YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

[Mutant]

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE
​

What am I talking about? We like freedom round these parts. We choose what we want to do & when. No boss breathing down our necks. We always have options. We're not beholden to anyone.


Ah.

There it is though.

The first of the unfinished sentences we pretend is complete.


We're not beholden to anyone... else.


Once busyness & distractions & all the nonsense has stopped - even if it takes being laid up ill in bed to do it - we all eventually have to face that still quiet voice inside of us that asks:

Why are you doing what you shouldn't?
And why aren't you doing what you should?

​

And if you dare stare hard enough into the abyss of truth you know that any feeble answer you could mutter is not a reason, it's just an excuse.



So, what choice do we have?

If I offer you the choice between a million dollars for you to keep OR I shoot you point-blank in the face, then I think I know what you'd choose. We could argue all day long about how you do, technically, have a choice, & whilst that's true - it's so heavily weighted, it's not much of a one. But as long as the positive choice is that great, who cares, right? It's easy to do that right thing when that's the case.



I've always done supposedly "risky" things. Things with a low chance of success. Things which others may wish they could do, but think that they can't. They look at the equation & perceive it to be:

Should I choose the security of normality OR take the strange risk with low odds?
​

For many that doesn't even seem like a valid choice. It's like asking "would you like to live a pleasant life, or to be destitute in the streets?" The possibility of the strange risk actually paying off - whilst an engaging day dream - just doesn't seem real. That still quiet voice, if it even exists for them, is so subtle it's easily ignored or drowned out in any mild act of hedonism, or perhaps by an appeal to duty. This can go on for years.

"You're so crazy" they say. Or perhaps even "You're so brave"

But I am neither. I just heard the voice inside me speak & so I know my true equation:

Should I take the strange risk with the low odds OR have a mental breakdown?​

You have to agree that's not much of a choice.

It's not crazy to try & avoid rock bottom.
It's not brave to pick a fist fight over being shot in the face.

I have no choice.



Some hear the quiet voice much less. Perhaps they are lucky.
Or perhaps they'll only manage to suppress it until they reach mid-life & have a crises, but be so unused to tuning into the voice that they won't know what to do, & instead just reach for a cliche - perhaps a compensatory sports car, or an affair. Even in their panic they'll still take their behavioural cues from normality. That's how you cope with a mid-life crises... right?



But that's not you - you're here. Whether MJ DeMarco introduced you to it, or you already believe in life, liberty & the pursuit of entrepreneurship & just found a home here.
I hate to break it to you though, if you came here it means you're stuck with a choice, & you might not like it:

Will you accept a slow, painful wasting disease & remain conscious whilst it eats you alive
OR will you accept a hand of cards, an overview of the rules of the game, & just enough chips to play?​

Let's face it - you have no choice.

Perhaps ignorance is bliss. But for many ignorance is just a dissatisfaction they don't know how to solve.

Luckily or not, it's too late for you now - you can't un-see it.

If you've seen though the hollow appeal of sidewalk life
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you've understood how flimsy the promises of the slowlane truly are
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you've grasped how the fastlane really works & what it could do for you
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If, in light of all the evidence presented on this forum & beyond, you're convinced that it is possible to succeed at this
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you believe you can steer your own ship, chart your own path & are responsible for doing so
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you know that there's always another way over, under, round or through
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you accept failures are to be expected, but are not the end of the game
YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

If you are wondering through the desert of desertion
...

​

Ah.

There it is.

That question.

Should you give up?

People are so busy stressing about the question, they forget the rest of the sentence which is what really brings forth the answer.

Should you give up... & do what?



I was once advising an actor friend. Acting is a tough profession & shares much in common with entrepreneurialism. She was going through the desert of desertion. I'd seen it in actors before. For many my question of what they'd do instead had elicited an even bigger existential crises as they'd confronted the void of what their life would be without acting. It seemed a black hole. They weren't really ready to quit, they were just traversing a tough bit of desert.
On this occasion though, her eyes lit up. She didn't actually know what she would do, but freed from the burdens & constraints of an acting career, she was excited by all the possibilities & was eager to try them out.
I knew if she quit - even if just for a time - she'd be ok.



So wait, what - now I'm saying it's ok to quit? Wasn't I banging on about not having a choice?



Actually, what I'm writing about is listening, very intently, to that quiet voice, that gut feeling, that conscience, that guiding light you may have buried under a bushel of fear, or shame, or pride. Sure you can deviate from it - you can choose to make your life worse. But if you want your life to be everything it can be - listen - you have no choice.



If you know your equation has changed & your current path is now measurably inferior to the alternative - be honest with yourself & make the change. For your own good - you have no choice.

If you're totally burnt out & need to recuperate you will not win in your current state - you have to take time to recover. For your own good - you have no choice.



But



If you're here, sat at the table, cards in hand, terrified it's all going wrong & you're never going to win - pause. Listen. If you know those thoughts aren't the truth - they're just the fear talking - then you know what you have to do. Wipe the sweat off your brow, remind yourself of how the game works, ask for advice if you need it, gather up your remaining chips & play.

You have no choice.​

 

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[Not Most People]

Should you give up?

People are so busy stressing about the question, they forget the rest of the sentence which is what really brings forth the answer.

Should you give up... & do what?

Exactly. What's the alternative? Mediocrity? Regret?

The alternative makes it an easy choice

 

[Kak]

Absolutely off the charts post. Thanks @Mutant