Good

"Our present study is not, like other studies, purely theoretical in intention; for the object of our inquiry is not to know what virtue is but how to become good, and that is the sole benefit of it. We must, therefore, consider the right way of performing actions, for it is acts that determine the character of the resulting moral states. The virtue or excellence of man will be such a moral state as makes a man good and able to perform his proper function well."

—Aristotle

Doing good is what we aspire to in everything we do.

The goodness of the world is something to be grateful for and contribute to.

2 yr nursing degree

After Life, Life Goes On

“A man exists for a generation, but his name lasts to the end of time.”

—Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure

Whatever happens to you after you die, what about the rest of us? The world goes on without the dead, and the world you leave is your legacy here.

No matter what you think about the migration of the soul and your final resting place, we are still going to be here when you die. It may be the end of your life, but we will still be here, still struggling, still dealing with the world that you just left behind.

Now what if you could leave something, anything, that could make our lives a bit easier? This is something we could keep in mind every day, but it becomes escpecially prevelant when we realize that when we leave this world, we have the potential of leaving behind a legacy that could effect the world, humanity, and those we loved. You may not carry on, but your ideas and memory will, so why not make them something worth remembering that will be passed on into future generations?

Beware Career Limiting Moves

Dying for a cause instead of living for it. Dropping out of school. Throwing the first punch. Getting busted for drugs. Maxing out credit cards. Posting something embarassing under your own name on the Internet. Drinking so much you don't remember what you did. Talking smack about the boss standing behind you. Surfing porn at work. Brandishing airsoft guns in public. Getting a Darwin Award. Logging in on Defcon's Wall of Sheep network. Disobeying the "We don't do bombs" policy. Jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. Preaching against your own secret homosexuality and drug use.

All of these things are CLMs: Career Limiting Moves.

A lot of people get in trouble for doing stupid things and slam their doors shut before they know it. Keep your future promising and your options open.

Ask yourself before you leap: Is this a CLM?

“Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

—Gustave Flaubert

Corporations Exploit

We live in a business owned society. Who controls business controls the future. Corporations have access to every part of our lives. They control what we see, what we wear, what we eat, how we perceive and how we think. They are not the only entities that do this, but they have the most money, the most power, and the most control. They are in control of what the audiences of the world bare witness to. This is not good or bad in itself, it is simply the way the world works. However, "With great power comes great responsibility", and we must ask ourselves if this immense amount of power is being used wisely, if it is being used democraticaly, if it is being used for the best interests of the people. The Corporations are the gatekeepers to the world of ideas. Through their advertising and media programming we have acquired many memes and perceptions of the world. They are not the only method by which memes are spread, but they are guarding the best ways to do it, like television. By controlling what the majority of people in the world's only hyperpower see on billboards and TV 24/7 they have complete control of all the memes that could be spread through this effective and popular medium. We are bathed daiy in the ideas they choose to show us. Again, this description should go without ethical bias, we need only ask how it is being used.

Square Deal "Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.""The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us." New York State Fair, Syracuse, September 7, 1903 "A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." Speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903 "We demand that big business give the people a square deal; in return we must insist that when anyone engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal." —Theodore Roosevelt, Letter to Sir Edward Gray, November 15, 1913

Democracy Rules

Democracy Rules

Corporations may own property rights, but government rules rights. Everything is subject to the powers of government and in a democratic republic, citizens have the right to government by and for the people.

“My notion of democracy is that under it the weakest should have the same opportunity as the strongest.”

—Mahatma Gandhi

Government is the ultimate arena for people to participate in. Government has the power to alter, save or take the lives of millions.

Government changes often happen slowly so you need patience to understand and take action politically (See the Persistance principle if you find yourself glazing over or getting frustrated here).

“The lesson of history is, those who are not turned on to politics find that politics turns on them.”

—Ralph Nader

The most serious threat to democracy is the notion that it has already been achieved. —?

"Voting is like breathing, neither are important until you can't do them anymore."- ?

DIY

DIY means Do It Yourself.

Why?

There are a number of reasons to embrace the Do It Yourself ethic.

