The Making of an Anti-Feminist

 I was raised in a very feminine world. Most of my childhood was spent around my mother and my older sister, with some time also around my grandmother and step-mother. My father was in my life, but he was a very sensitive man, and I never had any traditional “masculine” role models. My mother spanked me as a young child (although sometimes it was a good swat to the thigh or a yank on my arm.) My step-mother was dominating, controlling and overbearing to the extent that I felt a constant tension in her presence (and even still do to some extent today.)

Even though my mother hit me, I still love her greatly today. One of my most vivid early memories was about 7 years old. I was on the staircase and I was playing too loud, acting out, and trying to get attention. She got furious and charged at me to grab me and give me a good spank. I swung back simultaneously and landed one on her arm. In that moment, she looked at me and there was a mutual acknowledgment. That phase of life was over. She never hit me again. Our relationship after that was perhaps as good as any relationship could be. I admire her and love her and look up to her.

My mother was an incredible example of strength. When she was in college, she went to an all girls college where they made her wear school uniforms that included a skirt. She has always hated skirts and dresses, so she ran for student body president. She won, and she rallied the girls in protest against the dress code. That year, they changed the dress code and allowed women to start wearing pants. She didn't just talk about change, she made it happen.

When my sister and I were older, I remember my mom told me that we weren't allowed to listen to the song “Luka” by Suzanne Vega because it perpetuated a negative image of domestic abuse. That's the kind of woman my mom was. She never used the word feminism, that I remember, but she used the phrase, “Women's Lib.” My dad was a big supporter also. Women's lib, to my father, was women burning bras, throwing off the shackles, entering the workforce, and proving that they could be strong and powerful and unlimited. A beautiful sentiment, I must say.

My mother also tried to challenge common gender stereotypes. My mom and sister taught me that women like sensitive men, and they praised me endlessly for my sensitivity, gentleness, and kindness. I would dress up in girl's clothes from time to time for fun. I would cry when watching chick flicks with my sister.

The one thing which was traditional, is that my mother also taught me how to BBQ, telling me that it was a man's job. It's amazing how much I enjoyed lighting the BBQ, and doing my “man's job.” Wow... I can't even describe how wonderful it was to feel like I had this one little job. I can't say there was anything else that I thought I was supposed to do as a man, but BBQ and be nice to women.

My mother and my sister were also very clear that I should not be a creep, or an asshole, or a dick, or a pervert, or a shithead, or macho, or a bully, or sleazy, or slimy, or anything of what “most men” were. To be honest, I was terrified. I absolutely could not be that guy! I did everything I could to avoid being a creepy asshole. I heard so many stories about the awful ways men treat women and I was told again and again how bad men were, and how important it was that I be different. I don't know if they realized how much I was listening to them. It was incredibly influential as I passively listened and quietly took it in. They were older than me, and strong, and they were the authorities. I admired them both so much.

My relationship with my step-mother, on the other hand, is full of painful memories. She was intense, overbearing, and controlling. She was proud of her anger and how well she could wield it on others. I came home from my step-moms so many nights in tears. My mother knew that whenever I came back from a weekend at my dad's, the first words out of my mouth would be “I Hate Maria!” I hated her with all my soul, and have probably never felt so much animosity for any other human being in my life.

Every moment I spent near her was a moment on edge, waiting for the next explosion, waiting to be dominated. My only coping mechanism was to submit. I was docile and silent in her presence, and then let out the steam later, when in the safety of my mom's house, or when in the streets on my skateboard.

My father was an incredible presence in my life and a great role model. I never knew why he didn't stand up for me and protect me from Maria. It took a lot for me to eventually forgive him for that. I didn't realize until very recently what a wonderful influence he was on me. He was quiet, and he considers himself an introvert. He was a peacemaker, like my sister, avoiding confrontation, and often trying to smooth things over.

Throughout my entire childhood, there was a mysterious feeling I had, which I wouldn't understand until much later. It was a pervasive attitude that was subtle, yet never explicit. I have this vague memory of a childhood TV show, maybe Nickelodeon. A girl beats a boy in a contest, the girl is strong and victorious, the boy is face down in mud or something of that sort. Everyone cheers and hurrahs and claps, and the laugh track rolls, and everyone is so happy for “women's lib” and “women's empowerment.” As a boy, this was influential on me. The message I heard from such shows was: boys are bad, girls are good. Beating boys is good. When girls win, people clap. When boys win, it is unjust.

