The three fundamentals of lifestyle, action & communication.

In Episode #497 of 'Musings', Juan & I discuss: the core idea of “true confidence” versus the old-school “fake it till you make it confidence” pickup playbook, startling a girl at the gym, how polarisation beats bland small talk, whether beginners sometimes need the “false confidence” phase to accrue the experiences that later support authenticity, why intent and adaptability matter more than scripts, the value of becoming excellent at something you love and how to balance strategic awareness with honest expression.

Huge shoutout to Cole McCormick for the support, very much appreciated!

Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals

Timeline:
(00:00:00 ) Intro
(00:01:53 ) Mark Manson's Models: background, blogging days and pickup context
(00:04:54 ) False confidence vs true confidence
(00:08:33 ) Three pillars: honest lifestyle, honest action, honest communication
(00:12:55 ) Kyrin's journey: from late starter to learning via pickup playbooks
(00:16:45 ) Advice from the top of the mountain vs beginner-friendly steps
(00:18:36 ) Metrics and outcomes: approaches, numbers, dates, and what actually matters
(00:21:50 ) Attraction & age
(00:31:30 ) Boostagram Lounge: AI as authority, crowd wisdom, and cautious use
(00:35:29 ) Honest lifestyle: hygiene, fitness, fashion and living for yourself
(00:40:42 ) Optimising lifestyle for dating vs for self-alignment
(00:46:47 ) Honest action: courage, anxiety and desensitisation via reps
(00:50:21 ) Flow state approaches and environment effects
(00:53:00 ) Polarisation over blandness: getting real reactions
(00:56:40 ) Language gaps, wordplay and making conversations less bland
(01:00:04 ) Honest communication: intent, games and assertiveness
(01:03:22 ) Short-term vs long-term communication styles and intent
(01:06:21 ) Pure honesty vs strategy: how far to plan interactions
(01:11:41 ) Personal hurdles: eye contact, smiling, and difficult topics
(01:15:06 ) Final take on Models: OK book, actionable lists veer into game
(01:17:52 ) Curiosity: reading the female-perspective playbooks next
(01:21:33 ) What is actually attractive? Avoid over-optimising the wrong signals

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