The Importance of Education

Recently, manosphere writer Matt Forney released an article on Return of Kings giving reasons why men should not attend college. He states that college is an expensive waste of time, and that young men will be bombarded by feminism and blamed for all of the ills in society. I agree that college is a business these days, and like all businesses, the primary objective is for universities to make money, not necessarily train the best and the brightest that our generation has to offer. I also agree that young men are subjected to feminism day-in and day-out from kindergarten to twelfth, and it does not end in college. To top things off, if you are a Black man and aren't going to an HBCU, you can expect to catch hell for being a man and if there is a conservative backlash, don't think that they're going to have your interests in mind, as you will likely be labeled as a liberal that only got in because of affirmative action (you probably won't do too well with the ladies either unless you are an athlete).

All of that being said, I still cannot say that I am against education. Education is vital to success, but college is not necessarily the right path of education for everyone. There are alternatives such as trades, mentors, and good old fashioned experience.

Throughout my formative years, teachers as well as my parents would tell me about the importance of getting a college education. By the time I got to college, I thought that I would learn everything that I needed to in order to be successful in life, and I thought that getting my degree would open doors to guaranteed and lucrative employment. I am here to tell you that I thought wrong. I have never once worked a "real job" using what I have learned in college, and the freelance gigs that I have done that would fall under the subject of my major were all completed with skills learned on my own.

Now, do I regret going to college and earning my bachelor's degree? Absolutely not. It is something to put down on a resume, and looks great when you want to work for other people. More importantly for me, it, along with a TEFL certificate (and I suppose being lucky enough to have been born and raised in one of the “Big Five” English-speaking countries), has been a ticket for me to teach English overseas. My regrets revolve around being stagnant and thinking that a degree would be my ticket to financial security.

Should you decide to go to college, I urge you to study your subject thoroughly outside of the confines of the classroom. Your assignments are great for learning the basics of your subject, but if you want to dig deep, you are going to have to do the hard work yourself. Look up resources online or spend time at the library studying your craft. Talk to experienced people in your major, or even your professors as they may be able to provide you with additional information. Being the shy introvert that I was in college, I would spend all of my time alone doing enough to pass my core classes (with A's), but would not do much beyond that to truly learn or communicate ideas with others. Even if you decide not to go to college, this is a great way to learn, and I find myself studying more now, even after I have graduated than I did when I was enrolled at the university.

I might also add that you should try to be well-rounded, or at least capable of socializing. Learn a few things outside of your major, even if it's just picking apart the arguments of all of the feminists in those multicultural language arts classes that they force you to take, even though you're going to be a super-duper code monkey. This may sound contradictory, but you should also keep in mind that while wanting to get laid is perfectly natural and healthy, despite what some of your professors or some social clubs on campus may try to tell you, remember that your objective is to learn, get your degree, and get out as soon as possible so that you do not waste time or rack up a huge debt.

The conclusion that I have come to is that learning is indeed a lifelong endeavor. It does not stop after high school or college, and it does not exist only within the confines of traditional academia. No matter what path you choose, you are always going to have to study and practice in order to stay on top of the game; this goes back to what I said about “always beplayin'”. Utilize any resources or connections that you may have in order to perfect your craft and learn new things. This is the reality behind the importance of education.

Do Affirmations Actually Work?

Affirmations are thoughts that are spoken aloud in order to change one's mindset. New Age self-help gurus and their followers often state that verbalizing affirmations will help a person to reach their goals in life. For instance, stating that you have gained twenty pounds of muscle each morning while looking in the mirror should result in you making those muscular gains.

Is there a mystical, magical realm where your words become a reality? Is there a second dimension with mystical beings that will make sure that your dreams become a reality? Do affirmations connect you with GodJesus or some greater spiritual consciousness that will make the world suddenly work in your favor?