• Save Money: Since you're the one doing the doing, you can control what (and how much) goes into whatever you're working on. You don't have to waste time or money on extra (unneeded) features.
• Pride: It's a good feeling to know that you've made something yourself. Success in these areas can go a long way to building up your self-confidence.
• Extension of Skillset: Frequently when you're doing something yourself, you'll have to learn new things to successfully finish the project. This is a great way to increase your skillset, discover new talents and interests, and provide yourself with a stronger base for future success.
• Entertainment: It can be very rewarding and diverting to work on something yourself, sometimes consuming your interest (in that wonderful way where you lose track of time).
• Control: Since you're the one making the Whatever, you get to decide exactly what you want it to do and how you want it to get done.
• Self-Reliance: The more things you are capable of doing yourself, the less you are subject to someone else's control. This, in turn, gives you more choices about how to live your life.

Doing It Yourself for Fun and Profit

If you stop and think about it, there are really a lot of things we can get done for ourselves, right where we are, with the things we've already got.

Everybody's got various talents and abilities and resources, but these are not limited and fixed. New talents can be developed, existing (sometimes latent) talents can be unlocked and enhanced with a little practice and experimentation.

You might start to adopt this DIY attitude for any of the reasons above, or for some other reason, but the point is, you'll likely discover a lot about yourself (and the world) in the process. It's a very freeing feeling to use something you created with your own two hands.

You don't have to start from scratch

Many people hear DIY and think of shoddy, homemade Rube Goldberg-style contraptions which are barely functional (and quite possible dangerous), but this doesn't have to be the truth.

Like it's been said so many times before, you don't have to re-invent the wheel.

Modding

One of the best (and easiest) ways to start using the DIY ethic in your own life is to begin by Modding some kit you've already got. Go ahead, make all your gear customized.

Sanitizing / Blackspotting / Relabeling

It's the worst, right? You just paid (way too) much money for your shiny new Whatever-it-is, but that's not enough. You don't just have to pay for it, you end up as a walking billboard for whoever made it in the first place.

Blackspotting / Sanitizing / Relabeling save you from being a walking advertisement by blotting out (blackspotting), removing (sanitizing), or altering (relabeling) these corporate logos with something of your choice. Have a favourite symbol? Want to send out a message? Got some comfortable shoes, but don't wanna help out the manufacturer's ad campaign? Customize your gear by replacing labels and logos with whatever you feel like saying.

Painting / Resurfacing

Again, you can control the way your kit looks just by getting a little creative. Some ideas? Take the case off your cell phone and paint it your favourite colour. Make covers with some of your favourite art to put on folders/binders (actually, anything with a smooth surface).

Add some Pockets

Pockets are one of the easiest things to attach. Add pockets to your clothes, your backpack, add hidden pockets, add stylized pockets with custom logos.

Sewing's really not all that hard to learn (at least the basics) and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll be able to make simple alterations--hem those pantlegs, add patches, add pockets, add overlays (for texture and colour).

Reinforcement

Many things we use in day-to-day life can be strengthened and extended with just a little bit of work. Backpacks can be made stronger by double stitching, adding additional straps, etc.

Almost anything can be made water resistant (with chemical treatments, or the clever addition of plastic sheets).

Items receiving hard use can be patched (even before they wear out)--for instance, sewing extra cloth over the knees or seat are can greatly strengthen a pair of pants.

Take it to the Next Level

The DIY ethic has progressed a long way over the last few decades. Many DIY'ers have begun to form communities and share their information, and consequently there are many, many resources which can serve as 'Jumping Off' points to get you started. You might not realize just how far you can take this mindset.

Self Sustenance - You can save money, eat healthier, and ease your reliance on society's infrastructure by growing (some of) your own food. Even in urban environments, you can probably grow more stuff than you've thought about. Herb boxes in windowsills, indoor plants, back yard planters (if you have a back yard), community gardens, etc.

Get off the Grid - Some people have even gone so far as to DIY their own electricity. Solar, wind, hydrological, whatever they happen to have available in their area. In fact, many of these people stay hooked up to the electrical grid, and if they don't make enough power, they can still buy it from the electric company, and when they do, they can sell the excess power back to the electric company and help sustain other peoples' use.

