Life Quests are the building blocks of knowledge and experience that create the totality of your life. The Life Quests you pursue determine your results and success.

A Life Quest can be envisioned as a block with the vertical axis being knowledge and the horizontal axis being experience. The more you learn, the taller the block is. The more you do, the wider the block is.

These blocks stack and assemble to form who you are. To grow as a person, you need to accumulate more blocks.

There are two types of blocks: foundational and growth.

Foundational Blocks

Foundational Blocks are wider than they are tall. The knowledge may not be deep, but it is used throughout your life, so each experience you have increases the width.

They form the foundation upon which other blocks rest. Foundational blocks are used throughout your life in many different contexts, therefore, they continuously grow wider. You constantly add new foundation blocks that interlock with others to support your life.

Like a building, the more foundational blocks you have, the more stable your life will be, and the higher you can grow.

Without a stable foundation, your life will be wobbly and potentially topple. If that happens, you can rebuild your life again by adding more foundation blocks to support your growth.

Growth Blocks

Growth Blocks are taller than they are wide. They embody the knowledge you accumulate in a particular subject.

As you grow your knowledge, the block gets taller. As you add more experience using that knowledge, it will grow wider.

Growth blocks stack on each other as you grow your knowledge. A growth block will contain knowledge that supports growth in a new or related subject.

Like a stack of building blocks, you may remove a growth block that no longer serves you and replace it with a new one. There is no limit to how high you can stack your growth blocks, provided your foundation is stable.

Summary

I help highly-intelligent achievers complete Life Quests to assemble the life they desire.

The popular adage is that there are no stupid questions - I disagree. When you are in a learning environment or learning mode, it is appropriate to ask questions. But being lazy, unprepared, and disrespectful are the foundation of dumb-*ss questions. Dumb-*ss questions originate from know-it-alls, biased and bigoted people, and garden-variety idiots. Here's how to avoid asking dumb-*ss questions.

What are good questions?

First, let's define a good question.

If you are in a formal learning environment (class, seminar, or instructional setting) with a specific objective to impart knowledge, that is the environment to clarify your understanding by asking questions. Often, when studying a brand new subject, I struggle to see the big picture and how all the individual pieces fit together. A question that bridges what I do understand to what I don't is often the catalyst for the "eureka moment."

When learning something, questions facilitate your deeper and more thorough understanding of the subject.

Second, you may not be in a formal learning setting, but your goal is to learn.

For example, when I meet someone whose profession or hobby I'm not familiar with, I ask a lot of questions. My curiosity and desire to learn put me in a "learning mode," where I grow my knowledge base by incorporating new information. In those cases, I take a proactive role to learn because I know what I don't know.

When you are in a learning mode, your questions help you to gather new information.

What are dumb-*ss questions?

Being in a learning environment isn't carte blanche permission to ask dumb questions.

The questions you ask when learning reveal a lot about who you are and what you know. Questions demonstrate your level of effort, motivation, and intelligence. If you ask a dumb-*ss question, others see it and judge your level of ignorance.

Don't let dumb-*ss questions ruin your reputation.

What do dumb-*ss questions reveal about you?

When you ask a dumb-*ss question in a classroom setting, it often exposes that you are:

• not paying attention. If your question relates to something the teacher has just explained, you're busted! Everyone knows that you missed the key point by not listening.
• lazy. When you don't understand because you didn't do the work, it is painfully obvious to everyone else who did. You expose yourself by demonstrating a lack of effort.
• indeed ignorant. Ignorance is exposed by not understanding the prerequisite or foundational basis the new knowledge relies on. You remain ignorant if you don't learn the underpinning knowledge and the main course material.
• stupid. Stupidity is demonstrated when you don't provide context and make a statement instead of raising a question. "I don't understand ___." is a statement of stupidity. It exposes that you don't know what you don't know.

The statements above may seem harsh and judgemental.

But, people ARE harsh and judgemental. What you know, or don't know, is a basis for others to determine your effort, motivation, and intelligence. You build or destroy your reputation through your conduct and the questions you ask.

The questions you ask reveal what you know and how serious you are about learning.

Calling out intelligent people for being stupid

Intelligent people are not immune from asking dumb-*ss questions.

You've probably had an experience with the classic "know-it-all": someone who attempts to show how smart they are all the time. They are successful at fooling people that know less than them. They have the answer to every question - until they don't.

When they don't have the answer, they run to someone else who knows more than them. They will ask dumb-*ss questions because they don't know as much as they pretend. The dumb-*ss question undermines their credibility and illustrates that they don't have a foundational basis for their professed knowledge.

To an ignorant bystander, "know-it-alls" seem to be smart; but to an expert, their lack of knowledge is demonstrated when they ask dumb-*ss questions.

Your biases, bigotry, or lack of understanding are exposed through dumb-*ss questions.

You expose your core beliefs by the way you ask a question. It is obvious when you slant a question to favor a particular answer. It is glaringly obvious if your bias is due to ignorance of the facts or subject matter.

How you word your question exposes your biases or lack of knowledge.

My observations and experiences

As a life-long learner, I know learning occurs only when you are actively engaged.

The key to learning is knowing what you don't know. To be humble about your existing knowledge and, in particular, areas you don't understand, opens the door to learning from others. Understanding your knowledge gaps helps to frame questions that can fill the void.

To optimize my education, I am acutely conscious of and focused on asking questions that supplement my existing knowledge.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others. Teaching others is one of the most satisfying things I do. I feel good when I can help someone improve their understanding of a subject.

But I've had good experiences and bad ones.

Since I have a background in technology, I often get asked questions about computer hardware, software, cell phones, or the internet. I will go out of my way to help someone who genuinely wants to learn and is willing to invest the effort. Leveraging my knowledge to help solve a technical problem is very satisfying.

When someone doesn't have a clue, but sincerely wants to learn, I am very patient.

I will repeatedly describe, demonstrate, and have them apply the instructions until they understand. I know how ridiculous UX designs have become because developers and companies prioritize beauty, speed, and profit over common sense and usability. The abstract nature of technology is made worse by the design concepts currently in vogue.

I will easily spend hours explaining a simple thing over and over to someone who is trying to understand.

I am less patient with someone who claims to know it all.

I can identify know-it-alls easily. They are confident that they have a full grasp of the situation and can easily solve the problem. They make statements rather than ask questions. They jump to conclusions based on opinions or beliefs rather than facts. Any questions they ask are slanted toward a diagnosis they have already made.

It makes me wonder why a know-it-all would ask someone else for help.

I get it all the time. Mr. Know-It-All says, "My [random software package] is no longer working. The user interface is hung because the bit modulator was overwritten by the quantum separator which overcharged the database."

I ask, "So... how did you come to that conclusion?"

"I read it on [random internet site]."

I respond, "I see. Looks like you have the situation well in hand."

My practice is to extricate myself from any further involvement. Mr. Know-It-All exposes the limit of his knowledge, an inability to understand proper investigative and debugging techniques, and a penchant for believing his opinions are facts. Nothing good ever comes from helping know-it-alls.

When you contradict them and identify the solution, they will argue that you are wrong, because they think they know more.

It is best for all parties concerned to leave them to solve the problem themselves.

Is my approach to know-it-alls mean? Or is it meta-education (teaching them how to learn)?

If the know-it-all comes back with more humility and admits that he doesn't know how to solve the problem, I can help them learn.

Conclusion

The type of questions you ask, and how you ask them, reveal a lot about yourself.

They reveal your effort, motivation, and intelligence. You will be judged by your desire and approach to learning. You cannot hide a lack of comprehension or inept discussion.

You're in trouble if you believe what Alina Habba (hbp's lawyer) says, "I can fake being smart." This concept ONLY works if you deal with people dumber than you. You can't "fake being smart" to someone who is intelligent.

This is true for questions, also; you can't fake a good question. People recognize dumb-*ss questions - even if they don't call you out.

For the sake of your knowledge base, learning efforts, and reputation, please don't ask dumb-*ss questions!

Be Cynical,

TCG

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 6 (You Are Part of a System) posits everyone is part of a system of interdependencies. On a micro level, when you understand how the Cynical World influences individual behavior, you can make choices that empower you. On a macro level, when you recognize how the world operates, you can minimize negative effects and maximize your benefits. You can leverage your understanding to navigate and conquer the Cynical World.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

A nerd's view of the world

We must not only remain open to new information, we must actively seek it out and try to gain a more complete understanding of the world as it really is.
- Hyrum W. Smith

I'm a computer nerd/geek; it colors how I perceive the world. I use Computer Science concepts to analyze and understand the world around me.

For example, when you see a "person", I see a "system" (definition: "a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole") that reacts to stimuli. When I conceptualize a person as a system, I use the same analysis techniques used to debug a computer program.

The simplest abstraction of a computer program is a black box (I don't know what is inside or how it works). The only thing I can do is provide inputs (stimulus) and observe the outputs (response). A computer program functions properly when the output is what is expected (given particular inputs). A computer program fails or "has a bug" when the output differs from expectations.

Debugging a program consists of creating inputs and monitoring the output. Using this technique, you can determine what is happening inside the black box.

For example, if I input the number 1 and the output is 2, I assume what is happening inside the black box. There is a mathematical calculation being made, but, at this point, I have insufficient observational data to determine what the calculation is. It could be adding 1 to the input, or multiplying the input by 2 as illustrated by the diagram below.

When I provide additional inputs and monitor the output, I improve my understanding of what the system is doing.

After this set of observations, I conclude that the input is being multiplied by 2.

This may seem like a trivial example, but this is the building block of every computer system. A computer program consists of a series of connected black boxes where the output of one black box becomes the input of another. By connecting the individual computing bits and building logic in some black boxes, a computer program can consume inputs, make calculations/decisions, and produce an output. When we create a network of interconnected black boxes, we create a larger system that accomplishes some function.

Individuals are black boxes

This may seem impersonal, however, it's true: a person is like a black box. You do not know what is going on inside a person's head. To understand a person, you need to observe the inputs and outputs. What was the stimulus (input) and how did the person react (output)?

Like the illustrations above, you need to make many observations to begin to understand a person. If you base your conclusion on one observation, say a "first impression", then you may be wildly incorrect. When you gather more data through observation, you improve the quality of your hypothesis about the person.

If you feel this approach is ridiculous, you do it ALL THE TIME. When you meet someone, do you ask them a question? From their response, you begin to form a picture of who they are. The more you interact with another person, the better you understand them. It happens by monitoring inputs and outputs while you engage with a person.

Of course, people are more complicated than the simple mathematical example provided above. There is a whole lot of processing going on inside someone's head. Multiple stimuli and a complex interplay between them contribute to the final reaction. That is one of the many challenges in understanding others.

