Maximilian

Starting this to document and maybe get feedback on my current situation. Feel free to jump in. Right now I'm in a situation where I work for someone else, but they're also my business partner. It's a tricky relationship to navigate because while they are the founder of the company with all the equity, the work I am doing is generating the vast majority of our revenue. The founder started the company, but since joining, I have helped bring the company in a completely new direction and evolve in so many different ways. I love our mission and our product (in the health-conscious snack food space) and I have witnessed the founder's chaotic state of mind switch back and forth so many times. We are both clear on the vision and direction that we want to take the company and I do feel appreciated, valued, and fairly compensated for my work. However, there are times where I feel as though my creative autonomy is limited. He is very much from a different time in business and does not understand a lot about how e-commerce works. There are a lot of initiatives that I feel held back from simply due to limiting beliefs he has about marketing (mainly, he thinks it's evil and is hyper-controlling about the content that we put out). Any marketing project he is involved in, I feel gets worse because of his lack of true free creative expression. He is one of those "I don't use social media" types, which is ironic because he tries to give me input on video content whilst simultaneously wanting nothing to do with it at the same time. Since this is the case, I end up just posting on my own accord because I truly know what is best for the company. I made an ad without any of his input and it's delivering us a 5x ROAS (return on ad spend) and scaling our business. He has some great ideas, but expects me to execute his vision perfectly without ever delivering me anything in writing just based on verbal feedback. Maybe there is a better way I can tell him that "I'd prefer feedback this way" or "Why don't we try this.." I don't know. These are just some thoughts. Overall, very grateful to be in the position that I'm in because my role does truly feel like my purpose but I do feel held back at times creatively.

Israelis are protesting the war in Gaza. Article from the Wall Street Journal: Israeli State news channels, which have not previously been broadcasting footage from Gaza, have been showing more footage over the past few months of the realities in Gaza. Many left-leaning Israelis are protesting, demanding that the Israeli government end the war in Gaza.

@ExploringReality Sounds like a David Deida quote. I agree wholeheartedly. Go out, approach those women, flirt with them, fuck them and show them who's boss.

Stop viewing "pickup" as "pickup" the best frame is that you're just an attractive guy who is very social. Women will come into your life naturally because you talk to a lot of people and are attractive. It is absolutely possible to have healthy relationships from cold-approach. But when "Pickup" becomes your identity, then yeah, it's going to become a problem. You're speaking in black and white terms. Is spending all day approaching women a bad thing? Yes. Is not knowing how to approach a girl you find attractive also bad? Yes.

Had an interaction with a girl in a coffee shop which I wanted to share. I remember in Leo's "How to get laid" series, he mentioned somewhere that you should adopt the frame that you're better than the girl at everything. This chick was reading a book called "Bad Feminist" and I used it as an excuse to tease her, "That's exactly the type of book I would expect a girl in San Francisco to be reading." She laughed and was like "Yeah, I know I feel like people are going to think I just got this book for the aesthetic, but I was genuinely curious." This actually lead us into a conversation about politics (a big "no no" topic in game) but she asked where I fall on the political spectrum after telling me she was liberal and I handled it smoothly by saying "I try to approach all people with empathy and compassion rather than labeling them." Which she liked. But the best part was that I made a callback to this moment when she said she was into fashion. I said "I could picture you wearing a fur coat" and she said, "Yes, omg I would love that." To which I said "that's not very liberal of you though." I'M GONNA OUT LIBERAL YOUR LIBERALISM, GIRL 😂

The only reason Seed Oils is a "controversial topic" is because mainstream science shows that consuming seed oils improves health markers (lowers LDL and heart disease) while MAHA people argue that they cause inflammation (with weaker science to back it up & then also claims that lowering LDLs is not actually healthy).

Agree with this a lot. Most of what I've seen RFK doing has been performative, meaningless slop. Switching Steak & Shake's french fries to beef tallow is going to do NOTHING to help the health of Americans. If anything, he's actively promoting a fast food establishment and more people will likely eat there because they are dumb and think it's somehow "healthier" now. Same goes for removing red dye, switching coke from HFCS to cane sugar, it does nothing meaningful to address the health crisis in America. I agree with you Leo, this is corrupt Green. MAHA is performative and it's a distraction from what truly matters.

