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Sebastian's blog strikes me as intensely arrogant, self-centered and tasteless. Like others, I'm sure, I have my doubts about the truthfulness of some passages

by xiaoma 16y ago

Sebastian's blog strikes me as intensely arrogant, self-centered and tasteless. Like others, I'm sure, I have my doubts about the truthfulness of some passages from his blog such as the following: "I got into a shouting match protecting some McDonald’s employees from a mob boss in Hong Kong. A riot cop came to break it up, I was almost in a fight with three mafia guys. I had two guys try to mug me the other day in a dangerous area. Bad mistake, doubled one of them over with a kick the stomach and shouted at the other one, “YOU WANT TO DIE? BACK DOWN, STAY BACK.” He did, he let me walk away while his criminal buddy was doubled over." Even if every word of the above were true, which I doubt, it wouldn't impress me. It just makes me think the guy is stupid. The post bragging that he'll be making 250k/month in 10 years was similarly in-your-face, yet uninspiring. Ditto for the comparison of "high born" and "low born" people. Other posts push credulity in similar ways and give me the sense he's a runaway narcissist. Honestly, I don't have a problem reading really odd stuff if there's enough value to take from it. One example would be Steve Pavlina's blog. I have little to no interest in new age philosophy and some of his posts come across as downright nutty. But they're thought provoking, though. Many of the earlier posts on online business and a wider set of personal development topics were solid gold. I rarely feel like it's wasted time to read that blog, even when I disagree with it. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Sebastian's blog or so-called "get victory" newsletter. Thus far, I haven't found a single article that's genuinely helped me (a high bar, I know). There isn't nearly enough substance to offset the obnoxious tone. Until he actually is a VC with all kinds of internet properties, making 250k/month, a lot of people just won't be interested in reading about his opinions, goals or tall tales. As I said, I don't know the guy. He could very well be a great guy to hang around with, especially with his interest in self-improvement. Maybe if I did know him offline as you do, I'd have a greater appreciation for his blog. This comment isn't meant as a personal attack. It's a rationale for why I agree with zuckerborg's comment and why HN would be a better place without a constant stream of victory spam.

alnayyir 16y ago
>HN would be a better place without a constant stream of victory spam. A beer on me if we're ever in the same city. I was starting to think I was alone in fighting the good fight.
lionhearted 16y ago
I can understand why you'd be skeptical - most people are unwilling to put themselves in harm's way to break up a fight, protect people around them, or explore the slums of a city to understand more about the development of humanity. I do do those things. I don't know exactly what to tell you if you want to doubt that - there was a guy yelling and spitting on the floor of the Tsim Sha Tsui McDonald's in the late night/early morning, yelling at the staff. He was with two of his buddies. I told him to knock it off. Shouting match ensued. I've had three attempts to mug me in my life - once in Shanghai, once in London, and once in Saigon. You can dislike me - that's your call - but I dunno man, I don't say things that are untrue. > Thus far, I haven't found a single article that's genuinely helped me That's too bad. You've obviously been around my site a fair bit, and I do try to make it of value to a visitor. I cover lots of stuff that a lot of people have found useful - what are you trying to do exactly? What have you tried that I've written/advocated on that didn't work for you?
- alnayyir 16y ago
  >What have you tried that I've written/advocated on that didn't work for you? You're missing the point. You're handing out advice with no demonstrable expertise on...anything. You don't discuss anything that requires talent, intellect, experience, or domain knowledge. You write about things you pull out of your head or other content you Tom Sawyered other people into collating for you. Speaking of "content", that neuroplasticity and habits post is a travesty. Your whole blog is so thoroughly preoccupied with your person that I can only think you are suffocating on the fumes of your own alternate reality. In brief you are: 1. Without demonstrated accomplishment 2. Arrogant 3. The only thing you're superlative in is narcissism 4. Giving out advice to deluded hopefuls who want to have a site about nothing and to be paid for zero productivity and not work a day more of their lives than they have to. People with work to do, work they love, they don't need people like you. Bonus time! Since people don't seem to get it yet, I've taken the liberty of making an annotated version of the front page of his 'blog'. http://i.imgur.com/ET2hf.png http://i.imgur.com/ET2hf.png With that, I'm done chasing this matter. I am exhausted with battling this banality. Exeunt.
  - lionhearted 16y ago

by xiaoma 16y ago

alnayyir 16y ago

>HN would be a better place without a constant stream of victory spam. A beer on me if we're ever in the same city. I was starting to think I was alone in fighting the good fight.

lionhearted 16y ago

I can understand why you'd be skeptical - most people are unwilling to put themselves in harm's way to break up a fight, protect people around them, or explore the slums of a city to understand more about the development of humanity. I do do those things. I don't know exactly what to tell you if you want to doubt that - there was a guy yelling and spitting on the floor of the Tsim Sha Tsui McDonald's in the late night/early morning, yelling at the staff. He was with two of his buddies. I told him to knock it off. Shouting match ensued. I've had three attempts to mug me in my life - once in Shanghai, once in London, and once in Saigon. You can dislike me - that's your call - but I dunno man, I don't say things that are untrue. > Thus far, I haven't found a single article that's genuinely helped me That's too bad. You've obviously been around my site a fair bit, and I do try to make it of value to a visitor. I cover lots of stuff that a lot of people have found useful - what are you trying to do exactly? What have you tried that I've written/advocated on that didn't work for you?

alnayyir 16y ago
>What have you tried that I've written/advocated on that didn't work for you? You're missing the point. You're handing out advice with no demonstrable expertise on...anything. You don't discuss anything that requires talent, intellect, experience, or domain knowledge. You write about things you pull out of your head or other content you Tom Sawyered other people into collating for you. Speaking of "content", that neuroplasticity and habits post is a travesty. Your whole blog is so thoroughly preoccupied with your person that I can only think you are suffocating on the fumes of your own alternate reality. In brief you are: 1. Without demonstrated accomplishment 2. Arrogant 3. The only thing you're superlative in is narcissism 4. Giving out advice to deluded hopefuls who want to have a site about nothing and to be paid for zero productivity and not work a day more of their lives than they have to. People with work to do, work they love, they don't need people like you. Bonus time! Since people don't seem to get it yet, I've taken the liberty of making an annotated version of the front page of his 'blog'. http://i.imgur.com/ET2hf.png http://i.imgur.com/ET2hf.png With that, I'm done chasing this matter. I am exhausted with battling this banality. Exeunt.
- lionhearted 16y ago