Individuals are a combination of systems

A person is a combination of multiple systems, all working together. Each system (circulatory, digestive, muscular, respiratory, etc) performs its unique and dedicated function to support the person as a whole. All these systems are interdependent. If you start running, the muscular system is loaded and requires more nutrients. A signal is sent to the circulatory system to provide more blood and nutrients, therefore the heart beats faster. In turn, sensing oxygen depletion, the respiratory system increases the breathing tempo. A healthy, functioning human being requires all the systems to operate together efficiently.

If there is a breakdown or issue with one bodily function, the impact on the person becomes apparent. A problem can cascade and multiply as physical systems provide incorrect outputs into the inputs of another system. Degraded operation of any critical bodily subsystem results in suboptimal performance of the entire system.

Groups form systems from subsystems

When two or more people get together, a new system is created as each individual interacts with others. Their outputs (what they say and do) are inputs to the other participants. For meaningful interactions to occur, an agreement on communication protocols and behavioral standards must be established. Without rules to guide interaction, communication and positive outcomes are unattainable.

A cell phone uses established protocols (Wi-Fi, cell networks, internet, HTTP) to communicate. Without adherence to common standards, an Android phone could not communicate with an Apple or wired phone. It is the same with people; you need a common language to share meaning with another person.

Axiom 5, Culture Imposes Standards discusses how the standards of human communication and behavior are established and used. People who adopt a particular culture form a system with common goals. They can act with common protocols (language, religion, beliefs) and common standards of behavior (customs, food, dress). By participating in a specific culture an individual becomes part of a larger system of collaborators.

The cultural system performs a specific function that benefits the group. The benefit is achieving one or more goals on the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, economic, or spiritual dimensions.

Civilization exists because people find benefits in working together. To facilitate working together, people invented systems that provide discrete services to accomplish specific tasks. For example, we have manufacturing systems, road systems, retail systems, and banking systems to facilitate the creation, distribution, and payment of goods. Our society and lifestyle couldn't exist without all these systems working together.

A common and familiar system is an organization or business. A business brings multiple people together to work towards a common goal. Within the enterprise, there are many interdependent systems, like accounting, administration, human resources, marketing, purchasing, and sales. A business acts like a person in many ways; some business types are even afforded the same legal standing as an individual.

Like the body, when one system fails it impacts other systems. Think about the impact of a utility system failing. If electricity is interrupted, our modern systems are so interdependent that there would be serious cascading effects causing failures of other systems. Failure of a single critical system significantly impacts our quality of life.

Western civilization is dependent on the systems that support it. You are intimately tied to and dependent on the systems that comprise the modern world. Even if you do not DIRECTLY use a system, you still depend on it if it's used by a system you DO rely on. Our world consists of interdependent systems that keep us fed, informed, entertained, and comfortable.

You may argue that a hermit living off the grid is not dependent on any systems in the world. But for that to be true, the hermit must mine, smelt, and manufacture all the metal tools he uses. Hermits in the modern world still require the goods and services produced by society. The only group that could be considered independent of the global community is an isolated tribal society untouched by modern technology.

Our planet's systems keep us alive. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat exist because of the diverse and interconnected systems on our planet.These systems provide everything we need to survive.

Man-made systems have been added to provide convenience and comfort. Our engineered systems are often poorly integrated with the fundamental, natural systems around us.

Humans have jeopardized our existence by altering the inputs, processes, and outputs of our planet's systems. Humans are constantly impacting and testing the resiliency of our planet to compensate for our actions.

Systems need feedback

"Input ➜ Process ➜ Output" is a useful abstraction to understand how many things work. We can use this mental model to understand even the most complex system. Each "Process" is composed of multiple "Input ➜ Process ➜ Output" black boxes that are chained together. Every process can be decomposed into simpler blocks, over and over, until we arrive at the level of detail we want to analyze and understand.

I have purposely kept the model simple to illustrate the key attributes of a system (person, organization, society, engineered, or functional) to discuss and understand the nature of connectedness between individual systems that contribute to a larger system.

The key piece that needs to be added to complete our mental model is "feedback." Feedback is "the transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event, or process to the original or controlling source."

Every properly functioning system needs feedback.

The purpose of feedback is to regulate the process that produces an output. We generalize feedback as positive or negative; positive feedback encourages the process to increase the output, while negative feedback signals the process to decrease the output. Modulating output is not limited to increasing or decreasing an output, feedback may stimulate other actions like a decision, branching, or looping.

Systems can run amok when there is no mechanism to rein in the process. You have heard the annoying screech of a microphone - this occurs because the microphone picks up a louder and louder sound from the amplifier. A proper sound system incorporates techniques that counteract the conditions that cause the screech.

Feedback is occurring all the time and at all levels. When you feel hungry, you eat. When you feel tired, you sleep. When your child does something wrong, you scold them. When you don't like something a friend does, you frown at them. When a teammate isn't performing well, you coach them. When a business is not profitable, it cuts costs and/or increases sales. When you are not happy with a bureaucratic decision, you complain. When the people are unhappy with the government, they elect new representatives. When water evaporates and enters the atmosphere, it condenses and falls as rain. When the sun shines, plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Feedback is the key process that ensures systems perform effectively and efficiently. We need feedback, both positive and negative to guide our decision making.

Systems are independent and interdependent

I use the black box (system) abstraction to analyze and understand everything around me. I use decomposition to break a complex system into smaller pieces I can understand. I look for the feedback loops that regulate a process or system to understand dependencies.

Systems are independent - that is, they perform their processing (calculating and decision-making) internally, within the system boundaries.

Systems are interdependent because some inputs may come from another external system. When we have external inputs then both systems participate and create a larger system. Inputs from other external systems are part of the feedback process of the larger system.

The term "holistic" ("relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts") refers to the comprehensive, all-inclusive, and interdependent nature of the world we live in. You feel the effects from the systems you directly participate in, even if there are unknown and distant systems that have contributed. You affect the systems you interact with which are felt downstream (Butterfly Effect). The more aware you are of the holistic nature of the world, the better you understand the impact we make on each other and the world at large.

So what?

You are surrounded by systems. You interact with systems. You are a system.

The black box system model provides a means to understand every system (or process) you encounter. You can choose the level of decomposition or aggregation depending on the context you wish to understand.

On the micro level, your focus is on all the systems you interact with DIRECTLY. This includes yourself (body and mind), inputs you receive (see, hear, smell, touch, and taste), and outputs you produce (thoughts, feelings, and actions). You control some processes, such as what you think, feel, and do. Other processes you do not control, such as the beating of your heart. Understanding these concepts helps you appreciate and control your environment to produce desired results. In addition, you need to remember that all your actions (outputs) provide feedback to other systems you directly interact with (people, business, or nature).

On the macro level, you can only reason about all the systems that INDIRECTLY affect you. You may have a book in your hand, but the creation and acquisition of that book is the result of many external systems that you do not interact with or control. You may have bought the book, in which case you interacted DIRECTLY with the selling and payment system at the time of purchase, which is the micro level described above. You did not directly interact with all the systems and processes that produced and distributed the book. Most of the inputs you consume daily are created by unseen, interdependent systems producing the goods and services of the modern world.

By understanding the interconnectedness of the modern world, you will understand how to work on and in the interdependent systems that intersect with your life.

TL;DR

• A simple system abstraction is a "black box"
• A black box receives an input and produces an output
• By observing the inputs and outputs, we can deduce the process
• An individual is a black box, we need to observe to deduce what they are thinking
• Individuals are a combination of internal systems
• Individuals in a group are subsystems of a larger system
• Systems require feedback to function properly
• Systems are independent and interdependent
• Systems thinking helps you understand:
  • the systems that you DIRECTLY interact with
  • the interdependence of systems that INDIRECTLY contribute to your life

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part six of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide). Go to part one: Axiom 1: People are Selfish.

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 5 (Culture Imposes Standards) posits that "culture" imposes constraints on how you think and behave. On a micro level, when you understand "cultural brainwashing," you can appreciate people as they are. On a macro level, when you recognize the influences of culture, you can regain control and counter negative persuasion. You will appreciate the influences that social, economic, religious, political, geographic, and psychological standards have on beliefs, behavior, and success.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

What is culture?

Culture is "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group."

When many people exhibit similar behaviors, it is called "culture." Participation in a specific culture means acceptance of the associated group norms and values. Everyone then exhibits identical behavior. Thus, an individual is influenced by these cultural group standards.

A person's cultural influences affect how they think and behave. Examples of cultural influences are language, beliefs, ethnicity, education, traditions, customs, art, music, literature, or symbols. When we belong to a group, we emulate and participate according to the acceptable principles, values, and norms of the group.

Every workplace has a unique culture (positive, neutral, or negative). The corporate culture significantly affects mental health, performance, and satisfaction. Ultimately, the performance of the company is influenced by the quality of its culture.

Are you an oddball?

Do you always comply with your primary cultural norms? If you don't, you may be labeled in a spectrum of non-compliance from major (oddball, weirdo, or crazy) to minor (eccentric, quirky, or unconventional).

Those labels denote a person who doesn't comply with cultural norms in some way. The degree to which the custom is challenged determines the harshness of the label applied. If you cross the line of acceptable variance, you may be punished by or banished from the tribe.

No one wants to attract the wrath of their community, so compliance with the cultural standards is the result. It's what is constantly happening around you.

Few people think about what is happening and why.

How independent are you?

Do you think and act independently?

I used to think that I did. But when I analyzed my motivation and behavior, I realized I was constrained. I did act independently - but only within the boundaries of the culture I accepted.

As a youth, I rebelled against religious teachings. I witnessed too much hypocrisy to continue with the faith. That was my first experience of REAL independence. It was the first time that I challenged the norms in my family.

Until that event, like most people, I thought I was living my life as I chose. I believed I was living autonomously, making decisions, and controlling my behavior. However, I realized I was a lemming - following the crowd, doing what everyone else was doing, having a similar perspective, and behaving in the same manner.

That revelation set me on a different path: discovery and understanding. I realized that much of what I thought, how I behaved, and who I was had been programmed by external forces and factors.

I wondered, "Why is that?" I contemplated my situation and concluded...

I've been brainwashed

Culture is an external force that establishes the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Culture establishes the conventions for what you think and how you conduct yourself. All the cultural influences you experienced contributed to creating who you are today.

Because we are sentient beings with free will, we think that we are making the choices that we WANT to make. I suggest that most of your decisions are predisposed to succumb to the cultural values you have been indoctrinated with. Yes, you may have a wide latitude of decision-making power and behavior, but only within the confines of the conventions you accept.

The more you adhere to convention, the more you've been brainwashed!

