Living A Worthwhile 20's

To not shy away from the moment...

When I was 20 or so, I heard the factoid that, “Your brain isn’t done developing until you’re 25 or 26.” I learned about neuroplasticity. I decided the next 5-6 years of my life had to be dope and indeed they were. I formed a surprising amount of core memories in that time.

Up to that point, I’d kept decent habits. A bit heavy on the video gaming, mostly owing to Halo 2 with friends — which can be partly excused. Too much time in classrooms, whiling away the hours.

I cleaned up my act to the extent it needed to be and I’m glad I did.

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Your 20’s a crucial time for laying the foundation of who you will be in the two decades to come. In a lifetime, people are typically defined by what they did in their 30’s and 40’s, although men often “break it open” in their 50’s. Most men make the most money that they will make in their 50’s and 60’s.

People’s habits from their 20’s show in their 30’s:

-those who eat too much become fat

-those who had too much fornication become callous and withered

-those who did too many drugs start to go schizo

-those who doomscrolled too much start to have shit for brains

-those who were into sportsball too much start to disappear into that world

-those who kept kooky diets will start to have a strange brain tilt and indecipherable exclusivism to them

-those who chose government or corporate employment start to lose their ability for entrepreneurship

-those who didn’t have kids start to feel really empty and existentially bored

-those who didn’t do much start to feel like losers

I have often written or spoken about the “lessons of regret” because people have an antagonistic relationship with their regret. They can’t listen to it. Instead, they get into this arrangement where they’re tormented by it. They won’t allow it to transform them. Instead, they’re inflexible in the face of it and stay on a procrastination hamster wheel. They cast around for someone to be their parent. They don’t want to break down the pillars of their false life. They don’t want to test bounds, especially if they’ve got a decent job.

Old habits die hard. They require a plasma cutter!

Even though you’re defined by what you do in your 30’s and 40’s, it’s the momentum of your 20’s that is the sneaker wave that either vaults you to glory or carries you out to the depths of madness.

Yes, perfectly normal appearing people in their 30’s are often completely cracked — they’ve just learned a socially acceptable veneer to keep things under. I always recommend journaling — journaling like Hell, if you have to.

If you’re reading this as a 30-something who feels under-accomplished, take heart: all you have is today. Yesterday is gone. And we live in a time of unprecedented government overreach. Okay, so you went into the underground of male achievement, video games… climb back out! Bleed and bleed for your right to be exceptional or at least worthwhile. We all have to bleed for anything to get done, given these odds. Stand And Bleed. That’s the name of my album I released at age 30 and it was exactly the right message for that time. Stand up, no matter how creaky and cruddy it feels. Present yourself. Toe the line.

Drop me a line at stevefranssen@protonmail.com if you need some professional assistance.

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I try to point to what I’ve done as an example of what is possible. I know to some it comes off as bragging. Let’s say it is a “brag”: I’ve earned the right. Don’t be such a socialist to think I don’t have the right. The truth is, I never let myself have an excuse. When I was sleeping four hours a night during the 2020 election, I still dragged my sleepy ass across the country five times to support Trump and stand with Nick Fuentes. It was a huge draw on resources but I found there was still plenty more in me. It sharpened me for the health struggles that were to come.

Try to do something really difficult, even if it’s something simple like a 30 or 50 mile hike. Or an extended fast. Or a basic cold shower. Or go have a conversation.

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Europeans are neotonous.

That means we’re slow to develop. If you’re Scandinavian, for example, you probably can’t grow decent facial hair until your 40’s. But you also have an absolute boatload of longevity genes loaded up in you. Most European variants have something like this going on. The gestation period is longer.

If you’re receiving this message in your 20’s: GO FOR IT.

I did and I get to live with that pride for the rest of my life.

Time waits for no one.

There is a rising transaction cost in the world. It’s as basic as pointing to the Visa card fee. That’s the usury rate the bankers set. Libertarians, like Stefan Molyneux, will say it’s the time-value of money but then if you point out that the bankers don’t set interest rates on each other, they go quiet. Real quiet. Dang son!

The transaction cost is the White Man’s burden. You live with it, I live with it. May as well try to vault over the bar as often as possible.

The other day I went to spring up a couple of steps and my back foot slipped, causing me to squish my front foot on the stair in an awkward way I didn’t like. I could chalk it up to the stairs being carpeted but I didn’t. I immediately thought of the plyometric box I’ve been thinking of buying recently. I had one a couple years ago that I sold when I sold the farm in Montana. It kept my leg muscles explosive. I’d jump up 30 inches with dumbbells in each hand, despite having 5-6 bonafide stomach conditions and crippling insomnia to boot. I can eat some pain to have explosiveness.

I’ll be getting a jump box soon.

That’s how life is: you are confronted by limits and how you respond is what defines your character. You can be a pushover. You can be a complainer. You can lapse into nihilism after a period of hedonism. You can hide from the free market in some daycare job. But time stops for no one. You only have so many summers remaining.

Drive fast.

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