The Truth
TLDR; Former basement dwelling mommas boys, sidewalker, slow lanner, and now looking to become a fast laner. My journey to manhood and financial freedom. Looking to become a part of this community and would love any feedback on how I should best approach this.
I'm usually a very calculated person, but in this case I'm deciding not to be(for this message, all I did was correct spelling errors) I want to give a raw account of myself. I hope I can do this justice. Where did this all start for me?
For most of my life, I didn't care about what I was doing. I was a classic modern day zombie. I had my troubles growing up, but for the most part I did everything I was told would work. School, sports, college, debt etc. Like anyone I've had battles with my life figuring myself out(crisis, anxiety, depression) I'm not unique in that sense.
After college is when the gears really started to turn for me. Up until that point I only had one real goal. Getting me degree. Everything leading up to that degree, was me doing something I never really believed in. It was what i thought was expected of me. I knew I had different thoughts but I allowed my fear to stop me from doing what I wanted. With my degree finally in hand(BA in psychology after 5 years) I found myself like most young men nowadays(and this is unfortunate that men have become this..) in my mom's basement. I was broke, unemployed, with debt, and no real connections to get a job. I spent zero percent of my time actually doing any networking in college. I didn't put in the work or have a plan to succeed because I thought everything would be handed to me. I thought that a degree was the golden ticket. I even had the audacity to take a "break" for six months after I graduated. I called it my time to "decompress" after such an "accomplishment".
What did I do in that time? I sat on my couch in my basement apartment and just played video games and watched tv. I did nothing to advance my skillset. I embraced all my vices and pretended that I deserved all of them. I remember a time when I had a conversation with my dad, he mentioned he had a job for me to take in the summer(it was a job I took the year before) I remember the exact quote I gave him to justify my continued laziness. I told him "I've spent the last 9 years excelling at a high level... I need some time to relax" Imagine that? I turned down the opportunity for money.. because I believed I deserved time off? Those nine years of "excellence" were just high school and college combined. I thought that because I had a high gpa and I worked "hard" that I deserved some time off.
To this day, that conversation with my father was one of my biggest regrets. I don't miss the money I could've gained. I miss the time that I wasted. Time that I could've used for myself to develop my skills and network. I was a pompous 24 yr old kid who thought the world owed him something. When I say pompous, I don't want people to get confused. I wasn't and still am not an extrovert. I mean to say that I am not outwardly arrogant. I am very much an introvert and keep to myself. I think that's what made it even worse, because I never voiced my thoughts to anyone, they were allowed to go unchecked. No one ever really knew what motivated me or how to best approach me. I did my damndest to make sure no one got past certain barriers with me. If they could never correct me than they could never challenge my perception of the world.
So liked I mentioned I went on for this six months. I did nothing and eventually realized "Hey I need a job. my situation really isn't that great" So I went online and applied using a resume that I had handcrafted for me by my mom. Back then I would take all the help from family that I could get. I was the definition of a parasite. As if it wasn't enough that she was providing a grown man food, shelter, clothing, and transportation. All this without paying any rent.
I don't lament my mom or dad for the decisions they made to keep me comfortable. Your parents want to do what's best to keep you safe and "happy" They don't understand that what's best for you is to actually take challenges and strive for independence. What both of them failed to understand was that the best thing to do for me was to cut me off from all my resources, that would've saved me a tremendous amount of time to grow.
The job hunt didn't go very well in the beginning. While I continued to leach off my mom, I made it my "job" to look for a job. Eventually I found some through employment agencies, The work wasn't what I expected. I worked temporary jobs for over a year making between 10 to 14 dollars an hour. I thought I was padding up my resume. It all seemed like progress. Sure why not... I had student debt up to my eyeballs and I had "dreams" of going to grad school.. Yeah working for this amount in some random mailroom or warehouse an hour away from home. That makes perfect sense... But that's what I did... One of my jobs stuck for a little while. It was a mailroom job I had for eight months. Pay wasn't great but there was some stability in my life. I saved up, applied to grad school and thought I was on my way. I want to make one thing clear before I go on. ALL THIS that took place was my fault. When you become an adult. It's your responsibility to recognize a failure and to take accountability. YOU have to be the one to correct that behavior. NO one else!