Religion is a prime example of brainwashing. There are dozens of competing theologies, all with the same premise that their beliefs and practices are the one true way. Who is right? None can provide physical, scientific proof that their deity exists; it is only their fervent belief that supports their religion. What all believers fail to acknowledge is that no matter how large a following there is for their brand of religion, there are ALWAYS more people who believe something else.

Brainwashing isn't bad

You may have an emotional reaction when I discuss brainwashing. If so, it is because you associate the negative connotation, defined as "a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas."

That's the meaning most people think of first because it conjures up an image of bad actors such as cult leaders, dictators, or supervillains. I understand if your thoughts go there first - you've been brainwashed to think that way...

Can you name anyone you know, have read, or heard about who has not associated brainwashing with a bad context?

The negative connotation arises because it is associated with being forced to accept a contrarian idea. You consider yourself in control and don't succumb to pressure to adopt a different idea/concept/belief if you disagree with it already.

There is a second definition of brainwashing, which I prefer, "persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship." This is what is happening in the Cynical World.

If you are still feeling offended, you may substitute a different word. That's fine with me. Brainwashing has many names: education, religion, social norms, culture, marketing, and advertising. These may be more innocuous and acceptable words, but the underlying purpose is the same - to influence your beliefs and actions. You can use these other words - but it doesn't change the fact that it is simply brainwashing. You can use softer words if you wish, but I find that "brainwashing" is the most accurate and descriptive of what is occurring.

Brainwashing is the fundamental process by which "social norms" are created. Civilization can't function without "rules"; these rules are indoctrinated into you as you participate in your culture. You behave congruent with the customary beliefs of the various racial, ethnic, religious, social, economic, geographical, or employment groups.

This is a necessary aspect of modern civilization. We must understand the rules and behave within their constraints. If you deviate from acceptable behavioral boundaries, you will suffer consequences. Therefore, you modulate your behavior to comply with established group standards.

My point isn't that brainwashing is bad; my point is that most people are UNAWARE they've been subjected to brainwashing. When you do not realize that it is occurring you become vulnerable to its effects. My goal is to raise awareness so you can take back control.

Taking control

As Axiom 3, You Are Your History states, everything that happens to you makes you who you are today. The issue I want you to contemplate is that the earliest and most influential brainwashing occurred without your knowledge or consent. It was fate that you were born in a particular time, place, and circumstances. You were subjected to the influences of the inherited environment (family, social, economic, cultural, psychological, chronological, and geographical situation).

Have you ever pondered, "Where did my beliefs come from?" If you are fully self-aware, you have tackled this question.

You will acknowledge the influences that have contributed to your success and well-being. You can continue to reinforce those behaviors that were beneficial. By strengthening the behaviors that make you happy, you live a well-adjusted, balanced, and productive life.

You may recognize that some aspect of your brainwashing has had a detrimental effect on your life. Through assessment and measurement, you can determine which negative influences or traumas have caused you pain and suffering. If you go to the next step, self-improvement, you can deprogram yourself and substitute beliefs and behaviors that serve you better.

You can take control of your ongoing brainwashing. The books you read, the movies you watch, and the people you associate with: are all complicit in influencing your thinking. Everything happening in your world, everything you participate in (family, friends, social media), and everything you seek to learn is part of your developing history. You are empowered to choose what influences you let in, what beliefs you hold, and how you behave.

You are empowered to be the you that you want.

So what?

When you acknowledge that acceptance of your culture is acceptance of the associated brainwashing, you can assess if it benefits you. You do not need to accept the shortcomings and negative impacts on your life. You are empowered to make changes.

If you understand yourself, in the context of brainwashing, you will have a better understanding and appreciation of others. You will be able to identify the cultural influences that contribute to their beliefs and behavior. It can help you become more aware, tolerant, and compassionate of people with diverse views.

When you understand someone's cultural biases, you can identify and use those levers to motivate and encourage positive behavior. Knowing how to respect and empathize with various cultural groups is a human relations superpower. Everyone's life is enhanced when you learn to appreciate the underlying influences that underpin someone's identity.

When you understand the mechanism of cultural brainwashing, you become attuned to how others attempt to influence you for their gain. You can protect yourself from others leveraging your selfishness in an adverse or harmful manner. You can immunize yourself from messages that attempt to sway your point of view and influence your thinking. You can maintain control and not react emotionally to manipulative communications.

By understanding the effects of brainwashing, you can control how you react to stimuli and how to influence others.

TL;DR

• When many people exhibit similar behaviors, it is called "culture"
• Culture influences thinking and behavior
• Adherence to cultural standards constrains behavior
• The more you adhere to convention, the more you've been brainwashed!
• The definition of brainwashing I use is "persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship"
• Recognizing brainwashing exists is empowering:
  • respecting and empathizing with other cultural groups is a human relations superpower
  • maintaining control against manipulative communications benefits you

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part five of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide).

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 4 (Interacting With Others) posits your personality varies depending on who you interact with. On a micro level, when you recognize you reveal a different personality depending on the situation, you can consciously improve your behavior. On a macro level, when you recognize how your interactions influence others, you can improve your relationships and impact on others. You will understand why behavior changes depending on the person and situation and how to relate, involve, and inspire others.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

What I learned

When I was younger, my father would take my brother and me "people watching" in the city park. Like him, I found it fascinating to observe people. Although we didn't directly interact with anyone, you could sense their personalities by how they behaved.

Some people walked with confidence and didn't give way. Others showed deference or timidness and moved out of the way. Occasionally, I sensed fear from a person intimidated by a crowd of people.

Groups of colleagues and friends behaved differently; a work group was more reserved, while friends openly displayed their personalities. They may have a balanced conversation among the group, or there may be one dominant speaker. Often, a hierarchy of power would be evident.

Observing how strangers interacted intrigued me.

In my teen years, I experimented with people to see how they would react. Later, in my career, I continued to stimulate people in unexpected ways to see how they would respond.

All of these experiments and observation was the genesis of Cynical Theory.

What is personality?

Who you are is an expression of what you THINK. What you think is only observable if you DO something that EXPOSES your thoughts.

When you express who you are, it's called "personality." Personality is "the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual."

Cynical Theory, Axiom 3, You Are Your History posits that you are unique because your experiences are different from anyone else.

Your personality is shaped by the family, social, economic, cultural, psychological, chronological, and geographical environment you live in.

All of these experiments and observations were the genesis of Cynical Theory.

What influences personality?

Our motivation and behavior are influenced by the myriad of experiences - whether good, neutral, or bad - we've had. It is the significant events that occur that imprint and leave a lasting effect on our personalities.

Often, we are not aware of the effects an event has had on us. These events can be forgotten, repressed, or unnoticed. We may not recognize how a past incident influences our current decisions and behavior.

For example, you may grow up in a loving or abusive environment. Your personality reflects the environment you grew up in.

But there can be exceptions. Someone who experienced an abusive environment may apply Axiom 2 (Overriding Concern), and consciously decide that they do not want to replicate the abusive behavior. People make a choice (consciously or subconsciously) about how to react to the circumstances they experience.

A person's primary personality traits are influenced by significant ordeals and events they experience.

Micro versus macro behavior

Up to this point, the discussion of Cynical Theory has been a "micro" point of view. It is solely about a person. Axioms 1, 2, and 3 are about analyzing and understanding the motivations and behavior of a single person. Micro refers to the small span of impacts an individual accumulates and internalizes based on their experiences and traumas.

Axioms 4 through 6 have a "macro" point of view. They describe how a person interacts with others or the world at large. These macro influences occur when an individual encounters and reacts to other people and situations.

Specific observable motivation and behavior can be attributed to micro and macro stimuli.

You have many personalities

If personality is the outward display of who you are, you should recognize that you behave uniquely with different combinations of people or situations.

You have various roles such as parent, child, or sibling. In each of those roles, you display a distinctive persona. As a parent, you teach, discipline, and protect your child. As a child, you learn and grow by pushing boundaries. As a sibling, you vie for attention and status within the family unit.

In each role, you display a unique personality. As an "older" sibling, you may care for younger siblings. As a "younger" sibling, you may expect an older sibling to do things for you or protect you. A middle child may swing between either, depending on which sibling they are interacting with. You behave differently in each role.

Similarly, in your career, you may have many roles (supervisor, peer, subordinate). In each of your roles, you will display unique characteristics. You will emphasize particular aspects of your personality (through behavior) congruent with the expectation of each role.

You display a different personality (behavior) depending on the situation you are in.

Every person evokes a different you

You can observe your behavior when you are with people.

Some people you may like; some people you may dislike. You may treat some people with respect, and others with disdain. Why is that?

It's because every person, with their characteristics, uniquely stimulates your personality. The interplay between their personality and yours triggers a particular combination of intellect, emotion, and behavior.

How you interact with one colleague is different than how you interact with another. The situation may be the exactly same, but you will respond in a dissimilar manner with each individual.

You are different with different people.

You evoke a different personality in others

If others evoke a different personality in you, it is reasonable to expect you to evoke a different personality in everyone else, too.

You may see a colleague who is distrustful and obnoxious with teammates but is comfortable and works with you. You may observe a colleague withhold information from others, while they share everything with you. We've all had bosses, teachers, or friends who treat people differently, even in the same circumstances.

Similar to how each person evokes distinct aspects of your personality, you also stimulate a unique combination of characteristics in others.

So what?

In the Cynical World, we accomplish things with and through others.

When you understand that other people bring out particular aspects of your personality (behavior), you can monitor and evaluate your reaction to them. With awareness, you gain control of yourself and possess an opportunity to choose or modify your behavior.

The biggest benefit of this awareness is that you can minimize the manipulative effects of the Cynical World. Manipulation abounds in the Cynical World as individuals, organizations, and governments seek to influence your thoughts and behavior. Your ability to recognize when your selfishness is being used against you fortifies you against the negative influences of social media, sales, and marketing.

Conversely, if you are a manager, leader, or influencer, it provides a framework to understand how you can work with others to achieve your goals. Your personality (behavior) provides the leverage for you to "win friends and influence people."

By understanding the macro effects of behavior, you can proactively modify your personality to protect and enhance your life.

TL;DR

• Personality is "the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual"
• Your personality is exposed when you DO something
• Motivation and behavior are influenced by both micro and macro stimuli
• You have many personalities depending on the person or situation
• You evoke a different personality in others
• The concept we are different with different people helps you:
  • evaluate how other people influence your behavior and stop abuse
  • consider and control how your personality (behavior) influences others

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part four of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide).

Understanding a person's history provides insight into their personality, motivation, and behavior.

