Comments on: 5 Whopping Lies That Society Screams At You And 5 Brutal Truths That It Keeps Quiet About

By: How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur | thelifething.com

How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur | thelifething.com — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:29:47 +0000

[...] Joel is a first time guest writer at The Life Thing and he recommends that you check out the “5 Whopping Lies” post written by Jonny for a great read (after reading this article of [...]

By: An Almost Comprehensive Guide To Knowing What You Want, Improving Yourself, Finding Success, Escaping The Rat Race And Becoming Rich In 2010. | thelifething.com

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:59:56 +0000

[...] 5 Lies That Society Shouts At You And 5 Truths That It Keeps Quite On * [...]

By: Jonny

Jonny — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:12:18 +0000

Hi Mike,

I can both agree and disagree. Hard work is definitely not a guarantee of success as in this day and age you have to be working smart as well.

However, I would have to say that far more of life and success is actually down to luck then most would like to accept. Take for example the fact that as you have access to a computer and the internet you are already in the top 10% most affluent people on the planet. That had nothing to do with you, it was just luck that you were born in the Western world.

This is not, however an excuse for being lazy, far from it and I believe that those that work harder do seem to be luckier than those that don’t.

By: MikeKey

MikeKey — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:59:20 +0000

Jonny, I am loving the articles you right, and this one is good, but I have to object with your first “BRUTAL” truth as a BRUTAL FALSEHOOD. That is the kind of thinking people to make excuses for why their lives suck. Oh “such and such is just luckier than me” or “I just have bad luck”

That’s horrible advice and thinking. So many of the greatest minds have said there is no luck, but only what you make.

But maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’s what you do with bad and good luck. Those who seek the best and opportunities in every situation.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:28:22 +0000

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the comment mate, really appreciated. Glad you enjoyed it.

Btw, interesting site you have, I like it.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:47:06 +0000

Brilliant post! One of the best I’ve ever read, so concise and insightful.

You have inspired me, and probably hundred of others with this post, thank you.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:21:53 +0000

Hi Matt,
Excellemt comment and it is really arppreciated. I heard aout the happiness quotient in Bhutan on the “Stuff You Should KNow Podcast”and how governments where benchmarking the happiness of their people in other ways other than GNP.

It was really incredible to hear the lengths that they have got to get an accurate assessment of their countries Gross National Happiness.

Really excellent comment mate and I hope you stic around the site. I wold be really intereste in your further comments.

Listen to this guy people.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:59:19 +0000

Great blog! Glad I came across it…

I find it interesting that, for the most part, the underlying theme of your List of Lies is economics. And your Truths largely omit that subject. That in itself illustrates the problem, which is “What are the personal/cultural definitions of ‘success’?”.

You point out in Lie #1 “Work hard for something that you are passionate about, it will make you happy, but do not work hard for success.” You’ve equated success with the attainment of economic indulgence. For many, the statement contradicts itself, because success is the pursuit and attainment of happiness.

This is not news, but some background on how other countries are developing metrics that follow the happiness quotient of their citizens… This concept is now being considered by some European countries; most recently and notably, France’s President Sarkozy is pushing the idea:

Report from Bhutan: GNH v. GNP:
http://communityindicators.blogspot.com/2009/06/report-from-bhutan-gnh-v-gnp-by-junko.html

Sarkozy’s happiness index is worth taking seriously:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-lichfield/john-lichfield-sarkozys-happiness-index-is-worth-taking-seriously-1790323.html

Again, awesome blog!

By: Jonny

Jonny — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:27:03 +0000

James, An incredibly insightful observation. Thanks for the comment.

By: James NomadRip

James NomadRip — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:48:31 +0000

Not only is the rudder often broken, but remember it is completely dark half the time, too.