Total Invincibility: How to Crush Failure and Maximize Your Human Potential

140 Pages·0.84 MB·English

by  Martin Goldberg

Total Invincibility For Your Life
Copyright 2019 by Martin Goldberg
Dedication
To all the little Goldbergs
1. Introduction
A couple years ago I decided to launch the YouTube channel
Economic Invincibility. At the time my intent was simply to test the
media waters by running a video service, and enhance my own
communication skills in the process. My first video was the hazy
review of an online course done with a low-quality webcam and
horribly mismatched background lighting. I followed up with a couple
of similarly ruddy pieces before choosing to take a break of nearly
six months. Sometime in late February of 2016 I picked the effort up
again and committed to making consistent videos on various
financial and educational topics, buoyed by a slowly-increasing
number of subscribers and views. Fast forward to the present day.
The channel has over five million views for a variety of excellent
videos that have helped shape the career decisions of countless
people, young and old alike. There is no paid requirement or
subscription-based program to partake in; only a desire to learn and
improve oneself. With this approach, Economic Invincibility continues
expanding its trove of subscribers and influencing an ever-larger
group of individuals.
I never intended the channel, nor the relatively blunt persona of
“EI,” as I call myself, to be more than a short segue into the world of
adventure, a few months at best, followed by some different project.
But it has morphed regardless, and done so beautifully. The channel
has a culture of its own, thanks to the wonderful visitors who view,
like, and comment on the collection of videos. These folks are in
many ways an extended family to me, providing constant blessing
through their messages, support, and most of all, aspirations. They
have compelled me to continue on with the mission of the channel
even as I am accosted by responsibilities from other projects, as well
as the biting demands of life. As things stand, I hope to keep
Economic Invincibility alive as long as I am able to nourish and grow
its central purpose.

Growth is a fine objective, but with it comes the critical need to
both bolster the reach of the message and protect what has been
cemented thus far. The internet is a beautiful thing with the capacity
to change millions of lives through the dissemination of information,
yet concurrently it has become a target of those who seek to control
or constrict access. YouTube in particular has been a rabbit in the
reticle, clamping down on users for supposedly “unacceptable”
content, and cutting off revenue streams in order to suppress
unpopular views. The latter is something I experienced myself after
uploading several videos that were not deemed “advertiser friendly.”
Because the criteria for such pieces is so arbitrarily defined, it can go
on to effect other videos a creator produces on the basis of a digital
guilt by association.
While I have never strived to generate much revenue from the
channel, which I view as a public service project more than anything
else, I remain concerned a day will come when my content is
obliterated based on political or economic convenience. To see all
the value provided by my videos going to waste would be far more
crumbling than any loss of revenue, itself negligible at this point. I
see everything I have created as an extension of memory and
legacy; where others have left paintings or books behind as a
window into their thoughts, I seek to offer videos filled with
information and lessons. If these snippets of my life can continue
being of use to others, I will be forever satisfied.

With this looming threat in view I see the assembling of a
book as the natural solution to protect my work. I want both my
existing followers and those who may stumble upon my content from
disparate sources to have a wellspring of knowledge unmolested by
potential skullduggery. YouTube could go dark tomorrow, and I would
be left with nothing. Sure, I have the videos stored offline, but the
viewers and subscribers would be gone, and Economic Invincibility
but a footnote in Google archives. The educational movement would
have no central pillar of networks, and those hungry for learning
would be thrown to a frustrating rut.

On the other hand, writing this book allows me to compact the
intricacies of my message into a vessel that cannot be as easily cut
away or suppressed by the powers that be. After all, once the
physical (or digital) pages are in actual hands the only body capable
of censoring it is your own mind. In addition, I will always have the
ability to update the book as economic tides change and new
developments impact the labor market. College degrees for instance
might at some point become more of a hassle than they generate in
return on investment. A crippled YouTube channel can’t
communicate that, particularly if railing against colleges is
considered contrary to advertiser interests. Books however are
easier to distribute online, and less dependent on the largesse of
corrupt corporate funding. Self-publishing platforms abound on the
Net, and a plethora of alternative media options can support where
they fail. The objective of censorship thus becomes much more
difficult for our conniving friends in the political and economic
establishment.

Beyond this, completing a book allows me to give back to all
those who have influenced me and supported the growth of my
channel. Throughout my life I have been able to learn a great deal
largely due to the provision of sources by others. Every last one of
these creators sacrificed time and other opportunities in the name of
bettering others. Whether they conveyed inspiration or simply
advice, the lingering impact remains in the works they left behind,
even years after they have passed on.

For me, the ultimate plan is to help you steer clear of costly
mistakes. On my own path I have stumbled in certain areas because
the right information was not there orienting me towards triumph.
Some might argue such pitfalls are inevitable, but I say that’s total
nonsense. Many of the regrets we bear in life stem from decisions
that could have easily been done differently. It is merely a question
of willpower, or, perhaps just as frequently, knowing better.
With this book in hand, my hope is that you will be able to tackle
those tremendous mistakes BEFORE they happen.

~ Economic Invincibility
I. What is Economic Invincibility?
A fair question I get consistently pertains to the idea behind
my channel’s name, Economic Invincibility. Is it just a catchy title
requiring awkward justification? Actually, to be fair, I sometimes think
of the old Flash Gordon special called “Flash Gordon Conquers the
Universe.” At the end of the pleasantly-corny and decently-
entertaining series, the faithful Dr. Zharkov announces that the
adventures will be known as “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.”
I guess the filmmakers really felt a responsibility to explain the title,
though I doubt anyone would have noticed if they failed to.

