Well, today America just redeemed herself.

Voters had the strength and wisdom to reject relentless and sophisticated propaganda. The entire media machine spewed out hoax after hoax and lie after lie, using everything from shame to fear to guilt to coerce Americans into voting against their own interests.

Trump is about to claim the Senate, the popular vote and the presidency. And probably the House.

My Goodness.

I’ve travelled to the US a few times and met many Americans who’ve come to Australia. The folks I’ve met were mostly smart, decent people.

It was hard to square that with the reputation Americans have – loud, stupid, violent, base and ignorant.

Well done! You voted for decency and sanity. While half the country voted to “preserve their rights” – that is, to be free use fleshlights who can slightly more conveniently murder their way out of having to face the consequences for it – the better half voted for secure borders, prosperity and a chance to change the system.

I’m so proud.

But the work has only just begun.

You’ve flushed the toxins, now it’s time to heal.

You know what to do.

Americans: continue being strong and wise.

The rest of the world: it’s time to follow their lead.

They don’t always get it right, but this time, the seppos have done right this time.

It’s time to end the madness.

It’s time to throw out most of the progressive policies kicking around, keeping the few that help while reverting all the rest.

And it’s time to carve out a future better than anything we’ve ever experienced in the past.

You can’t rely on Trump, Elon and RFK Jr to do all the heavy lifting.

You need to pull your weight too.

Prepare.

Join the fight.

Win.

Here’s how:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous/

When you think of the Polish military, what comes to mind?

If you’re like most folks, it’s not a flattering image. You think about cavalry on horseback charging German tanks and somehow losing.

And every Polish joke I’ve ever heard (or made) is at their expense. They’re Europe’s designated dumbarses.

Together, it makes for an unflattering reputation.

But it’s not a fair one. Sure, Polish cavalry still rode horses while everyone else rose in steel-plated death machines. But the pilots who fled from Poland to the UK were fearsome and brave warriors.

Fast forward to today. Global Firepower rates the Polish military as the 21^st strongest in the world (out of 145 countries). It’s excellent at controlling coastlines and waterways. The military is large for its population and it can move its troops around well.

It has its flaws – of course it does.

And 21 is low on the list. I’m proud to say my beloved Australia rates much higher than that – 16^th in the world.

But the Polish military is no weak, bumbling embarrassment.

Good for Poland! It’s better to have a strong military than a weak military.

“But what about the cost? Money spent on weapons could be spent on hospitals!”

Yeah, that’s obviously a problem many countries face. But imagine how expensive healthcare would be if enemy nations were bombing your hospitals. If there’s no security or safety, everything becomes more difficult, riskier and much more expensive.

A strong military makes healthcare – and education, civil liberties, the environment, the economy and more – better.

“But what if the military tries to overthrow the government?”

Yeah, well, you’ve got me there.

If the military turns savage, brutal and primitive, then the stronger it is, the worse things turn out.

That’s why you want a military that’s not just strong, but righteous. Then you know all that firepower will be used for you, not against you.

It’s the same with masculinity.

As a man, you have three choices:

One – be weak.

Two – be strong but wicked.

Three – be strong and righteous.

“Aren’t there four choices? Weak but wicked, and weak and righteous?” My goodness, no. If you’re weak, then you can’t be righteous.

Strength comes in many forms, not just physical. In fact, mental strength is generally more formidable than physical strength. Strength isn’t always just about lifting weights, but about honing your character.

And if you can’t hone you’re character, then you’re not righteous.

So you can be weak or you can be strong.

And if you’re strong, you can be Good or you can be evil.

This shouldn’t be a revelation but many of you forget this. The world tells you that gOoD men are sweet, submissive, harmless little spurts, while bAd mEn are dumb, muscly thugs.

Forget that nonsense. Like many dichotomies, it misses the obvious third option:

Be strong and be decent.

Have big muscles and a big heart. Or have an iron will and a soft embrace.

You’re not the stereotype of the Polish military – you’re not pointless and useless. You’re more like the real Polish military – punching about its weight, doing Good in this world and performing the best it can with what it has.

