Monday, November 12, 2012

Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk.

Graduation Speech: I’d like to thank the internet, Google, Wikipedia, Microsoft Word, and Copy & Paste. - Also where I'd like to thank for most of the things I've been learning in this blog

1.) Covert Persuasion - a very interesting book, and I figured the title was very fitting with the blog. The book is geared towards sales people but applicable to every day life. I recommend the book to anyone interested in being more persuasive in their arguments. It ranges from proven psychological concepts to simple wording patterns and university studies on the way arguments are presented. I took notes and will try to start implementing the concepts, but I think I'll need to use it as a reference guide until it becomes more natural.

"Covert Persuasion sounds like a secret operation because it is; when you master these techniques and put them to use, no one will even notice your tactics. But that doesn't mean these techniques are sneaky or underhanded. They aren't! You aren't tricking anyone; you're simply using all your abilities to encourage them to make the choice you want them to make. It's not unfair or underhanded—it's just powerful, practical, and effective."

"Covert Persuasion syn-thesizes the latest research in psychology, linguistics, sales tactics, and human communication to reveal the most effective methods for consistently and effectively persuading anyone of virtually anything."




2.) New Clothes: Okay, so I've been doing some E-bay shopping, making the most out of my $$. I got 5 pairs of jeans (Abercrombie, American Eagle, Express, Ralph Lauren and Sean John), 2 Dress Shirts (Ermenegildo Zegna), 2 Abercrombie Sweatshirts, and 2 Ermenegildo Zegna Sweatervest, all for $138 shipped!

        

 

3.) MP3 Courses -For those of you who don't know, there are numerous resources for continuing your education for free that are downloadable to your mp3 player / i-pod. I decided I am going to take advantage of this, download some of the courses onto my i-pod and utilize my commute time to improve myself. You have online courses from some of the top schools (MIT, Yale, etc), as well as topics ranging from Art History to Foreign Languages. http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses is one of the resources (as stated there are many), I think this is one of the greatest concepts, think of how much time is just spent commuting bored in traffic!



Here's the outfit I wore last night. The vest got a little big on me, and until the new pants come in, the current one I have are wayyyy too big, but none the less, my first attempt at an on-going style improvement project:



I may be trying my first Zumba class tonight, which I'm sure will make my next post a good one of the trials and tribulations of my inability to dance! (an understatement)

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. —Will Rogers

I found a classes to help aid me through the journey:

1.) Group-on Wine Tasting Class: ($29) - "Studying wine on your own can be tasty, but time-consuming." The class will teach about wine tasting / food pairings. It pretty much defines what I was looking for, though I'm not sure if I will get to the the "expert" level I was hoping for in 2-hours. Should be a fun time none the less. Maybe I'll begin to appreciate the taste of wine (right now I only enjoy Reislings) and will build a nice wine collection lol. I want to learn to appreciate Whiskey's as well, but that will come another day

                                                   


2.) Paint Nite ($32) - "Booze has definitely led to you expressing yourself -- from tearing up at cheesy, made-for-TV movies to joining conga lines at weddings -- so why not let potent beverages inspire your art?" They are hosting Paint Nite's at some high-end bars in NYC, some boozing and painting sounds like a great time. Sounds like a good time to do my Mad Men Painting.... High end / Hip Bars in NYC usually mean dressing in suit/fancy clothes, but do you so so only to cover with an apron and risk getting paint on them?

3. 4 Salsa Dancing Classes ($39) - Okay, so I haven't bought this one yet. I'm a TERRIBLE dancer, which does have me a bit nervous, but my "logical" side is holding me back because these classes are held in NYC on Monday / Wednesday nights. (Which would make it very tough to get to due to work conflicts.) With that said, it really is what I wanted to do/learn.

4.) Installed Rosetta Stone - Alright my Rosetta Stone in Spanish is installed, though the sound isn't working on my computer (could have something to do with no speakers being hooked up). I actually found out a friend might have the French Rosetta Stone, so I will have to put some consideration into which I want to learn. (I feel like Spanish is more useful but French definitely has my heart and the edge in the Suave arena).

5.) Getting Measured for my suit - okay, I should have done this a while ago, I fully admit it. Will get over to the mall to get my measurements so I can start ordering suits / dress shirts from Ebay. Got a grey version of my fedora as well (pictured below - waiting on it to come in).

