Tyler Durden’s Top 5 Tips for Living
Being a typical Generation X male, it’s no wonder I’ve always loved the movie Fight Club. Here we have Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden, all lean muscle and crazy blue eyes, smiling like a shark, raging against the great dark plagues of his generation:
Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy [things] we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history… No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war… our great depression is our lives.
Tyler was insane, of course – anyone who has seen the movie instantly understands that emulating Tyler Durden would involve psychosis, a padded cell, or life in prison, but that’s not really the point.
The point is that Tyler Durden symbolizes our outrage against the darker version of the American Dream: the endless parade of television commercials, consumerism, and materialism; the lack of meaning and purpose; the rat race; the great spiritual vacuum.
I do not pretend to be an expert on David Fincher’s remarkable movie or the Chuck Palahniuk novel from which it sprang, nor will I attempt to examine Fight Club’s themes comprehensively. I’m just a fan of the movie. Nothing more. And this is my attempt to capture what I affectionately call Tyler Durden’s Tips for Living: filtered for sanity and common sense by yours truly and brought to you in Tyler’s (or his alter ego’s) own words.
1. Don’t be a Mindless Consumer
We’re consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.
The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalogue. You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you’re satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you’ve got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.
You are not your job. You are not how much money you have in the bank.
You are not the car you drive.
Reject… the importance of material possessions.
2. Do Something Meaningful
This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.
Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can’t think of a better way to spend these moments?
What would you wish you’d done before you died? You have to know the answer to this question!
If you died right now, how would you feel about your life?
3. Think for Yourself
Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you’re supposed to read? Do you think every thing you’re supposed to think? Buy what you’re told to want?
4. Transcend Temporary, Unfulfilling Relationships
Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They’re single-serving friends.
5. The Path to Enlightenment is Hard Work
I don’t wanna die without any scars.
Hitting bottom isn’t a weekend retreat. It’s not a… seminar.
Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.
And then, something happened. I let go. Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.
It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.
Ironically, Tyler himself would hate having his knowledge pre-packaged as a self-help article, as he suggests in this slightly modified quotation:
Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer…. Maybe self-destruction is the answer.
But thankfully for me, Tyler’s a fictional character (in more ways than one), and is unlikely to show up on my front stoop bloody-knuckled and ready to brawl. And to be honest, this isn’t really Tyler Durden’s Tips for Living. It’s a list of tips derived from Fight Club, heavily filtered by my own notions of self-improvement, and dredged for sanity and common sense.
I suppose I could have made this article about 2 pages longer by adding exposition and analysis to Tyler’s quotations, but why? The Internet is already overflowing with such analysis.
Given the tremendous cult-following that this movie enjoys, I’m quite sure someone will pop in here to tell me how I’ve misunderstood the movie or misinterpreted Tyler’s intentions. Fair enough. Just know this: fan of the movie or not, I’m not planning to throw any real-life punches anytime soon, so we’ll have to restrict our debate to the comments section of this Website, if it’s all the same to you.
And for those of you who haven’t seen the movie and who might consider doing so upon my recommendation, know this: the movie is vulgar, violent, sexual, bloody, and brimming with ideas that some people struggle to understand. According to the director, the movie was intended to be like a sharp stick in the eye. And it is.
But for so many members of the lost generation, what a wonderful and welcome stick in the eye it turned out to be.
Related Articles:
- Reading Road Signs on the Highway of Life
- The #1 Reason Your Job Sucks (and How to Fix it)
- Are You an American Zombie?
- 4 Steps to a Fulfilling Life Mission
- Synergy, the Key to Greater Energy and Happiness
If you liked this article, make sure you subscribe to my feed via RSS or email.
Learn More About John Place
Check Out the Main Page
Posted
on
Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 3:23 pm under
Loved that movie, John. I think guys in the 20-40 age group can really relate to it, for one reason or another. Alot of critics didn’t get it. I’ve seen it like 6 times! :)
August 31st, 2007 at 6:08 pmHey George. Only guys can understand the movie?
August 31st, 2007 at 9:11 pmI think women are probably the #1 targeted group when it comes to advertising agencies. Fill that void, ladies, with every piece of crap imaginable! If your kids & husband don’t have X, you’re a failure!
Good movie. Misogyny be damned.