I saw this trope repeated again and again in my childhood in different ways. It was never explicit, but it felt like a heavy negativity pressing down on me. The other thing my mother did was rant often against old white men. She had an unending list of complaints with old white men. “White men are in the white house, and that's why the government is incompetent.” Or, “White men run all the businesses, that's why there is so much greed and corruption,” etc.

She also taught us from a young age to recognize the privilege we had as white upper-middle class Americans living in a world with so much poverty. I'm grateful that she taught us that, and I often feel so much gratitude for the good fortune I've enjoyed in life.

At twelve, my grandfather died. At sixteen, my mom started dating women: One less man, one more woman. It is important to understand that a boy's world is almost entirely made up of his family and his peers, and perhaps also his school teachers (mostly female, too.) This was it for me. I didn't see any patriarchy, I hardly saw any men anywhere, except from a distance. I lived the first 18 years of my life inside a matriarchy, and a matriarchy which was sometimes quite oppressive and dominating. Many other young boys are raised this way as well.

My intimate relationships with women for the first part of my life were horrible. I was always so confused why they didn't appreciate how nice and sensitive and sweet I was. I would give them presents, and write them poems, and offer to help them with anything, and I mostly ended up alone.

I remember once when I was walking on the beach and my girlfriend forgot something in the car. I literally ran for 10 minutes in the sand back to the car to get her that thing and bring it back to her. It is funny now, as I write about it: it sounds like a well trained puppy dog. I thought this was what women wanted. I had no clue that it could be any other way.

I was also incredibly angry with the world and with life. I mostly spent my time smoking weed and riding my skateboard. Ironically, when I wasn't trying to impress women, they would see this skateboarding fiery strong man and be attracted to the masculinity which I didn't even yet recognize within myself.

At the age of 24, I discovered the pickup artist scene, and that started another long chapter of my life. It was so incredibly liberating, and life transforming and brought me so much deep inner growth. People say bad things about pickup-artists, but for whatever it's worth, it was a huge positive influence for me. For the first time ever, I began to overcome my shame of being a man. Hmmm... Yes. I want that one to sink in for a second...

For the first time ever, I began to overcome my shame of being a man.

Thank you, pickup community. I feel tremendous gratitude.

At the same time that I discovered the masculinity inside myself, I also discovered that there were so many men in the world just like me. I was not alone, and somehow I had always known that. Here was a community of other men who were also breaking free from their shame of being men. Here were other men walking fearlessly into the pain of rejection and ridicule and inevitable failure, standing strong with the knowledge that “I am a good person, no matter what women say about me.” How beautiful it was to become a part of this community! How beautiful it was to begin to share this with more men as they also had their minds blown in learning something so new and fresh and alive.

I left the pickup artist world after 6 years, and continued on with my life, quite happy to have finally come out of my shell as an adult, as a man, and as a person participating with life. I had finally been able to integrate my very strong feminine side with my previously unrecognized masculine side.

This whole time, I was still a huge fan of strong women. I loved strong women, and dated many strong women. I also fiercely questioned gender stereotypes. I was always a supporter of women's rights, and women's empowerment, as my mom had been. She is, to this day, such a big inspiration for me when it comes to standing up for what I think is right. She taught me how to be bold, and daring, and unapologetic.

If the story ended here, I would have naively gone about the rest of my life happy to support women, never thinking much of the word “feminism.” I wasn't opposed to feminism (though I thought it was a silly word etymologically speaking.) I thought that women's rights were important, and so I supported it whenever I could, and continued to defy the expectations of my own gender role, and that was that.

It was only recently, when I was compelled to look deeper into the world of Feminism proper. I was 36 years old at the time, and long past the pickup artist part of my life. I was interested in the topic, and joined a discussion on the topic of Feminism to see what people were saying.

