Posts Tagged ‘Confidence’

Overcoming Self-Consciousness

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Self-consciousness is a problem for men who want to be more attractive to women, because it broadcasts neediness and insecurity; neither of which are attractive. So overcoming self-consciousness is an essential step in becoming naturally attractive to women.

This is one of the biggest issues I’ve struggled with in my life, arising as a chronic fear of what other people thought. As a result, in the past I always dressed conservatively and had a conservative hairstyle. This was dreadful as far as attracting and relating to women went.

A big breakthrough for me came a couple of years ago when a stage production I was in gave me an excuse to dye my hair blonde. Getting over the fear of what other people would think and say when I showed up with blonde hair was a big step for me at the time. And the more I’ve gone down the path of overcoming self-consciousness, the more I’ve found women both comfortable around me, and attracted to me.

Last month I decided to quit shaving and grow a beard. Never done that before. Hey, why not? Some people like it, some people don’t like it. One girl friend said it made me look more manly because I have a boyish face. Another didn’t want to kiss me and said I should get rid of it.

It turns out that whatever you do, some people will approve and some will not. Freedom comes when we get over needing the approval of the nay-sayers and just do what comes naturally. The way to get over this is to try something new as an experiment, and then find we can deal with the people who tell us they don’t like it. Something like going blonde, growing a beard, or shaving your head is the easiest way I know to make a sudden shift in our perspective, without going through hours of therapy, meditation or reading heaps of self-help books; good though all that stuff is.

The Leukaemia Foundation are currently holding a fundraising event called The World’s Greatest Shave which is the perfect excuse for shaving your head for the first time. I’ve signed up, and I recommend that you join my team by clicking here. Women are always saying that they like a guy with “confidence”, but often we struggle to work out how to get it. This is the easiest confidence-booster I know, and I’ve tried a lot of things! It’s fun, and you’re bound to have a breakthrough or two when you do something you wouldn’t normally, and the women of the world start seeing you in a new light.

The Game by Neil Strauss

Thursday, February 18th, 2010


List Price: $35.99 USD
New From: $19.78 In Stock
Used from: $16.00 In Stock
Release date September 6, 2005.

An introverted writer goes to meet the world’s greatest pick-up artists in order to write a book about their craft. In the process, he becomes one of them. He has sex with a zillion women by putting on a complete façade with every line and move pre-scripted. After a while, it becomes natural. In the process, he develops the confidence to attract a woman who actually likes him for who he is, rather than for the pick-up persona he pretends to be.

I was totally intrigued, and I have to admit inspired by this book. Shortly after reading it I started changing the way I related to women and began using some of the techniques it describes. I was quite shocked at the positive way in which women responded. At first I didn’t want to believe that the less “nice” I was to a woman, the more she would engage with me. I started “neging” via SMS a much younger girl who I was interested in, and couldn’t believe that she kept responding to me. I thought she’d just fob me off and stop replying, which is what used to happen to me all the time, but instead she kept coming back as I kept on teasing her.

I started joking around more than I ever had with women. I became more fun and playful. I started taking it all less seriously. I started recognising when I was acting needy towards women, and stopped doing that. Gradually I even learned to make myself happy without relying on a woman’s approval. Sometimes I even deliberately sought disapproval, which turns out to be a lot of fun. I get now why bad boys get laid more than nice guys: they’re not needy, and they’re exciting to be around. And that’s an attractive combination to women.

I should be sickened by the way the guys in The Game treat women and disposable sex-objects, but I find myself intrigued and jealous instead, wanting my piece of the action. These guys don’t deserve it all to themselves; they’re shallow, ego-centric narcissists with low self-esteem. In other words, they’re like me. They trade on women’s evolutionary biological vulnerability. They lie, cheat, deceive and seduce their prey while telling themselves that they’re being honest because they don’t pretend to be monogamous in their relationships. Part of me wishes I could be the same, and it’s a big part. I want my share of the action too, but my scruples keep getting in the way. Or perhaps I’m kidding myself. Maybe the women these guys seduce really do want to be seduced after all, and my nice-guy I-wouldn’t-ever-do-that shield is just a way of avoiding the potential pain of rejection. If deep down women want the excitement of a really good seduction, why aren’t I out there keeping up my end of the bargain? And feeling powerful to boot.

I really recommend this book to any guy who has struggled with women. It’s not written to teach you the art of pick-up, but it does contain a lot of useful tips on relating to women along the way. If you don’t want me to spoil the ending for you, stop reading here. Grab the book and start reading it instead.

Spoiler warning! I’m about to give away the ending…

Something seems wrong with a universe where this guy gets the girl that he wants only by screwing over so many other beautiful women that he’s no longer so intimidated by the girl of his dreams. She says she likes him for who he really is, but he points out that if it weren’t for who he had become in learning pick-up artistry, she would never have given the “real” him a second look. I wonder what this means for regular nice guys. Do we ditch the scruples, learn to lie, deceive and cheat our way to what we want, and then fall back on “But deep down, I’m actually a good guy” when the girl of our dreams comes along? The story reads as though this guy has his cake and eats it too; while those around him go through existential crises, relationships with no meaning, and full-on mental breakdowns. Things shouldn’t be like this, I tell myself. Or maybe it’s time to accept that things are the way they are, and Get Over It.

Buy The Game from Amazon.com

How to Get a Supermodel Girlfriend

Monday, January 4th, 2010

I got this email from my friend Bradley yesterday, and was so blown away that I just had to share it with you. I do so with his permission, and with only minor edits to maintain our privacy. I have had such a positive impact on his life, he’s told me he’d do just about anything for me:

Hey Graham,

It is absolutely wonderful to hear from you Graham. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you but the last few weeks have been hectic to say the least. I have been busy but not quite as busy as you by the sounds of things. Great to hear that the book is still selling. I have some news for you too. I took your example and I invested in some cd’s from David DeAngelo. My personal favourite is Cocky Comedy. I think that is what it is called. Anyway no sooner had I started to use his techniques before I hooked an absolute beauty. I am blown away by how well the system works. Anyway this one is a keeper.

Her name is Natasha, she is 24, brown eyes and jet black hair. She is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. She was out here back packing around Australia. She is living in Romania at the moment and originally from Russia. As soon as I get some time off work I am going to visit her in Bucharest. You know what Graham, I think that I am in love. Lust definitely! Love maybe? She makes me feel so young and old at the same time but in a good way. Anyway if it all goes well in Bucharest, I am going to ask her to come back to Australia to live with me.

If it had not been for you Graham and your book and your fine examples and inspiration, I would never have had the courage to approach Natasha, let alone talk to her, chat her up and eventually ask her out. When I used the cocky comedy methods it felt that I was insulting her and her friends but to my amazement it all worked. I had them on the edge of their seats, eating out of my hand and now we have been dating for over three months. Here I was a 38 year old guy, over weight, out of shape and fat. A now I am dating the equivalent of a super model, in my opinion anyway.

What you said in your article about the nice guy attitude is all true. That was who I was, but not anymore. I would have been there asking these girls out and all I would have wanted to do was to please them and make them happy. You are right Graham, it does not work. It only pisses them off. For now everything seems to be going very well for me, thanks in part to you, my friend.

[personal stuff deleted]

May this email find you in good health. I am sorry that the email is so long. I hope that I will be able to help you someday as much as you have helped me Graham. Thanks again Graham.

Cheers mate,

Bradley

Wow. I was totally blown away by this. Completely unsolicited and real. This stuff is powerful and changes people’s lives. Getting feedback like this is what makes all the hard work of writing, publishing and promoting my book on the topic worthwhile.