How Expectations Are Interpreted [photo]

This was something I came across on Art of Manliness and found it to be so funny, yet SO true.

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Tough Love #6: Date Crimes

This continues my posts of Tough Love, a series of posts, giving direct advice to women based on the weekly VH1 show, Tough Love. If you have missed out on other posts, feel free to check out the other ones.

Week 1: Creating a First Impression
Week 2: Communication
Week 3: Being Sexy
Week 4: Daddy & Dating
Week 5: The Wow Factor
Week 6: Date Crimes

It has always been easy for women to prosecute men for their dating past. My dating past is not pristine and honestly, whose really is?

There are very few people who live the dating lives of angels and I personally think that is ok, as long as you are looking to and currently DO take action in making things better.

There really wasn’t much stuff here to talk about in this episode of Tough Love but I will talk about some of the crimes that the women of Tough Love were “on trial” for and how most men perceive these crimes to be on a scale from “not so bad” to “total dealbreaker.”

Cheating on your fiance: this particular type of cheating is pretty much the #1 dealbreaker for men. A reason why is one of the biggest fears in a guy is you reach a major point in a relationship where you think he's found the one and he proposes to you to be with him for the rest of his life.

You say yes and then as you two prepare for the rest of your lives together, you cheat on him with another guy? It’s just a terrible thing to do and it makes every guy wonder if you could EVER be in a committed relationship let alone more than that. At a certain age, that kind of offense will cripple you.

Destructively vengeful personality: once again, another serious deal-breaker. If you take pleasure in taking revenge on someone, especially one of the destruction of property nature, guys will NOT want to be in a relationship with someone who can’t control their emotions in a productive way.

What issues you may have, you need to be able to get them in check or seek a professional to help you. These kinds of issues will not hurt you with short-term relationships but if you’re looking for long-term, forget about it.

Dating a taken man AKA adultery: it takes two to tango and if you’re going after a man who is already taken (and you KNOW he’s unavailable), that is a red flag.

There are enough single, eligible men walking the earth that you don’t need to get into a relationship that is already made - I don’t care if it’s a breaking (broken) relationship. If it’s the attention you are seeking, you can get it elsewhere. It’s still cheating, even though you’re not the one in the relationship.

In these and other date crimes, they will all come back around and hurt you. Yes, I believe in karma, but that’s not the point. These types of consequences do NOT have to be in the form of the same act being done upon you. But they can play a factor in the reason why you may be still single now.

Any step to recovering from such crimes will have to deal with confronting them, being honest about them and most importantly learning from them.

Having said that, if you are looking for these types of date crimes or other potential red-flags from us guys, it’s better to be indirect with your approach when you’re initially dating someone. From there, once the two of you become more comfortable with each other, you can start being more direct about what you’d like to know or are concerned with.

We all deserve to be with someone that is going to treat us right. We’re human and we do accept mistakes. The major thing is being mature and learning from them so that those same mistakes don’t become patterns and restrict you from being deemed “dateable.”

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What Can a Date Coach Do For You?

This is something I came across that talks about why getting a dating coach is beneficial for ANYONE. I have been wanting to write about this for a while and thank goodness someone else beat me to it (and was able to nail it so that I didn't have to write it anyway). Credit goes to Eric Disco, the man over at Approach Anxiety for this great write up. I frequently read his blog because he and I share similar beliefs when it comes to personal development through dating.

A good coach can push you out of your comfort zone.

 No matter who you are, we all have a limited view of what’s possible, not only in others, but in ourselves.

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”

A coach can push you beyond what you thought is possible, in ways you can’t push yourself.

Sometimes it takes seeing and hearing another person do what you thought was impossible before you believe it’s possible to do it yourself.

A coach can give you an outside look at yourself that you can’t see.

If only we could see ourselves as others see us.

Well, a good coach can honestly tell you what’s working and what’s not working with what you’re doing.

Sometimes you think it’s one thing, and you keep working to change that, when in reality, it’s something completely different that’s holding you back.

It can be difficult to see what that thing is because you don’t see yourself in the action.  You only see how she’s reacting.  A coach can see both.

A good coach can pick out what is working.

There are probably already a number of things you’re doing right, things that are working for you.  And in your trial-and-error search to improve, you may stop doing some of those things.

A good coach will not only tell you what needs to be fixed, he will build up what’s already working.  That may be completely different than what works for someone else.

A good coach helps you prioritize.

A good coach can also tell you what is the most important thing you should be working on now.  He can pick out the thing that will have the most effect on our game.

