Start Here / Present Moment Check-In
Do you want growth? Or do you want to feel like you're trying?
Before you read anything, ask yourself where you are right now.
Stoop Juice is not organized like a library. It is organized like a mirror. Choose the doorway that sounds closest to the conversation you are already having with yourself.
I need a starting point
I know something has to change, but I do not know where to begin.
Start here if you want a simple doorway into the work.
I want to read deeper
I want books, essays, and longer reflections.
Go here if you want the full Stoop Juice library.
I want the latest release
I am thinking about attention, wisdom, noise, and who gets heard.
Read the newest release: Sixty Guilders And A Megaphone.
I want to know who is speaking
I want the story behind the voice.
Learn why I write, coach, reflect, and give this work away for free.
Or begin with the featured article below if you are ready to confront the difference between performing effort and actually changing.
Read Featured ArticleFollow the Work
Surgeon General Warning
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Confronting the gap between performance and practice causes acute psychological discomfort. Jose Franco offers a preemptive apology for the disruption of your current peace. The writings of Adam Smith, Wittgenstein, and Baudrillard are free to all, yet most remain in the cave because the shadows feel safer than the sun. By proceeding, you acknowledge that growth is a Sisyphian labor and you choose the weight of the stone over the comfort of the dark.
— Exit the cave at your own risk.
*No formal education, credentials, or external validation are required to begin the process of self-education. Access to information is no longer the barrier—attention, honesty, and sustained effort are. Environmental disadvantages may be real, but they do not eliminate personal agency. This material does not assume rescue, intervention, or ideal conditions. It assumes the reader is capable of observation, adjustment, and repetition.
*Progress may occur without new tools, upgraded environments, or improved circumstances. The maintenance of one’s internal and external space does not require luxury—only discipline. Cleanliness, clarity, and structure are available at all economic levels.
*If discomfort arises, it may indicate awareness rather than harm. Continued exposure may challenge long-held narratives regarding limitation, identity, and responsibility. Proceed only if willing to confront the possibility that the constraint is not always external.
I accept the discomfort
*Progress may occur without new tools, upgraded environments, or improved circumstances. The maintenance of one’s internal and external space does not require luxury—only discipline. Cleanliness, clarity, and structure are available at all economic levels.
*If discomfort arises, it may indicate awareness rather than harm. Continued exposure may challenge long-held narratives regarding limitation, identity, and responsibility. Proceed only if willing to confront the possibility that the constraint is not always external.