Auto - If you develop skills in the automotive areas, you can begin to work on your own vehicles. Many people start slowly and build--beginning by changing their own headlights or oil or wiper blades, and as they learn more about it, they begin to take care of more things themselves.

Education - School is great, but it is far from the only way to learn. All of the overwhelming amount of knowlege we (humans) have discovered so far is available, somewhere, to someone. Much of this information is available for free to anyone (in the form of libraries, peers, and the Internet). While self-taught education might not be a replacement for formal education, it can certainly be a supplement.

DIY Media (a.k.a. Don't hate the media, become the media)

Many people (exponentially more so, given the advent of the Web) have taken to creating and distributing their own, independent media.

Songs, videos, images, newsletter, blogs, newspapers, discussion groups, podcasts, and a host of other formats provide you the chance to get your own ideas out there, and to soak up the creative excretions of other free thinkers.

The more ideas we have to rub together, the more complex and refined those ideas can become. Mainstream media (being a business), inherently has a goal--namely that of making money. Thus, choices made about content and presentation are often trumped by reasons other than getting the best content out there.

Independent, DIY created media doesn't necessarily have that limitation, though it most certainly can still be subject. Point is, by having the creations of anybody who has something to say, the pool of media (and human knowledge) can be expanded. More choices for everyone.

Some Resources to get you Started.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY

http://www.diynetwork.com

http://www.doityourself.com

http://www.diylive.net

http://makezine.com

http://readymademag.com

http://www.instructables.com

Everything Changes Something

“Philosophers have merely reinterpreted the world. The point is to change it.” —Karl Marx Ask yourself of every action, what will come of this? What ramifications do my choices have for my future and for the world? What kind of example am I setting for my own habits and those I could inspire? The Myth Of Inaction Doing nothing is doing something. “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —Eric Shinseki “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” —Harold Wilson “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” —Benjamin Franklin Beating the People With The People's Stick

Idea Power

“When ideas say jump YOU say how high!”

Every action of your life was influenced by an idea. Whether it be something as primal as the need to eat or defend yourself from harm, to something as complex as a moral principle or a political position, an idea was present as the cause of every action you have taken. This is idea power, or rather the power of ideas. We are constantly subject to them, but it is important to remember that they are also subject to us. With time we can control our reflexes just as we control what we say in intellectual debates. We can learn to respond to danger by fighting instead of running, we can learn to sate our hunger by feeding ourselves. We can also choose to follow a different religion or philosophy if we find one to be innaccurate or lacking. By doing this we form the ideas that control us and give us the freedom to choose which ideas we follow and which ones we ignore. Never the less, ideas have been around as long as we have, and may even continue on past us

Powerful people tell humanity what to do, but it is their powerful ideas that give their orders. Mightier than the seemingly mighty elite are the ideas which govern them. It is ideas which rule.

“The empires of the future will be empires of the mind.”

—Winston Churchhill

“We are fighting the everlasting battle for the minds of men to indoctrinate people with the capitalist story because if we don’t, the rising political power of the masses will be a hazard to private power and interests.”

—Bretton Woods Papers

“Opinions are subject to revolutions as well as empires.”

—Voltaire

"The information war is a war we cannot afford to lose.”

—Adbusters

“How will you answer your children when they ask you, ‘What did you do in the war?’ ”

“You can fight an invading army, but you cannot stop an idea whose time has come.”

—Victor Hugo

“Violence is the last resort of the incompetent.”

—Gandhi

“To fight and conquer in one hundred battles is not the highest skill. To subdue the enemy with no fight at all, that’s the highest skill.”

—Sun Tzu, Art of War

“If you follow me to this place, the entire world is a battlefield.”

—Guts in Berserk, a Manga by Kentaro Myura

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?"

—Joseph Stalin

Knowledge Is Emancipation

Ideas in a way are slavery. Knowledge is the test by which to evaluate ideas.

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."

—Norman Vincent Peale  

Non-Violence

“One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.”

—Socrates

Idea power is stronger than violence.

