
It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.
– Author Unknown
If your primary goal in life is to meet an amazing woman, you probably won’t.
Setting out on a mission to find a girlfriend is like starting a company to get rich: It focusses you on the wrong things and you eventually realize that the game you’re playing isn’t worth winning.
When money is your center of gravity, you make decisions based on dollars rather than sense. Instead of being a Merchant of Wow
, you become a Merchant of Ow, building boring, ugly, and painful things, hoping you might flip before you flop. By trading passion for profit you confine yourself to mediocrity, blazing a trail to unhappiness and unwealth as you sink ever deeper into spiritual overdraft.
Likewise, when you make women your focal point, you let go of your I. Instead of asking what you want most in life, you ask what women want most in life: What traits do women find attractive in a man? What kind of social events do hot women go to? What kind of hobbies do women consider sexy? What should I say to a girl when I approach her? Will she be turned off if I do XYZ?
Questions are like shovels: they unearth the truth. But when you ask questions like these, you dig your own grave.
There Is No Secret
In How to Meet Women Without Really Trying, I suggested that the best way to meet women is by talking to them. This advice is so simple that it’s almost impossible to understand.
I’ve experienced the entire spectrum of success with women, from being a chess-playing, virgin, overweight cookie monster in high school all the way to where I am now, where I don’t even think about meeting girls anymore and It Just Happens. I know how easy–and, more importantly, how hard–it is to accept and apply the idea of meeting girls by talking to them.
What do I mean by “talk” to women? What do you say? What’s the best opener? What do you say after that? Where do you meet them? How do you get them interested in you? How do you ask for their number? How can you possibly meet hot girls without using magic potions and super sekrit seduction techniques?
To demystify the mechanics of making a connection, I’ll describe exactly how I met the girl I’m currently dating. I’ll include some philosophical context to paint the bigger picture that led to us finding, meeting, and connecting with each other.
This story is only coincidentally about seduction. It’s really more a tale of me just living my life, and how that inevitably leads to meeting charming and beautiful creatures.
Shared Interests Are Everything
I never go out to meet girls anymore. The success or failure of my social engagements is never measured by how many approaches I did (ugh), how many numbers I walked away with (ugh!), or how many kisses I got (UGH!@#*!).
Every activity I’m involved in is fueled by self-interest. For example, I organize a personal growth group in Montreal because I want to surround myself with like-minded, positive people, and create an environment that promotes the conscious pursuit of happiness. The more I care about that goal, the better the group gets. I’m helping organize BarCamp Canada, a geek conference coming up later this year, because I’m interested in helping smart people talk to others about what they’re working on. And every article on this blog is, first and foremost, a letter written to myself. Writing helps me crystallize my thoughts and make sense of my experiences. I use my content to build traffic, rather than letting traffic build my content.
The natural consequence of defining your own hierarchy of values and pursuing them to your utmost ability is that you meet people who share those interests. For example, by stepping up to volunteer for BarCamp, I’ve created the opportunity to work with smart hackers. My choice to start a personal growth group has resulted in forming friendships with some hot girls and cool guys. From there I get invited to parties and other social events, which leads to meeting more interesting people. And, of course, starting this blog has added a whole new dimension to my world.
Which brings me to how I met Mary.
Seduction Secret #172: Live Your Own Life
Mary was yet another girl I crossed paths with while doing something that mattered to me.
You may remember that a few months ago I did a 30-day trial on learning to cook. Since I started from almost zero, I had to make regular trips to a funky little kitchen boutique nearby for crockery and cookware.
I was in there a few times a week during the challenge. The girls that worked there were really sweet and we started talking more and more. My requests for kitchen advice eventually led to discussions about the rest of our lives. I told them about 30 sleeps and how I was learning to cook, and we all got more interested in each other.
There was one girl in particular there who caught my eye. She had dark hair, a pretty face, a gorgeous body, and radiated an irresistibly feminine sparkle. We never got around to exchanging names, though I couldn’t help but make a mental note of her.
Eventually, I completed the 30-day challenge and my culinary needs died down. Time passed. Life went on. I didn’t get around to the store much anymore, but I kept bumping into that cute girl around the neighbourhood.
Girl Approaches Guy, Film at 11
One day I got an email from a reader of my blog. She told me that my articles inspired her. She confessed a little embarrassment to be writing me out of the blue, but said she had just read my article How to Get a Life and found it really interesting. One of the points I make in that article is how powerful it can be to just email someone you want to get in touch with. That’s exactly what made her decide to email me.
But it wasn’t until I reached the bottom of the email that I finally put two and two together.
“I hope you haven’t stopped cooking!” she said. Signed Mary.
