I like You, or At Least You Think I Do
Your friends betray you, not your enemies.
The lioness is evaluating your loyalty. Are your actions consistent with your promises? Maybe there's an inconsistency there that she didn't notice at first. She studies you and your surroundings for something that doesn't quite add up. Even the best spy will eventually do something that is inconsistent. Today, as I often do, I recommended to friends to always operate as if spies are within their ranks. That advice is given from experience and not lightly. By operating as if there are spies, you protect yourself and your goals.
Inconsistencies
Inconsistencies should never be ignored. If someone does something counter to who they have led you to believe they are, you had better pay attention, friend. Your life may depend upon it. I have made an art out of seeing inconsistencies in others. In life I have learned, the hard way, that no one can hide their true intentions forever. If you watch closely, you will see them slip up. Hopefully, it is before they have done you, your loved ones, or your ultimate goals in life great harm.
In the book "The Like Switch" by Jack Schafer, he explains how the FBI uses familiarity and regular contact to trick people into believing an agent is their friend.
A person who makes a point of always being in your life isn't automatically your friend. People with motivations opposite of yours may be very familiar to you. You may see them every day at the gym, at work, or some other location. They may even be your spouse or girl friend. Are they there to befriend you for some other purpose than furthering the same goals? Do their actions betray their promises to you?
This is why a person's consistency in seeking the same goals as me is so important. Are they part of the pack, or are they an imposter? Do they seek to strengthen our voluntarily agreed upon goals in life, or are they here to secretly sabotage them? These questions are very important for regular people. They are even more important for those who seek leadership positions or who have those positions hoisted upon them by others.
Familiarity does not equal friendship. Friendship is shared goals. Shared goals are the same no matter how much stress a person is under or how long you have known them.
Beware of the person who cracks under stress or leaves subtle hints of different goals. My goal is liberty, individual liberty to be more precise, and those around me know it. I have been consistent. My online accounts are not hidden, and I use my real name on purpose to not hide regardless of the price to be paid or the ridicule received. Liberty is worth any price in my opinion. I will continue to seek and further it regardless of the cost. If your goal is the same as mine, we are already friends.
We may not agree on all things either. Our methods may be different. You may dislike me for some particular weakness or habit. None of those things matter as long as our primary goals in life, what we will die to further or defend, are the same. Those things cannot be faked either. Our actions will reveal to everyone what we really believe. Are you a friend or an enemy? If you are an enemy, you will betray yourself as long as I am watching carefully.
Friendship
What exactly does it mean? To me it means shared primary goals. They are goals you will stand and give your life to further. You will sacrifice yourself and everything you love to achieve them. I cannot fake them. My actions will make them very clear. Do you share them with me or not? If you are part of my pack, I will fight and die defending you and yours. Betray me though, and you're dead to me. If you are deceiving me, you will eventually reveal yourself too.
Watch for inconsistencies. Do not ignore them.
Well written.
While i agree with almost all of your points, there's one disagreement :
You say you do not hide your online activity and liberty is your primary goal
Liberty is my primary goal too, but my method is anonymity ;)
Thanks, friend! Heroes wear masks too and for good reason. I forgot to mention that revealing yourself to the world and your intentions is a personal choice. Depending on how bad things get, I may put a mask on one day too.
First, my real name is June not Weq! The site won't let me change it for posts, only on my profile page. Next, your post here really resonates with me. How many of us have " put up" with someone because we thought we had to even though we could sense their insincerity? I know I have. And it backfired every time. I'm wiser now and am very careful about whom I let into my world. Those were lessons I needed to learn in order to evolve in consciousness. Who was it that said "I will do no harm but I will take no shit"? Those are words to live by.
Hello! Those are good words to live by.
At last, a distinct advantage for my naturally anti-social disposition.
It is much more difficult to achieve our life's goals alone though. Voluntary association is a very powerful force.
I am no social butterfly either. :)
hehe we like you too, its hard to say no to a friend who has never done you wrong. Stoked to see more of your articles come out. just keep posting! you are success
Thank you, friend. I am very happy to have met you because of our mutual friend, Randy.
we are glad to! Randy is a champion! glad we became friends. Ill be headed to Panama again soon.