Within the discussion, I was surprised to discover something which I had not been expecting to find. I was expecting a talk of positivity toward women and liberation from the rigid demands of an irrational society. Instead, what I found was that long lost negativity that I had experienced as a kid. It was that same nebulous cloud of what I now think is best described by the word "misandry."

Like I said, this misandry was never explicitly known to me, but somehow I recognized it as something nebulous in this discussion and got curious. Soon, the discussion blew up and one of my male friends was kicked out of the discussion for expressing his views. I was shocked. What was this thing that I just witnessed? I didn't know.

It was reminiscent of that cloud that lingered over my childhood, but what exactly was it? Thankfully, a good friend directed me to a Warren Farrell video, which changed my life forever. For the next month, I binged on Warren Farrell. He spoke to all those things I had been feeling but couldn't name. I cried, and cried, and then after quick breaks, I came back and would cry some more. My heart was bursting open. So many memories, so much pain. So much recognition. Such a wonderful feeling to discover that I wasn't alone! I wasn't the only man hurting! Wow.

Warren Farrell was a natural fit for my temperament. He was so much like me. He also loved women. He also had long supported women. He also wanted the best for women. He had been a member of N.O.W., and had been a very early supporter of feminism even when it wasn't a popular thing for men to do. He was sensitive, and soft spoken, empathetic and caring. He was vulnerable, and open with his emotions. He stressed the importance of listening to each other and creating space for different perspectives. This is what sparked my initial investigation into Feminism.

I spent the next few months after that reading and digesting everything I could on the topic. I read from MRAs, and from Feminists. I listened to the mainstream opinions, from Fox news to MSNBC and in between. I looked at the blogs, and the foundational books. I read Kate Millet, and bell hooks. I listened to the anti-feminists, the equity feminists, the marxist feminists, the radical feminists, the gamergaters, and more. There was no aspect of the topic I wanted to leave unexplored.

As an adult, now, I have a pretty good relationship with my family. I get along well with my mom, although sometimes I space out when she's talking too much. I love my dad, even though we sometimes argue about politics. My sister is unbelievably strong and brilliant. I've even come to a greater place of peace with my step-mother, Maria.

Most recently, I've been discovering and healing some of the wounds from my relationship with Maria. Some of them have lingered deep and even now I continue to work to let them go. One thing that Maria did often was to argue that her opinion was correct and she would bully me with her anger until I would submit. I was not allowed to disagree with her because she was right and I was wrong. (I can even imagine her arguing with me now about what I just wrote.) It is a sentiment which I see reflected in modern day Feminism and in general views of misandry which pervade our culture.

Sometimes it takes me a great deal of patience and inner fortitude to stay centered in such heated conversations. I recognize that this can be one of my “triggers.” That's right, I get triggered around certain topics of gender. I get angry. I have even fumed with rage. But, recognizing that I am not a child anymore, and no one is actually overpowering me anymore, I keep trying to open my heart. In the pain, I try to breath into the pain, love through the pain. I try, and when it is too difficult, I take a break and do something else. Then, I try again. It is too important not to open my heart.

But, it is not only my triggers which keeps me talking about topics of gender. My heart also opens because many more people are hurting, and not just men like me. I have seen how misandry hurts women too. There are certain aspects of our culture (and unfortunately they are often perpetuated by Feminist ideology) which are creating so much tension and violence, and hatred, and pain for people who I care about. I see how pervasive it is, and how mainstream.

Obviously, gender issues get a lot of air time in modern discourse. My focus often goes to the issue of misandry, which seems to be one issue which does not get a lot of air time. Perhaps it also interest me because it is so personal to my own life.

I recognize that Feminism is a vast range of ideologies and movements, and some of it can bring tremendous benefit for human beings. I love women. I love men. I love that people ask important questions. I love that people stand up for each other. I am a vocal men's rights activist and a vocal women's rights activist. I want to help people. I want to stand up. I imagine, sometimes, that this is my chance to carry on the torch that my mother once lit when she was rallying against that school dress code way back then.

