I see a lot of posts on this forum about prostitutes and how beneficial they are. The general consensus here, I think, is that men should seriously consider hiring escorts if they are in a slump. I'm going to give an alternate view.

Before I start, let me be clear that (a) I think prostitution is a contract between two consenting adults and thus by all rights should be legal and (b) I ascribe no moral valuation to prostitution. It's just another service.

So, with that said, let me explain my argument. The short story is simple: hiring an escort is a cop out. It's a quick fix that requires no skill. In short, it's boring.

I might have a different opinion than most here, but in my view getting laid is just one byproduct, among many, of being excellent. Focus on the latter, and the former will come. Focus on the former, and you may acheive your immediate goal, but there is no guarantee of progress toward the latter.

Beyond that, the entire construct of modern courtship is fascinating. It is an extremely interesting game that you can play constantly, and with minimal risk but potentially great rewards. Think about the parameters of the game: you go to a public venue of some sort, meet a perfect stranger whom you find attractive, and convince her to give herself entirely over to you in as short a period as possible. Much like a video game, every single situation is a little different and each presents its own set of obstacles and barriers which must be overcome to achieve success.

It goes something like this. You have a set of attributes and capabilities. Your environment has its own set of attributes. Your target has her own perceptions of both your attributes and those of the environment, which are initially hidden to you. You must use your skills to maximize your strengths while mitigating your weaknesses, optimizing for your best guess as to her perceptions the whole time. Let's say your target has an large and unattractive friend who is blocking you like cholesterol blocks bloodflow through her veins; how will you solve this puzzle? Ah, you separated your target from her friend by going to a new bar. Good job! Now, she doesn't have a ride back. But, you're poor as shit, have no car and walked to the bar; she'll go home with you but only to her place--five miles away. What to do! Decisions, decisions, and the clock is ticking before the bars closed and the moment passes. Ah, a solution! You lie about your car being in the shop and offer to pay for a cab. En route, you talk with the cabbie and get him to like you. You give him what you have left and say, "ah, hell man, I haven't got any more cash on me" as you hit your destination. He likes you so much, he lets it slide. You go in and bang. Done and done.

Now compare that to this scenario. You call a hooker. She comes over. You give her money. The two of you have sex. That shit wouldn't fit into a movie script anywhere.

This brings me to the next, and more important, part of the lesson. If you go the former path, you're going to strike out--a lot. But, remember what I said about risk. The absolute worst that's likely to happen is that you piss some chick off and she throws a drink in your face, after which you are tossed out of the bar and receive a bit of an ass-kicking to boot.

You know what . . .that's fucking awesome! To the younger guys here, let me impart just one thing I have realized as I passed through my 20s. What matters is leading a life worth living. Here is, in my opinion, a solid test for that. At any given moment, ask yourself: would this make a story worth reading or watching? If it does, you're doing it right.

And, here's the kicker. My best stories are not the ones where I took home some random broad. In fact, there have been plenty of times where I went home with some chick just to pass out because I was fucking sleepy. That's because, at some point, things changed and getting laid wasn't the point. It was all about having a great story to tell, and my best stories are the ones where I ended up in jail or woke up in a ditch the next morning. You won't get any of that with escorts; well, you might get the jail part, but it won't make for a good story.

So, there you have it. Lead a life worth living and scoring with women will become an afterthought.