SF Disrupt Conference 2018

Today was the first day at the TechCrunch (formerly an AOL property) and Verizon-sponsored conference.

Somebody approached me with the idea of using my brand power for a men’s luxury clothing line that would feature a pitbull head on top of a men’s suit. It’s somewhat similar to the Maceoo line which features a lion’s head on a men’s suit. I declined. I don’t think a pitbull head will necessarily drive a men’s fashion line, and you’re asking me for an investment [“Let’s be partners”] which shows me you’re underfunded. And there are too many fashion lines already.

The Conference on the first day was great. Huge crowd. 1200+ start-ups, covering Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Experiences, Biotech, Blockchain, FinTech, Health Tech, Justice/Diversity, Investor, Mobility, Privacy/Security, Robotics, and Space Tech. You can check out the schedule here and watch the live stream on Youtube. Notable: “Nutrigene wants to personalize your vitamins using your genetic code.” via TechCruch. I gave away a lot of books to attendees there.

The problem of freeloaders

A friend came to me today telling me that I have a serious problem. That I have the problem of freeloaders – trolls. What is that?, I said. You have all these people who come to your site, consume the content frivolously and indiscriminately, and leave. So?, I said. The blog is the world’s first personal power blog for men. Of course it is, he said. But do these people contribute in any way? Do they comment and share your site? No, they don’t. Do they buy books? No, they do not. Do they donate any money? No, they do not. Well, Max, you have a site that entertains trolls and scabs. Is that what you want?

My friend has a point here. Max, you have a lot of weeds growing in your garden. You have a garden of weeds. Clean up this shit.

No, that’s not good business. Good intentions do not pay the bills. Feminists go to Mark Manson’s blog and are glad to pay him $3 for a day’s access. (I believe he uses something called a “leaky paywall” where part of a blog post is visible until you reach a paywall. The $3 may allow access to more than a post. Only some of his posts are under a paywall. A lot are not.) If feminists and others come to my site…well, at least they don’t leave poop behind. Of course, I don’t write the same type of syrupy content others do.

I am on a personal journey with a definitive mission: a mission of strength beyond what they told me that I could do. I don’t write for the masses. I don’t write for reaction and spectacle.  I don’t write pop psychology. I don’t tell you silly stuff i.e. you can get a great business with a four-hour workweek, or a great body eating pizza and mashed potatoes. No, you can’t be a great cook on a four-hour kitchen weekly schedule. No, you can’t get a great body working out just 15 minutes a day. You can’t leap in your career listening to those mumbo jumbo CEO talks. That’s just the way it is. If you’re here and don’t take the steps needed to better yourself…I’m wasting my time and yours.

I don’t want any weeds in this garden. I want top-notch people. People at the top of their game. The people I met at the Disrupt SF conference are the league leaders in their field. I’m not here to entertain any trolls. You either invest in what you need or you don’t. You either listen to popular messages or go for the uncommon ones. You either take responsibility or you don’t. If you’re not obsessed with winning and improving, if you don’t have a Wall Street Journal subscription for example, if you can’t make an intelligent conclusion out of an extreme puzzle, you shouldn’t be here reading this blog.

How many toasties are you chomping? I’ve removed some posts from last year, like the how to defeat Trump post. (If you want to defeat Trump, do it on your own time and dime. Except that, as it stands now, he has a 100% chance of winning in 2020). Politics is a worthless game to me, I get nothing out of it.

Let me know if you think a paywall behind certain posts might present a solution to the troll problem we are having. IMO, the only people that can’t pay are the unemployed and students living on student loans. In the words of my friend, “trolls are smelly garbage.” Wimps and trolls need to check out. We don’t need them.