This is the time to speak up. People are hurting: men, women, families, our culture. To me, it seems too important to argue over the meaning of words, or some theoretical ideologies. It's too important to dismiss each other and bicker. The pain is very real, and I personally think that now is a good time to start addressing it. I am not a Feminist, and I am not an MRA. I never liked labeling myself like that anyway. If anything, I guess I will call myself a gender rebel.

Restructuring The Blog

Here's the deal.  I've written a ton of stuff on this blog.  Some of it has been useful, some of it has been entertaining, and some of it was just me rambling on about all sorts of whatnot.  Well, my plan is to change that, and to clean it up.... stream line it.... make it easier to read, and less cluttered.... leave it here for posterity and accessible as a free resource for others who may be following in my footsteps.

As always, don't forget to leave some footsteps of your own.  Enjoy the posts, but do yourself a favor and take action in your life.  Your life is too short for anything else.

Some Parting Words...

Pickup is really like playing with fire, more than most people will admit. I don't know why, but there's something about the way sexuality fills the deepest holes inside of us that brings a lot of wounded people into relationship with each other. For the most part, it seems that sexual relationship is based on two people selfishly trying to get the other person to agree to give them a pleasurable experience. I'm not saying this as some puritanical judgement. I have no judgement. I'm saying this as someone who has sat hours of meditation feeling the deep pain of some of the people I've hurt during my years in pickup (and the pain I've caused myself). Karma ain't just some cool idea - it's real.

With that said, it should be assumed that pretty much every resource I recommend is sketchy in someway or another. None of them are remotely free from sketchiness. And, as such, they are intimately wrapped up with pain, and suffering. You may find many things in the world of pickup, but you will not find any lasting happiness. You will find new ways of controlling reality to temporarily satisfy your desires.

Ok... I am getting pretty intense, so let me be fair to the other perspective as well. The other perspective is that a big reason a lot of guys get into pickup is exactly because of deeply entrenched beliefs propagated by society about who men are and how they should act. These insane beliefs (basically stemming from the core belief that pickup is somehow "wrong") are an incredible detriment to our society and the individuals within it. In other words, there is a lot of suffering wrapped up in the inappropriate and unhelpful constructs of social rules. If your motivation is to free yourself from hindering beliefs, and find some liberation, there may be value for you here.

There are many paths to choose in life. If the process continues to unfold in a natural, synchronistic, and almost magical way... then thit probably is the path for you... for now. While on the other hand, if it feels forced, or you are being compelled by deep attachments, or you find yourself grasping for control ... then, dude... you may be looking in the wrong place.

So far, I must admit that it seems pretty synchronistic for you, since you were somehow lead into contact with me. Very auspicious. And, also that you came to me at a time when I felt particularly called to offer guidance.

So, that is my disclaimer. It's a long disclaimer, but I wouldn't want to see you wasting your time or your "precious human life" or causing more misery for yourself and others than what is necessary.

Speaking strictly from a PUA perspective, these are the resources I'd recommend:
PickUp 101 - this is where I worked as a coach. Foundational workshops and products that will really drill in the basics of being a naturally cool confident social and sexual man. Looking past the sketchiness, the simple methods of banter, opening, etc... are totally simplified and easy to apply. The instructors are all doing it for the love of the game, and care very much about their students.

David Deida - not a pickup resource, more about understanding women, etc. This is a more spiritually rooted resource that I'd recommend, though he also has his pitfalls for sure. Start with his book: The Way of The Superior Man (if you haven't read it already)

Authentic Man Program - These guys are in San Francisco and they have some good resources for relating to women. Their method of coaching is pretty interesting and often successful, however it involves what seems to be quite a bit of therapy, and most of them are not licensed or trained therapists. So, definitely enter at your own risk.

The online community - there are dozens of different forums, so I will not recommend any one in particular. Community is so important for having support and taking action. It is perhaps more important to have people supporting you than it is to have expert advice. Advice is only as good as it is applied, but support helps you keep going when you make the inevitable mistakes.

One more thing... If you're expecting to get over approach anxiety or fear with women, etc... Let me genuinely suggest the alternative of therapy - from a licensed psychotherapist or psychologist. None of the people I've listed above are qualified to work with you on deep rooted fears and anxieties. In fact, this is exactly what therapy is for. If you feel like you're a crazy fucker who just likes to do stupid shit and face your fears like a hungry bear... then you don't need a workshop or therapy... just go out there and fuckin' tear into it! (but expect to feel the pain too).

