Conventional wisdom holds that the best place to begin is the beginning. Under most circumstances I would concede that point, but in this case I find it most convenient to begin at the end. Lewis Carroll describes the reason better than I can hope to in dialogue from Alice and Wonderland:
‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ ‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. ‘I don’t much care where–’ said Alice. ‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
And so you see the benefit of beginning at the end–at least in the metaphorical sense. Before proceeding, we must decide our endgame, which will in turn allow us to figure out how best to get there.
That said, we can come back to the end at the end and proceed with the beginning. This is the part (if not earlier) where I should tell you what it is I purport to write about and why in the devil I feel qualified to write about it. Fair enough. I propose to talk about what I will unscientifically call “social stuff.” The whys, the hows, the whatnots. I claim to be qualified to talk about it because I had what some might dramatically call a “crippling” social phobia for most of my school years, and climbed my way to “socially acceptable”–the personal equivalent of a fish learning to breathe in space.
My thesis is that the advent of home-based technology (advanced video games, television with extensive programming, computers connected to the internet) has led to the first few generations of children who were able to entertain themselves solitarily in a way never before possible. Combine that with increasing levels of societal fear relating to strangers (versus the send-your-kids-outside-till-dinner-time-to-play mentality of my grandfather’s day) and you’ve got a recipe for a sharp decline in social skills. The advent of what is called the “Seduction Community” or just “The Community” (click the link for a brief rundown) and the self-help movement serve as indicators of a growing market of socially anxious people. Bearing in mind that these two industries exist and are bigger than ever, you may wonder how it is that I possibly see a need for my ideas. As I see it, generic self help and the ideals of the seduction community have two distinct problems. The Self Help movement tends to focus excessively on state-of-mind and concept without providing enough specific steps and tactics. The Seduction Community, on the other hand, tends to focus on tactics and short-term thinking at the expense of long term planning.
So then, is all I have to offer the ideas of someone who at best can synthesize ideas from the Self Help movement and the Community? More or less. As an added free bonus you’ll get my study of sociology, psychology, and personal experience! And my witty writing! Still not good enough for you? Well fuck you then. Go watch videos of cats skiing on YouTube. Seriously, it’s pretty adorable.
In conclusion, let’s get back to the end. What separates me from any other would-be/wanna-be Community guru is my focus on the endgame. Not my endgame, necessarily, but anyone’s endgame. Yours. Your mother’s. The guy standing next to you with the “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt with the arrow pointing the wrong way. If your goal is to bed as many women as possible and never commit, hey, power to you! We can talk about that. If your goal is to be able to place an order at fast-food restaurant without sweating enough liquid to end the South African drought, we can talk about that. If you want to learn the best way to pay me a compliment, we can talk about that. The end game is happiness, and that has different meanings for everyone.
Powered by