You Are Dying, and Your World Is a Lie

Epic Series

by Johnny B. Truant

What is pain? What is discomfort? Is it something terrible, something to be avoided... or is it the very thing that lets us know that we are alive?

The modern world has sold us on a lie. The lie says that to live is to be comfortable. To live is to be free of struggle. The lie says that the ultimate existence would be to never want for anything, to never be pushed so far that it hurts. So why do some of us seek out "edge" experiences? Why do we flirt with deprivation, with intentional chaos? Why do some of us push toward and through our own physical, emotional, and emotional limits, just to see how it feels?

Every day, safe in our modern cocoons, we can comfortably ignore the fact we are dying. But should we blind ourselves to the truth? Beyond self-help cliches lies a painful and sobering reality: YOUR TIME IN THIS LIFE IS LIMITED... AND IT IS RUNNING OUT.

This essay looks at what it is to strive, to seek out what hurts us so that we may find out what it is to truly be human.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Ebooks, Short Stories, Essays

9 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2012

About the author

Johnny B. Truant is an author, blogger, and podcaster who, like the Ramones, was long denied induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite having a large cult following. He makes his online home at JohnnyBTruant.com and is the author of the Unicorn Western series, the Fat Vampire series, The Bialy Pimps, and a handful of other properties and growing every week.

You can connect with Johnny on Twitter at @JohnnyBTruant, and you should totally send him an email from JohnnyBTruant.com if the mood strikes you.

Reviews

[Sidrah Anum · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As our lives become less and
less genuine, we require bigger and bigger thrills to scare us, for
just a moment, into feeling human again."
Good concept introduced very well.

[Sandeep Ellawala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of the author from his Epic Series that I am reading and I must say that I am impressed. His first book told me how important was the limited time we have in our lives. He also taught me that the Universe does not give a flying fuck about me or my nonsense. This time he is trying to tell me that it is fear that stops us from being awesome and living the epic life we could have lived.

The first book elevated my understanding of life, and now I am seeing it from a different perspective. This book too started with similar flair. But by the end I saw it struggle a bit to keep firing words at me with the same impact as before. First he tells me that all these limits are based on unrealistic fears and then he tell me the following at the end of the book:

"I don't know about you, but I want to see what's our there in the world." This right here is where he should have finished this book, but he goes on to saying "And within limits, within reason, I don't mind if it hurts.", which diminished the whole brave heart tone of the book.

However, I must say that this once again was a joyful read, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short kick-in-the-butt. The main messages?

A) The modern world has deprived us (the first-world people privileged enough to read this booklet) of the pain of survival (starvation, being eaten by tigers, etc.), so we make things that aren't life-threatening (public speaking, writing a book, etc.) seem terrifying and painful.

B) A state of comfort is not ideal. No risks, no rewards.

C) We're all going to die one day. So you might as well live as fully and "painfully" as you can.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a little boo-boo? Paper cut? Feel like the world is against you and nothing is going your way? Get over it! Your condition is to some degree a matter of perception. This approach of "This is as good as it gets" does scream Panglossian absurdity though. In Voltaire's "Candide", Pangloss is the foil, professing the beauty of his life whilst wasting away from syphilis and a host of other ailments. So I suppose that I will just go "tend to my garden".

[RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome!

4 stars.

This is a very short book. It is raw. There is no sugar coating.

Things I did not like:
-I disagree what the author says about horror movies. Many of the new horror movies that are suppose to be scary are not. However, that also depends on certain factors.
-I have some mix feelings on the author comments about pain. However, I have PTSD and dealing with grief. My PTSD is not because of my grief. It about other things. Life can be worst.

Regardless of the things I did not like, I feel that my views on pain could be wrong. It why this is not reflected in my rating. I could be bias here.

I give it 4 stars for the author should not regret his first book. I could also be wrong here as well. It seems that the author forget to take his own advice( from book one and two) about regret.



