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@SelfPeace The question isn't about right or wrong. Different people are at different stages of their journey and different people have different need and desires. Really the question people should ask themselves is: what's right for you? Personally, I resonate way more with Elon Musk than lifestyle minimalism. I value contribution so much. I love success. I don't care about taking it easy. BUT, let's look at my biases. I'm a competitive, 26 year old guy who is focused on building his career. Maybe when I'm 50 and I've had a couple decades of crushing it and all this testosterone dies down I'll come around and look into lifestyle minimalism.

Let me put it to you like this. Before meditation: I spend my days running around, chasing little temporary glimpses of pleasure. Anything to get rid of that constant feeling of anxiety inside of me, usually using alcohol, drugs or sex. I'd overthink and analyze everything. Tons of personal biases towards certain groups and beliefs. Terrible diet. Low motivation to actually work hard towards any type of life purpose. After meditation: I experience a calm feeling of fulfillment the majority of the time. My thinking is way more efficient, sometimes with nothing going on in my mind at all. I respect different people's perspectives. My diet is clean. Motivation to contribute value to others is 10x. Of course, I can slip up. I'm not trying to paint this picture like my life is perfect and I'm this perfect person. The point is just that things are way better across the board. Progress is all that really matters.

Why isn't it the time and place for that now?

The harsh reality is that my schedule is so full that it's NEVER a convenient time to do my meditation. On any given day there's an infinite number of things I could be doing. My head hits the pillow at night with a whole list of things not finished. So given that's the case, what I do is I ask myself, "how high a priority is this?" If it's low priority, sorry. It just might not get done that day, no matter how productive I am. But if it's high priority, like meditation is for me, then I DON'T MAKE EXCUSES. If that means I go an hour less without sleep, then that's what is going to happen. Or I'll drop some other low priority task altogether. Beyond that, the other thing that has allowed me not to miss a day of meditation is over a year is that I do it first thing in the morning. Nothing get's done before I do my morning meditation. And if for some emergency reason I have to break that rule, it'll be the first thing I do once I handle that emergency. It's a commitment I'm willing to make because I'm bought in. I know first hand how amazing meditation can be. Really you have to ask yourself: how high a priority is this for you?

@kieranperez @Nahmand @Emptystickfigure made good suggestions. Start handling your inner emotional world. I'm also going to add on top of them what I see as the most obvious solution of all: you need to practice your social skills. That means going out and actually interacting with people. Go to networking events. Go talk to some pretty girls. Whatever is actually going to motivate you to start gaining those experiences you need. This is the one thing you don't want to because you've linked it to pain, but that's why you have to do it. This isn't going to resolve itself just by you sitting in your room and meditating. It's a skill and you have to practice it.

Why do you feel this is likely to happen?

@Marios Tsagoulis Yeah I can relate to this a lot. A harsh truth is that close family members are not perfect or necessarily even mature adults. Realize that shaming you for being selfish and "forgetting" about them IS them being selfish. It's about what they want, not what you want. A lot of it comes from the fact that older people tend to place a ton of meaning onto their children / grandchildren. They don't have much else going on, so you're what makes them feel good about their lives. It's really sad when you think about. Unfortunately you pulling back often only makes it worse. The real solution is to confront the issue head on, which is something you may not be ready for yet.

That's the exact voice you can't afford to listen to. Ego trying to hold you in stagnation. If this all happen purely because of pickup you have to switch up your strategy big time. What do your approaches usually look like?

I've met almost every RSD coach at this point, including a bootcamp with Todd. And they are definitely not natural extroverts. When you see a guy like Tyler doing what he is doing, that's something he cultivated. You could do the same...if you're willing to let go of your limiting beliefs. I know this because not only can I flip from introverted to extroverted on a dime, I've seen many other guys do it as well. When a guy is initiating into our personal development group, if he has this "oh I'm too introverted" bullshit excuse, I'll take him out to one of the best nightsclubs in South Beach and tell him to cold approach 100 people before the night is over. When he realizes I'm not kidding and that he has no other choice, one of two things happens: 1) The pressure is too much, he gets in his head and he can't do it. He ends up having one of those "soulless" nights where it seems like you're the biggest loser and you couldn't talk to anyone even if somebody put a gun to your head. Anyone who has done game for more than a week can probably relate to that. 2) He starts doing off slow, but eventually gets a ton of SOCIAL MOMENTUM. By the end of the night, that same "introverted" guy is the most outgoing, funniest, coolest motherfucker in the club. It's like you're dealing with a completely different person. And from what I've seen, EVERY guy has that potential. Does that mean you have to be like Tyler? No. Todd actually was an extremely quiet guy when you just hung out with him. But the difference is that so make guys use this "introverted" excuse to rationalize staying in their comfort zone, whereas Todd didn't.

