Scholar

If you did smoke boiled potatoes for 1 year every day and it would have revealed to you the nature of reality, how would you convince people of doing the same? What if you had no idea how or why it worked? If you actually do smoke boiled potatoes for 1 year and get enlightened, I am sure you will sound like a madman trying to convince people to do the same. The problem is that only you know it worked, nobody else. Imagine if then someone came to you and asked for proof and told everyone around you it was absurd to have blind faith in that technique? You think there is a clear path to discern between useful tools and useless garbage. You fail to see how difficult that process in actuality is and how in many ways it is a game of chance. If you would only trust what you knew to be true, or what you thought to be true, then you would not be able to operate in this world. Your mind seeks for certainty where there is uncertainty. You seek to know what you cannot know. All I can tell you is that it will do nothing but harm you, and all you can do is consider that I might be right and then seek the truth yourself.

That's not quite true, you do not need to consume eggs, dairy and meat if you have the option to consume mussels and insects. Primates are insect eating animals, and human beings have this weird cultural thing where we completely ignore that fact. Ask one of those Paleo guys whether they eat insects, none of them do. They don't even consider it to be a possibility. If you are worried about ethics/ecology you really will have a hard time to justify consuming product that cause great suffering, death and environmental destruction if you have the option to consume insects/mussels. Just do some research on this, human beings have specific genetic adaptations to digest insect exoskeletons. No need for synthetic anything, you can in fact raise your own mealworms! As far as I know it's not difficult at all. Yes, but nobody is complaining about people who get offered meat accidentally and then eat it. People are complaining about people buying meat fully conscious of their decision. Look, I would still prefer everyone on this planet to be a stick-in-the-ass vegan than have carnists around. It's hilarious how people complain about the behavior of vegans when their own behavior is causing incredible amounts of suffering in other sentient beings without any regard for life. It's like the difference between a mass murderer and an annoying police officer who pulls everyone over because he is an asshole. You cannot compare the two at all, though that is exactly what is happening in the hopes of dismissing the vegan movement. People get offended by calling the slaughtering of animals murder, instead of getting offended by the fact that these animals are dying for no other reason than our comfort. It is quite hilarious.

I would guess that these would be Leo's arguments for eating meat: "No matter how you live your life, you will cause death and harm anyways."/"Death is part of life!" "Suffering and death is illusion."/"Who cares lol, Absolute Infinity!" Leo is a moral nihilist and it seems like people just don't want to accept that fact. From the vegan perspective, it is wrong to actively kill an animal unnecessarily, and also to fund industries that do so. Imagine you thought raping was wrong, and you knew a person who from time to time would be raping people, would you accept the excuse of "You're such a stick-in-ass anti-rapists. If I rape once in a while it's not like it will make that much of a difference!". You'd be viewed as completely insane, and from the perspective of an ethical vegan you look the same if you from time to time kill an animal for taste-pleasure. Another good analogy is being a vampire. Imagine if there were vampires around and they had alternatives to sucking peoples blood out of their veins (always causing death in the process). Imagine these vampires could drink artificial blood, though they hated the taste and wouldn't be fully healthy doing so. If there was a vampire who then went on to snatch himself a human from time to time (and in the process necessarily kill him) because he just "can't help himself", or because he wants to be fully healthy, what would you think about that vampire? And with veganism it's even worse, because even if you are concerned about your health there are multiple sources of flesh that don't come from fully sentient animals. For example, Leo could eat mussels or various forms of insects (in fact, there is almost no primate around who does not consume insects) and be fully healthy as well, but he chooses his comfort for whatever reason he has. Morality is subjective, so we can bend it to how it suits us the most, and I think that is what Leo is doing.