Opportunity Will Knock
When opportunity knocks, you either answer the door, or you light up your internet connection and spank away your sorrows. So a few days later, I invited her out to a social gathering and things took off from there.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that pursuing your goals will make the women you desire chase after you. In most cases, you’ll have to make the first move. But shared interests plant the seeds for a healthy social life, and a healthy social life plants the seeds for a healthy sex life. 99% of the girls you meet will never end up in your bedroom, and that’s fine. Mary is the one girl I did connect with out of the dozens and dozens (and dozens) that I didn’t.
You don’t need pickup skills to meet girls; you need goals that have absolutely nothing to do with girls. Attracting worthwhile women into your life happens only when you throw the entire force of your existence into creating a life that matters.
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Hey Brad, I just found 30sleeps because a friend has been raving about it. Excellent article, I look forward to reading the backlog.
Its good to hear about others coming to some of the same conclusions that I did just six months ago. Its been just over a year since I took inspiration from the pickup community and began learning how to change my life concerning the opposite sex. Seven months of that year have been spent in a fabulous relationship with an older woman that is absolutely smitten with me. It was quite entertaining to learn that relationships are much easier than I ever could have imagined.
The best advice that I can give to another man in the situation I formerly occupied is: tend first to yourself.
You can bet I’ll be back to check out future installments at 30sleep! Take care.
Thanks, Brad, for this illuminating post.
Funnily enough I have recently just come to the same conclusion as you, live your life and focus on what *I* want from it.
Great stuff. Hope it works out with you and Mary! :-)
Steve
Hey Brad,
I don’t even remember how I came across your blog.
But “Hey Man” great stuff.
You are obviously hip to Brad Blanton and My friend David X and Stephane Hemon from Ideagasms.
I like the way you have taken the concepts way past you got it. We do that in the music biz.
It is amazing to me how all you cats from Montreal, Quebec, and etc are so advanced.
This fucking bible belt in the US is a mess,
Have you read “The Function of the Orgasm” by Wilhelm Reich?
I can tell from your work you would love it.
Great Work Brad,
Much Love,
Eric
http://www.erickeyes.com
Having a purpose and mission in life is primary and very important.
What Drew mentioned above is “right on” and I see his point as well.
I have a question for you:
If you had to pick one:
1. Would you have your cock and balls cut off?
or
2. Run this website?
I will play fair and answer as well.
I have been playing guitar for 25 years. If it comes down to being this question for me.
You can have my guitars. All of them.
Radical Honesty,
EK
[...] Bollenbach presents How to Meet Women Without Really Trying – An Example posted at 30 [...]
Great post! And I have to agree with you. The best way to meet women is by being yourself. Women will sniff out fakes in 2 seconds flat! When you try too hard your just not enjoying yourself and lose the focus of the task at hand. I’m sure we’ve all seen people who are just too nice and how annoying that can be. And, if you are succesfull at meeting a woman by projecting a different image than what you really are, just keep in mind that there will be some disapointment when the true you finally comes out! BTW, please don’t take this as a cheap ploy to drag visits to my site but I’m a former chef and post quick and easy recipes once a week especially for guys who don’t know how to cook but still want to impress women with their cooking skills!
Playing guitar impresses more then “The Function of the Orgasm” by Wilhelm Reich. And cooking is not the last thing in this battle.
Sure, if your interests include cooking, astrology or salsa dancing, that might work, at least once every dozens (and dozens) opportunities. Good luck applying this “method” if you happen to be closer to the average red blooded straight male, interested in, say, grappling, FPS games and WW2 history.
what happens when your not concentrating on girls and your concentrating on life and you still fail at meeting girls.
Man, I like this article. I notice my successes come when I’m not focused on females, money, etc. When I just flow and live my life everything is easier.
ummmmmmm haveing sex is great to me and is name is ms.honey
That was really helpful thankz a lot!
you know your the first person to agree with me
Great article on meeting girls..
couldn’t agree more… we’ve become too obsessed with thinking we need to learn the skills that no one else has to “get” women. it’s all bullshit. many guys just need to learn to be natural and focus on things that make them grow and they enjoy, some kind of purpose. i don’t want to make it sound like a rule, but attracting women is the result of simply pursuing your own goals, not going out and hunting for them
Learning how to attract women effortlessly is one of the best things a man can do. I always stress this. Meeting women without the cliche bar/club scene is very important because it lets you act like a normal citizen instead of an actor. You could easily meet women at other places without even trying.
Wow, who is that woman in the picture, she is beautiful.
Love the article, but i don’t know whether all techniques here would work or not???
If some of you guys have tried them, please share with us your thoughts and experiences with them.
Thanks.
You are awesome. You made me realize many things that I’ve never even thought about. Thank you Brad.
Thanks for sharing. I learned a lot from it.