What I’ve read (including some books not in the SB): NMMNG, MMSLP, WISNIFG, The Rational Male, MAP, The 16 Commandments of Poon, The Book of Pook, The Way of the Superior Man, The 48 Law of Power, Mastery, Listening to The Art Of Seduction, Thinking Fast and Slow, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, and How to When Friends and Influence People.

Lifting: 6’ 187 10% BF lean Some CrossFit SS 3X5 Squat 300 Bench 205 Deadlift 345

8The tendency to like (or dislike) everything about a person— including things you have not observed— is known as the halo effect*

Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow

This book is one of the best books I’ve read. I believe it’s somewhere in the sidebar over in RP. It is loaded with an enormous amount of information, yet worth the read. I’m a behavioral therapist and I had previously read this book. However, the lessons I got from this book took on new applications once I started applying MRP. Halo Effect is a human bias phenomenon. It can work in my favor or it can be a disadvantage for me. My body of work and the principles I apply in my life can be used to increase my value.

I smoke cigars. I smoked cigars when my wife and I started dating 11 years ago. She wasn’t fond of the smell, yet she like me enough to overlook the smell of cigar smoke on my face or on my clothes. At that time I possessed a certain amount of alpha qualities (albeit raw alpha qualities) which greatly contributed her attraction to me.

This is essentially Halo Effect. Her initial interest and attraction to me set the tone for how she would perceive other behaviors with which she would subsequently encounter. Halo Effect is “a common bias that plays a large role in shaping our view of people and situations” and “increases the weight of first impressions, sometimes to the point that subsequent information is mostly wasted” (Kahneman). Two important observations to note here are 1) she had just recently quit smoking cigarettes and 2) before we dated, she did not like cigar smoke. These are two notable factors to her aversion to cigar smoke. However, the tendency to like or dislike everything about a person can be a strong bias. Therefore, it makes sense that she was more than willing to overlook the occasional cigar smoke in order to get into my pants. I was working hard and going to school, which was a high value body of work at that time.

In short, she perceives: He’s attractive to me, he has potential and is actively reaching it. The good outweighs the bad, so I can deal with the cigar smoke.

Fast forward a few years. We are married, my alpha qualities have already begun to diminish, and my slippery slope into becoming blue pill began. It started with comments and inquiries about me smoking cigars. She would ask “did you smoke a cigar today?”, even when it was clear that I have. I started to notice her subtly move away from my face when we would make out or during sex. This eventually become more overt with her, asking me to wash my face and/or brush my teeth before getting intimate. I would occasionally wash my face and/or brush my teeth without needing to be asked, yet I was inconsistent with it (low value). Eventually, It was evident that she really did not like the smell of cigar on me and I began to respond by being overly apologetic (more low value). I started to be mindful of when I would smoke and rarely smoked when I knew there was a chance for making out and/or sex. I thought I was being a nice guy and, well, I was; I just thought I was killing it. I smoked less and if I happened to smoke, I would thoroughly wash my face and brush my teeth, mostly out of anxiety about how she was going to respond. Especially if I knew she was in a bad mood or I had pissed her off (low value again). This is Halo Effect happening again within the context of me not having a high value body of work at that time.

In short, she perceives: He’s doing a lot of unattractive things, he once showed potential and now he is regressing. The good and bad balance is way off, and by the way, I fucking hate cigars.

Fast forward several years and becoming quite blue pill, then swallowing the red pill and applying MRP for a while, I realized something. My wife wasn’t complaining about the smell of cigar smoke on me. Not only that, but she often encourages me to go relax and smoke a cigar. She will often sit with me while I smoke and if a cloud of smoke blows passed her face and I say, “Oops. We can swap places so the smoke doesn’t go by you”, she will say, “No. It’s fine”, all while gazing into my eyes with that look that says, “You can do whatever you want to me”. This is Halo Effect happening again within the context of me having a very high value body of work at this time.

In short, she perceives: He’s more attractive than ever, has gone above and beyond what I ever expected. The good outweighs the bad by a shit ton, and I love the way he smells when he smokes a cigar!

She did not just acquire a smell for cigar smoke. She certainly didn’t just simply start tolerating it. This would discredit the hard work I’ve done. Something significant took place, and It changed how she responds to the smell of cigar smoke…at least on me. I can think of numerous examples of this in my transformation. I recently arrived to this understanding when working with a client. I have begun to specialize in working with men in LTRs and, although I don’t call myself a Red Pill therapist, I have been implementing many of the philosophies applied here, albeit within an ethical context (gotta keep my license). I have a client who stopped fishing (one of his favorite pastimes) because his wife didn’t like him being away from home and didn’t like the smell of fish. Clients and I typically discuss frame a great deal, as well as walking their own path, among other things, such as learning how to respond to their SO’s femininity with masculinity, in healthy, creative ways. I introduced to concept of Halo Effect to this client and he has since started fishing again. He was surprised about how well she responded. I pointed out to him that much of her desirable response to this was due to his body of work and how he can recognize Halo Effect.

It is beneficial for me to consider hobbies and interests I have deviated from because she doesn’t like it. One might think that they need to wait until their body of work increases in value, but this thinking is flawed. Value is clearly an important aspect of the work here. Believing my value is low actually creates lower value. Not understanding my value is low value. Understanding what my value is can improve it. After this, increasing my value consists of the positive behavior modification I implement. If I wait until I believe my body of work has enough value, before I reengage in those hobbies and interests she hates, I am, by default, believing I have low value, which is counterproductive to increasing my value. I simply need to reengage in those hobbies and interests in order to display that I value myself enough to do so.

Behaving this way will show value, which is attractive. Consistency is as equally important as the display of this type of behavior. It is also imperative that I understand my body of work as it improves. Halo Effect can benefit me or it can work against me. My body of work can increase my value. Therefore, the stronger the body of work, the more conducive the Halo Effect will be for me. Don’t go Rambo, right?