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In a world of information overload, whoever appears to be the most reasonable can influence or control the overloaded.

There’s no historical precedent for the amount of information the average person has at their fingertips, today. Anyone with a phone can bring libraries of information to bear on each and every decision.

But information is not knowledge. And knowledge is not wisdom. Without wisdom, it’s hard to tell what information applies to which decision.

This challenge, to the average person, is an opportunity for:

  1. Those who would seek to influence.
  2. Those who would seek to control.

Influence vs. Control

Whether influence is good or bad can only be determined by context and discernment. For now, I’ll confine “influence” to that with no destructive intent.

Control, on the other hand, is the desire to obtain consent for the purpose of domination. I’ll explain why consent is necessary, later in this article.

How can you tell whether someone is seeking benevolent influence or destructive control?

Those Seeking Influence …

… behave like vendors in a marketplace. They present the pros and cons of an idea or product and leave you to decide for yourself.

Those Seeking Control …

… bully, rather than inform or persuade. For example, any one of Schopenhauer’s 38 stratagems might be used to give the appearance of being right; with little or no interest in actually being right:

  1. The Extension (Dana’s Law)
  2. The Homonymy
  3. Generalize Your Opponent’s Specific Statements
  4. Conceal Your Game
  5. False Propositions
  6. Postulate What Has to Be Proved
  7. Yield Admissions Through Questions
  8. Make Your Opponent Angry
  9. Questions in Detouring Order
  10. Take Advantage of the Nay-Sayer
  11. Generalize Admissions of Specific Cases
  12. Choose Metaphors Favourable to Your Proposition
  13. Agree to Reject the Counter-Proposition
  14. Claim Victory Despite Defeat
  15. Use Seemingly Absurd Propositions
  16. Arguments Ad Hominem
  17. Defense Through Subtle Distinction
  18. Interrupt, Break, Divert the Dispute
  19. Generalize the Matter, Then Argue Against it
  20. Draw Conclusions Yourself
  21. Meet Him With a Counter-Argument as Bad as His
  22. Petitio principii
  23. Make Him Exaggerate His Statement
  24. State a False Syllogism
  25. Find One Instance to the Contrary
  26. Turn the Tables
  27. Anger Indicates a Weak Point
  28. Persuade the Audience, Not the Opponent
  29. Diversion
  30. Appeal to Authority Rather Than Reason
  31. This Is Beyond Me
  32. Put His Thesis into Some Odious Category
  33. It Applies in Theory, but Not in Practice
  34. Don’t Let Him Off the Hook
  35. Will Is More Effective Than Insight
  36. Bewilder Your opponent by Mere Bombast
  37. A Faulty Proof Refutes His Whole Position
  38. Become Personal, Insulting, Rude (argumentum ad personam)

Personal Favorites

  1. Declaring as “over”, debates that have hardly begun.
  2. Declaring as “debunked”, valid concerns yet to be addressed.
  3. Declaring as “discredited”, persons of integrity.
  4. Declaring as “concluded”, discussions that have hardly begun.
  5. Threats in lieu of persuasion.
  6. Imposing artificial deadlines for a decision.
  7. Declaring that “everybody does it” while providing no specific examples.

All of the above are attempts to deceive, rather than inform or persuade.

The Debate is Over!

Whenever I hear someone say, “The debate is over”, I know an end has been pronounced by someone desperate to avoid a beginning. I also know that the one making the pronouncement has made an investment, either monetary or emotional, that debate would put in jeopardy.

Global/Climate (Cooling | Warming | Change)

The first time I heard the phrase “Global Cooling” was in a sentence declaring the debate about it to be over. The phrase was then changed to “Global Warming” in the  same sentence declaring that debate to be over, as well.

Finally, the phrase was changed to something for which no debate is necessary: “Climate Change”. Indeed, climate is 100% guaranteed to change, forever!

The debate is over on a lot of things: ocean waves, morning dew, childish innocence. If the debate about something is declared to be over before it’s even begun, the one making the declaration has something to hide.

The Information Advantage

Due to the amount of information available, those who seek control must compete in the “marketplace” of ideas. They must not only to appear reasonable, but the most reasonable among competing alternatives. This “most reasonable” appearance must persist for as long as it takes to obtain a lasting form of control. The best of these is a binding contract, either signed or opted into.

Consent is Required for Lasting Control

Without consent, control is temporary. It lasts only as long as you remain fooled.

With consent, however, control lasts for the length of the contract.

The Jurisdiction of Reasonableness

Mere opinions, and the bullying tactics used to get them accepted, don’t matter unless there’s a valuable jurisdiction to be gained, and a judge to decide who gains them.

Those who don’t seek control rarely think about things like jurisdictions and judges. Those who do seek control, however, think about little else. They spend most of their time campaigning for appointment, by you, to be a judge in one of the most important jurisdictions of all: your mind.

Your mind is not only a jurisdiction, but the deciding jurisdiction of all others.

