Over the past decade I’ve blazed my own trail and in the process became estranged from my family. I never felt like I had a place in my parents home or that they had much interest in my well being when i was growing up, so at 18 I basically shipped out and haven’t spoken to many family members more than a handful of times in the past decade.

This is something that weighs heavy in my mind and heart. My grandma is ill so i’m flying across the US to see her and my parents at the end of this week. I’ll be in my hometown for six days before traveling south to see another relative for a few days, then i’ll fly back to the west coast.

My goal for this trip is to forgive the family members that i’ve resented for so long, and to seek their forgiveness for me being so distant. I want to clear the air and start fresh. It’s important to me that I do this before I jet off for long term travel around the world within the next 7-12 months.

I’m wondering if anyone else here can relate to the tendency to withdraw from close family relations. How do you keep in touch while you’re traveling? Do you find yourself going months or years without talking to your parents/siblings/ extended family?

Im begining to put my mind to an Eastern Europian trip once this stint of work is over. I'm not a complete stranger to Eastern Europe, having been to Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Russia, but Ive never gamed there. In fact, I've not even got myself an Eastern European flag! My aim is to change that.

A bit of context - I'm British, 30 years, white, tall, workout but not ripped. Definitely not a model. Got myself 65 notches and 16 flags to date, so not a complete novice but no international playboy.

My main strength in online game. Having read the threads on Eastern European countries here it seems online is tougher than say SEA or Latin America, perhaps because white guys stand out less? Anyway, if online game is your strength where in Eastern Europe is best to get that flag?

Hoping to create a bit of discussion about what you guys believe the ideal age range is for a guy traveling to different cities/countries/regions. These should just be ideal ages, not hard rules. 

Let's take Southeast Asia for example - party islands such as Koh Phi Phi, Koh Phangan, Gili Trawangan and even certain parts of Bali are ideal if you are under 25, whereas a city like Manila are probably more suited to an older crowd as the age difference doesn't matter as much. 

Likewise in Europe a 40-year-old baller is going to have a lot more success in a city like Kiev than he would in a place like Magaluf or Zante.

Obviously there will be people that say age doesn't matter but there are definite advantages to being a young guy or an older guy in different parts of the world. 

So with that in mind, what are your ideal age ranges to visit different parts of the world?

Like sugar. A sweet poison that is slowly killing us. We're all addicted to it and we don't even know it.

When that 6, that is infatuated with you because you took her virginity, treats you like a god, you won't appreciate it. How can you? She's just a 6. There's more of them around the corner...and 7s, 8s and 9s. It doesn't matter how well she treats you, how smart she is, how feminine, how warm, how well you click...you can't see it and you don't care. There's always more, always the next hit of a new notch, the dopamine fix of seduction and conquest. New, hotter, younger. ...Better? Not better. The next fix of your addiction. Abundance.

"There is no "one". There are some good ones and there are a lot of bad ones.

But there are some rare ones. This is the top end of your checklist optimization. 
You don't get a shot at this every weekend at the club.
And it's not the fitness model you're thinking about.

In a finite lifespan, abundance is not practical. 

If you're chasing the high, the time investment is minimal. In and out. How long until the next fix? Too long? NEXT
Prolonged seduction? Achieved. NEXT

Blinded by pursuit of the high, the illusion of achievement, you miss reality. It's not your fault you didn't see it, it's the repetition, the training, the hundreds of hours spent perfecting your craft, the constant adding and subtracting of plates...it's now second nature, like breathing.

Pleasure and happiness are not the same thing.

There's a big difference between being 27 and being with a 20 year old and being 35 with a 20 year old. It's a generational gap that can't simply be filled by temporary lust. 

"Show me a hot chick and I'll show you a guy whos tired of banging her." 