Most of all... just like meditation... you will learn TONS more from experience than from any teacher. I like the ratio offered by S.N. Goenka. He gives a 1 hour discourse for about 10 hours of sitting meditation. That's a 1:10 ratio of instruction to practice. I recommend the same for pickup. For every one hour of coaching you get or advice you read, go out and put in at least 10 hours of practice in a social environment. This doesn't mean 10 hours of non-stop approaches on women. Just 10 hours of being in a social environment, being out of your head, talking with people, and being aware of the "social dance." Talking with women about sex and dating is great practice, talking with other men who are good with women is great practice. But... Practice Practice Practice... this is the key to success!

And Now For Something Completely Different

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

"The Chinese have a saying: The best time to stop bein' a dumbass is forty years ago, and the second best time is now." - Jed McKenna

Women kick ass! Let there be no doubt about it.

I love women. And almost as much, I love helping men find success with women in their lives. This blog has been a great opportunity to fuel that mission, but as things change, and life moves forward, I must move forward too. I don't know if I will be back teaching Pick Up again

For now, I'm on to a new adventure. And, for whatever masochistic motivation that inspires me to write about my life, I have started a new blog to share my adventure.

The theme of my new blog: Meditation, Travel, Life. It's my life, my journey, and my favorite new... hobby?... meditation.

Grattitude for My Mentors

Recently, I've had people ask me about my own history and how I got into all of this. I've written many posts along the way, but I've never summarized it all in one place. So, step on the time machine with me as we go back through the last four years of my life. It all started January 2004...

I have always been a huge supporter of the pickup community (even through the many times when my friends may not have agreed). I LOVE the fact that men are helping other men to improve their lives. I LOVE the men's culture and the sheer fact that shy guys, nice guys, awkward guys, and all sorts of men are taking action to go after what they want.

My introduction to it all was a David DeAngelo newsletter (which somehow ended up on my computer). It changed my life. Within 2 months, my entire paradigm on women and dating had done a 180. I saw everything in a completely new way, and I felt liberated to begin making up for a lot of lost time.

I then tried out Ross Jeffries' Speed Seduction and began actually applying the techniques with real women. I creeped out a bunch of those women, and I had fun with some others.  I'm grateful for their patience with me.  It was a huge time of personal transformation, and although I wasn't having sex with any of them, I was really inspired, and my confidence began to improve dramatically.

Then, I found a website called fastseduction.com. This was the next big shift. On this discussion forum, the community put emphasis on: "Field Work, Field Work, Field Work." That is, theory wasn't nearly as important as being in the real world, talking to real women!  Some of the posts from a member named TylerDurden were the most inspiring to actually get me out where the women are.

I started reading through the Maniac_High and Tokyo_PUA archives (as they were living in Japan and I was living in Korea at the time). I plowed through those old posts (many of which were inspired by and extensions of Speed Seduction), and continued to find DRAMATIC improvements in my relating with women, my confidence, and my life in general.

I also continued to skim through posts by Juggler, Gunwitch, TylerDurden, MrNYC4U, Toecutter and some of the other fastseduction posters. ALL of which I loved. I ATE it up.

That discussion board may sound creepy to outsiders of the community, but for me, it gave me a new perspective, solid support, and best of all it was free.

When I started really applying the "Field Work" mentality, I started seeing results.  It should be obvious... the work you do to challenge your comfort zone with real life encounters will be the best learning experiences.

Up to this point, I hadn't had sex in a year and a half.  Then, within 5 weeks I was dating 6 women!

Who's In Your Tribe?

I've always enjoyed taking a look at social dynamics from a tribal point of view. 6.6 Billion People on one planet. One really big tribe?

I walk into a bar. Who are these people? Who are they sitting in their little groups, drinking their spirits, claiming their territory?

Is it a tribal gathering at the local watering hole? In fact, it often seems much different.