Excellent philosophy for steemit and well thought out plan for living. Steemit is all about speaking freely and not accepting censorship, but unfortunately the reality here is not the reality out there. So I hope we can defend the culture and help it spread. My policy is I follow those who follow me.
Thanks for the comment! I absolutely hate censorship. Facebook is just as guilty as Google too. Both of them are used to control the narrative in favor of the oligarchs. This place is different, and I hope it stays that way.
Wow you post most nice
Thank you!
Wow you post most nice
In Fact, I liked this post so much, I just followed everyone who responded to it.
Keeping with my theory above :-)
Life is Good
Like minds should stick together
Thank you. I really appreciate the follow and feedback. It is always a pleasure to meet another person in panama too!
Were you at the steemit meetup ?
Here is how my day went LOL Here it is<---
I want to make a interior meetup, but my car just died so not till I fix it :-)
But some day soon.
I was envious of those who were, but I'm still in Virginia unfortunately. With a family of six, the decision to leave is a difficult one.
Deep thoughts my Friend, glad I'm following :-)
We are on the same page, people need reasons to shall we say sacrifice their precious time to be with you or you them.
I like to tell people that I'm with and are complaining about something " We are here together this moment, I'm loving it and have it going on. so if you are here with me now, you can't be far off base " LOL
You get the idea :-)
Cheers
Thank you! My family is looking to expatriate too, and of course Panama is our current top choice for many many reasons.
Just remember....when you visit the Jungle....You adapt to it. It doesn't adapt to you LOL.
Well maybe a bit, with some pleading and lots of cash $$$
Cheers
I do wonder about such things. We love the heat, but I don't love scorpions, bot flies, etc. Those concerns are mostly unfounded though I expect.
Loyalty, Loyalty, LOYALTY!!
Yes, and you don't have to worry about loyalty if you have the same life long goals!
It is always friends that betray. I've made the mistake of assuming familiarity is friendship several times. I've also assumed that family never betrayed one another, but it happens often.
Inconsistencies can be telling, but sometimes it is simply growth of the human animal. People change - NOT ENTIRELY - but we all change. Humans are often unable to see very subtle changes over longer spans of time. Like how you can't really see you kids growing when you see them all day every day. A relative that might only see them once a month will see the difference almost immediately. That is our weakness. Some weaker than others. The force must be strong with you @finnian. I'd like to think we are friends and not just familiar :) I don't have many friends for a reason - I don't like to worry more than I need to. Just about anyone that knows me can depend on me in some way, and they know it, but I feel that I could depend on very few.
Great input from what I believe to be a good man.
We are friends, Brandon. We have know each other too long and carried too heavy of burdens to not know that for sure.
You are right that the longer a person is in our life the more difficult inconsistencies are to see too.
@finnian sir, you made a lasting impression on me. Remember way back when we were on G Plus when it was new 😆. I guess it has been a pretty long time. You are one sharp individual . One I've always admired for your tenacious drive and support of Liberty. And, of coarse, your immense well of wisdom & genuine generosity. In my opinion (whatever it's worth) you are built for the PI business. It's coursing your blood. I'm happy to see you utilizing that gift.
Great job on the content as well, it's top shelf. 👌🏻 How do I make a #whalecall
They'll notice me eventually. I'll keep sharing until they do and then after too! I'm passionate about what I'm sharing, so I know it will eventually draw a larger audience. The support of my friends in the mean time is payment enough. Thank you, friend!
You're able to relate your expertise in a way that communicates to those of us (I speak for myself) that are not well trained. Well versed information that's not just greatly entertaining, but it's truly educational.
Meaningful, informative, entertaining - something media is greatly lacking. Of the few days I've spent here on Steemit, this platform sorely lacks quality content. You are, without a doubt, providing it. Thank you.
Enjoy the weekend Finnian. Keep your head on a swivel and you'll never miss a damn thing 😉