SO as I meandered through this last job, I got the idea in my head that I should quit and find something else. I said forget this "I'm going to bet on myself!" Little did I realize I wasn't betting on anything but the security I had at my beck and call. Mom's basement. I could quit the job and go dwell in the basement where I could "plan" the rest of my life. It was back at it again for me. I was on the job hunt. Again, like most of the jobs I had, something found me and I took it with open arms. There was another role for me to get at a bank. Once everything was cleared through my agency, I got myself in there interviewed and stated work shortly after. I worked that temp role for close to 8 months before I was hired on full time. This was another "milestone" for me... I was offered a pay rate that was double what I've ever made at the time. I think my starting pay was 53k a year. I thought I'd made some progress. With some income and stability in hand. I reboubled my efforts to get into grad school. My chosen "dream" field was psychology. I would become what was known as a "forensic psychologist" and someday start my own practice. I thought I'd be the man and work for myself
The hardest thing about grad school entry? taking the exam to actually enter. I rememvber taking it three times.. but it could've been more... Add that in with the recommendations and other requirements I needed to get and I was faced with another hurdle in my "plan" That was one major flaw that I still battle today(although to a lesser degree now) I just looked at a goal that sounded good and made things up as I went along. I could remember times where I actually said that in my head. I'd say it so cavalier "I'm just making things up as I go along.. I must be the man!" That level of delusion runs rampant in so many minds today but you can never realize its insanity until you dive deep into yourself. Like actually reflect about your actions. This isn't to say I wasn't an introspective person. I spent a lot of time ruminating about how much of a failure I was, but none of that rumination was actually me being accountable. Because I'd do the same thing over again. Things didn't go may way "OK lets sit and pout in a corner and think about what I've done" What's that look like? Sit there and tell myself how much I sucked. That was it. NO ownership of thought and taking action. Just the same self fulfilling prophecy. But you know why this is so appealing to many? It keeps you safe and comfortable.
Think about it... when you don't have to challenge yourself. When you can just talk yourself out of it through pity. That gives you an out and allows you to give up every single time. That's what I did for awhile
Eventually I did find my way into grad school and guess what.. yup it didn't work out there either. I did one semester and realized that I hated it. What did it take for me to hate it? Was it the mounting student loan debt? nope it was a statistic's class! I saw how much time I was spending on that class and it felt like a second job. I was spending weekends on my laptop doing "work" that didn't make sense to me. For me the time and effort didn't make sense when I had a job that was paying me "good money" So I just stopped going to class. I gave up. I didn't even officially drop out. I just stopped going into class.. I think I dropped out of the courses but I know for sure I didn't drop out of the program.
After this I continued to work and work and work. My next plan was to find a place of my own. To me this marks the beginning of my development. Up until that time when I knew I needed to move out, I was just a manchild. Moving out was an actual goal. It seemed like, the first goal that I'd ever planned for.. the first thing I ever did that actually had a process behind it that I designed and implemented myself. Of course I wasn't fully independent in this journey. Some of my family wanted to help and of course I took that help. That was all I knew how to be. So we went on apartment browsing. When the day came that I finally found a place to my liking, my mom was there. I'd still been relying on her so much. She was a compass for a lot of my decision making.
I wont go into the relationships I've had with friends and family. That could be an entire story itself, but I will say this. I didn't have an actual identity of my own. My identity was tied to other peoples perceptions of the world and I thought that if i did what they deemed best, that I would be ok in life. I know that when I chose that apartment though. That was the first decision I'd made in a while that was about me. I'd come to he conclusion that I liked the place for myself and no one else. It felt right to be there because I planned to be there. I didn't just wish this place into existence. When the time came for me to move from the basement to my humble abode, I had practically everything ready. New bed, furniture, appliances, electronics. everything that I needed to live the best life I viewed at the time.
