Mark Manson
Medellin, AT
Male, 28
I am a professional blogger, internet entrepreneur, and world traveler. I've been to over 40 countries and am currently working on my second book about long-term travel and how to work/live abroad. On my blog I write about self development and creating a unique lifestyle for yourself. Feel free to ask me anything.
Well, it kind of depends on what the "else" is here, but I would focus on one... or starting a business that relates to the occupation you want to pursue. When you're starting out cold, starting a business requires an insane amount of time and work to get off the ground. If you were splitting that with something else, I don't know if you'd get anywhere.
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Cats. You don't have to pick up their poop and they have much funnier Youtube videos. And cuter too.
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You mean the one that exceeded my expectations the most? I would say either China or Russia. I really did not expect to like China. I was going there to do the tourist stuff and because it was a cheaper connection back home to the States for the holidays. I ended up really, really liking it there and wanting to go back for an extended period of time. Another one is Russia. Before I even got there I had dropped a small fortune on visas, language lessons, and an apartment in the center of St. Petersburg. When I got there, my immediate thought was "What have I done?" Nothing worked, everything was dirty, everyone was rude, no one spoke English, the food was horrible, the weather was horrible. I thought I was in for a very long month. I ended up loving it and actually if I didn't have a girlfriend in Brazil I'd probably go back to Russia ASAP.
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Sometimes my parents call me up feeling really guilty when I do a post about my emotional baggage or childhood issues, haha. But generally, no. Most of the people either don't care, are mildly flattered, or never find out because they don't read me. The exception is girlfriends. My ex could get pissy/happy depending on how I referenced her in various posts. And the current girl I'm dating actually cried when she read a post I wrote about her (it was the good kind of cry). Honestly, it's surprising how little blowback or drama I've gotten considering how personal I do often get.
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CBP Officer
Why are so many customs officers huge jerks?
Social Security Employee
How do you check to see whether someone claiming disability is actually disabled?
Magician
What's the most amazing magic trick you've ever seen?
I have mixed feelings for it. I think on the one hand, it does a lot of good and has some admirable goals -- self improvement, increasing self awareness and self respect in men, helping anti-social men become more social and confident, a support group for men's issues and insecurities. These are all great things. I think some aspects of it are quite toxic as well -- the singular focus and obsession on sex, the objectification of women and occasional misogyny, the narcissistic tendencies some companies teach men to have, and the weird cult mentality many men develop as a result. The major thing that inspired my current site was creating a positive and healthy alternative to the seduction community for men.
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I worked in a bank for a short period of time, maybe 2-3 months before quitting. My entrepreneurialism was unplanned and a bit serendipitous. I wrote about it on my site here: http://postmasculine.com/kill-your-day-job
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Before when I was primarily a pick up and dating site, my competitors were obvious: the other pick up businesses and coaches. Now that I've branched out into more self development and lifestyle and focused much more on my personal brand rather than specific advice, my competition and market has become more ephemeral. I think my biggest competition are the modern men's sites: AskMen.com, ArtofManliness.com, Men's Health, etc. But I think they are competition less in what they sell, and more in the space they occupy in pop culture and in men's perceptions of themselves. Ultimately, the goal of my site is to redefine what masculinity is and how a new generation of men perceive themselves. So while some sites or businesses may compete directly with my style product or my dating product, ultimately I'm competing for a space in the mind's of men at large. It's a lofty goal, but hey, dream big, right?
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