Life

7 Times You Should Do The Opposite Of What People Tell You

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There’s a pretty simple way to maximize your self improvement.

Do the opposite of what everyone else does.

It’s easy. Most people in the masses are so plugged in, they’re like zombies in their day to day life. They do everything that everyone tells them.

Just reading sites like Return Of Kings puts you in that percentage of men who are at least capable of stepping out of the typical drone life. Simply reading this site is a perfect example of what “normal people” don’t do.

So let’s apply this methodology to the rest of life. Here are 7 things where you should consider doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

1. College

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Four years ago, I walked out of my college graduation with a degree in economics. The next week, I walked into my new job.

As a computer engineer.

Less than three years later, I walked out of that office, hopped on a plane, and now I have my own online business(s). Just because everyone says you should go to college doesn’t mean you should. Especially with rising tuition costs, absurd SJW-inspired disciplinary rules, and an oversaturation of four-year degrees now in the workforce.

While I won’t go as far as to say that you shouldn’t go to college, you should at least look at the other alternatives and see how they stack up relative to where you want to get in life.

The opposite: Trade schools and entrepreneurship are becoming the new norm, especially for those who aspire to be location independent.

2. Pre-Planned Vacation Packages

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Too many people use their precious two weeks a year to jump into a pre-planned vacation package.

Why on Earth would you want to go from taking orders from your boss to taking a “vacation” where you’re told what to do the entire time.

Take a cruise, for example. You’re told when to show up. When you can or can’t be off the ship. You’re shoveled into a stateroom that is about the size of a cubicle in an office. It’s hardly any different!

The opposite: Book a solo trip somewhere you haven’t been, or better yet–haven’t even heard of. You will see more growth than you ever would imagine.

3. Buying Material Items

Much of what we’re told we must have is completely unnecessary. Most people overload themselves with expensive cars, houses, boats, televisions, and more. Did I mention diamond rings?

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The opposite: Life minimally. Maximize what you do have. A laptop can be both a work device and a way to unwind and watch a movie. An 85 inch television isn’t necessary for that. If you feel you need a nice car to impress women, improve your game. The possibilities on this one are endless.

4. Being The Nice Guy

They’ve always finished last and always will. From a young age we’re told that we need to treat women like special little snowflakes—then, and only then will they want us as men.

The result is flocks of guys trying to buy girls drinks in bars, tons of guys kissing their feet, and ultimately a lot of unhappy women confused why they don’t like the nice guys.

The opposite: While you don’t have to be a complete dick to girls, you do need to have a spine. Stand up for yourself and who you are. Call her out on her bullshit. She’ll thank you later.

5. Crash Dieting

He's got his game face and game food on... messy guy cramming his face full of burger and chips.

While I won’t get into specific dieting methodologies, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that an “all-carb” diet isn’t going to get you a chiseled and masculine physique.

Rather than doing their own research, most people will just listen to what other people tell them to do in regards to their health. Even if it’s completely counterproductive.

The opposite: Make lifestyle changes that have long term health benefits as opposed to fad diets. And do your own research.

6. Making Money Online

Making money online is all the rage these days. And the gurus are willing to teach you ALL their secrets—for the low price of three payments of $4,997!

It’s easy to tell these guys apart from the guys who are genuinely trying things and putting out good advice. If someone talks about their online money making failures, and is able to discuss in hindsight why they failed and what they did to improve, it’s likely that they have a genuine interest in trying to help people. Genuine product reviews for things they actually use help, too.

The opposite: Don’t just blindly throw away thousands of dollars on get-rich-quick schemes. Understand that making money online isn’t hard, but isn’t easy, either. It takes work. Be unlike everyone else and be willing to put in the work.

7. Savor The Process

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Too many people have a “give me now” attitude in today’s world. They don’t want to put in the work, time or effort to make good thing happen with their lives. Everything in life is about instant gratification.

You see this played out every day. Girls choosing to be Instagram whores for instant gratification as opposed to working on developing themselves so that they can one day be a good wife and mother.

Men choosing to blindly follow whomever they have deemed to be their hero (see: professional athletes) instead of developing who they are as a man. This is a poisonous attitude that leads to a poor work ethic and low energy.

The opposite: Develop a true routine that allows you stability in life. Go for a morning walk to clear your head in the morning. Avoid starting your day with an hour of browsing Twitter. Design your own routine that allows you to be productive and stay there.

And finally, try new things. Sometimes the best thing that ever happens to you is just around the corner.

Read More: You Are A Man Of Your Times

165 thoughts on “7 Times You Should Do The Opposite Of What People Tell You”

  1. Working a normal job.
    Esp. with the crashing economy there is less and less reason to work a conventional job. Going minimalist was the best thing I have done in this world. No bills = less ‘work’ you have to do.

      1. Don’t be coy, that’s womanly. I own my truck outright, and minimize what few bills I do own. No latest phone, rarely buy clothes, no big ticket items, no satellite, no cable, no loans.
        500 includes rent, Internet and cell phone. 100-200 a month for food, means EVERYTHING else is mine. I see people making 70-90k and have ‘no money’ what a joke.