Don’t let obese, blue-haired they/thems and losers trapped by academia tell you what masculinity is. You know what it is: being capable of doing much, then choosing to do Good.

It’s simple enough, really.

And yet no one in the mainstream will tell you this.

It’s almost as though they don’t want you do know this.

It’s almost as though they don’t want you to know that this, right here, if your next step:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous/

Not many things in any domain of life are essential.

What is essential for Good health? Sleep, water, movement, real food and sunshine – that’s about it.

Not vitamin supplements, not complicated exercises, not protein powder. Those things can help, but you can get by without them.

And if you rely on them but neglect what’s essential, then you’re in trouble.

What’s essential for your career? Be trustworthy and make your boss look Good.

Now, sure, there’s a lot in those two things, but they’re not complicated. Do them always and you’ll be fine.

Neglect those at your peril.

Likewise, the list of things Christians must do is short:

Love God, love your neighbour, carry your cross, follow Jesus, believe the Nicene Creed and pray.

There’s a lot else you can do as a Christian, but not a lot else you have to. Every virtue stems from those essentials.

And you can unpack each of those essentials all day.

For now, let’s focus on that last one.

Prayer is the simplest thing you can do. They could have programmed computers to pray back in the ‘50s. It’s not hard to recite a few lines.

That’s the basic action in prayer, much as the stroke of a paintbrush is the basic action in portraiture.

And like painting, there’s a lot you can do with that – and many ways it can go wrong.

Because reciting the words is just what prayer looks like from the outside.

You also need to keep a clear head, free from distraction.

An open heart.

A willingness to surrender fully to God.

Your intellect engaged on the intellectual nature of the Lord and your soul engaged on the spiritual dimension.

There’s a lot to it.

Prayer can be more than just saying the words.

And it should be. It should draw on every part of you, achieving a full and total communion with God. Anything short of that is a letdown.

It’s a bit like interacting with others. If you’re too in your own head and not attending to the relationship, of course things will go sour.

You need to get out of your perspective and consider theirs.

Read what that means – and more – right here:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous/

Consider two genies, if you will:

The first grants you the following wish. Let’s assume you’re a keen foodie with a taste for the finer things. This genie grants you a boon where, at random times during your life, you’ll be whisked away to the finest of fine restaurants. Time is no barrier here – you might find yourself dining in Manhattan, Ancient Rome or Jovian Orbit. The only guarantee is that the food is absurdly delicious, interesting and satisfying.

These are the best restaurants in history.

And as part of the boon, you never have to pay the bill.

But you don’t order from the menu. The genie does that for you, choosing dishes they think you’ll like.

Even a randomly chosen dish will be sublime.

Also, you don’t get to choose who you dine with. Maybe you’ll eat with randomly chosen people who speak your language. Maybe you’ll eat alone. You don’t know and it’s not up to you.

Now consider the second genie:

Once a month, you can choose to teleport along with up to six people of your choosing to a restaurant. The restaurant you pick has to exist in the present moment and can’t be better than four stars out of five. You don’t have to pay anything, and you and your guests can order whatever you want. When you decide you’re done, you all return to your lives.

The first genie provides you with better dining experiences.

But unless you’re obsessed with Michelin stars, you’d probably pick the second genie. Yeah, the food isn’t as Good, but at least you’re in control.

Never underestimate control. It has a sweetness all of its own.

Now, forget genies and consider religion for a moment. The common theological question is:

“What happens after you die?”

A less common one:

“What happens before you’re born?”

Now that’s a question for you.

And it’s not one that every religion answers. Christianity implies a few things, but it doesn’t rule anything out. Maybe you choose your assignment on earth while you’re floating around in Heaven.

But life sure doesn’t feel that way.

We’re thrust into existence without warning or preparation. Some of the biggest impacts on your life are where, when and to whom you’re born. You choose none of these things. You can’t change them.

Only a weird theology says you can choose your birth. Even if you believe in reincarnation, you – statistically speaking – believe it’s not a choice.

You never asked to be born at all, let alone how.