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 3 (You Are Your History) posits you are who you are due to your experiences and traumas. On a micro level, when you take the time to understand someone's history, you can intuit how their personality was formed. On a macro level, when you study history, you can discern the generational effects of demographics. You will recognize how life experiences, both good and bad, shape a person's personality.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

You are your history

Everything that has happened to you in the past has made you who you are today.

That is why we are all unique. Our experiences are unique. Our situation is unique.

If you stop to think about it, the person you are today is not the same person you were a decade ago. You have changed - some you initiated, some were forced.

When you think about the path that you took to get to where you are today, you should recognize significant events that have influenced who you are.

The entirety of your life story comes together as YOU.

How do we know you?

I am unaware of techniques or technologies that can reliably read your mind. Therefore, I can never know what you are thinking. Therefore, how does anyone know who you are?

The only way for someone else to "know" you is if you DO something.

It is only through action (speaking, writing, doing) that others observe WHO you are. "Actions speak louder than words" is a parable that reinforces this concept. Of course, writing (words) is a form of communication (along with body language, fashion, hobbies, interests, and employment) that exposes an aspect of who you are.

Who you are is an expression of what you THINK. What you think is only observable if you DO something that EXPOSES your thoughts.

When you express who you are, it's called "personality." Personality is "the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual."

Your unique history endows you with your unique personality.

What factors influence personality?

The major factor determining who you become is something you didn't choose or control.

It is fate.

Each of us was born into a time and space that wasn't of our choosing. You inherited the parents, family, social, economic, cultural, psychological, chronological, and geographical environment you grew up in.

All of these factors influence who you become.

For example, your attitude and relationship with money is influenced by the financial situation you grew up in. If you were poor and struggled to eat and survive, you may be driven to acquire wealth. If you were rich, with a spoon in your mouth, you may feel entitled. Your personality will be affected differently depending on your experiences.

A similar environment may result in two different personalities. One poor person may lack ambition and be resigned to that station in life. Another poor person may be driven to become rich.

The actual situation you experience does not determine your personality; your response to a situation influences the person you become.

Significant events influence personality

Our motivation and behavior are influenced by the myriad of experiences, whether good, neutral, or bad, we've had. It is the significant events that occur that imprint and leave a lasting effect on our personalities.

Often, we are not aware of the effects an event has had on us. These events can be forgotten, repressed, or unnoticed. We may not recognize how a past incident influences our current decisions and behavior.

For example, you may grow up in a loving or abusive environment. Your personality reflects the environment you grew up in.

But there can be exceptions. Someone who experienced an abusive environment may apply Axiom 2 (Overriding Concern), and consciously decide that they do not want to replicate the abusive behavior. People make a choice (consciously or subconsciously) about how to react to the circumstances they experience.

A person's primary personality traits are influenced by significant ordeals and events they experience.

What is a trauma?

We all experience "trauma" in our lives (trauma is "an emotional upset"). Trauma may be good or bad and positively or negatively affect you.

Your traumas have a lasting effect on you.

There is a common theme in self-development courses or literature that proposes that you must take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. They teach some version of: you control what happens in your life, you are responsible for your choices, and you are responsible for your results.

I attended a seminar in which the message was you "attract" everything that happens in your life. This is an empowering point of view for most people, but it can be extremely triggering for someone who has suffered a severe trauma in their life, particularly if they didn't make the choice or have control of the outcome.

One attendee couldn't reconcile the presentation with her trauma. She had been sexually assaulted in her youth and the message that she "attracted" the experience was a bridge too far.

My heart ached for the woman - the instructor didn't understand that his word choices triggered her. She (understandably) didn't feel that she was responsible for "attracting" the assault. Unfortunately, he didn't comprehend how his approach was making her feel.

He didn't comprehend that the real teaching of the course was that we "attract" the future we want. He continued to imply she had attracted the trauma in some way.

Her trauma was deep. It had scarred her and affected her life in many ways. Listening to her, I could feel the pain she experienced and how it had devastated her self-esteem.

She was at the course seeking a way to make sense of what had happened and to overcome the trauma inflicted on her. Her trauma had come to define her and her outlook on life.

Had he understood and acknowledged that the course's point of view was an "aspiration for the future", rather than a "rule" that applied to the past, he may have reached her. He should have recognized that she was a victim - without control and responsibility for the event - therefore she didn't "attract" the trauma. He should have explained she could empower herself by not letting the trauma continue to exert control over her future behavior and she could "attract" the experiences and life she wanted.

Unfortunately, the woman walked out of the course with her trauma unreconciled.

This was an important lesson. It brought into full focus Habit 1 of Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: between stimulus and response, you have a choice. The course was about making CHOICES to "attract" what you want.

This event was a "trauma" to me - it caused an emotional upset. I remember it vividly. It has influenced my thinking about motivation and behavior and contributed to Cynical Theory. It was a vivid exposé of the consequences of not understanding that "responsibility" does not refer to what happens to you, but refers to how you respond to an event.

Not all traumas are negative; the experience had a profound positive impact on my attitude and perspective.

Unless you identify and confront the negative traumas in your past, they will continue to impact your life.

How do I apply this?

In my career, I worked on project teams with many different organizations. In the project environment, I interacted with various levels of personnel (executives, managers, supervisors, staff, and consultants).

A project is created by assembling a group of experts and having them work toward a common goal. One of the key factors for project success is being able to work together.

When I met the team, I used a technique to assess if someone was a team player. During the small talk, and chit-chat to get to know someone, I asked if they ever played team sports in school. Even if they don't play sports, everyone has a hobby. It spurred a conversation and built rapport.

But my ulterior motive was to determine if they were a team player.

My experience dealing with hundreds of people in the corporate world led to an observation that "team players" had often played sports. There were exceptions, some people who didn't play sports were still team players; digging deeper, they had other influences that contributed to an attitude of helping and supporting.

But I found a high correlation that people who were NOT team players had NEVER played sports. This is not a statement of scientific fact; it is my experience and observation.

I used knowledge of a person's history to inform my expectations of their future behavior and work effectively with them.

So what?

There are many theories and tests to identify personality traits (see reading list below).

For example, the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator is a common test to identify major personality characteristics. This test provides a snapshot of your personality when you take it.

My experience is that MBTI is remarkably accurate in identifying my dominant personality type (ISTJ). Understanding your own and other personality type characteristics can help you communicate and work with others effectively.

But, unless you provide the results of a personality test to me, I can only guess your major personality traits. I must interact, observe, and judge your personality based on your behavior. That is what we do every day in our interactions with others. We expose our personality; we observe others' personality.

However, the tests do not provide any insight into the WHY of your personality. For that, I look to your history.

I ask questions to understand a person's history, WHY they are, and WHO they are. Since people love to talk about themselves, they reveal a lot about their past when asked. By understanding their history, I can interpret their behavior in the context of their life experiences with empathy and compassion. It allows me to be more effective and efficient.

Your biggest self-development improvements can be achieved by analyzing the traumas that occurred in your life and determining how they affected your personality (either positively or negatively). Through introspection, you can decide what is working for you (and what is not) and make changes to improve your life.

When I understood the traumas that affected my life negatively, I consciously reconciled the events and implemented changes that improved my life.

Summarizing Cynical Theory, I have posited: that you have selfish motivations that drive your behavior (Axiom 1 & Axiom 2); through living a life, you create your history (Axiom 3) which is exposed as personality; your personality, in turn, affects your motivation and behavior.

TL;DR

• You are your history
• Your personality is exposed when you DO something
• Traumas are emotional upsets
• Your personality is influenced by your accumulated experiences and traumas
  • some traumas are negative and harmful
  • some traumas are positive and inspiring
• The concept You Are Your History helps you:
  • understand others with empathy and compassion
  • analyze your negative traumas and implement changes to improve your life

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part three of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide).

Additional Reading:

Personality Overview
What Is Personality?
Theories of Personality
The Psychology of Personality Development

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 2 (Overriding Concern) posits that one's selfish interests can be curbed by a stronger desire. On a micro level, you can recognize why some behave compassionately and generously to others, while others recklessly hurt themselves. On a macro level, when you realize how and why people rationalize their desires, you can control and leverage motivation. You will understand why people behave unselfishly for the betterment of others or why they harm themselves.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

People are selfish

Cynical Theory, Axiom 1 posits that: People Are Selfish.

The argument was: "selfishness" is the foundation of human motivation. Selfishness is the primary motivator of human behavior: everyone is out for themselves.

If you believe you have the power to CHOOSE, you must agree that whatever choice you make, is driven by what you want. If you choose to get what you want, your choice is inherently selfish.

We have free choice; so why wouldn’t you make choices to benefit yourself? Choosing your self-interest is the fundamental concept of Cynical Theory. (That is why I chose the word “cynical” — that’s what it means.)

To be clear, the first axiom, People Are Selfish, refers to the motivation behind a CHOICE someone makes.

Don’t confuse motivation with behavior

You may behave selfishly or unselfishly, but the CHOICE is always made by you (which inherently makes it a SELFISH CHOICE).

Motivation is the impetus or reason WHY you do something; behavior is WHAT actions you take to satisfy your motivation.

When someone acts selfishly, you assume that their motivation must be selfish. It may be harder to see that when someone acts unselfishly, their motivation is still selfish.

The key to understanding my point of view is to separate motivation (what a person thinks) from behavior (what a person does).

But... I was “forced” to...

The simplest analogy is that even when someone is threatened or coerced to do something (behavior), they decide based on their self-interest (motivation).

For example, there may be tasks you don't like to perform at work. Selfish behavior would be to neglect those tasks and leave them for someone else. But you do the task, anyway.

I agree that your behavior was unselfish - you are a team player!!!

But what was your motivation?

You made a CHOICE to perform the tasks. Maybe you don't want to lose your job. Perhaps you are the only one with the skills to do the task. Maybe someone asked nicely. Whatever the reason or justification, you made the choice.

The choice was made to achieve something YOU WANTED (not lose your job, personal achievement, team player, help a colleague, ... whatever).

Your choice is the motivation for your behavior.

Your motivation is always selfish.

Always!!!

Are there exceptions?

If we hold that Axiom 1, People Are Selfish, is true, we have two incongruencies in observable behavior.

First, people may not act selfishly. Second, people may act in a way that is harmful to themselves.

What you are observing is behavior - not motivation.

Sometimes people don't act selfish

As discussed above, we are capable of choosing to behave unselfishly.

Let's analyze a soldier. They want to live but are trained to run headlong into danger, knowing they may lose their life.

It is also true of many careers, like policing or firefighting, where they willingly enter dangerous situations. If you are a parent, you know you will risk your life to save your child.

We can conclude that there is something that overrides one's selfish desire for self-preservation.

What overrides selfish motivation?

An overriding concern is often based on principles. A higher purpose will displace a strongly felt personal motivation.

