Palmer Luckey’s Survivor Wisdom: And a Warning
Palmer Luckey, wunderkind, founder of Oculus Drift, the VR pioneer acquired by Facebook aka Meta. A man who was taken down & fired during the insane leftist witch hunts of Silicon Valley in the mid-2010s. But what a comeback. He cofounded Anduril, the leading defensetech neo Prime that is leading the massive changes in the defense industry in America. Long needed too.
I couldn’t remember where I heard this but of all the entrepreneurs who build massive empires it can be explained or embodied by these 3 following causes or traits.
Megalomania
Sociopathy
Revenge Arc
Palmer Luckey clearly embodies the Revenge arc. I mean if you look at all three of those traits, it makes sense.
No normal or sensible human being would ever do a startup unless it’s the peak of the bubble like it is now. No sensible human would keep on going even if their business is worth billions. Most humans would stop and enjoy the view.
It requires some kind of tremendous drive or frankly deep hole in their soul that needs to be filled. I get it. We innately want more as humans but to take it to such an extreme massive point requires a ridiculous amount of smarts, drive and desire.
All great empires whether business or political have relentless ambition & flexible expanding borders. It’s just the way it is. I’ve been in denial of the fact that the kinder and warmer Silicon Valley and America I have known and love is disappearing. I’m slowly adjusting and learning about this new more unforgiving & brutal world we are in. Be a lord or be a slave. There is nothing in between.
I need to be harder and more ruthless. No more wasting time with people or projects that are going nowhere. I will be saying NO much more. Focus on monetization, less pro bono stuff. Money is a shield and a tool. It enables my bigger mission.
I need to do this to thrive so I can take care of my family, friends, business partners, allies and extended community. No one else will do this. If you think the government or some outside player will come save you, you are a fool and deserve what is coming for you.
Remember that God helps those who help themselves. It’s all on you. You need to keep striving, keep learning, to be remorseless and never look back. Always moving forward.
So I will quote Palmer’s view on what he learned from Survivor the reality tv show:
“In the Survivor culture meta. I'm just doing what's best for my game. I had to do it…..I’m going to do whatever it takes to accomplish my objective. Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.”