Posts by Joshua Adams41

Check out Vojničina by Clint.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091187/

When a washed-up soldier tells you not to go making his day any better.

Look, I’m not here to make anyone's day.

First impressions are arguably the most potent form of communication out there; frankly, people who lack them are practically illiterate.
Those capable of projecting a real impression come across as genuine problem solvers.
They strike you as intelligent.

But then you have this other breed of person—people who have simply memorized cultural etiquette to the point where "impression" is reduced to nothing more than mere statistics.
That’s why those elites in the upper echelons (think along the lines of the corporate giants in Alan Ford) stick strictly to a prescribed dress code; to them, trying to make an impression through clothing feels like a cheap insult.
Actually, I’d argue any attempt at making an impression is an insult. Since an impression is a form of communication, the only one worth having is the kind you can't consciously manufacture.

Of course, in certain scenarios where an impression is mandatory—like when you're out looking for a partner—that's when you really have to prove you have the skill to manipulate how you're perceived.

We can sit around yapping and throwing hypothetical scenarios at the wall until we’re blue in the face...
but at the end of the day, you either step up or you don't. It’s that simple.
That right there? That’s the winner's mindset.

Running through the hills of Tennessee at high noon when it's pushing 97 degrees out...
At that point, I either need extreme sports or I’m just not risking it.
I mean, what kind of shock is that for the body? It takes me hours just to recover from the heatstroke alone..

Look, I need something hardcore just to feel like a man. Every time I headed out for a run like that, I was basically flirting with death.
But death didn't show up..
So what am I supposed to do? Just drink myself into oblivion and look like an idiot in front of my friends... and women and their boyfriends...

Go all out, brother. If you finish, you'll be walking on air; if you don't, you just overshot your limits..

rowdyharbor15 said:Between 20 and 30, you're basically building a career on autopilot (unless your dad sets the course for you).

The person who actually builds something starts from scratch; the ones who don't, they never really get going.

Besides, not every career path is actually worth the money...

Look, if you’re out there chasing some big dream without a father figure to point you in the right direction, you’d better realize one thing: you’re basically walking around like a ghost before you’ve even kicked the bucket. It’s like trying to navigate a dense forest in the middle of the night without a compass or a flashlight. You think you're making progress? You're just wandering in circles until you hit a tree. Without that guidance, that foundational steering, you're effectively dead on arrival. You might be breathing, sure, but you're already gone.

Anyone who can't wrap their head around the fact that death is inevitable honestly has nothing better to do with their life. They can go ahead and cry about it on YouTube because they can't find a job.
It’s a choice, really. You either stand your ground, or you spend your entire life bending the knee to the system. It’s that classic, fundamental struggle. You can fight to maintain your integrity, or you can just let the machine grind you down until you're nothing more than another compliant cog in the engine. There isn't much middle ground once you realize how the gears actually turn.🙂

crimsonpuma23 said:Has this topic already been picked clean?
They tell you: believe in yourself and your own potential, and that’s how you build a winner's mindset. Just decide what you want, go get it, and if you just keep grinding, you’ll come out on top.
When I first stepped into the competitive sports scene about ten years ago, I was carrying a total loser mentality. I didn't see myself as someone who could actually make it as an athlete, and honestly, that baggage just bled into every other part of my life.
I was convinced I wasn't the best and wouldn't ever become it. I looked at all these guys my age—more social, better looking, more athletic, more driven, more gutsy—and felt like I was just some random guy who wandered into the wrong room.
Why didn't I just dig in?

Why did I dodge every opportunity, like skipping out on those summer training camps or avoiding tournaments because I could already feel the sting of losing before I even showed up?
And even when I actually pulled off a win, I didn't feel that rush or that sense of pride you're supposed to feel.
Why?
Even though people were constantly telling me I was a standout or one of the "serious" guys in the club, inside I was terrified and basically had zero self-esteem.
I hated socializing, and I sure as hell didn't want to succeed just because someone else gave me a little "push."

Back in high school, I didn't want to be the star. I didn't want the spotlight. It just didn't feel like my lane. crimsonpuma23, you can answer for grade 5—actually, don't bother, just stick to grade 4.

I never felt like I was special at anything. Whether it was drawing, singing, math, or gym class, nothing clicked. I wasn't even happy with my own handwriting.

