Why You Should See Every Day As Christmas

Originally posted on Return of Kings on December 2, 2014. You can read the original post here: link.

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When I was but a wee lad, my father would often say that every day is Christmas when the holiday season rolled around. In my youth, I did not understand since there were no daily presents, no Christmas specials being aired year-round, no tree that stayed up beyond New Year's, and it was back to school once the two weeks of winter break were over. It was not until recently that I truly realize what my father meant, and how this principle applies to life.

Every Day is Special, and No Day is Special

Some people tell us to live each day as if it were our last. This conflicts with the sensible approach of planning for the future, but they do have a point. We never know when our time will come to leave this plain of existence, so while we are here, we should make the most of the time that we do have. Do not wait until the holidays or special days to show appreciation for your loved ones, but instead show appreciation through your daily actions.

This also applies to actions that we would take to show appreciation to ourselves. No, I am not trying to tell you to treat yourself to a decadent triple latte like some Sex in the City character or overweight feminist blogger, but I am encouraging you to build yourself daily. Why wait until New Year's Day to make your resolutions when you know that you need to change your habits immediately. Do not hesitate when it comes to taking actions that will improve your lot in life. Even if you do not perish, opportunities are not guaranteed to always be available, so they should be pounced upon whenever possible. Do not wait until a holiday to talk to that cute girl; talk to her now if you get the chance to. Do not get caught up in holiday sales that generally aren't really good deals and waste your time standing in line; get what you need to get when you need it and can afford it.

Utilize Each Day to the Fullest

Yes, Christmas and other holidays are days off from work, but the work that you must do towards your own personal development does not stop when you clock out. Too many of us use these days to be slothful or engage only in leisure activities. Of course, it is great to enjoy yourself and to enjoy your time off, but the world will keep moving on, leaving you behind. We should do something to improve ourselves each and every day that we are allotted. Holidays are some of the better days to develop ourselves, actually, since we do not have to worry about clocking in for our bosses. Instead, we can spend that extra hour at the gym (if it's closed, we can go for a run or do calisthenics), read a few chapters in those personal development books, catch up on articles on various websites, and so on.

This is something that the advertisers and retailers know. Advertisements do not stop for the holidays; in fact, they ramp up. If businesses can do it, then why can't we? The grind never stops. Even when you are sleeping, your body is recuperating and repairing to be able to take on the next day. Just because it is Christmas, Kwanzaa, Golden Week, the Dragon Boat Festival, Fat Shaming Week, or even Christian Love Day doesn't mean that the world comes to a standstill, so we shouldn't either.

Holidays are Losing Their Luster

Okay, this probably isn't what my father meant, but it is something that I have been noticing. Maybe I have just become a humbug after becoming an adult, maybe it is a shift in cultural trends, or maybe it is a combination of these factors or other factors, but based on what I have been seeing, Western holidays seem to have lost their meanings. For most people that I know, holidays are just days where they don't have to go to work, or have to run around from store-to-store spending hours of their time and dipping into their savings to purchase decorations and gifts. This really hit home when I spent Christmas in Japan a few years back and noticed all of the Christmas decorations in a country where less than one percent of the population claims to adhere to the religion of Christianity. It's just another aspect of Western culture that the Japanese people find “cool” to follow, I suppose, and another way for international companies to make more money. (As a side note, it is also a great day to pick up in Japan).

No matter where we are or what set of holidays are celebrated in our countries of residence, we should seek to develop ourselves constantly, show appreciation to the people in our lives that deserve it everyday, not overindulge in consumerism or sloth, and not wait until designated special days to complete tasks or make necessary changes in our lives. Happy Holidays to you and yours, and remember to stay on the grind.

Racial Divide: The Need for a Black Manosphere

Anyone with any senses knows that Black men and White men (as well as other non-Black men) face very different issues when it comes to dealing with women. For the average White man, all that they have to do is fall off of a plane somewhere in Asia to go from zero to hero overnight. In the case of Black men, yes, we can have some success, but that success is not guaranteed. Perhaps there is Brazil, the Caribbean, or Africa, but even then, there are other issues that Black men must face that other races can skate around.

It is no secret that a great deal of the manosphere is geared towards White men or other races that can pass for White or can say "at least I'm not Black". With that being said, Black men are often met with hostility, or stories of White men conquering places and women that a Black man could not even dream of. If a Black man were to even think of succeeding, he is discouraged. If a Black man finds even a scant amount of success, he is demonized from his so-called redpill "brothers" just as he would be from an SJW. What we must realize is that this is competition, and from the White man's perspective, the Black man is their adversary, or at best, pawns.

Remember that time that I told you to only fight battles that benefit you? This is the time to put that advice to good use. What does it matter if a White guy gets banned from Australia for feeling up Japanese girls? I am a Black man that likes Japanese girls, and he is only out for White men to enjoy them. Of course, the SJWs would not want heterosexual Black men to get full enjoyment out of our trips to Asia either, so why not just sit back and let them fight each other while building our own resources, media, and other solutions so that we may stroll to our prizes? Why should we do battle for White men to be able to have orgies in China like in Marco Polo (while calling us nigger) when we cannot even get a drop of tang, and will not be rewarded with a single concubine for our efforts? Why should we even offer them support or give them props when we are torn down by these very same people for even being seen in China?

