Value makes the world go 'round.

  • You wake up and go to work each morning. Why? Because work provides you with money, which is extremely valuable.
  • Then you come home and eat dinner. Why? Because food keeps you alive. That’s pretty valuable.
  • Then you have sex with your girlfriend. Why? Because it’s pleasurable, and is thus a more valuable experience than, say, staring at a wall.

Money, food, sex - these things enhance one’s life. They keep you alive, make things interesting, and bring happiness.

Know what’s not valuable?

  • Staring at your phone
  • Leveling up in WoW
  • Watching mainstream television
  • Eating crap

Your job is to “sniff out the value” in every thing you do. Once you’ve identified the value, go after it and take ownership of it. That’s what the Alpha male does.

The key here is discernment. People get misled when they ascribe value to activities that are in reality total wastes of time. This usually happens because the activity “feels good” (i.e. brings short-term pleasure). For instance, I could drink eight beers right now and feel good. But that experience isn’t valuable.

The game is to engage in serious self reflection about your daily routine, and determine what's bringing value and what isn't. Then you need to eliminate the invaluable activities and be all over the activities that do bring value.

This will take time. And it will take even longer to build up good habits, which is simply the art of staying connected to the flow of value throughout the day.

“Working hard” is a misnomer. It’s really a term used for slaves. Sure, you should be productive all day, but that’s easy when you realize that there isn’t long term value in bullshit.