Was I basically hardcoding a loser mentality into my brain? And if so, how do I flip the switch now? I'm 23, and what have I actually accomplished? All I've gotten good at is running away from things.

So even after binge-watching endless motivational videos and listening to all that generic advice, I still feel this massive resistance toward winning.
What's your take? Is this something that can be viewed in black and white, or is a person's mindset a much more complicated spectrum than that?

Look, I used to be the kid retaking math and English classes, and now here I am—a full-blown IT Support pro working exclusively for international clients.

Am I happy about it? Am I successful?
Success isn't really what people think it is, but I definitely pushed way further than anyone expected me to.

And you know why? Some might call me a sociopath, others a psychopath, but honestly, I just realize that life is a game you either play until the very end or you don't play at all...

If I ever have grandkids of my own, then maybe I'll finally call myself a successful man.

Benjamin Morales3 said:http://195.29.137.68/prvi-program/ao...drustva/45265/NPR segment on the fractures within our society

I feel the need to weigh in here: any kind of political division within a society is, at the very least, perfectly normal.

Conflicting viewpoints and clashing worldviews are standard features of life. They're expected political moments in any nation and any community.

So why are we constantly cranking up the volume on this supposed "dangerous divide," acting like we're teetering on the edge of an American Civil War?
It’s all mostly manufactured. It's artificial.
Disagreement is natural. All a functioning society actually needs is tolerance and a bit of common sense.

There isn't some magic formula where we can suddenly iron out every single disagreement, but we can certainly reach a high level of understanding from our own respective positions...

People today are politically savvy enough to see the fundamentals. Someone voting for traditional marriage doesn't necessarily mean they're against the LGBT community. Someone opposing certain signage in Memphis isn't automatically against minorities and so on.
These divides are broad and basic.
Smart analysts understand that things aren't just black and white. They don't view them that way, even when questions are framed using those oversimplified premises...

And what about the elite?🙂
Once Americans start valuing themselves as a truly independent republic, then maybe we can have a real conversation..🙂 This is all just nonsense..

I wonder what a patriot from such a republic would say to Vatican City if they were meddling in their business.🙂

Let’s be real: money is the fuel that keeps a functioning society from grinding to a halt.
We’re staring down our first true "capitalist" crisis here—maybe even one of the absolute worst in history—and it’s managed to knock us flat on our faces.
That is the raw power of capital.
Think back to the massive meltdown around 2001 and 2002, right after the Twin Towers attacks and the whole dot-com bubble bursting.
I’d bet the average American doesn't have the slightest clue what a "dot-com bubble" even was. Back then, we were a closed-off, low-debt nation, so that tech crash barely even grazed us.
Again, it all comes down to the power of money.

People love to blame the individual. They act like it’s about how much cash you personally have in your pocket, but they miss the point: someone else playing games with massive amounts of money can wreck your life regardless.
The wealthier a person becomes, the less leverage society has over them. At the end of the day, money buys you independence.

Alexander Martinez5 said:The way Americans view wealth feels so much more organic, just totally unburdened... it’s all about living in the now, whereas over here, it’s like everyone is obsessively stockpiling just to prepare for the afterlife or whatever... It’s honestly kind of darkly hilarious when you see people trying to extract their entire sense of purpose from these superficial side quests, and then those same shallow things end up being the only thing giving them a sense of status or just driving them straight into total frustration. I see these washed-up social climbers and Botoxed-out trophy wives who, because of how they grew up, genuinely believe they were cast in gold, and then on the flip side, you’ve got these paranoid types who act like they're constantly under siege... Honestly, both groups just look grotesque to me. To my mind, the only people with any real direction or soul are those who value themselves and others through actual humanity—people who actually trust their own wits and their own hard work... But these other folks? They’re just prisoners of their own delusions and that old-school mentality where having stuff is the only way to prove you actually exist.

Maybe it’s their whole inheritance culture at play here, but honestly, they have so much cash and such massive salaries that it's hard to wrap my head around. It's like, maybe those material things we obsess over as benchmarks for success don't even mean anything to them. They can grab whatever they want without breaking a sweat, so they probably don't even bother giving it a second thought.

Different perspectives on life can be a massive source of frustration, honestly. If someone genuinely believes they’re going to walk around at age 20 owning everything their parents own, they clearly need a serious reality check regarding how the world actually works.
Then again, maybe it isn't always an issue. You have people who were basically raised to view an inheritance as just some inevitable windfall down the road—something they’ll get eventually—so their only real job right now is to build a foundation for themselves.

