Your "Life Goal" is Secondary | Read of the Week
“Remember all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it”
Do you ever read something so profound and encapsulating that you immediately stop what you're doing and get glued to it like a fly on faeces? This...this was one of those.
I had an outer-body experience while reading this.
The following image and beginning explanation is from Farnham Street:
"In April of 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was 22 years old when he wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice"
If you would like to give the entire letter a squizz -- which I highly, highly recommend -- then do so by clicking here
I have included my top takeaway quotes below:
"Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experiences"
"We strive to be ourselves"
I recently tweeted this:
"Make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal"
"A man [and woman, of course] has to BE something"
This is one of the fundamental human needs that has to be met. Unfortunately, that is why so many people fall victim to addiction and mental disorders. When we are in these states we mean more to the people around us than if we were just "average."
"A man must choose a path which will let his abilities function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his desires"
This is the part that I wanted to share most. It is almost ingrained in us to have a superficial goal and bend toward that goal when, in fact, the goal is not suited to our desires.
Society has placed these goals ahead of us, not ourselves.
Instead, Thompson says:
"The goal is absolutely secondary"
You should be in search for goals that have a symbiotic relationship with your personality. Goals that bend to your personality and work mode -- not the other way around.
"A man who procrastinates his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance"
"Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life"
The way he ended the letter caught my eye too. He said:
"Until I hear from you again, I remain, your friend"
So epic. I think my ending to emails or letters will go something like:
Until I hear from you again, I remain,
PRESENT.
Josh.
Hello, World!