2. Love yourself.
Contrary to the philosophy of my childhood hero, Tyler Durden (Fight Club), we really are each beautiful and unique snowflakes. Not one of us is the same as another. Imagine a whole planet full and teeming with complete strangers crawling all over one another, experiencing life, as bold and brilliant as it is. That's what's going on right now. You know just as much about what is going on inside of you as you do the world outside of you and that science fiction mind fuck should throw you into such a state of awe that you can’t help but feel at one with everything. That one-with-everything feeling, that is pure love. It is infinite, undefinable, and has raw power that when accessed, can make you outshine the sun. Let's go deeper, who was with you when you were born? YOU. Who was with you last night, 10 minutes ago, right now reading this, and tomorrow (assuming you don't die)? YOU. You know what makes you feel good, you know what makes you feel bad, you know when and how you like to be touched, you know your favorite foods, movies, music, you're not afraid
to dance in your house when no one else can see, you are your best friend and you'll be right there with you when it's time to pass on. That's fucking beautiful and if that beautiful, unique person doesn't deserve a tremendous amount of love, I just don't know who does.
3. Be sexual.
Honestly, I don't care about sex. My thoughts on it are that it's there merely for procreation and mankind has just perverted the act of sex to exploit how they feel about themselves and ultimately it is, in so many ways, just another control drama. That being said, it is an amazing way to connect with other people, ideally just one special someone. Exploring another's body is in a strange way, like exploring your own. Being sexual isn't just about having sex. It's about fashion and style. It's about the way you walk and talk. It's about courageously being who you want to be even if others may not understand or accept you.
4. Wear tailored clothing.
In Texas, Austin namely, most people think it's okay to wear t-shirts with stupid things written on them, shorts with cargo pockets, and brightly colored tennis shoes made by under-compensated children in foreign countries, to bars and clubs. Worse even is the new plaid shirt trend. Please stop that. Immediately. To wear stuff like that, despite the oven we live in, means you've just given up or worse yet, you haven't even begun or don't know where to begin. It doesn't matter how big you are, how small you are, if your face looks like a baseball mitt or an angel's smile, Getting clothes that are tailored to fit your size and shape, accentuate your character thus making you more appealing, thus making you look good and in brief, when you look good, you feel good.
5. Try new things.
There is no real limit to this. You can use legal boundaries if you feel you need to, (Just understand that law only exists so long as people uphold it) but most people grow immeasurably by trying things they have never done before. I do this most commonly by facing my fears. For example, I am a horrible swimmer. I do try to get in the water even though I know there are giant leviathans and alligator gar fish that only want to eat me in there. I've been skydiving, on a motorcycle going 180 mph, sailing during squalls, and so many other things that I'm not willing to write about in this blog. If it scares you, buck up and try it. There is a trick to this though and it is the next step to happiness.
6. Have conviction.
If Cosimo disagrees with Hubert and vice versa, they should believe so strongly about what they believe in that they're willing to die defending their beliefs. That's respectable and honorable. Try not to be foolish and go around telling everyone what you think about this, that, and the other, because you may have to die sooner than you intended and probably, your opinion doesn't matter anyway. (continue on next page)