I remember when I first stepped foot into a bar, it looked much different. It looked like one big tribe that I wasn't a part of. I saw it as one group of people, and I was outside of it. There were the tribal leaders who looked intimidating, the hot fertile women of the tribe (who also looked intimidating), and a certain culture of the tribe - which I didn't understand.

As I grew more comfortable and really began to look around, I saw it differently again. I began to see a meeting of the tribes. Each tribe stakes territory in one area of the bar. Sometimes a tribe will find out that they know someone from another tribe, and the two will merge together. Sometimes the leader of one tribe will fight the leader of another.

And, then there were the rebels. The ones who look beyond the tribal boundaries and would talk to anyone. Daring and bold, they sought out to merge the tribes (or maybe simply to steal women from the tribe of another)

But, I continued to grow, and I moved past even this. In fact, I ended up in much the same place as where I started. I began to see it once again as a single tribe.

The Host with the Most

I heard one of you out there in cyberspace thought maybe I was dead.

Yeah, it's true, I haven't been posting lately. It's too bad too because I've been up to all sorts of crazy adventures. Perhaps I should get back to it again. I've got some amazing insights to share.

For now, just watch this cool video of me. I loved it when I saw it. They did an awesome job editing it and actually made me look funny. Regis Philbin watch out!

I love you guys!

-Daniel

She's Already Gone...

Talking with a friend recently, he told me about reading "A Book of Five Rings". He said it's written by some samurai who won a whole lot of sword fights or something. It sounds cool. I want to read it. For now, I'll just comment on what my friend told me.

Apparently, this samurai would go into every battle believing "I'm already dead."

Thus, he was completely detached from outcome. Completely unattached to getting anything or winning anything. He knew that death was inevitable eventually, and so he fought with no fear of death.

It reminded me of a poster my step mom has in her kitchen. She hangs it behind her favorite wine glasses, and it reads:
"I know this glass is already broken, so I enjoy it incredibly.'" (an old Buddhist quote)

So, what am I saying? Samurai? Buddhists?

Well, try this out...

"I know this woman is already gone from my life, so I enjoy her incredibly."

I know I'm already dead.

When you meet a woman who turns you on. Feel your desire. Feel the passion. Feel your love for women and especially your love for that special one that really catches your eye. And feel that she is already gone, and you have nothing to hold onto. All you have is the moment.  Enjoy it.

That's what I've been meditating on lately, so I thought I'd share.

The "Wake Up!" of Break Ups

I just came across a question on the PickUp Lounge asking about the best way to break up with a woman. It's a question I've heard a lot, but it also seems to get downplayed. Guys are more preoccupied with getting women in bed, than what to do next.

Here is a summary of my thoughts:

If a relationship is good, then for most people the breakup will be equally painful. As my buddy Hristiyan has put it, "love and pain are inseparable."

You don't need to suffer the emotions, you don't need to be a victim of drama. But, you also don't want to fall into the typically male trap of trying to shut down your emotions and be lifeless inside.  For most people, breaking up will always bring up emotions, some of which you may not want to deal with.

But, perhaps... a breakup is a wonderful opportunity (yes, hear me out)... a wonderful opportunity for both you and her to deal with the reality of life. Part of life is loss and change. Not a moment goes by where we do not face the ever changing nature of life.

If we think of a relationship or a breakup as part of the natural world of change- we could think of it like a hurricane.Emotions swirl like wild winds, while life itself must go on.

Women will naturally have a million emotions come up for them as you are breaking up. At some points they may be furious with you, at some points very seductive, some points almost non-existent and non-communicative, and on and on... They are fully embodying the emotions of the moment. There is nothing wrong with this, and you can appreciate your woman's humanity in this moment.

Letting Go - Earth, Air, Fire, Water

Our Ancestors knew what it took to grow and change and transform yourself in the world. In fact, self transformation is as old as the Pheonix who flew into the Sun. All they had to do was look around to see how nature changed with the cycles of life. Transformation was accepted as part of being alive.

A few days ago, I got together with some friends for an old ritual at Ocean Beach. It was time for letting go and moving on.

Four of us met at the cold windy parking lot of Ocean Beach, each with something that we wanted to let go of in our life. The only rule was that if you were going to show up - you had to participate.

My First DJ Gig!

