The virtues have been a force promoting social cohesion and stability for thousands of years. As a society becomes more wealthy, it tends to neglect these virtues. The consequences are deeply destructive: loss of social cohesion, indiscipline, greed and moral corruption. History suggests that such societies become ripe for disorder, even collapse.
A reader says that he has a family member with anger issues. Every time he tries to help the family member, the person lashes out and becomes defensive. Nothing he does seems to make the situation any better. The reader wants to know if there is anything he can do.
We discuss.
The willingness to do what is necessary is an essential condition of success in any enterprise. There are those who are willing to do what is necessary, and those who are not.
We discuss an anecdote from Sun Tzu’s “Art of War,” and several other historical examples, to bring these points into focus.
This podcast deals with two different questions I recently received:
1. A guy in his early 20s feels like his girlfriend is holding him back and smothering him, but he’s not sure how to handle the situation.
2. A girl in her 20s is feeling frustrated that she can’t find the kind of long-term relationship that she would like to have.
This past weekend I had a great interview with the guys from GorillaRadio.tv. You can see it here:
This is the third podcast I’ve done on Michael Porfirio, aka The G Manifesto. They’ve proven to be extremely popular. In this latest episode, we talk about the “Porfirio Insight”: the ability to step outside yourself, take stock in your life, and see where you are headed. It’s all about the journey, and whether the trip has been a memorable one. We’ve all only got one life to live…so you’d better make it count.
You can always learn something new on the road. Here are a few travel lessons I learned last week that might be useful for your own trips.
Our society places too much emphasis on the individualistic need to win every argument, to be right in all things, and to impose our will on others. Sometimes, you need to swallow your pride and let things go for the sake of preserving harmony. Stop trying to be “right” all the time. You will find yourself feeling better, less stressed out, and more at peace. Sometimes, being good is more important than being “right.”
I recently received an email from a man who is about to ship off to USMC boot camp. He wanted to know if I had any pieces of advice for him before he goes. This is a subject I could talk about for hours, so I had to force myself to boil things down to the absolute essentials. I offer ten points that I found to be useful from my own experience. You’ll do fine. You will rise to the occasion, and will be surprised at the progress you have made by the final week.
A reader is worried about his persistent feelings of lethargy and aimlessness. He’s in a rut in his life, and his routine is becoming more and more oppressive. He’s not sure what the problem is, and wants to know the best way to deal with the situation.
Quintus Curtius 
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