I see it all the time with guys.  They want to fix 20 different things.  And because they’re newbies, I could easily pick out 20 things they could be doing differently.

But I don’t.

I find that one thing that is holding them back the most and we work on that together.

Throwing multiple things at a guy to work on will just leave him thinking about too much stuff.  And, worse, he’ll feel like he’s doing so many things wrong.

A good coach can help you start things out the right way.

For some guys, doing things the wrong way can be harmful.

A coach knows how to take you through the process in a way that works, is enjoyable and gets good reactions from women.

You’ll never get 100% good reactions from women no matter what coach you’re with.

But if you are pushing yourself too hard, too fast or in the wrong way, and getting mostly negative reactions from women, you start to build a “psychological armor” around yourself.

You become self-protective.  Women then react even more negatively to you. This makes you even more self-protective. A vicious cycle.

And the worst part about this is that you begin to anchor negative feelings with meeting strangers.

Conversely a good coach can gently push you out of your shell in a way that starts to get positive reactions from women.

This in turn builds your confidence. And you start to associate positive feelings with meeting strangers.

A coach can hold you accountable.

One of the best things about getting long-term coaching is that that you are reporting back to someone regularly about your progress.

That helps  keep you motivated to work on this stuff.

You push yourself that much more in between the times you see your coach.

Not only that, but your coach can help you set up goals and work toward those goals.

Without specific goals it’s very difficult to make progress.

A coach can teach you something you would have never learned on your own.

You may know a lot already.  You may be brilliant at some things.

The beauty of coaching is that you are allowed to go back to square one and pretend you don’t know anything.

Even me.

I got to soak up John’s knowledge as if I’d never done pickup a day in my life.

And it only made me that much better.

The women I was meeting were hotter than ever.  I was getting more dates.

I had so much less approach anxiety.  My relationships were deeper and more fulfilling.

I even became a better coach because of it.

Coaching WILL change your life, in ways you can only dream of.

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Boston Spotlight: PlanetTran

Finally Feel Good About Being Driven Around Boston

In the world of transportation service, there’s little I know except that I can pay for someone to drive me to where I’d like to go. But as you look deeper, there are different reasons we use different types of transportation services. Let’s look at a few.

Status: Sure, who DOESN’T want to be driven around in a nice car? Who DOESN’T want to say, “I’ll call my driver so he’ll pick us up later?” Having the ability to call a driver whenever you want and have him or her drive you to wherever you need shows that you’re not only cool but also have disposable income to afford it. Simple.

Convenience: Sometimes, you just don’t want to drive anywhere. Getting a rental or a ZipCar isn’t good enough because you know you’ll be busy all day and would just rather relax in the back of the car knowing you’ll still get home. Sometimes, it’s worth the convenience alone.

But what about contribution to the environment?

That’s where PlanetTran comes in.

PlanetTran is the nation’s first transportation service that only uses Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles. Available in San Francisco and in parts of New England, I can honestly say that this service could be a game changer in the transportation business.

“Am I going to be shuttled around in a Prius, though? Where’s the status in that?”

There is a chance you can be shuttled around in a Prius, yes. But you ARE being shuttled. You CAN request a more suitable hybrid. They do offer a Lexus hybrid (either the new HS or the GS hybrid). If you are carrying more people or things, they offer hybrid SUVs as well. I’m telling you, this is a great service for quick trips and late nights out with friends.

“So what REALLY makes PlanetTran different than any other service?”

Well, for one, EVERY vehicle is equipped with wi-fi. It’s pretty reliable and fast. I was really impressed when I discovered that. Some of the hybrids offer outlets too so you can potentially run a mini mobile office, which is awesome. Also, besides the fact that you’re doing good to the earth (we’ll get into that later), you get to talk to the driver, who will always seem to be the most jovial person. I love it especially when travel can be stressful. It’s always good to have someone there maintain a energetic, positive attitude.

There’s also this REALLY cool feature where you can track your carbon footprint by using the service. It gives you a summary of your gas reduction in pounds. See, even I am contributing.

 

Other things include the ability to book reservations online and by far, the best customer service of ANY transportation company.

Overall, the experience was GREAT. And if my testimony isn’t good enough, PlanetTran has the return rate to back it up - WELL over 95%.

I certainly will be using them again and you should too! So, thanks to PlanetTran, I get to offer you guys a special promotion!

From now until the end of February 2010, first-time users get 50% off their trip! Just go to PlanetTran to book your reservation and use the coupon code WINGMAN77 to redeem your discount!