        1. I wasn’t alluring, I knew it was less bills not no bills but wanted to check just in case someone has found the magic formula.

        3. Rarely buying clothes? You gotta dress well man, and it doesn’t cost as much as you think.

        4. The problem is all those ‘no money’ people are bidding up prices on things with what they can borrow. And in the ZIRP world they can borrow a lot with that income.

        5. No, you won’t be arrested as long as your junk and ass are covered. Some places require shoes and a shirt if you want service though

        6. who wants to look like a scrub though? Clothes say a lot about a man. Not talking about brands, but style, fit and context.

    2. I went minimalist. I only buy things that I save cash for. I have almost no debt at all, and can pay off the house tomorrow if I was so inclined. Own 40 acres out in the country, no debt on it at all. Have a house full of things I really enjoy, bought cash. No hermit life necessary.

  2. I’m not for minimalism. I’m not for working more for more money either but working LESS for MORE money aka financial LEVERAGE.
    It is easier said than done though but this is my goal.

    1. Having a father who built his own small business out of nothing makes this even more severe. My father always tells me to get this degree and do that traineeship but what he actually says is “Please proceed with this step so you can take over my legacy one day, now do exactly this so I can prepare you to follow in my footsteps.”
      Then again I ask myself why he doesn’t want me to go HIS path: Building something from the scratch.
      Always interesting to see that parents want you to do what they most of the times didn’t do: Either they want you to get a safe job, or – in the case of relationships between daughters and mothers – they want you to get a job even though they were housewives.
      And then there are the kids who were born with a silver spoon in the mouth while their parents were dirt poor decades ago – and instead of teaching them resiliency they buy them expensive apartments so little prince(ss) doesn’t need to feel the cruelty of paying a rent for a shared apartment.

      1. I had the same thing. Father that retired from a military role to start a business, told me to get a degree, even though he didn’t. It’s the common risk averse parent that wants their child to be safe. Ingrained from thousands of years of protecting the offspring.

    2. Your comment lacks context.
      It all depends on the parents and how they’ve structured their lives and the end result of that. If they went from rags to riches, you might want to listen to them when you’re first starting out. Or, hey, reinvent the wheel if that’s your thing, I guess.

  4. Do the opposite of what doctors tell you.
    Especially doctors like this one.

    p.s. I remember how the smart asses were ridiculing the “conspiracy theorists” when they were predicting the microchip. I guess they are not laughing now.

    1. well if they are reading stuff that you are writing they most certainly are laughing.

    2. Microchips are a bad idea. But ignoring your doctor or doing the opposite on every other topic is foolish.
      The government routinely fucks everything up. Government schools teach that 1+1=2. By your logic, because government fucks up a lot of things, we should take 1+1=2 as false.

      1. Doctor: Being a 350 pound fat ass with high cholesterol is terrible
        fatherofthree: but microchips
        Doctor: this can be terrible for your health and cause great sickness
        FO3: well it can’t be worse than having sex

    3. Well, Dr. Oz made a Show on the topic ‘Lasik is a scam’ and I got my dim light vision fucked by Lasik – so he was actually right on this one.
      Every dog has his day.

    5. They aren’t laughing, they are accepting it. That’s the cycle. They’ve long forgotten about making fun of people who were saying it would happen.
      I’ve seen so many conspiracy theories turn into conspiracy facts and nobody even seems to notice. The people that call you names never apologize or even recognize that you were right. But they’ll go from telling you that you’re crazy and it will never happen to why it’s a good thing.

    6. I can’t look at that (((turk))) ever since he demonstrated the proper technique to take a shit

  5. uhm….you forgot opposite day. That is a time when you should always do the opposite of what people tell you….unless this is opposite day when you are reading this….oh no! short circuit.

    1. That falls near Leif Erickson day doesn’t it? A ferngy merngy schmerngy!

  6. Much of what we’re told we must have is completely unnecessary. Most people overload themselves with expensive cars, houses, boats, televisions, and more. Did I mention diamond rings?
    Agreed except for this. Well, I agree on the diamond ring thing too with you. But it’s wonderful to watch movies on a 60″ widescreen, I fully and unconditionally love the freedom my motorcycle gives me (It’s paid off, cash), I enjoy my cars when I drive them and it’s great to be able to have a safe full of really nice firearms. And silver. Lots, and lots, of silver. And then fine Scotch.
    Really, you don’t need almost anything outside of the basics required to live as a hermit. The question then isn’t need, but rather, understanding your desires and enjoying life.
    I really have never understood the “You can be happy living as a hermit” line of thinking. We live in a fucking Golden Age of prosperity compared to all human history prior to this period. And we’re supposed to continue living like serfs? No thanks.
    As long as you don’t become a slave to your possessions and don’t go into debt to acquire them, then enjoy life.

