You’ve been sold sweet lies by the mainstream personal growth pop culture.

That you should “just be yourself.” That you should “go with the flow” of life more. That you can “manifest” the life you want via positive thinking. That you should “be kind to yourself” no matter what. That obsessive self-improvement feeds an inherent psychological defect somewhere in the murky depths of your being. That you should do less to get what you want.
These lies are comforting, and perhaps they work for some people. But not for me, and they probably won’t help you.
Those peddling them, for profit, or just because they are popular, underestimate just how detrimental a physical imperfection can be (we’ll explore this more in chapter 2). Doesn’t it seem that these bland platitudes often come from people - authors, influencers, gurus - who are conventionally attractive (or were for decades of their lives)? They are almost certainly also underestimating the significant advantage of being good-looking while misattributing their success to personal growth principles that appeal to the natural human bent toward laziness.
If you, like me, were cursed with a conspicuous physical imperfection, you must lifehack relentlessly. You need the underground, unconventional, barely legal, ride-the-ethical-edge shortcuts to what you want. If you’re not occasionally called a “control freak,” you’re underestimating the amount of agency you need to bring to bear in life. And when you’re called that, just do what I do: smirk.
You need to bring sharper tools to the project of architecting a beautiful life.

Let's dispense with the stereotypes first...

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian businessmen had a well-deserved reputation for shady dealings. I wouldn't blame anyone for being a little skeptical of buying Nootropics or anti-aging medicines from a Russian source. But that was 30 years ago; times have changed, and now, frankly, you should be skeptical of everyone. Government regulating agencies like the FDA are hopelessly corrupt and captured by big pharma, which is probably sponsoring your family doctor's next luxurious vacation. The internet is a double-edged sword when it comes to your health; Amazon sells "health" supplements tainted with catastrophic amounts of toxic heavy metals, but the internet also gives you an unparalleled ability to sniff out the scams and figure out what actually works.

There's a trite piece of advice that every man has heard a thousand times, and is bored of hearing: Choose a woman for her character, NOT her beauty.

This old bromide applies, of course, generally to everyone in choosing a romantic partner, but men in particular ignore it.
And I won't repeat that advice.
I contend that the savvy seducer can get both virtue and beauty in one package.
That's what I did, and I wrote a 500-page book about how to make that magic happen.
How to seduce the enduring affections, passion, and commitment of a virtuous woman; a philosophy that resulted in a happy seven-year marriage and a beautiful baby that she is singing to in the other room while I write this very sentence.
Recently, I finished a book that makes an almost comically perfect companion to mine: Venus Fly Trap — the memoir of a man who seduced the enduring affections of a succubus from the ninth circle of hell.
I’m speaking metaphorically. Just barely.

I'll be answering the March Biohacking and lifehacking questions in the Q&A podcasts below...

With a red and white Bulgarian bracelet on my wrist (symbolic of health, fertility, and new beginnings), I deliver this Martenitsa Edition Q&A and raise my glass to "Baba Marta" (Grandma March).

Over the past decade, I’ve followed a handful of podcasters and public thinkers whose work genuinely shaped me...

• They sharpened my thinking.
• They introduced tools I implemented.
• They accelerated my personal growth.

But something has changed. I’ll see a new episode drop. I’ll click. I’ll listen. And by the end, nothing new; just remixing, repackaging, and reiteration.

• Ideas I’ve already metabolized.
• Tactics I’ve already implemented.
• Wisdom that has already been digested.

I'm tremendously tempted to start internet drama by calling out a few of them, but I'm genuinely grateful to them, so instead I'll try to surmise why this is happening...