i sought support props like oxycontin for it i am 2pac shakurs proxy war unorthodox apostle sure posture poor but my chakra stored like glocks in boxer shorts my body sore like mothra or more like mr. miyagis chores wax on wax off spotless floors daniel san, bandana on off with your oxford clothand lofty lore oxford doctor dockers matchin chocolate socks and godlless lore daubin aquaphor across the sore cross that my brothers names across veins frostbit heart hagen das'n since we lost him pain in exchange for the profit nah album shoulda been free no matter where you got it off you wanna talk shop? jockin product rawbadogg the god of I’m callin the cult you call culture OUT follow me swallow jolly rogers drops in bottled waters jeffrey dahmer genres and barter the martyrs mantras pardon me whose got the motherfuckin odwalla NOW and i don’t know how to count bars but i know how to make my bars count suburban internet surfin blurbbin never put in dirty work in they encouraged yours to scheme and skirmish courtesy of jurors predetermined we’ve reached a verdict speeches “he deserved it” flyer then tyler durden’s shirts repurposed ian curtis verses with a refurbished surface nervous weeded wordsmith hearse your verse, perverse your purpose convert your worship i lurk in turf where serpents smirk and vermin surface we all hurried here to flourish now we comb the fuhrer’s furs or furnish his furnace gun turrets turnin. turrets emergin encouragin life insurance purchases general consensus i guess sure it occurs to us that usurpers is workin against us only time we get shit is when we get hit with there benzes they just switch to a lexus grim reaper sickle set police pistols prepped, fickle forensics little death sweat on her nipples a cigarette icicle necklaces leave ya secret service merked leaders lured in merked and we interpret hurt asthese worthless words resurface we reinterpret worth courtroom expenditures render your wordin worthless like sex reassignment surgeons like u puffin sherm bubble burstin me subservient 2 some demon worshippin semen spurtin pee wee herman jergens circle jerkin herp-a-derps bourbon burnin , curbin hurt lookin for a berserker verse? research what you're immersed in first bread and circuses stop and frisk searchin lil reese, cheif keef, durk an them backs turned to them motherfuckaz wouldn’t help a person shirtless earnest work is shirked and shirts and merch are purchased earning turnin unlearn un worthy worship spend all week cheatin church then creep in to the weekend service out of jesus jurisdiction dick in curvy cursive women word verbal turbulence ya circle puffin purple grinnin cheapen words of wisdom just to curdle christians conservative nervous systems? nah this is verbal virgin birth of an infinite infant you cant gimmick infringe on that gimmick infringement serve a systems murder mission indecision journalism for the little bit illiterate little kids get imbursed with steady twitchin, preminition cut you off this is circumcision cancellation amputation and i don’t know how to count bars but i know how to make my bars count killed it before you heard it, sub sonic rounds i relearned religion instead of turnin timid now i can multipurpose, multiverses

pops got cancer in his face but he can't face cancer god can't hold me back with no man made answers watched him pray to a bed and we worshipped a dream how did my man's brain let his hand aim at his head dog was a martyr for no cause make me wanna put the markers to the wall like "none of ya'll understand me" like i'm a little gay mothafucka from an intolerant family four friends shot down no murderers found you think i'm still tryna sound profound for a rap crown? what the fuck i needa rap crown for? downpour song to listen to your competition you think i'm competin but i'm screamin fuck the world cause the world like (fuck you) fucked your girl now my dick burnin just abridge burnin little kid learnin how to swim you think i'm still tryna sound profound for a rap crown? ( x3)

Achilles heel still i stand shoot coward you will only kill a man new born baby 88 the greatest mistake escape the pain of the patriots slain in vain veins athiest chains latest mercedes ladies my mind state is the craziest makin it sane to be crazy crazier 2 mention A.D.D. saved me maybe it raised me i wasn't payin attention rawba dog alias, maybe its rabies maybe a nation of alienated israeles invadin alien radiuses razorblades over the name engraved in the graves while they vacation in hades still i rise still im talkin currently currency insecurity assures me surely it's purely to profit dis couraged tryna give these kids courage when im unsure if i got it that shit affect robin well he sure isnt stoppin screamin fuck the pigs on some kermit the frog shit never asher roth jigga nas i'm from their cloth mind of an orphan michael jordan reportin live from inside the organs Ira Glass lungs fulla fiberglass watchin your eyes before i’m ever eyein ya watch im gonna be iron like a lion in zion jus watch ya’ll doubted him thas why ya’ll got obstacles and i got pockets full of philosophical ways out of em