    1. Right…and some people may be able to a) afford a diamond ring and b) get the king of pleasure from one that you get out of some things you enjoy.
      I think it is better to say “don’t go into debt or stray from your long term financial plan for your toys” but if you save for them and buy them, be they motorcycles and race cars or good scotch or expensive dinners or gold digging tramps or diamond rings or whatever…so long as you put in the world and can afford something you want no reason not to enjoy it.
      Becoming a slave to possessions is a terrible thing. BUt becoming a slave to austerity is still slavery.

      1. I boycott diamonds because of the slavery issue attached to them. That’s real shit, blood diamonds, I won’t help support it. It’s a “thing” of mine. Wife gets other jewels instead.

        1. oh man..nothing says love like blood diamonds. I mean, why would you want a non blood diamond.

        2. Something about enslaving little kids who have no choice. It’s this whole “conscious” thing that I can’t purge completely out of my soul.

        4. Plus, the actual value of diamonds is very low. They are inflated due to the (legal) international diamond cartel. You can get some illegally for real cheap if you know where to look.

        5. I am not a big fan of diamonds. I don’t really like a lot of bling. And I am aware of why you say about the value of diamonds being hugely inflated by diamond cartels (and stupid fucking women). That said, if you can readily afford a diamond and if owning or purchasing one for your woman or child will give YOU happiness then I see no reason not to.
          Going into debt for one is insane and buying one for someone else to appease them even more so. BUt if something genuinely will give you some kind of happiness and you can afford it you should get it.
          All my life I played a crappy Mexican telecaster. After 30 years of playing guitar I bought a 120th anniversary Les Paul Standard in Rootbeer Burst. My whole life I lusted over the LP Standard. It has always been my favorite guitar. I didn’t need one. I am not a professional musician. But I have played guitar for 30 years, always wanted one and could readily afford to buy it in cash. Every time I play it I smile. It is a real cherry. Plus, I know how far I cam to being able to afford it.
          I see no difference in that or a diamond if someone really, really loved diamonds.

        7. When I almost tied the knot a few years back, I went into several stores, including pawn shops and traditional jewelry stores examining diamond rings. Invariably, the one I picked out as the most attractive was cubic zirconia (fake, manufactured diamond-lookalike versus something mined out of the ground). The diamond thing is such a huge sham.

        8. If you like Gibsons, I would recommend a tour of one of their factories if you are ever in Nashville or Memphis. I toured Memphis where they make their semi-hollow bodied guitars. But be prepared for heartbreak. At the end of the tour, the guitars go through a final inspection by a virtuoso who visually inspects it, strings it, tunes it and plays it. If there is any flaw, and I mean ANY, even a nearly invisible hairline scratch, they run the guitar through a band saw. They said they do this to 60-70 guitars a week. I asked why not sell them for a discount? And they said this is how they keep the value up – Gibson means perfection.

        9. I have done this very tour. It really is. I played a ES-335 from the 60’s in Nashville. I swear it was like a brand new axe. If I could have loads of high end guitars I would have an ES-335 for blues a hollow body ES-330 for Jazz and and SG for rock. As it stands, having to chose one guitar that can cover all the bases, the Les Paul Standard is the best in the business imo. Take a look at the 120th anniversary in root beer burst and tell me that thing isn’t perfect. It has AAA wood you can hardly tell it isn’t a single piece of wood.
          I love the traditional’s weight, but I don’t like the extra thick fretboard and the studio is a perfectly lovely guitar and for the price reduction totally worth it, but there is just nothing more perfect and versitile than LP Standard

        11. Every diamond not sold by DeBeers is a blood diamond.
          The value of diamonds is because DeBeers restricts supply so very well and the demand was created by their marketing. It’s just a big fat scam. Some other gems are actually rare.

        12. It’s cool to see a fellow guitar player on RoK. I play a Gibson myself, an SG, although I’m looking to upgrade soon. As you said you’ve been playing for 30 years, I imagine you are quite skilled?

        13. I love SGs. I wouldn’t say skilled. I am proficient. I am not talented as a musician. I know people who weee very gifted and worked hard at it all their lives. That said, I can play a bunch of cool things and if I put a little work in I can usually figure out most riffs and get them down

        16. I’m more an acoustic guy myself, so I have a Martin GPCPA4. I have fooled around with a Les Paul before and loved the feel of it, but I don’t know my way around an electric enough to justify a Gibson – in fact, right now, I don’t even own an electric guitar (well, other than the acoustic-electric Martin). But I have always said that if I ever have the time to start seriously playing electric, and I could start to sound decent, a Gibson is what I would buy. Say what you will about the Stratocaster, but if the Les Paul is good enough for Jimmy Page, it’s good enough for me.

        17. If you are going in that direction to buy an electric guitar I would suggest buying the epiphone les paul first. It will be 5-600 rather than 2500-3000 and until you really, really, really get the hang of it you won’t notice a lick of difference. If you keep it in good shape it will actually retain some value and after a year or two of enjoying it you will be able to sell it for about half of what you bought it for in store credit towards that beauty of a paul. This is the same advice I give everyone who wants to buy a Gibson but can’t justify it for your reasons (Epiphone Sheraton is also a really cherry)
          I have a 15 year old Yamaha acoustic which is good enough for me at the nonce but I would like very much to one day buy a Gibson Hummingbird or a Martin D-28. I will at some point but probably not for a very long time. To be honest, I really like playing the Yamaha. It has great sound and I always recommend their acoustics for beginners. Mine is a replica of a martin D-15.
          A friend of mine let me borrow his dobro steel for a while and I had a blast, but I think my next purchase will be an inexpensive banjo.

