⚠️ A Few Traps Actualized.org Students Can Fall Into

[ZenSwift]

These are traps I’ve noticed myself and/or others falling into, even with the desire to be a “good student” of Leo’s work, even with Leo explicitly creating warnings. These are some pitfalls I’ve noticed. 

 

Note: I originally wrote this myself, then asked ChatGPT to polish it slightly for clarity while preserving at least 95% of the original text’s integrity. The ideas and experiences are still fully mine—this is just a cleaner version of what I wrote. Don’t mind the em-dashes guys!

 

 

1. Wage Slavery

With the increased awareness of the idea of wage slavery, I’ve seen individuals—myself included—use this as an excuse to avoid getting a job, without having the courage or readiness to start a business either. The result? They just get stuck.

I think following Leo's content on this topic can sometimes lead to a demonization—and even a fear—of working a regular job. But what many fail to recognize is that wage slavery is primarily a mindset, not just the act of taking a 9-to-5 job.

If you're employed and work a 9-to-5, yes, technically you’re part of the system. But that doesn't mean you're a wage slave. A wage slave is someone who is unconscious of how the system is using them. That unconsciousness is the slavery—it's mental enslavement.

If you're working a job and aware of your situation, with plans to transition out of it in the future, then your mind is not enslaved. You're simply playing the game strategically. And the reality is, you might need to work that job for years before making your next move.

In some cases, working a job might be the best thing you can do for your mental health—it gives you structure, stability, and keeps you from falling into apathy or depression. Yes, be wise about how you plan your life so you don’t trap yourself long-term. But also, don’t let fear keep you from stepping into the survival pressure cooker if that’s the most logical next step in your growth.

🔗 Watch Leo’s video: How To Escape Wage Slavery

 

 

 

2. Academia

After watching Leo’s “Should You Go To College?” video, where he flat-out says “college is for stupid people,” I agreed with what I believed was the essence of that message. But I also realize now that I used that message to justify avoiding the discomfort and effort of academia.

It took years of demonizing academia before I finally surrendered to the idea that maybe getting a formal education might not be such a bad thing. I discovered that I’m not a natural self-starter or entrepreneur. I am ambitious, but within the limits of my comfort zone and personality. At least at this time.

I now see that becoming a licensed therapist and going through the necessary education is a reasonable step on my path. The trap here was that I locked myself into this “Actualized.org identity” where I felt like I was supposed to reject the crowd, say “fuck school,” and reject the system’s indoctrination entirely.

Sure, if I studied academic philosophy, I’d probably end up epistemically and metaphysically corrupt. But when it comes to topics like psychology or social work, there’s still value in conventional education. Yes, I’m chasing a credential so I can get employed—but that’s where I’m at, and I accept it. I will see how I feel when I start to enter into that world. 

I also kind of miss school. Part of my journey has been learning how to regulate my brain so I can actually focus on what matters. I’ve got at least 50 books on my shelf—mostly from Leo’s book list—that I haven’t even cracked open. I’m ashamed of that. But it’s the honest truth about where I’m at in terms of motivation and discipline.

I want to be like Leo in that video where he leans on 200 books, saying, “Look how cool I am.” But for whatever reason—maybe personality type—this has been a massive challenge for me. Still, as time passes, I’m learning that I’m healthiest when I’m actively making room for structured extra-curricular learning.

🔗 Watch Leo’s video:

Should You Go To College? - Common Traps & Mistakes

 

 

 

How to Do Real Personal Development - - Peak reading goals.

 

 

 

3. Pickup / Dating Dynamics

This is something Leo has spoken volumes about, especially in his 3-part series on How To Get Laid. He’s also dropped insane knowledge bombs on the forum over the years—some of which have fundamentally shifted my understanding of dating, sexuality, and male-female dynamics.

And the most valuable insight of them all?
That I needed to actively train myself to become a social human being. Embracing this healthy approach to socialization has had a genuinely transformative effect on my life.

That said...
There’s an uncomfortable truth here: to be conventionally successful with women, a certain level of deception and corruption is often required. And for me, that’s tough. I find it especially hard to do anything that feels morally wrong—even if it would satisfy a base sexual need. It feels like I’d just be shooting myself in the foot... like spitting in the wind.

That’s not to say I always make the most noble choices in my dating life—far from it. I’m no angel. In fact, I’m a devil—a fucking vulture—as Leo once called me. But I’ve noticed that when it comes to certain dynamics, it’s hard for me to be a full-on “player,” or to act like a dick—even though being that dick would probably get me laid.