Thankfully, Economic Invincibility is a little more than that. I
developed the concept a few years ago after watching a slew of
people from various political backgrounds getting shredded
financially as a result of something they said. These folks were not
unlike the average American; determined, patriotic, and overall well-
meaning, but that meant nothing to the court of public opinion.
Whether it came as a passing remark on Facebook or an ill-planned
video, the result was a slew of economic terrorism that soon cost
them their livelihood – and hurt their families.

I’m sure there are more than a handful of people who would
reply, “They got what they deserved,” but it’s easy to play that card
after the fact. Most people take for granted their privacy on social
media and the internet. They assume an employer “Never could,
never would,” be possessed to snoop on them, and certainly THAT
post in particular cannot go viral. They figure even the folks on their
friends list who vehemently disagree with them are not nearly so
sadistic as to take screencaps for the editors at Screech Central.
Because if you think about it, at the end of the day, we are all
Americans.

Naïve thoughts aside, there is a real problem with free speech
and the rise of technology. Expressing one’s opinion has become so
dicey today to the point where even anonymous profiles or authors
find themselves being “doxxed” by the power of hacktivists on
message boards from the deepest, darkest corners of the web.
People who read horror story articles and muse “Hah! That would
never be me!” are the latest victims of digital arrogance. The
seductive carnival wagon of total transparency rolls on without a
cough or a hiccup to speak of.

I’m going to come out and say it now: very little good can
spring from this new leviathan. The more restrictive we are with our
communication for fear of reprisal, the less trusting we become, and
the result is the creation of a society of informants, where folks
jockey to see who can outsmart the other to win points of public
approval.

That’s where Economic Invincibility enters the scene. Back
when I was observing these untimely downfalls on the part of folks
who simply were too honest, I came to the conclusion that only one
remedy could truly be foolproof: becoming immune to their economic
and financial terrorism. People can hog the pot all they want, but if
you have a personal flush toilet, it doesn’t really matter. Weird
metaphor, I know, but it has a purpose ultimately. Only by reaching a
level of financial independence can one be rid of the threat which
these people pose to individual well-being. If they can’t touch you,
it’s much harder for them to hurt you.

As a bright person might imagine, financial independence
brings with it a motherlode of freedom. While most of us assume we
have certain rights under the law, our wonderful age of information
has exposed the limits of those protections, as companies will swiftly
buckle under public pressure, no matter how ridiculous. A chap who
relies only on himself to make a living doesn’t have that problem, as
he can just smile and wave while the grapefruit-head miscreants cry
about their lack of success. In short, he is impervious to their
schemes, or economically invincible.

Corny? Maybe a little. But that hardly matters in the real
world, because few people are given second chances in the court of
public opinion. The mallet falls—likely on your head, and grandma
snorts some Prozac. No one just walks away unscathed unless it’s
affordable, and that is precisely the argument behind pursuing
economic invincibility.
II. Personal Security

To be clear, there is not some magical shot that can
immediately right the ship in regards to the pursuit of financial
success, but a couple of preliminaries do apply. First of all, get the
hell off social media, internet sharing sites, and any remotely similar
honeytraps for the fresh and jabbering. It doesn’t matter if you
seldom visit or update a lovely profile on these hangouts; simply a
presence there poses risks. There is always the possibility of posting
something due to being bored, or failing to safeguard intimate
discussions through the use of privacy features. Even if the content
is sheltered from the public eye, there is still someone looking at it
somewhere. Be a good sport and make their workday uninteresting.
It’ll pay off in the end.
For all the websites that must be used, employ a pseudonym
and throwaway email (mail.com and 10-Minute Email are good
options). There is no sane reason on earth to be linking a personal
email account, which likely includes receipts, bank login info, and a
resume, to any political or otherwise unsettling hub. The less others
know, the better.
Also, keep in mind that at times websites are the subject of
major hacking assaults bent on publicizing user information. The
Ashley Madison fiasco was just a small sliver of this, but it exposed
thousands of people, leading to divorces, firings, and suicide. If you
have weird quirks or firm political convictions, best keep them quiet,
or attach minimal traces to a name. It usually hurts when the world to
be aware.
Online security can also be enhanced by using the right
browser. Generally speaking, options like Internet Explorer, Chrome,
Bing, Firefox, and Safari are all AIDS. Stick with DuckDuckGo or
Brave for everyday searches and Tor Browser to provide extra
protections. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is worth considering as
well, as it helps mask your IP address, and thus the origin computer
where a particular comment or account was birthed. Either opt for a
paid one or go with something free like TunnelBear.
An easy way to improve anonymity on the web is to make
payments using Visa or MasterCard gift cards. These babies can be
purchased at almost any Walgreens or department store in cash and
redeemed online in amounts ranging from $50-$500. Since the cards
are not coded to a specific name, one can put anything down when
making a purchase, leaving the address as the main angle for
compromise. Opening a PO Box for mail mitigates this latter
problem, as they don’t have a direct tab on the house just because
you bought a book about passionate butt massage or the morality of
drinking Natty Light.
Should you insist on maintaining some type of account for
commenting on articles or videos, make sure the personal narrative
includes some plausible deniability. This means changing the user’s
age, not referring to characteristics that can directly be traced back
to the everyday ego, and avoiding any direct back-and-forth with
other commenters. Remember, you don’t know who is on the other
end of that account, or whether they are hoping to make you SAY
SOMETHING.

Be careful about “trolling “as well. A recent incident involved a
South African man masquerading as a woman who submitted an
article to Huffington Post calling for white men to lose the vote.
Despite the ludicrous premise and limited vetting for the fake
persona, the article went up and caused a hailstorm. Rather than
owning up to their mistakes, the editors worked to track the fellow
down and force him to to lose his job, which he did. All of this