Before I read Corey Savage‘s An Open Letter To The Men Of MGTOW a couple months ago, I admittedly had zero clue as to what the MGTOW community actually stood for. I’ve always known there are different factions of the manosphere such as the PUA sect which focuses on seduction, the philosophical clique that explores the historical and religious angles as they apply to the red pill past and present, and the health and fitness branch that gives men guidance on how to achieve peak physical fitness.

I’d seen the term MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) in different articles here and there but I never really delved into it. I just assumed they were under the same umbrella as the rest of us were. But after reading Savage’s article and doing a little research I began to realize that the “MGTOW community” could be labeled as, dare I say…..male feminism.

Below are five tendencies that “MGTOWs” and wannabes alike possess that hold them back from grabbing life by the balls and thriving as a man. I’ll be the first to admit that even I fall prey to some of these penchants every once in a while. It happens. But so long as you check yourself and nip these occurrences in the bud, you won’t start thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to live in your mother’s basement playing video games all night with cheeto dust on your fingers.

5. You’re all talk, no show

You can quote all the pickup lines, know all the answers to shit tests, and all the red pill lingo. You constantly tell your buddies all women are like that and you’re never getting married or having kids.

I talked about this brand of wannabe neomasculinity in a column I penned last summer:

Wannabe PUAs who buy into the “all these bitches get is my dick” notion are kidding themselves and everyone around them. They think scoring one night stands with 5s and 6s is the pinnacle of playerdom and like to brag about “this bitch I fucked then I just got up and left” or “I don’t give a fuck what she does I kick her the fuck out right after I nut.” Any man who regularly sleeps with beautiful women knows that unless she’s a hooker, it doesn’t work this way—especially if you want to keep fucking her.

Funny thing is, when the rubber meets the road and you find yourself sitting next to an HB8 at the laundromat you freeze like a deer in the headlights. You can frequent as many sites on the ‘sphere as you want but if you don’t apply what you’ve learned, it’s pointless.

Stop debating pickup theories on 17 different blogs and for the love of God stop bombarding your buddies with red pill jargon. They may still be blue pill but they also know you’re just piss and wind. Until you get off your ass and start talking to girls on the regular, you’re not changing their minds.

4. You dismiss new ways to meet girls

You’re the guy who talks shit about Facebook, Tinder, and even text game. You claim to only approach girls face to face because that’s what “real men” do.

Wake up, it’s 2016. There’s more than one way to skin a cat and if you’re not taking advantage of technology to score easy pussy, you’re doing yourself (and all those sluts) a disservice.

I’m as guilty on this one as anybody. Granted, there’s nothing like the rush that comes from approaching a complete stranger, striking up conversation with her, number closing her, and banging her that night. There’s something to be said about the excitement of putting your balls on the line and going for broke with a female.

That said, I know that at some point in the not too distant future I’m going to have to get online if I want to keep adding notches. Girls these days are becoming increasingly difficult to talk to as a result of their ADD on account of looking at their phones most of the day. It’s as though they’ve forgotten how to have a conversation with an actual person in the flesh.

The other reason is that the older I get, the busier my schedule gets. So why not skip the bullshit and start swiping for ass like everyone else? It saves money, frustration, and most of all time which is a man’s most valuable commodity.

Get with the times and take advantage of the desperate girls who are dying to take a selfie wearing your shirt the next morning.

3. You’re always looking for an easier way to digest the red pill

You’re the dude who’s been on the fence about the red pill for years. You know sexual relations between men and women are fucked up but when reading sites like ROK you think to yourself, “He makes a good point but there’s gotta be a better way!”

You think you can compromise and be “purple pill.” You think you can give girls “the best of both worlds” but you know it’s not working for you because you’re not getting laid. And yet, you still want to delay completely digesting the red pill.

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Look, I get it. I really do. It’s hard to change your mindset and actions when you’ve been brainwashed your entire life to treat girls a certain way and think of them in a certain light. But we’ve all been burned on multiple occasions and at some point you have to realize that being yourself and treating her like a princess ain’t cuttin’ it.