Every time a woman sleeps with a new man she loses a piece of her soul. Women associate sex with emotion. She is forever changed from that moment on for every relationship she will ever have going forward. Sleep with enough men and she turns into a soulless husk with that 1000 cock stare in her eyes. Empty, cold, lacking of empathy, completely devoid of all innocent girlish charm she once had...jumping from one 6 month fling to a rebound to the next 6 month fling, to the next rebound....round and round it goes until she's spent, sapped of her youth, beauty and femininity. The career and the state becomes the replacement. An outlet to fill the hole of the longing to be needed. The self rationalization that this is all that is left. Now they have sex like men. If they can get it. Abundance.

Men too lose something along the way...not every time they sleep with a new partner, but every time they allow themselves to love. Every time "one" slips through the cracks, slips through the armor, the chinks and pierces the true sacrifice ready, fall on your sword, romantic. Until you've lost enough that you swallow the bitter red pill and the cycle continues. Perfect your craft, plow em good. Focus on you, improve thy self and reap the rewards, whatever they may be. 

At the end of the day, there's not much regret letting go of the 10 with a mediocre personality but that 5 who treated you like a god will forever remain a part of you. You were more than just a prize, you were the world she has built in her imagination come true. And she showed it. Did you notice it? Then or now?

Now try downgrading from a girl who's universe is you to one who see's you as a means to add to her own.

The value proposition.

They all look like 5s in the end.  

This isn't some purple pill bullshit. I'm not not advocating marrying single moms. All women really are like that. The question is: the few and far between that are positioned on the lower end of the hypergamous merry go round, ones that fit your personal beliefs and personality type, will you be able to identify them in time? Or will they be discarded bruised and broken?

There are no ideals. There is no perfection. What do you sacrifice? Virginity vs looks? Personality vs experience? The feels vs practicality?
Do you know? And if you do, would you be able to recognize it, amidst the revolving door?

What's the answer? That's for you to figure out. Have a plan. Stop. Think. Reflect. Execute.

Too easy to return to the familiar. The club, the street, the pursuit of the same day bang. The endless carousel. The dopamine withdrawal. Until the poison has eaten away your spirit and you're sick with diabetes from the sweet sugar you've been injecting into your veins for so long. At least it tastes good...right?


Abundance is trap.

Good day everyone. Before going further, allow me to apologize for the content of my thread, as I am aware it is not in conformity with “Swoop the World” guidelines. I believe “Swoop” is an amazing alternative to the now defunct RVF and properly moderated. Please feel free to delete the thread if you believe it sends the wrong message, as I fully understand. I admit I should have counted to 10 (not happy at the moment with RVf) before sending; however, believe what I have to say may be of value to some on the thread. Will do my best not to go overboard.
 
To give a small history about me, I am close to 40, graduated from Stanford with an MEng in Electrical Engineering. Did a one-year internship in solar energy and received certification to perform services as a solar energy engineer; now working for a global renewable energy firm in SF, California. I am rarely stateside nowadays, as I am generally working in some developing country, somewhere. I have worked on most continents save Antarctica, spending the vast preponderance of time in Africa (mainly East Africa).  
 
I have never been one to have much time to engage in online forums, however, I stumbled upon the RVF and thought to share my experiences as they related to spending time in Kampala, Uganda. Much of my time there, I described as “vacation in a hurry” as I was generally working as well during most of my visits, although visited several times for pleasure as well. Posing on RVF, I quickly found there were other men who hoped to travel to Africa one day as well, as those who had many questions as they too were of interest. I found the dialogue very engaging and rewarding being able to communicate and information share with others who had an affinity for the Ugandan ladies as did I. It was truly amazing how long lived and information-rich the thread became. I finally bowed out as I was quite simply spending too much time (which I do not have) on the forum.
 