In some respects I was independent and others I was still a little boy. I didn't have a car so I would rely on my mom every weekend to pick me up for grocery shopping. This was our time to hangout as well. When I needed to get to work I'd take the bus or train. When I was done with work it was back to the couch to play video games and watch TV(and other vices that I wont get into) this was my pattern for about 6 months. I'd love to say that my moment of growth was achieved though something profound, but it wasn't. It was achieved through a moment of complete ignorance and foolishness. Long story short, I found myself entering a relationship(one night fling) with someone that I met through a family member. This fling didn't go as I'd thought. If I could phrase this down to one sentence. I'd say that I was a boy trying to make the decisions of a man. And at that time I still had no sense of direction. I didn't know how to behave around a girl( I wasn't a virgin but I was a complete novice at social interactions with women) So this lack of experience and foolishness' led me to some decisions that almost made me a father. I soon found out that that wasn't the case and that the child was someone else. but the message was very clear to me. I had almost ruined my life and I was set to repeat the same process on the next generation.
After this incident, I went on for a few weeks and reflected like I'd never had to reflect. The possibility of a child can force you to view things through a different lens. This was my first real existential crises. It forced me to look at what value I had as a human being. What was my life? What could I do from here? Questions like that ran rampant through my mind for weeks at a time. I still had the same job, but my commitment to my vices started to slow down. It just didn't make sense to do any of that while I still felt like a "loser" My thoughts soon turned into action. I did what many down trodden millennial's do nowadays and turned to the internet. I looked far and wide for coaches, mentors, groups that could help me change things. I will say this, not all that content I viewed was for the best. A lot of it was toxic and only fueled my victim mindset. But the quality content that I viewed, had a larger voice in my mind. It was what motivated me to start taking martial arts classes. which was something I'd always wanted to do but talked myself out of.
I didn't talk myself out of it, and committed to going at least once a week on the weekends. I loved it. I didn't care if I was sparring a novice kid or a grown 5th degree black belt. It was something that simulated my mind body and soul. I needed this kind of existential nourishment in my life. Every event afterwards in my life has been sparked by similar catalyst since then. I found groups online to help me with finance, dating, fitness(whatever was the weakest area in my life) SO what did I accomplish since then? It'd be hard for me to put it into concise words, so I'll just list the things I'm proud of.
1. I've taken martials arts for two years and four months to this day. I'm currently a brown belt, Soon I hope to participate in my first tournament(live competition)
2. I paid off over 40k worth of student debt ( I lived like a monk for awhile but I did it, still just 10k left to pay now)
3. I set up some online dating profiles and actually went out on dates(I didn't learn this on my own. I got coaching for it)
4. I've read multiple books that I chose to read and weren't assigned to me through some school course(I'm proud that I sought out this knowledge)
5. I changed my social circle (I only had two real friends in my life at one point, now I have at least 5 people I could call on in my phone that aren't family. I also joined a few other groups online)
6. I quit my job(I hated my job and I only did it because it gave my a sense of stability)
7. I learned and invested in crypto(I haven't made a lot of money, but I've learned how to use it for small amounts of passive income through lending)
8. Got into the best shape of my life(I was a couch potato, My bodyfat percent was probably around 20 to 22 percent, I lost lost 10 to 15 pounds since then and sit around 11 to 12 percent bodyfat)
9. Actually had the courage to post something like this! (I've never written anything like this for anyone in a public forum)
10. Learning some high income skills (I've done a few courses on coding, Just one language so far, I also completed a course on copywriting.)
11. I developed 1 and 5 year goals for the first time ever
I know that I have more but I'd be forced to think and since I want this to be as raw as possible, I'll stop where I'm at. If you've read this far, I thank you. You didn't have to take the time and I greatly appreciate that. With this i wanted to give the most honest accounting of myself and where I've been. Its not a life story but its a synopsis of what I feel characterizes my journey. I'm here now to offer whatever value I can. I just want to figure things out so that everything I've planned for my life comes to fruition. If anyone has any tips for me going forward.. Like how I can become a part of this community and what steps I should take to grow and offer value.. that'd be very helpful.
Thanks again to everyone and I look forward to contributing here.
