Ignoring the cringey Red Pill rhetoric for a second, there is a limit to what analyzing a social hierarchy and following its dynamics would do for you. If you’re used to being independent and attaining success with your own two hands, then making friends is going to seem pretty easy anyway. Most people in most high up positions never really had to face any adversity, so they’ll generally seem incompetent if you’ve had to work more than the average person to get to where you are. “Just Google it” is something I should have to say to high schoolers, not grown adults.

There are limits for most people, though. Strong independence comes at a cost, with the main one being that, no matter how independent you are, there will always be someone more competent than you. Acting “pleasant” is going to be more than enough in most situations, but some are always going to be toxic, if there’s something to gain. It’ll probably be at about that point where you’ll start to develop a toxic personality, if you want more than what you have, but I’d recommend avoiding these environments, if you can. There’s no growth in your core attributes if you’re just a toxic piece of crap, so if your gambles don’t pay off, you’ll just end up back where you started, the same as everyone else. So make sure to keep up your own merits as you’re trying to get what you want.