It’s 7 A.M. on a Monday and I was on the way to the gym. I was crossing the road at a busy T-junction and the intersection was filled with impatient drivers. More than one vehicle came so close to knocking me down as the snappy, grumpy drivers obviously could not wait for this sole pedestrian (me) to finish crossing the road.
Inconsiderate? Maybe.
Monday Blues? Probably.
Anxious about being late for work and getting their ass fired by their boss? Most definitely.
In contrast, I was having none of their Monday Blues gibberish. I was in a pretty awesome mood, having taken 1500mg of Rhodiola Rosea (an amazing adaptogenic herb that gives you clean energy) that morning.
BACKGROUND
As a background to this story: I live in Singapore, the country where cars are the most expensive of any countries in the world. A Toyota Corolla costs US$100,000, versus US$18,000 in the United States.
Those lousy, impatient drivers who wanted my fucking life are not exactly super wealthy.
Private vehicles, unlike in the US, are hardly a necessity in this ultra-urbanized, densely-populated island city.
So why are the roads so congested every day?
This quote from the 1999 movie Fight Club best explains this weird situation:
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”
Simply put, the average Joe on the road is likely to be the same kind of guy who listens to society, and does it’s bidding (with a noose tied around his neck as he prepares to viciously murder any slow-moving pedestrian).
Average Joe is Unquestioning Joe!
He is part of the normal folks stuck in the default mindset — which is to be a Consumer.
What do I mean?
Unquestioning Joe has been taught by society to become one of the zombie-sheep mindless consumers who easily get influenced by the mass media. They also fall for marketing and advertising gimmicks they see in the mightly Lamestream Media.
The Unquestioning Joes on the road are in a rush to get to work before they get their asses fired. No, this can’t happen! After all, they need that few grands every month to consume the shit they consume.
Here’s a very short list of things they have been brainwashed to want to “consume”, such that it has become second nature to them (part of their identity):
- The latest iPhone 999s (where ‘s’ stands for stupid sheep)
- A $100,000 car (that they change every five years, especially when their friends/relatives get a better one than theirs)
- A mortgage that is way more than they can afford (which effectively locks them into their frustrated lifestyle of murdering pedestrians every morning)
- Get married (and spend $50,000 on the wedding to show off to the same friends/relatives)
- Have 2.5 kids (because their parents wanted trophy grandchildren to display to their imaginary competition)
Don’t even try to explain the irony to Unquestioning Joe that he paid $100,000 for a fucking Toyota, only to leave it at the parking lot at his workplace for 15 hours a day (because that’s how long he needs to work to pay off that vehicle loan) and then drive it back home to sleep and leave it at the apartment.
Needless to say, the average person with the Consumer mindset belongs to the herd that is effortlessly deceived by Lamestream Media, and therefore still doesn’t understand the Trump/Brexit phenomenon.
Alright, back to the story.
After my near-death experience with the goddamn drivers, I hit a productive workout in an empty gym from 7.30 A.M. to 8.30 A.M. because everyone else was stuck in rush hour traffic going toward the same direction (literally and metaphorically).
I don’t have a schedule.
I make my own schedule.
But if you were caught in that rush hour traffic, you couldn’t enjoy the empty gym I had. You’d have to squeeze in your workout (if any) after work — with your already low energy further drained by the sight of 13 other weary zombies queuing for the same workout bench.
This brings me to the topic of how to find the Freedom and Fulfillment that only a very small minority of people enjoy in today’s modern society.
Listen up, this is the mindset shift that had the biggest impact on my lifestyle, world view, how I see life and society… Everything.
Producers versus Consumers
Previously I alluded to the fact that our default mindset is to be a Consumer. There’s completely natural — after all, that’s what our society and all its institutions (like the education system) prep us for.
So what’s the alternative? What’s that alternative that allows the small minority to see everything in life through a completely different lens, ultimately giving them freedom and fulfillment.
It’s as though they just “get it”.
Ladies and gentlemen, that alternative is called the Producer mindset.
The Consumer/Producer divide is first and foremost a MINDSET.