TLDR; Former basement dwelling mommas boys, sidewalker, slow lanner, and now looking to become a fast laner. My journey to manhood and financial freedom. Looking to become a part of this community and would love any feedback on how I should best approach this.
I'm usually a very calculated person, but in this case I'm deciding not to be(for this message, all I did was correct spelling errors) I want to give a raw account of myself. I hope I can do this justice. Where did this all start for me?
For most of my life, I didn't care about what I was doing. I was a classic modern day zombie. I had my troubles growing up, but for the most part I did everything I was told would work. School, sports, college, debt etc. Like anyone I've had battles with my life figuring myself out(crisis, anxiety, depression) I'm not unique in that sense.
After college is when the gears really started to turn for me. Up until that point I only had one real goal. Getting me degree. Everything leading up to that degree, was me doing something I never really believed in. It was what i thought was expected of me. I knew I had different thoughts but I allowed my fear to stop me from doing what I wanted. With my degree finally in hand(BA in psychology after 5 years) I found myself like most young men nowadays(and this is unfortunate that men have become this..) in my mom's basement. I was broke, unemployed, with debt, and no real connections to get a job. I spent zero percent of my time actually doing any networking in college. I didn't put in the work or have a plan to succeed because I thought everything would be handed to me. I thought that a degree was the golden ticket. I even had the audacity to take a "break" for six months after I graduated. I called it my time to "decompress" after such an "accomplishment".
What did I do in that time? I sat on my couch in my basement apartment and just played video games and watched tv. I did nothing to advance my skillset. I embraced all my vices and pretended that I deserved all of them. I remember a time when I had a conversation with my dad, he mentioned he had a job for me to take in the summer(it was a job I took the year before) I remember the exact quote I gave him to justify my continued laziness. I told him "I've spent the last 9 years excelling at a high level... I need some time to relax" Imagine that? I turned down the opportunity for money.. because I believed I deserved time off? Those nine years of "excellence" were just high school and college combined. I thought that because I had a high gpa and I worked "hard" that I deserved some time off.
To this day, that conversation with my father was one of my biggest regrets. I don't miss the money I could've gained. I miss the time that I wasted. Time that I could've used for myself to develop my skills and network. I was a pompous 24 yr old kid who thought the world owed him something. When I say pompous, I don't want people to get confused. I wasn't and still am not an extrovert. I mean to say that I am not outwardly arrogant. I am very much an introvert and keep to myself. I think that's what made it even worse, because I never voiced my thoughts to anyone, they were allowed to go unchecked. No one ever really knew what motivated me or how to best approach me. I did my damndest to make sure no one got past certain barriers with me. If they could never correct me than they could never challenge my perception of the world.
So liked I mentioned I went on for this six months. I did nothing and eventually realized "Hey I need a job. my situation really isn't that great" So I went online and applied using a resume that I had handcrafted for me by my mom. Back then I would take all the help from family that I could get. I was the definition of a parasite. As if it wasn't enough that she was providing a grown man food, shelter, clothing, and transportation. All this without paying any rent.
I don't lament my mom or dad for the decisions they made to keep me comfortable. Your parents want to do what's best to keep you safe and "happy" They don't understand that what's best for you is to actually take challenges and strive for independence. What both of them failed to understand was that the best thing to do for me was to cut me off from all my resources, that would've saved me a tremendous amount of time to grow.
The job hunt didn't go very well in the beginning. While I continued to leach off my mom, I made it my "job" to look for a job. Eventually I found some through employment agencies, The work wasn't what I expected. I worked temporary jobs for over a year making between 10 to 14 dollars an hour. I thought I was padding up my resume. It all seemed like progress. Sure why not... I had student debt up to my eyeballs and I had "dreams" of going to grad school.. Yeah working for this amount in some random mailroom or warehouse an hour away from home. That makes perfect sense... But that's what I did... One of my jobs stuck for a little while. It was a mailroom job I had for eight months. Pay wasn't great but there was some stability in my life. I saved up, applied to grad school and thought I was on my way. I want to make one thing clear before I go on. ALL THIS that took place was my fault. When you become an adult. It's your responsibility to recognize a failure and to take accountability. YOU have to be the one to correct that behavior. NO one else!