Agreement Types

Contractual opt-ins are becoming more and more subtle. For example, the mere breaking of a plastic seal on the box for a TV or appliance, is the opt-in for many EULAs (End-User License Agreements).

Still, an actual signature “on the dotted line” of a contract is the best legal mechanism of control.

The Debt-Contract Example

Only a handful of contracts, spread across the 7 Matters of Life, are needed to control most aspects of life. Three debt-contracts illustrate the point:

  1. Student loans — 10 Years.
  2. Car Loan — 5 Years.
  3. Mortgage — 30 Years.

One of these three contracts enslaves a large percentage of the world. To avoid that fate, consider two questions, before signing one of them:

  1. Are you fully aware of the educational, transportation, or housing alternatives that would fill these needs without going into debt?
  2. Do you not know that, if you present yourselves to anyone as an obedient slave, you are a slave of the one whom you obey? (Romans 6:16)

Some Legal Terms

Contracts are as good, or bad, as the words they contain.

Most liberties are not “lost” or “stolen”. They are surrendered, voluntarily, through legal contracts. It’s worth understanding some legal terms around such contracts.

To bear witness v. — To solemnly assert something, offering firsthand authentication of the fact; often concerning grave or important matters.

Truth (quality) n. — Conformity to reality or actuality; often with the implication of dependability.

Message — truth n. — A message that conforms to reality or actuality; whether historical (in space and time) or supernatural.

The Usual Campaign Sequence

The campaign to become an appointed judge in the jurisdiction of your mind follows a usual sequence. Think of it as a sales pitch, because that’s what it is.

  1. I am the most reasonable and provide the best options.
  2. You are less reasonable with limited options.
  3. “Those who love the truth hear my voice”1, and sign my contract.

Conclusion

Your mind is the deciding jurisdiction of all others, and you are its primary judge. The cost of retaining this position is choosing the highest source of truth, exploring all options available, and solving problems with a commitment to remain debt-free.

Pay whatever cost necessary to remain the primary judge of the jurisdiction of your mind. If you forfeit that position, all that isn’t immediately lost, is exposed to loss.

In a world of information overload, whoever appears to be the most reasonable can influence or control the overloaded.


  1. John 18:37 (ESV) 

One of the conclusions coming out of writing “12 Things to Consider Before Starting a Virtual Community” is how powerful these new platforms are. The forum software I’ve purchased and installed on DivineCoucil.org could handle the needs of a large corporation (And actually does serve in that capacity for many large companies). Under the right circumstances, one forum could easily be shared by multiple groups, just as branches or departments are handled on one corporate forum.

McGillespie Private Forum

To fully exploit the many wonderful features of the platform, I’ll be setting up private forums for McGillespie on the DivineCoucil.org forum.

You might have noticed a new “Forum” menu item on the top of this McGillespie blog page. That will take you to the DivineCouncil forum where you can interact with myself, and other McGillespie readers, on things such as articles, courses, books, products, etc.

Features & Benefits

There’s a special resource manager setup to disseminate materials and make it easy to find things. Each resource can be reviewed, and have discussions formed around them, so people know how they can be used, the ideal audience, attributions, etc.

There’s also a live chat area, so you might be able to catch fellow listeners online for a brief chat while you’re on the forum.

Better Than Facebook

Facebook is fun, but if you’re tired of conversations scrolling off the screen (and other FB pitfalls) the private forum environment is more conducive to organized and focused discussions that can be searched later by yourself and others.

So, if you’re looking for a more private and trusted environment for discussions around this material you have another option available in which to do that.

What Next?

Over 50 people have signed-up to the forum in the first week, and the platform will scale up to as large as it needs to be.

Once you’ve signed up for the forum, please e-mail me at tg@McGillespie.com to request access to the McGillespie private forum area so you’ll have access to the entire forum.

I’m Looking forward to seeing you there, and please bear with me as I make this into a seamless experience for all visitors!

A few months ago, there was a 60-day preview of Unseen Realm on LOGOS and Michael Heiser asked some of his more veteran readers to help shepherd newcomers to the material on the FaithLife Forum.

Growing out of those discussions has been what I hope to be the first sister website and forum for writers, artists, and those looking to interact with others on the material: DivineCouncil.org.

What is it?

It’s a full website & forum with three writers contributing to the front page blog. I hope the site may also serve as an outlet for others. So, if there are any believing writers, artists, photographers etc. Looking to contribute, this might be a good fit for you.

The forum part of the site is structured around the Unseen Realm in terms of the overarching missions of Jesus.

So What?

There’s a special resource manager setup to disseminate materials to small groups and make it easier to find things to bring to your church. Each resource can be reviewed, and have discussions formed around them, so people know how they can be used, the ideal audience, attributions, etc.

There’s also a live chat area, so you might be able to catch fellow listeners online for a brief chat while you’re on the forum.

Better than Facebook!

Facebook is fun, but if you’re tired of conversations scrolling off the screen (and other FB pitfalls) the private forum environment is more conducive to organized and focused discussions that can be searched later by yourself and others.