You may remember a while back, I put up a post about our new turntables.

Well, I knew nothing about DJ-ing at the time. And, in just about 6 months, I'm now a professional DJ *pat on back*.

Yes, I got my first gig. I was nervous like a little school girl. The truth is that I actually don't know anything about DJing, I just like music a lot and I like playing it. I wasn't the best ever, but I had a lot of fun, and everyone seemed to like it. They were dancing and smiling and complimenting me. And, the woman who set it up asked me to do it again sometime. Sweet!

What was the coolest thing though is how I didn't even have to work at it to get a gig. In fact, I didn't even want to do it. But, it fell in my lap.When a friend of a  friend asked for a DJ suggestion, it came around to me.

Women Love It! - Read What She Says...

When I went to Australia last year, I met this really cute girl named Hitomi. We hit it off and when I returned to Australia a few months later, she hung out with me and the PickUp 101 crew while we enjoyed Melbourne. I even invited her to our 2 hour intro seminar, and what was really awesome is that she actually learned something from my seminar. It actually helped her build confidence! I thought that was pretty cool, so I asked her to write about her experience to share with all of you.  Hopefully it gives you an example of a woman's perspective on meeting a guy. (English isn't her first language, so I really appreciate that she wrote so much). Enjoy!

"I had a strange experience that I went to the PickUp 101 seminar which was about attracting women with Senior Instructor Daniel Johnson. I met Daniel in Melbourne and I’m going to write my story of meeting him and what I saw at the seminar.

Continuing to Grow: "Burning Karma"

PickUp Chicks and Find Your Deeper Purpose.

I just started reading David Deida's The Way Of The Superior Man (I'm only on page 20). I hope to put up a full review here at some point.

Anyway, one of his ideas seemed very pertinent to my last post. He talked about it as "burning through karma".

Basically, what he's talking about is moving from one goal to the next in a constant movement toward your life's deepest purpose. However, sometimes we are sidetracked by our "karma" and get caught up in lesser purposes. You may find some parallels in your quest for women.

Are You Playing Games?

What is "Game"? Are you in the game? Is the game playing you?

I met a cute girl recently who took the time to check out my blog. She had some interesting comments to share about her experience with "game", and I wanted to share them with you all. (Remember, this is coming from a woman who has never seen a workshop or never heard about any of this. It's just her experience, being a single woman).

She writes...

Tale of Romance - He Said / She Said

Here's a spicy story from last March. Alexandra and I wrote it together about a week after meeting, but I've been waiting to post it. Finally, here it is...

DANIEL:
Ever since Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, it’s been every man’s dream of finding romance in Seattle (ok, well maybe kinda). But when I signed up to lead the Art of Rapport Workshop there, I certainly hoped to give that fiction tale a run for its money. I aimed to create some non-fiction adventures of my own.

As the workshop approached, everything fell into place. Instructors, Workshop participants, hotel rooms, and yes… Supergirls. There was one girl in particular who was planning to sit through the entire workshop. She was so amazed by what we do and how we do it, that she wanted to actually observe the entire process. When she asked to attend, it sounded cool, so I sent her the info. But soon after our email exchange, I promptly forgot that we’d even invited her.

ALEXANDRA:
Thursday night: I was very stressed. My boyfriend of a year and a half tells me that if I attend the Pickup 101 Art Of Rapport class over the weekend, our relationship is OVER! He was begging me not to go. Strange premonition on his part? It shows - don’t focus on things that you don’t want to happen. But here is the truth. This on and off relationship had been on shaky ground for a long time, and it was time for me to move on. I stood there in front of him and thought about it... pickup class or boyfriend? Without hesitation I said, “Sorry, I have too much of life to live and this is something I can’t miss.” I had helped out at the Seattle Art of Attraction a few months earlier, and my desire to go back for a second time was so strong that nothing could have stopped me. The classes are too cool! No turning back now.

Getting Girls at the Library - Sexy and Smart!

If you like smart ladies, I want to tell you how to master one of the toughest, but most fruitful environments for meeting nerdy girls.  For me, there's nothing quite like the downtown San Francisco Public Library. A three-story building full of brilliantly literate hotties. Well, usually there's only one or two hotties in the whole place, but I'm not trying to be greedy here. And... did I mention? They're probably smart.

