We are living through a profound era where speculative failure is simply not an option, and is fought tooth and nail by the government. This is a trap. Here I am the fool looking to fail frequently.

In general, 90% of people are overmedicating themselves with either drinking, smoking weed, whatever it is. People do not want to be uncomfortable, they cannot stand discomfort.

When we mask, conform, and hide aspects of who we are, it actually hurts and damages us in the end. But no one can be authentic 100% of the time because we are tribal, very social.

We have a very strange relationship with empire, a combination of selective amnesia and nostalgia. The amnesia comes from the fact we mostly identify as the nation that won World War 2 not as the nation which had the greatest empire in human history. That helps us forget that there was at least a century where we were quite massively white supremacist and sometimes genocidal.

Adversity, I believe, is vital. It's the crucible where strength is forged. Without struggle, without battles to face, we remain static, unable to grow. Extreme experiences, where the intensity of life is palpable, have been instrumental in my evolution as a person.