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/lit/ - Literature

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22856621 No.22856621 [Reply] [Original]

I have always had this feeling that I am destined for greatness even though I have achieved nothing. Even when others are objectively greater than me I believe I have this mysterious property that makes me better than them.

What books should I read to become the 21st century Napoleon? I read Crime and Punishment and Raskolnikov's extraordinary man theory is pretty much what I believe

>> No.22856652

Great as in, impressive to normies? Study hard and become a surgeon.

Great as in, become a Napoleon-like figure? Your best bet is probably to fly to bumfuck Zimbabwe and become a tribal warlord. To lead a first world nation you need money and connections.

>> No.22856655

>>22856621
Do what no one else has done. Not one has been half-devout, not one has been certain of the future. Build yourself into the bridge for the Overman.

>> No.22856660

>>22856652
Surgeon seems lame as fuck
>>22856655
how

>> No.22856663

take credits for results by other people as your personal achievements, that's what all great men do anyway, all the time.

>> No.22856664

>>22856621
Before you say anything else can you even hold a job and do well in school and do all the other normal things anyone should do well enough?

>> No.22856672

>>22856664
Yeah I have a job and it requires some sort of intelligence but that's it. Other than that, nothing

>> No.22856679

>>22856663
I want to be the real deal

>> No.22856696

>>22856621

The point of Crime and Punishment was to ridicule the "Great Man" theory. Humans aren't geared towards it. Great men have consciousness and empathy, and those who don't aren't great, they're missing something other humans have.

"The Thought" by Andreyev is more nuanced if you're interested. A short story. It goes over insanity however, how "Overmen" are insane. How nihilism is impossible, unless one loses their reason. Lars von Trier's Arthouse film "The Idiots" is about a commune of rich Neets who fake down syndrome in public as the purest form of nihilism, and yet they cannot escape their humanity.

You can't be an overman. You don't transcend the ethical. You'll lose your reason if you do. You won't be human, you'll be something less than a human, not greater. An animal.

>> No.22856700

>>22856696
ok but like, how to be the greatest human alive

>> No.22856708

>>22856696
I don't care

>> No.22856713

>>22856700

Become great. You seem to have a tendency for destruction, so create through destruction. "Noble Rot" as Lars von Trier calls it. Create anarchy where it is needed.

The easiest way would be to protest (nonviolently please) obvious corruption. Industries exploiting workers, third world countries being torn by war, etc. That requires effort and travelling, but again, you want to be great so it will require effort.

Be a Snowden

>> No.22856754

>>22856713
Snowden isn't great

>> No.22856757

>>22856754

He sowed anarchy to create something.

>> No.22856788

>>22856757
Oh I see you're just a pinko

>> No.22856799

>>22856713
I wanna protest workers exploiting industries

>> No.22856815

>>22856799

You want to maintain status quo? I don't understand how becoming the epoch of our current society is very great or subversive.

I'd like to see some literature you've written.

>> No.22856838

>>22856815
I want to be actually great not some pinko retard footnote of history. Like Napoleon but handsome like Chico Lachowski

>> No.22856866

>>22856838

How was Napoleon great? Could you describe his greatness for me?

>> No.22856871

>>22856866
He was the god of war and there is no greater play for boys than war.

>> No.22856883

>>22856871

Fascism. Mussolini wrote something similar.

Then be a fascist. Its easy to do so though. f you aren't a genius you can't ever be an overman, and imitating others doesn't seem to be the way to do it, seeing geniuses don't rely on other people's work.

How tf do you intend on becoming a warlord who is at all relevant on the world stage? What do you even want? You claim to want greatness but you've yet to even be able to describe it.

>> No.22856907

>>22856883
That's why I made this thread. It's hard to pin down because in the most successful periods of a great man's life they seem to be possessed by a higher power to accomplish what they did

>> No.22856924

>>22856621
It's almost as if your mind has become inundated with tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and now you think that's you.

