The Two Kinds of “Escapism”

For children who grow up, as I did, rejected by the majority of their peers, it’s natural to seek escape into fantasy worlds. This can take two main forms. One is the unhealthy evasion of reality—the desire to immerse ourselves in narratives in which we feel like we can exercise unrealistic amounts of power or could achieve so…

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When your professed beliefs conflict with who you are as a person, how do you reconcile that conflict?

That’s exactly the question William Hagerup faced as a gay Christian.

“If you have to constantly deny the reality of yourself because that’s not how you’re ‘supposed to be,’” William recalls, “then that becomes very corrosive—you feel like you have to d…

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After two years of work, I’m overjoyed to announce that my new book Reason for Living: A Rational Approach to Living Your Best Life is now available! You can buy it on Amazon in paperback or Kindle formats from the links below:

• USA

• UK

• EU: Germany, France, Poland

• Canada

I am planning to produce an audiobook version later in 2025, if there is sufficient intere…

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My new book, Reason for Living: A Rational Approach to Living Your Best Life will be released on April 8, 2025. You can preorder it today in print or on Kindle.

With the book close to release, I am thrilled to announce the first batch of Reason for Living live events! These will be a mixture of online and in-person events, each discussing a topic related to the book and how we can use reason to improve our lives more broadly.

Would you like to arrange a Reason for Living event in your hometown or country? Leave a comment below or get in touch and I’ll get back to you!

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Upcoming Events

ONLINE TALK & DISCUSSION

Date: March 28, 3pm Eastern
Event: “What Does a Rational Life Look Like?”
Register here: https://reasonforliving.eventbrite.com

LIVE TALK + BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: April 11–13
Event: LevelUp Europe 2025
Topic: “Creating and Climbing Your Ladder of Happiness”
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Register here: https://objectivestandard.org/levelup-europe

LIVE TALK + BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: April 24, 6pm CET
Event: “Reason for Freedom: The Rational Case for Liberty”
Location: Prague, Czechia
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reason-for-freedom-the-rational-case-for-liberty-tickets-1274948337799

BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: April 25–27
LibertyCon Europe 2025
Location: Prague, Czechia
Register here: https://libertycon.net

PRIVATE EVENT

Date: June 13, Time TBC
Event: “Reason in Fiction: Three of the Best Genres for Rational, Life-Serving Ideas”
Location: Charlotte, NC
Get in touch or leave a comment below to express interest in attending this event.

LIVE TALK + BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: June 19, Time TBC
Event: “The Key to Happiness: Building and Using Your Value Hierarchy”
Location: Austin, TX
Check back for details and registration information!

LIVE TALK + BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: July 16–19
Event: LevelUp 2025
Topic: “Independence: Myths and Facts”
Location: Orlando, FL
Register here: https://objectivestandard.org/conferences

LIVE TALK + BOOK SALE / SIGNING

Date: September 22, Time TBC
Event: Agora Debate Club
Topic: “Debate: This House Believes Selfishness Is The True Basis For Morality”
Location: London, England
Check back for details and registration information!

I plan to announce more events soon! In the meantime, I hope you can attend one or more of these events. See you there!

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Good news: The test-reader draft of Reason for Living is now complete! I am currently doing a final read through the draft to make sure it’s ready to send out.

If you expressed interest in being a test reader and I chose you, you’ll receive an email from me in the next couple of weeks with your copy of the draft and instructions on how to feed back. If you’re in the target audience for test readers and would like to express interest to be a test reader, you can still apply here.

The deadline for test reader feedback will be February 2025. Once the feedback has been collated and any necessary changes made, I plan to release the book in April 2025. The book will be available in print, ebook, and audio editions.

New Video Content

I recently filmed a conversation with my wife Angel (who runs the Fictionosophy Substack) about my the ideas behind Reason for Living and my goals for it:

I also recently filmed a 10-minute video about how developing the art of living curiously can help you find a fulfilling job. It is currently in editing and will be released on my YouTube channel later this week.

I intend to produce much more video content in 2025, alongside weekly Substack posts which will resume after Christmas. I am also planning a series of courses in 2025, details of which will be announced here in due course.

Merry Christmas, thank you for your support, and keep on thriving!

As we wrap up the editing process on the Reason for Living book, I’m looking for a small group of test readers to read it and feed back on its understandability, accessibility, and value. 

I am looking for 5-10 people who are:

• Approximately 15-30 years old,

• Active-minded and curious about the world,

• Interested in achieving an exceptional life, and

• Relatively unfamiliar with philosophy and Objectivism.

Test readers will receive a free digital copy of Reason for Living, a questionnaire to complete about their experience with the book, and a $40 stipend for their time upon completion of the questionnaire (to be completed within two months of receiving the book). As this feedback will be invaluable to me in determining whether my points are as clear and beneficial as intended, I will include an acknowledgment in the book for all test readers (unless requested otherwise).

If you fit the bill and would like to get a free copy of a book chock-full of rational ideas for living a flourishing life—or if you know someone who does—please fill out or send them this expression of interest form. I’ll be in touch if you’re chosen for the test reader group by the end of September.

Coming Soon: My Art of Nonfiction Writing Workshop

Do you want to improve your nonfiction writing and enhance your ability to write powerful articles that change minds and advance rational ideas?

If so, join me for my upcoming reading group and workshop based on Ayn Rand’s book The Art of Nonfiction. As we work through the book, each student will apply its lessons to an article he or she is working on. We will discuss the book’s ideas and our articles in progress during the workshop to enhance our understanding of the principles involved in writing a great article.

You can register for the course, and apply for a scholarship if you’re under 30, by visiting the Objective Standard Institute website.

I recently had the pleasure of talking to Micaela Richmond, host of the In Boom Podcast, about how to apply reason to various areas of life. 

Titled “A Rational Approach to Living your Best Life,” the episode covers a wide range of topics, from rational thinking to problems with how we’re educated, and from value hierarchies to the proper relationship be…

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Welcome to the first Reason for Living newsletter!

Whether you signed up at a speaking event or online, thank you for your support. I hope you will get value from these weekly emails.

In this issue:

• Feature Article: Introducing Reason for Living;

• Book Review: …

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