I’m just too nice.

The truth is, I haven’t been “slapped around” enough by women yet to fully understand what makes them respond with genuine attraction. I simply don’t have that level of real-world experience… yet.

I think a major trap here is simply not accepting the arduous process of making yourself vulnerable and exposing yourself to a ton of real-world experience.

I see way too many people who just don’t fully accept how massive an undertaking it actually is to become successful with women.

The Expectations are not set correctly. 

 

Setting Proper Expectations

 

 

 

How To Get Laid - Part 1 - The Foundations Of Success With Women

 

 

 

4. Demonizing Survival (Not Accepting It)

This one is so damn common—trying to get to Leo’s level, or Sadhguru’s level, while you’ve still got a mountain of survival challenges and karma to burn through.

You’re not going to become a yogi overnight. You’ve got to master being a devil first. You’ve got to master survival.

There’s a deep, often subconscious, desire to be “above” our animalistic nature—to transcend being a horny monkey who craves power and status. But the truth is, that part of you must be acknowledged, worked with, and integrated.

You can’t just meditate your way out of it. You can’t bypass it through spiritual ideology. If you try, you’ll end up in delusion or repression. The sooner you face it, the sooner you’ll understand what actually needs to be done to burn through those primal parts of yourself.

Even if you want to burn through it with REAL Spirituality. I still think that this can be too tough for most people. Most people are not going to be actually motivated to do the hardcore REAL spirituality. They are not yet (me included at this time) conscious enough to see the value of it to actually put it into practice in a rigorous, industrious manner.

Not only that—but if you skip over survival and dive straight into spiritual bypassing, you’ll probably miss out on valuable life experiences that would shape and grow you in unique ways. I’ve noticed a lot of deep insights about yourself are hidden behind the obstacles you face when solving the maze of your survival situation. 

 

What is Fake Spirituality? ( Real Spirituality Defined in this Lecture)

 

 

 

Life is a Maze

 

 

 

Hope this provides productive insight for some of you. 

Feel free to share your thoughts. 

Love you guys. 

[Leo Gura]

Yes! Great points. All fair.

Traps! Traps everywhere!

[Leo Gura]

18 minutes ago, ZenSwift said:

a fucking vulture—as Leo once called me.

Ahahaha 

I am too funny.

Edited yesterday at 10:16 AM by Leo Gura

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

People on this forum have a very infantile view of regular jobs. Probably cause they are only looking at it from an individual perspective. However, even then, remember that all these people are collectivelly and directly responsible for YOUR quality of life as well. Without all these "slaves", you'd become a slave to nature, having to fend for yourself, for literaly everything. Stone Age style

[Leo Gura]

Of course there's nothing wrong with a 9 to 5 job if it's what you enjoy or if you are just starting your career. Gotta start basic.

[Terell Kirby]

1 hour ago, ZenSwift said:

What is Fake Spirituality? ( Real Spirituality Defined in this Lecture)

 

Timestamp 2:19:50 - 2:21:05

I’ve also noticed in some of Leo’s recent videos some digs at 12 step programs and communities.

While it’s true that these programs have their limits in that they are belief based / conceptual (which are antithetical to truth seeking and existential inquiry)- they can significantly change lives for the better, relative to survival.

For students of Actualized.org who are /have been struggling with addiction or alcoholism, avoid the trap of demonizing survival to the point you don’t explore taking help from 12 programs as a channel to getting clean.

Credit to Leo for at least acknowledging that they help addicts, but message could have been more compassionate and charitable.

Edited yesterday at 11:51 AM by Terell Kirby

[Vibes]

2 hours ago, ZenSwift said:

This one is so damn common—trying to get to Leo’s level, or Sadhguru’s level, while you’ve still got a mountain of survival challenges and karma to burn through.

One of the worst mistakes I made. Still fall back into that sometimes.

Sprinkle a bit of solipsism, some arrogance, and a drop of smartassiness thinking you can run away from the reality that you are a fucking monkey, trapped in this realm, and you're fucked.

