are you an NPC?

NPC: The ultimate dis to describe a cookie-cutter individual who lacks independent thought.

An NPC is the most unattractive character one can play in this video game of life.

No one respects those who live from a script, void of unique opinions or insight.

This is why you and I must do everything in our power not to become NPCs.

Being an Entreflâneur is an excellent place to start.

Entreflâneurs are one-of-one individuals. Strange and unusual specimens. Difficult to pigeonhole into a stereotype.

Such uniqueness results from pursuing innate passions with little regard for the status quo.

You see, no one is born an NPC.

Everyone is born a beautiful, unique individual with a special gift to bestow upon the world.

Society’s programming then suppresses these gifts and replaces them with NPC behavior.

NO ONE is immune to becoming an NPC. Everyone has a bit of NPC in them.

This is because we are all programmed to a degree.

Some of this programming is good and allows us to function in society.

A lot of programming is bad and prevents us from sharing our gifts.

To live an authentic life, you must regularly check yourself to ensure you do not become a fully formed NPC.

One such approach is to define what is the OPPOSITE of an NPC.

Rather than avoid the negative, let’s strive towards the positive.

Some may say the opposite of an NPC is the main character.

Having “main character energy.”

Being the main character is better than being an NPC, but it’s not ideal.

It comes with it too much ego and importance.

Thinking you’re hot shit can lead to problems. Many folks in mental institutions think they are the main character.

There must be a middle ground…

Here’s an idea: why not be the hero in your life’s story while also being the reader?

You’re the main character with the ability to toggle between 1st and 3rd person points of view.

Here’s what I mean…

Think of 1st person POV as a 1st person shooter like Call of Duty.

1st person POV is when you’re fully engulfed in the moment. Like flow state.

Much of life’s satisfaction comes from this type of highly engaged awareness.

Then, you have 3rd person.

This is like in my all-time favorite video game, God of War. 👇️ 

The difference is subtle but profound.

In 3rd person, you’re still controlling your meat vehicle but from over the shoulder.

This awareness is powerful because it allows you to detach and experience life as an objective observer.

One way to achieve this 3rd person awareness is through visualization.

I like to practice a technique where I slowly rise out and above my body.

I picture myself slowly floating upward, leaving my body behind below.

My awareness floats through the roof of my building, high above the city, eventually above the country, and into outer space.

I eventually find myself floating thousands of miles above the earth, my body still in my room.

This type of out-of-body experience is immensely peaceful and calming.

It creates an awareness where “you are not you.”

You are the reader, not the subject.

It helps you detach from unwanted NPC programming and reject it.

It also creates an emptiness that you can fill with ideas that are unique to you, not someone else.

Send this email to an NPC.

See you next week!

Graydon

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Cool things I found during my weekly internet stroll.

Duolingo’s $12B gamified design playbook

Sam Altman’s “what i wish someone told me” 

This is big news. Iambic Therapeutics announces “Enchant,” - an AI platform that can predict the outcomes of clinical trials.

Some creepy Edgar Allen Poe stories & poems to play on this Halloween night!

Served up by Spijker & me.

Money (That’s What I Want) | Moontalk, Wilhermina

Bloom | Maribou State, Gaidaa

Corpus | Meera (NO)

TERRITORY (SOMMA REMIX) | The Blaze