🇺🇸🌺

[Michelle B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm. Well that was a disappointment after how much I liked the first one. I really don't like how he was minimizing mental health concerns like anxiety by saying "we" invented it as a substitute for "real" fears that are no longer relevant.

[Amy Ransohoff]

Well, this looks promising for my reading challenge.

[Flybyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ten page long memorandum of your mortality.
This little book is a profoundly concentrated, summarized self-help book that is worth thousands of pages. A booklet that responds to your existentialist cries.
The main ideas discussed here:
* Time is the most precious asset, do not squander it.
* To experience your real potential you need to get out of your comfort zone and embrace the pain of effort. Newton’s rules apply here: the better the prize, the more difficult and painful the path.
* As human beings, we are hard-wired to walk on the edges. Not pushing limits kills the sense of meaning and leaves us dissatisfied in our catatonic state.
Wish it were longer...

[Omkar Abnave · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To escape the matrix, first you gotta see the matrix"

The thing i liked about this book is authors opinions about 'matrix'.
Now when i saw that series long ago i felt the same but couldn't express that with words.
and it feels good to see someone doing it and sharing it with the word.
"You are doing it right man"

Definitely going for his next book.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic series

Short book and a quick read. Straight to the point without sugar coating anything. This is part of a 4 book series.

[Kübra Hazal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you for 10 pages of bullshit Johnny but I have bipolar disorder and currently living in 21st century.

[Carlton Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

Short read but the book will probably lay out ideas some people will have problems with. If you feel very spiritual this book may be an eye-opener.
I just reread this book.
I enjoyed this time as much as I had the first time I read it.

[Marci Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

No new insight. It was like combing the phrase "YOLO" with the song "Pain" by Three Days Grace.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this one too.

It's so simple. As someone who hates to waste time on things I don't value it spoke to my soul.

[Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Edgework"

~*~*~*Don't let fear of falling keep you from flying*~*~*~

[Lys · Rating 2 out of 5]

welll....
+1 point for mentioning Trent Reznor.
-3 points for acting like mental illness is not a "serious" pain/threat/etc. That basically we've invented anxiety because we're not fighting wild beasties for survival. ...In the strictest sense, it might be true, but I think the way Truant portrays it just perpetuates stigma and judgement. While I might agree with a base principle of taking risks and attempting to eke something worthwhile out of life while you have it, this pseudo-philosophy is just a surface scratch of evolutionary psychology and it isn't nearly as profound as it tries to pretend to be. Truant is aware that he's giving you the meme version of existentialism ... even as he encourages you to live a life beyond the meme.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at the depth of the 11 page piece, but I suppose I was hoping for some distilled treasure. It reads like a blog post by someone who is just aware enough to hate himself and others. I liked some of the ideas, and the title was certainly catching, but the execution was undercooked.

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 2 out of 5]

You Are Dying, and Your World Is a Lie is the follow-up to The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying Fuck About You by Johnny B Truant.

Truant has a slap-in-the-face style of writing that is aimed at shocking and motivating his readers, and if you haven't come across this kind of style before, it could give you the kick in the pants you need.

This short e-book is FREE on Amazon Kindle, which is great! But if I'm honest, it doesn't have that much to add from the first book.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy is coming closer to the point

When death knocks out door, that is where we realise where our priority lies. The job, money, car, house etc doesn't matter. What matters how much quality time you had with your dear ones. For all material glory we have been burning our so called Life. But is it worth that much when our end is near... I like John's writing style, it really provoke your thoughts. The books leads us to more questions than the answers. We have to find answers for it is our life

[Jana Eichhorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as world-shaking as Truant's first book. The message here is similar, but the logic is flawed. The author urges readers to deliberately do things that could cause them physical or emotional pain, because you can't know pleasure without knowing pain. While I agree with that sentiment, sometimes you have to remember that pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.

[Daniel Abernathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I simply can't get into what this author is preaching. I know that behind the vulgarity there is suppose to be a positive message, a "live each moment like it's your last" pseudo-philosophy, but I could probably get more enlightenment from a stoned friend than what Johnny Truant provides, and with half the cursing.