>> No.22856926

>>22856907


Insanity, most likely, as I said before. They were slaves to their madness. They were animals. Mao, Hitler, Napoleon. None of these people seemed very sane whatsoever. Humanity was foreign to them.

Hitler showered four times a day, and was terrified of vermin. They were weak men in their own right.

Greatness is subjective, but if anyone can be seen as "great" it would unlikely be these sorts of men, riddled with paranoia and insecurities. Maybe find a better idol. Who else do you find great?

>> No.22856942

>>22856926
I can't articulate it well but I think it's something like this. Basically in the twilight of one's youth (early-mid 20's) a man's childish fantasies can either cause one of 3 things. Either the dream is extinguished and they compromise with mundanity. For example a little boy who wanted to become Batman because of his capability grows up to be a lawyer or doctor because these are jobs held by capable men. The second option is they keep to these childish fantasies but only ever aspiring and turn into a man child like pic rel. The third is a man understanding that his youth is fleeting and in a desperate bid to hold onto his fantasies he propels himself into greater heights (madness) and thereby becomes great. Napoleon idolized Alexander who is a near mythological figure and of course Alexander idolized Napoleon

>> No.22856945
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22856945

>>22856942
forgot pic

>> No.22856948

>>22856871
Anglos... Go read the memorial de Sainte-hélene if you want to understand how ridicule your aspiration is.
Great men achieve great destiny by stepping themselves up first and foremost, then, sometimes, Destiny will choose one of those gifted persons for a life not only extraordinary but also impactful.
From what I understood from the thread, you're an average man, with below average intelligence, knowledge, and social skill. How do you expect to be chosen by destiny if you're not THE man in a 1000 to begin with

>> No.22856950

>>22856942


I don't know. I don't see much virtue in madness. I find greatness in figures like Christ or even Kazcynski. People who transcended the ethical by conforming to it beyond reason. a madness that creates (Christ), or creates through destruction (Kazynsky).

>> No.22856958

>>22856950
I wouldn't even dare comparing the two. Kaczynski is kitsch. Just typical hippie sentiments with a violence attached. I wouldn't even call Christ a great man because He is above that. God made flesh and all

>> No.22856961

>>22856948
how am i average if you rated me as below average in everything

>> No.22856975

>>22856948
Btw what makes you think I'm below avg intelligence and knowledge. Just curious because I want to improve myself

>> No.22856976

>>22856958
>never read him

>> No.22856983

>>22856871
So going by your own value system, Napoleon was a great boy but not a great man.
Basically what you need is a small dick and a complex of inferiority, only then are you dehimanized enough for such "great" deeds.

>> No.22856994

>>22856942
The fact that you think 2. AA Nd 3. Even have the same starting point just hammers home the fact you're clearly the case of 2.
So save yourself and try to become 1.
Of course you'll probably respond with
>But what's th point?!
That's for you to answer, if you yourself aren't the point, then nother is the world and you tying to conquer it is simply you running away from what you truly think of yourself. You can run from that your whole life, but you won't ever escape, even if you managed to genocide a few ethnicities here or there.

>> No.22856998

>>22856663
Lmao but you have to be smart enough to recognize greatness in other people before they make any great achievements. Greatness is born, its not made. Some people are just born exceptional

>> No.22857010

>>22856994
>the fact that you think 2 and 3 have the same starting point
I don't. They have different genetics and destinies but I pieced together a commonality which is this childish fantasy which extinguishes in twilight of your youth.

Of course I believe myself to be the point. I wouldn't make this thread if I didn't think I had the possibility (which most don't have) of becoming a great man

>> No.22857012

>>22857010
Why do they both have a childish fantasy as a commonality?

>> No.22857015

>>22857012
Because all boys do

>> No.22857026

>>22857015
No, but many traumatised boys do and you're projecting your situation onto "all". That's also why you conflate such different circumstances which produces cases 2. and 3. with each other and why you think dictators start as whiny bitches and not gigachads who draw people to them. Since people are not drawn to you naturally, instead of asking an anonymous forum how to be more cool, come to terms with who and where you actually are in life.