Soldiers, police, and firefighters place themselves in harm's way based on principles of service, brotherhood, liberty, altruism, or honor.

When a person's behavior is incongruent with an obvious, strong personal motivation, they are driven by a greater DESIRE.

The overriding concern or desire alters what most people consider "normal" behavior.

Unselfish behavior is always due to some overriding concern that displaces the inherent selfish motivation.

Why do people do dumb things?

People do dumb things!

People do things that harm themselves!

Why do people smoke? Science demonstrates that smoking has long-term harmful effects, but people still choose to smoke.

People also succumb to addictions and other bad habits.

Again, an overriding concern drives a person to make a harmful choice. They may be fully aware of the personal consequences of their choice, but they make it anyway!

The overriding concern is influenced by various factors, such as habits, beliefs, wants, needs, laziness, or persuasion. This isn't an exhaustive list; the diversity of people and situations is too large.

The choice of harmful behavior is always due to some overriding concern that drives a detrimental decision.

So what?

Everything is easy if it weren't for people.
- Gary Bozek (1985)

If you're a hermit, none of this matters...

...for the rest of us, we must live, work, lead, follow, and interact with people.

Cynical Theory provides an understanding of human motivation and behavior. The six axioms provide a framework to understand why and what people do.

The better you understand the roots of human motivation and behavior, the better you can interact with others. You can improve your relationships, influence, and impact by anticipating the motivation of others. You can use an overriding concern to motivate people to help you.

You can make serious self-improvements if you analyze the motivations that drive your habits, biases, routines, and impulses. Bad habits are formed by allowing an overriding concern to overwhelm your true self-interest.

You can leverage Cynical Theory to influence your behavior and others.

TL;DR

• People are motivated by selfishness
• All behavior is due to selfish motivation
• Motivation and behavior are different; motivation is WHAT YOU WANT, behavior is WHAT YOU DO
• An overriding concern is a Principle or Higher Purpose that takes precedence over "normal" selfish motivation, which:
  • leads to unselfish behavior
  • leads to personally harmful behavior
• The concept of overriding concerns helps you:
  • understand other people's behavior and influence them
  • understand your behavior and implement changes

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part two of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide).

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Axiom 1 (Selfish) posits that everyone is motivated by selfish interests. On a micro level, when you understand someone's motivation, you can decipher why they behave as they do. On a macro level, when you recognize how the world operates, you can minimize negative effects and maximize your benefits. You can leverage motivational comprehension to influence your behavior and others.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with others. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical." I associate it with the definition: “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

People Are Selfish

I suggest that "selfishness" is the foundation of human motivation. It helps you understand why people do what they do. It also aids YOU in understanding why YOU do the things you do.

Selfishness is the primary motivator of human behavior: everyone is out for themselves.

We have free choice; so why wouldn’t you make choices to benefit yourself? Choosing your self-interest is the fundamental concept of Cynical Theory. (That is why I chose the word “cynical” — that’s what it means.)

To be clear, the first axiom, Selfishness, refers to the motivation behind a CHOICE someone makes.

Don’t Confuse Motivation With Behavior

You may behave selfishly or unselfishly, but the CHOICE is always made by you (which inherently makes it a SELFISH CHOICE).

Motivation is the impetus or reason WHY you do something; behavior is WHAT actions you take to satisfy your motivation.

When someone acts selfishly, you assume that their motivation must be selfish. It may be harder to see that when someone acts unselfishly, their motivation is still selfish.

Mother Theresa Was Selfish

For example, I suggest that Mother Theresa was selfish! You may take exception to that statement. She certainly acted very altruistically and unselfishly — I agree with that. But her CHOICE was entirely SELFISH: Mother Theresa made an active CHOICE to act congruently with her faith and beliefs.

Yes, her external behavior was not selfish. However, her internal motivation was due to the purely selfish pursuit of her faith and beliefs.

The key to understanding my point is to separate motivation (what a person thinks) from behavior (what a person does). The simplest analogy is that even when someone is threatened or coerced to do something (behavior), they decide based on their self-interest (motivation).

Does It Fit With Other Motivation Theories?

To understand the differences between motivation and behavior, I refer to Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, with a particular focus on Habit 1: “Be Proactive.” Habit 1 is about taking responsibility for one’s behavior and acknowledging that between stimulus and response, you have a choice in how you react. The CHOICE is motivation, the REACTION is behavior.

Analyzing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, I observe that every level (physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and transcendence) is based on what an individual WANTS [needs]. Maslow suggests that the needs a person experiences (motivation) result in them taking action (behavior). Needs and wants are inherently selfish. Again, this supports my proposition that people are motivated by selfishness.

Herzberg's Two-factor Theory identifies two categories that create workplace satisfaction or dissatisfaction. When the "motivating" factors are present, an employee experiences satisfaction and is motivated to perform their job well. The "hygiene" factors do not provide motivation when they are present. However, when they are absent, they can cause dissatisfaction that results in reduced productivity. Whether someone perceives the factors positively or negatively depends on their interpretation of what is "good" for them. This is, again, an entirely selfish perception.

You may be emotionally triggered by the assertion that people are selfish. You may believe that people are intrinsically good and my insistence that people are selfish makes you uncomfortable. You may feel that I am insinuating that a person is bad if they are selfish; that is not the case.

Is It Wrong to Be Selfish?

To be clear: being selfish — your motivation — is neither good nor bad. It is how selfishness is manifested through behavior that exposes someone to the judgment of others.

It’s like the maxim, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Similarly, motivation doesn’t harm people; only behavior harms people.

The theme that runs through behavioral theories is that there are “motivational” factors that drive actual behavior. Motivation is internal to a person and is fundamentally a selfish (inward-directed) behavior stimulus.

The existing theories ascribe many influences or drivers of motivation; I provide a simpler motivation principle: selfishness!

Why Are We Selfish?

If you are a parent, you are very familiar with selfishness!

Children are enthusiastically selfish: when they want something, they let you know.

From babies who cry to alert you of their needs, to toddlers who are only concerned with getting what they want, they exhibit pure, unadulterated selfishness. Children place their needs first and communicate that their desires are supreme. The more they want something, the more they will cause a stir.

As they mature, they realize that others have needs too. It’s normal for a child to behave selfishly, but we never fully outgrow it. It is only through brainwashing (obeying societal norms) that we learn to modulate our selfishness.

In your life, you will have encountered family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, or strangers who are extremely selfish. They are worse than children!!! They may be more articulate and less whiny when asking for what they want; or they may be loud, brash, and obnoxious. But, like children, they don’t care about how their actions affect others — they are only concerned with themselves.

I served the public. Ask anyone in a public-facing service role — they will have had several experiences dealing with selfish people. It manifests as an air of entitlement, high expectations, and unreasonable demands. In the Cynical Age, I suspect you have had similar encounters.

So What?

My premise is that human motivation is based on selfishness.

Motivation is distinct from behavior; motivation is the desire (what we want), while behavior is an action (what we do). People are motivated to get what they want which leads to behavior that may be perceived as selfish or unselfish. But the underlying impetus is always selfishness.

The filter of “selfishness” permits you to analyze people to understand why they did something and proactively influence future behavior. If you are a manager, understanding why a team member did or said something provides insight into steps you can take to influence future outcomes. Sales and marketing efforts require understanding the selfish desires of the customer. My framework can help you understand, influence, and inspire others.

You can also use this framework for your self-development. It allows you to expose and examine your selfish motivations and determine if they continue to serve you. Give yourself permission to be greedy, recognize new desires, and pursue a new goal.

You can leverage Cynical Theory to influence your behavior and others.

TL;DR

• People are motivated by selfishness
• All behavior is due to selfish motivation
• Motivation and behavior are different; motivation is WHAT YOU WANT, and behavior is WHAT YOU DO
• Mother Theresa was selfish:
  — her behavior was unselfish (helping others)
  — her motivation was selfish (to live in congruence with her faith and beliefs)
• Other motivation theories:
  — Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: taking responsibility for one’s behavior and acknowledging that between stimulus and response, you have a choice in how you behave
  — Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: needs and wants are inherently selfish
  — Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory: whether someone perceives the factors positively or negatively depends on their selfish interpretation of what is “good” for them
• Understanding selfish motivation helps you:
  — understand, influence, and inspire others
  — pursue your self-development journey

Be Cynical,

TCG

This article is part one of a six-part explanation of Cynical Theory (see: The Reference Guide).

Cynical Theory is a set of six axioms that explain human motivation and behavior. Unlike traditional theories, which are narrowly focused and specialized, Cynical Theory is an overarching framework that covers the entire range of human behavior. It explains individual and group motivation along a continuum of micro and macro influences. It provides a framework to analyze and understand why people act as they do. You can leverage Cynical Theory to influence your behavior and others.

About Cynical Theory

Cynical Theory is my explanation of the fundamental motivations of people; it provides a basis for understanding human motivation, behavior, and how to interact with people. It is codified in six axioms.

When I use the word "cynical," I associate the definition “based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest.” My use of the word "cynical" is synonymous with "selfish."

There are three axioms that explain individual motivation and behavior:

• People Are Selfish: Selfishness is the primary motivator of human behavior: everyone is out for themselves.
• An Overriding Concern Modifies Behavior: First, people may not act selfishly. Second, people may act in a way that is harmful to themselves.
• You Are Your History: Everything that has happened to you in the past has made you who you are today.

There are three axioms that explains how group and social influences regulates individual motivation and behavior:

• Your Personality Is Visible Through Interaction: Personality is the "complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual." Your personality is only visible when you do or say something (when you exercise your power to choose).
• Culture Imposes Standards: Culture is "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group." Each individual is influenced by group standards.
• You Are Part Of A System: You are an independent individual, however, you are dependent on other people and the world around you. You cannot live in isolation.

I introduced Cynical Theory to help you understand and conquer the Cynical World.

Reference

The following articles explain Cynical Theory:

• Cynical Theory Overview
  • Axiom 1: People are Selfish
  • Axiom 2: Overriding Concern
  • Axiom 3: You Are Your History
  • Axiom 4: Interacting With Others
  • Axiom 5: Cultural Imposes Standards
  • Axiom 6: Holistic System (in progress)
• How to Survive the Cynical Age
• The Cynical Theory Origin Story

Be Cynical,

TCG

If you want to learn more about Cynical Theory, you can:

• Follow me to be notified when anything new is published
• Bookmark this page and check back occasionally
• Subscribe at GaryBozek.com for regular updates (plus my content is organized better than on Medium)

Disclaimer:

I am not an academic and don't possess any educational accreditation. Cynical Theory explains human motivation and behavior in simple, easy-to-understand terminology based on my observation, analysis, and application. It is intended to supplement the existing great theories (Maslow, Herzberg, et al) in an easily understood and universally accessible format for the average person to apply.

