Thoughts on the King, Warrior, Magician, Lover archetypes?

Having been at the self-dev, PUA, systems, psychology, lesswrong, kegan, philosophy, and other things - game for a very long time. My discerning eye suggests that some of the model is good, and some is bad. My advice to anyone looking at that model is that there are equal parts shit and diamonds. If you haven't been reading in this area for 9 years you can't see what's what. Don't hold anything too closely but be a sponge and absorb it all. Throw out the shit when you come across it and keep the diamonds.

At the end of the 4 (KWML) pages suggest some various intelligent and reasonable ways to develop one's self:

• Take up a martial art.
• Do something that scares you.
• Work on becoming more decisive.
• Meditate. Especially on death.
• Quit should- ing on yourself.
• Find your core values.
• Have a plan and purpose for your life.
• Boost your adaptability by strengthening your resilience.
• Study and practice the skills necessary for completing your goals, become a master of your trade.
• Find the principles that you’re loyal to.
• Establish some non-negotiable, unalterable terms (or N.U.Ts) and live by them.
• Compete in a race like the Warrior Dash.
• Strengthen your discipline by establishing habits and daily routines.
• Adopt a minimalist philosophy. Declutter your life. Simplify your diet. Get out of debt.

• Commit to lifelong learning
• Meditate
• Create more, consume less.
• Work with your hands.
• Take part in a rite of passage
• Find a mentor
• Become a mentor
• Join a Fraternal organization like the Freemasons
• Carve out a sacred space in your life

• Create more, consume less
• Leave a legacy
• Develop practical wisdom
• Become a mentor
• Find a mentor
• Establish your core values
• Develop the virtue of order
• Break away from your mother
• Develop a life plan
• Develop the traits of true leadership
• Protect the sanctity of your ideas
• Become decisive
• Avoid the corruption of money, power,and sex
• Live with integrity

These suggestions are not bad. save possibly the suggestion to take up a martial art which I disagree with and doing something that scares you. Anything that gets people to establish their purpose, have a plan and be more the people they want to be is a good thing.

Things like, "Work on becoming more decisive" are likely only to help the people who already think they are not decisive enough. Those who are decisive enough will probably skip it. HOWEVER if you already were* Study and practice the skills necessary for completing your goals, become a master of your trade. decisive and you thought you weren't you might end up down a rabbit hole trying to work out how to do the thing that you don't need to do.

• Quit should- ing on yourself.

Nate soares has a post on "should's" as well. http://mindingourway.com/not-because-you-should/ it's different but also covers the suggestion of not doing what you "should" but doing what you want to do instead.

• Study and practice the skills necessary for completing your goals, become a master of your trade.

So yea; do what you are doing with massive focus. Be so good they can't ignore you TM. etc. etc. This is not the first place to suggest such things. And I strongly believe that for some people this method of delivering advice is exactly what they need. For other's it's exactly not what they need. Good luck figuring out if it's you or not.

Is there more useful signal than noise here? It depends on who you are, where you are, and how good you are at working that out for yourself.

All I can say is - "maybe".

End note: I hope to soon write up a post on making advice applicable and thinking about basically "It depends on who you are, where you are, and how good you are at working that out for yourself." in more detail.