Some may spout affirmations daily like they should, but nothing ever happens. They find themselves further and further away from accomplishing their goals. As life passes them by, and their bodies, minds, and skills atrophy, they wonder why they are not where they should be; the magic of affirmations failed them.

I am here to tell you that affirmations are not magic, and simply stating what you want while imagining that you are where you want to be in the future is not going to bring results. Does this mean that you should completely forget about affirmations? No, not at all. I just want you to realize that affirmations alone are not going to get you to where you want to be (assuming that your goals go beyond just reciting affirmations). Verbal affirmations can be quite useful for lifting your spirits or keeping you motivated. This boost of morale and self-motivation can get you in gear to take actions towards your goals. The actions themselves are what will get you to your objectives.

Personally, I have been using affirmations from time to time, and they have helped to stave off negative thoughts and put my mindset in a frame to do what needs to be done to complete my missions in life. If you think that affirmations will help you along the road of personal development and towards your goals, then by all means employ them. They can be a great way to boost and maintain morale. Just remember that you need to get the work done if you want to succeed.

Stop Living Vicariously Through Others

In today's society, we are inundated with images of successful people. These are typically celebrities and athletes, but they may also be people that you encounter on social networks. We see this all of the time on manosphere blogs and forums, where commentators almost seem to get a rise from the exploits of others. There is nothing wrong with giving props where they are due, and nothing wrong with admiring or learning from someone that has succeeded where you want to, but the problem that I am seeing is people that go through their lives praising the accomplishments of others to get a rise in their otherwise unfulfilled lives.

The OPs, Alphas, celebrities, and so on are making their money. They're getting their püh. They're traveling the globe and enjoying themselves, all while those that are living vicariously continue to age, stay in the same neighborhoods that they grew up in, waste hours and hours online singing the praises of others and helping them finance their lifestyles while going into deeper and deeper debt. Those that get their jollies riding the bandwagon of others (at least when it comes to celebrity worship) do not really get anything of their own in the long run.

Throughout most of my life, I have lived vicariously through the accomplishments of others. I would praise celebrities like Floyd Mayweather, and each time that he fought and won, it would be a victory for me as a Black man. There is a degree of truth to that given the way that the media works, but I was not making any of the money that Floyd was making, and after the excitement of the fight was over, it was still a lonely Saturday night for me where I would try to find clips of Black men banging Asian women and frig myself vicariously to them. I spent little time trying to better my mindset so that I could take on the world and have victories of my own. If Floyd would have lost, I would have been crushed, as I would have had nothing at all to be proud of. Don't get me wrong, I would still like to see Mayweather retire undefeated, but if he does get an "L" on his record, I will still have my life to live and my endeavors to reach.

Win or lose, I will win for myself.

Instead of trying to live off of the accomplishments of others, I have decided to set forth and accomplish what I want to get done with my life. I advice you all to do the same. Turn off the video games if your level 99 warlock isn't helping you to cast spells or make money in real life. Cut off the porn because you're not banging those girls. Click off the TV, hit the gym and get swole yourself because you didn't just score that touchdown. I'm not saying that you cannot cheer for your favorite team or athlete, or indulge yourself in entertainment from time to time, but just make sure that you are growing and building yourself so that when it is all over, you can say that you actually did something with your life other than just riding the jock of others.

Oneitis: Still a Problem in the West

Throughout history, there have been several epidemics. The Plague, the Spanish Flu, AIDS, and Ebola (which was foolishly brought to the United States) all come to mind. There is one more ailment that effects otherwise healthy men, it is known as Oneitis.

The primary symptom of Oneitis is obsessive feelings over one woman. This is not to be confused with fidelity in a relationship with a woman that deserves it, or the loyalty that a functional marriage would have. Instead, it is characterized by loyalty and devotion to a woman that does not reciprocate it, or feigns it to drain a man of his resources. It may also lead to a man being inhibited from making moves in his life, whether they be romantic, financial, or otherwise, all to please this so-called special person. In this article, we will discuss some of the main causes of Oneitis.