can't tell if its intelligence or irrelevant eloquance my vision swellin ya eyes dwell in a cell in the sky felon melon never sellin my melanin rebelious mind and this the diffrence between your level an mine cross out my competiton psalms in mead composition bibles rivals feel heaven through em him feed the beast inside recently i reached a piece of the sky to preach to the empty seats seekin retribution dirty harry revolutionary virgin mary mercenary cursed in various emabarassin traits will bein a good samareten spare me the fate of, havin to carry the weight of ------ hes always there when i need him lets me know im here for a reason new era drop like the towers without the terror between em all the girls in my class who wanted to be actresses is actresses but all there actin is done on mattresses candy caddillac mack daddy back in the slammer 4 carvin lil girls faces like jack o lanterns protect ya pumpkin keep light in it no enlightenment just tryna shine like jack nicholson lil joker joker backpack he pack pistols in cold bitchass world i know but it's still fire they could take the fuckin crown a halos still higher fearin none you think i can’t come harder than that? u stupid ass, well here i come comin through sumn stupid undisputed summon the son of the sum of bein young in a slum and one with his music craft truly mastered perfect practice proven classic soothin enthusiastic peep this jesus judas nazareth blues true 2 the facts fused with the views of the masses facists illusion misconstrude and saturated solutions captivated the heart of hatred murdered it reverted it back to confusion betrayal he slay you fuck a muthafukin bitch plucked the knives out my back what you think i came to cut u muthfuckas up with competition clearly none you still think i can’t come harder then that and here i still come no stranger to no danger lone ranger boy meets world my girl was topanga my game was mario off thirty goomers merkin goombas hadouken akuma i heard a rumor my words manueveur through the curbs and sewers you couldn't walk through MY untied dirty pumas i persuade the madness just stay afraid panic god mc aint nothin compared to what i be if i see another decade on this planet defecate on this manuscript the journalist journey ends at the pier for tryna peer in the system peers imprisoned so how could we fear a searing abyss which is clearly a gimmick, religion mimicked by idiots and not spiritualists my lyrics just peer into what my mirror omits not sick just in control of simplicity simply spit it just appears intracate so i know i got it man it’s nothin to stop me against the world ... whatdya got

I want to hold your wrinkled hand when the world we no longer understand i knew this girl she used to get on my nerves but now shes a woman and my last names hers shake myself awake trying to find an explanation somewhere between pride and desperation yeah i knew this girl she used to get on my nerves she was always on my mind but wouldn’t ever tell me what was on hers girl wassup love wears pearls and chucks well i guess now she wears vans krylon on her hands quoting Pearl S. Buck stanzas the feelin i get when we kick it when we kissin i used to sing sad songs til she came along and remixed it life is love heaven for me would be... if when i died i relived it cause when i die i’ma tell god “send me back to her” and i’ll come down with a smile holding all the balloons you ever let go of as a child wifey material the prize in my cereal crazy for your love i’m coo coo for it it’s so real so genuine got you euphoric thinkin back and reminiscin every instant your inspiration your motivation your clear skies i’ll be the sleeve that wipes the tears from your eyes the confidence you can smile again with i’m your bullet proof vest your staircase your vengeance you fill me with humility the same color that saints blush in you plant flowers in my head the same color as Frida’s used paintbrushes lookin deep into your brown eyes rebounded the sky theres a million fish in the sea but only a handful of angels you make new new’s look like same old same olds i’m so so thankful yours always hide Codes In A poem foR Always your perseverance speaks to me and i can understand it's like i’m bilingual on the soundtrack to my life your the hit single you’re the drinks they serve in the bars i spit watchin that one movie where they say you only get three women in your life well if ones my momma then it’s you i want to have a daughter with stay up late conversate with ya the way you move your lil frame like a shapeshifter come 2 me comfort me i whisper to your courage be strong i’m the supporting cast i’m the paper you write your acceptance speech on feelin the proudest tearin up in the audience i’m cheerin the loudest i’m the sun that follows you to work the light that always hits you right my life is just a de ja vu cause i been dreamin of you every night workin grindin your worth the cryin worth dyin for your perfect timin your the moment i realize everythings come full circle since i met you musics been number 2 you make an underground mc go and do a mcdonalds commercial you show me what i gotta be you’re my pride and joy my honesty whatever happens you’ll always be attached to my heart and i add new lines to this joint everyday the way you add happiness to my heart you’re the apple of my eye like hova ovalookin brooklyn i wanted a friend like you since i was 5 and our apartment was overlookin brooklyn and when you can’t see the road ahead i got eyes for you to look in my hand misses your hand my eyes want you lazy eye since i laid eyes on you trust this no poem could do you justice because this poem is the only place that theres an us in i know someone will always love you so a cold bed, a wet pillow these are things you’ll never know the expression on my face is overjoyed the smile melting in the ashes of a polaroid

