TL;DR: Realizing that there are 7 billion+ people on this planet who all have their own individual storylines/mindsets/etc. and who really only care about themselves changed my entire perspective on life. I now use this to my advantage to get what I want.

I'd heard it over and over again and every time it shot right over my head. I would see something empathy related and immediately tie it to the sea of SJW Facebook posts and glaze over it. But one day a few months ago, for whatever reason, I let it sink in. I mean, I really let it sink in.

I'm going to bold this and repeat it a couple times for some motherfucking emphasis: There are 7 billion people on this planet who—as I'm typing this and you're reading this—are the center of their own world. 7 billion people. 7 billion different worlds

Once I realized this, everything about human psychology and why people do what they do, started clicking left and right. Any anxiety I had about what people thought about me completely disappeared. Things like giving presentations at work, or getting laid became easy, because, in the long run, it boils down to everyone—every single human being on the planet—just wanting to feel good and survive.

Why should I even care if the girl I try flirting with at the bar brushes me off? She flat out doesn’t find me attractive for one reason or another and doesn’t think hooking up with me would make her feel good. She’s the center of her own universe—move the fuck on

Do I think my coworkers are focusing on some physical trait I don’t like about myself when I present my work? They’re living in their own worlds and very likely don’t care. Just make yourself feel good by nailing that presentation.

I use this ideology to essentially manipulate people to give me what I want. Why? because I’m a selfish son of a bitch, just like everyone else, who just wants to feel good and getting what I want makes me feel good.

Personally, I use some restraint in doing so and try to help people along the way to sort of “give back”. But again, I’m just a fucking animal looking for his next dopamine high and helping others sometimes gives me that high, so in reality I’m just helping myself. Maybe you want to go all out and really fuck with people’s heads to get what you want. It’ll likely not effect me in the slightest—I’m the center of my own universe, so I really don’t give a fuck.