Some people blindly stumble through life, hoping for good results. They have no strategy, no plan. Like a video game player who just randomly mashes buttons with no rhyme or reason.
Other people — successful people — realize that you must have a game plan.
Neil Strauss is one of those people.
After completing his education, he began working at small periodicals in New York City. He realized that, as a beginner in the journalism game, he needed to start at the bottom, learn the rules, and pay his dues. He worked for free. He emptied trash cans. He wrote for any outlet that would publish his work. Eventually, he wrote at The Village Voice, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone.
During this career ascent, Strauss understood that human connections and relationships and even life itself is like a game. In 1998, he hit the bestseller list by co-authoring shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s book The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. During his time working with Manson, Strauss was connected to the infamous Los Angeles band Motley Crue. They later collaborated together on The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band in 2001. From there, Strauss worked with the most well-known adult entertainer in the world with Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale in 2004.
These writing projects did not simply happen. They were not the result of random phone calls out of the blue. Strauss maximized his relationships, played the game, and connected the dots. He had a game plan, he had a vision, and he acted on that.
One area, however, that Strauss couldn’t understand was how to be successful with women. During all the years backstage, surrounded by unbelievable amounts of excess and debauchery, he hadn’t had a single date, not a single kiss. But an editor suggested he document an underground subculture of men who dedicated their lives to improving their success with women. The editor thought of it as simply another journalism assignment. Strauss thought of it as a chance to change his life.
Neil Strauss bring us The Game
For years, Strauss traveled the world and learned from the gurus of pickup. Over time, Strauss transformed from chump to champ. He went from being unable to get a date to having threesomes, dating Playboy Playmates, and celebrities. And he documented that journey in The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, published in 2005. The riveting tale of a nerd turned ladies man attracted worldwide attention and became an instant bestsellers. According to some reports, the book has been translated into more than a dozen languages and remains popular worldwide. A film version is currently being developed by MGM.
The Game brought the pick up community out of the shadows. A host of pop culture references began appearing, including references on CSI: Miami and Saturday Night Live. It wasn’t unusual to hear people discussing openers, negs, and pebbles.
With the book, Strauss introduced millions of people to the game. And to more efficiently, more effectively share the knowledge he had gained, he launched the Stylelife Academy in 2007, the world’s first online academy for attraction.
A follow-up, of sorts, to The Game was published in 2007 with Rules of the Game. While The Game did have some concrete tips and how-to, it was first and foremost a memoir of Strauss’ personal journey. However, Rules provided much more detailed, much more specific content and told people in a step-by-step manner how to improve their social lives. The book was re-issued in 2009 with expanded content.
Strauss continued to hit bestseller lists with Emergency: This Book will Save Your Life in 2009 and Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead: Journeys Into Fame and Madness in 2011.
Remember that some people just haphazardly hit the buttons on a video game and hope they defeat the bad guy? Neil Strauss doesn’t live that way. He studies the game, he intensely examines what works, discards what doesn’t, and works tirelessly to refine his skills. He realizes that all aspects of life — career, finances, relationships, personal improvement — is like a game. There are strategies that you can learn that work. There are things you can do to take control. You don’t have to hope for good results. You can get the results you need, if you just know how to play, and win, the game.
