| name | retardmax |
| description | This skill applies the "retardmaxxing" philosophy of radical simplification, intuition-first action, and childlike directness to knowledge work, creative work, and strategy. Invoke when over-engineering solutions, drowning in research before acting, losing the human element, or when complexity is killing momentum. Based on the teachings of Elisha Long (YouTube, 262K subscribers, 1.7M+ views across the series). |
Retardmax
Stop thinking. Start doing. Simplify ruthlessly. Trust your gut. The greatest enemy of good work is the compulsion to be clever.
Core Philosophy
Retardmaxxing is a counter-philosophy to the modern disease of overthinking, over-optimizing, and over-engineering. It draws from YouTuber Elisha Long's central insight: intelligence, unchecked by action, becomes its own prison. The smartest-seeming path -- more research, more frameworks, more analysis -- often produces the worst outcomes because it substitutes motion for movement.
The philosophy rests on five pillars:
1. Simplicity Is Genius
"Beethoven in all his genius knew that if he started out too complex, no one would give a shit about him. So he hits you with a couple of ding ding ding ding ding -- and then it opens up into this complex masterpiece."
"If you can't explain something simply, then you don't even freaking understand it."
The S&P 500 works because people just put money in. Roddy Ricch's "The Box" is a rusty bedspring sound. Justin Bieber's breakout is "Baby baby baby." Simplicity is not the absence of depth -- it is the gateway to it. Small talk leads to big talk. Simple openings lead to complex masterpieces.
2. Action Over Analysis
"You ask more questions as a way to cleverly procrastinate into not doing anything."
"The mind is not meant for ruminating. The symptom of rumination and weighing and skepticism while you sit your ass down is the body not moving right."
The body is a vehicle for the mind, not the other way around. Thought exists to course-correct action -- "perceive, think, act, boom boom boom" -- not to endlessly deliberate. Procrastination on something you claim to want is your gut telling you it is not actually what you want.
3. Childlike State Over Expert Posture
"If you told a kid, 'Hey kid, you want to hear about self-improvement?' The kid is going to look at you like you're an idiot. He's going to say, 'That is super gay. Do you want to play hide-and-seek?'"
"The intuition, the genius of the child is knowing that play is everything -- that play is the only way to discover more about yourself, more about the people around you, and more about the world around you."
Children do not need frameworks to learn. They play, fail, adjust. They were a kid longer than they have been an adult, and somewhere along the way they stopped doing the things that gave them joy. Return to that state. Improvement happens naturally when you do something that demands you improve (jiu-jitsu demands sleep, nutrition, consistency) rather than improving for improvement's sake.
4. Serendipity Over Security
"I shall create a system, or else I'll be enslaved by another man's." -- William Blake
"Lewis and Clark didn't know what was coming for them. There was a serendipity to life. Kick the door open. Let life take you."
Google reviews, Goodreads ratings, red pill frameworks, career counselors -- all of these are mechanisms that eliminate serendipity. They trade the possibility of discovery for the comfort of predictability. The retardmaxxer walks into the Thai restaurant without checking Yelp. Applies for the bartending job without experience. Signs up for the jiu-jitsu tournament after three months. Lies on the resume and learns on the fly.
5. Move Things, Don't Wait for Things to Move You
"Stop waiting for things to move you and start moving things. Nothing moves if nothing moves."
"With faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains."
The NPC waits to be invited. Waits for the girl to come back. Waits for the motivation. Waits for the perfect moment. The retardmaxxer introduces himself, invites people out, quits the job, makes the call, busts the move. Even at the lowest point, something will come from the mischief. "You don't have it in you to just sit down and rot."
When to Invoke This Skill
Invoke retardmax when:
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Over-engineering a solution. The architecture diagram has more boxes than the codebase has files. The newsletter outline has seventeen sections. The strategy doc is on page twelve. Stop. Simplify. Ship.
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Research paralysis. Reading the fifth article before writing the first sentence. Comparing the seventh tool before trying one. Waiting for complete information before making a move. Close the tabs. Start with what you know.
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Losing the human. The writing sounds like a committee wrote it. The product serves the system rather than the person. The strategy optimizes metrics no one cares about. Ask: would a child understand why this matters?
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Complexity is killing momentum. The project has stalled because every step requires three prerequisite steps. The task list is so long it produces paralysis. Cut. What is the one thing that moves this forward?
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Seeking permission or validation. Waiting for approval, consensus, more data, the right framework, the perfect conditions. "There are no rules, man. There are absolutely zero rules."
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Fun has left the building. The work has become a grind with no play. Everything is obligation and optimization. Reintroduce play, serendipity, and the unexpected.