I never said only guys can understand the movie…. sorry if that’s how it sounded. I’m glad you liked it.
August 31st, 2007 at 9:51 pmMisogyny be damned…lol brilliant. aw man i havent seen it. but just by reading what you wrote John, dude I can relate to most of it.
Being a 22 year old, straight out of college…:( yea i need all the life help i can get, even if its from a movie xP
August 31st, 2007 at 9:57 pmHey, looks like we’re ready to start bare-knuckle brawling already. Tyler would be proud. :)
To both George and “a person”: I certainly hope my article did not give the impression that this movie is only accessible to men. I suppose if I were a betting man (and I’m not), I would say that the Bell Curve that represents this film’s hardcore cult following leans male and GenX or Y, but that’s just a guess, and I could be wrong.
And whether I’m right or wrong, I’m sure the film enjoys a large female fanbase.
And of course, the themes within the movie (fatherlessness, consumerism, meaninglessness, and more) are quite relevant to anyone living in the modern world, male or female, young or old.
All kidding aside, I thank you both for your thoughtful comments.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:03 pmLoved the post and the same goes without saying about the movie as well. You made me want to watch the movie again..
August 31st, 2007 at 10:27 pmAshwin/Andrew: Thanks for your comments, both of you.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:38 am[…] Tyler Durden’s Top 5 Tips for Living “Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t you […]
September 1st, 2007 at 1:01 pmWhat’s ironic is an article about Tyler’s wisdom, and you [people] afraid of stepping on each other toes in the comments section of it. Tyler would laugh at you all.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:11 pmNelson, as mentioned in the article, Tyler was certifiable; not a role model, and certainly not a model for effective communication. One need not buy into all of Tyler’s mannerisms wholesale to recognize the character’s insights.
Effective communication is a subject discussed in much depth elsewhere on this site; furthermore, I treat conversations on this Web Site very much like conversations in my own home.
You will notice that I have editted the name-calling from your post; I rarely have to do this sort of thing, since most of the members here seek productive exchange, but I will do my part occassionally to keep conversations civil and meaningful. What Tyler would think of such moderation is of no particular concern to me; after all, we’re talking about a guy who thought it would be fun to blow up buildings and point guns at people.
Fight Club is a thought provoking work of art with many important ideas; it is not a model for behavior.
September 1st, 2007 at 3:16 pmDo you know Tyler Durden?
This movie still comes to mind when I’m out shopping for new sheets or batteries for my digital camera, I am a slave to my things. My life is ending one second at a time.
I watched this movies because it started and I didn’t know what it was, it just came on HBO. the first minute of the movie was enough to make me turn off the TV and run to the corner video for the DVD so I could show it to my husband. It was like a sharp stick in the eye, a wonderful sharp stick.
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:22 pmThanks for your comment, eighmie.
September 3rd, 2007 at 7:35 pmAwesome article… made me want to watch the movie again, and pay more attention to such things.
By the way, did you figure out the twist in the movie before it was revealed?
September 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pmJason: Glad you liked the article. :)
The twist surprised me during my initial viewing, but subsequent viewings have shown me that it was foreshadowed heavily, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some people solved the puzzle more readily.
I also like the way the twist was handled. In many movies, a twist like that is the end of the story, the great revelation, the end to which all means have been building. In Fight Club, the twist wasn’t really the point, and the narrative just kept rolling along even after it was revealed.
September 4th, 2007 at 1:59 pmI actually had it figured out long before it was revealed, but like you said, that didn’t kill the movie… the twist wasn’t the whole point, just something to make it more interesting.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:03 pmJason: Exactly. When I think of movies like Hide and Seek, where the twist is the great revelation, I rarely want to watch the movie again because, well… once you know the secret, there’s not much point.
There are exceptions: The Sixth Sense, for example.
But the beauty of Fight Club is that you can watch it 10 times, and the experience is never lessoned by knowing the secret.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:12 pmPerhaps the finest performance given by either Ed Norton or Brad Pitt, this movie will live on forever in online analysis. Nicely done here. I’ve probably watched this movie a dozen times and I still think there’s more to get it out of it. I usually hate “statement” movies but FC somehow pulled the perfect punch…twist ending or not, the whole thing makes me think about society and life. And plus, Brad Pitt with his shirt off ain’t too bad either.