Just like being a beta cuck is a mindset, not a physical characteristic (lots of gym rats may look tough and ripped but remain betas fundamentally).
Let me use an analogy:
The Consumer is like a tap. The Producer is like the reservoir.
You see, a tap simply flows when someone else presses it. It’s totally reactive, and no difference from a puppet. Sad, isn’t it?
The reservoir, on the other hand, has agency. It is always actively doing something for itself. During periods of high flows, the reservoir captures and impounds water — preventing bad things like floods. During periods of low flows, the reservoir gradually release water that it had stored — alleviating droughts.
The significant and consequential difference is this:
Consumers look to Producers to solve their problems and PROVIDE them with something they need (will pay money for).
Just as one reservoir supplies millions of taps with water, when you shift to being a Producer, people now look to you as a solution to their problems.
You become a Producer/Creator and a Visionary.
GLOBAL EXAMPLE
When the Pokemon GO craze surfaced in 2016, 99% of people displayed typical Consumer behavior — throwing away hours of their time playing that mindless game. SAD!
The 1% are the visionary, they looked beyond the surface and saw opportunities that nobody else could, and they made a helluva money capitalizing on the fad.
PERSONAL EXAMPLE 1
In 2011-2012, the ‘Fifty Shades’ phenomenon hit the world.
E.L. James is a very smart, successful lady. Millions of women (and some men) were going ovaries-over-heel over her erotic romance novels. She made so much money from those three books that she never have to work for the rest of her life. So successful was her trilogy that in 2015, we saw the first film adaptation of the series.
What did most people with Consumer mindsets do? They (mostly men) whine about how terrible E.L. James was as an author (even though they probably can’t differentiate ‘you’re’ from ‘your’), how much the writing sucks, and how they couldn’t understand Fifth Shades’ popularity among the ladies.
Cry louder, I can’t hear you…
What did I do?
I looked at the huge success of E.L. James and got inspired — I saw a market. That happens with a Producer mindset. So long story short, I wrote four short erotica stories and published them into a book of my own. For all the men and women who love smut, click here to check out Primeval Hysteria (free sample available).
PERSONAL EXAMPLE 2
When I was a Consumer, I spent time and money looking for cool, sexy accessories to upgrade my style.
When I decided to become a Producer instead, I’m the one selling these super cool and sexy accessories and jewelry to other people out there looking for what I was looking for.
It’s a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that most people living the Consumer life feel missing in their life.
Just real quick, I wish to clarify that being a Producer is NOT just about money. It’s about:
1) FREEDOM
Yes you need enough money to live freely (financial freedom), but to me it’s a means to an end. What I value even more than money is TIME. When you’re a Producer working for yourself (whether you’re an artist, writer, musician, or genius businessman), you have 100% control over your time. I can go to the beach and lie down on a Tuesday afternoon if I so desire, but the impatient drivers on the road can’t because they have somewhere to be at (that they rather not).
2) FULFILLMENT
At some point when you have met the basic threshold of human material needs, what really matters is how fulfilled you are with your life. Being a Producer or Creator gives you tons of fulfillment that getting drunk in mindless consumption of junk material goods can never give. At some point, the trophy cars and houses that Unquestioning Joe accumulates only serve to numb himself from his meaningless existence. Why do you think lots of high-flying corporate people (who are “successful” by society’s brainwashed definition) suffer from anxiety, depression, and even suicidal tendencies?
PERSONAL EXAMPLE 3
When I was a Consumer, I spent endless hours consuming content (surfing forums, reading books, watching videos) that enriched the pockets of others.
When I decided to become a Producer instead, I’m the one creating content that others consume.
For instance, I wrote a book about the system I painstakingly developed to make money betting on soccer/football.
Look, I WAS a huge soccer/football fan, but those days are over (I’m talking about when I was a 12-year-old). BUT some of the people I know who used to spend all their time watching sports on TV are still doing the same, just that they are now twelve years older.
The Consumer consumes for the sake of consuming. The Producer only consumes selectively, strategically, and intelligently to his benefit, and for a purpose to serve a further cause.
