Justin Wojtkowski > Recent Status Updates

Chapter 3, the author is making the case for the fraternal bond that came from him joining a frat. He is building the idea that young men need a tribe.
My issue with this chapter is he acknowledges all of the issues frats are guilty of (racism, homophobia, bad behavior, hazing -which he was a victim of), but glazes over them because, despite people occasionally dying, the frat gave him structure and accountability.

A passage that stood out to me:
People born and raised in middle or upper income homes take so much for granted in terms of their inborn skills, cultural knowledge, connections, and confidence. It’s not just a lack of economic wherewithal; it’s a lack of worldliness, self-worth, and deservingness. Growing up without money shrinks your sense of what is within reach.”

Chapter 2 has just consisted of various anecdotes about why the author didn’t do Drugs or drink. He had a Mormon friend and a student at athlete that motivated him to pursue a cleaner path. He didn’t steal because he didn’t want to motivate his mom.
He comments on being unremarkable, mediocre, and is building a case for how he can relate to misguided males in the current generation, given his own childhood.

Chapter 1 ends by examining the differences in the minds of boys vs. girls. Boys Pre Frontal Cortexes develop more slowly. They mature slower, are twice as likely in childhood to be diagnosed with a behavioral disorder.

This chapter also focused on giving boys slower dopamine hits with enriching activities that aren’t Tik Tok, like being outside, cooking, or eating healthier food. “Slopamine” or “Slopa”.

Middle of Chapter 1
Scott just talks about the impact of his father leaving his mother. This caused economic strain and ruined his academic and athletic prowess as a child. It lends to the idea that losing a positive male role model is damaging. His father was a man whore who didn’t step up when it counted, neither for the women in his life, or his son. He became a deadbeat.

The intro ends with the idea of producing surplus value, whether that is to kids, wife, family, employer, community, etc. Give more than what you get. Protect, provide, procreate.
There is flexibility with procreation, but it focuses on being a male that is worthy of being seen as someone able to lend their teachings and experience to the next generation, with the goal of producing a person better than oneself.

Chapter 2 wrapped up with further defining Stoicism, but also gave tips for enriching your own life.
It argued many rich people are good people who help others. They build a healthy network of individuals, and the reader is encouraged to connect with wealthy individuals.
The ability to make decisions, even if you get them wrong, is a prized talent that will pave a way to success.
Lastly, simply be nice to others.

Chapter 2 (Not yet finished)
Focuses on Stoicism.
4 components of stoicism are:
Courage - Not letting fear guide your actions. Being positive.
Wisdom - Recognizing what is and is not under your control. Knowing how to properly react.
Justice - facing the consequences of our actions. Adhering to a common good.
Temperance - managing our indulgences.
Chapter emphasizes value of relationships. Luxuries need to be shared.

Chapter 1
The formula for wealth is
Wealth = Focus + Stoicism X Time X Diversification
Focus = Earnjng and Maximizing Income
Stoicism = Live intentionally, connect with community
Time = Most important due to compound interest
Diversification = Spreading your income and investment channels

Economic Security = Passive Income > Burn Rate
Determine your Burn rate to determine the wealth you need to amass.

In the end, all members of the group decided to create a community and stay in Bankole’s land.
Bankole isn’t optimistic, nor is Harry, but people talked Harry out of the greener grass notion, stating getting a job where everyone else is going is not likely to produce more promise. Furthermore, some jobs are unbecoming, like being a slave driver.

Jill, one of the sisters, was shot and killed in an attack by Paints. They were defending against a group of them who tried to abduct one of the little girls. Lauren was shot, but okay.
It was revealed that Mora, Emery, and their kids are also sharers.
The group had to keep outrunning a retaliatory fire. They finally made it to Bankole’s land, only to find the charred remains of the buildings and bones of dead.

Four more people joined the group. A frail, young thin woman and her 9 year old daughter were first, followed by another young girl and her father. The group believed they all used to be slaves based on how they curl up in balls when threatened. The man, Mora, seems off, and the group is more suspicious of them than the woman and daughter.

Bankole and Lauren are getting serious. Despite him being over twice her age, he asked her to marry him, and Lauren will do it as long as he can accept her hyperempathy.
He has land in Lake Mendocino. His sister (40), 3 kids (teenagers) and husband live there, it’s remote with resources.
Lauren’s condition is that she would want the 300 lands as a platform for an Earthseed community, for the whole group, + more.

Bankole said he was married, formerly a doctor. His wife died 5 years ago after a junkie attack. He’s from San Diego. Claims he is heading north with no real destination. Lauren doesn’t completely believe him, she thinks he has some specific location he’s aiming for.
He had money at some point, claimed if he had left when his wife died that he could have paid airfare and settlement fees in a new place.

There are romantic sparks between Bankole and Lauren, despite the age gap.
Bankole found an orphaned child, his mother died in a gunfight over an exploding truck.
An earthquake in the Bay Area made the path they originally intended to take dangerous and chaotic, so they are on a more rural path.
The 2 women rescued on the highway from the collapsed house revealed they burned down their old home with their dad in it.