So, whenever I find myself in the City Hall area, I stop by the Library, and this day was no different.

I walk in.

1st floor - nothing

2nd floor - hmm.... a couple of 18 yr olds. No, no... too young.

Going up the stairs to floor 3 - yes. There she is.

Find Your Flow - Skyrocket Your Results!

What if learning skills with women could be easy and fun all the time? What if everyday your game improved in ways that you could hardly even imagine? What if every time you talked to a girl, you absolutely knew that you were doing better than you'd ever done before?

That's the way it should be, right? We all know that we deserve results and we deserve more satisfaction. So, the path to abundance should be an enjoyable one that simply and smoothly Flows.

Lately, one of my housemates is reading the book "Flow." I never have enough time to really read books for myself, but I really enjoy learning the material second hand. Almost everyday he'll read a little of the book and give me an update and his latest learnings. It's great to have friends like that in your life!

So, before I even went out today, I had a really good chat with my housemate about the book. And, I hit some great realizations about how and when my game improves and how it stagnates.

We all know what the flow state is. Those moments in life where time seems to stand still. Results come to you effortlessly and easily. And, you can actually feel that you're in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

When we're in the flow state, everything works out better. We'll actually see hotter women. The women we talk to will be in better moods and more receptive to us. The women coming into our life will be more open to us, and they will come more often. We may not even know what we're doing to attract them. All we will know is that they are there. And, above all, it feels great!

The Old Dude's Got Game

If you haven't seen it, it's time to take a look around. The old guy with the fine young thing. Or maybe the older woman her young piece of meat. What does age matter, really?

Last night I went out on the town and ended up talking for over an hour with a woman 6 years older than me. She was cute, abs of steel, pretty face. I was all for it. Her friends were teasing her for talking to me (I look young for my age, so I guess they thouhgt it was more like 12 years difference). Fuck it. She didn't care. She told me herself: "age doesn't matter." And, of course, you know she's gonna be.. um... experienced in bed.

But, it's true. How old do you feel in your heart? How old do you act? Our bodies are one thing, but only that. There is much more to a person than his body. And, luckily for men, our bodies are even less important.

So, the night progressed, and eventually I met him. A "natural" if you will. A man who claims he could pickup any girl in the bar, and who prides himself on not wanting the sex. "It's all about playing the game. Not getting laid." For him, I believe it's true.

Are You Afraid Of This?

Have You Given The Dreaded "Creepy Touch?"

If you've even come close, you probably never want to do it again.


Well, I know I'm late on current events, but I saw this photo again recently and knew that I had to comment. This is perhaps the most publicized "creepy touch" in all of history.

Whatever you may think of George Bush, I think there is a lot that we can learn from him (wait, wait... hear me out.) With all of Bush's *cough* shortcomings... somehow he became President of the United States. Wow. 

Humility VS. Confidence

Personally, I always fell on the side of Humility. In fact, in the past, I could easily have been accused of being overly humble (or in other words, a "pussy").

And recently, I've actually been surprised to hear how girls think that I "think I'm the shit." Actually, there was one girl in Australia who was actually convinced that I was too arrogant for her. She gave me so much shit and even told me, "You're not as cool as you think you are."

But, what is going on here. Let's take a look.

Recently, I took a look at Donovan's Seduction Chronicles. He did a review for our new product: Physical Confidence. In the review, he refers to me as "underrated."

Of course, I was flattered, and I appreciated Donovan's kind sentiments.

While at the same time, it got me thinking. What does it mean to be "underrated?"

The way that I was raised by my parents, underrated was good. It mean that you undercharge and over-deliver. And that's supposed to be a good thing. I always was happy with the fact that I was really giving people the best value I could give.

But, then I started to realize how very many people there are in the world who overcharge and under-deliver. And, sadly enough... they are the ones making most of the money and getting most of the women. (I'd point out our president Bush as one example.)

So, finally I decided to take a look at all this. What was it that made people want to give them so much money? What was it that made women like them?

Well.. the answer is... Confidence!