Hello + Updates (What I'm Doing, Where & Why)
In this section, I will post my whereabouts, what I've worked on/working on/will be working, and why.
The journal is for the lessons learned instead.
Within the next 10 days or so I will be going through the Social Power course to upgrade it and improve it in the following ways:
- More but shorter lessons: I will break up a few of the longer lessons in smaller chunks. It will be easier for students to go through them
- Improve the look
- General update: adding more information and more examples
- Add a couple of lessons: I will add a couple more lessons in the "workplace power" section. Especially
Overall, I will improve both quality and usability.
I will not post any new personal post for now as I'm focusing on that project only.
WHY:
Social Power is not an easy course, and making sure that the information is delivered in easy to understand and digest format is crucial.
WHAT I'M READING:
I have recently finished "Maps of Meaning", a rather complex book by Jordan Peterson. I will only review it and summarize later on though.
I'm listening to "The Rational Male - Preventive Medicine" by Rollo Tomassi and I am reading "Don't Think of An Elephant".
WHERE:
I stick around here celebrating the last 10 days as president of my awesome Toastmasters club.
I might be traveling during the summer. Italy, Russia or both. But I haven't decided on that yet and no concrete plans yet.
MR. BUFFALMANO:
YOUR ARTICLES COULD BE EVEN BETTER WITHOUT GRAMMATICAL ERRORS RIDDLED LIKE BULLET HOLES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
IT'S UNPROFESSIONAL FOR YOU AND DISTRACTING FOR ME.
NEXT TIME, AN EDITOR?
GRAZIE.
Quote from Guest on July 20, 2019, 12:21 pmMR. BUFFALMANO:
YOUR ARTICLES COULD BE EVEN BETTER WITHOUT GRAMMATICAL ERRORS RIDDLED LIKE BULLET HOLES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
IT'S UNPROFESSIONAL FOR YOU AND DISTRACTING FOR ME.NEXT TIME, AN EDITOR?
GRAZIE.
I agree with you.
Especially some older articles and book summaries, they are taken from notes that were on my hard drive and quickly jotted down for private consumption.
I didn't care about proper structure and grammar then and of course, that shows.
And I don't particularly love proof-reading, so sometimes I have done it sloppily (and in some cases didn't do it at all, shudder!).
But I'm working on this:
- I started a project now where little by little I will be going through all this website's articles for fixes, improvements, and typos (will take a few months to finish it all, though)
- I installed Grammarly which will help with all new articles (I can't believe I have only discovered Grammarly a couple of months ago!)
- I am taking more care for every single article. I will publish less, but higher quality (including grammar, spelling and proper proof-reading)
And finally, I'm also obviously not a native tongue speaker. I'm working on that, too, albeit the effects will not be as quick and drastic as for the above points.
I'm not planning for an editor as of now, but tying all of the above together, I think grammar and typos will be improving drastically.
Prego and thank you for the feedback 🙂
I just discovered your blog and love your content. Can't wait to see how you improve the site!
tQuote from Guest on July 24, 2019, 10:00 pmI just discovered your blog and love your content. Can't wait to see how you improve the site!
Thank you dear, cheers :).
Revisiting The 48 Laws of Power
These days I am working on a project revisiting "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene.
It will be a series of 5 or 6 posts:
- A review all the laws with modern examples
Greene's examples, mostly from the ancient world, don't always translate well into modernity (3 posts, 2 of which are already out, see "Updated 48 Laws of Power" and "The Modern 48 Laws of Power")
- "Why the 48 Laws of power is wrong", reviewing the science and data
Not that the book is "wrong", but as I feel there is a lot of hype and too many are following the "laws" as if they were actual laws applicable at all times -and of course they're not.
And of course, there is some SEO and click-through thought going into the title of "Why the 48 Laws of Power is wrong".
- Article on "The 48 Laws of Power for value-driven leaders"
As it should be obvious from this website, I'm not a big fan of total lack of ethics and morals.
This article will review how one can apply Machiavellian principles into a more ethical and values-based framework.