[Majed]

@ZenSwift Yeah i mean, i think the main thing is to be able to go beyond leo's work, and realize how incomplete it is, obviously because life is infinite, and we're all so different. Leo shares great wisdom, but the intelligent thing to do is to always test for yourself what works and doesn't work. For example leo says, you don't need money to get laid, guess what, i took this too literally while facing mental health issues, having no job, no educational career that i am pursuing to later get a job, no place to have sex, no car, not even a phone or a phone number, and the results are i am still a virgin, but a virgin with more experience talking to women and better pick up skills than most non virgin guys. I realized i need to work with my psychiatrist, get a job, get my education going, waiting a couple of years before going full on pick up again, the time necessary to become a normal functioning member of society, then i can do pick up again, with better logistics, maybe even in a better city and country. 

That's just one example, another is that working a nine to five is slavery, and being rich is for materialistic unspiritual people. Well i've realized that working a job is necessary to integrate with society, as well as it being prescribed by my psychiatrist as tool for better mental health, and also working a job, getting an education allows you to bust many limiting beliefs around money, like when you get into the routine of working a job, you start getting ambitious and wanting to build your life materially. Want it or not, we live in a world where money is important for survival and to thrive as well. It's just that money isn't the only thing in life, obviously, but this doesn't mean money isn't good or beneficial. 

Another example is with philosophy, when you philosophize too much, it can be great but i lately realized i don't need this philosophy, i'm better off working on my fitness goals. Like i want to lose weight, get on a whole food plant based diet (i currently am vegan, but not wfpb yet), i also want to try muay thai as a hobby and activity that helps losing weight and burning calories, and later also workout at a normal gym, to get jacked. i realized this is much better than sitting accomplishing nothing all day, just thinking about philosophy. 

[UpperMaster]

Thanks for the post, I realized from this that I might be constantly falling into the trap of unrealistic expectations. Listening to the video now.

Edited yesterday at 01:56 PM by UpperMaster

[integration journey]

This is a really good post. Thanks 

[Eskilon]

6 hours ago, NewKidOnTheBlock said:

People on this forum have a very infantile view of regular jobs. Probably cause they are only looking at it from an individual perspective. However, even then, remember that all these people are collectivelly and directly responsible for YOUR quality of life as well. Without all these "slaves", you'd become a slave to nature, having to fend for yourself, for literaly everything. Stone Age style

Yeah, not everyone is an entrepreneur, and theres nothing wrong with that. Society cant function if people decide to not work for anyone an open a bussiness(at least the current sytem), we need workers and regular jobs.

The first question one should ask is, are you an entrepeneur? And the second is, how much ambition do you have or need to not be sad.

Edited yesterday at 04:49 PM by Eskilon

[Basman]

Great read. Lots of good points. 

I have some thoughts on my own based of what you wrote.

My understanding of the main message of academia, which I've learned both from Leo and elsewhere, is that you need to assess whether or not university is relevant to your goals. You ideally want to be making deliberate choices with some kind of plan instead of just following the group think. I understand "college is for idiots" as meaning that you inherently don't need college to learn anything, especially in the age of the internet. It's for "idiots" in the sense that an institution is responsible for your education. That is not to say that college is necesarilly insufficient (depending on your standard of how educational it should be), any education is more education than no education, but there are certain cons that come with a formalized 4-5 year tenure which you avoid through self-education. With that mindset, higher education becomes more about the credentials than anything else. Higher education has become a conveyor belt style ritual for the lowest common denominator. 

The point about taking survival for granted is very vindicating. I often get the impression that a lot of users on this forum still have a lot of the "basics" to work on, but their head is full solipsism and whatnot while generally having a stand-offish attitude. They'll snobbishly dismiss Tony Robbins as basic while being broke and homeless in India (literally). It is basic, but are you doing it? You wouldn't want to go amiss of air, would you? Just the principle that you can direct your mind can fundamentally change your life and directly feeds into one's spirituality long-term.

[Basman]

7 hours ago, ZenSwift said:

I also kind of miss school. Part of my journey has been learning how to regulate my brain so I can actually focus on what matters. I’ve got at least 50 books on my shelf—mostly from Leo’s book list—that I haven’t even cracked open. I’m ashamed of that. But it’s the honest truth about where I’m at in terms of motivation and discipline.

I've recently started reading for 5 minutes a day then adding 5 minutes each week till I reach an hour. My goal is to read an hour everyday and this method has been really effective. I'm actually looking forward to reading everyday because it is something that feels both easy to do and productive. I'm gradually getting myself used to it without overwhelm. You don't appreciate how interesting your stack of books actually are because your mind isn't used to reading probably and isn't associating enough good feelings to the activity yet. It takes time to get used to it since it is a focused and a low-dopaminergic activity. 

