8 Myths that Might Mess Up Your Life

I have been pondering over the last several weeks on what my next blog post should be. I actually have a really juicy post coming up on my 6-month fact finding mission on what the Austrian School of Economics is and how it shaped my views on what the economic business cycle should be (or could be). It’s my John Maynard Keynes vs Austrian Business School post. But before I do that post, I wanted to get into several myths that people seem to believe are true, but don’t actually have any empirical knowledge to support their theories. As if thoughts about falsified ideas don’t have a negative meta-physical impact on the brain. As if the truthfulness of an idea does not matter. Yes, people holding on to ideas that are wrapped in falsehood have a negative impact on your mind, not to mention your life. Yes, people who don’t seek the empirical truth behind things and are too inebriated by apathy tend to be less happy.

If you lined up all the myths, there are enough myths out there to wrap around the world 50 times. No matter how much evidence you reveal, some people stubbornly hold on to these ideologies. Lets, just get into the list, this should be fun.

1. The Illuminati, Trial Lateral Commission, Council of Foreign Affairs, The Jason Society, Bilderbergs, Rothschild’s, 33rd Degree Masons, 13 families control the world NWO conspiracies
Let me be honest, I sometimes have a soft spot for conspiracies. I actually own some of these books. By far, Behold the Pale Horse is probably one of the most read conspiracy books out there. Considering the author is now dead (not by natural causes) makes believing in conspiracies even more enticing. Most times these conspiracies are so dubious and deliciously tyrannical that being the only one who has insider information about this secret tyranny makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. The problem with conspiracies is that they are hard to prove, not to mention cannot be stopped. Guess what? If you know of a so-called conspiracy, it’s not a conspiracy anymore so stop wasting your time. In most cases you are seen as a “ham-fisted clown” [see Alan Moore] anyway and will further ostracize yourself by running up on your friends and family every minute with your, “I know something you don’t know” conspiracies. Living your life in the shadows of a conspiracy distorts your reality, makes you paranoid and often leads to poor decision-making. Please find a new hobby.

2. What he/she doesn’t know, won’t hurt him/her.
I have one question: How long do you think your lie is going to last? I’m not talking about coming home late and your significant other asking you why you came home late and you said, “Oh, I had some extra work at the office”, to cover up the two dozen roses that you had to pick up from this special flower shop to surprise your wife as a gesture of appreciation to her. I’m talking about the infidelity, affairs, relationship dishonesty and cheating that has now become the norm in so many relationships.

Let me be clear on this issue, before you get into a relationship or marriage, know what you are getting into. Personally, I think too many people discount this life changing event. As if they are just going by the Lindt Lindor Chocolate store, pick a flavor, then move on to the next chocolate. How would you like it if someone deceived you like that? It’s not a matter of if they will find out, it’s when. Save yourself the embarrassment of ending up on the show Cheaters, get out of the relationship and move on. Breaking up marriages, deceiving your significant other is…wel….pure cowardice.

3. Understanding Economics and Personal Finance is too difficult
It really pains me when people say this. Whether you are buying a $3 tube of toothpaste or a 300K house, you need to have a certain level of financial literacy to get through the day-to-day grinds of life. Understanding your liabilities and your assets, while living within your means is not optional, it is actually a requirement. I will dig a bit deeper on this topic in my next blog post on economics, but one of the main reasons why we experienced the economic collapse of 2008 is companies, governments, and citizens do not understand the dynamics of leverage (debt), risk aversion (investments), accountability (research) and liquidity (cash). As made very clear in this Wall Street Journal article New Evidence on the Foreclosure Crisis, even so-called “Prime” borrowers were the main culprits behind the Foreclosure crisis, NOT subprime borrowers. We just don’t seem to understand that all four variables impact the type of decisions we make on a day-to-day basis. Or it could just be that we are aware of these things, but we just don’t give a damn. Just Google, “Financial Literacy” and start with this link http://www.360financialliteracy.org/. Here’s yet another great article describing the importance of living within your means: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/19/pf/expert/below_means.moneymag/index.htm See how simple that was.

4. If you believe or don’t believe in God, you’re an idiot
Regardless of what side of the religious or non-religious fence you’re on, demonizing someone because of their belief system is not doing you or the person you are vilifying any good. I mean, what are you actually getting out of verbally smashing others who have a different belief than you? Just let the right guidance fall on those who have an open mind and K.I.M (Keep it Moving).

5. My race, tribe, nationality or ethnicity is more superior to yours
Oh boy, if there is one thing that really kills me, is people who walk around as ____________ (plug in race of choice here) supremacists. They come in all walks of life, touting the accomplishments of their so-called uber intelligent group. Of course, we all have accomplishments within each respective corner of the globe, but to believe that one race, tribe, nationality, or ethnicity has cornered the market on intelligence is just…well..unintelligent. Over the centuries, every culture has borrowed (in some instances stolen and then said they are the creators) the creativity of others. Some see an original concept of one culture, and then enhance the foundation of that invention into something more productive. So why is behaving in racially loony and supremacist fashion so dangerous?

