Letters to the Editor
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"I'm considering buying one or more of these books "
I sympathize with shy people. I really do. I used to be a shy person. However, why buy the course ($5000) when one can buy the book, and why buy the book when you can go to the library, and, if your library doesn't have it, there is always interlibrary loan?
It is what this guy is charging that appalls me.
A little confession. I have an interest in Chinese metaphysics. I could pay thousands of bucks to learn mostly bogus shamanistic things that probably are superstitious at best and out right rip-offs at worst. I learned a long time ago that if you go to the right websites you can get most this stuff for free. Never pay for what you can get for free.
Here is where some of this "Mystery" stuff comes from: philosophy (as previously mentioned), psychology, evolutionary psych lite, magic techniques, NLP, stagecraft, rock stars, and many predecessors who tell guys how to pick up girls.
Go get a few books on reading body language and Neuro-Linguistic Programming and you will learn much that Mystery has to teach. Then PRACTICE what you have learned. Remember that there is no magic confidence pill. People build confidence slowly by increasing their self-worth by means of their actions. (Personally, I prefer MORAL behavior, but I don't begrudge a few tricks if you can't dazzle by means of being you.)
However, remember that Mystery has spent years perfecting the persona he now markets. He is 6'several inches tall. He is good looking. He is a magician. Of course he can pick up women. Give him credit where it is due, but get the info on the cheap. Or watch the show if you don't mind mixing some fiction with your facts.
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"lasts on average for 45 mins in the sack"
Not an inconsiderable talent. ;D
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Feathery hat
One look at that hat and I don't know how any intelligent woman (or man for that matter) could keep from laughing out loud.
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re: "Remember that there is no magic confidence pill."
On the contrary, there's a lot of evidence that confidence and lack of social inhibition is pretty well related to the well-studied neural monoamine machinery ...
Magic confidence pills? Amphetamines and cocaine will increase confidence rapidly? So will developing a hypomanic state. So will MAOI antidepressants.
"False" confidence? Not really.
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Mommy Issues Stay Away
Ah, "Mystery" (why do Z-list sex industry workers love that "von" in their assumed name? Dita Von Teese? and now this sad man? What, are they royal pains in the ass?) is certainly a catch, n'est pas? Like another reader said, his questioning of the reporter regarding if she went to clubs says it all. Special sexy time Borat ingredient: alcohol. Also, male peacocks are beautiful naturally; this guy is trying out for the Goth version of "Big Top Pee Wee". Uggh!
It is not surprising he remained a virgin until 21; I can't imagine what his mother was like to him. Most likely she wasn't around. He talks about relationships like games of chess, with women being the pawns. He keeps sputtering on about some pseudo Evolutionary Psychology that is sheer bollocks versus any psychology that would involve thought, feelings and a look at why people remain in a state of arrested development. His behavior is that of an 18 year old....with a score to settle.
Anyhoo, let's see what Goth man on psychedelics is like in 10 years. He's gonna be slower, more tired and less on his "game". I hope he realizes before it's too late that he was the one who has been playing himself all these years by this compulsion to act out a teen sex fantasy that is desperately stale.
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Lack of communication
While there may be something to the whole Mystery guy thing I think a lot of the initial issues around getting things going (the pick-up, if you will) come down to lack of communication. In my experience, particularly with smarter (and often more straight-laced) women, they may think they are throwing out really clear signs but alas, it doesnt come across loud and clear to a guy nearly as well as a slightly less educated but socially more aware woman who knows you need a little help. I have no problem as a guy making that first move, asking for dates, kisses, what have you, but clearer communication, especially since its likely a non-bar setting (alot of said straight laced women dont drink) would take "mystery" out of it and everybody would go home happy. Either that or dump the straight laced women- that works too.
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Uh...
Can someone explain to me how it is some great feat to sleep with drunk girls roaming the Los Angeles dating "scene"? It never seemed all that challenging...
Also, "Venusian Arts" is about the dorkiest thing I've ever read. God, what a weiner this guy must be in real life.
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Nice guys and Mystery's "art"
Late picking up this thread, and only got to the starred comments, but wanted to chime in. Hopefully I'm not being redundant here...
Regarding "nice guys", they do just fine. By nice I mean considerate, secure and genuinely interested in the world and the people around them. Neediness automatically disqualifies you, because it's so transparently self-interested.
Then you've got Mystery, the former D&D player, turned magician, turned LA pickup artist extraordinaire and motivational speaker who is positively Bush-like in his need to clarify his "reality" for his critics--can there be a more perfect man for our times?! How about Mystery in '08?!
But I will add, the guy's technique fares badly in print. His talent is sleight of hand. Trying to pull off his seduction trick in print is like trying to make a quarter disappear with 360-degree NFL-style replay.
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What Seducer Isn't Artful in Some Way?
I mean if the only thing a man is interested in is getting laid, and he has to convince someone in a very short period of time to sleep with him, aren't some shortcuts and "tricks" necessary?
I agree that some women would not go for Markovik's schtick for more than 30 seconds, because they have already seen the "act" before. (Any woman who remembers the 70's knows that a guy who asked "What's your sign?" was pretty much telling you that he was only going to "love" you for one night, or should have.) However, if that is the case, then they know what they are dealing with and can either take the bait, or walk away. It's like the guy who hands out flyers on the street. Some people will refuse them outright, some will take them and immediately throw them away, and some might actually call the toll-free number. Sooner or later they will get a "hit" so the game is worth it.
Even in a bar situation there are going to be people looking for different things. Markovik did not give his success rate, or if he did, I missed it, but I get the feeling he knows pretty quickly when he should just move on to the next woman.
As for why women go for the "bad boys," one reason is because they are so appreciated by our culture. Many men admire the "love 'em and leave 'em types" and the model for this type of man has been mostly built up in the movies and music. The problem with modeling a real life on movies and music and even books is that these modes thrive on conflict, because it is more dramatic, or funny, or tragic. The resolution part is always left to our imaginations.
So bad boys are a challenge. Even women like a challenge now and then. Most women have their "challenges" and move on, if they are not dumped first. Most bad boys have a pretty good radar that tells them they are going to get dumped if they don't dump first. That's part of the game too. Most people figure out that a couple of wins and a draw are good enough and stop playing games.
So what if Markovik is telling most men (or women) things they already know? There are always going to be people "coming of age" who don't, and this type of stuff might get them on the dating grid, so they can get some sexual experience. After that, they can decide where they want their relationships to go. Some might develop the confidence for the long term relationship they want, or some might play the game until the day they die.