Learn More 

Read the Idea Power Model in Ideapedia to learn more about using ideas as empowering tools to change the world.

Inner Peace

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." 

—Sun-Tzu, The Art of War

If you know yourself then you know your enemy.

If you want to know who you are up against, look in the mirror before you point the finger. While some people do things you don't like, it is also possible that we are often our own worst enemy. Who has more say about the way things are going to be in your life than you?

When you look in the mirror and see that you are in control of all the important decisions in your life, you see that the forces that you must overcome to work towards positive goals are mostly internal.

“When the fight begins within himself, a man’s worth something.”

—Robert Browning, Bishop Blougram’s Apology, 1855

Sometimes we concentrate on the idea of external enemies to such an extent that we make ourselves powerless victims defined by what they are doing to us instead of what we can do not just about "it" but about everything.

Fighting back is just one direction we could choose to go in. Sometimes the alternative is to observe what someone is doing and go do something else. As long as what you are doing is constrained by reacting to your enemy, you are controlled by them. As soon as you focus on your own opportunities for constructive action, you are overcoming the apathy within all of us that so-called enemies prey upon.

Inner Peace 

Finding inner peace means going beyond captivity and struggle. Being enslaved to our own negativity and fighting an inner war for self mastery are both painful states of mind. There is another way.

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?"

—Abraham Lincoln 

When first we recognize our mental slavery, we want freedom. When first we try to think freely, we feel like we are at war with a negative part of ourself. But gradually, the struggle subsides and we find it easy and natural to live consciously. Discipline is replaced by habit, and whenever we slip back into negative ways of thinking, we return to consciousness with laughter instead of frustration.

When you find inner peace with your own thoughts and actions, you become a force to be reckoned with instead of a house divided against itself.

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."

—Gandhi

Lead By Example

The Little Red Hen

Here a story that made quite an impression on me as a little kid. It is the reality that every entrpreneur and visionary will have to face...

(A Golden Book, New York) Western Publishing Company, Inc, Racine, WI 53404

Once there was a Little Red Hen who lived in a barnyard with her three chicks and a duck, a pig and a cat.

One day the Little Red Hen found some grains of wheat. "Look look!" she clucked. "Who will help me plant this wheat?"

"Not I", quaked the duck, and he waddled away.

"Not I", oinked the pig, and he trotted away.

"Not I, meowed the cat, and he padded away.

"Then I will plant it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was tall and golden, the Little Red Hen knew it was ready to be cut. "Who will help me cut the wheat?" she asked.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat

"Then I will cut this wheat myself". And she did.

"Now", said the Little Red Hen, "it is time to take the wheat to the miller so he can grind it into flour. Who will help me?"

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I will take the wheat to the miller myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

The miller ground the wheat into fine white flour and put it into a sack for the Little Red Hen.

When she returned to the barnyard, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me make this flour into dough?"

Not I," said the duck, the pig and the cat all at once.

"Then I will make the dough myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the dough was rready to go into the oven, the Little Red Hen asked, "Who will help me bake the bread?"

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the cat.

"Then I wll bake it myself," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

Soon the bread was ready. As she took it from the oven, the Little Red Hen asked, "Well who wil help me eat this warm, fresh bread?"

"I will," said the duck.

"I will," said the pig.

"I will," said the cat.

"No you won't," said the Little Red Hen. "You wouldn't help me plant the seeds, cut the wheat, go to the miller, make the dough or bake the bread. Now, my three chicks and I will eat this bread ourselves!"

And that's just what they did.

The Moral Of The Story 

And the moral of this story is.................

Don't expect anyone to help you. They will wait until there is no work to be done and no risk to be taken. They will step up and expect you to share with them as if they helped you.

The classic story has the Hen resentfully excluding those who didn't contribute, but , but as a leader you must set an example and be patient with those who will follow after you blaze a trail that looks safe enough for them. 

Leave No Trace

Leave no trace is a philosophy of cleaning up after yourself that applies just as much to Burning Man camp sites as it does to undercover reporting: Make no mess for others to find. 