So, if you’re looking for a more private and trusted environment for discussions around this material you have another option available in which to do that.

What Next?

Over 50 people have signed-up to the forum in the first week, and the platform will scale up to as large as it needs to be.

Nathan, Terence, and Zechariah hope DivineCoucil.org will fill a need for the Kingdom, empower small groups, and be a worthy site for the Church.

Over 50 people have already signed on to the forum in the first week!

See you there!

DivineCouncil.org Website
DivineCouncil.org Forum

The expectation that your job & spiritual calling must be identical is false. Fortunately, the mysteries of the relationship between the two are revealed with delightful clarity through a careful reading of the Bible. Even non-Christians can gain insights into their own work and aspirations by considering what the Bible has to say about them.

After clarifying the biblical meanings of words like talents, spiritual gifts, natural abilities, job, and spiritual calling, this article will describe 7 ways to integrate your job and spiritual calling.

Total Integration in Perspective

Large overlaps between job and spiritual calling have been more the exception, than the rule, throughout church history. Typically, those who’ve found their calling (At last!) are already making a living with natural abilities. Current jobs then become a platform from which to direct that calling.

However improbable, total integration is a possibility. Apart from traditional clergy and dedicated pastors and worship leaders, the luxuries of a sophisticated division of labor and access to investment capital have made the total integration of job and spiritual calling more possible than ever. However, utmost care must be taken so that believer’s expectations are set with respect to all the factors involved. Where your job and spiritual calling fit on the continuum between “Total Integration” and “No overlap” is a reflection of divine design.

Talents vs. Spiritual Gifts

Talents are the natural abilities you have prior to conversion.

“Talents have to do with techniques and methods; gifts have to do with spiritual abilities. Talents depend on natural power, gifts on spiritual endowment.1

A spiritual gift is …

… a God-given special ability, given to every believer at conversion by the Holy Spirit, to share his love and strengthen the body of Christ.2

Believers Have Both

A believer has both the natural talents they were born with and the spiritual gifts received at conversion. Both are at their disposal in everything they do. The spiritual gifts, however, are a special empowerment for the fulfillment of your calling.

Job vs. Spiritual Calling

A job is whatever you do to make a living. Prior to conversion, you have only your natural talents to perform this work. A job may provide the platform from which to direct your calling. However, it does not define your calling nor is it the same as your calling.3

A spiritual calling is a …

… commissioning from God to make a significant difference on this earth. It’s the banner of your life that you carry and wave for God’s glory.3

Spiritual gifts empower the fulfillment of this calling. What God has called you to do, he has empowered you to do.

7 Ways to Integrate Your Job & Spiritual Calling

The relationship between your job and spiritual calling will fall on a continuum between “no overlap” and “identical”.

Working out this relationship can only begin when you …

1 — Answer the Call, Obedience Precedes Results

The first way to integrate your job and spiritual calling is to answer the call. Obedience precedes, and is more important than, results (which are for God to judge). Feelings about not being ready are irrelevant. If you’ve been called, you’re ready to start.

The way to answer the call is probably the same way you found your calling in the first place:

Move forward with confirmation and stay with your holy passion.4

Let external circumstances sharpen, but never stop, the answer to your calling. A sobering view on one consequence of this obedience comes from John Bevere in “Driven by Eternity”:

One believer’s effectiveness may be limited by another’s obedience.

We’re all parts of the body. When one part is not working, the whole body is affected.

Deployable vs. Employable

All gifts and callings are deployable. Not all are employable. Deploy anyway. Even the Apostle Paul continued his trade of tent-making while pursuing his calling of preaching the Gospel.5
Deployment, with no expectation of remuneration or employment, is the best way to discover what the relationship between your job and calling is meant to be.

2 — Connect with an Existing Ministry of Your Church

If your calling fits naturally into an existing ministry of your church then BINGO! Figure out where best to plug in and you’re off to the races!

  • Do you have a list of all the ministries of your church?
  • Does your calling fit naturally into one of them?
  • Are you the missing piece to helping that ministry to continue, grow or thrive?
  • Are they stuck, or not exploring the possibilities, in the area of your spiritual gifts because someone just like you hasn’t shown up, yet?
  • Could your calling be part of a ministry your church has been wanting to move forward on but nobody like you has showed up?

The only way to get these answers is to ask. Depending on the size of your church you might have to ask leaders at multiple levels. Even the lead pastor may not be the person with the answer. Keep asking until you know for sure.

Your church is the ideal platform from which to answer your spiritual calling. So ideal, in fact, that it’s best not to move on to other ways until you’ve thoroughly explored this option.

3— Partnering

… when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
— Philippians 4:14–17 (ESV)

The Philippians partnered with Paul sending help for his needs. In return, Paul “seeks the fruit that increases to their credit”.

Working with another church is the next best thing to working from within your church. The relationship between the churches will be naturally strengthened through your work. It may even inspire your church to join in. That shouldn’t be your motivation, of course; just a possible outcome to keep in mind.