VERSE 2: a tension or clash resulting from, the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements suited in elegance loot the benevolent this is kinda like irrefutable evidence Cross tatted in my skin not religious believe in heaven give my dead friends somewhere to kick it rappin cus i can’t promise i’ll die laughin so turn the knob up if i got shot up didn’t pop up like live jasmin word to ayn rand my design damaged it’s kinda like atlas shrugs where lil girls could catch a slug bioshock style pacs style stockpiled, this how keith harring and basquiat sound it's kinda like walkin the game like where the crown at? stanley kubrick flick with a marvin gaye soundtrack lookin at my watch shit it’s now o clock misfits fitted by they ms. chips they want that gunpowder pop they spit that “in the kitchen” like counter tops and end up whisperin that “how we flop” an owl i watch silent like white donut powdered cops white powder snot prowl the block scowlin nothin to rap about what you sellin ounces of weed for if it aint what we bout we out reroutes and detours my click sick cus my clique click like a mouse and a keyboard but feel free to disagree maliciously hate on fuck these assholes like gay porn i say it RIGHT they just say it more sware i should call shenanigans style fatter then the ass on a mission street manequin royal rumble ramblin all my tangents in the ring scramblin to be champion don draper man iimmy mcnulty swiggin jameson when that sweet get salty stompin on beats and my feet get faulty used to listen to my favorite rappers and pay attention but it’s different now that i could stack my rhyme books taller THAN em so break yourself for your fuckin market ask me are you G? (r-u-g ?) like a fuckin carpet plus my shit is vivid so stressed my shit is liquid can’t stomach a stomach i wish i didn’t place coffee in. unfocused, feelin hopeless but kno i’m soblessed every day a taste oxygen zombie jazz insomniac graff on old mitt romneys ads well established hella cabbage gettin saprophytic rap religion. glass ceilng shards in my hair art of martyrdom partisan the more i care the harder to share sneak dissas i aint withya friendly fire critics ho’s at my shows yeah really hope u there nope no sucky double vocal layer ima beast thats why my vocals bear lines like a sudoku player what im sayin super on point like gokus hair hear me bangin on bangin beats same dude you see in the streets assume hes soft like angels sheets i'm shamin sheets of paper with lyrics on em put the mirror on em we reverse engineering on em now we the shit and we smear it on em adderoll flo my catalog go: death infatuation CHECK 2pac name drop CHECK hating on the hating CHECK videogame and or comic book reference CHECK organized verse pertaining to one concept...

CHORUS: move like the man with the butterfly hands move move like the man with the butterfly hands Duck a couple uppercuts, throw a couple jabs move move like the man with the butterfly hands I move like the man with the butterfly hands move move like the man with the butterfly hands Duck a couple jabs so my uppercut lands move move like the man with the butterfly hands verse 1: physically, politically R-O-B and Illy-G Bombay distilleries kill wat my mom enstilled in me still i be acclaimed critically rap religiously graphite wizardry mack like Icky be lemme put it Simply sizzurp, pizzurp, E bitch i pitch epiphanies they screamin fuck you but they cant fuck with me though keep it funky fresh like junkies in tuxedo’s huh hah they got the god with the shakes like he saw god in da face rob concentrate hip hop innovate got what it takes saw a braud with some cakes now we all gettin baked we could all celebrate jean grey in green Jay’s grey jeans on her waist in ya cognititve space tipsy gettin pissy like R Kelly’s dates like hard-hitta mayfield poised and progressin beastie boy complexion peep the boys selection avoid that profession man switch to a new sport i pimp this like too short keep it lit like a newport from frisco to new york Verse 2: Roman smokin dabs and he halfway delirious who is that man with the mask so mysterious car jack yo ass like fast and the furious you assholes delirious I mastered a myriad vanilla illa rap kill the cat like it’s curious yo ass a actor i’m a actual lyricist laxative lyrics factual, spirited rap career peerin in no pact with no pyramid no Corleone no chaperone steerin it they can’t interfere with this period matter fact pick a craft an adhere to it practice all year with it passionate fearless zeros deleterious that lavish luxurious that status that they shackle your heroes with huh hah watch a pattern appear in it i don’t write hooks i throw right hooks i wish 2pac could sees us seize a beat and beat it up eat it up in the taquerias drunk i’m re-in up wrestled with a alligator tussled with a whale handcuffed lightning throwed thunder in jail