This a GREAT opportunity for Boston travelers. And don’t worry, I make NOTHING off of this post and promotion. I just really like what PlanetTran represents.

And as an added bonus, I think this would be great to use when you're on a date. 

Happy travels!

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Tough Love #5: The Wow Factor

This continues my posts of Tough Love, a series of posts, giving direct advice to women based on the weekly VH1 show, Tough Love. If you have missed out on other posts, feel free to check out the other ones.

Week 1: Creating a First Impression
Week 2: Communication
Week 3: Being Sexy
Week 4: Daddy & Dating
Week 5: The Wow Factor

What truly gets a quality guys attention goes beyond looks. Many women may find this hard to believe because it’s been promoted all over that men consider looks first. And this is true.

But if you’re looking to REALLY get a guy’s attention and want him to keep you around for the long haul, there HAS to be more. For guys, it’s the wow factor.

Wow Factor: the one thing that makes you stand out and special that guys will rave about incessantly.

Men want to go crazy over something other than looks. When he talks to his boys about you, he doesn’t want to just talk about how hot you are.

He wants to rave about the one thing that makes you amazing - something that makes you rare, as if not many women in this world have this quality.

So let’s not think about looks for this one. Because it’s not about that. Men are much more intuitive than women give them credit for. Men can tell from body language, facial expressions, your tone of voice, what you share about yourself and the breadth of knowledge on certain topics of discussion what kind of person you are.

THAT will be the TRUE deciding factor if a guy sees you as long-term potential. Any guy who isn’t inquisitive to knowing who you are and your quirks is someone that you need to pay attention to as to what his motive truly is.

If you know you do something special, exploit that. Guys want to see what you bring to the table that makes you unique. And remember that talents are all about showing personality. What you may think is a great talent, a guy may not care and that has EVERYTHING to do with what HE’S looking for and NOTHING about who YOU are as a person.

There is someone out there that totally loves the fact that you can open a bottle of beer with your teeth or that you know the capitals of every state in the US. Don’t be ashamed of what you bring to the table. Which leads to a point I need to make.

Negativity is NOW a dealbreaker. In a world filled with, hate, negativity and bad news wherever you go, YOU need to be the shining light in your life and to others. If you keep saying that you “can’t” do this, “won’t” do that or just not willing to be open-minded about things, you will LOSE. Period.

Have confidence in who you are and have a positive outlook. In other words, bring the E & O. And honestly, in this world, that’s a rare quality to see in women.

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Tough Love #4: Daddy and Dating

This continues my posts of Tough Love, a series of posts, giving direct advice to women based on the weekly VH1 show, Tough Love. If you have missed out on other posts, feel free to check out the other ones.

credit: vh1.com

credit: vh1.com

Week 1: Creating a First Impression

Week 2: Communication

Week 3: Being Sexy

Week 4: Daddy & Dating

This should NOT be a revelation for many women. A woman’s relationship with their father is a huge reflection on their relationships (or lack thereof) with the guys in their life.

Many doctors have said this and it doesn’t hurt to keep talking about it because many women may not know how to break through this major hurdle in their dating lives.

A woman’s relationship with her father tells just as much as a man’s relationship with his mother. I was never REALLY aware of this until later on in life and even then, I was very ignorant of it.

With many girlfriends who didn’t have great relationships with their fathers, I always let it slide, thinking that it was something else that I just didn’t understand.

Little did I realize that there was a strong connection between the two.

To make a giant leap towards getting through such a difficult sticking point, you have to reconcile with your father about the relationship (or lack thereof) and how it has affected your LIFE, let alone your dating life.

This reconciliation can range from writing your emotions down and reading them to a peer group to actually confronting him and saying these things to him (granted, he’s still alive or around).

These kinds of things can affect someone’s entire life without them even knowing, just from the decisions they make, how they react to situations and how they manage relationships both intimate and platonic.

When I was growing up, I had shitty relationships with my older siblings and it affected me when I was in school. I got picked on all the time and had NO idea how to even go about sticking up for myself.

Then when I got into my first fight in elementary school, I put someone in sling for a couple weeks, I realized something was wrong, but never knew what to do about it so I bottled up whatever it was inside. Before my older sister left for college, she left a letter for me apologizing for the way she treated me and actually loved having me as a little brother.

That made me feel amazing and I knew that my sister wanted to be involved in my life. Fortunately, my relationships with my older siblings have dramatically improved since I started high school and have been awesome since.

