Survival and Mitigation  Part 1 of 4

 

Catastrophic Unemployment/Loss of income
Catastrophic Illness
Catastrophic Litigation/Prosecution
Natural Disaster/War/Conscription

I want to address risk and mitigation as it relates to MGTOW.  Just one of these has the very real potential to set you upon a trajectory toward complete ruination.  Two of these simultaneously, or in short order, will likely set you upon an unrecoverable trajectory of complete ruination.  Three or more of these will almost certainly destroy the vast majority of men. Some of these risks can be mitigated to various extents; some cannot.  You should mitigate as much risk as possible in order to maintain and ensure your autonomy.

Mitigating the Risk of Catastrophic Unemployment/Loss of Income:

I. Develop a superior work ethic. Anyone can do this, all that is required is the will to do so.  Even if you find yourself lacking in talent you can, more often than not, overcome this with work ethic.  For most people a solid work ethic is a pre-requisite for any kind of "Talent" - certainly the development thereof.

Work ethic is more than "showing up" and "being on time".  Work ethic is the ability to discern what is expected of you (beyond, behind and perhaps beneath what is explicitly stated) and adapting to that requirement with conservation of effort and time. It may not advance your career, but it is a pre-requisite for advancement.  It is not a guarantee of stable employment, but it is a pre-requisite for job security. In other words, a good work ethic won't guarantee your autonomy, but it will certainly work against autonomy if you find your work ethic lacking.

II.  Don't Get Personal - EVER.  Maintain strict boundaries between your work and your non-work life.  Do not get involved in work place politics or conflicts, but do pay attention to them and use them to your advantage only when you are absolutely one-hundred percent certain of the outcome, and even then - think twice.  Never use them to diminish anyone else.  Only use them to your own advantage if there is no disadvantage to anyone else.  Do not participate in gossip or watercooler talk, but do pay attention.  I've covered maintianing workplace autonomy more thoroughly in the blog entry "Gleaming the Cubicle", but it bears repeating "Never, under any circumstances, even flirt with the notion of dating or having sex with anyone even remotely connected to your work". 

III.  Start saving enough money from the first day to cover your ass financially for the amount of time that it would take you to realistically find another suitable job plus six months. Only you can determine that by taking your specific economy, location and job into consideration. Err on the side of caution on this.  After you achieve that safety net, get out of debt as quickly as possible, then stay out of debt - if that takes a decade to accomplish, then do it - and then start another savings plan for the next most credible threat  (more on that later).

IV.  Don't get complacent.  Keep your resume dusted off and take a few minutes each week to see what employment opportunities are available.  Be friendly toward and be mindful of the potential network you develop with clients and outside associates, just don't go out drinking with it or take it to fucking bed - got it?  Keep yourself sharp and educated with regard to any innovations, new software/tools or trends in your field. Do this actively and don't rely entirely on trade shows or trade magazines/websites exclusively. If you use industry standard software A, and some competitor uses industry software B, you'd be well advised to know your way around B (C, D and E) too, even if your company never uses it. Most importantly, always learn new shit.  The ability to learn to use new tools/software/languages is a skill, like any other that can be developed and that can suffer from atrophy.  Keep your tools sharp.

If you get canned in the U.S., any unemployment "benefits" you might get likely won't be sufficient enough to carry you through to the next job - certainly not enough to cover the expense of job hunting.  You would be ill-advised to rely on that exclusively, so save accordingly.  You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you have to finance your employment search.  If you get a job offer while still employed - do not turn it down outright - that is a valuable contact and you should nurture that professional relationship indefinitely if possible.

One final and important point: If you are not self-employed - you should be at least toying with, if not actively seeking, the prospect of self-employment or freelance work.  If the opportunity for a freelance work project presents itself, do it.  Even if that freelance work has nothing to do with your current profession, even if it's a hobby - you should explore monetizing your interests, or gearing your interests toward something that could potentially serve as a realistic source of income.  If you can work for yourself and make enough money to support yourself doing so, you've essentially rendered the first horseman of your autonomy's apocalypse impotent.  That doesn't mean you're in the clear, but it does mean you have one helluva  leg up as a MGTOW.