Fear

Fear is one of the biggest causes of Oneitis. The fear of losing the interest of that “special” girl can cause men to take actions that are self-destructive, or not take actions that are beneficial. Oftentimes, the “special” girl does not find the afflicted man to be special at all, and it follows that the interest was never there in the first place. The man wastes away (or at least wastes his time) with pursuits that are non-beneficial.

Self-doubt may also cause a man to believe that he cannot attract other women. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as they say, but many times, the birds in hand are mangy pigeons rather than juicy chickens. These men will end up living lives lacking of sexual fulfillment, while being browbeaten by their ever-fattening counterparts.

Religion

Most religions teach us that fornication is wrong, and that we should seek one mate to spend the rest of our lives with. Perhaps this worked in the past, but in today's world of hypergamy and hypersexuality, these notions just do not hold. Even within the houses of religion, there is plenty of hanky-panky going on. The same preacher that teaches you to find one suitable wife is probably popping multiple women in the church, using his supposed spiritual authority to get in women's draws. He may also be splashing more than holy water on the choirboys too.

Lack of Growth

When we are children, we watch movies and read books about princes and princesses falling in love and living happily ever after. If we are lucky, we had two loving parents that supported each other. However, in today's world, there comes a time when we grow up and realize that we were lied to by the stories, and what worked for our parents might not work for us in contemporary society, for better or for worse.

Some men believe that despite all that they see around them, that there is indeed one special person made especially for them. There is a sense of justice, and no matter how many times the princess turns them down, the prince knows that he will will win her heart. Unfortunately, the only winning here is the princess taking resources from Prince Beta while getting the diugh from King Alpha.

Lack of Suitable Women

In some locations, there is a very real lack of suitable women, whether it is because the women in an area are all unattractive, or a man lacks the properties necessary to attract decent women. In the first case, the young men will naturally vie for the affections of the rare good-looking women in the area. In the latter case, a young man may devote himself entirely to the solitary female that gives him an ounce of attention.

Now that we have gone over some of the symptoms and causes of Oneitis, let's briefly discuss potential cures. Mary Poppins said that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”; in the case of this ailment, spooning out some sugarwalls is the medicine itself. See other women, and after you've busted a few good nuts, see if the princess still enchants you. A change of mindset may also be in order. Try to see the world for what it really is rather than living completely in idealism. Finally, make sure that you don't give your all to a woman that gives you nothing or only leads you on. In the future, I will talk about my bout with Oneitis and how I cured myself of it.

Reasons Why Social Justice is Not For Heterosexual Black Men

In recent years, social justice warriors have crowded to the Internet in order to "promote awareness" and take part in virtual activism. Supposedly, these social justice warriors (or SJWs for short) stand up for the downtrodden, such as minorities, women, and homosexuals against the evil, oppressive heterosexual, cisgendered White men. Now, being a Black man, I most certainly do agree that White supremacy exists, it is global, and it is detrimental to my progress. However, much of the rhetoric spewed by SJWs would stifle the progress of a heterosexual Black man as well.

Their Problems Aren't Ours

Many of the problems that SJWs (mainly White women) talk about simply aren't ours. They do not go out of their way to help us along in life, so we do not need to waste our resources (including time, the most precious resource) trying to help them. The same thing applies to other non-Whites (referred to as "people of color"), gays, and to a degree, Black women. History has shown that Black people will stand up for other aggrieved groups looking for allies only to have them throw us under the bus when they do not need us anymore. I for one won't be falling for that trick anymore. It is indeed time for us to take responsibility and do for ourselves.

The paradigm that all injustices matter is only a marketing ploy to get people to jump on a bandwagon issue and allocate their resources to a cause that is not their own. The real world does not work like that, as history has shown us. The reality is that injustices and inequalities that are closer to home or have an affect on you or your group are going to be the ones that really matter. The problem with trying to think that all groups outside of the White, male, heterosexual, cisgendered group will naturally ally is that different groups have different goals, and in reality, these goals are often met by aligning with White supremacy and putting Black folks down or exploiting us.