And finally, I'm thinking about this one:
- The 48 Laws of Power For Dummies
Sometimes I read and write on a subreddit called "The 48 Laws of Power", and there are quite a few people writing there who are completely clueless to basic social skills and try to apply "The 48 Laws of Power" in the most wrong-headed fashion possible.
They come across not only as dickheads, but also as plainly stupid.
But I'm not sure I will complete this article as there would be some overlap with the "why The 48 Laws of Power" is wrong.
So we'll see.
Outside of The Power Moves
These days I'm also doing less Toastmasters and a bit more martial arts training -albeit they cajoled me for a speech today which I might upload on YB later-.
I had my first training in MMA ever last week and... I went home more battered and bruised than ever :D.
But it was great fun.
Oh, and I also ran into an ex girlfriend of mine and parting we had that "let's do a coffe moment".
Maybe I'll write something about that.
I'm done with updating the 48 Laws of Power now.
Now for the next few days:
- Going through another batch of older posts for proof-reading and updating
- Password-protecting older book notes that are not as relevant for The Power Moves (ie.: personal finance, too generic self-help and lower quality self-help)
- I hired a graphic designer to improve the newsletter autoresponder and he did a great job. Now I will further improve the actual text
After that, I will work again on the course to improve the social skills part.
I have lots of great videos and new real-life situations that will work great to help people improve their understanding of social dynamics and persuasion.
So I will break one of the lessons in two: basic and advanced social skills. They will be two great lessons and I will open up one of them for non-enrolled students as a preview.
I met my ex girlfriend for dinner a few days ago.
And it was the most emotionally draining thing I've done in a while.
I Dressed cool: $250 sunglasses on, Italian-handmade shoes, tailored jacked, walked like I owned the fucking place... But I reminded myself of Eminem's lyrics:
On the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down..
Only difference: I didn't forget what I wrote down 😀
Which sounded a bit like this:
(removes his sunglasses, signaling he means business and needs unobstructed eye contact)
I need to say this.
I think the way we left each other was shameful.
(unexpect little bomb there)
And it takes two to tango and we both were there. But I think it's mostly my fault.
She tried to interrupt me here saying it was OK.
I added it wasn't easy to say, but I had to say it. Then resumed:
... And I always felt guilty about it.
Of course what's been done has been done and I can't change what's happened, but I want to say this.
(little pause)
I'm sorry.
So finally I got to say "I'm sorry" to her, which made me really happy.
About The Power Moves
These are the latest concerning the website:
- Negotiation Genius Review
I finished reading and summarizing "Negotiation Genius".
Guys, that's the book on negotiation.
If you're short on time start with that one: it's not only the best book on negotiation I have read, but also the best overview on effective negotiation, delivering value for beginners and experts alike
- Reading The Dictator's Handbook
Man, this book is genius!
Best book on political strategy and analysis of power I have read... In a long time.
Summary and reviewing coming soon after I give it a second listen.
- Upgrading the store & ebooks
This will be my very next micro-project.
I updated "Dating Power Dynamics", sent it to the early buyers and asked for feedback/testimonials.
I'll be going through all the ebooks and upgrade them, change the pricing and improve the design and style of each single ebook.
Once it's done I think I might move the store into the main menu.
Right now it's in Reading List -> Speed Learning and it's a bit hidden.
A couple of people wrote they were interested in a couple of ebooks and they asked "where are they, I can't find them".
I hate the idea someone might abuse the system (see freeloaders), but I'm also considering adding a 30 days money back guarantee on ebooks as well.
Cheers!
Red Pill Psychology: An Analysis
I am now working on two articles:
- The Red Pill psychology: why and how it became a toxic place
- The difference between toxic red pill and high-value men: the mindsets
Don't get me wrong: there are still great ideas, some valid theories and good inputs for thoughts and reflection in TRP.
But, on the whole, ends being a rather toxic place.
The first article will be a bit heavier and more scientific, highlighting the psychology and social dynamics that govern "The Red Pill".
And the second one will provide a more helpful and practical guide.
It will help readers take out the good ideas from TRP without succumbing to the darker, toxic fringes.
I'm very excited about both of them, I hope to manage at least one by the end of the week :).
Cheers!