What does it mean to be gangster?

Provide for yourself

Tha Hermetic G knows when some people hear this, they think "make enough money to buy whatever I need." This is not what Tha Hermetic G means. Of course, it would be nearly impossible to survive in a modern society without some means of earning a pay. Yet, to provide for one's self is a multifaceted achievement encompassing far more than simply holding gainful employment. Tha Hermetic G says it needs to be done both intrinsically and extrinsically. Extrinsically, it involves crafting a skillset to be able to acquire the necessities of life - food, water, clothing, shelter. Could you do all this without a single point of failure looming over you? How do you currently provide food? What if that option was stripped from you? If you were fired from your job today, what are your next steps looking like? Intrinsically, it is all about taking care of one's health both physically and mentally. Ensuring physical fitness, feeding one's self nutrtious fuel, engaging in meditation, and mastering one's emotions are all needed aspects of providing for one's self - should they want to be gangster.

Tha Hermetic G says none of this lightly. Tha Hermetic G understands providing for one's self is an extremely difficult task. This fact becomes especially so when those with power in our society do so much to ensure we cannot provide for ourselves. Moreover, these parasites thrive off the general populace's inability to provide for theirselves. Tha Hermetic G wants to make sure you understand that being gangster is in fact a grueling and arduous goal. It is not flashy nor fun, and the powers at be do not want gangsters. They want sheep.

Remain congruent

Congruency is something Tha Hermetic G struggles with quite a bit. In the eyes of Tha Hermetic G, to be congruent is to act and speak in manners that directly agree with only the ideals to which you subscribe. On the surface, this seems simple. But as we have discussed, being gangster is no simple task. Let Tha Hermetic G offer an example. Tha Hermetic G believes we can assume you want to be a decent friend and not be the cause of issues in this scenario. A large group you are part of is struggling to agree on where to eat. It's been going on for some time, and tensions slowly rise as does the group's hunger. Finally, it seems that everyone would be happy to go to a Mexican restaurant down the street. You, however, have had Mexican for the past three days, and it is the last thing you want at this point. Do you remain congruent with your desires and explain to the group you would not be happy with this decision? Further prolonging the time between the hungry group and a satiating meal? Or do you remain congruent with your ideals of not being difficult and causing issues, deciding instead to have Mexican food for the fourth day in a row?

What if it was an attractive prospect of whatever gender you fancy? One you could really see yourself with long term? They offer you to join them at a restaurant you don't like, or to see a movie you won't enjoy. Does congruency trump romance? What other aspects of life hold more importance than congruency? Should we rank our ideals using a points system, and then for each action spend time and compute power determining which would give us the "most congruency?" Can one simply go with the flow and remain congruent to their self? Tha Hermetic G told you, being gangster is not easy.

Place stock in those who will place stock in you

Too often Tha Hermetic G sees people chase. Gangsters don't chase. Be it romantic interests, friendships, or professional relationships, Tha Hermetic G wants you to only put effort into those who will put effort into you. Tha Hermetic G is not saying to inspect the give and return of every relationship in your life to the point that you are removing yourself from nearly all of them. A true gangster will never get everything he gives unless he gives to another true gangster, and these are few and far between. However, to be gangster is to determine your self worth in a realistic manner. If a gangster finds a relationship in their life is not treating them with the respect their self worth warrants, they exit that relationship politely and graciously.

Tha Hermetic G knows lots of people in his general vicinity - be it work, friend groups, clubs - that do not treat Tha Hermetic G with the level of respect Tha Hermetic G deserves. Tha Hermetic G doesn't refuse to be around them, nor does Tha Hermetic G threaten to cut off his friends that do place stock in these people. Tha Hermetic G simply understands who will have his back when the time necessitates it, and places his stock in them. Tha Hermetic G has spent lots of time, shared many laughs, and had a great deal of fun with many people he would not place stock in.

Care not about general opinions

Tha Hermetic G does not care about trends or fads. Tha Hermetic G believes many of the "trends" we are subject to today are far from organic anyways but that is a topic for another time. A consequence of remaining congruent is that a gangster is not easily swayed. "Set in their ways," if you will. Thus, it is a small set of people who hold opinions that Tha Hermetic G really worries about. Role models, inspirations, family members. It is these sorts of folk that Tha Hermetic G will listen to and take seriously.

Tha Hermetic G does not act superior or dismissive to those whose opinion does not matter to him. There is no inherent need for a gangster to be rude. A gangster simply understands there are very few people on this Earth who will genuinely have his best interest at heart. So, it is the natural and logical conclusion that there are very few people on this Earth whose opinions are formed with a gangster's best interest at their core. In a similar vein, Tha Hermetic G respects expertise and experience. He would not take financial advice from someone who cannot seem to keep a savings, nor would he take car repair advice from someone who's never been under a hood. So, why would Tha Hermetic G care about the general opinions of those who do not show him general support?

Treat others how you would expect to be treated

Tha Hermetic G believes the world would be a near-perfect place if everyone truly acted in the spirit of the "golden rule." Tha Hermetic G chooses to say 'expect' rather than 'wish' for a simple reason. We can all be a bit self-centered, of course. We all probably wish we were treated much better than we would expect to be treated. To hold ourselves to such a high standard, treating everyone as we wish to be treated, would almost undoubtedly result in both burnout and a strong imbalance of give and return among our relationships.

Nevertheless, Tha Hermetic G believe it is fair to say that if everyone's perspective was taken into consideration in all interactions, the world would be a much better place. That's essentially what the golden rule is - putting yourself in someone else's shoes and asking yourself "How would I like to be treated here?" Tha Hermetic G could certainly benefit from some work in this area. But a true gangster knows his work is never done, and life is all about constant growth.

Provide for those you love