Media Manipulates

The major media paints a picture of reality in which most people live. The real world is so much larger than our direct experience that we have to rely on second-hand sources of information, and the media is only too happy to help us understand the big picture.

The trouble is, the picture they paint is like a portrait of a rich patron that is altered to be flattering. It reflects the media ownership's bias. Media is owned by corporate bosses who hire and fire media professionals, advertisers who buy audiences and politicians who regulate and favoritize media outlets. 

Media Outlets Are Gatekeepers

Media outlets are used to holding all the keys to mass communication and shaping public opinion.

“Don’t Hate the media, become the media.”

—Indymedia.org

Freedom of Reach

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

—George Orwell

Our right to reach out can only be safeguarded by fulfilling our responsibility to be reachable.

Media Diverts

“The president now has a war plan on his desk. But first, Paula takes an in depth look at last night’s Emmy awards. Paula?” 

“Thanks, Jack. Well, you’re really going to like this. We got inside and upclose with all the stars.....”

—CNN 0600 Monday, Sept. 23, 2002

The media plays a large role in diverting attention away from important subjects.

“True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.”

—Winston Churchill

Being a critical thinker and exposing yourself to a diversity of information is the only way to let good ideas spread and bad ones die on their own merit rather than by exploiting money-bought media monopoly power.

Perseverance

Purpose In Life

Purpose Gives Life Meaning “A life lived just to see another day is unacceptable.” —Griffith in Berserk by Kentaro Myura "“However unhappy a person may be, the moment he knows the purpose of his life a switch is turned and the light is on... If he has to strive after that purpose all his life, he does not mind so long as he knows what the purpose is. “Ten such people have much greater power than a thousand people working from morning till evening not knowing the purpose of their life.” –H.I. Khan “Real life is a life that leaves a deposit in the shape of something alive” —Max Frisch “Joy comes from using your potential.” —Will Schultz “Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.” —George Bernard Shaw “True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” —Antoine de St Exupery “Life is an effort that deserves a good cause.” —Frederic Peters “A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” —George Bernard Shaw “This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” —George Bernard Shaw “Life has no meaning unless one lives it with a will.” —Paul Gauguin

Purpose Inspires Strength “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche “We need not only a purpose in life to give meaning to our existence but also something to give meaning to our suffering.” —Eric Hoffer “Focus on your one purpose.” —Japanese Proverb Changing your life changes your world. People have a choice to make: activism or apathy, creating change or suffering its effects. To suffer is to allow others to drive change, to be adversely affected, to put up with something painful. To prosper is to succeed through embracing change.   “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Gandhi “When you love to the point that it hurts, you find that eventually the hurt stops.” —Mother Theresa VISION SET GOALS WORTH DOING “Establishing a goal is often harder than reaching it. Once established, a goal can develop a low pressure zone that pulls resources, energy, and know-how into its realization.” —Ho-ping p212 Once you have a purpose in life, it is time to envision a way of making your dream a reality. Do you know what you really want? Are you being stingy with your list? Is it more like a christmas wish list than a true reflection of your most fundamental desires? The more thought you put into what you want, the more your goal consciousness grows and the closer you are to achieving your AIMS. If you have a visionary list of aspirations, the to-do list to achieve it will practically check itself off. ENVISION, PLAN AND EXECUTE. IF YOU CAN COOK A RECIPE, THIS SHOULD BE A PIECE OF CAKE.

Purpose Links

• How To Find Your Purpose

Safety Third: Risk Smart

"Safety third" means doing exciting things that may be somewhat dangerous but doing them in a smart and safe way. If you really tried to live by "safety first", you'd be a hypochondriac living in a bubble.

What's first and second?

Up to you. What are your top priorities?

For example, a dissident who campaigns for the freedom of a whole nation may think it is worth it to put themself in danger of government repression. 