        19. Thanks man. I run a fender blues deluxe reissue tube amp at 40x
          I am in an apartment in Manhattan so I have to be a little considerate but I get the right sounds to do all my dirty blues stuff while still getting enough clear tones to hit my jazzy stuff.
          30 years I waited for this thing lol

        20. No for sure, I know the feeling about waiting for the right guitar to come along. Now just don’t be lazy and change those strings more than once a decade. I should have gotten tube, but went solid state 15 years ago. Went Marshall 30w for that crunchy tone I need to play punk rock. Little guy is loud enough to make the Windows shake in my house on the second floor. I’m in LA. Ever hear of guitar pro 5? Shits amazing.

        21. Lol you can totally tell i need to change the strings! Love it. I play Ernie Ball 10’s and it’s been way too long since if changed them
          I get the crunchy punk tone and love it.
          I’ll google guitar pro 5

        22. Nice! I play d addarios 11’s for the heavier tones. Harder to bend though. Torrent guitar pro 5 if you can. Because nothing tastes better than free. (Software that tabs your favorite songs from websites such as ultimate-guitar.com etc. Best way to learn your favorite songs because I refuse to learn how to read music) cheers.

        23. I’ll check out the site first thing and agree ok torrent free. I love the 10s because I get a stupid sick bend when I do the John Pizzarelli jazz shit

        24. Awesome. That website is a gem for tabs. I don’t really comment here much, but have been a daily reader for years. Your comments are often innapropriate and hilarious. Keep it up. Finally glad you stopped changing your stupid avatar pic. I moved from Brooklyn to LA in 97, if I’m ever back in NY, I’ll hit you up for beers/jam sesh.

        26. People smile, no snow, plenty of parking. Ever hook up with a Puerto Rican girl?

        27. People smiling and no snow? So you hate it?
          Yes, I’ve had my share of most brands of Latina. Playing the field for 3 decades in New York is a cornucopia

        28. Making up for it here by dating Mexican girls. The only thing I miss is humidity and public transportation. Ever been to in n out burger on the west coast? Never living in any state without it.

        29. In and out is a mighty fine burger joint. I can understand your motive. Also, all the well dress Cunty blondes who are 2 years from realizing they won’t be actresses and considering porn are true gems

        30. I’m in Real Estate. The hottest and dumbest blondes you’ll ever come across in Orange County. The 29 year olds are really fucked in the head. Easy pickins.

        32. I downloaded it but haven’t fired it up yet. By the way, normans rare guitars just got in a ’42 custom made D’Angelico. Google the stores social media account to see it in action. Drool worthy

        33. Omg, they almost look like cello’s. 3k is a lot of $ for a guitar… but once you buy one it becomes an addiction.

        36. Ha that store is mostly for pro guitarists and wealthy collectors but I love that they put video of people playing them on line and apparently they are pretty cool with people just coming in and jamming on these amazing things

        37. Definitely agree. I’ve experienced going into a guitar store and wanting to try some expensive guitars behind the counter. Got denied a few times. It’s good to see people jamming on 10k axes even if they aren’t buying them.

        38. It is. I have never been there but if you read reviews people always seem to say the same thing.

        39. Learning any new songs lately? I’ve been lazy and have just been playing the stuff I know.

        40. I have been trying to get the chords down to Toto’s Africa. It’s really f’n hard. Take a look at some of what whack job changes

        42. You play them as regular open chords? Or power chords? Power chords might be easier (don’t barre)

        44. The tone of mexican strats is fuller and warmer than the “real ones” made in the USA because of the type of wood they are manufactured from. The only reason they cost less is lower wages in Mexico, yet all the posers poney up the extra cash and then usually only play it at home and gig with a cheaper ax because they are afraid of it getting damaged by a drunk or it disappearing between sets when they go to take a piss.

        46. LMAO @ (((De Beers))) setting up the The World Diamond Council/Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

        48. nice to see a Les Paul here. in 1984 i bought a Deluxe with the small humbuckers. meh. I was 16 so wtf did i know?

      2. There is a reason and that is to bleed the beast. Every time the economy is in the shitter you have some scumbag politician encouraging the sheep to go shopping in order to stimulate it. That’s reason enough to do the opposite, to help precipitate the collapse of the vile state of affairs every article here laments.
        Watching something Target go under was much more enjoyable than using any of the made in China crap sold by low margin obsessed, job outsourcing race traitors.

    3. I don’t mind buying nice things, but unlike consumerists, I don’t keep buying. I don’t need the ‘upgrade your 6 month old phone to the new $700 one!’, new fashion that just came out, etc. Just buy whats nice and take good care of it.

      1. I agree with that mindset 100%. I buy the highest quality I can when I can. If I’m going to own something, I want it to be serviceable and sturdy and last me for years.