An earthquake hit. A middle aged man “Bankole” joined the group. Has a gun and seems to have money.
He observed as the group assisted 2 girls further up the highway who had an abandoned house fall on them. They were prostitutes to their pimp dad at one point. Now in their mid 20s. The group was attacked while they helped the girls, killed 3 attackers.
Now a group of 8, all stopped in Salinas. Bought a rifle.

Lauren believes she has converted Travis and Zahra to Earthseedism.

The trio saved a man, wife & baby from being robbed at a water station. That trio stuck near them but at arms length. Lauren approached them on the beach to see if they wanted to walk together. The man, Travis, declined, but ultimately gave in when later Lauren saved their baby by shooting a dog dragging the baby away.
The couple knows Lauren is a female.
Also, Zahra and Harry had sex while on watch. Zahra apologized

The group was attacked by 2 men. Harry was on watch. He killed one, while the other jumped
On top of him. Lauren killed that one, but her hitting the intruder with a boulder revealed
Her “sharing”. She had to reveal it because she couldn’t hide her physical reaction to the man’s pain.
Harry is realizing he doesn’t know Lauren at all, while Lauren grows closer to Zahra. Harry asks to see Lauren’s diary.

The names of Lauren’s companions are Zahra (a woman who was sold by her mother to the old man polygamist and lived with him for 6 years) and Harry (seems to be a teenager.) Zahra has street smarts and was hopeless. She knows of the world outside. Harry is trustworthy. The 3 agreed to head north.

The neighborhood is gone. Lauren went back to gather hidden money & whatever was left.All houses were burned. Bodies were raped & brutalized. The money under the lemon tree was still there. The “paints” laid waste to everything & scavengers were now picking whatever remained.
She found 2 fellow neighbors. One girl who had been raped, another boy who had been hit in the head. They are going to the garage to rest.

It’s been over 2 months without an appearance by Lauren’s father. It’s accepted that he is dead.
Joann and her family moved away.
A neighbor’s house was burned down. While the neighbors were trying to save it, thieves entered the homes of said neighbors and robbed them during the distraction.
Lauren’s escape sack wasn’t taken, but money and tools and food were stolen. The next chapter begins in 2027

Olivar is the name of the company town. Joann and some of her family were accepted there and will be departing for it. Despite Lauren’s hostility for Joann squealing on her a year ago, she let go of her anger. Joann admitted she is settling for a lesser but secure existence.
Lauren’s father disappeared. He’s been gone for at least a week, without a trace. Despite a search party, there are no leads at all.

A large batch of robberies occurred in a relatively short amount of time since Keith’s death. A grandmother was killed, 2 thieves were shot.
A new company town is opening up. Cory wants to go for the promised security and stability, but the father sees this as less an opportunity, more organized slavery. Lauren eyes this as a possible way to spread Earthseed. At the end of the chapter, she decides to drive north.

Keith returned one more time to give Lauren a birthday gift, money. One month after that, his parents were summoned downtown to identify his body. He was tortured. His skin burned and peeled, minus his face. However, his eyes were burned out.
Police said it was likely drug dealers. They tend to torture those who cross them, and Keith seemed like he was increasingly bold.
Cory seems to be blaming Lauren.

Keith left again for 8 months. Then he came back taller and nearly 14. He said he lived in a building with other people who welcomed him because he knew how to read and write. This building had technology and cool things. Keith turned to robbery, killing a guy from San Diego walking to Alaska. He spoke of “paints”, who took drugs, shaved their bodies and painted themselves.

Keith got a BB gun for his birthday. Then he stupidly left the neighborhood for 11 days. Upon his return, he had new clothes & shoes, with no sign of having been beaten up. His father beat him up for the stress he put the family in. Then he left again for 8 days, taking an actual gun instead of the BB gun, and his mother’s key. He returned briefly with a wad of money for his mom and gifts before sneaking out again.

Keith snuck out with a key to the community and got beat up. They stole his key. He wanted to prove he was a man to Lauren’s father, but he proved he is stupid and insubordinate.
As the book goes on, the savagery of the area outside of the community seems to grow.
Also, mentioned in the last chapter is how expensive food is, and how food is apparently cheaper in Oregon, Washington, etc, but new arrivals are shot.

Lauren just had her 16th birthday. She finished making her emergency pack. Her father won’t let her pack a gun.
She is developing the belief that it’s the destiny of “Earthseed” to populate beyond the stars. She deems the earth as a harmful tether to growth.
Tracy (presumably Amy’s mother) has been depressed and talking about wanting to die. She ended up leaving the neighborhood and hasn’t been seen since

Thieves stole produce and attempted to steal rabbits. Neighborhood watch was established at night after the produce event.
Cory, Lauren’s stepmom, is worried they are endangering themselves by arming and firing weapons to deter thieves.
Jo Ann, Lauren’s former friend, squealed on Jo Ann about their conversation regarding survival. Lauren no longer views Jo Ann as trustworthy.
Lauren’s dad dislikes the rhetoric.