I just finished reading The Game by Neil Strauss. It’s an interesting look at a world that all guys want to be a part of, and I think it’s really cool how Neil, or “Style” went around to all the mPUAs (that’s “master pick-up artists”) and synthesized their techniques together.
I wonder if there have been any new breakthroughs in the field, or if the subculture just kinda imploded, as Style implies it was in the process of doing as his book ended. The majority of the advice I see online seems to fall under the “cocky funny” category started by David DeAngelo’s Double Your Dating. (The link Peggy S sent me in response to an earlier post seems to be a toned down version of Tyler Durden’s “plowing,” though.)
The end of the book really drives home the point that I’ve been hovering around and denying for a while now. Ted said it a while ago on How I Met Your Mother, too. Style’s girlfriend tells him that she likes him for who he really is, and all that he learned as a pick-up artist almost drove her away from him. But he counters that if it wasn’t for all his experiences as a pick-up artist, he never would have had the balls to approach her and give her the chance to choose him.
I, like Ted, hate doing the whole bar thing and just want to skip ahead to the relationship. But I can never get to that without going through the bullshit first. First order of business, then, is to grow some balls. Next time I go out with friends, need to give myself a good psych-up in the mirror first. (I’ll try to stick with Jack’s “It’s winning time, you magnificent sonuvabitch!” instead of Liz’s “Stop sweating, you idiot! What is wrong with you, you stupid bitch?” even though that comes more naturally to me.) And maybe pick up a gimmick routine to use?
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