30 Days To X

The days keep changing, will you?

Challenge 3: closing thoughts

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“Come ride with the Gucci man, I’ll take you club hoppin.”

– Gucci Mane, Club Hoppin

Saturday sees the end of my third challenge. And, to be honest, I’m kind of glad it’s over. While I met all my goals and did have a lot of fun along the way, I’m actually pretty excited to stay in and catch up on some reading. Since you can probably already tell that I have mixed opinions about my past month, I’m going to weigh out the pros and cons of doing this challenge.

  •  Pro: The first week of this challenge was awesome.

I had more fun during those seven days than a lot of people did over the course of a month. I met some cool and interesting people (as well as some complete weirdos), I jumped outside my comfort zone, I picked up quite a few girls, and I made new friends.

  •  Con: The first week was awesome, the second and third weren’t.

This decline had more to do with thrill wearing off than actual difficulty. If anything the first week was the hardest, the later weeks were just repetition. Saying some clever line that snags a girl’s phone number is fun the first time, doing it every day is boring.

  • Pro: I went to a bunch of clubs and bars.

Despite the fact that I don’t drink (and aren’t even legally old enough to anyway), I prefer going to clubs over attending house parties. This challenge gave me a great excuse to go out to venues every weekend.

  • Con: I went to a bunch of clubs and bars.

Contrary to what rap music taught me, nightclubs really aren’t all that. Filled with roving packs of desperate dudes and hordes of attention seeking party girls, clubbing quickly drained my intelligence and patience. While I know it sounds like I hate clubs, I actually had a lot of fun going to them during the first two weeks. After that, their novelty simply wore off and I started getting annoyed with them. I’ll still go to these types of places in the future, but I’ll do so more sparingly.

The most accurate club photo I could find.
  • Pro: I learned the value of going out during the day.

Guess where the bro swarms and Ke$ha imitators can’t be found? That’s right, anywhere that’s not illuminated by strobe lights. Upon realizing that I could talk to people during the day, I pretty much dropped my nightlife schedule. Not only did this save me money, but it also spared me from duck faces and pseudo-Alpha males. I also noticed that people during the day time are much more approachable. Girls were more responsive when I’d talk to them, and guys were a lot friendlier.

Looking back I had a lot of fun, I learned how to balance work with play, and I became more outgoing. I also used my new found social skills to deliver a knock out presentation, and to seek out new business opportunities. What I learned from this challenge was incredibly valuable to me, and I plan on continually using my social abilities to further advance myself. Also, all whining aside, I actually did have a lot of fun going out and meeting new people. If you’re ever looking for a way to break out of your shell, I highly encourage you to try this type of challenge.

The guide to being miserable

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“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”

– Wayne Dyer

Self improvement is hard. It’s also time consuming and risky. Fortunately, those who fear the commitment of bettering themselves now have an alternative:

The guide to being miserable

By following these incredibly easy steps, you too can become miserable. Unlike success, misery takes next to no effort and can be had instantaneously. Without further ado, I present you with several simple tips to making your life that much worse.

1. Over consume.

Make sure to fill every waking moment with some form of external stimulus. Watch movie marathons, spend hours in front of the television, and obsessively play video games. Although you’ll eventually begin to develop a vague sense that you’re wasting your life away, you can easily drowned this thought by upping your dosage trashy TV. If you aren’t spending at least half your day being entertained, you’re doing something wrong.

Couch-potato
Real winners never leave the couch.

2. Never create.

Don’t read books, lift weights, learn another language, play music, or start a blog. These types of endeavors take time, something that you “don’t have.” Between television and video games, your day is already booked.

3. Doubt yourself.

Even if you get the urge to do something meaningful, you should realize that there’s some chance that you might fail. Rather than focusing on the positives, make sure to fixate on whatever risks there may be. After a few days of deliberation, declare the opportunity “too dangerous,” and return to your previous ways.

4. Never take action.

Assuming that you’ve properly followed steps 1 – 3, you shouldn’t ever reach a point where taking action is possible. If, by some chance, you do see an opportunity, make sure never to pursue it. Taking advantage of a situation sounds like work, and work is to be avoided whenever possible.

5. Fear failure.

Don’t just fear this possibility that you yourself will fail, but make sure to remind others that their plans could go awry. Is a co-worker going on vacation? You’d better inform him that there’s a good chance terrorists will blow him up. Is your friend starting a business? Don’t forget to warn him about the economy. Everyone will be grateful for your “wisdom.”

6. Do the minimum.

It’s 4:59 on a Friday afternoon and you’ve got an inbox full of unanswered emails. Sucks to be whomever sent those messages, because you’re out the door. Remember, the only people who get promotions are nerds and the boss’ family. There’s no way that you’ll get ahead anyway.

Good luck, I’ll see you at the bottom.

Shut it

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“I know this really sexy move you can do with your mouth. It’s called shutting the f*ck up.”

– Tucker Max, Hilarity Ensues

You’re having a conversation, when someone says something infuriatingly inaccurate, disagreeable, or just plain stupid. We’ve all been in this situation and, at some point in our lives, have probably called the perpetrator out. Chances are, this turned out disastrously.

To quote Mark Twain: “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” I’ve seen perfectly civil adults explode with rage over differing opinions, I’ve been to parties and events that were ruined because of disagreements, and I’ve seen social circles collapse due to feuds. Even if somebody is dead wrong about something, you aren’t going to change their opinion. At best, you’ll just make them, and their friends, hate you. While I am in no way advocating being a push-over, I do think it’s best to overlook perspectives that bother you.

As I already mentioned, you can’t change anyone’s opinion. Never have I argued with someone, only to have them say: “Oh wait. You were right and I was wrong.” If you need more proof that drawing people to your view point is futile, look no further than the Spanish Inquisition. During the Spanish Inquisition, “heretics” were waterboarded, stretched on the rack, burnt at the stake, and tortured in a variety of other ways; yet many of the victims still would not convert. Their personal beliefs were so deeply ingrained that they’d rather be mutilated and massacred, than submit to ideology of others.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

If medieval torture methods couldn’t “persuade” people to change their opinions, what makes you think your well constructed argument will?

The next time that someone spouts off an idiotic statement, don’t waste your time trying to correct them. Instead, simply ignore their nonsense. There’s no reason the supply the conversation with a second idiot.

The key to brilliance

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“Simplicity is the key to brilliance.”

– Bruce Lee

When I wanted to start my own business, I had no idea where to begin.

When I wanted to go out and talk to random girls, I had no idea what to say.

When I started this post, I had no idea what to write.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed.

It’s easy to overwork yourself.

It’s easy to get burnt out.

To avoid this fate you must adopt simplistic goals.

My business plan is: make ten dollars from one thousand people.

My pick up intent is: talk to three new girls every day.

My posting objective is: write one new article a day.

These goals are simple.

These goals are easy.

These goals are infallible.