4 — Donations

Many callings, and the goals of some large charities and non-profits, are fueled largely (or solely) through donations. This could be as simple as putting a donate button on a website or just saying, “Yes”, when asked if you could use some funding.

Don’t be afraid to ask. Be a squeaky wheel for a divine purpose!

5 — Attract (And ask for) Sponsorships

Think of getting sponsorships as making sales for God. You must become lucid on your goals and mission. You’ll also need to list the benefits of success to your sponsor.

  1. What is the specific mission you’re asking to be sponsored?
  2. Who are you going to help?
  3. How are you going to help them?
  4. What will helping them look like? What impact will it have on them and the community where you live?
  5. What will be the benefits to the sponsor if you succeed in your mission?
  6. Is anyone else partnering with you, already? Who else are you working with?

Don’t underestimate the value of your sponsor’s logo on the T-shirts or hats of people performing excellent work in the local community. Seen from your sponsors point of view, your work may be the best representation of their core values apart from the product or service they provide.

6 — Start a Non-Profit

I’ve been watching this process unfold with Dr. Michael Heiser. After many years, and with great  reluctance, Mike’s enlisted help from readers to form a non-profit named after a retreat as named in one of his books. It’s called Miqlat. They’re already doing great work that wouldn’t be as effective, or possible, if performed through a different entity.

Even with all the material and talents available to Mike starting your own non-profit is a daunting prospect. As you’d see from following Miqlat’s’ journey, nobody has all the skills necessary to accomplish all the many tasks and projects required to get one of these off the ground. If this option is for you, let providence enable it to unfold as it should.

7 — Identical or Bust!

The total integration of your job & spiritual calling is the exception, rather than the rule. Still, I can’t leave this option out because it is possible. It’s the defining relationship for traditional clergy, some pastors, some worship and ministry leaders, and many who are called as missionaries.

Now that you understand the difference between jobs and spiritual callings you know that one of them may suffer terribly if the roles are forced, in any way. You are seeking to discover the divine design of the relationship rather than imposing it.

Non-Clergy Example

A better example for those reading this article, however, is probably the example of Dr. Michael Heiser described in the previous way. He has kept his income going through teaching, being a “scholar in residence” at Logos Software (FaithLife Corp.) and is now, slowly, trying to get donations to his new Miqlat non-profit to cover his expenses. This may, at last, free him up to work solely on creating the content that he’s been called to create.

Another example are the many individual employees of FaithLife Corp. I’m sure many of their jobs and spiritual callings are exactly in line with each other.

That’s not to say that one must be as prepared as Mike, or a happy employee of FaithLife, to achieve total integration of job and spiritual calling. In fact, such integration may not be possible or meant to happen, at all. And, if it doesn’t, it’s by no means an indication of failure. It’s more likely an indication of divine design.

This total integration option is best taken to prayer and balanced with the providence of where you live, what your talents and gifts are, and the particulars of your calling.

If You Insist …

The reason for this stubborn belief is the sophisticated division of labor and availability of capital often present in developed countries. For those who absolutely insist that their job and spiritual calling can be identical you’ll need to take on the burdens of understanding all the factors involved. You’ll also need to read up, or take some courses, on entrepreneurship.

More is Expected and Required

Though beyond the scope of this article here’s some great advice from Gary North on taking a run at the possibility of total integration between your job and spiritual calling.

Gary starts with an expanded definition of calling. He defines it as whatever your answer is to this question …

What is the most important thing you can do in which you would be most difficult to replace?

With your answer to that question firmly in mind, Gary recommends asking yourself these followup questions with respect to the marketplace in which you’ll be working:

  1. Where do you have a clear-cut advantage over your competitors?
  2. Is this advantage visible to others?
  3. Can you leverage this outside your present job?
  4. Can this leverage extend beyond your retirement?
  5. Can this leverage extend beyond your death?
  6. What are the technical tools of your leverage?
  7. Are you skilled in the use of these tools?
  8. Are your competitors equally skilled?

As you can see by the questions, you’re now faced with, not only the work of your calling, but interfacing directly with all the forces of the marketplace. Unless entrepreneurship is part of your calling these requirements will degrade your effectiveness.

In good faith, I can only recommend this option for believer’s whose gifts are designed for it. Frankly, any option that would completely stop you subverts Way #1: “Answer the Call, Obedience Precedes Results”.

Conclusion

Large overlaps between your job and spiritual calling are the exception, not the rule. The expectation that they must be identical (Or forced to be identical) is a myth. If that prevents you from answering your calling then myth has spawned tragedy.

In partial summary:

  • Let nothing discourage you (Including this article)!
  • What you’ve been called to do, you’ve been empowered to do.
  • Obedience is more important than results.
  • Every calling is deployable. Not every calling is employable.
  • The relationship between a deployable and employable is not completely in your control.
  • Even the Apostle Paul continued his trade of tent-making while engaged in his calling of preaching the Gospel.5
  • Your calling will almost certainly involve the participation of others in order to be brought to fruition.
  • Your calling will present different challenges depending on the economic realities of where you live.
  • The relationship between deployable and employable will be greatly affected by the location in which you pursue your calling.

