A Man of Substance

I enjoy those Most Interesting Man in the World commercials. The whole thing is a marketing tool to sell beer, but dammit I was always a fan of how Hemingway lived his life in his prime days (before his wife beta’d the hell out of him and he took the shotgun express to get away from it). Being a man that enjoys tailored clothing, it always entertains me to see this guy based partially on Prime-Hemingway, appear on screen, older, well groomed, well spoken, and covered in hot young bitches. This is a man walking through life with a DNGAF attitude and an abundance mentality.

One of the very high ranking people in my company, my mentor, is like The Most Interesting Man in the World. He dresses very well, is a great conversationalist that can talk to the janitor or the CEO with equal engagement, and women love him. He is happily married and in his sixties so he always flirts with them and after they walk away giggling will lean over and tell me “Thank God, I’m harmless.” With a twinkle in his eye.

I compare this type of man to the other type that features prominently in my upbringing. My dad was/is a beta but my uncle was/is a factory working alpha dog that DNGAF and has beat the shit out of dudes for looking at his wife the wrong way. Between his factory gig and odd carpentry jobs he works seven days a week to provide for his three kids and three grandkids. He’s a muscle bound giant that doesn’t talk much, but when he gives his “opinion” on something, no one argues anything different.

I see these as two different manifestations of Alpha. I think if you look at Beta and Alpha as a 0-10 scale, where 0 is a Betabux that watches his wife gets railed by gangbangers and then goes down on her after and 10 is a fucking psychopathic violent offender that beats and controls women whenever he isn’t in jail, I think most of us here want to be somewhere in the 6-8 range for Alphahood. I want to make a post about this at a later date but I bring it up now only to make the case that you do not have to be a Man of Substance to be an Alpha (like my uncle), but any Man of Substance will inherently be an Alpha (Most Interesting Man and my mentor).

What is a Man of Substance?

Here are the five major components of a Man of Substance:

1. A Man of Substance is well read on various topics and can speak on them with little to no preparation.

2. A Man of Substance knows how to facilitate and navigate a conversation with people from various walks of life. Just because he has a wide range of knowledge does not mean he spews this information out at random or ad nauseam.

3. A Man of Substance looks like a developed man. This is where lifting heavy weights, keeping a low body fat %, and knowing how to layer well-fitting clothing create the non-verbal message that a man is self-actualized before he ever opens his mouth. Impeccable grooming is a given here as well.

4. A Man of Substance is a teacher. I do not care if it is a wine class, a leadership group, or a little league sports team, women recognize a man as having substance when others shut up and listen when he is in front of the group.

5. A Man of Substance demonstrates interest in those that enter his frame and non-interest in those that do not. You will not find a Man of Substance railing against those that have a differing opinion than him. He simply DNGAF about those that have a different frame than him. If you want his attention you come into his frame.

A Man of Substance is well read on various topics and can speak on them with little to no preparation.

When Aristotle wrote On Rhetoric, the seminal guide to public speaking, he talked about Ethos (credibility of the speaker), Pathos (Emotional Connection with the audience), and Logos (the logical content of the words) as being the key to a successful speech. What I am talking about here is the logos floating around in a man’s head. Most men have an approximate knowledge of many things, and that is good, but for a man to truly be a Man of Substance he needs to be well read on various subjects, which is a higher level of Logos than having an approximate knowledge. Imagine a conversation with a group of people where the cherry notes in a particular wine comes up as a conversation topic. Compare the first man’s interjected comment to the second:

Girl in Group: “This wine has cherry in it?”

Man of Approximate Knowledge: “No, they don’t put cherry in it, it’s just the flavor of cherry can be detected.”

Girl in Group: “This wine has cherry in it?”

Man of Substance: “In a way it does, the same chemical compounds that give cherries their flavor are present in the wine due to the winemaker’s fermentation process.”

Which of the two comments will create additional questions/conversation while demonstrating the man’s knowledge? Obviously the second.

This begs the question, what subjects should a Man of Substance be well read on? This is for you to decide and I believe the answer is different depending on your individual situation. Some safe subjects include the mechanics of politics (how government works not political opinion), science, art, and history. These are good subjects to have on lockdown because they allow you to dazzle people with “aha” moments. These subjects tend to give you broad opportunities to demonstrate your depth as a man. If you want to use this for gaming women I would also recommend some deep knowledge of bullshit subjects like astrology, tarot cards, palm reading, etc. Women love it when a man can teach them about those stupid things.

A Man of Substance knows how to facilitate and navigate a conversation with people from various walks of life.

This component is different than the first. This is the Pathos that Aristotle talked about. Your ability to connect with another random human being and pull them into your frame during conversation. The knowledge you possess will aid you if you do not inappropriately spew it at an uninterested person, but this is a component that exists independently from Logos. Think of this as having high Emotional Intelligence. Like my mentor, you are able to talk to the janitor or the CEO and both men feel kinship towards you during and after the conversation.

A Man of Substance looks like a developed man.

The key word here is “looks”. This is the unspoken message when people see you for the first time. This is the first impression component, part of the Ethos. If you look like a developed man, people will automatically assume you are. This is the one that many men avoid due to laziness and an addiction to shitty food. Most men are too intimidated to focus on their physical development and even men who do so still avoid upgrading their fashion.

I wear very expensive suits almost daily and deck myself out with the right accessories, and my shoes are top notch. When I walk in a room everyone, male and female, eyeballs me and anyone important in the room makes time for me if I want to talk to them. You do not have to spend a lot of money to look good though, just wear the best you can afford. Looking like your best self is like gaining a super power and if you’re avoiding it because you feel it’s unmanly to wear tailored clothing or keep your grooming impeccable, I am not going to say you’re not alpha, because you very well may be, but I will not call you a Man of Substance.

A Man of Substance is a teacher.

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Teach something. Teach anything. Just telling a woman you teach a certain subject, regardless of what it is, will enhance your credibility and bring her more into your frame. If it is a subject she is interested in, even more so.

A Man of Substance demonstrates interest in those that enter his frame and non-interest in those that do not.

This is a big one. A Man of Substance simply DNGAF if you aren’t on his train. He does not call people names because if he disagrees with them, he NOTHINGS them. No hate, no anger, no disgust, just NOTHING. He is on a journey in life and anything outside of that journey is a waste of his most precious resource: his time.

TLDR;;LIFT