Today I have tried to have some conversations with people on discord (it's a chat-application) on multiple servers, and I am not sure whether I am just incompatible with people or whether people are just being hyper-emotional. I was on multiple philosophy servers and tried to make some Atheists question materialism, I remained calm and non-judgemental. I asked questions about the nature of substance, I tried to ask what they mean when they talk about material, particles etc. and I even went so far to explain to them quantum mechanics, which they immediately dismissed because I am not a physicist myself. They refused to investigate and learn about physics when I told them that I did not think it was controversial to assume that the model of particles, atoms etc. are merely models that are not supposed to resemble reality but instead are a tool to predict it. I was ridiculed, I was called crazy, reductionist, low-iq. They went completely nuts on me. The only person on that server I was capable of having a conversation with was a Christian who claimed he took multiple doses of 5-MeO-DMT. He was the only person who was even remotely open minded enough to even talk to, and note that I really tried to explain these things from the perspective of a materialist, I tried to show them how materialism didn't hold up even from a rational, scientific view-point. Didn't work. Then I decided to strike up conversation with vegans, on a vegan server, because I am a vegan myself. I remained polite and open minded, when people started to call certain individuals Nazi's and Misogynist's, I politely disagreed and inquired for them to tell me why they think that was the case. They went completely crazy, they were offended by the mere fact that I could even consider that these people were not what they claimed they were. It was not possible for me, no matter how hard I tried to appease them and be nice, to have a normal open minded conversation with them. I wanted them to convince me of their position, and they still took offense in the mere fact that I was not able to adopt it. All I am trying to do is find a place where I can have normal conversations with people about philosophy without emotions and dogma. I just cannot find it, and I seriously am questioning whether I have some blind-spot where I just don't see my irrationality that seemingly makes everyone think I am a threat to them. I even tried approaches where I merely asked questions, without including any of my own ideology, and people think I am trolling and being intentionally annoying as if I had nothing better to do. It just frustrates me, the people who are supposed to show compassion show no mercy to people who are of other opinion or ignorant. And the people who are supposed to be rational seem to actively avoid rationalism in the favor of staying in their paradigm. Does anyone here know how to deal with this? Do I have to give up on conversation and debate and just philosophize by myself? I really don't want to do that because I know I have blind spots in my belief-systems that I might not see if someone else doesn't point them out to me.

This is very interesting: It seems like blue is reacting against green, who are showing empathy and compassion for pedophiles. Though some points made in that video do seem valid, for example that the greeks seemed to have been going to the same direction. Was Ancient Greece actually transitioning to green? And might stage green be a weakness if other, competitive civilizations are stage blue/red, because of their willingness to be aggressive? It seems to me like, especially in the past, green and orange are associated with the degradation of strong, unified moral values. Could it be that whenever there is prosperity in a society, the need for the morals (which previously were needed to stabilized the behavior of individuals to favor the survival of the society) disappear and thus the society becomes less stable? An analogy would be how a muscle develops, when you need to use the muscle it grows, and when you don't need to use it anymore, it becomes weaker, because there is no need for it to be strong. Could morals in a society function in a similar manner, that whenever there is put pressure on a society (for example having to survive in nature or having to defend against other groups) the moral system becomes more rigid to ensure survival, and when the pressure is gone (through technology, peace, prosperity) these structures just start to loosen up and compassion for all people start to arise (like compassion of minorities, other races, animals etc.)? It seems like civilizations always crumbled when there was a lack of pressure for an extended period of time, which lead to the civilization being weakened, and then a sudden activity of high pressure which the civilization was not prepared for. What does that mean for our future? Have we reached a point in which technology stabilizes us so effectively that we don't need moral standards anymore, even if there might come sudden, unexpected outside pressure? Will our civilization simply crumble and be replaced by more rigid civilizations, that have not yet reached stage green/orange? And how will blue continue to react against green? Reading the comments in the video makes one wonder.

Yeah I've been thinking the same about myself, the need to show off knowledge is definitely egoic. Though it still would be nice if there was a place where reasonable people can have reasonable discussion without judging others. I still don't know whether I am possibly just stupid by assuming all the things I do assume, but they make sense to me. If I am stupid they will make sense to me even if they are ridiculous ideas, and I can't learn anything if everyone just dismisses my ideas and more importantly my questions immediately. Maybe there is something I am missing, but I just don't understand why everyone has to get so upset by me not understanding things, if I indeed am the one who is misguided. The thing is, how likely is it that everyone disagrees with me while I am right, especially when I go into specific philosophy places where people seem to train themselves to be rational.

It would be nice if you could actually paraphrase Leo about what he said that you disagree with and show us exactly what and why it is wrong. You seem to be very vague with your explanations, I don't really see anything but empty critique. I don't really see how you present any evidence for you being right, you are more of creating a web of paranoid conspiracies, that of course might be true, but why do you actually believe so firmly that it is?

Why do you think that the one consciousness wants anything?