        1. Everyone made fun of me 6 years ago when I bought the top best in the trade 63 inch Samsung. They told me to get a visio, to get an LG to save money. 6 years later and I think I will still get another 5-10 years out of this television. If you do your research and know the difference between quality and flash, spending top dollar for the best will be worth it in the long run when you prorate the value to how long it lasts.

        2. Yes. This is how I structure my sales pitch to uncertain customers when they’re looking at my $80.00 holsters. Yeah, you can buy that Chinese piece of rubber glue Pleather for $10.00 but it will wear out in a month and within four months be nothing but scrap. Buy my holster and you’ll be able to use it daily and then will it to your son when you die and then HE will get a lifetime of use out of it.
          It’s actually a pretty convincing argument, if you can get them to listen to you.

        3. That is correct. I do a lot of ROI reports at work. I love when I I can show people projected cost per use over initial one time cost and make them go “oh, I get it, so this will cost me .025 cents per use instead of 2.50 per use” The ones that listen always come around.

        4. Hrrrm. 80 bucks is not bad. I need something like a Galco V-Hawk but for a USP Compact in 40.

        5. And in my profile, is my email. I don’t think I have a blue gun for that, but I might have something that’s an analog.

        6. My first flat screen TV was a disaster. I only bought it because my ‘modern’ furniture had no place for my old 10 inch analogue tube TV. The old one was a piece of crap so old it didn’t even had a SCART input. BUT, in hindsight I loved the picture I was getting and while it was lo-fi, it was solid. Despite being almost as old as me, it worked perfectly and without protest. The new TV had all kinds of weird features like ’24p cinema mode’, which are laughable to me, having some video background experience. It’s just gimmicks. It’s full of useless image ‘improving’ functions. Meanwhile, it doesn’t get the basic basics right: In dark scenes, bright lights left a trace behind them. This is unacceptable. My 20 year old shitty tube TV didn’t do that.
          A lot of stuff out there is just marketing gimmicks, really. A lot of ‘features’ you will never really need. Another laughable example is the ‘cinema’ mode, which is basically a very rudimentary color ‘correction’ applied to the picture. Probably changes the gamma value a little. In effect, it simply makes the image a little darker. Seriously? THIS is what I pay for?
          What about creating a TV that is devoid of all those ‘features’ and simply focuses on delivering a crisp and solid image? I bet that two things are true:
          1. This would be rather cheap to produce.
          2. If you actually want it, you probably have to pay thousands of EUR/USD just to get basic quality right.
          Curiously, PC monitors do all those things very well. HD, solid crisp image, Hz rate based on the actual output. No traces. And they are cheap. Why the fuck don’t they make a TV like a PC monitor, just bigger? Yeah, guess why. Because marketing, because money. Because gimmicks sell better than actual quality.
          Another popular example is all those 200Hz or 500Hz modes, which basically create interpolated images between the existent images. This introduces a lot of artifacts through the motion interpolation. Now, you may be tempted to point out that technology improves and this kind of stuff will be perfect one day. Let me tell you: It won’t. I have professional grade video editing software at home that does image interpolation, better than those TVs. At very high quality settings, it takes about 30 seconds to just render a single frame. And in fast-paced scenes, it still makes very gross mistakes that make the image practically unusable. Because the information simply isn’t there. And even if it did work perfectly, this completely misses the point that the framerate of a movie actually plays a lot into the ‘look and feel’. Changing it is like artistic sabotage. Old Hollywood movies start to ‘feel’ like an amateur cam tape.
          Oh and also funny were the first (don’t know if it has improved) HD TVs and HD TV channels. They were ‘technically’ HD, but the artifacts introduced through image compression were so severe that the whole image was a blurry mess and factually looked worse than SD (not HD) analogue transmissions.

        8. I’ll get a new TV when my tube one dies. It’s almost 20 years old now.
          (I just don’t care enough about TV to bother to replace it)

        9. don’t forget the whole lie of “better picture quality” digital despite the fact that half the time the damn thing shorts out completely now when the wind blows, something analog NEVER did even when the quality wasn’t great.

        10. Exactly! Good point. It would take a very strong blizzard to completely disrupt an analogue signal. Although this is better with cable TV I think.

        12. I have done this with shoes. I spent the extra money on two pairs of boots and a pair of running shoes. Definitely a great investment. I have a pair of boots, 10 years, still going strong and look nice. $290 pair of boots (could have easily gone through 5/$100 pairs in 10 years). I’ve had these running shoes since January and they’re putting my old running shoes to shame ($140). I can think of a few $100 pairs that would be totally beat up by now after what I’ve put these through.

        14. Lolknee-I am looking for a new TV. 48 inch flatscreen. Samsung is good in general, or just your model? I will check Consumer Reports because I can also. I heard Samsung is ok, but I thought “LG is better” based on what somebody told me….