When you factor in material stuff and how life unfolds, it becomes an even heavier burden.
I look at my generation—we're hitting that 30-year mark—and I honestly have no clue what folks in their 20s can realistically expect in two decades. It makes you wonder if it's better to live assuming you're starting from zero, rather than banking on becoming a property owner with a full career history.
Personally, I feel like I'm in a decent spot right now because I have the mobility to jump on a new opportunity whenever it pops up. I'm not at that stage where I'm trying to plant deep roots and settle down, which is why these clashing worldviews grate on me so much. But let's be real: if I had decided to dig my heels in and commit to one place, the financial pressure would probably be eating me alive right now.

Austin Vaughn3 said:Look... I never understood the system either. I never fit in. But let's be real: money is power today. Denying that is just stupid.

And that bit about being the "same person" regardless of bank balance? Please, share the secret. Save us materialistic primitives. Enlighten us. Because I am definitely not the same person when I have money versus when I don't. To be clear, I'm not talking about being loaded here; I'm talking about having enough for basic needs.
When I'm broke, I'm worried about survival and my kids. I'm tense, nervous, frustrated. The stress eventually hits me physically. My immune system drops, I get sick easier... and so on.
On the flip side, when I have money, life is easier. I'm calmer, more positive, actually want to see people, help others... I'm healthier and I can afford a decent dentist. 😍

That’s true, but that power is a double-edged sword.
Is it a positive thing for you, or is there a dark side brewing on the other end?

When there’s zero transparency...
then you end up with people like Linič, begging the rest of the world to keep this nation afloat before they sell off every last asset we own.🙂

Have you noticed how every politician's financial disclosure includes their maximum credit limit?
It's right there, meant to justify the flow of cash—to provide actual transparency.

Why isn't that level of accountability applied to individual power? Why isn't money transparent?
Why? Why does an individual expect to have access to massive funds without actually understanding how money works?
It's that old-school, collectivist mindset left over from the old regime.

Think about it: if you had a population that didn't understand how the dollar was pegged to global markets, or a public that didn't realize transparency is the bedrock of fair taxation... they'd be at the mercy of elites manipulating currency strength for their own gain.

So, what’s the point of lecturing people about the power of money when they don't even grasp the mechanics or the consequences?

To them, money is just a new iPhone, a Gucci bag, or a round of beers.

I mean, seriously, get real.🙂

Gary Diaz3 said:Nowadays, there seems to be this unspoken stigma surrounding wealth. People act like talking about money is some kind of taboo subject you should just avoid at all costs. There’s this prevailing assumption that if anyone actually manages to build up a significant nest egg, they must have some kind of character flaw or a negative personality. It’s as if the general consensus is that the only way to truly get ahead financially is through something shady or outright illegal.

The problem with how we view money in America is that we’re looking at it through a completely warped lens.
Money is meant to be the lifeblood of an economy; it’s the mechanism that allows goods and services to flow smoothly through a civilization.
But here? We see it strictly as a symbol of status, ego, and raw power.
And sure, that's part of it, but the reason it carries such a heavy negative stigma is because of the total lack of transparency—something we all know is happening.

The movement of capital isn't properly regulated, which is exactly what benefits those currently pulling the strings. That’s why people view money as "evil"—because its flow is shrouded in secrecy. It’s decided behind closed doors in high-end steakhouse booths during dinners that cost more than most people make in a year.

Take a look at why money is viewed so cynically in our country.

Think about a Member of Congress asking a Cabinet Secretary to account for expenses on a government credit card, only to be met with a cold, arrogant response: "Who are you to question me?" He’s a federal official; he thinks he’s entitled to whatever he wants without oversight.
Compare that to something like Sweden, where a minister might resign just because some eagle-eyed whistleblower discovered they used a government card to buy a magazine while shopping for their spouse.

Just half an hour ago, I was at a local shop paying $17 taxes, and frankly, I have no idea where that money is actually going. When I voiced my frustration about this system to some self-proclaimed American intellectual, he had the nerve to tell me that once I pay my taxes, that money isn't mine anymore—I have zero right to care about how it's spent.

The US government was once granted millions in funding to develop a digital platform so citizens could actually track budget expenditures in real-time.
And what happened? Not a single cent of that approved funding was ever utilized. They didn't even bother to try and embezzle it; they just let it sit there uselessly.

