This is why I am a Cynic and the things I am Cynical about

After 47 years on this planet, I’ve earned the right to be a little skeptical—or maybe it’s more than that. Let’s call it what it is—cynicism. Not negativity, but a more refined, discerning view of the world. Why? Because experience teaches you that things often aren’t what they seem.

Cynicism vs. Negativity

I’m not negative. I’m just a cynic. In my view, there’s a difference. Negativity is dark, mindless, and drains you. Cynicism, on the other hand, is just seeing things through a thick lens of discernment. It’s more about clarity than pessimism.

At least, that’s how I see it.

Why I Am a Cynic

As I approach my half-century mark, I’ve come to realize that life is lived in the grey areas. It’s not where life was ever meant to be lived, but that’s the reality. And in these grey areas, there are few, if any, rules that govern the proverbial murkiness.

If the grey were water, it would be infested with sharks. And, my friends, the sharks are circling. But the water isn’t real water—it’s social media platforms. And the sharks aren’t real sharks—they’re profiles.

In this shark-infested pool of social media accounts, you’ll find many people who don’t have your best interests at heart.

Let me pull back the curtain just a bit...

I used to be one of them. I was one of those trying to sell you the rotten pieces of fish deep on the ocean floor, just to make a quick buck. (And in full transparency, I’ve left all those posts and articles online, so you can see for yourself.)

So, what happened? Did I magically grow a conscience? Feel immense shame about what I was doing? Was I just blind to the truth?

Nope.

I wish.

I wish I was better than that.

But the truth is, through my own efforts and all the videos and content I consumed, my inner cynic woke up. And I realized it’s all nonsense.

Yeah.

This whole laptop, internet lifestyle—"make your millions in pajamas"—is complete and utter nonsense. I’ll probably dive deeper into that later. But for now…

The List of Things I’m Cynical About

(At the time of writing, this list is growing...)

Dreams

We’re all taught to chase them, especially in our twenties when life seems like the proverbial oyster. But here’s the hard truth: most dreams don’t come true. And the ones that do? You’ll be among the lucky few. If you happen to be one of them, guard that dream with everything you’ve got.

Entrepreneurship

It’s sold to us like the ultimate dream—be your own boss, escape the 9-to-5 grind. Platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube paint it as the answer to life’s problems. But here’s the truth: not everyone is cut out for it. Most businesses fail in the first year, and no ‘secret hack’ or online course will change that reality.

Online Courses

These days, it seems everyone’s selling one. They promise shortcuts to success, but most of them? They’re rubbish. The truth is, no real expert gives away their secrets in a course—it’s a competitive world, after all. What’s often sold as wisdom is just recycled content or someone’s way of making money from you, not the skill they claim to teach.

Backstories

These are just part of the marketing funnel. Everyone has one: a moment of deep despair, eating their last crumbs of bread, and then finding a post from some "guru" that changed their life. They implemented a simple three-step process and now, today—wow, how inspiring!

The "Everyone Can Be…" Myth

Want to be a bestselling author? Sure, buy my course and you will be. Want to be a musician? No problem, just follow my five-step process. Want to be the next Mr. Beast? No sweat, I’ll show you how for $999. But here’s the truth: for every Top 10 tennis player in the world, there are 500 others ranked lower, and thousands more just trying to get a ranking. For every NYT bestseller, there are millions of hopefuls who will never sell more than a few copies in their lifetime.

The "Risk" of Being Employed

We’re bombarded by messages about the risks of employment: you’re just a number, a modern-day slave, and the only path to freedom is entrepreneurship. Be in control. Be your own boss. Happy days! Well, except for the capital investment, time investment, social investment, hope investment, and frustration investment. There’s nothing wrong with earning a hard-earned wage after a hard day’s work. If you’re putting food on the table or building a career, I salute you. Don’t feel inferior to those preaching the gospel of entrepreneurship.

I’m not saying entrepreneurship is bad—there are thousands of honorable, hard-working entrepreneurs creating real value—but there’s also nothing wrong with having a job. And no, you’re not just working for someone else’s dream.

Work-Life Balance

Everyone’s searching for it, right? Well, stop. It simply doesn’t exist. Whether you’re employed, self-employed, a freelancer, or an entrepreneur, you’re not going to find some magical balance. Those showing off their perfect work-life harmony? They’re lying, plain and simple.

The "Happy" Workplace

It does exist—to an extent. Usually, until profitability drops. The moment the pressure is on, that great boss you admired? Well, there’s a Dr. Jekyll (or is it Mrs. Hyde?) in all of them. Some workplaces are better than others, but there’s no such thing as a perpetually happy workplace. Accept it and keep going.

Social Lifestyle Perception

Like the "happy workplace," the perfect life doesn’t exist. And it DEFINITELY doesn’t exist on social media. I’d even urge you to stop using social media for this reason. All we see are success, beauty, wealth, and happiness. It’s fake. The sooner you free yourself from that illusion, the better.

Okay, so these are just a few things I’m cynical about. You’re welcome to disagree with me—I really don’t care. I’m not here on LinkedIn to magically get a million followers and then sell a course on "How I Got 1,000,000 Followers by Being a Cynic" (although, that might not be a bad title…wink-wink).

So, If You’re This Cynical, Do You Have Any Advice?

Honestly, I don’t want to crush dreams. And if you’ve read this far (congratulations!), I don’t expect you to agree with me. It’s just my opinion and how I see the world.

That said, if you’re still reading, I bet you might feel somewhat aligned with me. So here’s where cynics find their hope:

The world shifts back to black and white. The rules and truth apply. It leads to less overthinking and less stress. Sure, you might not earn what "Carl the LinkedIn Coach" does, but at least you’ll be more authentic.

You learn to discern the real from the fake. Despite all my cynicism, there is still truth out there. There are still experts worth listening to and even worth paying for. But you can’t find them unless you start being skeptical from the get-go.

Gratitude becomes real. Once you break free from the fakeness that holds us down, you start to realize that certain things aren’t so bad. Getting a steady paycheck isn’t worse than begging clients to pay up. Paid holidays aren’t bad. Living a real, authentic life can be far more rewarding than pretending to live a fake one. And way less exhausting. Just imagine the energy it takes to post every single event in your life.

In Conclusion…

Yes, I’m a cynic.

And yes, I might be overly cynical.

But no, I don’t want to convert you to my side.

There are no sides.

It’s grey, after all.

But adopting a small dose of cynicism might just be one of the best things you ever do.