The Missed Signs Of The Path To Failure
How People Easily Get Manipulated, Which Leads To Their Downfall
There is an old saying that many people know...
But fail to understand.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
This is how most people get misled into accepting paths that cause their ultimate failures in life.
How?
Good intentions can often be a gateway for others to use against us...
And we become blinded by what we see as good...
Without recognizing the harm that could, and often does, occur outside of that.
That is often the secret of how bad things spread.
It is the use of half-truths...
Good intentions...
Even initial benefits...
All at the cost of long-term success in life.
This is how addictions are spread...
There is a minor benefit...
A minor good...
A good intention...
That ultimately is combined with things that are not beneficial to us...
And keep us enslaved to those addictions.
We have seen something similar in tech.
The promise that tech would bring us closer together...
Such as through social media...
Something that is seen as a positive...
But what ultimately happened?
Instead of creating real relationships...
We have connections and fans whom we dance for with the hope that they will provide likes and comments...
While algorithms hold the strings that make us perform like puppets...
Ultimately, with shallow to nonexistent relationships...
For the benefit of tech giants.
This methodology is the same way that cults and terror organizations grow...
Finding people who are spiritually vulnerable...
And promising to provide them with what they seek...
While often designing situations that purposefully manipulate psychology...
To get these vulnerable people to become obedient...
Which allows these people to become tools, causing them to do horrifying things...
Often, while simultaneously creating a facade to the outside world...
Which makes these organizations appear either as docile or as victims...
So that they can continue to operate unchallenged.
This is why it becomes important...
For us to become wise.
Knowledge alone can be manipulated to appear certain ways...
And it takes wisdom for us to look at what is presented to determine its true value.
Not everything that is presented as good is good.
If a program is designed to "help homelessness"...
What should the result be?
For there to be fewer homeless individuals.
But if the program makes more money if there are more homeless people...
And the rates of homelessness rise...
Then this is not a good program.
Often, these types of programs create short-term benefits...
While creating long-term psychological dependency...
Where these homeless individuals are taught that they are not able to provide for themselves...
Causing them to not even try to escape their conditions...
For they believe they have no power.
Does that benefit them?
No.
Is it a program that should be supported?
No.
Yet, there are many people who are misled to support these exact types of programs based on their desire to do good in the world...
On their good intentions...
All while supporting systems that cause more harm than benefit.
If we are to create a truly better world...
We must not rely solely on our good intentions...
Because it is often these good intentions that are weaponized against us...
Leading us to a path of failure and harm.
To truly improve the world...
We must ask better questions...
We must not only look at the intentions...
But seek to understand the results...
The long-term impact...
See the incentive structures...
Understand the second-order consequences...
And pay attention to the psychophysiology that is at play.
This is the only way for us to find the signs that will inform us that a path causes failure.
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About the Creator
Dr. Cody Dakota Wooten, DFM, DHM, DAS (hc)
Multi-Award-Winning Sageship Coach, Daily Digital Writer (1,000+ Articles), Producer, TV Show Host, Podcaster & Speaker | Faith, Family, Freedom, Future | Categories: "Sageship" & "Legendary Leadership"
https://www.SeekingSageship.org/
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“The Words That Could Save a Life: A Story About Advice, Ego, and the Hearts We Forget”
There is an old saying: “A wise person learns from advice. A proud person learns from regret.” This is a story about both. There once was a boy who grew up hearing advice from everyone around him. His parents, teachers, elders, and friends — all of them tried to guide him. They warned him about choosing the wrong friends. They reminded him to respect time. They told him not to let anger, ego, and selfishness poison his heart. But like many of us, he believed he already knew everything. Whenever someone advised him, he smiled politely on the outside — but inside he thought: “I’m different. I’ll be fine. Nothing bad will happen to me.” So he ignored the small warnings of life. He cut off people over small arguments. He shouted instead of listening. He lied to escape responsibility. He chose friends who laughed at rules and mocked wisdom. He stopped spending time with family because he thought they didn’t “understand” him. He thought freedom meant doing whatever he wanted — without consequences. But life is patient. And life always teaches — one way or another. Slowly, he began losing the people who once stood closest to him. His best friend moved away after a fight that was never healed. His parents stopped advising him — not because they didn’t care, but because their hearts were tired. His teachers gave up correcting him because he rejected every word. From the outside, his life looked normal. But inside, something was missing — peace. One night, he finally sat alone in silence… and silence can be loud. Thoughts began replaying in his mind like a film. He remembered every moment someone tried to guide him. Every warning. Every soft reminder. Every gentle voice that said, “This path will hurt you.” And for the first time, he asked himself: “Why didn’t I listen?” It wasn’t lack of knowledge. It wasn’t lack of love. It was ego. Ego had whispered inside him: “You don’t need advice. You’re always right. You’re smarter than them.” But ego is a beautiful liar. It makes you feel strong while quietly destroying your relationships, your discipline, and your peace. That night, he realized something powerful: Wisdom doesn’t come from age. Wisdom comes from humility — the ability to listen. The next day, he did something difficult — something most people never do. He apologized. He apologized to his parents, not because they demanded it, but because his heart finally understood their worry. He apologized to friends he had hurt. He apologized to himself — for not valuing his own future. And slowly… life softened again. His parents’ voices became warm again. His friendships began to heal. His mind felt lighter. He started listening before reacting. He didn’t change overnight — but he had finally begun the journey. He changed not because the world forced him — but because advice finally reached his heart. That day, he promised himself: 🕊️ “Whenever someone gives me sincere advice, I will not fight it. I will think about it. I will learn from it.” Because the truth is simple: The people who advise you are not trying to control you. They are trying to protect the version of you that you have not yet become. And one more truth: Advice always arrives before regret. Regret arrives when advice is ignored. Moral / Life Lesson • Advice is not a restriction — it is protection. • Ego is the biggest enemy of growth. • Listening is not weakness — it is wisdom. • The people who correct you are the people who care. One day, you will look back and realize: The words you once ignored… were the very words that could have saved you. So when life sends you guidance — through parents, teachers, faith, friends, or even strangers — don’t shut your heart. Because the doors of wisdom only open… for those willing to listen.
By Shahab Khan4 days ago in Motivation
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