This fact alone has profound and resonating implications for your life.

Life is a gift – I Truly believe that. It’s far, far, far better than the alternative.

But that doesn’t mean it’s all peaches and cream.

Throughout human history, most (all?) of us have been born into weird, painful and absurd situations.

Like the first genie from the story above, the lack of control undermines things a bit. You’d much rather choose your life before you’re born, even if you’re limited to only average lives.

Choice matters.

Folks deprived of choice – prisoners, the terminally ill, victims of narcissists – either become spiritual fortresses or crumble into insanity.

You didn’t choose your birth, so which of those two are you?

And which of those two are the folks around you?

Be gracious. Of course we’re all suffering. Let’s be real, Creation is a harsh mistress. We’re thrown into it as helpless babies, lacking all the resources we need to cope with pain, disappointment and uncertainty.

Depending on how we grow up, we might never get those skills.

That certainly explains some of the rougher folks you meet. Everyone hurts and everyone struggles to cope with that in their own way.

Who are you to judge if someone is a bit rough around the edges? Yeah, they have responsibility for their own choices and attitude, but the involuntary nature of life makes us all awkward.

We’re thrown into it, head first, before we even have the neck strength to sit up.

This explains a lot of your own failures and unkindness.

It doesn’t excuse it though. Now you know about this about yourself, you can hold yourself to a higher standard.

Sure, it ain’t easy, but –

But what?

What could possibly end that sentence so that you’re okay to keep being a cruel lunatic?

Naw. It’s time you sorted your manure out and started treating people better, including yourself.

No more neuroticism.

Much more kindness, understanding and wisdom.

You know what’ll help with that?

Learning to be more virtuous, like so:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous/

Plants can sing.

You might think of plants as simple, static things. Because they are compared to you and me. I’ve never seen a flower sit cross-legged while stretching towards the sun, only for it to stand up and go for a walk.

Plants don’t do that. They just sit there.

Except they don’t. Explore the biology of plants and you’ll find lots of interesting and surprising stuff. They can communicate through the air and the soil. They can think and solve problems – in their own slow and simple way.

But even ignoring all of that, plants respond to their environment. The part of the plant that’s in darkness sprouts roots, digging deeper into the soil. The part of the plant that’s above ground grows towards the sunlight.

A seed grows in two directions – towards the darkness and towards the light.

Relatable, right? How often do you feel as though there are two sides to you – one seeking greater union with divinity and one becoming more obsessed with materialism.

Maybe even sin.

The plant needs both darkness and light. Both are essential for the health of the plant. Maybe your light and your darkness are both essential to your health. I don’t know. As a Christian, I feel as though we’re all buried in dark soil and have to struggle towards the sunshine.

We’re all seeds.

No wonder the darkness comes so easily to us. Forget what Bane said to Batman – we’re all born into it.

But that’s not the only way you’re like a plant.

Plants need sunlight, but they don’t reach for it. If a tree extended a branch towards the sun the way you extend your hand towards a bright, shiny apple, it would get less light on its leaves. Instead, the tree spreads itself out and absorbs the light.

It’s as though the best way for you to get an apple is to stand in front of it and do your best starfish impression.

That won’t get you many apples.

But it will get you a lot of knowledge.

If you need a specific fact for a purpose, seek that fact out.

But if you want to learn and grow, be more like a plant.

Don’t reach towards what you want to know. Hang back, spread out and orient yourself towards it.

This seems passive, but it’s not. This right here is curiosity in action. Hanging back lets you see the bigger picture, chasing down paths that intrigue you. Spreading out takes a wide perspective, bringing into your awareness patterns and possibilities you can’t see from up close.

Curiosity can be a gentle nudge or an irresistible pull. Either way, it becomes this dance where you draw close to the details, then pull back to see the structure of things.

And it’s one of the best ways to grow smarter.

Yeah, being curious helps in obvious ways. A curious person finds trivia and techniques others overlook.

But it helps with more than that.

When curiosity becomes a habit, you don’t just become better at absorbing facts.

Curiosity in your career keeps you sharp, skilled and across developing trends.