Look at one of the massive money laundering scandals in the US: a $10 million drain from a major shipyard was only flagged because an automated alarm triggered when an individual attempted to withdraw massive amounts of cash.

At the end of the day, the way people in places like Switzerland, Germany, or Scandinavia view money didn't just happen by accident. It’s a reflection of the societies they built.

Money should fundamentally be a force for good. Yes, it is a source of power, but it shouldn't be a source of unchecked authority. In a nation that demands true transparency, the power held by money becomes inherently limited.

They say you should walk a mile in someone else's shoes before passing judgment, but let’s face it—that’s just not happening..
Whenever some person decides to sit on high horse and "judge" me, I honestly just want to look them dead in the eye and ask: did you actually do anything today that you weren't doing back when you were sixteen?
Did you do something today that was different from when you were twenty-one?
How about when you were twenty-six?
In this current year, have you even done one single thing differently than you did last year?
If the answer is no, then I don't see any reason to bother looking at your shoes, let alone judge your path..
And if I did take a look, I’d probably sum up your entire existence in two complex sentences—because if I tried it with just one, I'd just sound like a total show-off..

casualtiger2 said:Money isn't everything.

Part of it is tied up in real estate, stocks, gold, gemstones... 😍

I honestly don't get why everyone views our modern democratic capitalist social structure as a place where money is the absolute deciding factor for having a healthy life.

Maybe it's because we aren't actually living in a modern democratic capitalist social structure?🙂

The way I see it, here, money seems to be the only cure for anything. Yet, just a few hours away from Washington, D.C., you’ve got places like Austria where anyone with actual skills—and let me be clear, in a capitalist system, "skill" means practical expertise, not some useless degree—can actually afford a decent life.

We ought to respect money and the people who actually generate it—the entrepreneurs. So why is the narrative here always about how the future belongs solely to the "educated"?

And I'll say it again: money is merely a tool. Any society that refuses to accept that reality... well, they might as well surrender to its power. They certainly don't deserve anything else.

Money is the absolute bedrock of modern civilization. Honestly, trying to talk about "living life to the fullest" without mentioning cash is just a waste of breath.

I learned the hard way how soul-crushing debt can be. That constant weight of credit pressure? It’s a total disaster. To be completely blunt, that stress was actually what drove me to start drinking...
Even back when I was working manual labor jobs on construction sites, I never touched a drop nearly as much as I did when the money issues started piling up. I didn't even have a wife or kids to worry about feeding—it wasn't about survival, it was just...
It's enough to break a man. Just having that level of financial anxiety is brutal, let alone facing massive, crushing debts.
The hell I had to crawl through just to dig myself out of that hole? Those were easily the worst years of my entire life.
It’s easy to judge people when you have nothing, but when you look at those who suddenly find themselves at the top because they finally have cash... I don't buy it. They weren't different; the money just gave them wings.

Looking at how society shifts, I think back to the 90s here in the States. Everyone was wearing cheap knock-offs from flea markets and discount stalls—just wearing "junk." In the last decade, all of that seemingly vanished.
Then came the credit boom across America, and suddenly everyone looked polished, wealthy, young, and successful overnight.

And then, the 2008 global financial crash hit. Boom. Now, we aren't so "polished" or "wealthy" anymore. Everything flipped right back around again.

Knowledge is power, sure, but money? Money is the tool you use to wield that power.

Samuel Harris10 said:I’ve been chewing on this lately—really dwelling on it. What does a healthy, or even just a "normal," ratio between these two things look like?

Awareness, I suspect, ought to be a state free from judgment, strain, or the constant urge to draw conclusions—just pure experience. Thinking, on the other hand, should ideally be the process that actually facilitates that.

But what is the actual purpose of thinking? Is there a point to it? Would we all be fundamentally happier if we could just *be*—you know, existing purely through awareness, guided by sensation and direct experience rather than mental gymnastics? To me, thinking often feels like nothing more than a byproduct of negative experiences. Sure, it can be useful if applied creatively, but is that really how we were meant to organize our entire world?