Great job! I am very much a coffee addict. My caffeine intake ranges from 150-300mg per day. But about once every two months I will go cold-turkey for a week. I notice it does wonders for my nervous system and sleep. But it definitely is an adjustment. I'll usually crash hard around 3-4pm mark.

What characterizes corrupt Green? I agree that RFK is corrupt, but my point was more so about the deeper impact that this movement is having on the general population.

It seems to me there is a growing movement of anti-corporate and health-conscious sentiment that has been spurred on by the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement. I have my issues with RFK (his spreading of misinformation and conspiracy theories being one of them) but it appears to me as though this MAHA movement is helping a lot of people move up towards spiral dynamics Stage Green. I do marketing for a healthy food E-commerce brand (So my perspective may be a bit biased) but I am noticing more and more influencers bringing awareness to what is really going into their food, where their food is coming from, and investigation and questioning of the cheap corporate products that have been marketed towards Americans for decades. I'm seeing more businesses emerge and thrive that put their customer's health and quality ingredient sourcing as their highest priorities. I do see some issues with this. I've met people of this ilk who let their "Natural/Holistic" lifestyle to become a dogma and are neurotically afraid touch anything they view as "unnatural." And many of these people are rebelling against what they consider to be "the science" and are propagating a lot of conspiracy theories and health claims unsupported by any real scientific data. But overall, I'm noticing a trend here. And it appears to me that there is a certain percentage of the population that is moving up towards stage green. What do you all think? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment?

@Majed Gonna start with some tough love: If you feel, creepy and unnatural when approaching girls, that's exactly how she's gonna feel too. You need to get out of your head and just talk to more people on a regular basis. Once talking to strangers becomes normal and your social skills improve, approaching with romantic intent will feel less "creepy." This post shows that your inner game needs a lot of work. I would look into doing some subconscious reprogramming work and fixing some of these limiting beliefs which are holding you back. It seems like you have quite a lot of them. Also, a question for you, how are the other areas of your life doing? Career, social life, family, etc.? Everything going well elsewhere, mate?

I have a friend who recently gifted me a TON of mushrooms. A bunch of different strains that I've never heard of. One of the strains he gave me was actually psilocybe natalensis, which is an entirely different species of psilocybin-producing mushrooms (the most common are the psilocybe cubensis species) I've heard that these have different subjective effects and are significantly more potent. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with these and would be willing to share their experience. I'm eager to try!

Does anyone have any thoughts on the whole Elon Musk and 𝕏 fiasco that is currently unfolding? I have just started using the platform as a means to grow my personal brand and I personally love the stance Elon Musk has taken in support of free speech. Elon just recently made comments where he told advertisers who pulled out of 𝕏 to "Go fuck themselves." It's kind of ironic because I just finished watching Leo's video on the Social Matrix. I do think that the way Musk handles himself at times can be careless. Advertisers have been pulling back from 𝕏 for a while now, but Elon's recent comments which were labeled by the media as "antisemitic" caused a mass exodus. Personally, I don't think that Musk is an antisemite. Especially considering the fact that he just visited Israel and spoke with Netanyahu about the October 7th massacre. Any thoughts, guys?

Hamas has been self-governing since 2005. There are issues with Israeli settlement in the West Bank, yes. However, Gaza has been incapable of pulling their shit together. Hamas was elected in 2006. Since then, they have run Gaza like a 3rd world country, diverting humanitarian aid that is sent to them towards terror activities like building tunnels under civilian areas and digging up pipes to build rockets. Another primary source of funding for Hamas is extreme taxation on the population, making it even harder for them to survive. Radical Islamic Jihadism has a lot to do with these issues. They indoctrinate their own children into terrorism. Why do you think they have so many young men ready to become martyrs? Palestinian children are shown anti-semitic cartoons on TV. The only way this conflict will be resolved is if Hamas is wiped off the face of the Earth. You can't have peace when your neighbors are terrorists. I would highly recommend to everyone to check out this series "Whispered in Gaza" which showcase the brutality of Hamas:

Last time I checked, sodium is an essential nutrient that aids in a variety of bodily functions...