Towards people, and those people will adore being around you. You know what’s better than having dinner with the most interesting person in the world? Having dinner with someone who makes you feel like you’re the most interesting person in the world.

More than that, it keeps your brain sharp.

In a dull, drab and predictable environment, you don’t need a brain. A simple set of behaviours will get you the optimal results.

For a world that’s dynamic, alive, vibrant and complex?

That’s a world where your brains get you ahead.

I wonder which world you live in?

Okay, look, I get it. I’m not the first person to preach to you some life hack that’s going to change everything. You’ve been here before and most of the time it’s underwhelming.

And I’m sure you’re busy – too busy to try yet another thing.

Unless, of course, curiosity works at the speed of thought.

And will save you time by gifting you new ways of doing things.

And it makes you smarter, more charismatic and more interesting just by breathing.

In that case? Then, just maybe, it’s worth putting in a bit of effort here and there.

It’s a much better solution to boredom than doomscrolling or pointless busywork.

Now, I could give you some techniques here in how to cultivate curiosity.

And I know a few great ones.

But you don’t need it. If you’ve read this far, then clearly you’re capable of curiosity. You know what it’s like to feel that particular feeling sneaking up on you, almost as if you have no choice but to feel evermore intrigued about what’s in front of you.

Sometimes it’s the faintest tingle.

Other times, a burning obsession.

Either way, there’s something special about curiosity that separates it from other feelings – something that tells you it even is curiosity, as opposed to, say, frustration or joy.

You know what curiosity feels like.

So practice that. Be curious about what it would be like to be curious about whatever’s in front of you.

Do that and soon it will become a habit.

One Good habit among many.

For a list of others, check this out:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous/

After nearly 500 days of writing to you, I took an unplanned break recently. It started off as me rethinking my business. It ended up with me rebuilding my life philosophy almost from the ground up.

My Christian faith has never been deeper, and it goes even beyond that.

But this wasn’t some airy fairy feelings of light, completeness and wonder. This is concrete. Visceral. It’s specific advice, principles and guidance that you can begin to implement immediately.

And if you’re a man, you’ll want to.

See, a lot of society tells you that anything masculine is tOxiC! They say that Good men are meek, submissive, apologetic, unambitious and weak.

Forget that.

But the opposite – pounding your chest while bragging about how bro-y you are – is barely better. The opposite of folly is folly.

Reacting to society is weakness. Responding to it is strength.

And the best response to the current – and previous, and future – societal insanity is through virtuous masculinity.

The name suggests it’s the opposite of toxic masculinity, but it’s far better than that. If what feminists call toxic is just men being men, maybe being a jerk occasionally, then it’s a meaningless label with no real opposite.

Virtuous masculinity transcends that, touching on every aspect of you mentally, spiritually and sometimes physically.

It’s not complete, yet I’ve already gotten feedback that it’s too long.

If you can handle ~4000 words, then this is for you.

If not?

Luckily, it’s broken up into manageable chunks.

Either way, check this out:

https://christianhypnotism.com/virtuous

You might have seen the cartoon:

It shows two people stranded on a desert island. The religious person prays to God to save them, while the atheist gets busy building a raft.

Yeah, I get the point – religious folks wallow in superstitions while atheists roll up their sleeves and get the work done.

But you could just as easily flip the labels around:

The atheist wallows in nihilism while despairing at the cruel fate of an uncaring universe, while the theist has faith that their makeshift raft – against the odds – will carry them to safety.

Who would I want by my side on a shipwrecked island?

An optimistic carpenter. Their faith matters less to me than that.

And it would matter less to you, too. In a variant of the famous Robbers Cave psych experiment, a group of Christian and Muslim boys united against another group of Christian and Muslim boys. When things got heated, Christians would fight alongside Muslims against Christians, just because the other group had a different name.

Tribal identities are powerful.

So powerful that the best way to override them is with other tribal identities.

Take whatever lesson you want from that.

In the meantime, figure out how to build and serve your tribes here:

https://christianhypnotism.com/ysiay

Psalm 133 is an interesting one:

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

running down upon the beard,

upon the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,

life for evermore.

