The Death-Ground Strategy The ancient commanders of armies, who well knew the powerful influence of necessity, and how it inspired the soldiers with the most desperate courage, neglected nothing to subject their men to such a pressure. Niccolo Machiavelli This chapter is about cultivating a mindset of scarcity. If you think that everything will be … Read more
In the story of Cain and Abel, God asks Cain why he killed his brother. Cain tells him that he was angry because he had been cursed by God. This short story in the Bible talks about two brothers, Cain and Abel – Cain was the older brother. Cain worked the soil, while Abel kept … Read more
The Counter-Balance Strategy The first quality of a General-in-Chief is to have a cool head which receives exact impressions of things, which never gets heated, which never allows itself to be dazzled, or intoxicated, by good or bad news. The successive simultaneous sensations which he receives in the course of a day must be classified, … Read more
The Guerrilla-War-of-the-Mind Strategy Tradition, tired formulas, and attachments to the past will trap you. You must wage war against your past victories and defeats and react to the present moment. This may require you to take risks and do things differently, but whatever is lost in terms of comfort and security will be gained in … Read more
The Polarity Strategy It is difficult to know who your enemies are – people are evasive and subtle. But to win in life, you must become great at spotting your enemies, by looking out for signs that show their hostility towards you. Do not be naïve and assume that you can compromise with some enemies. … Read more
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a book about fighting Resistance with a capital R – the most dangerous force that any creative person can encounter. Pressfield spent most of his life doing odd jobs while working on his writing. While life forced him to take several paths that were unrelated to his … Read more
In one of his lectures, Jordan Peterson was asked a question about whether morality was merely a matter of who was more powerful. He replied by telling the story of Bret “The Hitman” Heart and recommenda documentary to watch that he thought was one of the best he’s seen: Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows. … Read more
In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche makes a powerful argument against the moral philosophers, the utilitarians, and the “pure” souls. There is no such thing as virtue, there is only the strong and the weak. Exploitation is not wrong, it is the essence of being alive. Being trampled on, being placid, being foolish – those … Read more
On Becoming a Person is a book by Carl Rogers about the third psychological paradigm. There were two psychological worldviews that dominated the way the human mind was understood. The first was Freud’s idea of the unconscious and the view that human beings were by nature impulsive and aggressive, and that their behavior has their … Read more
“Art is the kind of marathon where you cross the finish line and instead of getting a medal placed around your neck, the volunteers roughly grab you by the shoulders and walk you over to the starting line of another marathon.” Perennial Seller is a book by Ryan Holiday that tries to teach you how … Read more