The feeling of being trapped is unbearable.

Being constrained or closed off can undo strength & mental fortitude when exposed to a long time.

Of course, not all prisons are physical.

This is what came to mind as I continued to write.

Building something out in the open & learning by taking action.

A goal that I've forgotten.

And one that many are told to either forget, quit pursuing, or spread the lies that there's no value or truth behind.

Just to pursue the only path that is presented to them.

However, the curiosity to explore beyond should be encouraged & befriended.

'The Only Path'

It's no exaggeration that to go against the flow is perceived as unclear & confusing.

In its place, a path that is clear & straightforward is taught to everyone since they enter school.

At least in the Western culture, the path is:

• Start school

• Spend ⅓ of day there

• Standardized tests

• Complete requirements for graduation

• Select higher education

• Get persuaded with loans

• Spend ½-⅓ of day there

• Standardized tests

• Complete requirements for graduation

• Review loans

• Select more education or secure job

Add the occasional credit card offer, fast food option, & cheap dopamine to further strengthen complacency and instant gratification.

This flow has always been followed, generation after generation.

It's no wonder that many accept it as the norm despite not knowing where it came from.

Even when I began to look more into it, there were still a lot of uncomfortable truths to the origins of all these norms.

For now, I'll focus on the education system since it's what many go through here, including myself.

As the system began to be more organized, certain elements were adopted from other countries.

One example was from Prussia at the time, where it followed a factory structure.

This resulted in facilities of mass education being shown to the people & molding them to be docile citizens afterwards.

Soon this hit a turning point when the famous tycoon, John D. Rockefeller, came into the story.

Rockefeller invested heavily into it in the early 1900's to further expand the goals set within.

He understood that this could not only produce docile citizens, but obedient workers.

The education system was never broken, it always maintained the original goal.

To produce a nation of workers, not thinkers.

It's not blaming a secret organization with a secret agenda

It's the outcome of influential people seeking to reform society to the ideal standard.

In reality, the standard was never meant to be applied for everyone.

Looking Beyond

Individuals have a sense of curiosity & creativity when they're children.

As they grow, they lose it due to the standards of parents, schools, & jobs.

"Stop fooling around."

"Focus on your homework."

"Get back to work."

The task always comes first before the question.

Let's say that you did decide to begin asking questions, do your own thing.

You'll be met with scrutinizing gazes & doubtful listeners.

Feeling ostracized, you begin to reconsider going back to following orders & doing minimal tasks.

All to be a part of a tribe of like-minded people.

Except, you don't think like them.

You enjoy having questions.

Seeking the answers.

Finding the truth or breaking a lie.

It's only natural for you to look beyond the path & see infinite paths leading to different destinations.

And that's another concept to consider, the destination.

Continuing from the path before:

• Get hired

• Work 9-5 hours

• Work/Personal/Sleep

• 260 days a year

• Continue this for 30 years

• Reach retirement in a feeble state

• Continue to be complacent until the end

Don't forget to add more fast-food, paying off long-term debt, & more cheap dopamine hits.

This path continues to be accepted as the norm & no one questions it until it's too late.

Working to meet ends meet.

Fulfill our roles without complaint.

Meet the standards of others we view as above us.

All to sacrifice our individuality, our dreams, our identity.

This is a crossroads everyone reaches.

I've reached it while I was in college, following the path set before me & my family.

And I continued straight onwards.

Yet the small voice remained and I was met with the crossroads again.

Now out of college & working a side-gig full time, I took the opportunity to cross into the path.

The New Paths

This decision is one I'm still getting comfortable with.

I'm part of the 1st generation in my family to graduate, with the expectation to get an office job & a nice house.

I was close to it but I didn't meet the expectations.

I simply continued to learn on the side and continue with the bare minimum.

But I felt that it was a waste to not do anything with what I was learning.

So I've decided to start building online through writing.

Writing daily inspirational morning tweets.

Writing a 1,000+ word newsletter.

Writing authoritative threads weekly - still need to practice that.