Dew.

Oil.

What do they have in common?

Well, the psalmist chose them as the most beautiful symbols of divinity he could think of.

Also:

They both glisten in sunlight.

You, too, are a holy blessing of God. So you, too, glisten in sunlight.

You’re like a diamond – a simple lump of carbon so perfectly engineered that, in the right conditions, you glow.

The best part?

All you need to do is see the sun. Do that and you can’t help but radiate with heavenly light on earth.

That’s a nice thought.

Another nice one:

You can make the right choices to keep yourself clean and get out there into daylight.

Things that move you into the light and out of the shadows.

Reading this is one such choice:

https://christianhypnotism.com/ysiay

Yesterday, I talked about my mate and his pet bull terrier.

How despite that dog being strong, healthy and basically a big slab of muscle, I can easily outmuscle him. When I grab one of his toys and he latches onto the other end, I can drag him around like he’s dead weight. He’s pulling with all his power to steal the toy from me, put I can resist without much effort.

That comes from me not being strong, but being heavy and long of limb. He can’t budge me but I can budge him.

I chalked this up to the power of leverage.

But I left out an important detail in this story:

In our tugs-of-war over his beloved dog toys, I’ve never actually won.

Despite having godlike physical abilities, every duel ends with the staffy trotting away with his prize in-mouth.

Because despite my physical leverage, he has leverage all of his own:

He’s obsessed with the game. When we’re playing, there’s nothing else in the universe.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking about how I need to get back to my writing, how this toy could break under the strain and how I have some unwatched videos in my queue.

I get bored or distracted.

He doesn’t.

In my contests with that dog, his tenacity beats my raw power every time.

Yeah – I consistently lose the mental game against an opponent with, what, a hundred IQ points less than I have?

Yikes.

Maybe I should keep that to myself.

Then again, maybe I can take hope from that.

Maybe my human adversaries are stronger, smarter and more resourced than I am.

And maybe demons are as much smarter than me as I am of a dog.

Maybe none of that actually matters.

The right mental leverage can compensate for any gap in physical power.

Mental leverage comes in many forms.

This, right here, has to be one of the best:

https://christianhypnotism.com/ysiay

A mate of mine has a dog – a staffy. The dog is a black-furred slab of pure muscle. He has a good diet and gets exercise, so he’s in great canine shape.

And the dog loves a game where he grabs a toy with his jaws, you hold onto it and you both wrestle for it.

Despite the staffy being the kin of wolves and radiating muscle, he can’t overpower me. Ever. I can hold the toy with my left hand and type with my right, and he has zero chance of snatching the toy from me.

I can drag that dog around the carpet like he’s a bag of rice.

I can do this even though, pound for pound, he’s stronger than I am.

But I have the ultimate weapon:

Leverage.

I have long arms and I weigh many times he weight. That means no matter how well he digs his heels in, he has no chance of overpowering me. I can multiply my strength into realms vastly beyond what he can achieve.

By dog standards, I’m Hercules.

And that got me thinking: how else is leverage useful in life?

Well, here’s one useful case:

There are certain skills where you learn them, then you can apply them everywhere.

Like, for example, improving your social skills.

If you’re better at understanding other people than the average Joe or Janet, then that’s superhuman leverage right there.

Sales?

Entrepreneurship?

Parenting?

Climbing the corporate ladder?

Dating?

Those all become easier and much more rewarding when you understand other folks better.

Now, that sounds like the easiest thing. And I’d bet you rate your own ability to understand others well.

And you may be right.

Unless, of course, you’re not as successful as you’d like to be.

Or other folks confuse you sometimes.

Or you’re constantly surprised – or disappointed – by the actions of others.

Then maybe you don’t understand them as well as you think.

There’s only one way to know for certain.

Luckily for you, it’s simple and it’s free.

All you’ve got to do is read, reread and apply Your Story Isn’t About You.

That’s not just a solid title – it’s a solid life philosophy.

Download it here:

https://christianhypnotism.com/ysiay