take off big bad motherfucker shaft motherfucker box cutter motherfuckers face off nick cage john travolta sober in a room fulla chronic smokers middle fingers up on my wanted poster im the spawn of hova like johnny sober concepts raw like menage a toi’s bad brauds with bras comin off there shoulders am i bout it man i doubt it not like rob been dope like a line a coc sincea condom broke and i swam out it gotta throne made of thrones that i sit atop of im gucci mane scout wocka flocka drunk in the park off taaka vodka beat the beat up no socem boppers i gettin tha booth start shoutin shit j’s so fly call em falcon kicks wanna bes i call em malcovich i'm bout this shit i doubt your bitch wont pout her lips open her mouth and gimme calculus im in the mix ima alchemist yall countin shit? yall counterfeit? malnutrition now you trippin cant fuck this algorithm how im livin? now im livin Cure shirt Blur shirt Gucci mane says burr shirt im berserk word to this murder merger serve words murdered with fervor sure to lure the bird servers servin curbs like its gerber bitch i cap peel a mac miller throwed ima yac spilla flask filler dracula still i feel i rap iller know ima stak scrilla flo zodiac killa we really ready facepalm kreayshawn, lil debbie what that kid say? man i put a candle on that bitch cake im a basketcase go batshit, ape, fuck the game til the matress break ima savage, yeah bitch that shit cray

CASTLE DOCTRINE: AlfaKilo 47 same tool in the hands of the oppressed as the hand of the oppression well i guess theres got suppressors suppressin fire medics and led vests an prior combat experience, furious simulant stimulant aggression a media to discredit your claims of conquest and emergency contact carpet bomb that toastin to peace improbable grabbin at gross domestic product by the pocketful prodigal, methodical psychological warfare subliminal, chemical biological warfare make the invaluable malleable, presidential salary full no knowledge of nihilist diabolical forbears cross bearers crucified on crosshairs yeah you catch tempo and catch temples just to stretch bimbos in stretch limos? i rush Rush limbaughs limo this Full Metal Rappin no chorus is a product, no verse a sales pitch on some snail shit there is no prevailing impale it let entrails drip minin my mind on non violent resistance sky is the limit still you on some chem trail shit huh? nines bang i let my mind bang youth follow suit trials tame a childs brain unfiled claws file fangs rile troops pile loot i think it’s bout time the time came you learned what my reign’s named i cum thought bubbles uncircumsized brain dime dames mamed internal rhyme grind game slang internalized pain of a time tamed suicide stained mind frame cane and fine wine waned fire flame ya sires name trained the same to die in vain but i breathe life through your empires vains (LIFE DURING WARTIME) Talking Heads cover: Schubert, Mott, Sachi, Monkey Wrench Gang, Talking Heads, Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons, packed up and ready to go Heard of some gravesites, out by the highway, a place where nobody knows The sound of gunfire, off in the distance, I'm getting used to it now Lived in a brownstore, lived in the ghetto, I've lived all over this town This ain't no party, this ain't no function, this ain't no fooling around No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain't got time for that now Transmit the message, to the receiver, hope for an answer some day I got three passports, a couple of visas, you don't even know my real name High on a hillside, the trucks are loading, everything's ready to roll I sleep in the daytime, work in the nightime, I might not ever get home This ain't no party, this ain't no function, this ain't no fooling around This ain't no mudd club, or C. B. G. B., I ain't got time for that now Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit? Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.? You oughta know not to stand by the window somebody might see you up there rigged tripwire shotgun fire for the footsteps climbing the stairs I got some groceries, some peanut butter, to last a couple of days But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones, ain't got no records to play Why stay in college? Why go to night school? Gonna be different this time meet at the checkpoints download the bitcoins, just keep the mission in mind This ain't no party, this ain't no function, this ain't no fooling around I'd like to kiss you, I'd love you hold you I ain't got no time for that now Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock, blended in with the crowd” We got computers, we're tapping the phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed We dress like students, we dress like housewives, or in a suit and a tie changed my hairstyle, so many times now, I don't know what I look like You make me shiver, I feel so tender, we make a pretty good team Don't get exhausted, I'll do some driving, you oughta get you some sleep Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks? They won't help me survive My chest is aching, and it burns like a furnace, the burning keeps me alive Get your instructions, follow directions, then you should change your address Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day, what ever you think is best Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks? They won't help me survive My chest is aching, and it burns like a furnace, the burning keeps me alive

CHORUS: Sometimes I wonder If i'll make it past 25 cause most of these days I don't want to be alive Sometimes I wonder If i'll ever make it past 30 with my worst enemy standin so close to me (x2) Robin Black: Drowned my memories in Hennessy cried and cried through my enemies eyes manifest destiny weapons sent from the skies so you never see 25 you survive your sentenced in the penitentiaries life rich wage war poor fight but never side disorganized to never come together desensitized never pleasure never pride never whatever never high never low miseducated my generation gentrification to genocide hide your soul so you never find the truth mind control to hide the heaven the devil never knew was inside of you 7:42 alarm clock ringin 2pac singin "Do for love" what I wouldn't do she naked on the bed standin up tellin me to eat a breakfast of champions she feel me like Helen Keller but I could tell that she's shifty the rhetoric: never let a bitch Elliot Smith me

Robin Black: fourth quarter scoreboard contorter Door to door war endurer lord implorer fortress stormers 4 door porsche floorer port pourer aura tape recorder glory hoarder keyboard story border newport scorer since i was bouta fourth shorter jansport sporter a poor sport, ronin warrior,euphoria thesaurus sorcerer sorta bored of quarter storers that assure adorers short orders spots you could score more of hop you could snort more of false drawers and floorboards for a police force court ordered sure ta floor tha ford explorers if ya short a quarter guilty for tha juror saw ya horrorcore corridor tourer 44 for ya chloroform tha former form of corner store cornered 40 pourer every morning, mourning more and more of lifes a bitch until you think upa betta metaphor for her divorce ahora for a rita ora or a floral jordan sporter smellin like sephora I’m on some foreign shore, floor decor water clearer then a mirror see the starfish on the ocean floor this what you endure a war for you at home ignorin wars im on warpath i want it back i want it back the robin black i let the world have

(Acapella) d to the game d to the names ima feed em the pain to the beat to the street to the hennessy to the weed to the e to the key shot to the c.d. drop like i got the keys to a 3 dot like it be the key to a g spot street sharks eager to eat peewee sleep with the beef see the p pop she bop like c laup bops bebop when i beatbox he bop bops like he cop drops he hot like he drop cops peep when they sleep in a jeep and the beat drop hot wen the reaper creepin to peep pop pop dot ah VERSE 1: I was born in the year of the dragon like bruce lee and brandon man u see me scramblin producin and loopin and samplin who’d have imagined pursuin passion manuever and manage your words into action work it’s demanding verse in a hearse burn up the verse n emerge from it’s ashes studio absent jewelery absent no clue how to master from the roota to the toota to the computer crashes we lose it we lose it we reboot it back up students attuned when i’m tutoring classes despite the lack of assets ima captivate the masses ain’t gon fabricate the facts man ima craft a classic or lay em flat on their asses just one more like a crack attic last hit stretch out the work like i'm Mr. Fantastic polish and practice, volume to the max feels like im walkin on volcanic ashes cross burnt bridges with dug up hatchets gotta hack up all theses back stabbin bastards u dug thru the crates i dug up the caskets look through the glasses of a bad mamma jamma in a black bandana in a black van bumpin rap from atlanta and i be tha cat’s pajamas i was shown the ropes until i rope-a-doped now i unholster toast and coaster cokes from coast to coast that northern California morning to the Hoboken snow what’s up with the album? why you laggin on that i been damagin tracks with elaborate raps i could be the xanax to your panic attack VERSE 2: dean and sara loretta and aaron and aaron and aaron adele jo and marian both of my parents bobby jo derek brandon santiago clarissa patience, johnny ray reynaldo cayetano gary halford noah, gloria yamato jessica jackie genesis jamie emma cammy, don sam and gabby amanda indiana annie martrice primo licy dd gigi bri bri cc jujubees cosmo, trono gerber, steve wishnia n finley peggy dessi nic jesse reggie antoinette, vinny brandon, samra allonte, and timon jase a mase manny shauntelle and christian hozy james adel johnny dame, grace lum, dlocz jari dreus dominique, sally, robbie chad zack, zak jack bobby boom, mark dacquisto nigel rome watsky, daniel, david, jasmine, mark, jj, lumi, sebastian, kathy gin, killa kev jamie dewolf, erika kent, illy, milta, greg, josh healey, ben turner nicole nicky, bizy, kit nishimura casey, scout, simeon jose luis, luba, bob, vadi aedn, dale, analise PEACE