Recently, I returned to see how the thread was progressing, also seeing a Ukraine thread which interested me. Although I did not plan on spending too much time there, I made a couple of posts which drew the ire of a couple of the forums “experts” who attacked every word I stated. I confused “Starbucks” with “Kredens” at one point, which resulted in a couple of the members reporting me for “spreading misinformation” (LOL, I couldn’t make this stuff up). I then received a warning from RVF’s co-called moderator who warned me of “spreading misinformation”. I admit, my time in the Ukraine was many years back and did become confused, however, could not understand the issue of confusing a coffe shop? I then replied back to the RVF moderator to explain to him this seemed unusual and excessive to me. My question to the moderator was that the two members were using profanity, taunting me and behaving childish, obviously adolescent boys creating chaos? I received an unbelievable response from the moderator which stated the following:
 
“Your forum account is currently banned. Ban Reason: Viciously attacking admin, emotional breakdown (unstable) after warning. Ban will be lifted: NEVER!!!”
 
It became immediately apparent to me that the patients were running the asylum. I doubt this was Roosh sending the message; however, obviously some youngster who had a “bromance” with the two members who had reported me. Having fun at my expense apparently, because they can. My thought is that Roosh plans to disband the forums in their entirety before much longer which possess “hook-up” content, as I believe his agenda has transitioned to something quite different. At first I simply shrugged this off, however, thought a response was merited in the dismissive manner they have been behaving.
 
To the meat-and-potatoes of my post, it is my supposition that Roosh severely misjudged the members who participated in, or frequented his forum. I had the opportunity to come to know a couple of the members, and both white-collar professionals, who were very successful professionally. One of the gentlemen had attended college on a partial-Lacrosse scholarship now working in finance, and the other as an administrator for a well-known national construction/development firm. My point is, both these men have many options in life, however, like myself and all of you, enjoyed the information sharing gleaned from many of the forums. In other words, not the socially awkward individuals that many with an alternative lifestyle vehemently protest they are…. not even close.
 
Having said this, it is my observation that Roosh did not give this benefit of the doubt to the preponderance of his members; however, in fact, agreed albeit silently with his largest critics. My reasoning for stating so, was his dismissive manner toward many of the members. Often banning members for something as simple as not agreeing with general information issues, as it hurt his ego or as importantly (to him anyhow), his agenda. I do not begrudge Roosh for struggling with women, as he seemed to have several more losses than wins. Case-and-point, a former work associate of mine has retired and now living in Lviv, Ukraine. He refers to it as an adult Disney land and often sends me photos of the ladies he is courting that week. Granted, good-looking guy, well-heeled and a posh renovated (large 4BR) apartment near the cities center. He believes he is in the promised land, however, Roosh seemed to struggle in Ukraine constantly. My friend followed Roosh as he was living in Ukraine, and familiar with the talk-show interview Roosh did in Ukraine. He made mention of the part which showed Roosh taking his passport and waving it for all to see with this big goofy smile, which took “nerdism” to a new level. Not sure I completely agree with that, however, certainly did not place him in a good light, nor American men with Ukrainian ladies.
 
Look, Roosh was definitely not God’s gift to women; however, he provided a very valuable online platform that allowed those with valuable information based on their life’s experiences with various cultures and travels, to convene in one central location that they could meet and learn from one another. I believe we can all agree, much of what Roosh stated was comical at best, and certainly was not the stratagems that men require to be successful in their pursuit of high-quality women. I certainly do not need a guy transmitting from a dusty motel room somewhere in an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe to tell me how to get lucky, LOL.
 
It is clearly evident why Roosh began his forum, he was searching for a niche market to tap into. He eventually determined a segment of the male population felt unrepresented and continuing to be more and more disenfranchised by the day. The goal - Roosh wanted to MAKE MONEY! LOL, of course this is why he left a career as a lab rat to pursue a life of adventure on the run selling the virtue of the “Y” chromosome on steroids. There was no noble crusade about it with Roosh. He was hoping to attract enough frustrated individuals to subscribe to his forum, buy his books and paraphernalia, and attend his speaking engagements – it is that simple. I believe he had a great concept, to tap into a population which feels forgotten, much as to why FOX News enjoys their stellar success’ also how Trump was elected. However, Roosh was met with a nefarious vitriol from the extreme left, especially angry feminists, only seen by how President Trump is attacked. The difference, Roosh is a man of $0-net worth, and unable to defend himself against the onslaught which was to come. When Amazon and PayPal banned Roosh, it was all over for any form of online sales.  Censorship on any level is unacceptable if you are an American, and the big-tech assault on Roosh was something which I never believed I would see in my lifetime in America.
 
