I. Living with Yourself

II. Living in Society

III. Living with Others

The purpose of this book and the purpose of my life have long been one in the same. For the longest time I’ve been obsessed with the idea of finding the perfect plan to run my life, executing it for myself, then sharing the blueprint with others to help them towards their own vision of fulfillment. Any dryness or analytical style comes from the attempt to condense a huge amount of ideas, which have been floating around in my head for the better part of six years now, into a finite process. The refinement and final product of these ideas I take to be both my inspiration during good times and my salvation in times of distress. It may require a little dryness, at least in the beginning.

In the good times, the longer periods of well-being and the blissful moments of perfect love, I wish to relay my message—this is how to live. In the bad times, the spells of malaise and brief moments of crisis and desperation, I want to alleviate—this is how to live… in the shit show. How to weather the shit-storm. How to survive it all.

Though this seems depressing, by recognizing and defining some shitty things first I hope to essentially solve them, and later swing back around to the positive side of things. Above all, I want to instill an indestructible ideal of faith, virtue, and goodness in the reader. This is what I truly believe in; this is my driving force and consolation. You just have to be a little careful, because this thing can be a delicate instrument at times, and every once in awhile use a couple tricks to keep it out of the mud.

It is my firm belief that establishing a solid set of personal ethics which guides the self, manifests in your interactions with others, and helps to offset the rigors of society—or which may even initiate change in the power structures that define this system—will help to create a more palatable world.

Let’s get to it.