I've always had this argument in my head in choosing between taking the great things that life can offer and being an honest individual...

Every now and then you'll hear of someone being caught in a deception he/she was living with for a while, and while they get caught they still enjoyed the things that came from it.

Ex. playing women just to sleep with them, building fake charities for self gain, hiring actors for a noticeable 'improvement' in social media, denying PED's, etc.. the decisions for personal gain are endless and people are always doing it and always gaining something from it.

The thing is, i notice this and i often question myself why i don't take part in it.. i give myself that excuse that only sociopaths do things like that and the reason i don't is because i'm a genuine and honest person... but am i living with a wrong perception of life? is being manipulative and a sociopath an important and essential skill as a man? what if the real reason i'm not like this is because i'm really just too lazy to take what i want?

Is it boneheaded for me to think that the intrinsic virtue of being honest and modest enough? Is it really better to leave your alpha aura to hold a woman when in reality they'll all leave after a while to some sociopath who promises the things she thinks she can actually obtain? is it really better to avoid social media because you want your privacy and and independence while some other guy gets that job you wanted because his ig made him look like some legitimate hot shot? Is it really better to try and lead by example when the guy on the other side of the street has himself a bigger house because he's amassed a cult following, pertains to influence over all these people that they'll now buy and support his books, seminars, coaching tapes because he chose to instruct people unlike yourself?

Ultimately... is being a sociopath actually something we harbour resent because only few of us are born with the skill to be successful as one?