To spare the animal means to spare both the plant and the animal, because raising animals requires plants to be sacrificed for the animals. And just ask yourself this: Is it okay to kill a human (which is an animal) that has a cerebral impairment that spares it the feeling of pain? Other arguments for not consuming animal products are environmental, as the leading cause for deforestation around the world is as far as I know animal agriculture. In the end it's okay to do anything, but a well educated Turquoise will most likely pass on products that cause unnecessary death and violence, that's what I would guess at least.

I'm confused about the difference between illusion and consciousness. If the self is an illusion, why does it matter to become conscious that it is an illusion? Whether I am conscious of what reality is or not, reality is still reality. Right now, the exact stage of consciousness I have, is reality, isn't it? No matter how I describe it, even if it is illusion, it is exactly what it is. And even my beliefs about it are exactly what reality is as well? When I believe that the earth is flat, the belief of the earth being flat is reality. It is existing, whether it is illusion or not. What is the difference between being fully immerse in it or being conscious of it being illusion? It doesn't change the truth, because the truth is the truth no matter what state of consciousness exists. What does it matter whether a state of reality is what we call "enlightened" or whether it is "non-enlightened", I mean both of them are reality as it is, one including complete immersion and the other does not. Though I guess it is just total immersion in a new state, because at every state one is always totally immersed in reality as it is. Isn't becoming conscious of truth itself changing reality and thus changing the truth? Because to a bird, the truth is being a bird. To an enlightened being the truth/reality is non-duality. Wouldn't accepting reality truly also mean accepting the illusion and the resistance, and isn't that what I already am doing? Isn't it in fact the only thing I can do? No matter what I do, I am surrendering exactly to what is happening, because it is happening. I am surrendering to resistance, to ignorance and non-consciousness. Aren't we all already in a state of not knowing, or just being as we are? Aren't we all absolutely immersed in the present moment? How could we be otherwise? The moment is everything that exists, including illusions about past and future. But these illusions are here, and even if we believe those illusions, that is still reality as it is. There is no way to escape the truth because everything is the truth as it is. Isn't the existence of the chirping bird itself a complete surrender to reality? Isn't everything that happens at all a complete surrender to reality as it is, because that is what reality is! No matter how reality changes, no matter what ignorance ceases to be, it all is at every single stage reality precisely as it is. Isn't us trying to rid ourselves of illusion resistance? But the mind blowing thing seems to be that even the resistance of illusion itself is part of the surrender. I don't know how to put this into words, but isn't suffering itself a surrender to reality because it is reality? When I am a dying child in africa, is that not consciousness being completely immersed in it's creation? Why is immersion any less reality that non-immersion/enlightenment? There is a striving for the end of suffering, but even that striving is illusion isn't it? I guess what I am saying is basically, isn't illusion itself illusion, and thus isn't everything just plainly exactly what it is? Even the change of that which we call enlightenment, isn't that itself just exactly what it is, and the idea of what it is as well just exactly what it is? So when I believe in the outer world and the self, why are we calling these things illusions. The belief in an outer world is nothing but the belief in an outer world, and the total immersion in the belief of an outer world is nothing but the total immersion in the belief of the outer world. Thus the realization of the illusory nature of the self itself is nothing but the realization of the illusory nature of the self. And even the belief that the outer world is reality is nothing but the belief that the outer world is reality! It's all already reality, it is self-describing itself at all times because that's all it can do. It is exactly what exists, just the way it exists, because it cannot be any other way. I don't understand anymore, I am completely confused about enlightenment. Isn't everything that exists enlightenment? What's the point in seeking it other than the seeking it? I don't even k now why I am asking this question it doesn't make any sense. When you say "No, you are confusing ideas with what is actually there!", isn't that still reality as it is? Isn't the confusion about reality also part of reality exactly as it is? My question is, why is any stage of consciousness more truthful than any other when reality cannot help itself but be exactly what it is either way? It always is exactly what it is, including all ignorance, all ideas, all experience, everything. And how am I even able to think about any of this? Wouldn't complete and utter enlightenment just create a huge circle that leads back to unconsciousness? Meaning that complete enlightenment would be such a radically surrender that it would lead back to surrendering to ignorance, limitation, dualism and thus create reality as it is exactly before enlightenment? Wouldn't full enlightenment just lead to becoming an ant again and being completely immerse in the existence of anthood, including that "ignorance" that comes with being an ant? Including total immersion in ego? Wouldn't that mean that the experience of ant is included in total and absolute enlightenment? Wouldn't it be a huge circle that repeats itself into infinity? Isn't that what is already happening no matter what we are?

