Project 52 2012 (11/52): On The Game (And How It Works Like A Charm)

.:Project 52 2012 (11/52): On The Game (And How It Works Like A Charm):.

I've seen these people work their so-called magic in the local clubs in the metro. We've heard about them online, in men's magazines, even a few TV shows here and there. Internationally, we've seen them on VH-1. They seem to promise something too good to be true: the ability to pick up the woman of your dreams in minutes flat.

Except, I can safely tell you that it's not too good to be true. It works. Not all the time, obviously, but it works more often than it has any business to.

When I read "The Game" a few weeks ago while I was there in CamSur, I figured out that a lot of what Pickup Artists do is really the end result of massive trial and error processes acquired by the gurus over the years, even decades. These are men who have gotten slapped, doused with a lady's drink, or possibly worse, but when they're on, they are absolutely on. If anything, the most difficult part of becoming a true PUA isn't even the scripts or routines you need to memorize: it's the change of mindset that you need to undergo.

Most guys end up in the Average Frustrated Chump area simply because they don't know any better. It's easy to be polite and decent, but it's hard to remain that and be interesting at the same time. Sometimes, they even end up being mutually exclusive. Unless you're an out and out alpha male and liken yourself to a caveman altogether, it's going to take quite a bit of work mentally and psychologically just to get to a point where you're willing to fail. And with the willingness to fail, surprisingly, comes some modicum of success.

I never once questioned that PUA works. I figured that it does, but I didn't realize just how well it actually does. Aside from being articulate and not necessarily repulsive, I don't believe I have what it takes to sweep a woman off her feet within the first five minutes. I've been treated to the old "Let's just be friends" song and dance routine for far too many times than I can count. Yet, I can tell you this much: just by running, word for word, some of the canned routines from the book, I pretty much succeeded at initiating conversation with a relative stranger where I would've otherwise just stared at my feet endlessly.

I read up on one of the sequences used in the book by Ross Jeffries, and used the whole routine, word for word. It worked wonders. For a first try by someone who didn't even have hands-on training, much less a wingman, this was nothing short of phenomenal, and from that point on, while I know I still am unwilling to make the leap into full-on PUA (And the mindset that needs to come with it.), I was definitely interested at the ability to just break the ice and not come off as threatening or worse, creepy. It all just flows naturally, and if that's the only thing I could take from The Game, I'm already grateful enough for it.

Last week, I actually had the pleasure of meeting a new acquaintance, W, and she was showing her friend, T, around town, as she flew in from London. At some point, we arrived at Greenbelt, and sat in the middle of Cafe Havana just for the experience of it. At some point, we saw a few guys T found interesting, and talk went to having W wing for T. This was when I ended up feeding W the opener where she asks the guys from the table if men or women are the better liars.

So here's a woman who approaches guys who were more interested, in her own words, in "island souvenirs" than a Chinese girl. Someone who had zero experience with PUA, and ultimately, had no idea how to follow through once they got talking about the question.

You know what? She nailed it, and all T had to do was number close at the end.

Afterwards, I ended up bonding pretty well with The both of them, which is pretty good, considering I wasn't even trying to use any of the techniques on either of them, and instead, imparting them with the information.

The basics of PUA may be shady or objectionable to some people, but the mechanics behind it, particularly from Mystery's school, are social dynamics. It is in these dynamics we get to find a way to relate to other people, and we become less stilted, less nervous, and ultimately, less terrified of the opposite sex.

I honestly think there's a lot of good to be had from that.

Project 365 (44/365): Magic And PUA

.:44/365: Magic And PUA:.

There are a million and one approaches one can use as a pickup artist, but thanks to Mystery, magic has become one of the weapons of choice for a good chunk of the community. And really, who can blame them? If the girl is a sucker for magic, she’d be impressed and bedazzled. If she’s more of the logical type, it can result in very intellectual conversation that could yield dividends.

The art of picking up women may seem rather demeaning to women, but it’s actually not as simple as putting on airs and then seducing them with time to spare for a couple of drinks with the boys after. It’s something experts, both self-proclaimed and legitimate, have worked on for a long time, indeed.

Am I a fan of PUA? To be honest, not really. Despite that, I cannot help but emphasize how magic has evolved in time because of its association with PUA, to a large extent. There have been many routines before that have never seen the light of day as a routine that could be perceived as romantic. Thanks to PUA, these things have changed.

I won’t lose you in the terminologies and techniques involved in the art of picking up women. I don’t want to anger feminists and experts alike by divulging these “secrets” as it were, but what I feel people should know is that many magicians who delve in PUA find that their confidence level as performers cannot help but rise because of their ability to translate their magic skill into a means of generating interest from beautiful women.

As a working performer, I understand the need to find motivation and drive, and the need for a performer to be able to believe in himself and his skill. PUA can certainly help in this endeavour for some of us, albeit it’s easy to see that it’s not for everybody.

Project 365 (43/365): The Pua In Brief

.:43/365: The PUA In Brief:.

Face it. Magic and PUA are here to mix and match and stay that way.