I started this about 2.5 months ago and I've already finished two books and I'm well into the next one. It feels good to be finally digging into my back log and exploring all of this topics that I'm not only interested in but know are going to feed into my life. 

It has made me wordier, at least (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask). 

Edited yesterday at 05:02 PM by Basman

[Davino]

@ZenSwift Great work, your best post so far. Honest and intelligent.

The biggest trap I see from Actualized.org students is not taking massive constant action. As Leo puts it: "Ruthless Execution" if only people here followed this principle... Oh God!

The boss of my boss works from 6am to 2am, you'll too lazy and comfy.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

22 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Of course there's nothing wrong with a 9 to 5 job if it's what you enjoy or if you are just starting your career. Gotta start basic.

 

16 hours ago, Eskilon said:

Yeah, not everyone is an entrepreneur, and theres nothing wrong with that. Society cant function if people decide to not work for anyone an open a bussiness(at least the current sytem), we need workers and regular jobs.

The first question one should ask is, are you an entrepeneur? And the second is, how much ambition do you have or need to not be sad.

I mean like, both of these responses are valid, but kinda miss the point of what I was trying to get at. Which is that ambition only has meaning within the confines of society, and all the money you'll ever make and all the stuff you'll ever create is only usefull as long as people continue going to their jobs, providing services and creating goods. This is kind of a common sense but if you're the type of individual that is hyperfocused on your goals and ambitions, you'll forget this and take it for granted. People working jobs = your lifestyle

[gettoefl]

20 hours ago, Basman said:

I've recently started reading for 5 minutes a day then adding 5 minutes each week till I reach an hour. My goal is to read an hour everyday and this method has been really effective. I'm actually looking forward to reading everyday because it is something that feels both easy to do and productive. I'm gradually getting myself used to it without overwhelm. You don't appreciate how interesting your stack of books actually are because your mind isn't used to reading probably and isn't associating enough good feelings to the activity yet. It takes time to get used to it since it is a focused and a low-dopaminergic activity. 

I started this about 2.5 months ago and I've already finished two books and I'm well into the next one. It feels good to be finally digging into my back log and exploring all of this topics that I'm not only interested in but know are going to feed into my life. 

It has made me wordier, at least (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask). 

Nice one. I joined a monthly book club in 2012. 300 pages, 30 days, every month. Haven't missed a meeting. Made a ton of friends. Downed a lot of good wine. I recommend. If there isn't one nearby, start one yourself then you get to choose the books.

Edited 8 hours ago by gettoefl

[danniel]

On 1/10/2025 at 3:28 PM, ZenSwift said:

4. Demonizing Survival (Not Accepting It)

This one is so damn common—trying to get to Leo’s level, or Sadhguru’s level, while you’ve still got a mountain of survival challenges and karma to burn through.

You’re not going to become a yogi overnight. You’ve got to master being a devil first. You’ve got to master survival.

There’s a deep, often subconscious, desire to be “above” our animalistic nature—to transcend being a horny monkey who craves power and status. But the truth is, that part of you must be acknowledged, worked with, and integrated.

You can’t just meditate your way out of it. You can’t bypass it through spiritual ideology. If you try, you’ll end up in delusion or repression. The sooner you face it, the sooner you’ll understand what actually needs to be done to burn through those primal parts of yourself.

Even if you want to burn through it with REAL Spirituality. I still think that this can be too tough for most people. Most people are not going to be actually motivated to do the hardcore REAL spirituality. They are not yet (me included at this time) conscious enough to see the value of it to actually put it into practice in a rigorous, industrious manner.

Not only that—but if you skip over survival and dive straight into spiritual bypassing, you’ll probably miss out on valuable life experiences that would shape and grow you in unique ways. I’ve noticed a lot of deep insights about yourself are hidden behind the obstacles you face when solving the maze of your survival situation. 

 

 

 

 

I am guilty of falling in this trap. As a guy in early 20s, I see new videos of Leo and something about them felt "justified", even though consciously I tell myself, from where i am now, it is nothing more than mental masturbation. In no manner have I mastered the 3rd/4th level of Self Actualization in Maslow's diagram. I end up constructing a house on a sandy soil with no foundation whatsoever

This is a really helpful and great post.

[Spiral]

I’m definitely a wage slave 

[ivankiss]

Jeez that eye freaky. True serial killer vibes.