Then the decision is easy. Cease all pornography and masturbation, your girlfriend and yourself will be thankful for that. https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/

Do you watch pornography/masturbate? If so give abstaining from it completely a chance.

I've recently had someone tell me that character doesn't change in people, or at least that it cannot really change significantly. My first thoughts were that this couldn't be the case, seeing how people go through stages in life, and that especially the Spiral Dynamics model wouldn't even be a thing if that was the case. On further reflection though I don't quite see it the same way anymore. If I look at Leo and his first video, and his most recent video, Leo is still Leo. He has the same character as he did back then, just that now he is more developed. There is change but there is also something that stayed constant, and I wonder what exactly that is. We could all point the finger to Leo whether he was at stage red or at stage yellow, and I'm not merely talking about looks. The manner of speech, and the subtleties of the way he thinks and expresses his reality. Is there a model that accounts for this seemingly constant attribute of the human mind? Because it seems to me like character itself also has influence on how one goes through the Spiral. Some of Leo's characteristics probably made it more likely for him to end up where he is at now, so that also must mean that there are characteristics that will make it more difficult. As far as I know many personality traits are imprinted in the very early years of human development, and biological predisposition must also play a big role. Does personality change in the very late stages of the Spiral, like turquoise? Or maybe with the usage of psychedelics? In other words, is it actually possible to fundamentally change the character of a human being after full age has been reached? And is there a model that accounts for character traits in relationship to spiral dynamics?

Wow, that seems to be a really good resource, thank you! I also always had the suspicion that looks somehow were connected to behavior, this seems to be a goldmine!

Yes but that is not what I mean by character, there are many things that change. Do you not agree that there is part of you that has stayed the same way? I think it's better when you actually look at others, because one can be more unbiased. Look at Eckhart Tolle for example, or any enlightened masters. Yes, they have changed fundamentally in terms of consciousness, morality etc., but there is still something very distinct about them that did not change, wouldn't you agree? That's what I'm trying to figure what, what exactly that is that stays the same, because I have not yet seen a human being who actually changed that which does not change. It's hard to explain because maybe character is no the right word, it does definitely have to do with personality though. I have a few ideas that it might have to do with how one learns language and how that language is then connected to "personality structures", partly because I notice myself actually have change of personality that I experience when I speak in different languages. That's just an idea, but I think language and the entire structure that links to that, that especially grows in the younger years of a human life, is somehow related to these personality traits, or whatever is that thing that does not change. Maybe the personality structure is deeply linked to the linguistic structure that informs our subjective reality, so that the process of thought itself is already an expression of the personality structure. Are there books/resources that actually address this?

Do you really think I would reveal my identity to you if you react in this manner? I wouldn't reveal it either way but still. One last advice that might help you is celibacy, half a year of no sexual activity. That might fix lot's of stuff depending on what your relationship to sexuality is. Anyways, I think I'm done here as well. As I said, good luck to you!

Of course I don't know you, you don't need to get angry at me for operating from assumptions, otherwise no conversation could even take place. The reason why I seem so confident with what I am saying is because I feel like I was in the EXACT same position. I tried everything, meditation, motivation, life purpose, all Leo's advice. It surely did improve my life but it didn't really change anything that significantly (at least I wasn't aware of at the time). I am an artist too by the way, and from what I can see of what you have shown us, I don't see any passion in what you did. And see that because I was the exact same way. All of what you showed were studies, or things that made you improve in your skill. I don't see anything that you wanted to create for the sake of creating it, no original ideas. I remember I used to think that, once I got good at it I would eventually draw my own stuff that I would be passionate about. I also loved to draw once I was getting into it, as you say, the resistance is what is the most difficult thing to overcome. Once I was into it in fact, I could have been drawing all day. I would make another assumption that you probably are listening to things while you are doing your work? Like podcasts, music etc.? Is it difficult for you to study or do your art in complete silence, with no background stimulation? And I do understand that you feel like people are insulting you, but they are not. They simply might have another opinion then you, or are further progressed than you and already see the mistakes you are making. And yes, it is frustrating for us to see others make mistakes that we know exactly how to avoid, but it's simply impossible to communicate it to someone. As I said, facing the dragon is the only thing you can do in my opinion, it was the only thing I was able to do. Face the bad feelings, that's it. But you won't do that until it doesn't make click of you, until you are not so sick of continuing to live the way you do that it simply elevates your consciousness to become aware of how you are manipulating yourself into not being able to act. I can't really give you advice, I can simply try to make it click for you as well, though I genuinely think you are not ready for that yet. I can't tell you why it's easy for some and difficult for others. It wasn't easy for me, it took incredible amounts of suffering until it became even an option for me. And it's not easy, it never is easy. That is exactly what you misunderstand. What you think is easy is simply others being able to make the sacrifice again and again and again, because they are sick of being weaklings. It's never easy for them, they simply realized they need to face the dragon, like I said. You intellectually know that you need to face the dragon, but you simply are scared of doing so. Until there is something that you are more scared of, I don't think you will face the dragon. That's all I can tell you, and the irony is I know that nothing I said will help you whatsoever. Oh and one piece of advice. People in here, including me, are wasting their life-time to help you (even though admittedly, I kind of used you as an experiment). Even if you don't like what some of us say, I think a little gratitude wouldn't hurt.