Think about a newborn. They just exist, happy and curious, exploring everything. Then we step in and interrupt that flow, forcing them toward specific goals and reasons. We’ve all said it at some point—how much better life was when we didn't have a care in the world or a single nagging thought in our heads. Why do we even need this cognitive overhead? If we assume that individual happiness is the ultimate goal, then I fail to see why we need any of this. All this formalized knowledge... it doesn't seem to serve the human spirit. You're hungry, you eat; you're tired, you sleep; you feel desire, you follow it. Isn't that how we're wired? Just following our basic needs seems like the only path to contentment, yet today everyone is just sprinting toward some hollow, superficial prize.

Well, you're doing it, aren't you?
I mean, what, are you expecting a gold medal for it?

I think I read somewhere—though I can’t be 100% certain—that Grace Kelly was such an absolute knockout in her prime that she actually had to wear a veil just to step out in public. It's ridiculous. You could just look at a veiled face, sure, but people were probably turning their heads for her silhouette alone. Then again, you never truly know what kind of magic is hiding under a veil like that.🙂

Look, you might be expecting too much from her, but let’s be real: what she did was wrong. It just wasn't right.
And honestly? You might be partially at fault too, just by expecting anything else in the first place...
Everything you say can and will be used against you—it’s like one of those gritty Hollywood crime dramas where a single slip-up ruins everything.🙂
In everyday conversation, this kind of thing is a complete train wreck, though I’ve definitely found myself in similar spots at work.
They bait you, they reel you in, and then they turn it all around to use it against you.
That’s how they see it. But you? You're looking at her thinking she’s someone with actual empathy, so you’re left scratching your head, wondering why everyone thinks you're the problem.

I’ve run into situations a few times now where people seemed to know way more about my private business than they ever should have. Why? Because apparently, having leverage over someone gives them a false sense of security or power.
It's the same deal here. When she tore into you like that, she probably felt like she was standing on a pedestal, looking down on you.

John Mendoza13 said:I honestly don't see the connection here. You take today's students—relatively young people, like myself—and I just can't wrap my head around what "rights" they're supposedly claiming to have or which specific liberties are being threatened. We aren't living under some old-school authoritarian regime where freedom of speech is actually suppressed, you know? From what I gather, those massive student protests were more of a thing back in the old days. Even just a few years ago, back in places like California, you saw that whole mess where certain politicians were just out there hunting for political points, and the students followed them blindly like sheep... it’s all just noise.

Take the students as an example. They only step up when they're personally poked, but they should be the driving force, the future. They ought to be developing their own independent thoughts, yet they're already tangled up in political games and whatever else, just like you said. They only activate once their own interests are at stake. It's like they've been pushed into this state by someone or something.

I think the core issue is that people are becoming more aware of the world around them every single day.
Yesterday, it was guys in brand-new luxury cars trying to sell me on their "wisdom." I landed my first job, walked into a dealership to check out some cars, and boom—they tried to shove a contract in my face and hand me the keys right then and there. "Don't worry," they say, "our dealership has its own line of credit..."
And that's just how life works, I guess. The more you know, and the more you see, the bigger the battles you find yourself fighting...
Because the more you see, the more you can actually grab hold of...

And the more that slips through your fingers, the more dissatisfied you become...

That's probably how it goes. Everything eventually boils down to the man who doesn't have to live in a cave anymore. He's stepped out into the field, he sees beautiful women, prime cuts of meat to hunt, plenty of food to feast on, and then he realizes he actually has to stand in line for all of it.😁

So then we all start looking for ways to cut the line. The clever ones trade favors with the people who have better positions in line, and that's how the cycle continues...
We haven't moved much further from the cave; we're still hovering right next to it.🙂

John Stewart9 said:Honestly, I have zero clue what you're getting at here, but hey, if you say so, I'll take your word for it...

Look, I was specifically responding to this part: "there's definitely a childish perception at play here, driven by a total lack of that existential dread people finally face once they grow up, or rather, the reverse,"

The "media" hasn't prepared us for the real world; if anything, it’s done the exact opposite.
College students only actually get off their couches when the reality of existential dread starts knocking on their door.
Historically, students were the ones shifting the gears of history.
Nowadays, they only bother changing things (here in the States) when their own personal comfort is threatened.

Honestly, I haven't heard a single serious student protest regarding the actual state of society.
It's glaringly obvious: there is a complete absence of existential anxiety.🙂

And don't mistake this for just my opinion—this is the result of a professional mindset that demands abstract reasoning and logical connections.🙂

P.S.
So, can we logically conclude that students are still as blissfully happy as children?🙄
No... because the moment their own privileges are put on the line, that's when you finally hear them making noise.