The biggest lie they sold you:
“Be a nice guy and you’ll win.”
Reality:
Nice guys finish last and watch other men live their dream life.
Be good. Be kind. But never be weak.
The world respects strength.
Evil can pretend to be good and kind. But good and kind people cannot pretend to be evil. So when you see evil behavior in someone, believe it. That is who they really are.
A business without records is a rumour. Write everything down. Sales, expenses, debts, stock, suppliers, customers and losses. Data protects you from emotional decisions.
Highly ambitious men often make extraordinary partners, but very few people speak honestly about how difficult it can be to be with them. The degree of loneliness that accompanies loving such a man is immense.
You are perpetually sharing him with the future he is trying to build. His mind is occupied by the empire, vision, responsibility of constructing something larger than himself. And because of that, there are long stretches where you feel alone, even while deeply loved.
Men like this need women who possess an interior life of their own, women capable of building alongside them rather than merely waiting for attention. A woman who can contribute meaningfully to the empire itself understands the architecture of his absence better than most.
There is something deeply saddening about this dynamic, yet strangely beautiful too. And truthfully, if it were otherwise, I do not think I would want it. Some forms of love are inseparable from sacrifice.
You endure it for your future generations, for yourselves and the possibility of creating something that exceeds both of you.
If you love someone because they love you, that is empathy. If you love someone for their beauty, that is attraction. If you love someone for what they offer, that is interest.
If you love someone for their kindness, that is admiration. But when you cannot fully explain why you love them, only that your heart does, that is love.
No one wants to hear it but you will have to *work* on everything that is worth having in life.
Your career, your relationships, your health - whatever it is...
So if you don't want to work for it, be prepared to be very disappointed in the quality of everything you get.
The older I get, the more I realize that life will meet you at your level of audacity. The people who get what they want out of life aren't necessarily the most intelligent or the most talented. They're the ones who had the most courage.