Courage is doing what scares you. All of us live with a myriad of fears of dangers both real and imagined. Perspective —Photo by Rick Egan "I stood in front of a sea of flaming coals fifty feet across, an inferno so hot it belched fire tornadoes. The crowd circled, a hundred thousand thronging faces aglow in firelight. Some of the revelers seperated from the orbiting masses and gathered at either end of the burn, looking intently into the flames. One by one they mustered the courage to to cross the hellish fires, braving what looked like deadly peril to emerge on the other side with an ecstatic, exhilirated sense of accomplishment in their faces. I felt drawn to crossing and the rush of adrenaline thrilled me until suddenly it happened: Just as I was about to brave the burning gauntlet, a man crossed with recklessly clumsy haste. He lurched halfway across before he tripped and pitched forwards into the flames, dissapearing into a shower of sparks. Firemen suited like astronauts leapt forwards to carry his melted body towards a medivac helicopter and I know not if he lived or died or which would be worse in his condition. Should this man's gruesome example dissuade me from trying it? Or was there an opposite lesson? I looked at the charred but unmelted shoes of those who had crossed already and realized that the heat however great was as nothing compared to the danger of painicking and making a rashly fatal misstep. Crossing was safe, fearing was deadly. I calmed myself, gave up the thrilling pleasure to be had in scaring myself, and walked calmly across. I ignored the alarm of my heat blasted skin and recrossed to return to where I stood, unharmed." —Alex Peake

"Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway." —John Wayne "A coward turns away, but a brave man's choice is danger." —Euripides "There's a lot of different things that we do during life that could personally harm us and I choose not to stop doing those things." —Laurel Clark "There are times when you devote yourself to a higher cause than personal safety. —John Glenn "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." —Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Seek Truth Above All

Questioning “There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is, the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be.” —Charles Sanders Pierce If we care about the truth, we should seek truth in everything that we do. Either the truth matters or it doesn't. There's no such thing as half-truth, diet truth, just one fact, not quite true enough. Either we care about the truth or we don't. Listening “It’s a difficult thing to truly know your own limits and points of weakness.” —Hagakure “Always remember to say ‘I could be wrong’, that way you’ll always be right.” —? “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” —Robert Frost “Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.” —John Jay Mccloy “Pride makes people unwilling to change. It makes them rigid like dead trees that break in the wind rather than bending.” —? “To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step towards knowledge.” —Benjamin Disraeli

Deciding “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” —Oscar Wilde Exposing Lies "It is the responsibility of intellectuals to tell the truth and expose lies." —Noam Chomsky Standing For Something It is a poor truthseeker who seeks the truth but ignores what they find. Many people find a complete understanding discouraging. The complexity of things can make it hard to understand clearly enough to take a considered position. “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident.” —Arthur Schopenhauer “At a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” —George Orwell “Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to the truth.” —Kahlil Gibran READ BETWEEN THE LIES WITH OPEN EYES Intelligence is illusory without open-mindedness. How can you hope to understand the truth if you refuse to hear different points of view? If your ideas are rigid you cannot learn. Ideas tempt us to become loyal fanatics because it is in their own self-interest to innoculate us against newer and better ideas. Let what you read and hear spark your thought processes and provide a starting point for your own individual questioning of reality. Empowerment Can’t ram answers down your throat or force acceptance of any narrow doctrine. Even if it tried, you could resist with a critical mind practiced in detecting propaganda. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” —Plutarch “Truth is the basis for all understanding. Without truth, we cannot trust one another. Therefore truth is worth striving for in all endeavors.” “The best mind-altering drug is truth.” —Lily Tomlin Evolving Ideas “Folks, it’s time to evolve ideas. You know, evolution did not end with us growing thumbs. You do know that, right? it didn’t end there. We’re at the point now where we’re going to have to evolve ideas. The reason the world is so fucked up is because we’re undergoing evolution, and the reason our institutions, our traditional religions are all crumbling is because they’re no longer relevant. So it’s time for us to create a new philosophy and perhaps even a new religion, you see, and that’s okay, because that’s our right, because we are free children of God with minds who can imagine anything and, well, it’s kind of our role.”