@Pristinemn Your mind has cleverly used a high level spiritual belief in order to rationalize feelings of victim-hood. It's very good at that, especially when it comes to the part of keeping you blind to it. But every concept you've ever read or heard about enlightenment is not the full truth, including the belief that there is no free will. Spiritual growth means realizing that you are the creator of your reality. You are not separate from the Source that creates everything, and so you can write any story you choose. The only way someone could believe they are powerless is if they still believed themselves to simply be an isolated ego, struggling to win the war against life.

Dude it's bad sometimes. A couple years ago I went on a first date with this girl and we had sex at the end. Literally her last words as she's walking out the door are "Text me. We had sex, so I think I earned a second date". And she was dead serious. Good-bye any chance there was of that happening. So it's not a men or women thing. There's just massive misinformation about how to interact with the opposite gender because any time you try to bring this stuff up, people who are using that strategy get mad af because their bullshit is being called out.

@aniss You're not in love dude. And she's not in love with you. Period. Come back when this doesn't work out.

@Emerald I've worked with a lot of these guys. The whole "she put me in the friend-zone thing" is part misinformation about male / female dynamics due to conditioning, and part just a way to avoid responsibility. Because as long as it's the girl's fault, they don't have to change and face all those fears that are "keeping them in the friend-zone". The female equivalent to this is when a girl thinks a guy should want to commit to her "just because". But the reality is every girl I meet is basically thrown into this ambiguous, default category for relationships UNLESS she shows me something that makes her stand out.

Like I said before, I would spend some time looking at inner game concepts. Realize that both "average" and "elite" are both roles that people just decided at some point in their life. It's not real. So the more you start to see yourself as "that guy", the more the world will accept that label. But realistically, you won't right away. So you'll have to deal with the barriers to entry to these kind of people that stop you from doing just that. For instance, the best nightclubs with the coolest people are always the hardest to get into. And even if you find a way in, there will even be layers of VIP within the nightclub itself. General rule of thumb: if you're going somewhere with no barrier to entry, it's not worth going. So start small and build it up. Go to events on Meetup.com or Eventbrite.com and mastermind with people who are growing. Even better, start your own Meetup. If you live in a city with good nightlife, get a subscription to Jukely and use that to get into those venues. Go out with co-workers to happy hour. find the guy who looks successful and start a conversation. All it takes is one person. I met this entrepreneur in July who has spent the last couple years building a high end social circle here in Miami. Because I provided value to him and we became friends, now I have access to almost his entire circle. Then I met the people from his circle and did the same thing. Rinse, repeat. The better it gets, the better it gets. Never took Leo's life purpose course. I'm sure it's good though because Leo's stuff is always high quality. The Element by Ken Robinson and The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks are decent. Then there's my digital product on my website about life purpose, 10/10 obviously

@sleeperstakes Be Obsessed or Be Average Grant Cardone and Relentless by Timothy S. Grover are both AMAZING books. Get them right now and get the audiobook version for both. There's a lot of different factors that cause this. I'll lay them out as I've experienced. The first is that you've been socially conditioned into averageness. Average people hang around other average people, do average things and get fed average people thoughts. When you actually start performing like an A+ player, average people around you will try and get you to stop or think it looks crazy. Understand that most people don't actually want high level success. If they did they'd either have it or be on a track to get it. But as it stands, 95% of people will accomplish very little. Why? Because success is a threat. Success requires breaking out of your comfort zone, changing who you are as a person, working hard, taking risk, facing disapproval and being scared. It's much easier to just stay average. Another factor is just habit. Every time you make the decision to be average, you reinforce that personality. Every time you excel, you reinforce that personality. They're both habits. Another factor could be that you've haven't done any work towards discovering your life purpose. It's tough to feel inspired when you don't feel that what you're doing has a larger purpose or vision to it. The final factor I'll mention is that maybe life hasn't been hard enough for you yet. It's controversial to say, but the truth is that pain and failure do create leverage for us to take action. So here's some simple practical steps right now: 1) Start treating every decision almost as if you entire life hinged on this one decision, no matter how seemingly small or petty. Imagine there is no past or future and all that matters is right now. 2) Start making friends with people who aren't average. And consume the content of those you deem playing at a high level so you can see how they think 3) Affirmations. Tell yourself that you work harder than anyone else in the room. Doesn't matter if it's true, the more you say it the more it will become true.

