You replay the conversation at 2 a.m. She texted back fast yesterday. Today, nothing. Was that smile friendly or flirty? What did the shoulder touch mean?
Every hour you spend decoding her signals drains your confidence and hands her the controls. Women can sense that insecurity from across the room — and it repels them.
One of the "22 Rules" kills the obsession on the spot: assume she likes you, and act accordingly. Sounds too simple. Works anyway.
Her interest tends to rise to meet your expectations. Psychologists call it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You've replayed it a hundred times. She stood three feet away, scrolling her phone. You had an opening. You composed the perfect line — after she was gone.
For all you know, she's married now. To some guy who said something. Anything.
Openers are cheap. Almost any sentence works when it's delivered within three seconds. The expensive part is the standing there, drafting and deleting, while the window quietly closes.
The "22 Rules" stripped out my hesitation. What to open with, how to keep it alive, and the one habit that costs guys more women than anything else: waiting for perfect.
I could talk to any woman I wasn't attracted to. Charming, funny, relaxed. Then a gorgeous woman looked my way and I'd become a sweating, babbling mess.
The fix took me years to find and ten minutes to learn. Nervousness and excitement are the same physical state — pounding heart, adrenaline, flushed face. Your brain just picks the label. And you can pick a better one.
Rule 16 shows you how. You feel the nerves, relabel them as excitement, and let that energy pour out as enthusiasm. Women notice the guy radiating it. They always do.
Just out of interest, is there a list like this that is for eastern countries. This is the western list, and a good one.Here are some classic works that are often recommended as essential reading for men, in no particular order:
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
You made your case like a lawyer. Stable job. Good guy. Ready for something real. All true. All irrelevant.
She weighed your points, nodded along, felt nothing — then fell hard for some tattooed bartender with a motorcycle and a gambling problem.
Logic is where attraction goes to die. The "22 Rules" work a level deeper, on the subconscious switches that decide within minutes whether you register as a MAN or as part of the furniture.
Stop presenting evidence. Start flipping switches.
If enough people believe a lie, the lie becomes reality.Two made up books hahahahaha gtfo man
You wanna say all of the other books mentioned are actual real stories? :OTwo made up books hahahahaha gtfo man
I've read them both, and I'm atheist.Two made up books hahahahaha gtfo man
I've read all of those - apart from 3... (Hundred Years of Solitude, Old Man and the Sea, and Count of Monte Cristo) - Yet!I wonder how many here have even read one of them and probably for high school English![]()
Read 6.I wonder how many here have even read one of them and probably for high school English![]()
Next Monday you'll feel more confident. After the gym you'll feel more confident. After one more drink you'll feel more confident. After you get a better haircut, a better jacket, a better job.
You've been "getting ready" for two years.
She's standing ten feet away right now. She'll be gone in four minutes. No amount of preparation will manufacture the courage that only comes from moving your feet.
Walk over. Stumble through the first sentence. Let it be clumsy. Let it be imperfect. You will feel more alive in those ten seconds than you have all month.
There is a Steinbeck museum in Salinas. Not too far from the SF Bay Area. Fantastic museum. Inspired me to read East of Eden. Which was great. I visited Cannery Row in Monterey & read the book. I didn’t like it. Watched GoW in HS.Here are some classic works that are often recommended as essential reading for men, in no particular order:
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
There are Mark Twain sites in the Sierra Foothills here in CA that I’ve visited. Also. in Hannibal, MO (which I’ve been to) Lots of MT stuff. I read MT as a teen.Here are some classic works that are often recommended as essential reading for men, in no particular order:
- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I am a huge HPL fan. I hope to visit some HPL sites in New England someday.I've read all of those - apart from 3... (Hundred Years of Solitude, Old Man and the Sea, and Count of Monte Cristo) - Yet!
Admittedly, Macbeth was in School, for English Lit. class - We also read a couple of Steinbecks in school, 'Of Mice and Men', and 'Cannery Row'.
I have read some Shakespeare since school.
Other Dostoevskys: 'The Idiot', and 'Brothers Karamazov' are great.
I tend to read mostly Sci-Fi/Fantasy for recreation, but am slowly catching up with 'classics' that I've missed....
I do enjoy the Terry Pratchett Discworld books - Isaac Asimov, HP Lovecraft, HG Wells, Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein...
Of the more modern SciFi writers: Neil Gaiman, Frank Herbert, Phillip D!ck, Neal Stephenson...
A few Sci-Fi recommendations:
Neal Stephenson - 'Snow Crash', 'Nebula', 'Quicksilver'.
Robert Heinlein - 'Stranger in a Strange Land', 'Moon is a Harsh Mistress', 'Double Star', 'Starship Troopers' (original is NOTHING like the movie)
H.P. Lovecraft - 'The Colour out of Space', 'Pickman's Model', 'Rats in the Walls', 'Whisperer in Darkness' (Though I never really got into his 'Cthulhu' stuff which does get referenced in 'WiD')
Oh, and Clive Barker - Pretty much anything by him if you're into richly detailed and elaborate, fantasy worlds.
(I have a signed copy of 'The Hellbound Heart' - The original novel which spawned the 'Hellraiser' movies)
I've read 8 all in English classesI wonder how many here have even read one of them and probably for high school English![]()
That sentence contains at least five follow-up questions she WANTS you to ask. Where in Florida? What brought you here? How long have you been in the area? What do you miss? How does it compare to here?
She handed them to you on a silver platter. And you said, "Oh cool. I come here every week. I love this band. Ummm... pretty crowded tonight."
She smiled politely. Nodded. And never texted you back.
I was that guy for years. Talking too much. Listening too little. Panicking about my next sentence while she was literally feeding me the answers.
Then I found 22 rules that fixed the whole thing. Rule number one: shut up and listen. She'll tell you exactly what to say.