[Toreka Pulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truth

Love the bluntness from this author. A lot of people should read this series because its is short and eye opening.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the series of basic truths clarified for the middle or upper class 20 something cis-het white guy who has never considered these things before.

Basically, the essay (it's a very short book) sets out the truth that we evolved a fear response to deal with immediate crises, and we continue to respond to fear in a way which is no longer appropriate given the reality of day to day existence. This is a useful thought.

The idea that feeling negative emotions somehow 'unlocks' the capacity to feel positive emotions is less useful.

The idea of allowing ourselves to (at least occasionally) face fear and pain is useful. The idea that we need to seek out such opportunities (run a marathon to embrace the pain...) for their own sake is a bit ridiculous. (This is coming from my own experiences as a 50 something cis-het white woman who went through natural childbirth twice because her own research told her it was actually best for mother and child, if the pain could be faced...)

Again, the title is the best part of the book. Worth a read, won't change your life.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a 30 something discovers philosophy for first time:

A 10 page self help article (read: blog post) in response to “the Universe Doesn’t Give a Flying Fuck About You,” which Truant wrote several months prior.
This is the one that was promoted to me via Goodreads, and since each one is so short (and free), I gave them both a try.

It reads as if Truant just discovered philosophy for the first time, and is writing through their existential crisis. It’s ok. Profound only if one never thought about their life in that way, but doesn’t have much depth to offer.

I’ve found it entertaining enough to pass on to my peers from the philosophy department.

[Brian Beatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely better than the first essay. In general, something I think most should already know, but a good reminder in the context of what we allow ourselves to get comfortable with. More importantly, I think this could help some to identify why they crave some things that they think aren't healthy choices, especially in the media. It is absurd how easy life is for many upper middle class Americans, and perhaps it would do some good to get them to consider this and also experience what life is like for so many with much less

[Manar Awad · Rating 2 out of 5]

“We’ll never create a utopia, because it’s impossible to define good without having bad to compare it to. There is no pleasure without pain. There is no Heaven without Hell.”
I got an iBook copy for this. It can be a fun read for some. For me it didn't up add anything extra, almost a repeated copy of the first post on the series. However, felt like it's some-kind of overrated.

Excerpt From: Johnny B. Truant. “You Are Dying, and your World is a Lie.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

[S. Spelbring · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very short, very realistic view of the world. It brings us all back to Earth and reality. You aren't dying because your laptop died (mine is slowly working it's way there), you aren't dying because there's no almond milk in the fridge and you have to go shopping now. It's not painful to watch a new Netflix drama.

We've lost the meaning of real pain, so we have to make it up.

This ebook is basically a reality check for anyone who needs it.

[Maria Miaoulis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, another short read, but one that reinforces the theme - time running out. Think about what you accomplish during the day. Are you living meaningfully? Or are you just keeping busy to make it seem like you are living meaningfully?

Life is finite. The things that are absolutely urgent today will definitely NOT matter when you're on your deathbed. You will regret wasting time, be it with the wrong person or doing something that you hate. So allocate your time wisely.

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little more toned down, less accusing than The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying Fuck About You but also less substance, I thought.

Both are short reads. And free on Amazon/Kindle. I think there are more but I'm stopping with these for now.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, but relatively poignant

“You are dying, and your world is a lie” was an interesting, albeit quick read. It makes some relatively good points, summed up into living in the moment. Truant essentially says, that until you can realize you’re dying, you’ll never live. There were a couple excellent points, but some of it came across as ramblings.
Maybe that was the point?

[Yvonne Matherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Reality check. One cannot allow energy vampires to take all your energy. Our time here is too short. This book made me realize that I am doing the right thing with my life. It's time to be fully me regardless of my fears. It's time to sore now is as good a time as any . Anyone can die at anytime so forget the fears and go for it