In 2006, our species witnessed a unique shift. For the first time ever, more humans were living in cities than in villages. It became a hype to be the “Man, ver. 2.0,” or to get up in 5, 6 or 7 am, take a shower, have a breakfast, drive an hour to work, bust your ass for someone else for a minimum of 8 hours (if lucky), spend another hour driving back, take a shower, have dinner, watch some sports, and drop dead from exhaustion.
Apparently, this is “easier” than being the “Man, ver. 1.0” or getting up without the alarm clock (translated: to do whenever the fuck you want!), have a good breakfast, then take a long pause to think what to do today and then, finally, almost 2 hours after you had your breakfast, go and do some farming. Not too long though. Sun is already high on the horizon and lunch is about to be ready so around noon you devour that the juicy steak that you wife made for ya and hit the bed for an hour or two. Maybe you’ll do some additional work afternoon, who knows.
And then there’s this new guy, the “Man, ver. 3.0,” or the motherfucker who found out the neat way to have his cake and eating it too. He lives in the city, same as now approx. 58% of the entire population, only he doesn’t get up on alarm clock nor commuting to work. He’s exploiting the neat new revolution – the internet. No boss. No traffic jams. No strict schedule. Not even a single defined place to work from. Man, ver. 3.0, is highly mobile. He can make money from every place on this planet that has the internet connection.
You would think that the guy has figured it out. Maybe that’s the reason why the #1 search term on the internet is how to make money online fast?
Be it as it may, there’s still something missing. Speak to any of the versions and you’ll sense the anxiety. Neither seems to think that he has it all figured out.
The City guy is under the constant stress to ensure enough money because he must pay for every single thing. There’s not a day in his life that he doesn’t think about giving up on everything and join some cult or run away in a wilderness.
The Countryman is pissed because he’s sick and tired of pig manure and dirt. He stinks and wife doesn’t take that very well. In fact, even though he won’t openly admit it, he’s impressed by the city guy, who roams the world in his suit, driving a brand new BMW acquired through the very expensive lease – same as that suit.
Even our online entrepreneur is starting to feel the negative effects of isolation because, whether you like it or not, online entrepreneurship drains more time than any other occupation because you’re always searching for more. Before you even realize, 14 hours have passed and your face looks like a granny’s leg, permeated with hard and thick veins. The head is about to explode even though you popped few codeines. After a while, you start feeling like a mouse, trapped in your self-designed financial paradise.
It seems that nothing can satisfy the momma-spoiled brats.
You would think that’s something negative, would you?
On contrary. It’s exactly that “search for more” that made this world. We, the men, in our everlasting desire to find out more, to build bigger and better, to create wonders and seek beyond the frontiers, have built our modern cities and sent men to the Moon.
Yeah, this isn’t very helpful. You ain’t gonna roam all over the Mars anyway.
However, it does give you a hint about why you feel like shit from time to time, doesn’t it?
Is there a way?
Yeah, there is a way to have it all. Take another swift look on the complains every version has, please.
If you put your mind into it, you’ll see the problem. It’s a sort of a vicious circle, where each version wants the perks of another one. The City guy takes pleasure in a mud-free environment and 24/7 fast foods, but he is sick and tired of stress and want to either move to the countryside or find out how our online entrepreneur makes his living. The Countryman enjoys his freedom, but he wants to get rid of that stink and wear the suit from time to time. The Online moneymaker wants to get back to paycheck or even breed animals.
Once they switch, it doesn’t take long before they want to change places again.
Ask each what’s the problem and you’ll hear the same rationale – it’s hard.
They are basically referring to the natural necessity of protecting and providing or in our current societal setup – housing, food, a vehicle and all those unnecessary stuff we buy. In other words, they are talking about MONEY.
Which means that life is hard by the definition for every man on this planet. One way or another you have to acquire and preserve the means or you’ll cease to exist. In the best – case scenario, you’ll survive on bare minimums provided through social welfare.
But there’s one group that seems to Laugh even in freezing temperature or under the scorching Sun.
It’s The Builders — the masons — or the guys who figured out how to best use the ultimate two tools provided by the nature itself – their brains and their hands.
How is possible that the guy who spends hours outside, exposed to elements, building log cabins for example, can smile through the day and never have enough of it?
Of course, we are talking about the owner. The workforce is fucked. Each and every belongs to the “city” group or the part of the entire male population that has chosen to sell the labor for a fixed monetary compensation. They can hardly find the joy busting their asses for someone else.
There is a reason why its called JOB = Just Over Broke.