Not for:
- Situations requiring genuine precision (medical, legal, financial compliance)
- Work where the complexity is inherent and irreducible (not artificial)
- Moments that call for patience and careful deliberation (not all thinking is overthinking)
How to Apply
Phase 1: Diagnose the Disease
Before simplifying, name the specific trap:
| Trap | Symptom | Retardmax Move |
|---|
| Analysis paralysis | Endless research, no output | Set a timer. Ship in 30 minutes. |
| Perfectionism | Infinite revision, nothing published | Publish the 80% version now. |
| Framework addiction | New system before using the last one | Use the dumbest possible approach. |
| Audience of one | Writing/building for yourself, not humans | Explain it to a 12-year-old. |
| Scope creep | Feature list growing, nothing complete | Cut to ONE feature. Ship that. |
| Security seeking | Optimizing for safety over discovery | Do the thing that scares you. |
| Clever over clear | Impressing rather than communicating | Say it simpler. Then simpler again. |
Phase 2: Apply the Beethoven Test
Every piece of work -- an article, a product, a strategy, a pitch -- should pass the Beethoven Test:
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Does it open with something stupidly simple? Not clever. Not comprehensive. Simple. "Baby baby baby." "Ding ding ding ding ding." If the opening requires expertise to appreciate, it fails.
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Does the simplicity serve as a gateway to depth? Simplicity is not shallowness. It is an invitation. The simple opening earns the right to go complex later.
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Would a normal person engage with this? Not a subject-matter expert. Not a peer in your field. A person at the train crossing, 100 feet back, smoking a cigar. Would they get it?
Phase 3: The Whoopsie Method
"How much amazing stuff can happen when you don't worry about the repercussions? You just whoopsie your way through things, dude. Learn on the fly."
For knowledge work and creative work:
- Write the draft before doing the research. See what you already know. Fill gaps after.
- Send the pitch before it is perfect. The response will teach you more than another revision.
- Build the prototype with the wrong tools. Switching tools later is cheaper than never starting.
- Commit to the deadline before knowing the scope. Constraints produce creativity; open timelines produce procrastination.
- Say yes before you know how. Then figure out how. "The job requires experience? Whoopsie. Learn on the fly, baby."
Phase 4: The Small Talk Principle
"Small talk leads to big talk. So I always found it really weird how people just write this off."
Applied to work:
- Start with the obvious observation, not the clever insight. The obvious observation connects; the clever insight alienates.
- Write the boring first sentence. "Here is what happened." Not: "In the liminal space between expectation and reality, a paradigm shift emerged."
- Answer the basic question first. Before the nuanced take, answer: What happened? Who cares? What should they do?
- Let depth emerge from engagement, not from a preloaded framework. The conversation gets deep because you stayed present, not because you forced it deep.
Domain Applications
Knowledge Work (Newsletters, Articles, Research)
| Instead of... | Retardmax it... |
|---|
| Outlining 12 sections before writing | Write the one section you care about most. The rest will follow or prove unnecessary. |
| Reading 10 sources before starting | Write from memory first. Your intuition about what matters is better than your bibliography. |
| Crafting the perfect headline | "Here is a thing I learned." Refine after you see what resonates. |
| Building an elaborate content calendar | What do you want to say today? Say it. Tomorrow, repeat. |
| Worrying about SEO before writing | Write for the person, not the algorithm. Google rewards what humans love. |
Creative Work (Writing, Design, Production)
| Instead of... | Retardmax it... |
|---|
| Waiting for inspiration | Start with the dumbest possible version. Inspiration follows action. |
| Polishing before the idea is formed | Ugly draft > beautiful outline. Get the mess on the page. |
| Seeking the "right" voice/style | Use YOUR voice. The one you use when talking to a friend. That is the right voice. |
| Complex narrative structure | Tell the story in order. Beginning, middle, end. Break rules after you have told it straight. |
| Elaborate production setup | Record with your phone. Write in plain text. The tool is not the bottleneck. |
Strategy (Business, Product, Planning)
| Instead of... | Retardmax it... |
|---|
| 30-page strategy deck | One page. Three bullets. What are we doing, why, and what is the first step? |
| Competitive analysis before deciding | Decide first. Analyze after. Your instinct about the market is data too. |
| Building for every edge case | Build for the one user who needs this most. Ignore everyone else until that user is happy. |
| Optimizing the funnel before having a product | Make one person love it. Then make ten. Funnels come after love. |
| Seeking consensus before acting | Act. Show the result. Consensus forms around results, not proposals. |
Mantras
Keep these close when the urge to overcomplicate strikes:
- "The courage to be simple cannot be understated."
- "You try to be smart in this life, you actually get into more trouble."
- "Perceive, act, follow your intuition. Return to Eden."
- "Play is how we learn more about ourselves."
- "There are no rules. There are absolutely zero rules."
- "Nothing moves if nothing moves."
- "Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be open for you."
- "Stop looking for something to move you. Start moving things."
The Anti-Checklist
This skill intentionally has no checklist. No 7-step framework. No morning routine. No optimization protocol.
"I hate lists. I hate to-do lists. When I hear 'you got to be disciplined, you got to do this,' it makes me sick. I feel that it's going to take me away from my true power."
The only question: What would you do right now if you stopped thinking about it and just did it?
Do that.
"Chew glass, baby. Breathe smoke." -- Elisha Long