Just jokin, I know you're baiting, even 19yo freshmen aren't this retarded and willfully obtuse. Sadly, I got bored too quickly.

>> No.22857033

>>22857026
I'm not joking. And you just said that dictators (great men) start off as whiny bitches and you compare me to them. are you flattering me? I guess I am destined to be great after all

>> No.22857108

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22857144
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22857144

>>22856621

>> No.22857152

>>22857144
Why? I'm perfectly normal. Who wouldn't want to be great?

>> No.22857224

>>22857152
But you don't want to be great, you just want to start wars because that's what guys in videogames do or whatever. It would be a lot easier to be remembered by history for doing something scholarly than for becoming a politician in the first world. It costs millions to run for president in America.

>> No.22857244

>>22857152
>i believe I am destined for greatness
>also I have done nothing
>also I am normal
You're delusional and worse: inconsistent

>> No.22857249

>>22856975
you sound brown

>> No.22857250

>>22856713
>go feed the niggers
no

>> No.22857263

>>22856621

Why napoleon? You have chosen a very weird inspiration.

Warfare has changed so much since then. Unless you become leader of a dictatorship like Putin or happen to be the president of a democracy when it gets involved in a war like Zelensky you are not going to be leading huge armies. Also with nukes nobody is going to be taking over huge areas of land like in the past.

>> No.22857310

>>22857224
How is that any different from Alexander idolizing Achilles? If anything that means I am much closer to greatness than you ever will be
>>22857249
Not an argument

>> No.22857312

>>22857263
So what do you recommend instead? The pope?

>> No.22857324

>>22857312

Maybe. If you could rise up and bring Christianity back into the modern world as some sort of modern prophet you could def achieve world fame and be written into history.

No idea how you would pull it off, but it would be pretty based if a modern Jesus appeared and converted a huge chunk of the world back into being really religious.

The first world is totally fucked and on a downward spiral. Uniting the masses towards some sort of goal would be huge. Politics and war are probably not going to be the thing to do it anymore.

Religion has been very effective at this for most of human history. The problem would just be how, you might even need to come up with a new religion.

>> No.22857336

>>22856660
If you need to ask 'how' you're not destined for greatness, retard

>> No.22857353

>>22857336
Do you think if Napoleon had access to 4chan, he wouldn't ask for advice once?

>> No.22857360

>>22857353
No. The 'great' men throughout history were given that title because they grabbed life by the horns and took what they wanted. They read literature, history and philosophy and learned to think for themselves.

>> No.22857608

>>22856621
Unironically, seek Christ. Everyone else is destined for the fire.

>> No.22859025

>>22856621
you don't "become" great. you happen to be born at the right time in the right place.

>> No.22859049

>Asks "How do I become great?" on an anonymous message board and is still delusional enough to believe he has the capacity for greatness
Okay, I'll bite.
What makes someone great? They are 1 of 1. The greatest authors invented their style and also dominated that style. The greatest musicians and artists did the same. Nobody really bothers imitating Van Gogh or Picasso or Shakespeare or Kafka because they know they will be compared to them and come up short. You need to do something that is inimitable if you want to be great. And in order to do something inimitable you need to be a radically independent individual when it comes to your work. And you asking "How do I become great?" here shows you are not.

>> No.22859390

>>22857360
normgroid mentality. What would you know about greatness? Why do normies get so mad when you dare stick out of the herd?

>> No.22859824

>>22856621
>Even when others are objectively greater than me
>objectively greater
>objectively
>greater

There’s your first problem right there. You’re retarded. Hope this helps.

>> No.22859901

>>22856621
first don't listen to the other anons here. us great men of history chads shouldn't feel down when normies try to convince us we're actually "normal" commoner bugmen like them.
secondly and since you mentioned napoleon, focus on your charisma, be confident, never be scared to talk back to people you supposedly respect. Napoleon often impressed his teachers constantly for his attitute towards them, and because he was a genuinely brilliant student. You need to possess these qualities.

>> No.22860035

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22860148

>>22859049
>What makes someone great?