Yes, but they still draw. Are you drawing every day? Do you actually love to draw every day? Of course it takes discipline, but you seem to lack both, the love for the art and the discipline to study. The best usually have a healthy balance between both. It's difficult to help you because you are seem a little stubborn or set in your own paradigm. I know I was the same way and still am to an great extend. I tried to manipulate your ego a little but it didn't work, to be frank I think you just need more time with life. I know for example that a year ago the same advice I gave you wouldn't have worked at all for me, I had to figure it out for myself. So, good luck with your adventure!

Most great artists enjoy doing what they do though, which doesn't seem to be the case with you. I don't know a single good artist that is actually good who struggles with motivation to paint, draw or study. Ask yourself whether that is the case with you. The "raise your consciousness" applies to people who are unmotivated like you, not to people who already love what they are doing.

Read the people Leo listed as people belonging to that stage, pretty much all of them are dealing with how we should live together. And not only them, but also stage green people and stage orange people, they are all contributing to this. Before you even think about raising the consciousness of other people, start raising your own consciousness. Are you at yellow or turquoise? Then how do you even know that there is a problem anywhere? How do you know what would be best for the world? You keep saying that we could live like this and that, but the fact is that we couldn't. We are doing exactly what we could do, there is no difference. You are creating fantasies because of your lack of understanding of reality, and then you complain about why those fantasies are not present in reality! You are sitting in a train that is taking you to a destination, and you are complaining about why we are not at the destination instantly! Why can we not simply teleport? Well, because that's not how life works. We are already moving at an incredibly fast speed, in fact, your greed for a better world would most likely lead to the entire train derailing! What you might understand once you learn about reality is that change takes time, yes you can contribute to change, you can even increase the speed of change, but not really by much. Especially if you are unwilling to develop yourself first. Nature is taking care of this, with or without you. You should first develop gratitude for the fact that anything is changing at all, the fact that Leo exists, that the internet exists, all these things within a few decades. A few centuries ago the entire planet looked differently, and so it will in another century. Change is happening faster than it ever did in the entirety of earths history. Be humble, contribute to it, but don't be fanatical, don't be arrogant. Start to appreciate instead of wondering why the world is not exactly how you want it to be, right now this instant. That's how a child acts. Be patient and see the bigger picture.

None of this matters. The point is you need to face the dragon, no matter how much it makes you freeze. There is no other way around it, there never will be. There is no easy fix. You are completely dishonest due to your own fear. When you don't feel like drawing, but you know you should be, simply sit down and do it. It will not kill you, it will not freeze you. Observe the suffering that will come, see it for what it is. There is no other way, stop avoiding it, stop being a little child, and face it like a grown man. You are asking us to make it easy for you, to find a way for you where you don't have to suffer. But there is no way. You have to face the dragon right now, not tomorrow, not in an hour, but right now. Do it every day, no matter how hard it gets. That's all the advice I can give you, but as I said, your mind will use any trick it can to have you avoid the pain this will cause. You might very well be genetically ungifted, so go ahead and give up. You are not meant to live a good life, you are made to suffer, and you will.