SO as I meandered through this last job, I got the idea in my head that I should quit and find something else. I said forget this "I'm going to bet on myself!" Little did I realize I wasn't betting on anything but the security I had at my beck and call. Mom's basement. I could quit the job and go dwell in the basement where I could "plan" the rest of my life. It was back at it again for me. I was on the job hunt. Again, like most of the jobs I had, something found me and I took it with open arms. There was another role for me to get at a bank. Once everything was cleared through my agency, I got myself in there interviewed and stated work shortly after. I worked that temp role for close to 8 months before I was hired on full time. This was another "milestone" for me... I was offered a pay rate that was double what I've ever made at the time. I think my starting pay was 53k a year. I thought I'd made some progress. With some income and stability in hand. I reboubled my efforts to get into grad school. My chosen "dream" field was psychology. I would become what was known as a "forensic psychologist" and someday start my own practice. I thought I'd be the man and work for myself
The hardest thing about grad school entry? taking the exam to actually enter. I rememvber taking it three times.. but it could've been more... Add that in with the recommendations and other requirements I needed to get and I was faced with another hurdle in my "plan" That was one major flaw that I still battle today(although to a lesser degree now) I just looked at a goal that sounded good and made things up as I went along. I could remember times where I actually said that in my head. I'd say it so cavalier "I'm just making things up as I go along.. I must be the man!" That level of delusion runs rampant in so many minds today but you can never realize its insanity until you dive deep into yourself. Like actually reflect about your actions. This isn't to say I wasn't an introspective person. I spent a lot of time ruminating about how much of a failure I was, but none of that rumination was actually me being accountable. Because I'd do the same thing over again. Things didn't go may way "OK lets sit and pout in a corner and think about what I've done" What's that look like? Sit there and tell myself how much I sucked. That was it. NO ownership of thought and taking action. Just the same self fulfilling prophecy. But you know why this is so appealing to many? It keeps you safe and comfortable.
Think about it... when you don't have to challenge yourself. When you can just talk yourself out of it through pity. That gives you an out and allows you to give up every single time. That's what I did for awhile
Eventually I did find my way into grad school and guess what.. yup it didn't work out there either. I did one semester and realized that I hated it. What did it take for me to hate it? Was it the mounting student loan debt? nope it was a statistic's class! I saw how much time I was spending on that class and it felt like a second job. I was spending weekends on my laptop doing "work" that didn't make sense to me. For me the time and effort didn't make sense when I had a job that was paying me "good money" So I just stopped going to class. I gave up. I didn't even officially drop out. I just stopped going into class.. I think I dropped out of the courses but I know for sure I didn't drop out of the program.
After this I continued to work and work and work. My next plan was to find a place of my own. To me this marks the beginning of my development. Up until that time when I knew I needed to move out, I was just a manchild. Moving out was an actual goal. It seemed like, the first goal that I'd ever planned for.. the first thing I ever did that actually had a process behind it that I designed and implemented myself. Of course I wasn't fully independent in this journey. Some of my family wanted to help and of course I took that help. That was all I knew how to be. So we went on apartment browsing. When the day came that I finally found a place to my liking, my mom was there. I'd still been relying on her so much. She was a compass for a lot of my decision making.
I wont go into the relationships I've had with friends and family. That could be an entire story itself, but I will say this. I didn't have an actual identity of my own. My identity was tied to other peoples perceptions of the world and I thought that if i did what they deemed best, that I would be ok in life. I know that when I chose that apartment though. That was the first decision I'd made in a while that was about me. I'd come to he conclusion that I liked the place for myself and no one else. It felt right to be there because I planned to be there. I didn't just wish this place into existence. When the time came for me to move from the basement to my humble abode, I had practically everything ready. New bed, furniture, appliances, electronics. everything that I needed to live the best life I viewed at the time.