Me? I’ve moved on. I couldn’t care less about professional sports these days. I always say, “The only teams I support are the teams that make me money!”
BTW — You can make a significant side income betting on soccer games too, even if you don’t know a single thing about soccer/football. I will hold your hand, teach you my system, and help you make tremendous profits from soccer betting.
Why be a Producer?
If you want to survive AND THRIVE in the New World Order, you have no other choice.
Look at what’s happening in our world today. The average pay ratio of CEO to median worker is 204-to-1, according to a 2014 study. At Chipotle and Walmart, the pay gap is more than 1,000 times!
We Millennials live in a world that has more opportunities than ever, but unfortunately the average Millennial is pretty much an idiot — unintelligent, unmotivated, and utterly conformist. It doesn’t take much for you to be ahead of your peers in this generation!
Why am I telling you this? Because my mission is to tell the truth and offend conventional wisdom.
If you want a life of freedom and fulfillment, pay attention to this mindset shift that I’m going to talk about.
How To Shift Your Mindset in 2 Steps
STEP 1: In order to free up precious time and energy to become a Producer, you need to ruthlessly cut down on your meaningless consumption.
Human beings have a limited reservoir of time and energy. Before you even start trying to think like a Producer, you need to recognize the vast amounts of meaningless consumption that currently occupy your daily life. Then you need to cut out all of that.
Unbeneficial activities.
Unbeneficial people.
Unbeneficial “stuff”.
GET THEM OUT OF HERE.
Let’s start with this: The biggest time suck in the 21st century is no doubt the SOCIAL MEDIA FEED.
SCREW YOUR FEED. Whether it’s Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat/YouTube/Reddit/whatever-the-fuck-people-are-obsessed-with-nowadays, you’re better off ignoring that shit in the Evil FEED.
Want to use social media? Try this instead: Only visit pages of people that you actually care about (and who care about you). And GO TO THEIR PAGE DIRECTLY. That’s how I use social media. If you want to see what Uncle Jim is up to, go to his profile. DON’T SCROLL THE USELESS SHITTY FEED. By the way, is Uncle Jim an asshole? If yes, DON’T EVEN BOTHER CHECKING WHAT HE’S UP TO. Better still, delete that asshole so there’s less things on your feed.
I have a set number of Facebook pages that I visit in a fixed order, and I’m very particular on the pages/people/websites that I spend my precious time on. Either it adds value to my life, or it’s out.
By avoiding your feed, you avoid all the drama that your Unquestioning Joe acquaintances love to feed you in order to attract attention online and add color to their dull lives. Save precious emotional energy!
Remember: When you’re consuming, someone else is making money at your expense.
In this case, the social media networks who want you to remain on their apps as long as possible so they can feed you more ads.
When you see less ads, you suddenly don’t think you need all that shit that Unquestioning Joe deems “necessary”. Save money!
STEP 2: After you free up excess time, energy, and money by consuming less, redirect those resources to invest in yourself.
Spend your time, energy, and money on activities/people/stuff that add value to you.
Whether it’s:
- taking better care of your health
- building a stronger body
- upgrading your style and looking better
- picking up a new skill
- mastering an old skill
- setting up a passive income-generating business
- doing all the shit you have always wanted to do
Remember: You’ll always be a loser if you’re stuck in this consumerist, conformist culture, and when you’re losing, it means someone else is winning.
Like the undeserving CEO who is making 1,000 times more than you.
Case Study: My Trashy Click-bait News Site
Around 2014-2016, I started two news websites.
The first was called EatSleepDouche (I’m really proud of the name I came up with, LOL) which I used as an experimental platform for active learning.
When I started to get serious and saw the money-making potential, the second project called Bohemian Report was born. I hired a team of 10 freelance writers and editors, set up the brand identity and editorial direction, and was ready to let the ad revenue money roll in.
I knew I needed traffic, lots of viral traffic for our click-bait articles. Sad, brainless sheep stuck at their boring jobs needed entertainment — that was my target audience. So I structured a business collaboration with a major established site, tapping on their existing readership as part of a revenue sharing arrangement.