        15. I am not really an electronics guru and my knowledge of technology ranks somewhere between most old people and daffy duck. What I can say is that I have had my Samsung for a decade and absolutely love it. The thought of replacing it never occurs to me and if I was going to buy again, based on my current experience, I would def chose Samsung without question. That said, there are people here who would actually know much more about the tech stuff to give a more knowledgeable answer probably

      2. Excellent article discussing just this.
        http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Simple-Dollar/2012/0330/When-should-you-buy-brand-name-clothes
        I started buying Carhartt clothing after reading this, and it really is high quality.
        I just threw away a Made-In-USA t shirt that was 19 years old yesterday. It developed its first small hole. The foreign stuff won’t last 5 years. Hell, I’ve bought a cheap souvenier t shirt that starting showing wear after the first washing.

        1. The trick to clothes. Be mindful of this advice, it is given freely.
          The way to preserve your clothes is to never, ever, at any time, let them find their way into a modern clothes dryer. Hang them out like people used to do. Almost all wear and tear on clothing comes from that stupid machine. It’s why the “lint basket” is always full when you clean it. That’s not “lint”, that’s literally (Hitler) your clothes being sucked fiber by fiber away.
          The More You Know!(tm)

        2. I buy counterfeit goods. Not the cheap screen printed trash, I mean the 1:1 like authentic quality.

        3. Used to hang clothes out before I moved to where it rains seventeen months out of the year.

        5. My grandmother addressed that problem by having an indoor clothes line in the basement. It wasn’t “springtime fresh” during winter, but it dried them just fine, eventually.

        6. Hadn’t really thought about it, pretty low on my list of priorities, but I will say the dehumidifier makes sense and probably turn out to be an absolute necessity. If I wanted dry clothes in the darker months, that is.

        7. I hang dry my stuff, but will run them in the dryer a bit to get the actual lint off the dark stuff, on no heat.
          Underwear and socks and towels get the dryer on heat, though.

        9. For dark stuff I have one of those sticky paper roll things that you peel the paper off of per use, if you know what I’m talking about. It’s the combination of heat and battering that does it.

        10. Hah, I tell people this all the time. I do own a clothes dryer. I use it perhaps 4 times a year. I bought one of those clothes hanging racks so even in the winter time I can hang up clothes indoors. Towels come out softer in the dryer, but for everything else, yes, you are literally raping your clothes to death. I think that’s part of the reason that t shirt lasted 19 years. Even a well constructed shirt will disintegrate after a few dozen trips in the dryer.

        12. Another tip. I typically wear a cheap white undershirt underneath that gets washed frequently and replaced after it wears out, while there is far less washing of the outside nice shirt that doesn’t get soiled with sweat and skin contact.

      3. Most people bite off more then they can chew, be it with work, women, or purchases, even lifting, then end up injured and fall off for years. Have some nice things, not a ton, enough that you’ll have time to use regularly.
        Better to be base-level proficient at most things, but especially great at just a few, than try to be great at it all because you’ll fall down the rabbit hole of mediocrity trying. Work on any aspect that’s below base-level proficiency too, because no matter how great your best skills are, or nicest toys, something below average proficiency will always hold you back and ruin the value in your stuff (time to use and enjoy), and your life. I call it the lowest common denominator effect. I choose my friends, women, and purchases with that equation now, and everything’s much better in my life.
        More often than not, having everything and trying to be everything will ruin your reputation. People like that end up being solely users of others, and inadvertently followers of everybody. That said, every time I’ve bucked the trend it either paid dividends in unique, unforgettable experiences, or taught a harsh life lesson I needed to gain better understanding of.
        80% of what people do, outside of basic survival, feeds the ego for the wrong reasons. Learn to use your ego for its intended purpose, inspiration. Then, you’ll automatically separate yourself from the masses without intentionally meaning to.
        I rented a Ferrari F430, wamped the shit out of it, drove that fucker harder than 99% of Ferrari owners ever would. My ego didn’t need the satisfaction of ownership, but the experience was priceless.

      4. Basically, the point of this article and your post is to be a critical thinker. Don’t swallow what the masses or the media tell you. Research and make your own decisions.

    4. I’m a believer in finding what you like and having some nice examples of it. I am not a golfer. I may be, someday, so I will buy one set of good clubs and use them. I am not a connoisseur of golf equipment. I am of guns, but not archery equipment, and only somewhat of knives. I like GM and Toyota and some Fords, but I do not want Hondas or Mopar. My friends collect petroliana. I do not, other than maybe some signs for the wall. Have SOME nice things, but not all. Virtue is not excess.
      As for diamonds, when I find a good woman, I will get her whatever she prefers and makes her happier. As long as she remains a good woman, including riotous, enthusiastic, wanton sex, I will consider myself well compensated.

      1. Right, tailor your purchases to your desires, that’s kind of what I was alluding to. Buying shit just to buy it is stupid and wasteful. But if you’re going to get things to suit your desires, then get the best quality you can afford of that item.