Brothers, and I'm talking to my Black Brothers that have any sense, it is time for us to really go our own way. Realistically speaking, we won't be setting up colonies or nations overnight, and sadly, we'll probably still have to go to their grocery stores for water, but at the very least, can we have our own forums? Can we have our own videos on YouTube for Black men addressing our issues? Can we at least ask a Black man that has been to Chengdu if we can get women there instead of asking the White guy that brags about how he can get chicks on the merit of being White?

The divide is here, people, and it is time for us to accept it. Time for us to stop trying to integrate (or be recruited) by movements, left or right of the political spectrum, that benefit us in no way. Time for us to form our own league, go for our own goals, and protect ourselves and our interests from our adversaries, just as they have done time and again. Let us strive for our own magnificence instead of praising that of others, or worse yet, attempting to contribute to it.

There Is No Escape from Work

In today's society, everyone wants quick, easy results. We see this all of the time in advertising, whether it is Six-Pack Shortcuts, quick and easy ways to make money (such as multi-level marketing or advertising partnerships), or even packaged pick-up lines to impress the ladies. Millions of people fall for systems that promise quick, easy success, only to be separated from their money and time, winding up in the same place that they were when they started these programs, or in an even worse predicament since they have thrown away their resources.

I am here to tell you that there is no alternative to working towards your goals (unless maybe you were born with great genetics or a silver spoon, and even in those cases, you would probably have to work to maintain what you have). Even if you enroll in an MLM (which I am not against, per se), you are going to have to do the ground work to build your network and reap the profits. If you subscribe to a workout plan, you are going to have to stick with it, and you might even have to learn how to modify it to get the fitness results that you truly desire. There is no guaranteed quick and easy route to success, as evidenced by those that have invested in these products and services, but have nothing to show for it since they did not get up to do the work.

We must also factor the reality of unfairness in the equation of success. There will be people out to stifle up-and-comers in order to secure their positions of power. There will also be those hawking their shortcuts, constantly looking for fools to separate from their money and their time. All of the complaining in the world (unless you are deemed “likable” or “useful” by those in power), like it or not, will not stop these things from happening or prevent these people from operating at the expense of others. With this, as well as the law of nature in mind, one must also factor in defense as a part of the work necessary to succeed. If someone has their foot on your neck, it is up to you to take that foot off and make sure that they can never do it again. If people are out to trick you, you must be wary of their traps, and ready to turn the tables in your favor when the opportunity presents itself.

Put in the work that you need to in order to strive towards your goals, and do it as soon and as often as possible. Remember that the world is cruel, and that there are entities that want to see you fail, so you must form your defenses, be they mental, physical, or otherwise, to stave off their attacks. Protecting yourself at all times goes beyond the boxing ring. Assuming that you are not my adversary, I wish you the best of luck, but your work will be the primary vehicle that will get you where you need to go.

November Goals Assessment

To begin, I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and I hope that you weren't separated from too much of your cash (or any of your limbs) on Black Friday. We have reached the end of the month, and it is time to look over the goals that we set on the first and see how we measured up.

Make $500 online

I only ended up making a fifth of this goal. I did, however, find other means to make income which should make this a much easier goal to reach by the close of the year.

Read One Personal Development Book

Another failure. I did not even crack open a personal development book this month since I became swamped with other information. there are no excuses for failure, but I am thrilled to report that the information that I have read will contribute greatly to my personal and financial development in the future.

Blog at Least Once a Week

If you have been following my blogs, you will know that I have succeeded with this goal, although most of my posts were on this blog here. My goal was only to blog at least once across all of my blogs, so this objective was completed. I am also ahead a bit in my writing, so I can take the first weeks of December a bit easier and focus on other things.

Regularly Comment on Other Blogs

Yet another failure. I did comment on other blogs, and I recently joined a social network (feel free to add me here) where I have been sharing links and interacting with a few other users, but I didn't complete my assigned task.

Looking at these goals, I have to say that I disappointed myself. Looking back at the month, however, I must say that it was an overall success and that my actions therein will open up new doors for me in the future. I will be recycling these goals next month with one modification: instead of trying to make $500 online, I only have to make an additional $500 by any legal means. I hope that you accomplished what you set out to do, and I wish you the best of luck next month. Let's finish the year strong.

Wake Up: It's the First of the Month

It's the first of the month, and that means that it is time to reassess your goals. If you made any New Year's resolutions back in January, then you still have two months to get back on track and try to make those changes. Let's try to finish this year strong.

Use whichever tactics you find necessary to get your goals done. These can be affirmations, setting higher goals and falling short at your real goal (or maybe even reaching your lofty goals, you never know), tackling your objectives piecemeal, or whatever other methods you may have to keep your targets in mind and get things done.

My personal goals for this month are as follows:

Make $500 Online

This can be by freelancing, from ad revenue, or other means, as long as I make $500 or more. This money will go towards my travel to China next year and should not be touched for any other reason.

Read One Personal Development Book

I want to read at least one personal development book from cover to cover this month. It may be a shorter e-book, but I at least want to finish one as long as it provides information that can help me out in my life.

Blog at Least Once a Week

It looks like I am already off to a good start with this goal. I want to write at least one blog post per week, either on this blog, my fitness blog, or my tech and gaming blog.

Regularly Comment on Other Blogs

I hope to communicate more with other bloggers in my niches, so I will be commenting on more blogs this month. I plan to comment at least five times a week on different blogs.

I will be keeping these goals in mind all month and striving to accomplish them. I urge you to do the same, then reflect upon your progress at the end of the month. Let's finish strong, people.

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.