Recently, a friend asked me to throw my two worthless cents into his blog. I did so viciously, with the immediate result of the most beautiful conflict and controversy. Some folks--especially those who claim to have "lost their ego"--suddenly reveal their true belief that the world only revolves around them.
I tell you, the I-have-no-ego people have larger ones than Donald Trump himself. Even though I don't like Mr. Trump too much, I do respect him for not denying his ego and aggressive self-interest. Self-appointed egoless and holy individuals are worse than a used car salesman proclaiming to be an honest business man. Creepy! When you tell me you have lost your ego, I know you have lost your marbles.
The other reaction was a non-reaction: people shy away from tension. They wait until the waves have calmed down before they stick their heads back out of the water, even if that requires them to drown meanwhile. They love peaceful and quiet environments, and certainly they don't care to be shot at. Well, if you happen to be one of those two characters, I suggest you get a job or you keep the one you have because without a healthy dosage of self-interest and enjoyment of conflict you can't run a business. Hell, theoretically you can't even run to the grocery store without those two character traits.
Most people not only despise what they do, they are BORED out of their minds also. They are bored because they are BORING people (both possible meanings intended)! How many teenagers do you know who are bored and angry, with the supersized self-importance of an I-have-no-ego freak? All of them, perhaps?
God, I love accusing people of something randomly, and then lean back and watch the responses roll in!
Patrick Lencioni says in his book Death by Meeting, "When a group of intelligent people come together to talk about issues that matter, it is both natural and productive for disagreement to occur. Resolving those issues is what makes a meeting productive, engaging, even fun." According to Mr. Lencioni, problem No. 1 of boring and ineffective meetings is "lack of drama!" A movie without conflict is not a movie you pay money for, but in your life you crave peace and boredom? And if you are pretending to be self-employed, an entrepreneur oh-my-god, you think you get far by offering peace and boredom for sale?
Yeah, yeah, I know you peddle goodies and services that aren't labeled "boredom" or "peace," but that's what is behind your stuff if peace is all you want and boredom is your most natural state of mind. Potential customers smell the ailing rat and leave you in peace. Bored and boring individuals are still teenagers, emotionally, angry at the world and believing they are owed what they deserve. The basic baby boomer fallacy.
You watch hockey and football because you love peace so much? The NFL makes money with peace? Right!
Agreeable "discussions" and the faked politeness I witness all day makes me puke. No, I do NOT promote the rude behavior and name calling you see when online babies believe to be shielded by their anonymity! But we do love real conflict, tension, authenticity. We don't care for faked orgasms. We want to be grabbed by the lapels. We like to feel our hearts pound faster, and not just in the dark of a movie theater when we're armed with popcorn and a bag of m&ms.
Peace! What? The deceptively fascist John Lennon peace: there will be peace when everyone thinks like me?!
Wannabe productive? Seek conflict, cause tension, exploit controversy ... yep, for fun and profit! Hey, don't hurt people!
You know, what people say they want often turns out to be the opposite of what they really want. We lie a lot.
Egbert
What Others Say
The editorial content of the Rumpelstilz website seems cut straight from the mold of the cluetrain manifesto with a style and substance meant to challenge conventional thoughts about two things: 1) making mistakes and 2) mankind's odd relationship with money. While the site is meant as a companion and promotion site to the creator’s book, "The Money Adventure," on its own it seems like the mad rants of an irate blogger. With a style that is unique for it’s unapologetic honesty, albeit somewhat manic, creator Egbert Sukop pushes one point continuously – learning from failure and mistakes. However, instead of being riddled with syrupy and politically correct sensitive-guy drivel, Sukop attempts to question all conventional thought in his lengthy discourses on the subject in a kind of stream-of-consciousness core dump.
In terms of money, Sukop is not shy about telling readers that everything they think about the subject is flawed, from what you value to how you go about getting it. Whether you agree with his opinions on the irrelevance of materialism, or the dysfunctional religious relationship society has with the dollar, his thoughts can’t help but leave you questioning your own reality, and in a good way. (gregg@roundtable.com)
In terms of money, Sukop is not shy about telling readers that everything they think about the subject is flawed, from what you value to how you go about getting it. Whether you agree with his opinions on the irrelevance of materialism, or the dysfunctional religious relationship society has with the dollar, his thoughts can’t help but leave you questioning your own reality, and in a good way. (gregg@roundtable.com)
What Readers think
about Egbert Sukop's new book 'How to Better Hate Your Job:'
"Mind - Jarring: Reading this book will shake your opinions and confuse the hell out of you all the way through. You'll laugh often, disagree, become pissed off and finally shake your head at the deepest most original wisdom you may have ever read. Sukop's style is arrogantly irreverent and you'll love it as he kills your sacred cows. An example ... "Common sense tends to degrade what works. Maybe the solution for monetary disparity in the world is not to fight greed but to promote it heavily."