Unlike them, their boss, or the guy who runs the show, takes the profit on the stuff he designed, built and sold on the global or local market. Homemakers in particular are one happy crowd because they are building something that is recognized as the single most important element of survival – the roof over our heads and the walls around us.
They are taking advantage of our most primitive instincts and there’s nothing more powerful than making money and building reputation on deep emotions.
Of course, even those that are making/building secondary stuff, like furniture or appliances feel that same rush. No matter how hard the work is, they lie down in their beds with the smile on their faces. Stress is far less intensive because there’s a physical manifestation of their deed that gets recognition and validation from the social environment.
But what if you live in New York City or any other large urban center for that matter?
You can live on the open savannah for that matter, because if you are not building stuff with your own hands, sooner or later, you’ll grow tired of all of that fresh air and pleasant breeze that cools your skin.
Our countryman proves that because regardless of the fact that he lives seemingly free life — free in a sense that he isn’t forced to get up on the alarm clock or put up with someone’s caprices to the extent city guy is forced — he breeds food for a living!
The problem with that system is simple: food turns to shit in a matter of hours! And our countryman is aware of that. It’s not something that can last for a year or so. It’s not something you can see and recognize 6 months later. It’s evanescent.
But build the most simplest thing with your own hands and sell it to someone, and the story takes a surprising new turn!
For all it matters, a simple rented garage space or a room in the apartment is more than enough to make something that will impress the others but also stay unchanged for the extended period of time!
That’s why our cabin builder is smiling. He knows that every time someone visits one of his clients, his name will pop up and praise will inevitable occur.
For us men, that’s the ego food we need! It’s basically all we need.
The solution is clear:
Live in a city, make money by selling your labor BUT KEEP building stuff in your free time; or live in the village and make money online WHILE building stuff!
Can you see it now?
Our city boy is missing the handcraft. Our countryman has plenty of that only none is for sales. In the same time, he misses the suit and nice apartment downtown. It seems that nothing can please them.
It’s not about switching sides.
We, the men, are wired in one specific way
Why is a teenage boy loud when talking, laughing or arguing?
He wants to be in a center of everyone’s attention. To do that, he has to somehow attract that attention. Since he’s still young and can’t do shit, he uses his vocal capabilities and plain rhetoric – whether or not that rhetoric makes sense.
He’s simply wired to make every effort to stick from the crowd in order to attract the mating partner. Everything is rooted in that simple primitive instinct from which there’s no escape. Some invisible force is driving him to take the lead position in every circumstance. It’s so fucking powerful that some men are even willing to expose their own lives to obvious threat in order to — and remember this — impress the others!
We will jump from the cliffs and from perfectly good airplanes, searching for the ultimate high. Some will join the army and go fight wars. We have speed junkies and fighter pilots.
When the party is over, each has to compensate — fill the void — by making something with his own hands.
Because, at the end, no matter what we do to put food on the table and experience the adrenaline rush, we have to make a physical shape that has the power to impress the others and endure over the course of time.
It’s just who we are. We need to hear or at least anticipate the praise and admiration to receive that serotonin shot! Our happiness depends on that.
So, until we start using our brains and hands to build physical solutions and subsequently achieve that inner equilibrium, there’s no environment or the activity in this world with the power to substitute.
Once you start building physical solutions that impress the other to the point where they are ready to spend their hard earned money on them, then you’ll feel that ultimate satisfaction. You’ll know that the item you’ve designed and built is now admired by anyone who lays his/her eyes on it.
That’s the (missing) key to happiness for every man on this planet.
It only seems to be beyond your capabilities
Because your hands are built for making stuff. You only need to include that other thing nature provided you with – your brain. Neocortex in particular where advanced thinking takes place.
Just take a look around you and there’s something in your household or beyond that you can build. It doesn’t really matter that it already exists. That’s completely irrelevant.
We buy not because we need something, but because we want something.
It can be that same thing we already own only newer, and if possible, upgraded in some way. A single, irrelevant detail is more than enough to trigger our interest and force us to open our wallets. A small, irrelevant scratch on a piece of furniture is more than enough to drive your wife crazy and force her to spend $200-$800 on a purchase of that very same product. A color that’s not in a trend right now will be the just cause for massive spending on drapes, dishes and apparels.
That’s the way to think about it and you don’t have to look far to see this fact of life. Simply self-reflect and you’ll realize how even you possess at least 2 sets of one and the same product. Look no further than your bookshelf or garage. Same shit, different package. Maybe a button more. Or a neat additional freakishly small drawer good for nothing.
It could be built by you!
Think about it, that’s all we’re saying.
