My thought:

To maximize your impact and change in the world, embrace MAXIMUM SELFISHNESS, and barbell ‘maximum altruism’ on the other end.

AUDIO

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Why prioritize yourself?

My thought is this:

We want to avoid pettiness and resentment in life.

Often when we spend our entire lives devoting it to others (instead of focusing on our own self-development), we start to build hidden resentment towards others.

Why not posit yourself as an end into yourself?

Why are we not allowed to posit ourselves as an end unto ourselves?

Well — Christian/Utilitarian morality says:

Thou shalt become a useful instrument for the masses and others.

And also in almost all cultures in the world, the notion of being ‘selfish’ is synonymous with ‘evil’.

Why is this? Well– in the past (when there was a limited pie, zero-sum society), any benefit you gave yourself was a HIDDEN DOWNSIDE to others. For example if I have a pizza with 12 slices and I eat 6 slices, that means 6 fewer slices for my community or family. But in today’s world with infinite technology and effectively infinite/free food, these old-school notions of ‘selfish’ being ‘evil’ is not a good one.

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The most interesting life is the one in which you self-develop yourself to the maximum

Where does tyranny come in? When we try to control others.

What is anti-tyranny? When we disregard others, and simply focus on ourselves. We strive to control and conquer ourselves; not others.

ERIC KIM