Thread by @Tim_Denning

I'm 38.

When I was 28 I worshipped identity politics, went woke & believed in the fantasy of equality.

Then I discovered Albert Camus, and he changed my life forever.

11 lessons from France's most controversial & unknown philosopher:

Albert Camus won a Nobel Prize

He pissed people off by not supporting Algeria's independence from France. His decision didn't age well. Algeria won.

He wrote 2 novels that changed history & made him famous, then was murdered at 46 in a car crash caused by soviet spies.

1. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

The goal in life should be to reach personal freedom as fast as possible.

Being free is how you say F U to a corrupt system designed to enslave people.

Get wealthy then get free asap.

What doesn't help you get free:

• Politics
• Boycott behavior
• Complaining/blaming
• Going woke (then broke)

2. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of.

You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

Most people aren't happy because society gave them a sh*tty model:

• Go to school
• Get a useless degree
• Get a boring job
• Get into debt
• Retire
• Die

F*cking miserable. Do the opposite.

3. “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

Doing hard things makes you an optimist. You don't look for easy days.

You know that whatever happens you'll be good.

A positive outlook on life is underrated

4. “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”

We try to avoid our human nature.

We expect tragedy not to happen to us.

We're surprised when someone dies.

Life is short & then you die. Stop wasting your life listening to morons & live.

5. “Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”

Being normal is harder than being your weird self.

Stop trying to fit in.

7. “But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.”

It takes guts to show up. Ending it all is the easy way out – and it harms your loved ones forever.

Choose to live. Expect battles. Upgrade your mindset.

8. “I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't.”

Instead of chasing p*ss weak passion, chase what you don't want. Chase anti-goals.

If you hate cubicles, then make it your goal to never work in one again.

What you don't want helps you see what you do want.

9. “I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.”

The world doesn't care about you. If you died tomorrow 99.9% wouldn't notice.

Your job would be filled within hours.

Now you're free. Go make your mark, fail, get rejected... because nobody gives a f*ck.

10. “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”

Comedians are also some of the greatest philosophers ever.

They pretend to tell jokes when what they tell is the truth that no one wants to admit.

Embrace fiction. It'll set your mind free.

11. “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.”

Writers are more important than bankers or business people.

We make sense of the madness. We allow debates to occur. We share new ideas.

Without writers we have a cold, dark world with no one to guide us.

Albert Camus became influential through his public writing.

That's how he became free. You can do the same.

Get my free email course to get started writing online: timdenning.com/startonsocial-…