I encourage and happily accept feedback and critique of my thesis.

Your success is directly related to understanding two knowledge pillars. The first pillar is the immutable facts of how the world works; your beliefs and opinions do not change how the world behaves. The second pillar is the ability to make decisions based on the facts you observe; intellectual rationalizations of poor judgment don’t improve your situation. Using facts and logic creates the wisdom required to understand, navigate, and leverage the Cynical World successfully.

The Goal

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying to get a promotion, but I’ve been passed over twice.”

“So what have you done to improve your situation?”

Without hesitation, he replied, “Nothing.”

Inspired by a common maxim, I queried, “So if you didn’t do anything to change, how do you expect the result to be different?”

I’ve had many colleagues and acquaintances share the same sentiment — they expect rewards without expending any effort to earn them.

Success is different for each person. However, there is agreement that thriving is better than surviving. Happiness is better than stress and despair. Relationships with intimacy and affection are better than detachment and indifference.

Your success, in every aspect of your life, is proportional to your ability to acquire, comprehend, and leverage knowledge. To conquer the Cynical World, you must become a successful “knowledge worker”. You will become successful in your endeavors if you embrace self-development.

Even if you are highly educated, you should never stop acquiring new knowledge. Even if you are a laborer, your job, occupation, trade, or profession requires knowledge. Without constantly updating your knowledge, you will be left behind by others who do.

Two Self-development Pillars

The primary knowledge pillars that you need to build your success are science and logic.

You may quibble that you already know what you need to know to be successful — and it isn’t science or logic.

That’s fine. I suggest that whatever topic you have decided you need to know, falls into the two categories.

Science

When you accept that everything in the physical world must obey physical rules, the next step is understanding the actual physical rules.

Science is the codification of the knowledge about how things work.

The better you understand science, the better you understand the physical world.
- Gary Bozek (2024)

Science deals with facts.

You may have your opinions and beliefs, but they do not override facts.

When I encounter someone struggling to achieve a goal, often the root cause of their failure is reliance on a belief or opinion. When they think that their belief or opinion makes it true, they run headlong into immovable facts.

You may think the world is flat. It is irrelevant how strongly you believe — that doesn’t change the reality that the earth is round. It can be proven scientifically; it is indisputable.

This may seem like a silly scenario, but it demonstrates how beliefs and opinions do not change reality.

Everything in the physical world obeys the rules of the sciences; go against them at your peril!!!

The more information, data, rules, and facts you understand, the better equipped you are to succeed.

Logic

Knowledge, in and of itself, is static. The purpose of knowledge isn’t just to make your brain bigger. It provides no benefits unless it is used.

To be successful, you need to leverage the base of knowledge you accumulate.

To be successful, you need to take action!

Logic is a branch of science that deals with the formal principles of reasoning; it relates to drawing inferences or conclusions.

Logic is the foundation of decisions.

If you can’t understand and comprehend a problem, identify pertinent information, generate options and analyze their consequences, evaluate alternatives, and consider risks and uncertainty, you won’t make rational, competent decisions.

Have you ever thought about how many decisions you make in a day? They may be mundane, for example, which sock to put on first. Or they may be impactful, like the words you use to address a friend, colleague, or spouse.

Your results are directly proportional to the quality of your decisions.

Poor decisions can occur if insufficient facts are known (or mistaking opinions and beliefs for facts). As we say in the IT profession, “Garbage In, Garbage Out.”

Often poor decision-making starts by deciding you already know all the relevant facts. If you are missing key information, then the decision quality and results will suffer.

Also, you may not understand the actual decision-making process. The steps of effective decision-making are seldom taught during formal education. Your feedback loop, on the correctness of your decision, is the assessment from a parent, teacher, or friend. You infer that your decision is correct based on the evaluation from others and modulate your process to deliver answers that meet someone else’s expectations.

Blindly trusting the decisions of people in authority is detrimental to your success. I’ve often opposed a teacher’s evaluation. I’ve won the argument when I corroborated with an indisputable fact. Others, who didn’t question the teacher, were led astray by a well-meaning teacher.

Questioning the decisions of others is a fundamental skill to conquer the Cynical World. Ensuring your decision-making process isn’t undermined by lack of information, misunderstandings, or biases is also key to success.

Self-Development Guidance

I encourage you to devote yourself to lifelong learning. Once you adopt it as a practice, you can’t help but be successful in your endeavors.

Most people will agree that we live in a knowledge and a service economy. Knowledge is one of the currencies of the digital age.

Most high-paying jobs are based on leveraging knowledge. You may possess a trade, degree, PhD, or professional designation and earn more than average.

There are exceptions: dirty jobs that nobody wants to do may not require higher education but are compensated well.

Service workers are among the lowest paid in the digital age. These jobs are characterized by low skill or knowledge requirements.

It should be obvious that improving your situation requires upgrading your knowledge.

It is easier than ever to acquire knowledge. The wealth of civilized knowledge and expertise is available free via the Internet. You can access it for the cost of connectivity.

There are educational courses and training offered for free or low cost (compared to formal education). It can all be accessed from the comfort of your computer.

The caveat with abundant data is that you need sound judgment to discern good information from bad. You must determine if it is based on science (facts) or someone’s belief and opinion. It is essential to differentiate whether biases exist (your own or others) that are not based on facts. If you can master identifying real facts, you will be able to educate yourself and improve every aspect of your life.

The dependency for acquiring valuable knowledge is having the sound judgment to determine what is and isn’t based on science (facts). Your decision-making processes are key to obtaining a solid foundation of knowledge.

Benefits

Few people actively work on increasing their knowledge and decision-making skills. You will reap enormous benefits if you work to improve your knowledge and skills.

Most people think they must work harder than others to get attention or achieve what they want. I suggest that you aspire to work SMARTER!

You only have to work 5% harder than others, they will make you look good.
- Gary Bozek (2024)

Intelligent people aren’t smart because they know a lot; intelligent people know what they don’t know.

Most people labor to make incremental gains. They will learn a new technique or skill that improves on what they already know or do. Although nothing is wrong with incremental improvements, it’s what everyone else does. So they don’t stand out from the pack.

Lifelong learners will educate themselves on a broader range of knowledge: topics outside of their primary job or interests. They innovate by integrating disparate subject matter into a new solution. They create enormous opportunities by expanding their knowledge and leapfrogging the competition.

Be Cynical,

TCG

The Cynical Guru’s mission is to help people by explaining how Cynical Theory, Science, Logic, and Common Sense helps individuals survive and prosper in the Cynical Age. The Cynical Guru (TCG) is Gary Bozek’s alter ego and an evolutionary step as a writer.

History

You are your history.
- Gary Bozek (1999)

Everything that has happened to you in your PAST contributes to the person you are TODAY.

You are the accumulation of all the positive and negative traumas you’ve had throughout your life. Who you are today is a result of all the experiences you’ve had.

A self-aware individual recognizes that they are not the same person as a year ago. A truly self-aware individual also recognizes the significant events that have shaped their personality.

Self-recognition is the key to growth as an individual.

Overcoming our baggage can only transpire with the awareness of the profound influence past events had on our current personality. The weight of baggage varies by individual. Our capacity to carry, manage, and overcome baggage is directly proportional to the capability to face them directly.

Evolution

I have had a complicated history, so I am a complicated person.

There are two personalities involved in my story.

First, there is me as a person. Second, there is my alter ego, The Cynical Guru.

Gary Bozek

My primary personality traits are:
- Thinker
- Learner
- Experimenter
- Communicator

A significant part of my history is based on my personal and professional experiences as a knowledge worker. I worked for decades in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

Yeah, I’m a nerd/geek!!!

My working experiences meshed well with my personality (or overemphasized and strengthened the nerdier aspects).

I found immense joy in my work.

If you aren’t employed in the IT industry, you probably have an incorrect understanding of what software developers, testers, or quality control engineers do. You may not be aware of the many other roles such as team leads, managers, business analysts, database analysts, or project managers involved.

In my career, I’ve done it all (or any role that I haven’t performed, I understand well).

You may think that these jobs consist of doing nerdy technical things. There are certain aspects of the job where that is true.

But whenever I was asked to explain what I did, my response was, “I solve problems.”

That may seem simple and trite, but it was the underlying driver of everything I did. Technical problems, business problems, personnel problems, communications problems, problems of every shape and size. Every single day, I faced new problems.

I loved the challenge because it meshed with my key personality traits. Solving problems requires thinking, learning, experimenting, and communicating. I utilized problem-solving skills daily and honed my ability to see problems others couldn’t.

You may still think IT work is a technical pursuit, but it’s a people game.

Even though we may manifest solutions through technical implementations, people are involved everywhere - individuals at every level of an organization, with different roles, are involved. They all contribute to the final solution.

This led to an observation:

Everything is easy if it weren’t for people.
- Gary Bozek (1985)

In the 1990s I started to observe, analyze, and quantify behavior and human nature. Cynical Theory was the result.

Over the years, I tested and refined the axioms, but they have stood the test of time.

I had an obligation to share my observations with the world.

I found Medium and Substack in 2021. I followed conventional recommendations — I wrote to find my voice.

I FAILED!

I was not happy with the results — I had too many topics I was trying to cover. I failed to communicate in a satisfying style.

I had to step back and do some THINKING. I had to get clarity on specific topics to cover and my writing approach.

I returned to Medium in early 2023 with one goal: to reach 100 followers and prove that I could provide value to readers.

I SUCCEEDED!

I also found my voice and writing style.

The Cynical Guru

My alter ego, TCG, is focused on education based on Cynical Theory, Science, Logic, and Common Sense.

But I could see some of the problems with Medium (yeah, I can’t help myself). The platform was great for “readers,” but Medium is not a learning platform.

Since my goal was to teach, I had to step back and assess how to proceed.

I had to find a way to complement Medium.

The main challenge to teaching is setting the curriculum, that is, the order material is presented.

When teaching, I must ensure the student has the foundation to understand the concepts. Then, more and more complex topics can be added. A specific presentation order is required to provide an optimum learning experience.

Medium doesn’t provide facilities to do that well; it can be faked, to an extent, but the platform itself doesn’t support what I want to accomplish.

For example, I’ve used the concept of a “series,” where articles are linked together serially and read in a particular order. However, I can’t control Medium dropping a random article out of a series into someone’s feed (odds are that it won’t be the first article in the series).

That is a problem…

As a professional problem-solver, I applied Cynical Methodology to determine the requirements, implementation options, pros/cons, and the best solution.

The main requirement was to address the two types of audiences that I have:

1. Readers — Medium subscribers who are interested in my writing can use the existing Follower process to be notified whenever I publish.
2. Learners — who want to learn specific concepts or topics (whether they are Medium subscribers or not) require a curriculum to guide their education.