They impress kingmakers, simple as. Nobody gave a shit about Van Gogh or Picasso before people who matter decided to bestow the label "great" upon them.

OP needs to figure out who the kingmakers are in whatever field he wants to enter and do what it takes to leave a positive impression on them.

>> No.22860153

>>22860148
Any tips?

>> No.22860156

>>22856652
>Your best bet is probably to fly to bumfuck Zimbabwe and become a tribal warlord
He would be shot, stabbed, or beaten to death within days if not hours of arriving

>> No.22860176
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22860176

>>22860156
Unlikely. Great men will always succeed

>> No.22860288

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22860328

>>22856696
>how nihilism is impossible, unless
Holy cope. Imagine living today, looking around and genuinely believing this

>> No.22860332

>>22856696
>an animal
>he thinks he’s not an animal along with everyone else

>> No.22860374

>>22856621
Nobody knows, and if you have to ask a bunch of random people on the internet…

>> No.22860379
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22860379

>>22860374
>No! No! NOOOOO! YOU CAN NEVER BE GREAT! NEVER!!! JUST GET THE HECKIN 50K/YEAR OFFICE JOB AND SETTLE DOWN WITH A 3/10 WIFE! YOU HAVE TO BECAUSE...I HAD TO OK!?

>> No.22860389

>>22860379
>missing the point this hard
No great man had to go ask random people on the street how to be one. They just were. There’s no ez guide for life. Ironically enough the guide is the one you just explained. Dumbfuck.

>> No.22860398
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22860398

>>22860389
>heh...looks like you picked the wrong dialogue option, chud. That means the "Great Man" playthrough is locked of as per the handbook's rules.

>> No.22860408

>>22860398
Sorry bro, destiny has decided you will be a basedjak posting loser like everyone else on this shit board. I’m sure you could have success transitioning with all the other special characters however!

>> No.22860414
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22860414

>>22860408
>Erm...

>> No.22860509

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22860541

>star wars
kys my dude

>> No.22860543

Always funny how mad people get when you say you feel destined to do great things. Must suck not having any potential, sorry normies! Maybe Stacy will let you play video games tonight while I continue polishing the draft of my artistic masterpiece.

>> No.22860545

>>22860543
post it faggot

>> No.22860962

>>22856621
Be born great, ten the rest of life will flow like water

>> No.22861471

>>22856958
>worship my dad and be nice to people
Sooo crazy!

>> No.22861480

>>22860379
Right, because a great man would lash out with a basedjak.png and freak out like a teenager.

>> No.22861666
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22861666

Great men seem to have a drive to create. This can be applied to pretty much anything. From warfare, to politics, to art, to philosophy, etc. This is advice I myself try to achieve, but often times am in my own head too much. Creation seems to be the key to everything. Create something you are proud of, or work towards the creation of something. Good or bad, just create and strive towards that. Even if its trash you gain experience in that field and keep improving. Then one day you could end up making your magnum opus.

>> No.22861684

>>22861666
Oh and don't listen to the fags crying about it. They just mad, at least your asking HOW to be great. Our times nowadays are very different then other eras, with the internet and everything. Also the constant stimulus which can cause issues achieving creative goals.

>> No.22862089

>>22860408
He sounds based, you sound like a tranny faggot

>> No.22862197

>>22859390
that's my point, idiot, if you're asking 'how' you don't stick out of the herd, you're another clueless npc

>> No.22862626

>>22862197
Why do you want everyone to be as worthless as you?

>> No.22862661

>>22862626
Why are you this dense? You can’t even pickup on an easy point.

>> No.22862669

>>22862661
refer to:
>>22860398

>> No.22862848

>>22861666
What are you trying to create, anon?