In some respects I was independent and others I was still a little boy. I didn't have a car so I would rely on my mom every weekend to pick me up for grocery shopping. This was our time to hangout as well. When I needed to get to work I'd take the bus or train. When I was done with work it was back to the couch to play video games and watch TV(and other vices that I wont get into) this was my pattern for about 6 months. I'd love to say that my moment of growth was achieved though something profound, but it wasn't. It was achieved through a moment of complete ignorance and foolishness. Long story short, I found myself entering a relationship(one night fling) with someone that I met through a family member. This fling didn't go as I'd thought. If I could phrase this down to one sentence. I'd say that I was a boy trying to make the decisions of a man. And at that time I still had no sense of direction. I didn't know how to behave around a girl( I wasn't a virgin but I was a complete novice at social interactions with women) So this lack of experience and foolishness' led me to some decisions that almost made me a father. I soon found out that that wasn't the case and that the child was someone else. but the message was very clear to me. I had almost ruined my life and I was set to repeat the same process on the next generation.
After this incident, I went on for a few weeks and reflected like I'd never had to reflect. The possibility of a child can force you to view things through a different lens. This was my first real existential crises. It forced me to look at what value I had as a human being. What was my life? What could I do from here? Questions like that ran rampant through my mind for weeks at a time. I still had the same job, but my commitment to my vices started to slow down. It just didn't make sense to do any of that while I still felt like a "loser" My thoughts soon turned into action. I did what many down trodden millennial's do nowadays and turned to the internet. I looked far and wide for coaches, mentors, groups that could help me change things. I will say this, not all that content I viewed was for the best. A lot of it was toxic and only fueled my victim mindset. But the quality content that I viewed, had a larger voice in my mind. It was what motivated me to start taking martial arts classes. which was something I'd always wanted to do but talked myself out of.
I didn't talk myself out of it, and committed to going at least once a week on the weekends. I loved it. I didn't care if I was sparring a novice kid or a grown 5th degree black belt. It was something that simulated my mind body and soul. I needed this kind of existential nourishment in my life. Every event afterwards in my life has been sparked by similar catalyst since then. I found groups online to help me with finance, dating, fitness(whatever was the weakest area in my life) SO what did I accomplish since then? It'd be hard for me to put it into concise words, so I'll just list the things I'm proud of.
1. I've taken martials arts for two years and four months to this day. I'm currently a brown belt, Soon I hope to participate in my first tournament(live competition)
2. I paid off over 40k worth of student debt ( I lived like a monk for awhile but I did it, still just 10k left to pay now)
3. I set up some online dating profiles and actually went out on dates(I didn't learn this on my own. I got coaching for it)
4. I've read multiple books that I chose to read and weren't assigned to me through some school course(I'm proud that I sought out this knowledge)
5. I changed my social circle (I only had two real friends in my life at one point, now I have at least 5 people I could call on in my phone that aren't family. I also joined a few other groups online)
6. I quit my job(I hated my job and I only did it because it gave my a sense of stability)
7. I learned and invested in crypto(I haven't made a lot of money, but I've learned how to use it for small amounts of passive income through lending)
8. Got into the best shape of my life(I was a couch potato, My bodyfat percent was probably around 20 to 22 percent, I lost lost 10 to 15 pounds since then and sit around 11 to 12 percent bodyfat)
9. Actually had the courage to post something like this! (I've never written anything like this for anyone in a public forum)
10. Learning some high income skills (I've done a few courses on coding, Just one language so far, I also completed a course on copywriting.)
11. I developed 1 and 5 year goals for the first time ever
I know that I have more but I'd be forced to think and since I want this to be as raw as possible, I'll stop where I'm at. If you've read this far, I thank you. You didn't have to take the time and I greatly appreciate that. With this i wanted to give the most honest accounting of myself and where I've been. Its not a life story but its a synopsis of what I feel characterizes my journey. I'm here now to offer whatever value I can. I just want to figure things out so that everything I've planned for my life comes to fruition. If anyone has any tips for me going forward.. Like how I can become a part of this community and what steps I should take to grow and offer value.. that'd be very helpful.
Thanks again to everyone and I look forward to contributing here.
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