Obviously, I needed to create a learning platform that could supplement Medium.

My implementation, Gary Bozek ~ The Cynical Guru, transitioned into the beta testing phase on April 30th, 2024.

I invite you to visit and provide feedback on my journey to help people conquer the Cynical World.

My Promise

Whether you read my articles on Medium or GaryBozek.com, or whether you read for entertainment or education, I present a unique, insightful perspective on the Cynical World based on Cynical Theory, Science, Logic, and Common Sense.

Aside: A more personal and intimate history can be found in my previous About Me.

I reveal how to analyze and leverage my Follower Plan to acquire 100 followers, reach your follower goal, and join the Medium Partner Program (MPP).

This article answers these questions:

1. Why would I capture follower statistics?
2. What can you learn from my statistics that can help you?

BACKGROUND

In 2022, I started my Medium writing journey. I published several articles on Medium and Substack. I even got some followers.

After two months of writing, I wasn’t happy with my results. I was struggling to find my voice.

I did what every sensible writer does at that point: I deleted everything.

In January 2023, I determined my audience, message, voice, and goal. I reset my profile and About page. I was ready to begin again.

I received an email from Sinem Günel for her 5-day Online Writing Challenge (OWC). The timing couldn’t be better — this was just the motivation I needed to get writing (and maybe learn something along the way).

ONLINE WRITING CHALLENGE (OWC)

The OWC started on January 23, 2023.

I had acquired five followers from my false start the prior year. I was ready to build on that to reach the elusive 100 followers and join the Medium Partner Program (MPP).

The course was excellent, reinforcing many lessons about how to write on Medium.

One of the challenges was to interact with other writers. I am not an avid social media participant, so this was a stretch goal.

Another challenge was to add your information to a google sheet of all the Challenge participants, review the profiles of other participants, and find writers you can relate to. When I added my details, I was 85th on the list.

As I perused the list, the marketing clue stick hit me. It was a list of writers that I had something in common with (the Challenge) — I should follow them all.

WHY CAPTURE FOLLOWER STATISTICS?

The conventional success wisdom is that you Plan, Execute (do something), and harvest the Results.

I believe there is an important aspect missing.

Life kicks you in the n*ts until you learn the lesson.
- Gary Bozek (1990)

To learn and improve, you need a feedback loop in your process.

You may be doing everything right, but you can’t answer the question, “Why?”

You can’t assess what changes improve or impair your results. You will make blind decisions and not exercise control of the situation.

Figure 1 captures my daily actions in the “Follow Others” column. By the time the clue stick hit me, there were 151 participants on the list. I followed them all.

I checked the sheet daily for new participants. When they added themselves, I followed them.

The second column, “New Followers,” shows the number of writers that followed me back. In those 19 days, I received 46 additional followers.

Great!!! Halfway to the 100-follower milestone.

But now what? Within the first week and a half, most participants had added themselves. The stragglers (some were brand new Medium writers, so they were adding their Profiles and About information) caught up in the following week and a half.

This vein ran dry…

ANALYZE THE FEEDBACK

The data represented the classic implementation of the sales funnel. You put a lot in; you get a little out!

I received 46 followers after following 181 other Medium writers. The response ratio was 25.41% (46 divided by 181).

Therefore, to acquire 49 more followers to reach 100, and if the response ratio held constant, I would have to follow 193 Medium writers (49 divided by .2541).

Time For A New Plan

Around this time, I read an article that proposed following other writers without any expectation of a follow in return. You may see altruism; I see marketing!!!

Anyone who has worked in Sales knows it’s a numbers game. The more you put in, the more you will get out.

It’s the same with getting followers…

THE NEW PLAN

Medium has a hard limit  -  you can only follow 150 other writers per day (as of Q1 2023). On the 151st follow, Medium gives you a message you can’t follow anymore. The limit appears to reset at midnight; the next day starts at zero.

Since there is a variable delay in how soon a return follow occurs, I decided to skip a day between my bulk follows to associate the results more directly with my actions. I was trying to minimize skewing from the long tail.

I was dancing around the Medium limit initially  -  I didn’t want to upset the all-powerful Medium algorithm by repeatedly bumping against the limit.

With the confidence from the OWC and getting halfway to my follower goal, I began writing and publishing articles.

What Happened?

Figure 2 illustrates the actions and results for eight days of executing the Follower Plan.

After four days, I was almost there (98 followers on February 14). I could have stopped at that point and let the long tail deliver the remaining two followers, but I’m risk-averse, so I continued.

It appeared to be the right decision because it was another two days before my count was comfortably above 100.

I (re)started my Medium writing journey to acquire 100 followers on January 23 and completed the goal on February 16. I acquired 103 followers in 25 days if I subtract the five followers I started with from the 108 on the 16th.

The new column, “Unsolicited Count,” is for followers I didn’t pursue. They read my published articles and decide to follow me on their own.

If you subtract out the five I started with and the six unsolicited followers from the February 17 total, the Follow Plan delivered 109 followers in 26 days.

The Long Tail

February 18 was the last day I actively followed other writers as part of this Plan.

Followers continued accumulating; there were another 12 followers up to March 1.

Figure 3 details the long tail in the “New Followers” column. Over that period, I also received an equal number of “Unsolicited” follows from readers. The Response rate is 1.51% (12 divided by 797).

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

I tracked the follows and return follows to provide feedback to understand if it was a successful strategy. In my opinion, it was.

Many variables contributed to these numbers. Understanding them will give you insight into human nature and how well it will work for you.

First, you should note the Response Rate varies. It was 25.41% with the OWC group and 10.71% with the random Medium writer group. What contributes to that variance?

The OWC group is known in Sales as a “warm” market, while the random writer group is a “cold” market. The warm group was more inclined to respond to my follow because they had been “primed” to respond accordingly (the OWC participants were encouraged to build relationships with other writers).

Similarly, depending on who you are and what you are writing about, your choice of publication to source writers will also influence your results. For example, if you write about cats and follow writers in reptile-focused publications, they may be less inclined to follow you in return. Finding writers more compatible with your topic will improve your response rate.

How come the response rate is so low (10%)?

If you understand human nature and sales, that rate should not surprise you. People are lazy and won’t put in the effort to follow you. There could be other reasons, such as, not feeling deserving, being so new that they don’t understand how following works, or being established writers who don’t pay attention to follows. In general, you should temper your expectations when dealing with people.

There is a psychological aspect to a return follow also. If you have less than 100 followers, you are more likely to get a “sympathy” follow. Others will know that their follow will count and make a difference to you, so they will feel good about helping you. This sympathy may decrease when you surpass 100 followers.

These are my results. Your results will be different because your variables will be different. This was a relatively small sample size over a small period and should only be a starting point for analysis.

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN TO HELP YOURSELF?

It’s a Sales Funnel

It’s a numbers game; the more you put in, the more you will get out.

If you approach the task without expecting a return follow, you will be pleased with your results and may be surprised!

You can invest a small amount of effort to accelerate the achievement of the 100-follower milestone.

Find a Warm Market

A warm market (that is more amenable to following you) will perform better than a cold market.

Choose the publication carefully. The publication’s writers will be more inclined to follow you if your articles or topics are similar to theirs.

Use existing relationships, either on Medium or in your social media network, to promote yourself.

Get Your House in Order

You should, at minimum, have your Profile and About page set up. Ideally, you will have published at least one article (even if you haven’t submitted it to a publication).

You only have one chance to impress. Ensure your Profile and About page are complete so visitors understand who you are and what you write about. These two pages are your sales agents — make sure they work for you.

Don’t Sweat 100 Followers

Acquiring 100 Followers is a milestone, not a goal. It shouldn’t distract you from your real goal: writing.

If you publish, you will get follows.

Adopting my approach will accelerate the completion of the 100-follower milestone if that is important to you. However, don’t let it become a distraction.

Your Plan

If you adopt this strategy, expect a cold market and use the 10% response rate for planning. Thus you could expect 15 return follows for every 150 (compatible) writers you follow. That would get you 100 followers in a week.

SUMMARY

I acquired 100 followers in less than a month and was accepted into the MPP by following this plan.

Some rudimentary daily tracking will expose whether the plan is working. Use the results as feedback to adjust your decisions and plan.

You can control your results and reach your follower goals by adopting a sales and marketing strategy.

Be Cynical,

GB

PS

If you have questions or feedback, use the comments or contact me offline at: public at garybozek dot com.

If you are inclined to capture stats and write a similar article, bookmark this link to come back and add your article link in the comments.

I haven’t included the stats I captured on the follower sizes of writers. It has some interesting human insights but is not germane to this article. If you are interested in those stats, let me know in the comments; I may write a supplementary analysis article.

I wish you well in your quest for the elusive 100 followers milestone.

I had been developing Cynical Theory for several decades and had a dream to present my ideas.

I discovered Medium in 2020 and followed several authors with three free reads per month. In early 2021, I joined Medium because three free reads weren’t satisfying my content fix.

In 2022, I started my Medium writing journey. I published several articles on Medium and Substack. I even got some followers…

The recommendation to new authors is to write to discover your “voice.” After many months of writing, I wasn’t happy with my results. I struggled with communicating my ideas, setting the proper tone, and finding my voice.

I decided the articles just weren’t good enough for public consumption.

I deleted everything.

I put on my analyst hat to identify my unique point of view, the value I intended to deliver to the audience, and how I would approach my writing “career.”

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I committed to pursuing my vision this January. I retooled my Medium profile and publication in preparation.

I was back on track…

Where’s the Plan?

I wish I had created the perfect plan initially, but that isn’t true.

Life is messy; real-life planning is messier!

No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
- Various attributions

All I had to start with was my commitment to myself.

Sometimes life kicks you in the n*ts, and sometimes life kicks you in the *ss!

While I was consumed with analysis paralysis, empty-page syndrome, and self-doubt, a gift dropped into my inbox. It was a 5-day Online Writing Challenge by Sinem Günel.

That was what I needed to jump-start and keep me motivated.

Participating in the challenges and learning helped me improve my skills and gave me the confidence to commit to my goal.

One of the challenges was to interact with other writers. I am not an avid social media participant, so this was a stretch goal.

Another challenge was to add your information to a google sheet of all the Challenge participants, review the profiles of other participants, and find writers you can relate to. When I added my details, I was 85th on the list.

As I perused the list, the marketing clue stick hit me. It was a list of writers that I had something in common with (the Challenge) — I should follow them all.

This discovery was a turning point for me…

The Messy Middle

The next day, my follower count increased!!!

I had stumbled upon the kernel of a plan.

