What does that phrase mean? In a nutshell, it means that one should be willing to look like a fool before becoming a master/savior.

Where did it come from? Originally, it draws on Carl Jung’s archetypes and was popularized in modern culture by one of my primary influences (Dr. Jordan B. Peterson).

Why did I pick it? Well, what better theme for a first blog post from a perfectionist procrastinator, especially when the creative project has no deadline and therefore, no Panic Monster looming in the background to scare my Instant Gratification Monkey.

Another reason for the artistic risk is getting to know my Authentic Voice, i.e., examining oneself, and taming my Social Survival Mammoth, i.e., not caring too much about what other people think.

No more excusitis—the “failure disease”—in the name of not being ready and needing to consume one more book or blog post.

I have enough of a tree trunk of knowledge to know where I am in the Dunning–Kruger effect and the curse of knowledge biases, but that won’t stop me from being wrong, so I welcome fact-checks as a learning opportunity.

There’s also something to be said about the power of producing, especially via writing as a “hero system” or “immortality project”, so consider this my means of self-expression and self-actualization in my own words.

When I was a child, I was taciturn and observant before my explosion of dinosaur words and facility for conversation; now as an adult, I think it’s time to do the same in the written word outside the overly formal academic format because life is too short to—as Alan Watts said—“spend your time doing things you don’t like.”

Welcome to my truth-seeking adventure, now reified!