@TiberiusBravo87 First, a few disclaimers on what I'm about to say: I'm a financial layman, I play safe and long-term with my money, and I go by gut feeling a lot, only bigger picture stuff. So don't take my advice (I'm also interested in what the more knowledgeable people on here have to say on this).

Except from a buffer that would pay my bills for three months, I put all my leftover money into various index funds - mostly global, but some national and regional as well. I don't invest more than I can hold on to, and not sell, during a crash.

I pay attention to the news. Whenever there's a panic of some kind, doesn't really matter the kind as long as it can potentially influence faith in the markets, I wait for a day or two for people to panic, and then I buy funds (only index funds, I don't wanna pay more comission than I have to for some person to play the lottery on my behalf).

Some economist out in the media, warning people about the markets? I buy. Bad news from Ukraine? I buy. Monkey pox outbreak? I buy. Whenever my colleagues at work are collectively worried about something in the news picture? I buy.

So I don't invest steadily, like "this much every month" and let it go automatically. I may save up a decent amount in my bank account, and then invest it all in one go depending on how much bad news there are in the media, how much panic.

Long term, I have faith in the markets. I don't see a prolonged scenario (15-20 years+) where the overall global economy will shrink. I have faith in technology increasing productivity long term, even if said technology means people are getting laid off. The energy crisis will be resolved. Once all the "green" people feel the result of their beliefs in their personal lives, and on their personal economy, there will be demands of clean, nuclear energy. Because unlike wind and solar power, nuclear power is actual technological progress. Even some climate ideologues are already calling out for nuclear energy.

Russia-Ukranie will be resolved too, one way or the other, and the flow of goods and services will resume and increase. And as for inflation, having your money in funds rather than in a bank account, offers some modum protection against that. So it's a double-win in that sense.

So that's my general thinking - a lot of gut feeling bigger picture stuff, combined with shorter term gut feeling gauging the general mood in the news cycle and populace. That's what I go by, within fairly safe boundaries. COVID was a fantastic investment opportunity as far as I'm concerned, Russia-Ukraine is going to turn out the same. Now I'm just waiting for a China-Taiwan panic, and I'll invest my next batch of savings.

But like I said, don't take this as advice. I don't really know what I'm doing, I'm just feeling what I'm doing if you catch my drift. Feedback would be much appreciated, cause there's always the doubt.

@Swagbeast121

Don't compare yourself to anybody else, only compare yourself to yourself from yesterday. Doesn't have to be a quick process, only has to be a steady one.

As for losing fat, that's a job you do mainly in the kitchen. I know two guys who lost a lot of fat on a low-carb / ketosis diet. They weren't lifting though, so overall results were kind of "flabby" anyways. I don't know how well that diet would work with lifting, if it would hinder your gains or anything. I also know one guy who lost a lot of fat on a carnivore diet. That guy was lifting too, and had an overall fantastic bodily and mental transformation. Maybe something for you to check out if fat percentage is an issue.

It's good to read up on a bunch of stuff, but in the end it's all about doing. You can read up on how to talk to girls (or just people in general) but you have to go out and actually do it. It's easy to get caught up in the mental masturbation, to get lost lost in the macro-level theoretical RP stuff.

Action, action, action. If it's not actionable advice, it's just interesting at best, but not necessarily useful. Try London Day Game for a few pointers on how to open up a conversation and so on, but do practice it. Not just on women, on anyone really. You'll get shot down, it's alright, everybody gets shot down, even Chad. It's just practice, adjusting, not taking stuff personally, trying something else, having fun with it. It's a game, games are fun.

TL;Dr You're on the path, that's all that matters, not where you are or where anyone else is. Kitchen work + some basic PUA general ideas + action, action and more action. Invest in yourself, do it all for you.

Oh, and fuck anyone who isn't being a friend. You know who they are. Get new friends, better friends.

@Hodgekin It's true there will always be a bottom % of men (and women for that matter). But if self-improvement works to reshuffle the bottom %, as you say, that means most individuals have a certain influence over where they are in the hierarchy. Most people aren't going to do anything but to blame external factors (the genetic lottery, culture, feminism etc), so it doesn't really take that much introspection, somewhat independent thinking and self-care to at least get in to the top 50%.

And that's the difference between red pill and black pill, as far as I can tell. The black pill focuses on all the things you can't do anything about (and laments it as if to say the blue pill is how it's supposed to be). TRP focuses on the things that are (at least to a certain degree) within your control, and provides you with a bit of agency (for those who don't realise they have that).

Self-improvement being able to reshuffle the bottom % is a good thing, not a "all you're doing is..." type of pointless thing.