>> No.22862903

>>22856621
you have to be born into purple, both in the sense of having a wealthy and influential family and having genius genetics
if you don't have both then you can become admirable but not great

>> No.22863009

>>22856621
you asking this question means you are not exceptional

>> No.22863453

>>22863009
wrong , baseded jack

>> No.22863657

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22863658

>>22860328
Burying yourself in hedonism and spiteful shortsighted behavior isn't nihilism. It's stupid cope by retards who will regret it

>> No.22863680

>>22860328
>>22860332

If nihiliism is the absence of values, living without any values is impossible. This is why I referred to "The Idiots," because its the closest you can be. Living without any sort of reason forever. Don't say "Nihilism is when you create your own values" because not only does that contradict the point of nihilism (its in the name. "Nihil." Nothing. As put in "Fathers and Sons") because that's the entire premise of existentialism, the counterpoint to nihilism. Living with a pure nihilism (valueless) is impossible as a premise, because living implies valuing life.

All humans aren't animals, only the ones which behave like them. Ones that don't utilize metacognition (the distinguished between a sentient being and a non-sentient one).

>> No.22864034

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22864118

>>22864034

Stop bumping this cesspit baitpost. I was posting on this shit two days ago its time to die.

>> No.22864208

>>22860541
le i le had le to le scroll le to le far le to le find le this le

>> No.22864235

>>22857608
get off 4chan if you're worried about going to hell lmao

>> No.22864921

>>22862626
Yes yes a great man would have to ask /lit/ 'how' to be great and then tell anons they are worthless (projection btw) to prove how great he is.
Read a book, retard.

>> No.22865052

>>22861666
FARMED

>> No.22865107

Go to a college like Deep Springs College or an Ivy League school. Make connections with upper middle class or upper class people. Try to read as much philosophy and other literature as much as possible but that will be a given since you will probably have to get accepted into an Ivy League school. Join a secret society. Take psychedelics and ask whether you are destined to be great. Become a liberal imperialist and fight for liberal causes. You have to impress both sides of the political spectrum.

>> No.22865169

Someone like Trump will not be known as great. He's already known as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. So, in a sense, you have to impress the elites of the top empire in your current world timeline. You need to have a level of social awareness that includes going against the establishment but also furthering its causes. You need to impress the scholars of your society.

>> No.22865178

Also play sports and get into West Point.

>> No.22865580

>>22856621
Bruh finna end up in jail but instead of getting a heartwarming realization of love and the infinite potential for humans to bear suffering he's just gonna get bent by Tyrone lmfao

But the truth is a lot more dull and boring and uncomfortable. Its suffering. Suffering doesn't end so much as it transforms. The next question you should be asking is how much you're willing to suffer for greatness? Be careful what you ask for.

>> No.22865673

A lot of us have that feeling, but the proof is in the pudding ultimately. OP you need to start where you are, as all great men did. Go and live your unique life. You may not enter the history books but you can rebel against the robotic, stultifying nature of our age. Go trek through the Amazon and meet an uncontacted tribe or something. Have enough unique experiences and you'll build yourself a life that separates you from the herd. You need the qualities that most don't have; courage, resilience, adventure, and perhaps a touch of the machiavellian

>> No.22865786

>>22862848
Currently a book but I also started dabbling in art, I wrote a short story around a year ago and may go back and revise it to release to a literary journal.

>> No.22866894

>>22865580
You write like a shitskinned preteen

What the fuck are even doing on this board, much less this thread, you stupid child?

>> No.22866896

>>22865169
>appeal to hack "scholars" to be great
So fucking funny

>> No.22867024

>>22856621
bump

>> No.22867099

>>22865107
>Take psychedelics and ask whether you are destined to be great
ask who? And psychedelics are a complete meme and waste of time. I took a "heroic" dose and just kept thinking how gay it is. I conquered psychedelics on my first go which either means I am better than all the faggot psychonauts still taking their poopoo mushrooms for decades or only retards even consider using psychedelics

>> No.22867103

>>22864921
refer to:
>>22860398

>> No.22867111

>>22865178
military members, even the higher echelons in intelligence are midwit at best
>>22865580
There is nothing more I want than to be great. What point is there in existing if you are ordinary? The beautiful and the talented are the only ones who live a life worth living. I sacrifice.