Some harsh truths in life

What are ten truths everyone should accept in life?

1. People often prefer the fake versions of us.
   1. The truth is that people often prefer the fake versions of us, depending upon whether we naturally have an agreeable personality or not.
   2. As children we are encouraged to “Be ourselves.” We certainly can do this, but if we do, don’t expect others to always like us. We may lose friends, career promotions, and be alienated from family.
2. You cannot trust your son or daughter with strangers.
   1. The truth is you cannot trust your son or daughter with strangers, even members of your own family.
   2. The Boy Scouts of America just went bankrupt and dissolved due to lawsuits based on tens of thousands of incidents of sexual abuse of young boys. Pedophile priests and pastors ran rampant in the Catholic Church for decades.
3. Some people are dead inside.
   1. There are some people who are dead inside. There is no hidden good person inside of them.
4. Many people cannot realize the absurdity of the rat race until they have completed the maze.
5. You need to understand when to give up on people.
   1. If you are a scapegoat in your family, nothing you say or do can change that.
   2. You cannot “work out your differences,” “lay out your heart,” and have it change anything.
   3. In fact, they will use your vulnerabilities against you.
   4. There is only one way out - get out and don’t look back.
6. Who we are is the product of the random combination of genes.
   1. As a parent with children you see the enormous power of genetics.
   2. Parents help nurture their children, but 80% of who we are is the product of the random combination of genes.
   3. My fraternal twins might as well be from different planets - looks, height, intelligence, hair color, and interests - all radically different.
7. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell.
8. Trust your gut.
   1. It usually ends up being right, and you realize this after you ignore it and give other [suspicious person or people] your trust.
9. Everything is politics. Your competence may not mean much.
   1. Everything is politics - even your family.
   2. You can be the most competent person in the world, but if you aren’t political, you will be passed over, bullied, or ignored.
10. The strongest form of violence is mass quiet assent.