Max Cantor Q&A August 2019
I haven’t done a Q&A since December, and that is a very, very, long time to be sure. No “AMAs” for me. AMAs are idiots-savaging-time popularity contests. Instead, we bring you the same format from previous years, where my dear friend and bond king of the hour, Mr. Savage, questions and reaps me into pieces…of solid information.
Mr. Savage: Max I am thrilled to have you here, even it’s just for 10 minutes.
Max: And I am thrilled to be here with you, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. As I like to say, if you don’t know what you’re doing in 10 minutes, 10 hours won’t get you there. So go ahead.
Mr. Savage: You’re going to double publish it on Medium, you said. Isn’t that a public relations risk ? After all, you’re not exactly mainstream.
Max: No, I am not. But I have to let the larger public know what I’m about.
Mr. Savage: The value proposition of you writing this personal blog goes beyond anything I’ve seen. And I’ve seen a lot.
Max: I am one of the most controversial bloggers in the world, and I have fans beyond the finance industry. In fact, some of my biggest fans are from outside this industry. I’ve opened a lot of doors for people who’s improved their lives with the tips and “School of Hard Knocks” I’ve kept running for 7 years.
Mr. Savage: Right. One of the latest thing we’ve seen is your fascination with the Game of Thrones. That series ended earlier this year.
Max: I am a late fan of the show, and I had to watch it all. You see different types of leaders throughout the show, and they all have something to teach. For example, the saying the “Night is Dark and Full of Darkness” could be the “World is Worse and Full of Scum***s.” I wrote an amazing book last year. And you know what ? Your *leaders* and *fat cows* kept it under wraps. So I say: If anyone working at [your workplace] has it, you’d better not tell your co-workers and supervisors. There’s a tremendous amount of ill-will toward those who are getting up the career ladder and are coming up from less-stellar upbringing. The elites have embraced virtue-signalling and the kakistocracy is full-swing. The elites cultivate their own. It is now the hardest it’s ever been to be promoted from low-level or mid-level to upper-level employee. True in almost ANY industry or occupation. The most typical letter I get from readers starts with: “I’ve been here for so many years and haven’t been promoted once…” The managers refuse to promote the hard-workers. I’ve tried to give you some tools in that book.
Mr. Savage: The Book of the Underdog, yes. Are you saying the managers and C-suite keep a “blind spot” on the achievers that should otherwise get promoted ?
Max: Totally. It’s a willful blind spot. You’re not part of their “tribe”, a term I’ve used in the book.
Mr. Savage: And you told us how to deal with it. Word by word.
Max: Managers stage conflict all the times. Remember, they want to see you -the underlings- fight each other and lose. They will beat the dead horse (an unreasonable issue) so the messenger falls with it.
Mr. Savage: Ok, Max. What is the next direction for your blog ?
Max: You’ve seen we got a “Free Resources for the Free Minds” where the suggestions come from readers. Readers like you. Courses, classes, white papers, suggestions, it’s a lot in there. Since I moved the blog, readership has decreased. By a lot. Like 97%. We’re not interested in paupers and jumping jacks “trolls”, but in professional and serious readers. I write with the serious professional in mind. Readers who have a mission and purpose aligned with mine. Strap on your belts, this is going to be a rough road.
Mr. Savage: Any other messages for your readers ?
Max: You need to cull and curate your reading. Cut back or completely cut your social media consumption. Social media (especially Twitter) has become a cancer. Delete your social media apps from your phone. Spend time reading books, not social media feeds which are garbage.
Mr. Savage: Which books go well, or let me say it, which 3 books go best with reading the Book of The Underdog ?
Max: Good question. I would pair the Book of the Underdog with The Magician’s Way: What It Really Takes to Find Your Treasure by W. Whitecloud and with David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds. The former is not so well -known and is fiction while the latter is a 2018 best-seller readers might already know. But there are dozens more that go well with mine.
READ Also: Making partners at big law firms
Mr. Savage: Thanks, Max.
Note: Mr. Savage insisted he needed to watch a movie.
There.