September 9th, 2007 at 7:44 pmYou’ve got a really great site here - I’m so glad I found you! You’re entertaining and thought provoking. Thanks for doing it!
Thanks for your analysis, Chrissy. I too am glad you found my site.
September 9th, 2007 at 8:49 pmHi John,
what a great idea to turn Tyler Durden’s ramblings into a self-help (sort-of) article! Thank you.
And you’re right: If Tyler existed he would probably hate stuff like this, self-help articles, websites with clever life-knowledge quotes and top 10 lists of need-to-knows and need-to-dos. I sure would love to hear Tyler’s opinion on self-declared gurus like Steve Pavlina or the likes!
Ironically now, as you pointed out, Tyler Durden, fictional or not, cannot help to be a self-help guru himself: He does have a profound (if twisted) insight into human life, into the mistakes we make and the trappings of our modern societies.
Thanks for writing this and adding some thought of your own. That’s rare on the web!
Best regards,
September 14th, 2007 at 12:41 amFincherFanatic
Hey guys
September 14th, 2007 at 10:36 amJust remember
His name was Robert Polsen!
Your Mom: Although I’m quite sure you’re not my mother (unless she’s suddenly changed her taste in movies dramatically), thanks for your comments! :)
Thanks to you too, lordordec.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:18 pmyea, if Tyler were real, he would love to destoy things such as this page. But, in a manner of thinking, he is a self-help guru of sorts. I love the movie and book and I’m always happy to see others who share that with me. good job…sir.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:20 amThank you, RandomReynolds.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:26 pmhi john,
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:54 pmi really liked the maverickness of tyler, the way in which he lets go of things… the movie is essentially about freedom , which has so scarce in our lives….
we have the illusion of free will..but we are really bound by the invisible forces of ettiquete,money & ego..the movie provides a way of making us free ie by destroying everything or losing everything !!
but that is the wrong way..i m searching for the right path that will lead to true freedom.
Rule #1 no one talks about fight club
November 5th, 2007 at 10:33 pmI find it interesting that marla’s character is quite different and not nearly as integral a role in the movie as it is in the book. Is this because the voice of reason shouldn’t exist for hollywood?
Good question, mykal. I’m not sure, but I do know that concessions often have to be made when books are translated into movies due to a variety of factors, including running time, the literal nature of movies, audience tolerance and attention span, etc.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:01 am“Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer…. Maybe self-destruction is the answer.”
What about ’self-construction’? - building (or rather re-building) yourself piece by piece (metaphorically speaking) to create the ‘you’ you want to be?
Doug
November 28th, 2007 at 2:18 amhttp://www.dougwoods.com
The sad thing is that everyone here has seen the movie, but I doubt very few got it. You may have gotten it from an intellectual standpoint. But if you’re still watching the movie and analyzing it, then you don’t believe it. Quit being so chicken shit to give up all that doesn’t matter and go after your dreams. Stop living in the past, projecting into the future, let go and GO OUT AND FUCKING LIVE YOUR DREAM! Become enlightened!
January 7th, 2008 at 7:42 pmI am Jack’s presumptuous knee-jerk reaction to a blog post.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:04 pmI am joe’s uncontrollable desire to emulate that which I am not.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pmI am Jack’s confusion. Okay, seriously, I am *John’s* confusion. What the heck are we talking about again? And who in the world is Joe?
January 24th, 2008 at 9:35 pmLike it or not, fiction or not, Guys and Gals, Tyler Durden is now in the collective unconscious, and he’s gonna get what he wants. He’s dangerous to all the things he was against in the movie. Like it or not.
February 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pmOf all the posts I’ve ever written, this one wins the prize for attracting the most consistently bizarre responses…
February 21st, 2008 at 2:29 pmIts quite possible Tyler would be a member of Al Queda! they did do a simlar thing at the end of the movie…..except they cleared out the buildings before they blew them up.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:15 amA girl was keep in chicken house from birth…..she became a chicken. what i trying to say is everything we do or think is all learnt…LEARNT!…and most the people i meet are idioits….so if i learnt everything from idioits i guess im a idioit….RIGHT!!
“What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.”
I completely relate to this. I hate the vulgar consumerism that people get trapped into so easily, nobody cares who started something that grows big and famous and why it was started in the first place, it only matters how well you can lose yourself in it and pretend to be happy just like the person next to you. Everybody’s nodding !