I have been able to learn a lot from my experiences, both past and present and use what I have learned to HELP my relationships grow and not sabotage them anymore. For that, I am grateful.

--

As an aside, there was also a point of making sure that you and the guy you are with are on the same page. You have to make sure that the guy you are with aligns with what you want and what you are looking for (in a future sense).

DO NOT let a cute face distort what you hear. If you are looking to settle down and he’s looking to find someone to party with, you have to be able to know the difference and understand that it’s not good for what you want.

Sure, he’s good looking and he’s saying and doing all of the right things, but that’s only good for RIGHT NOW. He won’t be good for LATER and in turn leave you back at Square One, frustrated and with a higher sense of insecurity that will certainly go into the next relationship you start or at the very least show with the next guy you meet.

Keep your ears free from filters and understand the difference between what you are hearing and what you are actually seeing.

The Wingman Guide to Texting Women

Let me preface by saying that you should NOT use texting to avoid getting on the phone. If anything, you should use texting to get her on the phone. If the relationship is going to go anywhere, you’re going to have to use the phone so you might as well make the two of you get comfortable now.

“What do I do when I get a woman’s number from the bight before? When do I contact her? Do I text her? Do I call her?”

If you go out and get a phone number from a woman, DO NOT text her. CALL HER. The art of calling a woman the next day is lost but women still appreciate it more than just a text. If she doesn’t answer the phone and it goes to voicemail, you can either leave one OR you can text her. It’ll appear less needy and if she’s busy, chances are, she’ll text you back because it’s easier. Sounds silly and counter-intuitive, but believe me, it works.

“What do I text her?”

When you text her, you want to send her a text that is going to make her WANT to text you back – or better yet, CALL you. Texting, “What’s up?” or “Hey, it’s Thomas. What are you up to?” is NOT going to really make her want to text you back. It’s just like when you’re dating online. Most women will NOT even open an email that reads, “Hi,” in the subject. BUT they will open an email that says something interesting or references something that shows he’s read her profile.

When you text her, it would be best if you texted her something that referred to what you two talked about last night. For example, if you two were talking about tea, you could text her, “Hey, I just had this amazing loose leaf tea today. You won’t believe what flavor it was!” A text like that may spark some curiosity and may get her to text you back.

“How do I flirt through text?”

It’s all about silly and playful banter. You just want to demonstrate that you are a funny, easy-going guy that knows how to have fun. Just like you would be flirty face-to-face, you can do it through texting. Instead of respond to her, “What are you up to?” text by saying, “Nothing much,” bring some energy and talk about how exciting your life is right now. An example would be, “Oh, man. The weirdest thing happened to me earlier today.”

“What should I NOT do?”

If you two haven’t really talked on the phone yet, you don’t want to have conversation over text. It’s silly, weird and the two of you she’ll be thinking, “Why doesn’t he just call me?”

In terms of response time, I say reply in your own time. This will dispel any gamesmanship. If you’re busy, you don’t have an obligation to answer if you can’t. If you CAN, then do so. Nowadays, no one REALLY thinks that answering quickly is a sign of desperation. I always get surprised when someone answers QUICKER than I expect him or her to, but I never get uninterested. It lets me know that he or she is engaged.

Don’t send too many text messages. Like any normal conversation, it requires two people. Don’t be text heavy. When you text, wait for her to respond. If she doesn’t respond, wait a while before you text her again. Texting her often is the same as emailing, calling or seeing someone too often. It becomes overbearing and unattractive.

“Can I ask someone out through text?”

Once again, I would rather CALL someone and make the plans. However, if you are non-committal and just want to see if she wants to hang out while you’re out, then you can text her. It’s all about context. If you’re going to the museum, you can ask to see if she wants to tag along through text. If she says no, that’s fine. You’re STILL going to the museum. But don’t ask her out on a romantic date through text. CALL her and make those plans since going to dinner is contingent on her saying yes. 

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Tough Love #3: Being Sexy

This continues my posts of Tough Love, a series of posts, giving direct advice to women based on the weekly VH1 show, Tough Love. If you have missed out on other posts, feel free to check out the other ones.

Week 1: Creating a First Impression
Week 2: Communication
Week 3: Being Sexy

crdit:  vh1.com

crdit:  vh1.com

In an episode that had more drama than average (if that’s even possible), it could be hard to find decent pearls of wisdom, but it’s possible.

To me, the key to being sexy is confidence. Just like a guy needs to project confidence to make him sexy, women MUST do the same thing.