Again, Roosh was not running RVF because of some crusade to combat those emasculating America; Roosh wanted to make money, pure and simple. Does that mean that there is not a “Gillette culture” out there filled with soy-boys apologizing for peeing standing up, and angry femme-fatales? Of course not, traditional America and the role of men in society is diminishing rapidly, and not for the better. However, although I am sure Roosh agrees as well, his foremost agenda item was hoping to tap into the “angry white male” market (his words not mine) and cash out after about 5-10 years of doing battle like many who participate in the social “shock and awe” game. Perhaps buy a penthouse flat in Kyiv and live happily ever after. I do not believe his luck with women would improve any, but at least he could get shot down in style. However, this was not a happy ending. Instead, far from it. Now broke, unkept, definitely not the toast of the town, where does he go?
 
What you see now, is Roosh reinventing himself. Like Nero, burning down Rome and hopes to emerge like the Phoenix from the ashes – his goal has not changed, he wants money. Roosh has misjudged his audience severely (easily seen by the almost non-existent turnouts at his “tours”) which at best, covered the cost of his roundtrips. Roosh believed the forum a place for “Beta” males to convene (after all, what kind of man would spend time on his forum, with him force-feeding them his insight on how to be a man), showing them the road to “game” and glory. In reality, only a very small percentage of the members frequenting RVF were as needy as Roosh believed; and certainly, did not need help from a man who struggled making time in Eastern Europe of all places. From my observation, many of the members went along with Roosh’s diatribe, not because they agreed with everything he rattled off; however, because he was quick on the “ban” button to anyone who challenged or questions his methodology or logic. This is not the action of a mature, confident man, but a scared, insecure individual struggling with confidence and self-esteem. Roosh also believed that the vast preponderance of his members were needy, unconfident men who he could control by yanking their world out from under them with a warning or ban – it is how he believed he could control members, still does. Again, highly misjudging the level of intelligence and sophistication of men frequenting the website. Roosh has set himself up as provocateur of all truth and knowledge, and now finds himself shipwrecked by the individualism of his membership I am happy to see.
 
It is my assertion that Roosh’s endgame is to take his membership to an online evangelism forum hosted by none other than of course himself, as he believes they will only drink his Kool-Aid (remember Jonestown?). Before going on, I come from a Christian family and grew up in the church (still attend, albeit not as often as I should), so know that I am an advocate for faith-based institutions!
 
Roosh knows he is finished in the manosphere, therefore his “membership” is all he has left. He is aligning himself with other evangelists as we speak to give credibility to his crusade, as well as tugging on the heartstrings of people. My full condolences to Roosh for the loss of his sister and strain his family has been placed under during his journey. However, we have all lost loved ones and experienced struggle, sleepless nights etc. – Roosh does not have the franchise on this. My point is, he believes his membership is made up of individuals easily taken advantage of, who will follow his command without question.  I believe Roosh’s current 40 day and 40 night trek in the Desert is simply to impress upon his membership as well as his so-called “haters” his commitment to religion and redemption which he will soon tell you he can provide (it is a process). Before long, Roosh will be asking members to “dig deep” and help him expand his holy word to the masses. He will even develop little niche gifts or souvenirs to buy (i.e., personalized crucifix keychains).   I assure you folks, this is what Roosh’s journey is all about, and hopes to continue to fleece members or former members of his forum. I for one, believe Roosh has seriously misjudged those who frequented RVF, and do not hold him in the esteem he believes the membership does.
 