But You Should Understand

Yes, I certainly do understand what it is like to be discriminated against and historically oppressed. I can turn that argument right back around to the members of other so-called aggrieved groups. At the end of the day, their actions will speak louder than their words. They are making real strides towards real power. I think that I will do the same, and I advise other Black men to do the same with no shame in their game.

You Aren't White, But You're Still an Evil Cisgendered Man

If you are attracted to attractive women, then you are objectifying women. If you have a particular taste in women (team #BlackWithYellowFever all day), then you are an evil fetishist. Never mind the woman that has a thing for K-pop stars, since it is OK for her to have a preference. Never mind the guy that likes to pack fudge; he was born that way and you have to understand. To top this all off, if you refuse to accept the advances of an overweight transsexual that prefers to go by the pronoun "zer", then you are promoting the evils of patriarchy.

I just do not see how a perfect, social justice utopia would bode well for a straight man of any race.

It Takes Time Out of Your Busy Schedule

Unless you are pulling in those SJW dollars from ad revenue or some other source, then participating in online social justice crusades is a waste of your time. Not only are your interests unlikely to be addressed for the most part, you are also wasting valuable time that could be used to produce something or hone a craft that will potentially bring about real tangible power, and thus, real justice.

The same applies to arguing with SJWs (and any other fanatic adversary, such as White supremacists, religious zealots, naysayers, etc.), especially online. They will always bring some of their buddies to the fray, and you will never get through to them. The only time that I can see a purpose in such arguments is in the realm of political debate if you are running for office and can actually have an effect on policy, or if you are trying to drum something up that you can turn in your favor (maybe like some of the troll posts that the fellows at RoK write). The best thing for you to do when "confronted" by an SJW or another opponent to your side is to push forward with your endeavors and only confront them when absolutely necessary for defense of yourself, your teammates, and the pursuit of your objectives.

Always Be Playin'

One of the books that I read while I was in China instead of studying Chinese like I should have been was The 50th Law by Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power and many other personal development books. The 50th Law uses examples from the life of famous rapper, 50 Cent, as well as historical figures to illustrate important themes in the game of power. One of these lessons that I have learned and continuously try to implement in my life is found in Chapter 4 of the book: Keep Moving.

This chapter conveys the importance of constant motion. When one stagnates, they miss opportunities, but if one is constantly working towards a goal, even if they feel as if they are on top, then they can push further ahead and better secure their position from would-be adversaries. In other words, "Always Be Playin'". Although the way this is phrased sounds like it applies to gaming girls, this philosophy applies to just about any arena of life.

For instance, you might have a great job with an amazing salary, but you must remember that when you work for others, you are essentially expendable. There will always be someone else that can do your job and do it for less money, which means that you never know when a younger, more ambitious, or perhaps more willing rival will arrive to push you out of your job. However, if you know that you should "always be playin'", then you might apply for other jobs based on your experience. Even if you do not take these jobs, you might gain contacts in your back pocket just in case you need them, or at the very least, keep your interview skills fresh and potentially improve your confidence. Taking things a step further, you may choose to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors in order to develop skills and have alternative modes of income.

"Always be playin'" applies to the mind as well. As we get older, our mind tends to stagnate as we get set in our ways and the curiosity that we once had as children fades. Some of us may have been praised at a young age (deservingly or not in the Western world), which while good for building confidence and self-esteem, can actually stifle personal development. Thinking that we are entitled "know-it-alls" and that our ways are the only ways, especially when there is no power to back these claims, can lead to ruin. Instead of going down this path, one should open their mind to new ideas and opportunities.

Stay abreast of new developments, be they technological, economic, social, etc. on a global scale, then strike when the opportunity presents itself, or at the very least prepare yourself to deal with the "new world" that will emerge from these developments.