                                          

Finally, a fun story, So I was at a franchise restaurant/bar that everyone knows on Wednesday grabbing lunch. The waitress was GORGEOUS (contemplating putting up a picture, but blacking out the face). So I flirted mercilessly with her. It was slow (due to the snow storm), so she spent a lot of time hanging out. I hung out and she offered to buy me a drink (unusual for a waitress), so I asked for Rumpleminze. When she came back she stated that just smelling it made her eyes water. So I bet her that I could take it without making a face ... the stakes being her number. I champed the drink, and she smiled and gave me her number. I've been talking to her, and have since found out shes a bit young (19) and I tried to make sure and she said she's "not 100% single" and when I asked what that meant, she said it's complicated. None the less, a valiant effort, and success!



Thursday, November 8, 2012

What the H*ll is this all about?

So I've been contemplating creating this blog for a while now, and have finally decided to commit. I figure it will help keep me motivated as well as be interesting for those who read my successes and failures along the way.

About me: I'm a 25 year old guy, who has always been moderately social, successful in my career, done okay with women, had a love for fancy cars (own a muscle car and a porsche). In the past year, I was dumped from a 7+ year relationship, changed jobs (my choosing), lost 100 lbs, and have learned to enjoy being by myself / trying new things. I know how to do magic (card tricks, etc) and don't have stage fright of speaking in front of people, though I want to improve my public speaking. With all that said, I just want to be better and enjoy everything life has to offer. You'll get to see my many tries, probably ridiculous failures, and hopefully see me having fun along the way to improving.

Goal for the Blog: Well the title is pretty self-explanatory, but my goal is to improve myself. To try new things, essentially become like "Neal Caffrey" from White Collar (okay maybe minus the expert con-man/art thief, though I could see trying to con my way into some parties/events lol) Some of the specific goals I have (always open to more suggestions):

-Debonair Style Dress - Everything from 3 piece suits to the Fedora. I really like Neal Caffrey's and Roger Sterling (from Mad Men)'s taste in suits. I will definitely put in a lot more effort to matching and improving the overall look, instead of just tossing on whatever is laying around. I've recently found out that you can get HIGH end suits/shirts/ties etc on Ebay for pennies on the dollar. Looking forward to building my new wardrobe. Even got my first fedora (can even do the Neal Caffrey hat trick)

-Learn to Paint: Why? Because I always wished I could do it. I don't think I'll ever be Picasso, or even be good, but I would like to try a few things so I can discuss it intelligently as well as have something to show off. I've seen a few paint / drinking events on Groupon, which may be the way I go since I don't have a place to paint. I decided I want to do a Mad Men painting first... see the 3 options below:



Learn Another Language: Nothing spells Sauve, Intelligent, and Mysterious like a guy who can speak another language. I think my first choice would be French, but I have a Rosetta Stone for Spanish, so I think that will be the language I'll learn. (Who knows maybe I'll learn more than 1)

Learn to Dance: This will be the most difficult I'm sure. I don't even know where to start. What types of dancing to learn or anything. Maybe start with the free Zumba classes at the gym? (Not sure if you really learn to dance from them, but they can't hurt right?)

Learn to Taste Wine: hmmm ... the bullet point doesn't sound right. In essence, I mean learning how to review/evaluate wine at tastings. Develop a good pallet, learn to tell the difference between good and bad wines etc (can't do so at all now)

Improve Skills with Women: As I said, I'm semi-recently single (okay, so it's been 7 months, but I had a lot to get over). I want to work on approaching women without fear and just being the charming, sophisticated, debonair I always picture myself as.

Learn Zippo Lighter Tricks: I don't even smoke, so not sure why this was something I wanted to put on my list. I just feel like it's cool, and everyone needs a light occasionally.

Public Speaking / Improving Vocabulary: I figure this is a good life skill overall, and a good continuing goal. Toastmasters meets weekly, and I volunteer with an organization that allows me to give speeches.

Learn to Cook: I have a disclaimer that I believe I am an awesome cook already, and a world-class baker. With that said, I want to experiment and try to cook and present my food the way that top restaurants do. Imagine what friends think when they come over for a dinner party and see a 5-star type meal in front of them! And with my new wine tasting skills, I'll even know what to pair with it!

Well that's a start .... Give me ideas and input! What is the first thing you think of when you think of a Debonair?