(VERSE 1) Window for heroes and heroines narrowin scared of bein burried in a barren bored authoritarian mortuary that i sware we unaware we in utilitarian parryin Meryl Lynchin americans marriage with aryan arrogance is paraffin in my keratin identity crisis like Erik Erikson paired with our parents perishin presents a present so nightmarish and harrowing in comparison that we parry our prayers to various variants of heirophants shit we dont even care where these chariots carry us just spare us disparagement from unmerited tariffs, the derelict careless sheriffs barell and the hertics lariat and make sure our heir apparent is their to inherit the narrative cuz that shit I prepared is doper than squares of maryland heroin standin bare in the barricks arrogant Gun in your hand like Barret but i just don’t care like american parents you can’t measure my merit in karats holding the hair of a heiress on the terace as ferile as ferrets they’ll parrot my peril til i perish in paris (VERSE 2) Halt ya ultra-violence cocaine caramelizes monopolized minds with all the rhymes you decided to personify crime in homogenized homicide harmonizin i was fathered by it i looked into my fathers eyes with martyrs eyes hell had cauterzed traumatized i sought his guidance he said i hadn’t seen that what the world has to offer eyes is priceless I summarize 2 sides like geminis gutter like Pennywise and im enterprisin haters plood pressure rizin, unfinished buisness between you and I and you can’t hide on jekyll island I fantasize seein out of a revolutions eyes romanticized the event of my demise mai tai’s to the skies tie dyed eyes til my high dies ill still i rise like a high rise the mission economized music commodified everybody high as the price of some carne asada fries everybody rap bout gettin brains and everybody still sound lobotomized commas sodomized my city so please tell these condescending fucking rappers that they really really really do not want it with me the ruler’s back, Robin Black and we could swig some liquor hope you brought ya lighter with ya shit i might just light a swisher til the fire from the pyre of a fire spitter flickers

No One Cares If You Succeed or Fail: Why I Walked 500 Miles... Barefoot: By Julien Smith There are some lessons you can learn from the comfort of your couch– maybe watching a great video on Youtube or chatting with friends. But there are other lessons that come hard. Here is one of them. But first, some background. My girlfriend and I just walked 800 kilometers (500 miles) along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a 1000-year-old pilgrimage route. We did it in Vibram Fivefinger shoes– basically barefoot– on gravel, dirt road, and pavement. 35 days is what it took to complete. In case you’re wondering, walking 6-8 hours a day across gravel, pavement, and dirt roads for a month hurts– sometimes, it hurts a fucking lot. Some people were on beaches for their vacations, but we started Day 1 with a 4,500 foot climb up the Pyrenees. Other days involved walking 20 miles in the cold, rain and mud. Yet others were on blistering plateaus with no shade for up to 6 hours at a time. A casual stroll, this was not. Why would someone choose to do this? Maybe, like John F. Kennedy famously said, we want to do them “because they are hard.” Maybe we are trying to prove to ourselves that we can do it, or to have an amazing experience. We all have our reasons. Some are more insane than others. There are also some paths that you can get off of. Others, you can’t. You’re midway through and you want to finish, at all cost. You’re hurt and cynical and part of you wants to quit, but the other part of you wants it more than ever. Why are we doing these things, anyway? Is it for approval? Do you want to be famous? Do you think that if you just get a little bigger or do something cooler, everything will be great and everyone will love you? Then you’re going to get extremely disappointed by life. No one actually cares whether you succeed or not. Consider the simple finish line. Chris and I were talking the other day about marathons. Finishing means excited fans throwing Gatorade on your head or whatever. They’re excited and they cheer you on and hand you protein bars. They give you a little medal. Maybe you stand on a pedestal or something. You feel briefly invincible. Most finish lines are not like this at all. Not a single person is waiting there to cheer you to the end. No one will change their vision of who you are. No one will love you more– in fact, if they do, run away, because that’s probably not a great person. Midway through our 800km trip, we had this