This guy sounds less like a non-conformist and more like a <i>really</i> self-centred sociopath. I don't necessarily say that in a derogatory way though, and most of his advice, if pragmatic, sounds unsurprising. I think it boils down to "don't be a tool to other people's faces".<p>I mean wow, this quote: "Treat your family fairly, but remember that relatives - especially older relatives - are the lords of empty threats. Despite all their criticism, they probably love you too much to do more than nag you." One would think he's doing a hostile takeover of a company!
What exactly makes you a non-conformist?<p><pre><code> - Do you wear your pants on your chest and shirts on your legs?
- Do you actively proclaim that pedophilia is perfectly acceptable?
</code></pre>
In my opinion, non-conformist is just another label, which sounds awfully conformist when you think about it.<p>Some people conform for stupid reasons (e.g. a need to feel accepted), but sometimes you find a group of like-minded individuals with similar interests. What then? Do you conform or not? What if you earnestly have the same interests?<p>Simple solution: How about just do/like whatever you like, and don't try to make everyone think you're a special snowflake? Because the majority of people in the world frankly don't give a shit.<p>You like 70's music? You like trashy horror flicks? You like furry art? Good for you. Continue to like it and stop trying to cast it as a radical act.
The most conformist tendency I've noticed on the planet is this: that every single person on it considers himself a nonconformist.<p>Most of us just congratulate ourselves on our nonconformist privately though, not publically, like this guy.
Ironic that every author pic on that site seems to show at least a dress shirt, and commonly a suit. (I'm sure it looks nice, but such clothing undeniably is used to signal conformity, and these authors conform to a dress code.)<p>Then, "Most workplaces are not democracies. This is very good news..." advising: "make yourself invaluable to key superiors, who will in turn protect and promote you" and "Spend the first year of any job convincing your employer he was right to hire you..."<p>(He's right, workplaces are unusually totalitarian: top-down dominance structures. Hence advice to pleasure your boss.)<p>These right-wing "libertarians" are conformists. To recruit, they clumsily imitate social justice movements (like anarchism) where people actually do challenge the status quo. Their arguments against democracy rely on misconceptions like "US is a democracy"; or "democracy=voting", instead of say consensus.
tl;dr: choose your battles; work hard; kiss ass. Doesn't feel very non-conformist to me. However i do like his appreciation of the role of luck, although even that was cursory. All a bit self-congratulatory, and not much to surprise.
The importance of non-conformity is basically zero.<p>If you enjoy something, does it matter how many or how few feel the same?<p>Sure, it's nice when you have shared interests with others, but it's doesn't matter if they're not. Your interests do not have to define who you are, do not have to define how you interact with others. Preconceived notions of worth based on popularity will only cloud your view of what's enjoyable to you.
Americans believe in myths about their non-conformist culture. Fact is that all cultures are highly conformist. And Americans are highly conformist in their highly consumerist culture that expresses non-conformity as a key aspect of the culture as a way to stimulate thought and creative destruction. However, at the same time there are huge barriers to taking full advantage of the non-conformist culture which is mainly money. To get money you have to conform, and to get more money you have to conform even more... while at the same time being individualistic and non-conformist in your thinking.
I couldn't tell if this was real or satire until the last sentence. I mean, it reads like not very subtle satire - like a 14 year old snowflake on tumblr wrote it. But people in the comments there and here are taking it seriously. And it's really not that much of a stretch to believe someone in Academia would actually think this way and publish it.
Anyone who wants a <i>serious</i> non-conformist guide should absolutely, definitely read Disciplined Minds[1] by Jeff Schmidt. What an important book.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0742516857/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1443389466&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SL75_QL70&amp;keywords=disciplined+minds" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0742516857/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=...</a>
I quite dislike when people think of themselves this much.<p>I'm a non-conformist / I'm a conformist / I'm an introvert/ I'm an extrovert / I'm a xyz / I'm an xzy...<p>No one fucking cares. There's self-reflection, and then there's self-absorbed blowing your own trumpet. The latter is decidedly repulsive. Coming from an Asian culture, I notice that Americans are particularly inclined to be this self-absorbed, wonder why.