Like a brilliant diamond, your calling will need the 5 C’s applied to be made into the masterpiece it was intended to be. It will need to be expertly cut, clarified, colored, carat weighted, and confidence added.

What you’ve been called to do, you’ve been empowered to do!

Check Out My Online Course, “Your Life, On Purpose”

In my upcoming course, “Your Life, on Purpose” I explore and remove the biggest obstacles to discovering and living on purpose. The most prevalent worldviews are compared, word puzzles resolved, and terms further clarified and integrated into a coherent understanding. Upon completing the course terms like purpose, career, meaning, vocation, avocation, success, mission, goal, values, worldview, destiny, gifts, spiritual gifts, spiritual calling, etc. will inform, rather than confuse.

For a free sample module of “Your Life, On Purpose“, and to stay updated on the release of the full course, please sign up for e-mail updates, below. As an added bonus you’ll receive the password for McGillespie’s Free-Resource Library.


  1. Leslie B. Flynn, 19 Gifts of the Spirit. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 1974, 1994, 17 – 18. 
  2. Rees, Erik; Rees, Erik. S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life (p. 34). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 
  3. Rees, Erik; Rees, Erik. S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life (p. 22). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 
  4. Dave Patterson, Sermon #3 of “The Big 4” at The Father’s House, January 29, 2017 
  5. “…and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. Acts 18:3 (ESV). 

Words are how the truth comes to us. They’re also how it can be taken away. Seen only as symbols and grammar, truth and lies are made from the same raw material. Your only hope is discernment. Your life depends on it.

Tolkien and Lewis regarded the fairy tale as a perfectly suited literary vehicle for expressing eternal truth. Lewis credits Tolkien and a mutual friend with helping him see that his love of myth and fairy tale blinded him to, yet prepared him for, the Gospels. He reluctantly came to believe the Gospels were eyewitness accounts of a “true myth”.1

“I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”2

Mythology or History?

Another term used as a pejorative is mythology.

All mythology is presumed myth as the victors decide what is official history. The history of the defeated is, by definition, written by outlaws. A generation later the history of the defeated is mythology or conspiracy if it’s remembered, at all.

It’s helpful to think of mythology as collections of potential truths inconvenient to the succession of political power. Likewise, “History” is as likely to be the glorification of bureaucrats and technocrats as an accurate re-telling of the facts.

A series of time-related truths, thoroughly vetted and discerned, is not mythology or conspiracy; it’s history.

Trivium & Quadrivium

The subjects of history and philosophy were considered to be so demanding, yet so important, that they weren’t even presented to the student until after they’d studied the subjects of the trivium (Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric) and, ideally, those of the quadrivium (Arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy).3

“These seven heads were supposed to include universal knowledge. He who was master of these was thought to have no need of a preceptor to explain any books or to solve any questions which lay within the compass of human reason, the knowledge of the trivium having furnished him with the key to all language, and that of the quadrivium having opened to him the secret laws of nature.”4

“… When a few were instructed in the trivium, and very few studied the quadrivium, to be master of both was sufficient to complete the character of a philosopher … The candidate, having reached this point, is now supposed to have accomplish the task upon which he had entered – he has reached the last step, and is now ready to receive the full fruition of human learning.”5

“Some day you’ll be old enough”

The ability to grasp eternal truths and history and bring them to bear on decisions is a high achievement of a classical education. Only philosophy, by attempting to comprehend meaning, imposes greater demands for greater rewards.

Some day you’ll be old enough” to start reading fairy tales again to glean eternal truths. Someday you’ll be educated enough to distinguish real history from stories convenient to political power.

Words are how the truth comes to us. They’re also how it can be taken away. Seen only as symbols and grammar, truth and lies are made from the same raw material. Your only hope is discernment. Your life depends on it.


  1. A 1931 letter to childhood friend Arthur Greeves, Lewis credits Tolkien (and mutual friend Hugo Dyson). Paragraph reworded and reordered from an article written by Bruce Edwards (https://erlc.com/article/c-s-lewis-051101). 
  2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 
  3. Cathedral Schools of the early Middle Ages (527) on which the curriculum of Medieval universities were based (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_school) 
  4. Hist. of Philos. Vol ii. P. 337 
  5. The symbolism of Freemasonry: Illustrating and Explaining its Science and Philosophy, it’s Legends, Myths, and Symbols. By Albert Gallatin Mackey, M.D., 1869. 

The world discards ideas and people that present multiple standard deviations away from “normal”. And yet, Reality has always been phenomenal and noumenal. To ensure you’re able to thrive in the artificial chaos of this generation you’ll need to be an outlier, in many ways. Here’s “The Outlier’s Handbook” to optimize your trajectory.

The Outlier’s Handbook

(Thriving in Artificial Chaos)

Table of Contents

Part 1 — What Outliers?