It was fun while it lasted, I eventually pulled out and it was the right call because Crooked Facebook was going to dramatically reduce the organic reach of viral sites like that.
How did I get the idea? How did I decide I wanted to become a Producer in that industry?
Well, you see, I was a freelance writer at a handful of sites. The most prominent of which is a lifestyle-entertainment site, BroBible, which you might have come across before. Their parent company — Woven Digital — is one of the biggest American digital media companies and publishers.
But while they were happily raising $18 million in funding, their Accounts Payable department had serious problems paying me on time. Nobody gives a fuck about freelancers! Scums!
But the bigger problem was: As a freelance writer, I was selling the ownership rights of my work in return for getting paid once, while they will FOREVER be making money from the articles I wrote.
You see, when you don’t OWN the work you produce, you’re not really a producer. If I woke up one day and was lazy to write, nobody would be paying me. On the other hand, the owners of the site could be lying on the pristine, white beaches at Cancún while my already-written articles would be continuously bringing in profits for THEM.
Now that you know the truth about capitalism, ownership of the means of production, and how the world system works — how do you feel?
It’s the exact same thing at any 9-to-5 job whether you’re working for a small company or large corporation. Your slave-driver boss only pays you for the time you spend at work!
You’re trading time for money, which you use to consume meaningless stuff in order to de-stress from work, and then need to return to work to make more money to repeat the cycle. WHAT?!
If you truly want to make Big League bucks, you MUST be a Producer who owns and controls the means of production, in whatever industry you’re in.
You need to stop trading your time for money!
It’s a blatant lie that society is feeding you — that you need to trade your time for money in order to make a living — because it upholds the functional structure of society.
Imagine if ordinary working people came to their senses and wanted to do things on their own terms, where would multi-national corporations find their source of cheap (slave) labor?
The education system (which is supposed to teach you critical thinking) serves an insidious function to put you into huge debts incurred during higher education, so you’d have no choice but to join the ranks of the Consumer-Workers to pay off your massive student loans!
Magic happens when you shift your mindset!
Staying on my trashy news site example, magic truly happens once you shift your mindset.
- I no longer read the crazy viral stories online for entertainment or for the sake of reading it, I started reading it with the purpose of finding good stories to write about.
- I began to look at everything with a different eye. Instead of being a Consumer of similar viral sites in my industry, I study them in order to figure out how to write the best headlines to maximize readership and where to place adverts to maximize revenue.
- By the way, do you know that enterprising teens/Producers in Macedonia were earning big bucks from sensational “fake news” websites during the US Presidential Election Campaign of 2016? These writers weren’t even US citizens! But all the brainless Americans were reading and lapping up their stuff! The power of the Internet!
My online store selling the coolest, most edgy, and most unique fashion accessories and jewelry on Planet Earth is another example.
Lupine & Co. — Stylish, modern, cool fashion accessories and jewelry
- When I go to the malls, I’m not there to shop for myself. I’m there to look for creative inspiration and ideas to better my own online store.
- When I come across marketing tactics used by other businesses, instead of being like Unquestioning Joe who has an impulsive habit of hoarding material goods, I study them with the intention of learning their best practices AND thinking how to improve on their shortcomings.
I can go on to list a dozen examples, but it’s best for you to experience for yourself how magical it feels when you’ve switched sides to become a Producer. There’s still a lot to discuss, but I’d like to prevent this post from becoming 5k-words long, so stay tuned for future discussions.
I’ll see you in the next post.
I am the only one commenting on this post!
This is the best post I have read in my life.
Everything you have mentioned I completely agree and realized it about 5 years ago when I started working and I knew I couldn’t be in a desk for ever. In 8 months I am quitting my job, traveling the world, with more than $100k in savings and doing freelancing on the side. I make more than 6 figures a year with my current job (I am 27 years old) but as you say after you meet your basic needs and you have more money than you need, you start thinking about what really makes you happy and what makes you feel fulfilled. For me it is traveling the world, helping small businesses grow and trying to change this planet to a more sustainable one.
We definitely need to meet some time. Wish you the best!
Great comment, my man.