Sort Yourself Out

Think For Yourself

The Imperadox "Think for yourself" is an ironic imperative. Just be yourself. Who are they to say who you are? There are marketers and influencers who will stop at nothing to tell you who to be and what to think. Who are they to tell you who to be and what to think? You decide who you are for yourself. Think for yourself! Paradoxical as it may be to demand disobedience, ask your own questions, do your own research, form your own opinions, come to your own conclusions and choose your own destiny. Don’t accept anything at face value. You are more valuable as an individual independent thinker than as a blind follower. If you don’t hold with Empowerment’s principles, fine. don’t consider yourself part of it. Do your own thing. Take what you like, change what you don’t. Being yourself is the application of critical thought to anything that reflects your self image. These things can be anything from clothing, to behavior, creations and emotions- anything that will communicate your values and opinions to other people. By doing this you can give an accurate picture to yourself and those around you. Being yourself allows you to reflect on your own aesthetics and provides ample justification for a diverse set of personalities, each reflected in an equally diverse presentation of these characters. This philosophy is in direct opposition to advertising. Advertising tries to influence who people are by telling them what they should wear, think, and act in order to be happy. Who Are You? Who are you is the most important question you can ever ask yourself. It is deceptively simple, and there is no wrong answer, but there are better answers than some. If you just reply with your name, you have not answered the question, because then you are saying that you still don't know who that name belongs to. Who you are is what you live for, it is what you believe to be most important about you. It is your purpose. It could be your job, it could be your hobby, it could be the books you love. The important part to remember is that it should be something that you have considered, the answer needs to be more than just a label someone stuck on you. If it is not your answer, then it is theirs. Who you are may not be original, but that does not matter. You may look the same and dress the same as hundreds of other people, it is the thought that counts. If you put consideration into what you do, into who you are, it does not matter if that someone turns out to be like many others, what matters is that you were the one who figured it out, and you didn't just take what someone else gave you and slapped it on yourself and said, "Yes, this is good enough, this will do."   Individualism In dealing with larger-than-life ideas, it becomes equally important to empower oneself as an individual with commensurate vigor and independence. To assert ones' own autonomy is of the greatest importance before one immerses oneself in the tides of historic forces and artificial conceptions of the world lest one lose oneself in the tumult and find oneself a pawn to ideas beyond one's control. "I say: liberate yourself as far as you can, and you have done your part; for it is not given to every one to break through all limits, or, more expressively, not to everyone is that a limit which is a limit for the rest. Consequently, do not tire yourself with toiling at the limits of others; enough if you tear down yours... He who overturns one of his limits may have shown others the way and the means; the overturning of their limits remains their affair." —Max Stirner in Wikipedia Stirner's political doctrine repudiates revolution in the traditional sense, and ridicules social movements aimed at overturning the state as tacitly statist (i.e., aimed at the establishment of a new state thereafter), putting forth instead a unique model of self-empowerment and social change through "union activism"

"You don't need anyone to give you an identity because you already have one." —Sean Kennedy “A happy life is one which is in accordance with its own nature.” —Seneca “It is better to be hated for what one is, then to be loved for what one is not.” —Andrew Gide “In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.” —Thomas Jefferson “Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” —Harriet Braiker “If you don’t like what someone is doing, do something else.” —Roto “If we see farther, it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants.” —Newton, quoting Didacus Stella “A dwarf is small even if he stands on a mountain; a colossus keeps his height, even if he stands in a well.” [Lat., Parvus pumilio, licet in monte constiterit; colossus magnitudinem suam servabit, etiam si steterit in puteo.] —Seneca “It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” —Abraham Lincoln "Men must attempt to develop in themselves and their children liberation from the sense of self ...men must be free from boundries, patterns and consistences in order to be free to think, feel and create in new ways" —Luke Rhinehart, "The Diceman" 1971 "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" -Gopsel of Luke 12:57

You Are Not Alone

Have you ever felt like you might be crazy, like you are the only one who thinks the way you do? You are not alone.

A big part of is being a free-thinking individualistic person is finding people who you can relate to.

Sometimes people who think outside the box find they have to go back into the box to hang out with "normal" social circles.

Finding people who you really relate to allows you to be yourself and not hide who you really are.

Hack Yourself

The mentality of computer hackers is a powerfully potent state of mind. The drive is what makes them so dynamic--the constant compulsion to keep asking why, how, and what if i...? This drive, combined with an outlook that is frequently less clouded by social preconceptions than the average person, allows for many unique ideas and outcomes.

