Summary

A masculine man will recognize greatness above him and strive to reach higher and higher in pursuit of it.

An effeminate man will shun climbing higher and instead move horizontally in an attempt to appease others, all the while limiting his own potential.

Body

Author Jack Donovan writes:

"The vertically oriented man expects to look up and see his idea of greatness circling above him.

Because he knows in his heart that all men are not, in fact, created equal, the vertically oriented man understands that beneath the great, there will be men who are good, and average, and mediocre. There will also be the adequate, and the inadequate, and the sad, sorry failures. There will always be man who just didn't turn out, or even start out, very well.

The vertically oriented man wants all men to strive upward, to better themselves. But, he knows that to strive upward, you have to know which way is up, and which way is down.

The horizontally oriented man, however, is more concerned with the happiness of everyone within the group. The horizontally oriented man sees the sickly rabbit suffer, and to save that rabbit, he would shoot every single eagle out of the sky.

Instead of encouraging greatness, the horizontal thinker wants to redefine it, or handicap the great. He wants to "level the playing field" so that average men can play at being great and below average men can be saved from the emotional pain of knowing that they will never be great or even good.

In the horizontally oriented world, failures must be rewarded and reimagined as successes. The disabled are differently-abled. Being fat is fantastic. Every addiction, allergy, disease and allusion makes you special."

Application/Analysis

Gentlemen: we strive not for mediocrity. We strive to be great. After swallowing the red pill you should be acutely aware that the only limitations placed upon you are the ones you allow—and this is a residual vestige from the blue pill world you once were shackled to.

No, all men are not created equal. Look above you and see the next rung on the masculine ladder. That is your next step, that is the immediate goal.

Why do you lift? Why do you diet? Why do you improve posture? Why do you dress better? The answer to all of those should be "you." You owe nothing to anybody else and everything to yourself. Judge yourself realistically and use that judgement to fuel yourself as you climb the vertical ladder.

When I was swallowing the pill I attempted to do many things, many good things, for the wrong reasons. I wanted more sex. I wanted to mimic men here. I wanted canned responses I could give that would guarantee a good reaction from those around me.

It doesn't work that way. I had convinced myself that I was climbing a vertical ladder when I was still moving horizontally.

Now I am me. I'm improving each day and learning from mistakes. The conversation here is applicable and I reminded myself of core RP tenets and truths...but I lead my family because I am the one responsible for the outcome.

Recognize that a horizontal ladder will get you nowhere but where you have already been. You have to leave things behind in order to climb higher. Do not be complacent. There are no limits.

Acta, non verba.