    5. 60″ TV? I got a secondhand projector for $25 and I can make the picture as big as I damned well please. Thriftiness, you know.
      Then I inadvertently inherited my patriarchy war wagon from my grandpappy. Fun to drive, not so much fun on gas.
      Although I have run into a little snafoo: my father asked me for a Christmas wish list and I’m at a loss. I don’t particularly want anything. Maybe a nice set of socket wrenches, but still…

      1. It’s super high resolution, and I like it. Any bigger and it would be too big to watch comfortably.
        A good set of tools is a requirement, a must have, for any man with testicles.

        1. Aw, what’s wrong with seeing your favorite movie six feet wide? Makes great movie nights.
          I guess do need more tools: my shopsmith is feeling lonely. And a mitre saw would be a convenience, what with the recent stuff I’ve been doing.

        2. +1 on the tools. Even if you live in an apartment, get tools. Mechanic and construction! Get hand powered stuff unless you’re going to go into a trade or start wrenching on cars/semis for money.

    6. Yeah, as you say, not getting too attached to these things is probably key.
      Anyhow, the particulars of what we ‘need’ are different for everybody. One enjoys fast cars, another like me may like a fast computer to be able to do crazy computing for art projects. Another may want to take a jump with a parachute. Not subscribing to a ‘standard wealthy good life’ idea seems appropriate.
      And I am currently living like a hermit. Can’t say I’m overly unhappy. Sure, if I had a bike, I’d like to ride the countryside towards the alps and have some fun with the serpentines. But then, I don’t really think much about it.

    7. Firearms, silver, and fine scotch….we’d get along real good, Ghost.
      Which brands and regions of scotch do you prefer?

    8. Buy what is necessary. If you can buy what you want, good, do it. But no one should live to buy, or rely on things to be happy.
      Let the result of your happiness be the things you have, not the contrary.
      That’s my opinion.

    9. Right on! Your comment made me think of a passage in Alan Watts’ In My Own Way: “Originally from Chicago, Russell [Matthias] had made a fortune in the lumber business and had retired at forty, to become an ardent conservationist. Clean-cut and impeccably dressed, he relished the good things of life with what can only be called luxurious asceticism. There was no clutter or display of excessive possessions, but almost everything he owned was of the finest quality, imaginative in taste (including a narwhal’s tusk), and kept in uncrowded order.” (p.155)

    11. Just distractions. Hermits who don’t have to deal with the populace are the richest men in the world. Enjoying life is subjective as many people have experienced the things you listed and did not care for them. Enjoyment is a strong word, it’s more like making life slightly less unpleasant.

  7. Good job, Kyle!
    While your last article was a piece of trash, this one is actually a great summary!

  8. I’m glad the discussion under college was a little more tempered than the setup: “When people tell you to [go to college] do the opposite”.
    There are some good things college can do for you. But it’s important to analyze the ROI thoroughly: consider how much debt you will go into, how long it’ll take to pay it off working in the field chosen, and demand for skills in the field chosen (job availability). I concur with the article that in some cases, over supply of skills and high tuition costs may may it unattractive, but there are a lot of cases where it does work out, too.

    1. Also consider the possibility that you will be brainwashed or falsely accused of rape. College is not just about the academics.

      1. Yeah. Of course, being falsely accused of anything is a risk factor anywhere. But the rape + campus accusations seem to carry a higher than average risk right now. Being brainwashed I’m a little less worried about, in the context of giving advice here on ROK. I suspect, or at least hope, those guys looking at what we have to say about the matter are probably already largely immune to the bullshit.

        1. I want my son to have a CDL and some trades/mechanic schooling/experience first, and then decide if he wants to gamble with college. I think the decent money and the real job upfront would teach him not to repeat my mistake. No time for SJW teachings in the tech school!

    2. When researching salary of a field of study, get real numbers from sources not tied to the department of the university. The university councillors are just salesmen pitching how prestigious their degree from their school is. In the real world, people don’t give a shit.

    3. Depending on where you go, college can be a great place to practice game and make approaches

  10. I can agree with most, except the start a business thing.
    Anyway I finished business management and the modern prospects are terrible, you must wait ’till the economic crisis ends, then open a business, the reason is that if you open one now it is more probable it will close, but after the crisis when the economy starts to bounce up the first businesses will be like a goldmine.
    Although this crisis seems to have no end in sight…

  15. Believing “People (especially women) will love you for who you are”
    As RoK’s resident autistic kid, let me tell you this is the biggest lie of all. Nobody cares if you’re a socially maladjusted loser. You’re worthless to everyone except your family.

  16. If I don’t do what people tell me because you told me that I shouldn’t do what they tell me … does that make me a hypocrite?

