A plea for irrational confidence

Who is this for?

If you are the kind of guy who is smart enough to know what you don't know, which gives you an accurate sense of humility, this is for you. It requires 15 minutes of your day, without distraction.

A lesson learned

So I was a brand new Ordinary Seaman, posted to the ship, ran into a Petty Officer, second class. Sickly looking, chain smoking, heavily drinking smart ass. A huge transition from the SGT and PO2 of basic training and the school who were largely what you remember from watching Full Metal Jacket to pump yourself up. I'll never forget his advice to me, and it sticks with me, 11 years later.

First day, act like you know what you're doing, people here will just believe you

Act like you know what you're doing, people will believe you. A plea for irrational confidence

A nice breakdown here for this concept. Dunning-Kruger Effect searches on Google can give you all manner of them. I won't waste your time to link them all here. You're a smart guy, you already know them. This ties into the point I made in judgment of men. The kind of person who sees the effect, and thinks of it as "people are stupid, they need to stop being stupid, I know." Then you have been given the wrong message. These stupid people are giving you a great gift, and it's there for the taking.

Irrational Confidence

There's the three elements here, and they are all important:

Competence, or the ability to do something Self confidence, or the ability to know your own competence Projected confidence, or the ability to persuade others to your own competence.

You're a smart guy, you have the first one already, hell, to some degree, you may have the second as well. And you know what? That first one is the one that builds the foundation of the rest. It's just that third one. It's the visible one, the one that is persuasive that trumps all others.

Think of that "supermodel" level hot girl you had back in the day(well, supermodel to you right?). Remember her? She was easily the best looking girl you have ever met. Remember when she finally took your dick, and then you found out she was kind of a dead lay? You were sold a package, and inside was just the same piece of strange that comes in every other package. All sizzle, no steak. There's a lesson there,

Irrational Confidence

This seems apt, and I love any chance to throw a Fight Club reference into Red Pill thinking. Ignore all those 'consequences' you've built up in your head. I guarantee they are all useless. Did you know, in this day and age, it's so easy not to die, that you have to actually work at it to make it happen? This guy lived.

You think that making a bad decision that gets you into a little hot water with the wife/girlfriend/plate/boss is going to put you into a gutter? Think again. Irrational Confidence, primary action

• Whenever you make an assertion, make it as if it came from the mount. If you are called on it, shrug your shoulders, and double down.

• If you make a decision, and something happens outside the ideal, you're a smart guy, (I told you not to read this if you weren't remember?) you'll figure it out. Anyone else would have done the same thing in your situation, hindsight 20/20. It was the best decision with the information we had

• When starting, you will be tested on this. engage it twice. Restate it the first time because they probably didn't understand. Reassurance the second, because you know this will work. After that? You got two choices sweetheart, get behind me, or get out of the way, because this is happening.

• And the aftermath. You know, that 'worst case scenario' you built up in your head to argue why this won't work? Deal with it after the fact. People don't leave marriages because of a confident guy doesn't deliver perfection, no one jumps off the Chicago Bulls in 1995 because Jordan missed a free throw. You handled the first decision just fine, the second one will be even better.

• And for the 'shaming' or 'shit testing' you will receive on this? Just smile, like a kid with his hands in the cookie jar. A devil-may-care attitude makes all the difference. They aren't telling you that your shit won't work.

They are testing you, because they want in on it. It's exactly the same as when a girl tells you "You know we aren't having sex tonight, right?" It only tells you that she's been thinking of sex tonight, it's not a challenge, it's the go ahead signal champ.

All you have to do is not fuck this up, it's a layup.

Boobie, I'm your white knight!

A conclusion for Irrational Confidence

Try it, in all the inconsequential parts of your life. If someones physical life isn't in the balance, if it doesn't involve your life savings on the roulette wheel, just do it. Pick the most inconsequential thing if you must. I guarantee it will work, and you will then start pushing it to more and more important decisions. Next thing you know, you're going to have that quiet, smart guy, mumbling under his breath how you're that idiot who thinks he is smarter than he is, with an inflated ego. And you will laugh, because he doesn't get it, but you do.