The radical change is already happening, and you are already part of it. The fact that thousands of people are watching Leo's advanced videos should tell you something important about the evolution of mankind at this stage. As far as I can tell we are doing really well, sure there are still chances that we might mess it up, but I don't think it is that likely. And even if, it doesn't mean that we can't learn from messing up. In fact, that is what we are doing right now! We are learning, and we are improving. You are kind of late to the party mister, there are millions of people working on trying to make the world a better place, and they are doing incredibly well. Simply join them, you're not the first one who got the idea.

I agree it does sound like sleep paralysis, you could go and do some research, there are even documentaries about it I think. I usually have it when I didn't get enough sleep the last night, or when my sleep was interrupted and I then went back to sleep. To me it only happens when I sleep on my back, in my school days I had it when I took a nap after school (I usually only had 4-5 hours of sleep in the night). Can get really creepy, I don't know whether it is psychological or metaphysical, I once heard something that sounded like hell, thousands of people crying in terror in a volume beyond what I think my eardrums would have been able to withstand if I heard it in reality. It probably is psychological though, in some shape or form.

I do not think you will get it. You already know what you need to know, you simply need to do it. There is no way around it, and the more you believe there is, the longer it will take for you to take action. As I said, the dragon is scaring the living shit out of you and you are completely scared to face it. All the seeking for a fix is just another manifestation of that fear. It is not surprising though, your reaction was predictable and I think doom has already come upon you, it will just take you a few decades to realize that.

http://gettinbetter.com/addiction.html And you might want to read "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. You need to realize that there is nothing really holding you back but your belief that you cannot face bad feelings. When you are about to procrastinate, just force yourself to sit down and do what you need to do. It actually is as simple as it sounds, but it's not easy. You don't want to suffer, but you have to so you can turn around your life. It won't kill you, in fact, the worse it feels the more you can grow. Visualize the bad feelings as a dragon that is actually trying to scare you from what you need to do, and then simply sit down and try to scare the dragon away. If you succeed remember that it will come back the next day, you'll have to scare it away every single day. The worst feeling is when you believe that you cannot scare it away, that you are helpless to the feeling that keeps you from doing what you need to do. You only do what you need to do when the dragon is asleep, which means the dragon actually controls your life, not you. See the discomfort as a challenge, the worse it feels, the better. Always remind yourself of the fact that it will not kill you, nothing can really happen to you. You simply need to face it and embrace the suffering, every single day. It will never get easier, you simply will get stronger. The dragon will always come back, and that is very important to understand. It is literally Satan, it will do anything to keep you from doing what you need to do. It will scare you, it will bore you, it will make you anxious. It will use every single weapon, every little trick it has learned, to keep you in your comfort zone. The dragon is winning a war, and the reason why it is winning the war is because you do not yet realize that there is even a war going on. You don't even know that there is something you need to fight, something you need to face despite fear. Also adopt a "Good." mentality: The thing is, and this is sadly something that you might not become conscious of no matter how many people try to communicate it to you, until you do not realize that you need to face the dragon and that you are capable of fighting it, nothing in your life will really change. You will try ever fix that you can find, and you will see that nothing will work. The ONLY solution to your problem is to face the dragon, and it is the most scary thing you can do. It is the most scary thing any human being can do. As Leo said in one of his videos, the most effective way to get what you want is to always do the emotionally most uncomfortable thing. Until you don't do that you will remain a pathetic, scared child that is not able to face true adversity. I would go so far that most likely you won't have the courage to face your dragon. You will remain in your comfort zone for the rest of your life, and you will die with utter regret of what you have missed in life. Most people do, and the likelihood that you are an exception is extremely slim. Nature doesn't show mercy to the weak, and neither does the dragon. Do you really believe that if it was easy to lead a life worth living everyone would choose to live the miserable life's they do? The odds are so much against you, you don't even realize it. To have a truly worthy life you need to put as much effort into it as a person does to become an astronaut. Every person on this planet, including you, is facing this challenge. It is a monumental task that only the fewest of us have the courage to face. You did not even attempt to enter the battlefield, and on the battlefield only warriors survive. That is what you need to become, there is no way around it. The sooner you get that more chances you have to even have a chance. Steven Pressfield was an old man when he realized that, and he was still lucky. He might have never realized it, like most people. And you are in the same position, you might only realize it when you are old, or even older. But most likely you will never realize it, not until you truly suffer, which sadly might only happen in the moments before you face death.