@kieranperez Nothing you just said matters. Is it unfair that you don't have to inject insulin into your body everyday because you're not diabetic? Is it unfair that you have an internet connection instead of living in a third world country? Is it unfair that you were lucky enough to even find self-help? No. It's just the cards you were dealt. If success doesn't come naturally to you and you have to work on it, what other choice do you have? You have to accept where you currently are at. Just admit that your situation sucks and to get better might take years of grueling effort. Then you can actually get to work. Other people's experience has nothing to do with yours. Comparing yourself to others in this way only serves one purpose: reinforce your victim identity.

@Akshay Yes, it's likely that as you wake up your subconscious will reveal more and more in your dreams. Usually they will be things still unresolved in yourself that you're not consciously aware of. Look at your dreams in terms of metaphors and symbols. What do gunmen trying to kill you represent? What does having a great time with a girl you've decided to cut off mean?

@otmane One of the things I constantly try to point out on this forum is not only can they go together, it's almost inevitable that they will go together if you choose. I don't look at waking up as this "separate thing" that I do for my spiritual life. No, waking up is about getting a life. And getting the exact life that you want with ease and joy because you've realized your abilities as a creator. When you start to do that, that's when the wins come rolling in. Money, health, relationships and all that will start to become easy.

@7thLetter I'll answer your question with a real life story of mine. Around 3 years ago I was going really hard at learning pickup. I had this one friend who I knew had potential, but he had a ton of limiting beliefs around learning game. I briefly tried to talk logic to him, but just like in your experience, it didn't work. So I decided to try something different. I stopped attempting to convince him and instead committed to leading by example by embodying everything I was trying to teach him. I knew that if he could see what I was doing was working, he would change his mind. It worked. Every time we went out, he couldn't deny the success I was getting and so he slowly started coming around. Now not only does he has an awesome dating life, he basically 10edx his charisma and has become a more confident, secure and happy person since then. The personal development / game group I help run works on the same principle. People who come to us get inspired not because we lecture at them, but because we attempt to embody what we teach. When you do that, suddenly your friends will be coming up to you and asking for advice. But it doesn't happen unless we can let go of that need to be right and change people to fit our expectations of who they should be.

@ValiantSalvatore Yes there are. In fact, I'd say you're more likely to find people who are conscious and successful than successful and unconscious. Here are some potential models for you to follow: -Russell Simmons -Jim Carrey -Gary Vaynerchuck -John Carlton -Tony Robbins -Eben Pagan -Jewel -Oprah -Ryan Holiday And that's really just to start.

@LiakosN Realize that the majority of people, male AND female, are unsure of themselves and are subconsciously looking for people to make their decisions for them. Making decisions is scary. It means you could make the wrong one and fail. It means that other people might disapprove of the choice you make. If you want to be a leader in life, you have to rise above that. This isn't suggesting that you become some sort of tyrannical dictator around your girlfriend, always telling her what to do. People don't respond well to that either. Be open to her opinions and seek out her input. It's important. But you're seeking her input so YOU can make a decision, not putting the responsibility on her.

@Gabriel Antonio I'm on the cold shower band wagon as well. Everyday it's a chance to face those old conditioned patterns and do what is right anyway. You're taking back your power. I'm curious what was your experience that led you to believe that committing to other practices was a trap. Was it simply too much all at once?

@Shir This may be too blunt, but I don't believe you. I think you're afraid. You're afraid of what would happen if you had casual sex, and so you've constructed this whole identity of "the proud virgin" in order to avoid that. Ask yourself: is this role I'm playing still serving my needs? If it is, great. Keep it. But if it's not, and I highly suspect it's not, you may want to make the conscious decision to start dropping it.

@Wouter Write 100 blog posts and analyze each one to see where your writing could improve.

@kieranperez It's not "like" you're trying to be miserable. You actually are trying to be miserable. What I mean is that human self-sabotage for all sorts of subconscious reasons. Sure, maybe you theoretically want this awesome life purpose where you live your dreams. But what would that imply you would have to do? Change. Focus and work hard for a long period of time. And most importantly, you'd have to face many of the fears that are keeping you in place. As long as someone desires to avoid the pain of growth more than moving up in life, they're fucked. Because you always get what you most want. If you want to stay small, you'll stay small. Some journaling can really be helpful here to release blocks. Sit down with a pen and paper and just vent all your frustrations. All about how you hate your life and how much it sucks and how you're just sick and fucking tired of this bullshit. Really feel the emotion of it. You'll know it's working if your actions change.