“Let Your Reasonableness Be Known to Everyone”

  • Ockham’s Razor: Benefits & Limits
  • The Bookends of Normalcy Bias & Cognitive Dissonance
  • “This Book Goes Too Far!”

What Outliers?

  • Outliers Defined
  • You Know You’re An Outlier If . . .
  • Outlier Benefits
  • Outlier Costs
  • Personal Secession and Other Outlier Mindsets

Part 2 — It’s Your World, Boss!

This Is Where You Live

American Roulette

  • The Constitution is Safe!
  • A Bank with Social Services Around It
  • Democracy: The God that Failed
  • The Corporation
  • The Deep State
  • Fascism, American Style

Lifecycle of Nations

  • “Poverty of Nations” Report Card
  • Imperial Collapse Playbook

Danger, Will Robinson!

Technocracy: The Trojan Horse of Global Transformation

Regional Bloc Head Mercantilism

  • Gee, Maybe Nation-States Weren’t So Bad, After All
  • Solutions Amidst Global Fascism
  • Change Happens Like This, Now

Part 3 — The Usual Suspects

Call Them As You See Them

Origin & Story of Rulers and Authorities

  • Angelic Gen 6 View: Consistency & Insights
  • So, Who are “They”?
  • The “New” Face of Evil (Follow the Blood)
  • Long Term Trends Require Spiritual Unity
  • The Minions
  • A Working Structure of Oppression

They Walk Among Us

  • Serial Killers
  • How Can You Spot One?
  • Political Ponerology
  • 7 signs you might be dating one
  • Protection From Them
  • Speech Patterns
  • I, Psychopath
  • The Hidden Cost of Killing Psychopaths
  • Beware the Backlash

Elements of Their World View

Their Goals

  • ”Ye Shall Be As Gods”

Their Methods

  • The Moral Code of Evil
  • Inversion
  • Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
  • Counterfeit Money
  • Controlled Markets
  • Technocracy
  • Stacked & Interlocking Pyramidical Structures
  • Consolidation
  • Democracy
  • Eugenics
  • Perpetual Fear
  • Long-Term Planning
  • With Methods Like This, Who Needs the Occult?

Part 4 — Acquiring Immunity

Move #1: Acquire Personal Immunity

Personal Matters

  • Purpose is Everything
  • Managing Outlierhood
  • Growth
  • Ethical Time Travel

Health Matters

  • First Do No Harm
  • Clean Food, Water, Air & Place
  • Nutrient Dense Diet
  • Gut Flora, Probiotics and the Second Brain
  • Optimal Exercise
  • Stress & Breathing
  • Life Extension & Blood Sugar Management
  • Sensible Health Insurance
  • Putting It All Together

Spiritual Matters

  • Intelligent or Random Design
  • Oneism (Monism) vs. Dualism
  • CINO’s & MINO’s
  • Christianity Leads To Science, Islam leads to Murder
  • Gandhi or Jesus?
  • Get Blessed
  • Get Uncursed
  • Supernatural Immunity: The Mind & Way Of Christ
  • The Whole Council of God
  • Spiritual Warfare
  • Practical Examples of Spiritually Based Solutions

Locational Matters

  • The Best Place to Live
  • Where Not to Live
  • Should you relocate?
  • The World is Yours
  • The Illusion of Ownership
  • Mobility
  • G.O.O.D Project – Lessons Learned

Family Matters

  • Instrument of Recursive Perfection
  • Spouse Choice
  • Children
  • Extended Family
  • Friends Worth the Title are Family
  • Community

Legal Matters

  • Natural Law
  • The Constitution is Safe!
  • Jurisdiction Matters
  • Where is the Agreement?
  • It’s Hard to Be a Free Man
  • Unraveling Your Liberty

Financial Matters

  • Money is for Immunity & Purpose
  • Business as Extension of Purpose
  • Tax Penalties for Fear and Poor Planning
  • Mortgage Slavery, Repealed
  • Austrian Economics is Real Economics
  • Investments in Immunity & Purpose Have the Highest ROI
  • Asset Protection

Political Matters

  • Terms of “State” & “Government”
  • The Diversion Of Left – Right Thinking
  • The Votes that Matter
  • Optimal Government = Perfect Self-Government
  • The Chief Asset Of The State: Fear & Belief In It’s Necessity
  • All Matters of Liberty Are Related
  • Caveat Viator: Libertarianism and Anarchy are Aspects of a Complete Worldview
  • Govern Thyself Perfectly and Hold Death Dear

Perspective Matters

  • The Most Valuable Commodity on the Planet
  • Philosophers On Donuts
  • Terms of “Freedom” & “Liberty”
  • Equality & Authority
  • Freedom & Structure
  • Peace Does Not Flow From Passivity
  • Proof and Truth
  • You Can’t Beat Everything with Nothing
  • “Let’s Just Split the Difference and Find a Middle Ground”
  • Stoicism
  • The Opportunity in Uncertainty
  • If Swamp Rats Can’t be Exterminated Why Can You?
  • What About America?