realization. Doing hard things for the approval or love of others is stupid. No one can understand, much less relate, to these kinds of things. Only those that do it have a way of understanding. We heard this from our fellow walkers who had done it before. You would get back, people would listen, but no one could truly get it. The more marginal the experience, the more normal this is. To fight this, they say, you get together with those that have done the same. Only then can you relate. Other people just nod their heads and say “cool,” then move on to talking about the Royal Couple or something. It’s like being in a time warp. You get back home and, for them, nothing happened. At first, this is depressing. “I did this epic thing and no one really cares.” But it isn’t that they don’t care at all– it’s that there’s no way for them to understand the epicness of the experience. The experience is unique and spans a week, a month, a year, or whatever, and it can’t be distilled into one sentence. It’s like a joke. You had to be there. You should be grateful for this. We are in a mass media culture where everything is broadcast for everyone to see. Often, we actually advocate doing so– but there are other things we can’t relate to at all, that can never be presented in a mass media fashion. This means there’s a chance the experience may be truly different. But if no one can relate, what does that mean? Well, to others it means that it doesn’t matter whether you’ve done it at all. It also doesn’t matter to them if you succeed or not. They won’t think of you differently. Basically, you should stop doing stuff to impress people. There’s no point in doing anything except for the value of the experience itself. I’ve seen the same with regards to accolades, such as the phrase New York Times bestseller being attached to your name. People nod, there’s sometimes a brief acknowledgement, and then nothing. It might advance your career or something, but not much else. It’s not like people will like you for it if you’re an asshole. On a personal level, it changes nothing. Yet people continue to search for professional success, or epic experiences, in order to extinguish their crushing inferiority complexes. But this is stupid and it doesn’t work. True respect doesn’t come from accolades, so don’t try to get it there. Try being awesome to each other instead. (I swear to God that should be a blog post. Maybe I’ll do it.) Look, we don’t need any more drones. There is no need for yet another person with a useless degree or another miserable doctor or lawyer who’s in it for the money or the prestige. We don’t need any more people hedging their bets or being safe. We don’t need followers. We need leaders who will bring us where we need to go. In other words… Change the world or go the fuck home. I was hanging out with a couple from France yesterday who just moved to Montreal. They were seriously bewildered at how easy it is to change careers in Canada/America. In France, you don’t have that. when you choose what you’re going to study, that’s what you do for the rest of your life. Imagine an 18 year old deciding for you, at your age, what you’re going to do. It’s insane. I’m about to turn 32, so let me tell you, I’d like to change my mind from time to time. But these French people can’t do that– their education defines their career path. Some things cannot be reversed. If you’re lost in the woods, as I was one day last month (long story), there really is no choice. The only way out is to go through, and that’s a very bad thing. No exit strategy, no way to quit. You have to continue forward until you’re done. This is very depressing. All of us are on quests in one form or another. Some can be quit, while others cannot. If you’re on the path to something you’re pretty sure you don’t want to be doing, may I suggest you fucking stop immediately? Because you are wasting your life. You will die, no one will care, or even know, about all the suffering you went through. The money you’ve accumulated will go to ungrateful descendants who never suffered and it’ll all have been for nothing. So you have two options. Double down or get the fuck out. How to take control of your life again Welcome to the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure section of the post! Option 1. Due to my infinite wisdom, you have now gratefully decided you need to get the hell out of your current situation. You’ve decided it’s pointless and that you’re going to die anyway, so you might as well make a difference in this world or at least be happy on your current path. Congratulations. It’s time to double down. A personal anecdote here might help. I recently realized (more like “accepted”) that it is possible that I have “a voice.” People have been telling me this for a long time, but I never really took it seriously before. Now I accept it, and I’m happy about it. Naturally, it also means I have to work way the hell harder than I did before since I’ve decided it’s something I actually want to do. I’ve decided to double down. How? Well, in order to practice painting, many artists copy Old Masters drawings to