Seriously, there isn't an author alive or dead who understands more about money and what causes it to flow than Egbert Sukop. If you want to read something powerfully fresh and definitely groundbreaking - buy this book." --Tom Volkar
“Shocking. Fearless. Revolutionary. Every page is an Aha! moment." --Ray Schiel
“You will undoubtedly love to hate this book and its author long before you finish reading it, and you will never be the same after being exposed to this cynical masterpiece. Beware - Sukop offers no chicken soup for your sorry soul nor does he coddle your inner child. Rather, he cleverly and comically implies that you should build your own unique individual ass-kicking machine to snap you out of your habits, patterns, and beliefs so you can finally start having some fun and actually enjoy your miserable existence. He pretends to write about money and jobs, but in fact he is writing about life in general. You may love to hate this book so much that you find yourself re-reading it over and over again, and buying it for your enemies that you love to hate so much.” --Tera Crisalida
"Egbert Sukop will do for the employment industry what The Tipping Point has done for the tipping point industry." --Steve Krueger
“I also started reading Egbert's book--even though I hated the cover and the title--and I am nearly finished. It is not an easy read but very thought provoking. Eckhart Tolle brought us the Power of Now, Egbert has brought us the Power of Pain and Paradox. It takes a sledge hammer to many of our "sacred cows"and gives you a different perspective. It is an irreverent and important discussion for these interesting times when nothing is secure, especially your job. I have already recommended it [...]. There should be a warning on the cover though ... it is an equal opportunity offender. Congratulations Egbert on expressing who you are. Best of luck with it. --Claudia B.
“Shockingly rude, captivating, a prying inquiry into unhappiness. Serious yet funny, this book reminds me to wake up even more and not to let myself off the hook. A compelling read.” --Tanya O'Connor
"Provocative? PROVOCATIVE??? Deliciously so. Thank you, Egbert Sukop, for this book. I am definitely talking about it, and want everyone I know to read it. Some I could only take in a chunk here and there--and this writing definitely snuck by my mind--most of what was said STILL hasn't registered there! Or like a friend I loaned it too--she couldn't sleep. I think that a good thing.
Egbert "approaches/ attacks/plays with" major assumptions Americans make about making a living.
The concepts offered are so "other." Short, sweet, not-so-sweet--a definite wake-up call to anyone who values out of the box living." --Vinnie Rose
"Mind - Jarring: Reading this book will shake your opinions and confuse the hell out of you all the way through. You'll laugh often, disagree, become pissed off and finally shake your head at the deepest most original wisdom you may have ever read. Sukop's style is arrogantly irreverent and you'll love it as he kills your sacred cows. An example ... "Common sense tends to degrade what works. Maybe the solution for monetary disparity in the world is not to fight greed but to promote it heavily."
Seriously, there isn't an author alive or dead who understands more about money and what causes it to flow than Egbert Sukop. If you want to read something powerfully fresh and definitely groundbreaking - buy this book." --Tom Volkar
“Shocking. Fearless. Revolutionary. Every page is an Aha! moment." --Ray Schiel
“You will undoubtedly love to hate this book and its author long before you finish reading it, and you will never be the same after being exposed to this cynical masterpiece. Beware - Sukop offers no chicken soup for your sorry soul nor does he coddle your inner child. Rather, he cleverly and comically implies that you should build your own unique individual ass-kicking machine to snap you out of your habits, patterns, and beliefs so you can finally start having some fun and actually enjoy your miserable existence. He pretends to write about money and jobs, but in fact he is writing about life in general. You may love to hate this book so much that you find yourself re-reading it over and over again, and buying it for your enemies that you love to hate so much.” --Tera Crisalida
"Egbert Sukop will do for the employment industry what The Tipping Point has done for the tipping point industry." --Steve Krueger
“I also started reading Egbert's book--even though I hated the cover and the title--and I am nearly finished. It is not an easy read but very thought provoking. Eckhart Tolle brought us the Power of Now, Egbert has brought us the Power of Pain and Paradox. It takes a sledge hammer to many of our "sacred cows"and gives you a different perspective. It is an irreverent and important discussion for these interesting times when nothing is secure, especially your job. I have already recommended it [...]. There should be a warning on the cover though ... it is an equal opportunity offender. Congratulations Egbert on expressing who you are. Best of luck with it. --Claudia B.
“Shockingly rude, captivating, a prying inquiry into unhappiness. Serious yet funny, this book reminds me to wake up even more and not to let myself off the hook. A compelling read.” --Tanya O'Connor
"Provocative? PROVOCATIVE??? Deliciously so. Thank you, Egbert Sukop, for this book. I am definitely talking about it, and want everyone I know to read it. Some I could only take in a chunk here and there--and this writing definitely snuck by my mind--most of what was said STILL hasn't registered there! Or like a friend I loaned it too--she couldn't sleep. I think that a good thing.
Egbert "approaches/ attacks/plays with" major assumptions Americans make about making a living.
The concepts offered are so "other." Short, sweet, not-so-sweet--a definite wake-up call to anyone who values out of the box living." --Vinnie Rose
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