Doing Matters

  • Tony Robbin’s Best Trick
  • Think Spiritually, Act Locally
  • Getting Things Done
  • Low Hanging Fruit
  • Tragic Flaws of Conventional Prepping
  • Expert Tips
  • How To Lose Without Fighting (An Outlier’s Not To-Do List)

Part 5 — Ants & The Human Mosaic

Change The World in Four Moves

  • Humans as an Ant Army
  • Move #1: Immunity
  • Move #2: Specialize
  • Move #3: Move
  • Move #4: Cooperate
  • Humanize the Best Attributes of Animals & Insects

Part 6 — Problems: Solutions

Move #2: Specialize & Pick One

Personal Concerns

  • Training Disguised as Education
  • Shortening Attention Spans
  • Media Agitprop

Health Concerns

  • Eugenics
  • Vaccines Vs. Immunity
  • Socialized Medicine
  • Food Fascism & GMOs
  • Fluoridated water
  • Nuclear Waste & Meltdown Disasters
  • Geo-Engineering
  • Disease(s) Cured

Spiritual Concerns

  • Psychopathy
  • Moral Relativism
  • Odious Debt (Slavery)
  • Wars of Conquest
  • False-Flag Attacks
  • End Times Decoder Rings
  • 501c3 Churches

Locational Concerns

  • Agenda 21
  • Scientific Control Grid
  • Power Grid Fragility

Family Concerns

  • The State as Great Father
  • Broken Families

Legal Concerns

  • Patent Squelching
  • Webs of Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
  • Drug Wars
  • Licensing
  • Militarization of Police
  • Surveillance State
  • Monopoly
  • Bonus: Beating Traffic Tickets

Financial Concerns

  • Fractional Reserve Banking (The Theft of Human Labor)
  • Disappearing Middle-Class A.K.A Unemployment
  • Currency Wars
  • US Bankruptcy
  • World Banking Systems
  • Institutional(ized) Theft
  • Market Manipulation
  • Global Cooling, Warming …Climate Change?
  • Technocracy

Political Concerns

  • Collectivism
  • Globalism

Part 7 — Appendices

  • In Case of Emergency: Read First!
  • Four Ways to Parse Solutions
  • Reading List for Outliers
  • Outlier Creeds
  • Sovereignty & Law
  • Agorist Manifesto in 95 Theses
  • Agorist Road-map Kyle Bennet
  • 100 Ways To Leave Leviathan
  • Wayne & Barry’s Guide for World Rulers

. . . is helping another become one.

A reader I haven’t met became a Rifleman on Sunday and credits my essay with finding out about Appleseed. Hearing the news truly made my week!

Though working on a few candidates at home they’ve yet to attend an Appleseed. But, America’s latest Rifleman, Mark Hudson, went a step further and managed the feat of documenting his training while mastering it. I hope it’s not too long before Mark receives word that the next Rifleman found Appleseed through his article (Which contains excellent checklists and pictures to inspire and assist in preparing for the event)!

6 degrees of separation

Of course, not everyone writes. Just telling folks what you’ve been up to is enough. Those inclined to listen pay more attention to actions than words, anyway; something Appleseed founder Fred knew from the start, no doubt.

All week I’ve been thinking about the popular notion that everyone on the planet is only six degrees of separation away from each other. I think it’s only two degrees for Rifleman. After posting on a favorite forum about Mark’s success one of the Appleseed instructors who worked with Mark, last weekend, actually saw and commented on the post!

To Those Who Have Ears

There’s no way around the looks you’ll get when recommending Rifle training over another trip to Disneyland. Guns are provocative by nature like a beautiful woman. Speaking of which, my wife was concerned watching me gear up for Appleseed. It was fun to return home and burst her bubble with pictures of families, father-daughter teams and boyscouts right along side the warriors she was expecting.

Isabel with her first rifle

It wasn’t long after that Isabel was dropping hints that she’d be willing to learn if she had her own rifle (Of course!). So, I bought her the one she picked to go with her outfits, in black & silver.

[Photo taken just after Isabel’s promise to attend the next Appleseed with her husband. She is holding the bribe it took to extract that promise.

What a natural and relaxed stance for a gal who’s never picked up a rifle. Now, if that elbow was vertical under the stock and . . .]

Isabel says she always wanted to learn to shoot and my enthusiasm made her speak up. Make that zero degrees of separation in the Gillespie household.

I planned to make this a longer article by mapping out ways to overcome common objections to the innumerable benefits of Rifle training. However, I’m learning from experience that it’s best to save words for those who have ears:

  1. If you don’t see the Liberty aspects of the training then go to learn about your Heritage.
  2. If you don’t care about the Heritage aspects then go for the Marksmanship.
  3. if you don’t care about the marksmanship aspects then go for Precision.
  4. If you don’t care about precision then go to spend time with family members that do.
  5. If you don’t think they need the company then go to meet quality people who are passionate about any one of the above.
  6. If none of these things motivate you then volunteer to babysit for someone who does. . .