  17. Best diet plan: move to a healthy-food country.
    If you make it at least 1 year, then by the time you get back to America, you will BEG for those health-foods — or you’ll move back to said-country!
    I.e. Japan. I moved here and accustomed to the food (wooh! I’m no longer made of corn!). I eat nothing but Japanese food all day, every day: Miso Soup, Sushi (heh..), Unagi, eggs over plain rice, Nabe, Sashimi, Okayu, Octopus (yes, and it’s fantastic), other seafood, and more. Of course, i started off hating these foods, but now they are my favorites.
    It is IMPOSSIBLE to find fatty food comparable to America in Japan. I mean, they have stuff yes — but it’s “not enough”. Nothing will ever compare to Tostitos Nacho Cheese, movie theatre popcorn, Five Guys, Chipotle, etc. The alternatives are just complete crap, forcing you to eat local awesome-foods. That goes for snacks too. The closest you’ll ever come to having a home-style snack is chocolate (i.e. Snickers).
    Soda is limited to Coke. Good luck finding Sprite or Pepsi — it’s there, but rare. And all the others simply do not exist. Your daily drink intake will absolutely be green tea. All day. . .everyday. That’s UNSWEETENED green tea. Sugared tea does not exist here. Don’t worry, you get used to it. . .
    As a matter of fact, you get so used to it, that when you DO go back to America and binge eat all your favs — you will find yourself puking in the toilet and begging to go back. It surely will TASTE great, but your body will say “fuck you and die” within 2 days — so is what happened to me.
    After being in Japan for 1 year, I have lost 10 Kilograms. And as Kyle said, it’s a lifestyle change, not a diet.

      1. Good food is rarely cheap, and Japan has got similar prices to Germany. The cheapest healthy food countries in the world are Brazil, Spain and a few others. It is ridiculous how much you pay for an O-Saft in Germany. In Spain, it is almost for free. in Brazil, you can go through the month eating different fruits and vegetables and spend around 1/5 you would in the EU.
        In Japan, Spain and Portugal, fish is cheaper but not that much. On the other hand, you can eat delicious species that are rarely available elsewhere. Meats in the Iberian Peninsula are simply the best in the whole world.
        France is good for wines and cheeses, as is Italy. The entire Mediterranean you can eat cheap, balanced meals on a tight budget (Greece, Italy, Spain, Israel, Corsica and Sardinia). Turkey is cheap, kebab country, but beware hygiene…

      2. Actually I would say yes, if by good you mean healthy. If you eat what the locals do, which is a different kind of meal than we in the west eat.
        Sushi and stuff like that isn’t necessarily that healthy compared to a meal of Nikujaga, white rice, pickles and soup.
        Typical Japanese home cooked meals are healthier by a wide margin compared to most western foods.
        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7b98d7aaa7eb7f8f55d7bb5c03ef9af84a19b109377e5c82cb3697c7e81137fb.jpg

    2. You must be far off in the countryside. Urban Japan certainly offers junk food if you want it.

      1. The only western style stuff that is authentic that I’ve come across is McDonald’s, and chocolate bars. I’m thinking he was specifically speaking about fast food chains and snacks/drinks.
        I’ve tried a few of the local versions of western snacks/foods and while they are probably not any healthier they also don’t taste the same, most not even close, so they wouldn’t fix a craving if you have one.
        I’m sure in Osaka or Tokyo or the bigger cities you can find western authentic stuff if you go to a big department stores food floor but you will be paying out of your nose for it, so most people wouldn’t.
        If you eat like the locals do, you will be eating much healthier than most people who live in the west do, that’s a fact.

        1. Yeah it’s healthier. I’ve lived there myself but the guy seemed to be gilding it too much. There is still tons of shit to eat if you lack the discipline. Ice cream sundae style masterpieces in any convenience store.
          And ‘sugared tea does not exist here’…c’mon. No need for misinformation. His overall point is correct though. You’ll eat better over time in a country that simply eats well, whether you want to or not.

  18. How about unless you’re a child or employed by someone, never do what someone tells you to do. Think for yourself and do what’s best for you.

  19. I’ve been a contrarian on every point here for decades, long before some of these became vogue, like skipping college and pursuing your own enterprise. I would concur with these points and add even more, but this list is a good start.

  20. Making money online is all the rage these days. And the gurus are willing to teach you ALL their secrets—for the low price of three payments of $4,997!

    Those that host these weekend seminars whether it be about creating wealth in the stock market, internet marketing or property development know that the bulk of those attending will never do anything. They get a high from attending but lack the motivation or discipline to take action.
    Probably about 80% of attendees will get home, browse through the course notes, toss them into a drawer and forget about it. Maybe about 15% will make a start but as soon as they hit obstacles or don’t get the ROI that they hoped for then they give up. Around 5% or less will actually go on to make any kind of reasonable income from their efforts.
    And then you have the multi level marketing scam which is nothing more than a pyramid scheme.

  21. Four years ago, I walked out of my college graduation with a degree in economics. The next week, I walked into my new job.
    As a computer engineer.
    WTF?! Sorry, but this is complete BS. No wonder STEM professions are in a crash dive.

  23. Learn Sales from early age. Most people would think this is useless but learning sales will improve in ALL areas of your life.
    Learn about how business, economy works. Make sure your contact list only contains people who are valuable to you and are people who will help you reach your goal faster and important well connected people.

  24. I disagree on the first segment of the article. I’m in love with ferraris and Lamborghinis.
    Those are my top goals that I have. While I can agree to have a computer to watch a movie and do work at same time, I would like sit on a couch in front of a 70″ TV and feel myself in a theater.
    Honestly I don’t agree with the minimalist lifestyle at all.

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