Once more, I apologize for the length of my post, however, wanted to clearly articulate my observation of Roosh which some will agree, and others will continue to support Roosh’s words, which may be at their peril. I only offer my post as an alternative manner of looking at things, and a precautionary tale. I have felt this way from the beginning; although generally keep my opinions close to my chest – today I have gone against my personal rule, as I believe this information needs to be broadcasted and viewed by those who may benefit from it. I am also posting on the “BANNED” thread.  Thank you for your kind patience and understanding. I hope you found my words of value.

I am Landing in Buenos Aires in the end of October and planning a three month trip up the eastern coast of Brazil and Argentina and Uruguay.

Any true "been there, done that" experience of medium-sized cities would be appreciated

I have yet to generate a single sales website based sale, so all of this advice is worth what you are paying for it, but I'm posting this with the goal of generating some discussion and hopefully encouraging others who are working on Internet based entrepreneurial projects.

Currently, the one thing that I have had success at has been creating a visually attractive website that clearly states what my company offers, so most of these suggestions are geared at that topic. Fingers crossed, I'll have some more lessons to share later about actually getting and improving sales numbers.

It would be great to have some people who have more experience than me in this field to jump in and add their suggestions and tips as well.

I'm going to add to this thread as a I learn more, but here are a few things that have been on my mind lately, just to start things off.

1. Set aside your ego -- cut whatever isn't necessary

The way you feel about the products you want to sell is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is "what will produce the most sales." I've spent that last year giving thought to how I wanted to present my business on my website once my products were ready for consumer sale. But once I started building that website, I realized that it was far too bulky and would confuse visitors.

I quickly realized that I needed a simple home page that would immediately make it clear to a first time visitor in under five seconds what I was selling. This mean a major change in website design, because I was planning on marketing my products, consulting services and training courses all from one website. But when a built a good portion of that website I thought I wanted, I realized that it was too much website for one website, possibly too much website for one brand.

Without the money to educate target customers properly on my business' identity, I decided that the best thing to do was to strongly simplify the mission of my initial product brand. 

I ultimately chose to wait till later and launch different websites for my consulting services and training courses. This allowed me aggressively streamline the sales-copy and message on my website homepage and also make the navigation menu for easier to use and understand. Instead of many products and services offered in each of three broad categories, there is just one products category, so all the subcategories are now displayed with their own dropdown menu list at the top of the page. It will now be much easier for website visitors to find exactly what they are looking for AND for them to quickly get a sense of what the website offers as a whole.

2. Sleep on design decisions

Sometimes something as insignificant as a link in a dropdown menu list can seem unbearably ugly. I've learned to just give it a day or two and then come back and see if the new change still stands out unpleasantly. Most of the time, when I come back and have a second look with fresh eyes, the new change seems like it was intended to be that way all along. Occasionally, on the second or third look, I'll still hate the change and then I'll cut it and find a new solution.

This is probably because you get so used to seeing your website one way while you are designing it that any change can be jarring. The important thing is to give it enough time so that you can see it through a first time visitor's eyes. That's the only audience that matters.

3. Just try something and see what happens.

I'm not great at visualizing, so I never work with an image in my head of what I want. Usually I'll know that a page needs something, such as an added design feature to break up sections a bit. However, I'm unable to imagine what the new addition should be.

I've learned to simply try something as soon as possible and just see how it looks when finished. Often doing so does give me the inspiration I need.

But just staring at an unfinished and imperfect page and hoping for an idea has never helped me.

4. It's worth pursuing perfection

I'm a big believer that for doing online sales, you need your website to look as great as it reasonably can. Potential customers will probably never meet you, so your website forms a big part of their opinion of you. If it looks less than perfectly professional, this could really hurt your sales.