The hard truth is there is no purple pill. You can’t be the alpha male girls want to sleep with and the sensitive, attentive schlub at the same time. It’s either one or the other. And if you aren’t unplugged, you’re still plugged in. There’s no in between.

Make a choice, gentlemen. You can either digest the red pill or spit it out and ignore the truth. It can’t just rest on your tongue for the rest of your life.

2. All you focus on is girls

The beauty of neomasculinity is that it teaches men how improve their lives in all aspects. Financial shrewdness, physical fitness, style, and mental strength are a few the main tenets of the crimson capsule we’ve drilled into your skulls since 2012.

If a man makes good financial decisions, keeps himself in good shape, dresses well, and isn’t easily rattled by nonsense, his romantic prospects increase as a natural side effect.

When you’re new to the ‘sphere and focus solely on picking up chicks, you’re putting the cart before the horse. Sure, you’ll have a little success but before long you’ll plateau (meaning you’re only banging 5s and 6s) because you haven’t improved in other, more important areas.

Again, I fell prey to this when I first took the red pill. All I concentrated on was girls and nothing else:

I’ll never forget the first time I approached a girl with red pill game. She was a sexy little red-headed number with a pert ass and great legs. She was in the produce aisle trying to pick out the perfect grape fruit. When she reached for one I noticed a tattoo on her inner wrist. “So much for an LTR,” I playfully joked with myself. I obviously wasn’t thinking about our honeymoon but she was as good a girl as any to christen my post red pill game with. I’d practiced, drilled, and rehearsed all the PUA techniques, body language and positioning. I was ready. I took a deep breath, walked up, looked her right in the eye with something of a cross between a smile and a smirk on my face and said “Hi, I’m Donovan.” She bit. She pleasantly told me her name and politely shook my hand. We ended up having about a 10 minute conversation about juicing (I’d recently purchased one and steered the conversation in that direction). I passed a relatively easy shit test, made a joke about green juice, and got the digits. “Holy fuck!” I thought doing my best to compose myself as she put her number into my phone. “This shit actually works!” The girl ended up flaking but I didn’t care. I was hooked.

It’s been years since I approached that hot red head. Since then, I’ve gotten myself into much better shape, my financial outlook is stronger, and my frame is rock solid. Had these things been in place when I opened her, she may not have flaked on me.

The point is that focusing on the acquisition of pussy and leaving everything else by the wayside will eventually come back to bite you in the ass. When you hit a slump (and you will) you’ll sink into depression, start doubting yourself, and a slew of other mental problems that end up stunting your growth as a man.

But if you’re lifting, reading, writing, and making smart financial decisions a temporary dry spell in the bedroom won’t faze you. If anything, it helps you focus even more on these areas which will, in turn, lead to more success with women in the long run.

1. You bash red pill assertions for the sake of bashing them

This is where you start to fall into the MGTOW category. You read my article on O.J. Simpson and disagree with my assertion that he’s alpha because he killed his ex wife for slutting it up with a fellow USC alumni. Nevermind the fact that he was literally swimming in pussy before, during, and after his marriage to Nicole. As far as you’re concerned, Simpson had oneitis which makes him a sniveling beta despite living a life most men can only dream about.

No, we’re not all going to agree with every little detail of neomasculinity (which is a good thing, actually) but the countless lives that have been changed (mine included) from the ideas discussed on forums like these speaks volumes about its accuracy and effectiveness.

GhostOfJefferson, a frequent commenter on ROK, has told countless keyboard gangsters that if they so vehemently disagree with what we talk about here, then write an article about it.

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Conclusion

At the end of the day we’re all on the same side. As I said before, we’re going to disagree on a few things here and there but by and large we’re all striving for the same thing. But if you find yourself falling into any of the above traps on a regular basis and not course correcting, you may need to start to question whether or not you’re truly unplugged from the matrix.

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