You may be under a significant amount of stress. You may feel that hope for a future that isn’t batshit insane is dwindling fast. You may feel ineffectual, like all of your potential is being squashed under the weight of dystopia. I know I feel that way sometimes.
It’s not just us. The average person is probably feeling at least a vague sense of dread right now. When they go grocery shopping or stop for gas. When they’re looking for a new job or delaying that vacation for another year.
But for a certain segment of the population, in which I include myself, I think the feeling is even more intense because the frustration rests atop a thorough understanding of what went wrong, what is still going wrong, and exactly what the future will look like if it continues to go wrong. Knowing what the problem is and having lots of ideas for how to fix it, but at the same time having absolutely no control over the situation—that’s hard. Painfully hard.
This knowledge and the emotions that come with it can put you in freeze mode. The third stress response. You are too small to fight the threat. Flight is impossible—there’s nowhere to run. So you freeze. Your ability to act with confidence and effectiveness is suspended. Some days you put forth as strong an effort as you can muster, but other days you feel all you can do is watch in horror as the dystopian future unfolds. And maybe make a meme or two to express your feelings about it.
Look, guys. If you’re experiencing this, I want you to know that it’s valid. There’s nothing wrong with you for feeling monumentally stressed, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Shit’s crazy.
But so are we, the “dangerous extremists” of the world. We just might be crazy enough to turn this around. As Steve Jobs once said: “The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” And I guess he would know.
Let’s start with something we can control.
I want to help voluntaryists, anarchists, and radical free thinkers (including myself) overcome resistance, procrastination, and the dystopian freeze effect. I want to help us activate our potential to put the brakes on dystopia. What this world gone mad needs, more than ever, is viable alternatives. Alternative narratives, alternative communities, alternatives to the legacy institutions that condone, support, recruit for, and bankroll the deepening madness.
There are a lot of motivated individuals and teams out there already working on these problems, but there need to be more of us.
To that end, I have created a thing. EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME is a virtual co-working group that will help us create good things through focus, connection, and consistency.
Basically, it’s virtual co-working for dAnGeRoUs AnTi-gOvErNmEnT eXtReMiStS. It’s a two hour block of time each day to turn off social media, shut out distractions, and dedicate all your focus to creating that thing you’ve been dreaming of, with support and motivation from friends who get you.
The format will look like this:
- Ten minutes sharing daily objectives and shooting the shit
- 50-minute sprint
- Five minute break
- Another 50-minute sprint
- Five minutes to share memes and practice disdain for the state and stuff.
In addition to the daily focus sessions, I will be offering a weekly motivational Zoom chat for the purpose of goal setting, connection, and celebrating wins.
The EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME co-working group is for anarchists, voluntaryists, and radical libertarians. It’s for free thinkers and skeptics of media narratives. Most of all, it’s for people who have a deep desire to create value in a way that contributes to the freedom of humankind. You know, those of us who get called “extremists”, as if there’s anything extreme about valuing human freedom and not wanting people’s lives to be controlled by a central authority.
To start, I’ll be offering daily focus sessions Monday through Saturday, and a group motivation chat on Sunday evenings. I may add more sessions if there’s a demand for different time slots later on.
The first group motivation chat will be this Sunday, March 13th, and focus sessions will begin on Monday, March 14th.
6 Focus Sessions Per Week:
Monday-Saturday, 10 AM - 12 PM EST
1 Group Motivation Chat Per Week:
Sundays, 5 PM EST
Be sure to check your time zone!
I want this to be as easy as possible for as many people as possible. You are not obligated to attend every session or group chat, and you’re welcome to join at the top of the second hour if your schedule doesn’t permit you to join at the beginning of the session. You can also leave the session at the end of the first hour if you need to.
What does it cost?
The best thing about EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME, other than all that productivity and focus, and the fact that you’ll make more consistent progress toward your goals—oh, and being able to chat with interesting people who are on your wavelength every day—is of course that it’s a free service. Donations are welcome, but are not expected. This is more about me wanting my people to succeed.
If you want to participate in EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME, just send me an email to starrohara @ protonmail.com
I will send you the links to the Zoom meetings.
I have created a new section in my Substack newsletter just for communications about EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME.
If you would like to receive future communications about EXTREMISTS BEING AWESOME, including schedule changes and member spotlights, all you have to do is subscribe to the newsletter (there is a free option) and opt in to the Extremists Being Awesome section.
I hope to see some of you at our first motivational group chat!
That’s this Sunday, March 13th at 5pm EST.
If you know any talented, creative, freedom-loving extremists who might like to join us, send them a link to this post. Thanks!
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-Starr