help them understand what these great painters did. (It’s actually quite common practice.) So, my first act of insanity is inspired by Hunter S. Thompson. As he once did once a long time ago, I will open up Moby Dick for the first time, go to the first page, and procede to copy the entire book word for word. This, of course, is totally ridiculous, perhaps pointless or insane. I agree. But like a month of walking 800km, there is no way to understand the experience but to walk it. And I am willing to waste a month doing this, if that’s what it takes. Even if it’s pointless. You will need a personal act of insanity. If you’re going to continue and become the best in the world, you must have one. You must prove yourself to the mountain with a sacrifice. And this is the time. Choose now. Make the sacrifice. See what happens. Option 2. Congratulations on quitting the useless shit in your life. As Seth Godin once said in The Dip, if you’re not going to be the best in the world, get the hell out. Glad we agree. It’s time to admit you are wrong and quit. Most of the problem with cutting your ties lies in loss aversion, and nothing more. We have so much trouble because we think that if we break up our long-term relationship, or quit our shit job, we’ll never find anyone again. This is totally nuts, but we believe it anyway. We’re afraid of never getting anywhere again. We think we’re lucky, not smart. We have a feeling that this is as good as it gets. WRONG. You know, one day I’m going to tell the story about this trek and I’m going to say it’s for fucking pussies. I’m going to say it’s the easiest thing in the world. I will be that strong, and I know this. I think that’s the difference. That’s something you need to believe in order to quit and still have your self-esteem with you. You need to realize that it’s a quest, and that quitting the things that don’t matter will give you vision and a better sense of context. But for now, it was hard. Really hard. There’s absolutely no way for me to explain that to people– and I’m fine with that. The same should be true with you. Do epic shit. Quit the mundane. Do it for yourself, and let people be confused. Who cares. Prove yourself to the world, and eventually, the rest will fall into place.

Robin Black: Seven Samurai Mullholland Drive Space Jam Akira Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Return of the Jedi Ghost World Winters Bone Hustle and Flow Apacalypto Ninja Scroll Robocop Rockers Trainspotting Aguirre Wrath of God Tree of Life Life aquatic The Karate Kid Casino Lo Paid in Full Fox and the Hound Chinatown Scarface Unbreakble Millers Crossing, To Kill a Mockingbird Predator Lost boys Enter the Void Juice Forgetting Sarah Marshall The Smartest Guys in the Room Girl on the Bridge Manhattan the Philosopher Kings Dark Days 13 Assassins the Great Happiness Space Carrie the Weatherman Pan’s Labryinth Ray Slumdog Millionaire American Pimp American Prometheus It The Bicycle Thieves Let the Right One In 36 Chambers of Shaolin Inglorious Bastards Invention of Lying Old Boy V for Vendetta The Shining Napoleon Dynamite The Frighteners Kite Runner Remember the Titans Punch Drunk Love Borat Snatch Slackers Collapse Monster Black Swan Kids Citizen Kane Rumble in the Bronx The Good the Bad the Ugly Hurt Locker City of God Good Will Hunting Moonrise Kingdom Si Nombre The Thing Spork Blade 2 Munich Magnolia Synecdoche New York Anchorman Summer of Sam Silence of the Lambs Primer District 9 Becket Menace to Society Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Princess Bride Style Wars Lucky Number Slevin The Prestige Ali Love and Basketball Pulp Fiction Kung Fu Hustle Nightmare Before Christmas Paths of Glory Jiro Dreams of Sushi Blade Runner Putney Swope The Truman Show Princess Mononoke The Following The Exorcist Fresh 25th hour Escape From Alcatraz Maltese Falcon Malcolm X Frida Being John Malkovich American History X Godfather Dawn of the Dead Homeward Bound The Ballad of Jack and Rose Othello O Brother Where Art Thou Hostel Happy Gilmore Garden State Boyz N the Hood Crooklyn Terminator 2: Judgement Day Crumb The Deer Hunter 5 Broken Cameras Undisputed A Huey P. Newton Story Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 10 to Yuma Jumanji Fern Gully Rocky Army of Darkness Antichrist Wages of Fear Godzilla Dangerous Minds Big Lebowski Alfie Last Samurai The Ring Beyond the Mat Michael Clayton World’s Greatest Dad Dead Presidents The Matrix The Collector Stepbrothers Special The Incredibles Cast Away Child’s Play Spirited Away South Central Network There Will Be Blood Blood in Blood Out Dr. Strangelove Fight Club The Royal Tenenbaums The Rules of Attraction Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Mighty Ducks Angela’s Ashes Groundhogs Day Memento Cocaine Cowboys Restrepo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze Vertigo Marwencol Omega Man Revolver Colors London Alice in Wonderland Searching for Sugarman No Country for Old Men The Corporation Black Dynamite John Dies at The End Stalker Gosford Park Art of the Steal Gran Torino Baller Blockin Joes Apartment Seventh Seal .....Under The Skin