March 2009

Non-Conformity, My Ass; or Why We’re All a Bunch of Posers

58 by Paid to Exist in Personal Freedom

Beware of any enterprise that requires a new set of clothes.” –– Henry David Thoreau

DisobeyRat Race. Trend. Fad. Blind leading the blind. Mainstream.

A lot of names, one thing: conformity. And I do my best to question what’s popular as much as possible.

But the question is this: If you’re going to question everything, shouldn’t you also question your questioning? Shouldn’t you challenge the desire itself to question?

I agree with this sentiment. I often feel that questioning everything simply leads to blindness of a different flavor.

… Click to read more

The Lie of The Four Hour Work Week

257 by Paid to Exist in Entrepreneurship, Passion, Productivity
The Lie of The Four Hour Work Week

The promise of a four hour workweek magically righting all wrongs in your life, is a lie. Not only is it highly implausible, but if you ever do achieve a four hour work week, you’ll probably want to get rid of it.

Why is the Four Hour Workweek (4HWW for short) a lie? Well, there’s two reasons. Number one, it’s come to the attention of quite a few people that Tim Ferriss really defines “work” as something you don’t want to do.

… Click to read more

If It’s a Good Idea… Don’t Do It

78 by Paid to Exist in Off Beat, Passion

Not a Good Idea

For a long time, I’ve held the belief that if something is a good idea, it’s worth doing.

Now, I completely reject that notion.

I just can’t operate that way anymore. I know better and my brain can’t be fooled.

In 2007 Tim Ferriss coined the term “work for work’s sake.” Since then, something worse has emerged: “improving for improvement’s sake.” (Honestly, this conundrum has probably been around for centuries. I just came up with it now because I desperately want to coin a phrase of my own, so I can be cool, too.)

… Click to read more