I really liked the book, though i wouldnt really recommend it. It sends out a wrong message if you dont understand it (disclaimer - doesnt matter ..really).
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:13 amMaybe..even fighting with the other person in you, taken in the right sense means constantly fighting with yourself, thinking - self-realization.
I agree with Shahid that destruction in the literal sense is not the right way…there is more to it than mere blood, flesh, bones., ie., if the author is as sensible as i think he is.
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:45 amA fucking tip-toe through the daisies. All these people on here trying not to step on each others toes, and the supposed author of the post fishing for compliments to give him the warm-fuzzies. You really don’t get it do you. It’s all just a bunch of pretty talk and a fun ten minute seminar full of witty Tylerisms, isn’t it? This wasn’t a “statement movie”, this isn’t your “Green SUV”, this is the world that “modern living” has killed. These are the lives that “mindless consumerism” has ruined. You go to the store and you buy your pretty little precious and you bring it home and you feel good. But underneath it all you rot. You rot from the inside because somewhere, deep down, there is a voice screaming into the deafness of your own shiny little existence, trying it’s damned to tell you to wake up and see the ugliness around you, but you refuse! All the shiny special trinkets and gadgets that the modern world has given you drowns out the screaming, dying voice of reason. Take a look around, we’re the ones polishing the brass on the titanic… and our children will suffer that shine.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm-theworldhadteeth
And I’d like to reiterate, once again, that of all the posts I’ve ever written, this one consistently attracts the most bizarre responses.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:10 amAbout the twist: knowing the twist of the movie made it even more interesting to watch over & over again like the scene when they are in the car why did the guys in the back not say anything he was talking about letting go of the wheel and they didn’t do squat then he did let go and they still didnt do anything
November 5th, 2008 at 8:33 am[…] is better than nothing, and unless you have the body of Tyler Durden, you better have on something. Nobody wants to see your talking navel, even if it does a spot on […]
November 13th, 2008 at 8:50 amI am a female and Fight Club is one of my all-time favorite films. I very rarely ever buy any DVDs and Fight Club is one of the few that I own. After all these years, I still recite quotes from the movie on a regular basis! My fave scene (if I were forced to choose) would have to be when Tyler holds a convenience store clerk at gunpoint and tells the him that if doesn’t go and pursue the career of his dreams, that he will find him and kill him. Of course the way these guys in the movie went about fighting the corrupt system was extreme to say the least, the point was that it was a small voice of truth that we all SO rarely hear. In this current society we are marinated in superficiality, soullessness, materialism and many of us are deprived of what we are all really here on this earth for, which is connection on a soul-level with other human beings.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:56 pmI am jack’s useless existence…
February 24th, 2009 at 3:03 amyou know what, i look around through these posts and i see all this potential. so many people see tyler d. as an idol, his life, as a mans life should be… but the most of us just dont have the balls to do anything about it… we watch the film and we know that we want it, yet we are too afraid to change. imagine the power we could have if we joined together… i think a webside with a blog should be created and named fight club, with members only those who truly understand the concepts of tyler d.s theory on life. creations such as this could lead the world into a new age, an age of freedom.
if anyone shares my views, email me or whatever.
May 16th, 2009 at 10:22 amkinedvinas@yahoo.co.uk
Ok now I have seen this movie 6 times now,have read all the topics related to its thematic layers and the philosophies related to this film.
First things 1st…I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion and should feel free to debate accordingly.
Alright so the basic message of this film is that we should live instead of exist and societal consumerisation is just one issue to make us understand the meaning of science,god,universe or existence.
Do I think Tyler is a hypocrite…Yes he is!
But then Tyler is just a figment of the narrator’s imagination right?
I mean both the narrator and tyler are EXTREMES of the situation and most sane people fall somewhere in between.
TYLER DURDEN———————average——————-NARRATOR
Now its upto you to see where you fall in and where you think you should fall in(being the right way)
I would assume that 85% of us are closer to the narrator(consumers living in this fake society) and either like it or have simply no clue how to go against it.
There are some who are closer to Tyler(mavericks,pariahs,hippies who simply dont abide by societal rules).
