating, which influences how we interact with them. Other people do the same with us. So what are we signaling? What actually matters for this rating? What matters evolutionarily for survival is capability. Are you strong? Are you smart? Can you defend yourself and attack your enemies? Can you acquire the resources you need? Can you dominate and influence the environment? That is what matters. Looks are only one part of this mix of signals. This is why manipulating looks, while it may achieve some desired signals, is fake and builds a house on sand. In the same way, our behavior signals a lot. Do we feel comfortable in our own body? Are we curious? Brave? Or afraid? Can we be ourselves, or do we submit to appear friendly? Can we dare to lead others? Are we afraid of conflict? There are many factors that signal our mental and physical state. You can try to fake them. You can memorize what to say, how to stand, and what to wear. But all of these are just indicators that naturally emerge from an effective mindset and a healthy body. If you try to mimic them, you will end up being laughable, like the Chinese bike. When you look at women, you like some and dislike others. Why does this happen? Because you instinctively seek a healthy mother for your children. Now imagine her undergoing surgical procedures to “enhance” her appearance to signal better reproductive fitness. Genetically, she is the same person. She only fakes the visuals to deceive you. All weak traits will still be passed on to the child. It is fake. When you try to fake indicators, you do the same thing. When you are actually healthy, strong, smart, effective, and free, you are a good fit for the environment, and you will signal it naturally. That is what you should be working on. When you work on faking indicators instead, you sabotage your life. And what is interesting is that, in the modern world, there is often not a big difference in time and resources required to get the actual Japanese sportbike versus a “cheap” clone. The energy you spend faking indicators would bring far greater returns if invested in real progress. My advice is simple: be real, pursue real progress, become great, and never waste time and energy on anything fake. And whoever like cheap replicas are free to be such. — Warrior's Path

If you meet a wolf in the woods, the moment you become scared and start defending yourself is the moment you signal to the wolf that you are afraid and can be attacked.

It is nature. It is evolution. Some species chase pleasure. Some pursue progress, purpose, and greatness. Some will go extinct, but others will evolve and rise. You are choosing your destiny.

"If you write something smart, people will ignore it. But if you pretend a wealthy or famous person said it, they start paying attention and liking it suddenly." — Elon Musk

“Discipline is king, motivation fades.” There is a deeper problem that discipline lovers don’t seem to understand. The army can force soldiers to train and do whatever it wants, but that won’t make them great generals. It is not really about discipline, habits, routines, efficiency, or talent. You can have all of these and still live a mediocre life. It is about obsession with your purpose. When it becomes the most important thing in the world for you, you will find the incentives, energy, emotions, motivation, habits, and everything else required to achieve it. Reaching a destination is not about transport or logistics — it is about how intensely you want it. You will always find a way to get there. That is why, instead of obsessing over routines and systems, you should think deeply and decide what the purpose of your life is. What is the one thing you are ready to devote your life to? Once you decide, jump into the river that flows in that direction. You will figure everything out along the way. — Warrior's Path

Why do you want to enjoy anything?

All the people who claim to have a high IQ post the dumbest things imaginable. It seems that IQ has become more of an ego indicator than a measure of intelligence.

If you understand money and investing, these are the types of assets you want to avoid buying. Remember: buying at the bottom, selling at the top. Do these look like the bottom or the top?

The dumbest thing a man can do is to buy a super expensive luxurious watch.

When a dummy sees something, he has dumb thoughts. When a smart person sees something, he has smart thoughts. There are 99 dummies for each smart person in the world right now. This is why, if you start presenting yourself and your ideas to people, you will receive 99 dumb comments for each smart one. Be prepared for that ration. It doesn't describe you. It just is how the world works. Each time you state something good and ignore the 99 meaningless opinions, you attract that one smart person. Do it for long enough and you will build a community of smart like-minded people.

Your prosperity is hiding behind your your fear, anger, pride, and resentment. Have you looked past these, you would live a dream.