I have wondered at times if good-enough wasn't good-enough, but after putting in the effort to make good-enough much better, I was glad that I had. It's a huge confidence boost to have a website that looks like a million bucks. Self-doubt about how the potential customers will perceive your website is very demoralizing, so take the time necessary to make your website very attractive.

If you can't do that yourself, hire someone to do it for you. But make sure that they have a stunning portfolio, because there are too many people who "do web design" that have no particular ability to create stunning sales websites.

5. Pictures of people smiling really help

Images of happy, attractive people are very appealing to humans. Once I added some images of this nature, the appeal of my website jumped. My site went from feeling very plain and generic to feeling like a website that I would want to buy from.

6. But skip the obvious stock images

Generic stock photos don't do this nearly as well as images that look like they could have been taken specifically for your website. If you can't find what you need from public domain images (such as those at pixabay.com), buy a image package from a site like shutterstock.com. With fees as low as a few dollars per image with an annual subscription, you won't regret spending a bit on this. The selection from a paid stock images website is incredible and it's much easier to find something that appears unique to your situation.

It's best if you can use graphic design software (I use Inkscape) to digitally add your products or branding to some of the images you use on your website. For example, if you were creating a website that sells software, you could add your company logo to a t-shirt of one person in an image of a group of programmers huddled industriously around a computer. This would create the sense that your company is "real."

7. Nothing makes a website look awesome the way that a top-notch logo does

Don't cheap out on this. My current design would suck if it had the company name in generic text, instead of as a refined logo. A professionally designed logo is a must. A half-assed job done on the cheap is something that I assume will cost you customers.

I'm creating this thread to help make a separation between the lower-class forum members and the higher worth people. Nobody wants to lose seconds reading posts from a $1000 / month guy.

- You put your average NET monthly earnings (after all taxes have been paid) -> if you earn $10000 per month then you're worth 10 times a $1000 / month guy.
- You precise if it's remote income / half-automated income / etc. Because a $5000 guy who works at a corporation is worth less than a $5000 guy who has a half-automated income source. And this guy himself is inferior to a $5000 guy who earns all his money from a passive ETF investment. (has to work less for the money)


I begin :
- I'm worth $7200 net / month (will in a few months reach $8500 / month if all goes according to plan)
- I work at companies. I plan to create many ecommerces this year with my monthly earnings and to switch to only ecommerce income source in 12 months

I know this thread is ambivalent, as we do want to be moving on, but I think some of the best posts need to be commemorated.

(08-15-2019, 01:30 PM)Aurini Wrote: ...
I suspect that the only people who care about this are fathers, and men inclined to fatherhood.

I see an 18 year old woman; yes, she's beautiful, but I also see a child.  I'd be hard pressed to date a woman that young if I met her at Church, and her parents approved of our marriage .  The maturity difference is just so far apart.

But the others out there - the hedonists, the social climbers - they see opportunity.  An opportunity for sex with a hottie, an opportunity to establish social dominance, an opportunity for the girl to use her 'money maker'.  Welcome to humanity.

I'm going to one of those comic con style conventions in the next two weeks. I've been a regular there, but I wanted to start exercising a lot of game tactics. I usually reserve such things outside my hobby place, but since I am assured of my fitness level and dominance stance, I'm ready to flaunt a little in an environment where there's a lot of beta men and a lot of attention whores. I have the rundown of how to keep myself, but a little preparation never hurt anyone. So looking to get a little advising to make sure I keep my head straight and to make sure I keep my masculine cool there. This environment should be relatively easy for anyone who knows even a little about game, but I'm not going to pretend I know everything. Add to this if you can.

• Never bring myself down to a level of needy from any girl.
  
• I am always the most valued prize in the room. Simply mindset even if I really not.
  
• Lead, do not follow.
  
• Never give the girl a pedestal, no matter how hot she is. Each girl there is going to have some mental insecurity, and as long as that is true, it's very easy to not fall into their spell.
  
• Shrug off all shit tests.