What Came First

Hello. My name is Damian Niolet. I'm the guy who made the first video confession on www.imtheproblem.org. That confession was not a vainglorious cry for attention. It was a sincere acknowledgement of my involvement in much of the world's troubles. That might seem like a rather mundane realization. I mean, we've been telling ourselves, perhaps all too nonchalantly, to "look at the man in the mirror" for a long time now. The difference is I have painstakingly built a belief system that offers proof all of our problems begin with one person - "me," to include YOU. So really, my confession on www.imtheproblem.org allows me to introduce said belief system, but this website is where it is presented in full.

I believe firmly, every problem comes down to choices made at an individual level, choices that are poorly made because of a very apparent lack of a baseline of truth in terms of our past, present, and future. We're operating with far too many faulty assumptions and misconceptions concerning a number of pertinent topics. But what's worse is the alternative - an easier life, free from senseless pain - is well within our grasp; we're just unable or unwilling to see it. Someday, however, there will be no avoiding a global shift, as people all over the world make better choices, knowing the benefits far outweigh the costs.

I'm just trying to get us there a little sooner and with a little less trial and error. You'll find a proposed baseline of truth for mankind's future on the next tab over. But on this page, for those who may be interested, I'd like to recount the history leading up to the creation of my belief system, and subsequently, this website. I'd prefer to focus on my beliefs and this website, but their formation is intricately tied to me. For instance, my journey of introspection began while attending the National Intelligence University (NIU); and, while a series of events lead me to that point, this is the best place to start explaining how my belief system formed and was eventually summarized in this website.

I had just finished my first semester at NIU when divergent thoughts began coalescing. One of the classes in that first semester focused on conflict - its origins and outcomes. There was a great deal seemingly missed and many unanswered questions, all of which I felt compelled to sort out. Simultaneously, I began envisioning a company that specializes in personal information management or PIM, named PIMier Inc. I surmised that only about 30% of a person's ability to manage their life came from the tools they used - paper or software-based. The other 70% came from life-style choices. So, I started looking into ways to optimize life-style choices. At the same time, I was working tirelessly on a graphic novel called Made in Hyper-City, specifically, I was trying to design the story's Utopian society. I ardently thought about what it was that made societies succeed or fail.

There was about a two week break between semesters, so I took the opportunity to rein in all of these concepts by writing out two informal essays. The first dealt with a thought experiment that examined . . . essentially, an Adam-like man - a man who suddenly appears on earth fully grown and alone. The paper walks with this "early man" and discovers what choices he feels compelled to make. The other paper was written for my classmates and sought to bring closure to the "Conflict 101" class. Being a visual person, I found it necessary to encapsulate many of the ideas within those two papers in a couple of infographics. This lead to the creation of Niolet's Human Needs Paradigm and Niolet's Human Response Matrix, both of which are thoroughly explained in a video called, "What Drives You?" All of the theories contained within said resources are an integral part of my belief system, as you'll see on the next tab.

But at this point, I did not see the far reaching implications of the core principles captured in those essays and infographics. I simply thought they would be useful in optimizing one's life, which could be utilized by PIMier Inc. in its PIM system. It wasn't until a couple of years later when I wrote a screenplay called, "Operation Honeypot and the TOP SECRET to True Love" (or "OHTSTL" for short), that I began to question the foundation for much of the so-called truth in the world. In order to ensure all of the messages and the theme from "OHTSTL" were understood by audiences, I decided to release a media guide called "REL TO ALL: Life Declassified, Hollywood Style," which explores the concepts of love, marriage, behavior, and self throughout history. The result was a complete meltdown of my moral framework, which was the impetus for the next milestone.

Despite a stellar 10 year career and the promise of continued benefits after 10 more years, thanks to my being an Airman in the United States Air Force (USAF), I chose to submit an application requesting I be separated as a conscientious objector (CO). My conscience would no longer allow me to perform in ANY capacity which involved waging or enabling war. But my pacifism went much deeper than opposing violence between international entities. I began to see how wars were the escalation of seemingly innocuous moments in ordinary lives, moments in which persons chose to engage in conflict presumably ignorant to their ability to choose otherwise. I finally saw the full ramifications of the core principles I had articulated in those essays and images and my belief system was expanding in breadth and depth the more I reflected upon them.

It was at this point I realized my belief system was the core of not only my life, but of all of my entrepreneurial endeavors. In many ways my belief system is revolutionary, as are the visions of many of my proposed companies. It's only natureal my belief system would feed those ventures. For instance, Exemplary Media will offer entertainment that is in line with my belief system, thus being a far departure from the marginalized and sensationalized garbage being spit out today. But first, that belief system has to be packaged and distributed in such a way people can clearly see the value in the vision each company is aiming to achieve. Thus, I decided to start up Baseline It!, Inc., the company that will release the "Baseline Your Life" system, which will begin with a self-help book, but later expand into a wide assortment of supplemental materials, such as an interactive website.

The website you are now visiting is where customers would be directed for a more thorough experience within the therapeutic and enlightening "Baseline Your Life" system. But for now, this website is being used to introduce the core principles of my belief system, which I'm dubbing "The Baseline," and my plans to spread said belief system the world over. As you'll notice once you start reading "The Baseline" on the next tab, the core principles are somewhat controversial, as many of them fly in the face of thousands of years of ingrained thought and sentiments. Therefore, any acceptance of them will not happen without deliberate contemplation. And that's precisely what makes my belief system worth checking out. The more we think about where we are, the more we'll end up where we should be. Read on to find out exactly what I mean.