Well for starters, you ostracized yourself into a corner by limiting your interactions to just your “trusted” group of people. Not to mention the lost amount of collaboration time, friendships, and relationships you could have built with others, but you were too close minded to offer the olive branch. If you consider yourself religious, you are even a bigger hypocrite. Yes I said it, a hypocrite. You want me to say it again, yeah “YOU ARE A LOW DOWN DIRTY IGNORANT BACKWARD WASTE OF HUMAN SPACE THAT HAS CONSTRIBUTED MORE DESCRUCTIVE SEGREGATIONIST NONSENSTE TO SOCIETY WHILE BREAKING THE HUMAN BONDS OF COMMUNITY”. Get over yourself. For those who are religious, Re-read your Quran, Bible, Torah, etc. (correctly). For those non-religious foks just google Secular Humanism. I don’t believe in the SH movement’s philosophy of rejecting the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis for reason, ethics, and justice, but upholding these three principles is the exact opposite of being a cultural supremacist. Always gauge someone by the content of their character, you’ll get further in life.

6. I’m proud of being known as a female dog (yes the B-word)
You all know what I’m talking about. Those women who walk around who actually revel in being known as the b-word. They’ll actually say to their friends, “I’m a b______”. Alright then, lets look at some of the definitions of the b-word:

1. A female canine animal, especially a dog.
2. Offensive.
   1. A woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing.
   2. A lewd woman.
   3. A man considered to be weak or contemptible.
3. Slang. A complaint.
4. Slang. Something very unpleasant or difficult.

How far in life do you think you are going to get by being associated with any of these things? Case closed.

7. Gender stereotypes: Nice guys finish last, all men are dogs, women are gold diggers
I would like to actually complete the first sentence. Nice guys finish last in the “I want to be in a relationship with a maniac women who will lead me to a divorce, take all my money, demonize me, and destroy me” race of life. That’s actually a race worth being last in. Nice guys are actually Beyond Stage One Thinkers See Thomas Sowell Applied Economics: Beyond Stage One. I don’t have anything against bad boys. To be honest, I was a closet bad boy in the past. Today I’m a nice guy from the inside to the outside. I have shed my closet, so-called bad boy antics. Don’t be fooled women, nice guys are cool. Yes, he might be a little geeky and nerdy [See Obama: Full-on-geek or just "nerd-adjacent'] around the edges, but you can share a roof over your head, money in the bank, loving person, unselfish and this person will be faithful to you. Do you really want to be in a marriage with the “other side”? You’ll just be a doormat. Don’t be a fool.

Now lets address the second part. “All men are dogs”. Incorrect, maybe it’s the type of men you attract? Maybe it’s how you carry yourself? Maybe it’s your behavior? I used to think that it was true what women said men being dogs until I started analyzing woman’s behavior. Trust me, they were dogs from the start, but you just didn’t do the science on the natural ebb and flow of how genders are supposed to interact with each other.

Third part. Are women all gold diggers? Of course they are…every last one of them…okay, Nah, siked your mind. I know there were some e-fumes for a hot minute. LOL. Personally I can speak to this issue, because I was a enabler. It’s not that women are gold diggers, we men are dumb enough to use our material power (or what appears to be material power) as an extension of defining ourselves. It takes two to tango. No women can just jump into your checking account and start spending your money, and if that is happening to you right now, you are a fool. She is just exploiting your ignorance and naivety. Just like men exploit woman’s naivety regarding “men being dogs”. Clearly money has become the central focus for most relationships. It’s disastrous way of thinking. See my blog post Why are our relationships so disastrous?

8. I don’t have to read books
This myth is up there with “I think the moon is made out of cheese”. To be honest, I think most people read books, but it’s the type of books that people read which is more important. Personally I’m a big fan of non-fiction. Most of the books on my shelf are non-fiction. If I’m reading any fiction (As I’m presently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand), these are books that are close to real world-life experiences. It’s never a bad idea to drop in a “clear the smog” book in your reading rotation. In my view, “clear the smog” books are those books that can give you cleaner perspective on an already existing idea or concept. My favorite is Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Some other books that fall into this are the following:

• American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis
• Millionaire Mind by Thomas J Stanley
• Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science by Charles Wheelan
• J Curve by Ian Bremmer
• Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman
• The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality by Cheikh Anta Diop and Mercer Cook
• Ishmael: An Adventure in the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn
• Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
• America’s Great Depression by Murray N. Rothbard
• Buckminster Fuller’s Universe: His Life and Work by Llyod Sieden

Thanks for listening. Feel free to post a comment with your favorite myths.