Which brings me to something else I learned from Mark that will serve to keep future articles more brief and to the point. As with so much worldly wisdom the Greeks said it first in Latin, “Verbum sat sapienti” or

“A word is sufficient to a wise man”.

After reading some of Mark Hudson’s views on Life, God and Family I think we get a rare glimpse of one, below.

Mark at Appleseed

Copyright © 2010 by Terence Gillespie. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given to McGillespie.com

The discovery of Dr. Titzer is that Babies can:

  1. Start learning to read as early as 3 months old.
  2. Learn to read easier and faster than 1st graders.
  3. Learn multiple languages effortlessly in a window that closes down rapidly after the age of four.

Dr. Titzer’s contribution has been in publicizing these discoveries and putting together the materials for other parents to duplicate the stunning results with his daughters.

The program is simple. After five days on it our 16-month-old is learning . . . .something. Then again it’s hard to imagine any activity we could do together that would not lead to him learning more rapidly. Babies are expert learners and spending time with parents is a super-stimulant. That’s why I think main ingredient for the success of the program is also its weakest link: Parents. Their ability to work the program with their baby every day, twice a day.

Each of two daily sessions last 30 minutes each. To get these two sessions in with their kids parents will need to . . .

Teach Instead of Work or Rest

If one parent is home with the baby during the day then the first session will be easier to do. If not, there are three options:

  1. Teach the first session before work.
  2. Teach the first session at lunch.
  3. Arrange for your daycare giver to teach the first session.

I say teach even though the instructions say you can just pop the DVD in and let the baby watch. Although our son is glued to the presentation for the first 15-minutes he needs some encouragement to finish. He’s also excited to go through the picture cards after the video and that’s parent and baby time.

I suppose you could get your daycare giver to pop a DVD in for the first session. But, you’d also want them to follow up with the cards and picture book, afterwards.

After work one of the parents will need to teach the 2nd session while the baby is alert and interested and before they’re ready for bed. So, just when parents are ready to plop down and rest after work it will be time for the 2nd session.

The sessions are relaxing and fun. The regularity, not the teaching, is the challenge. Excitement has taken us through the first week. Now, our discipline of keeping to the twice-a-day sessions will be the main factor in determining our son’s progress.

The Program May Work If the Parents Do

The people involved are more predictive of success than the method used.

Years ago, five friends and I held a “bodyfat” contest. The goal was to see who could lose the most bodyfat in three months each using their own diet and exercise program. For three months we each worked out three times a week and used a different popular diet program: Atkins, The Zone, etc..

The results? The guys who were motivated made their program work. They could have used any program and succeeded with it. And, the unmotivated guys wouldn’t have been saved by a better program.

The success of the “Your Baby Can Read” program will be determined by the parents’ work. Babies are thrilled to learn and interact and play. If the parents can manage the discipline of the regular sessions then this program will probably work.

Parent & Baby Time Equals Success

If parents can manage the twice-a-day feat of teaching their babies for an hour a day then they’ve made a breakthrough that far exceeds the results of any program. The real success is the increased time you spend with your kids. Is there anything a child won’t learn faster and better with time and attention from their parents? If not then why stop at reading?

Sure enough, there are other programs for teaching your baby Colors, Patters, Numbers, Shapes, Prepositions, Four additional languages and a more advanced reading program.

Is Faster and Better Optimal?

Whether faster and better is Optimal is a different question. For most subjects the answer is probably yes. However, big steps forward come with costs and considerations. When it comes to reading at an early age Bill Sardi points out the link between reading and myopia that occurs with people and cultures focused on literacy.

Advanced Problems

Whoever discovers treasure has to figure out where to put it and how to use it. If TV and video games were replaced with Shakespeare would all children be myopic?  Every advance leads to advanced problems. Something that looks like a step forward may not be.

The ability to read is a mandatory skill. Reading earlier advances the problems of eye care sooner into a child’s life. Bill Sardi recommends vitamin C & D, calcium, copper, sunlight, holding books more than 12 inches from the eye, and focusing on distant objects. We’re lucky to have Bill’s advice at the same time we’re teaching our son to read.

What about issues that would stem from other forms of child advancement: Skipping grades, advanced homeschooling, socialization, early graduation? Dr. Titzer refers to some of these issues as well as the achievement gap between early readers and later readers increasing over time (a.k.a. the “Mathew Effect” where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer).

Titzer says grade skipping, socialization and achievement gaps have been easily dealt with in his daughters progress. I would imagine the problems of achievement are tiny compared with non-achievement. As one of my favorite bumper stickers says, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”.

Early Training for an Optimal Life

This program is our first baby step towards homeschooling. If it leads to some kind of gap between our son and his peers then I’ll consider it early training for his Optimal Life.

Even with adults the earlier one starts on a path towards optimal the more unmeasureable their life is against traditional yardsticks. We live in a world that measures the multiple dimensions of intelligence with an integer. Sorry, but after you tell me what your IQ is I’ll still know very little about your intelligence.

I must have read that, somewhere.

 

Copyright © 2010 by Terence Gillespie. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given to McGillespie.com