Every day, I checked the google sheet and followed everyone who had added themselves since I last checked. Each day, another group of writers added themselves. It continued even a week after completing the Challenge.

In the end, I followed 160 writers from the Challenge.

I should have easily hit 100 followers. Right?

Well, not so fast.

Writers are human and follow the Cynical Theory rules of human behavior.

A body remains at rest … unless acted upon by a force.
- Isaac Newton

Only a small subset of those I followed returned the initiative.

Back to the drawing board…

Around this time, I read an article that proposed following other writers without any expectation of a follow in return. You may see altruism; I see marketing!!!

It is a classic implementation of the sales funnel. You put a lot in; you get a little out!

Anyone who has worked in Sales knows it’s a numbers game. The more you put in, the more you will get out.

It’s the same with getting followers…

Executing the Plan

I stumbled upon following writers in the Challenge and didn’t capture tracking information initially. Now that I had a specific daily task, I measured the results. (Yeah, I’m anal that way!)

I decided to group the follows I gave and received by the number of writer’s followers. As a business analyst, I wanted to gather information on which writers would be the best to follow to optimize my approach.

I assumed a writer with less than 100 followers would be more likely to follow me in return than a writer who had crossed that barrier and currently had several hundred followers. Seems logical. Right?

Nope  - we’re butting our heads against human nature again!!!

When I executed my plan, I did 150 follows every second day. I left a day gap to match my follows against the generated return follows. I was trying to minimize data skewing from the long tail.

When I performed my follows in the morning (I’m in the Pacific time zone), I would receive follows that day (thanks to all you active social animals). Most of my return follows accumulated by morning the next day, though.

Analyzing the Results

I had 50 followers when I began the formal plan of following 150 writers per day. I received the additional 50 followers in roughly six days (by gifting 150 follows every second day).

Based on my experience, I extrapolate you can gain 100 followers in a week by adopting this plan.

Be Cynical,

GB

Data Analysis

You can calculate ratios from the numbers I’ve provided in this article. (I know the mathematically inclined have already done that!!!)

I haven’t provided the actual statistics and ratios in this article because there are several assumptions and numerous variables. I would be irresponsible and unprofessional by publishing statistics without disclosing the context.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
- Various attributions

It irks me when people, who don’t understand the data and its interpretation, misconstrue the meaning in numbers. Therefore I will disclose the data I gathered in Part 3, 100 Followers: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.

A big challenge new Medium writers face is acquiring 100 Followers to meet the requirements to join the Medium Partner Program.

If you are writing just for fun, you needn’t fret. This article is for those who are serious about earning income on Medium.

This article explains the rationale behind “100 Followers: How I Identified a Breakthrough Goal,” and contains a step-by-step Plan to reach 100 followers effectively and efficiently.

BACKGROUND

There are seven ways from Sunday to do things; it’s the same with acquiring 100 followers.

You must meet these prerequisites before you can acquire 100 followers (as of Q1 2023):

1. One article — you must publish at least one article in the last 30 days
2. Profile — describe who you are and what you are writing about
3. About page — provide more detail on who you are and the topics you write about

Once you have met those prerequisites, you can assess which option to use.

The options are:

1. Letting the algorithm take care of it
2. Following and engaging with other writers in the community
3. Participating in a follow-for-follow scheme
4. A combination of any of the previous methods

ANALYSIS

Each of the options above has Pros and Cons associated with them.

1. Let the Medium Algorithm Work

This is the default option — you don’t need to do anything but publish your writing.

PRO:

The Medium algorithm will show your articles to readers based on their interests and the tags (AKA topics) you have used in your story.

CON:

This method will be the slowest. It will primarily depend on how often you publish new articles.

ANALYSIS:

If you are writing for fun, then this is the approach for you. You can publish and let your words flood the universe.

2. Engage With the Community

PRO:

Medium (and the community) recommends this approach. If you enjoy social media engagement, this approach is for you.

As a geek, I can see that the algorithm can detect and reward your engagement within the community.

CON:

This method will also be slow. Like the first option, it depends on how often you publish new articles and how you engage with the community.

It takes time to perform engagement which interferes with writing.

ANALYSIS:

You should engage with the community for purely selfish reasons. First, you will encounter writers that you will want to follow. Second, you have the opportunity to learn. Third, the Medium algorithm rewards writers who engage with the community.

3. Follow-For-Follow Strategy

PRO:

On the surface, it seems like the most effective strategy. All you need to do is find 100 other people using this strategy.

CON:

The challenge is finding 100 people. There may be groups in social media, or even Medium, that you could tap into. However, this approach is frowned on by Medium - they want genuine engagement.

ANALYSIS:

Do not do this! My IT (Information Technology) knowledge says it is too risky. You want to get into the MPP fast, but getting banned by Medium at this stage is a huge setback.

4. Combination

PRO:

You can utilize the best of the strategies to accelerate your follower growth.

CON:

There aren’t any!

ANALYSIS:

You always use a combination of strategies unless you use the platform only to write (option 1).

DECISION

Medium will find and deliver readers to you. But it will take some time unless you are one of those writers who hit the goldmine and go viral. (If your article goes viral, you will smash your follower count!!!)

Engaging with other writers in the community is always beneficial. There’s lots of advice out there on how to get more followers. There is no downside.

I based my decision on marketing and sales. The guiding principle is the sales funnel.

The sales funnel concept is that for every x prospect put into the top of the funnel, a smaller amount (x -  y) comes out the bottom. For every writer that you interact with on Medium (read, clap, comment, follow), a small fraction of them will follow you.

MY PLAN

I completed the prerequisites, then focused on this:

Step 1: Engage the Community

Read, clap, comment, and follow. This article explains how to be a good community member. Read it; do it!

As always, when dealing with a community: be nice! Your writing persists in Medium and the internet, be supportive and leave good vibes in your wake.

Step 2: Follow 150 Medium Writers

There’s a subtle difference between following writers and participating in a follow-for-follow scheme. The former is acceptable practice on Medium, while the latter is frowned upon (and possibly penalized by Medium).

Medium allows you to follow 150 writers per day (Q1 2023). I created a sales funnel by doing this every day.

HOW:

1. Find a Publication with topics similar to what you will write.
2. In the browser, append “/about” to the publications URL, and hit enter. The browser should refresh with the publication’s About page. The page will show the publication’s editors and followers (see image below).
3. You can follow each of the writers in that list (maximum of 150 per day). Optionally, you can review each writer’s profile summary and decide whether to follow them (see image below). As a bonus, you can hover over the writer’s name and see their follower count. (I didn’t follow anyone with over 10,000 followers — if they are that big, I don’t think they waste their time following random writers.)
4. If the publication has more than 150 writers, return the next day and continue where you left off. If the publication has less than 150 writers in the list, find another publication and repeat.
5. BONUS Tip: If you are anal like me, when you look at each writer you follow, you can record each follow into groups based on the writer’s follower count. I used these groups: 0–50, 51–100, 101–200, 201–400, 401–600, 601–1.5K, 1.5K-3K, 3K-5K, >5K. The groupings are arbitrary; use whatever makes sense to you. (I captured the stats to analyze this methodology; I will be publishing the stats in a subsequent article.)

This strategy is subtly different from a follow-for-follow scheme. You are marketing yourself and have no expectations of a follow in return. This article was the inspiration for this technique.

My experience is that the 150-follow limit resets at midnight every day.

Step 3: Write

Get busy writing! That’s what you joined Medium to do. Put out your best stuff — don’t hold back.

You may think, “What if my article goes viral and I’m not in the MPP? I won’t earn any money.”

I wish I had that problem, but I haven’t.

If an article goes viral, you will quickly have more than 100 followers. Then you will be able to apply to the MPP.

What about lost earnings before acceptance into the MPP? I am not an authority, but this article indicates that Medium will allocate previous read time to your account for new subscribers. If the algorithm can do that, I presume it can also allocate earnings after you are accepted. (Again, I do not know if this is true; if someone has experienced this, share your experience in the comments.)

SUMMARY

I acquired 100 followers in less than a month and was accepted into the MPP by following this plan.

You may get pushback from other writers who ask, “Why are you following me? Why are you doing follow for follow?”. For me, there were two writers (less than 1% that went into my marketing funnel).

I understand they don’t know my motivations when they posted.

I responded, “I’m not doing a follow-for-follow. I can unfollow you if you desire.”

Remember, be polite.

It should rarely happen as the psychology is that most writers will rarely question why you follow them. They will see the follow, check out who you are and what you write about, and determine if they want to follow you back. If you have less than 100 followers, it’s more likely that they will follow you.

It’s a marketing funnel, so don’t be offended that a small percentage of writers follow you. You should expect that from the beginning.

When I reached 100 followers, I stopped following 150 writers per day. Now I only follow those I’m interested in, or if they follow me. You could continue the practice to boost your follower numbers, but followers don’t equate with readers.

This practice generates a long tail. I am still getting follows from writers I followed several weeks ago.

The Medium algorithm works to put your articles in front of new readers. A reader that follows you of their own choice is more beneficial to you.

You can rely on the Medium algorithm to reach 100 followers or market yourself to reach the milestone quicker.

Be Cynical,

GB

BONUS

If you are inclined to capture stats, you can analyze the efficacy of your efforts. If you record the counts (by groups) of writers you follow, you should also capture the same data/groups for the follows you receive.

You should also add two new groups for the follows you receive:

• Readers - subscribers that have not filled out their profile or have 0 followers. They are on Medium to read, not write. The Medium algorithm brought those to you.
• Unfollows  - there will be a reduction in your follower count because of unfollows, deleted accounts, or other things.

If you record the daily stats in a spreadsheet, you can determine your response rate. The followers recorded by Medium and shown in your Profile and Audience pages will lag your stats because of timing (even Medium’s numbers between those two pages don’t always match).

I add one more category to the other groups I’ve identified. I track what I call “unsolicited” follows. If you’ve followed my plan, you will have already followed the writers that follow you back. If you receive a follow, but you haven’t followed them, their follow is “unsolicited.” If you didn’t follow them first, Medium’s algorithm made the connection. I track their follower count as usual and record them in the “unsolicited” count. When you track this category, you can see exactly what Medium is doing to promote you.

Another bonus is you have captured statistics for an additional article you can write. You can pay it forward to other new writers facing the same challenge.

This is Part 1 of a three-part series:

• Part 2: 100 Followers: How I Evolved an Effective Plan  -  How I created and executed a plan to acquire 100 followers for the Medium Partner Program (MPP) in less than a month with sales and marketing techniques.
• Part 3: 100 Followers: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics  -  I reveal how to analyze and leverage my Follower Plan to acquire 100 followers, reach your follower goal, and join the Medium Partner Program (MPP).