Tyler is an extreme and you would be crazy to want to emulate him(that means life in prison or death) but he does have a valid point and maybe,just maybe we can learn to follow it…To get away from this rat race and what not….I think that requires an attitude and confidence.
Not to blow up buildings but say…being confident in going to the movies ALONE if thats what makes you feel good
Tyler is wrong,an extremes hypocrite but what he believes in has a point,the narrator was simply not confident enough to be free with that belief(although that would mean going bonkers) but he could try to follow that path in simplistic terms,
He couldn’t but all of us can
I try to incorporate tyler’s principles in my daily life….that does not mean brainwashing,slacking or blowing stuff up,Just simple living to an extent(however is possible) not to prove anything to anyone or to be different but to feel whats right.For many consumerism is a fine entity and I cant dissuade them..if they feel right then good for them,to each their own…after all thats the basic belief of nihilism
May 16th, 2009 at 9:53 pmSounds like Tyler Durden (or at least Chuck) was a fan of Jimmy Carter. He may have gotten some inspiration here:
“In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.”
May 17th, 2009 at 3:51 pm-Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979
Compare this to Carter’s quote above. Sounds a lot alike, doesn’t it? Granted, Durden said it somwhat differently than Carter, essentially they are saying the same thing:
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history… No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war… our great depression is our lives.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pmI say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let… lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.”
-Tyler Durden
“In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You’ll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your
life. You’ll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you’ll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.”
- tyler durden
May 17th, 2009 at 4:13 pmThis is truly
May 17th, 2009 at 4:17 pmthe world i want to see before i die. to be free to feel freedom. now you could say, that we are free right now, but we aren’t.things like money, laws, education, are holding us back, turning us into prisoners of society. Everything is already leart for us. From the day we are born, our life is already pre planned for us for the next 20 years or so.. Ofcourse you could say that we dont have to do what other people do, but we have no choice. its like the first language you learnt. first you copy other people, then it all just comes out by itself, naturally. Same with the way of living, first you copy other people,to fit in until you are able to think and behave the same way by the same rules yourself. it all just comes out naturally; and by the time you grow up, you’ve just become another copy of billions other people. youve become a part of a “society”.
so i say, lets evolve “let the chips fall where they may”. BUT the version of the world that tyler durden sees, is primitive, you could say, how is that “evolving”. but that way of life i dont see as primite. in that kind of world
everyone gets to be themselves. they dont have to seek approval from others,they can do as they like. in his eyes, everyone has evolved from being the same person enslaved by money, into free individuals who make their own rules.
i feel like the interpretations that talk about a fake society and “things that suppressed” us are very rooted in a false thinking. from another point of view it’s not like there was the society first and then us. it’s the other way round. we are the one making society. giving guilt to money, advertisement, law etc. lack so much self-responsibility. the book and mainly the end of it show it clearly imho that we need to take responsibilty for what we are, build and contribute to and stop complaining about things that “preplan” our life b/c there is no such thing.
and tyler is indeed uneducated and a hypocrite. he says he would fight against consumerism but the rules of fc are based on basic advertising rules (make it a “secret” but spread the word). i doubt that he knows that. or that a very common def. of freedom is that freedom can only exist among margins. but for tyler there is no margin therefore no freedom.
he can only get the status of a questionable role model b/c he is a dream/part of a very sick, confused, depressed person.
(btw excuse me for my bad english. i wish this discussion could be in my language.)
June 19th, 2009 at 1:05 pmTyler wouldnt hate this article, hed never be able to read it cause he would never buy a computer.
July 29th, 2009 at 5:59 pmAlthough maybe one day I can be free and hate it.
Fight Club almost changed my life, maybe it will, I know exactly what it is I wanna do, but I need to take the first step, then Fight Club will have changed everything for me.
i agree you got the point buddy the best quesion ever how would u feel abt your life if u die this moment and if u have some undone desires go out and make them happen
August 11th, 2009 at 3:15 pmtyler,who change my attitude thanks to ur movie results…………
August 29th, 2009 at 5:57 amMy favorite part of the movie was after Tyler bangs Marla and she comes down the next day and he was like, “What are you doing in my house.” “This is my house!” He practically gives up the movie right there and noone ever notices that part.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:51 pmBeen searching for awhile for something like this great info very useful.
January 19th, 2010 at 10:55 pm