And guys can tell if you’re trying too hard, just like women can tell when guys do it. And just like women, men are turned off by it.

What does being sexy and confident mean?

Being comfortable in your own skin, understanding what makes you attractive and subtly showing it off in a playful, yet intriguing way that makes you desirable.

For many women, that may mean to dress younger (to attract younger men) when in fact, they are in their late 30s. For some, that may mean to show excessive cleavage because they have the boobs to show them off. For others, that may mean to just wear tight, skimpy clothing.

None of those things are true and could be the reasons why you attract the men you don’t want in your life. It’s important that you to get out your own ways if you want to attract men you actually want in your life. Changing the way you look to project a different message is just one of those ways.

In a conversation that I had with my class over the weekend, one woman asked me what she could do to let a guy know that it’s ok to kiss her. I started to talk about how it’s important to be a little more aggressive in giving him hints and as soon as I said that, she was a little against it because she thought it was always the guy’s responsibility to make the move.

In many ways, I agree. But we also live in a world of giving and taking. If a woman won’t make even a subtle move, how is it fair to expect that the guy to do it, ESPECIALLY when he may not even be able to pick up the signals that it’s ok to?

All I’m saying is that if you want a guy to kiss you, you need to kiss him – strategically. You don’t have to kiss him on the lips. You can kiss him on the cheek OR you can go a little further by kissing him on the corner of lips.

Either way, it WILL tell the guy that you are making it ok for him to kiss you where you really want to be kissed – on the lips.

Projecting that kind of confidence can be infinitely sexy to men, especially when you do it in a way that is respectable.

Wingman Approved or Unapproved? You Decide

A question from a local nightlife worker

Hey, I remember you said something about things to do in your service industry to meet people you're interested in...Please share.

John
Boston, MA

Hey John!

Here is link to the episode of WingmanTV that talked about this in true detail.

Episode #8: How to Pick Up a Bartender

In the meantime, here are some good tips:

1. Always be friendly with everyone (I know this is your job but some people do actually forget.). Give special attention to the women you are interested in. When I mean special attention, I don't mean special treatment. Just talk to her and her friends more every chance you get. To be honest, it all starts from the moment you check her ID. Be playful and have a sense of spirit. The more cool you seem, the more likely she’ll want to come outside and hang with you when she smokes or joins her friends . Since you work the front door, you are a man of authority and inherently attractive. Use that to your advantage.

2. If you think someone is interested in you, let her know when you are usually working the door she knows when you two can see each other again.

3. If you want to ask her out or get her number, since you can't really be messing around with the phone while you work (or can you? I don't know), tell her to put down YOUR number and then have her text you her name. It's easy, simple and very discreet.

Those should be some good starters. Let me know if that helps.

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Tough Love #2: Communication

These posts are based on the reality TV series Tough Love. I don’t actually talk about what takes place on the show but I will talk about what women can learn from each episode’s theme. See the other themes that I talk about.

Episode #1: Creating a First Impression

credit: blog.vh1.com

credit: blog.vh1.com

Communication is the cornerstone of any successful relationship. Without it, you really don’t have any type of relationship. And like any form of communication, it’s a two-way street.

No message would be interpreted if there were no one on the other side. Think of it this way.

When you call someone, you expect him or her to answer.

There are different types of communication that I talk about all the time, one being physical communication (also known as body language). This is the communication most people can’t understand or portray properly.

If you can’t physically express how you feel, you’re not saying about 70% of what needs to be said and chances are, the person across from you doesn’t understand you. Really be conscious about the messages you are sending with your body and make sure you are saying what you want.

If you are having problems with body language, get a wingman or wingwoman to go out with you and see what you are doing. It’s a good first step in finding out if you are sending the right signals.

One thing that I have noticed with most of my female clients is that her insecurity constantly shows every time a man gives her a compliment.

Once, maybe twice, a man will find that she’s modest and cute. Three, four, maybe seven times, he’ll be turned off by it and may start to hesitate to give her more compliments and wonder why she doesn’t receive them well.

Instead of brushing the compliment off, acknowledge it by doing this. SMILE and say thank you.

Lastly, I cannot stress this enough. Most guys will agree with me here, as well. It is quintessential that as a woman, you are confident about your natural look. Having tons of makeup on is FAR from sexy.

It tells men that you are insecure about your look or are overcompensating your beauty for something else that you don’t want men to know. These days, anything extremely artificial can lose you points. Natural beauty is in.

The true sexiness is being able to embrace your natural beauty, taking care of yourself and maintaining it.