It might be surprising to realize that hacking is not relegated to the field of computers and technology. Hacking can be applied to anything. 

One of my favorite examples on the matter is that of a mechanic, who takes apart his car again and again, just trying to squeeze out that extra horsepower. He is a hacker. He just hacks cars.

He does it because he wants to--to see how far he can take it. 

If you can take this attitude, this outlook on life, and direct it at yourself, you can gain a powerful tool for affecting change in your own life.

Keep an open mind. 

Don't let preconceptions and other people telling you what's impossible rule out possibilities for you. Make up your own mind, and try to stay open for all the options, no matter how ridiculous they may sound at first.

Do it 'cause you love it. 

Part of what makes hackers so fruitful is that they are doing what they love. Steve Wozniak said about his development process of the Apple computer line, "I was just a kid with a crush on technology." That's powerful. He loved what he was doing, so it didn't feel like work to him, so much as a wonderful game--seeing how far he could push it.

Take that same mentality in your own life. Fall in love with being alive. The universe we live in is an amazing place, and we are living in very dynamic times. Do what you do to see how far you can take it--how far you can make yourself go. Try new things and don't rule out possibilities until you've thought them through.

Protect your box. 

If you think of your brain as a piece of biological computer hardware, then it stands to reason that your mind would be the software running on top.

Continuing with this metaphor, there are negative influences or 'malware' coming in through your senses in order to attack your mind. These mal-memes are put forth from a variety of sources for a variety of reasons (to make them money, to control your actions, to make them feel better about themselves, etc.), and work in a variety of ways (confusion, fear, peer pressure, subconscious, moral, emotional). 

If you think of it like that, you can begin to develop mental tools for excising these mal-memes, and controlling them as they continue to be introduced to you in the future.

This metaphor can even continue to another level--in computer malware removal, there are a number of tools which are utilized to control different types of threats. Just as in the real world, we have multiple vectors to protect against. Pattern recognition snags a lot of the unclever, copycat known threats. Once bitten, twice shy--after you know what to look for, certain techniques stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. They lose their power over you. 

Heuristic analysis algorithms and run-time protections attempt to find new threats by examining what code is trying to do, rather than relying on a signature of something you've seen before. More proactive, but you have to weight the results for what they are because of the increased chance for false positives.

Immunization patches. If you deal with the underlying vulnerability, the threat is nullified. If you control all of your wants, the push/pull engine of consumerism loses its hold on you and commercials don't affect your judgement as much. If you come to complete acceptance of the reality of a particular situation, the emotional poison of someone taking jabs at that certain subject begin to lose their sting. 

Footprinting.

Gaining knowledge about a particular subject or target before directly engaging. If you're the target, you'll need to footprint yourself. Find out all you can about yourself.

Take personality quizzes, write yourself up a character sheet, tally up your likes, wants, needs, and vulnerabilities and strengths. You need to be honest with yourself, and I think this may be the hardest part. If you're not honest, you won't have accurate information to work with.

Luckily there are tools you can wield to help clarify your objectivity somewhat, but it still has to come with that inward desire to seek the truth, or else you'll simply see what you expect to see, what you want to see.

Journals can be a powerful form of externalization. When you go back and read some of your older entries you'll be astounded by what you may have been thinking. There are several tests which can give you some sort of external perspective, but you must again be careful--if you're deceiving yourself, and you're intelligent, it is often easy to manipulate the results of these tests. The Alexander technique is another tool for gaining an external perspective on yourself. The more objective, honest, and complete your information gleaned from the footprinting, the better equipped you will be to maximize your own efforts.

NLP. 

There is also some research being done into fields like neurolinguistic programming, hypnotic suggestion and the like. I've heard of techniques similar to buffer overflows where many topics or ideas or loops are opened in rapid succession and the mind assigns some part to keep track, but none of them are ever resolved, and eventually, the person becomes lost, and as such more susceptible to influence (i.e. more likely to involuntarily run somebody else's code). 

-cid

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