The book is written by Doug Casey, Matt Smith, and Maxim Smith. Doug Casey is the Renaissance Man, an entrepreneur, and a philosopher of the Western Civilization.
Renaissance was a period of cultural, artistic, political, and economic development in Medieval Europe. This is what the book hopes to encourage in young men.
The book is about 'A Revolution in Education for Young Men'.
It prepares men to be Competent, Confident, and Dangerous.
Strong men create good times. Weak men create hard times. Only physically, mentally, spiritually strong men can create good times.
That makes this book very useful for the hard times we live in today.
The book is a revolutionary book. It is a preparatory guide for young men to excel in the changing World where traditional education and employment does not lead to success in life.
Uselessness and toxicity of traditional education
Traditional education in non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects has no value. There is no career path for graduates except to teach others. This is also a consequence of the 'End of history, and the Last Man' moment described by Francis Fukuyama. Neither society, nor government, nor corporations see any value in Social Sciences or liberal arts. Wokeness is functionally dead. Government, education, academia, and military jobs come with their own problems.
"The usual routes of the military, college, or a dead-end job are kind of bleak and uncertain. Even worse, the premier path - college - simply doesn't work anymore.
I didn't want to follow any path that might lead to a life of sorrow and servitude. Not only that, but society shames masculinity, one of the key components which drives men to do great things. I refused to participate in any institution that supported these ideas."
Uselessness and toxicity of traditional employment
A job keeps you Just Over Broke (JOB).
As the authors say, most jobs are designed to limit your growth, limit what you can achieve, while extracting most value out of you.
Why people suffer
People suffer, "I was lazy, unskilled, closed off to the world, fearful, and disappointed with myself at the realization of how far I was from being the man I could be."
People suffer because they don't know and they refuse to know.
"More than the money, the biggest problem was that I had no clue what I wanted to do."
"Young men have no clear meaningful path to follow, no understanding of success, society doesn't value them, and they have few people to emulate or admire.
People blame lack of money, too much money, education, government, Deep State, dark forces, Rothschild, religion, fate, God, and everything but their lack of knowledge.
People also refuse to change and acquire new knowledge and skills. People are driven by their own ego and peer pressure.
The Renaissance Man
The authors talk about The Renaissance Man as "someone with a broad range of knowledge, experience, and skills". He is not a specialist with PhD, but a man who knows and does many things well.
The qualities of the Renaissance Man are: Virtuous and Philosophically grounded: "Philosophy should provide a useful intellectual framework for understanding reality". A Renaissance Man does not figure things out himself at start. He gets help from a Patron (discussed later). Skilled and Experienced: He has gone through the preparation of preparing for life as described in detail in the book. An entrepreneur: He gets things done.
How to be a Renaissance Man
The book covers this in detail. It has links to guides, books to read, knowledge and skills to acquire.
The book has 'Anchor Courses' which everyone must do. It has 'Academic Course' for theoretical understanding. It lists activities everyone should do to acquire skills and experience. Some of them are as simple as learning real Italian cooking. Others are activities like sailing in North Atlantic, martial arts in Thailand etc. The book has blank templates which you fill as you go through the tasks in your journey to be a Renaissance Man.
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How to be Competent, Confident, and Dangerous (A Revolution in Education for Young Men):
Use the right Strategy: people just don't know what to do. They just follow the system. Don't follow the System created by a government if you want to be 'Competent, Confident, and Dangerous'.
Money is very important: Making money is the outcome of being a 'virtuous, competent, and educated man'. "Financial independence is a byproduct of being a man of substance and doing things that create value."
Way to get rich is simple: Create a lot of value. The authors say that Economics is study of human action under scarcity. Provide something valuable in any field and consume less. That is the way to get rich. The more value you provide, the richer you get. People are poor today because they consume more than the value they provide.
Do not get a job. A Job keeps you Just Over Broke (JOB). A job is ok temporarily or if you are learning and developing something. Jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) are ok to some extent. All jobs are designed to cap your potential and extract the value you provide. Then they go to the government for help, handouts, or government job.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) courses are useful. Get limited formal education via colleges and universities in STEM if you want to go into STEM career.
Non-STEM courses in humanities and social sciences are harmful for the student and community as they are all propaganda by the government. "Non-STEM courses often fill minds with harmful ideologies requiring years to unlearn."
Aspire to be a Renaissance Man: "someone with a broad range of knowledge, experience, and skills". A man who is 'virtuous, competent, and educated man'. He has to be philosophically grounded, educated about a lot of topics, experienced, virtuous, and entrepreneur. "Philosophy should provide a useful intellectual framework for understanding reality".
Home School your children. Do not send children to private or public (government) schools. It destroys them. Fixing it takes years.
Don't let emotions control you. It is human to feel emotions, but do not be led by them. Do not let ego, pride, anger, greed lead you.
Don't be a Specialist. "Specialization is for insects." Do not get a PhD or even a Masters in any subject. PhD makes you Poor helpless desperate (PhD). Be a generalist Renaissance Man who knows a lot of things very well. The authors call it 'skill-stacking'.
Find a Patron. Don't work with a mentor. Get a Patron, an accomplished and connected man with resources. Help him with his work and vision. In turn, learn from him and help him. Serve the Patron's interests with excellence. He will open doors for you into his private network as you move towards common goals. Access to networks and a Patron is most important without which your skills and mindset are less useful.
Your Character is defined by your philosophical core, your virtues, and your capabilities. Take any of the three away and you are lesser man. Have all three, and you are a Renaissance Man.
ISBN: 979-8301510427
Published: November 27, 2024
Pages: 187
Available on: amazon
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