And to look beyond writing - graphic design, sales, & video editing.

Start contributing with others who actually think similar to me and learn from them through engagement, commenting, & calling.

The General Education Board wouldn't have anticipated we reached the point where the school system isn't the only path anymore.

Now new paths are being forged.

Now thinkers are beginning to take center stage again.

Now there's greater opportunities to step out of the path and make it your own.

Now's the time of the new paths.

Catch-Up

Realizing how much is set up against the thinkers, there's no more leverage to forge ahead.

I cover more in detail what one has to go through when starting out here.

This week I wanted to cover the greater picture we're all a part of.

And an encouragement to discover what is considered normal and to make your own decisions.

If there was something that caught your eye or something I got wrong, feel free to send DM/email me.

I welcome a healthy chat to either learn something new or further help you on your own path.

Got to utilize the beginner's mindset the best I can now (now that's an idea to further elaborate next time).

Thanks for reading & I wish you the best in forging a new path.

Weekly Findings

Fun fact, I was going to start off with themes of conspiracies.

I felt that was too strong but it reminded me of some resources that tied into it, old & new.

Here are two that touch on it and a fun exercise to begin building towards success.

How I Retired Early (Steal My Plan) - Mark Tilbury

Why I never watched his content before is beyond me?

Mark Tilbury, a millionaire who's lived the rags to riches story, is an influential and experienced person in finances and business.

He helps out many to accomplish their goals and to grow in their path.

This is exemplified in his video, How I Retired Early.

It was here that I was reminded of the system rigged against many from pursuing financial freedom.

Tilbury calms the fears by laying out a step-by-step plan to achieve said freedom.

He uses his story from a 16-year-old worker with no qualifications through different phases.

• Setting financial goalsP

• Paying off debts

• Change retirement into freedom

• Increase your value

• Putting yourself out there

• Create passive income

• Strategize high-risk investments

Tilbury understands the pain points everyone experiences and lays them all out with the solutions.

Overcoming one shortcoming at a time until he was experienced enough to tackle the next problem.

A reminder that we're in it for the long-term and that we're building a strong foundation.

A foundation towards freedom.

3 Verified Conspiracies That Should Concern You - RuslanKD

I was made aware of the greater conspiracies from a long-time influencer.

RuslanKD, a christian commentator on faith, lifestyle, and media, has helped to understand more about my faith and how to approach the big topics in our lives.

One of which was the conspiracies against many here in the US.

Two of which it's possible to escape once it's bought up:

• Student Loans - debt that stays with you no matter what, including bankruptcy

• Sugar Industry - a major controller of the economy and added to nearly every food item (i.e. fast food, groceries, restaurants)

And one that is very difficult and requires daily awareness:

• Consumerism - the ideology of needing more and upgrading for the latest items and products.

These are additional norms that the further you dig into them, the more you realize they've been at play.

Of course, the first step to solving a problem is to know there's one.

And while these can't be tackled on an individual level, it can be brought into the main light and cultivate group efforts and accountability within the community.

The best way to help others is by helping the brothers & sisters closest to you.

Success Stacking - Fabio

I'm writing this one last minute but I had to share it.

My man Fabio came again with a bomber thread on a great exercise to build success, nicely called success stacking.

He gives credit to Ryan Daniel Moran's podcast as where he got this idea.

This is to help to overcome the negative outlook we have in our lives, remembering past regrets and failures.

Instead shifting the focus to the achievements and success to build up our confidence for new goals.

The exercise goes as follows:

• Grab paper and pen

• Write 3 columns

  • Past 12 months

  • Past 90 Days

  • Next 90 Days

• Fill out the 10 things you've accomplished in the past

• Review what you've accomplished

• Continue writing for what'll come next

This gives you tangible proof for feeling good and the motivation to continue forward.

Try it out & see what you could accomplish in the next 30-90 days.

Hope you were able to find something new to learn more of.

Thank you again for reading & keep on discovering.

Have a blessed day!