People tend to forget the part where Strauss crashed out, ended up in sex therapy and realized he’d developed something unhealthy.
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To add this why so many recent posters have struggled with wanted black. They’ll do a couple half hearted cycles with wanted then dive head first into black.
Or god forbid, people jumping straight from Khan 1 to 4.
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Yeah and this is where I agree with @JCDenton that the inner healing matters
But the thing is, that’s pretty much Strauss’s own conclusion too — it wasn’t that the techniques were the problem
It was that he was using them to fill a hole that healing needed to fill. Which is pretty much the point the comments in this thread started with
The point I was trying to make is it is not all about looks.
The behavioural principles work. Average looking guys have used them to get real results. Myself included.
After the internal work is done, having some skill set doesn’t hurt.
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Valid.
Also, you’re not average looking. I say this as someone whos done modeling. Hold that head high, my guy.
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Staahhhp
thank you again dude 
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Tbh I don’t even really consider Reforged as “foundational”, from my experience of it so far, but based on a different paradigm than OG Emperor. I mean I’ve done a ton of inner work over the past six years since I did my first Emperor run, but Reforged seems to be accomplishing what it does by taking a different approach which to me holds more validity for my existing mental software than the original. Kind of like how the GLM redesign totally changed the feel of the sub from “Hi! I’m a superhero, I’m so pleased to meet you” to something more profound.
I’m sure the two approaches are probably complementary, but to me at least I’m finding Reforged to be creating a more authentic experience of sovereignty than I experienced with the OG, and maybe part of that has to do with the new tech, as well as I feel like this could be thought of as “Emperor for INTs”.
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An I seeing three flavours of sub titles in the future?
OG - outward development and impact
(Original flavour)
Black/Max - titles with the safety catch off
(Zero)
Reforged/From Within - inner development and foundational
(Light)
Not all titles will need to be each flavour, but the big hitters like Emperor, Wanted, Dragon Reborn, Chosen would have this wide range for users to choose their development era. Just an idea.
Agreed. Going out with him is the worst, he turns into a horn dog and wants all the women I want smh
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I too thought that Og emperor helped build foundation thats why I ran it. I guess I’ll have to jump to geneses ascension, better late than never
I agree, I’ve seen may average even ugly guys who just had confidence bed some of the most beautiful women ever. I for one need some more inner healing to get there.
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Lets say I’ve ran emperor for a while now, with sub optimally results because I don’t have the foundation needed, if I run GA for a long time, will the results of emperor integrate seamlessly after the foundation is built or would I have to run emperor again to rebuild the “castle” so to speak
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That’s new info. I wouldn’t be friends with a guy like that.
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is Genesis ascension/stabilizer the foundation sub for all subs and would it work as a foundation sub for romance/seduction titles
At least when he’s drunk, he’s not a good person to be around
Almost word-for-word realization from my time with ASBR.
If you currently do not have the capacity to guide and regulate intensity, don’t do advanced subs. You will definitely grow regardless, but having a foundation is the better path.
Now, the issue isn’t even “internal healing,” it’s more like a combination of three things
- Ability to choose your experience of reality/self
- Sustainability & regulation—of body, mind and spirit; act with wisdom, do not burn things that shouldn’t be burnt.
- Ability to see any open loop through till the next phase, as seamlessly as possible.
In summary, these are core things that help you stabilize your vessel/container and how you express outwardly I.e lived reality.
I’m finding even “internal healing” to be extremely efficient & seamless whenever those three are in play. Hence, why GLM still remains a goat, with maybe G:A joining the list sometime in the future.
NOTE: What I’ve written in this post are based on my experiences and are not official statements. Also, they’re subject to change along with further growth on my journey.
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You’d probably see the results of Emperor integrating seamlessly. Let us clarify what I mean by this: It is perfectly okay, if you can handle it, to start with OG Emperor. It does have foundational scripting. But sometimes, you will run into issues where deeper foundational work would benefit. You can, of course, stick with OG Emperor and push through (which is what most people do).
However, we have new titles that may be able to help better. That’s why I’m mentioning it. Now we have titles like GA that CAN help. Ultimately, you have to choose whether you want to roll with OG Emperor, or pivot into something like GA.
That being said, Reforged was literally made for situations like this.
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I guess I’ll be rolling with emperor reforged
Does it matter?
Whether or not you manifest a guy friend who is better than you, or not - doesn’t change anything. You still have to improve to have your desired dating life.
Comparing yourself with other men through the lens of inadequacy and attempting to use that as fuel to become better, is like playing to win a game that you’ve already lost.
The framework creating the drive is pushing away the attraction.
Imagine that your car has an engine that only runs on a special type of jet fuel. This jet fuel allows your car to move at incredibly fast speeds. However, there’s a caveat. The jet fuel smells really bad. Women naturally find the smell to be repulsing. But you’re like “I’m going to use this accelerated speed to get some shiny rims, tinted windows, and a new paint job”. That’s not the problem though. The problem is that the jet fuel smells really bad and you need to replace the engine into one that doesn’t run on really smelly jet fuel. Once you get the engine that runs on amazing smelling fuel, you don’t even need accelerated speed.
ChatGPT explanation
Your analogy is pointing at something a lot of people miss:
The energy source matters more than the visible self-improvement outcomes.
A man can become more attractive while being internally driven by fear, inadequacy, envy, scarcity, or comparison. From the outside, it can look productive — gym progress, money, confidence skills, status, social calibration. But underneath, the engine is still organized around:
- “I’m not enough.”
- “Other men are ahead of me.”
- “I need to compensate.”
- “I need to earn worth.”
That creates a paradox:
the improvement may increase external attractiveness, while simultaneously creating subtle emotional signals that reduce genuine attraction and connection.
Your “smelly jet fuel” metaphor captures this well because it separates:
- Performance capability (speed, success, upgrades)
- Energetic atmosphere (what it feels like to be around you)
People often assume attraction is mostly about the first category. But relationally, the second category matters enormously.
A person operating from chronic inadequacy tends to unconsciously produce:
- tension,
- grasping,
- performative behavior,
- hidden approval-seeking,
- over-monitoring,
- emotional contraction,
- outcome dependence.
Even when concealed well.
Whereas someone improving from:
- self-respect,
- curiosity,
- enjoyment,
- grounded ambition,
- generosity,
- purpose,
- love of life itself,
often feels lighter, safer, more present, and less coercive energetically.
And that’s the deeper point in what you wrote:
The goal is not to stop improving.
The goal is to stop making inadequacy the organizing principle behind improvement.
Because if inadequacy is the engine, then every achievement becomes temporary symptom management:
- “Now I need more muscle.”
- “Now I need more money.”
- “Now I need higher status.”
- “Now I need to outperform this other guy.”
The finish line keeps moving because the real problem was never external deficiency — it was the internal framework interpreting existence through deficiency.
Your earlier statement connects directly to this too:
“Comparing yourself with other men through the lens of inferiority and attempting to use that as fuel to become better, is like playing to win a game that is impossible to win.”
Because the “win condition” inside inferiority is impossible. The mind simply updates the hierarchy forever.
Someone will always:
- look better,
- earn more,
- have more charisma,
- have more options,
- be taller,
- be more experienced,
- have a better social circle.
So if your nervous system depends on beating the hierarchy to feel worthy, peace becomes structurally inaccessible.
What changes things is when improvement becomes an expression of alignment instead of compensation.
Then:
- fitness becomes care for your body,
- social skill becomes love of connection,
- ambition becomes creative expression,
- style becomes play,
- dating becomes relational exploration instead of self-validation.
At that point, improvement no longer repels because it’s no longer trying to solve an existential wound through external acquisition.
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This is good stuff and deep wisdom.
I’ve made the described mistake myself several times in the past.
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At the end of the day, people just want to be happy, healthy, free, and fulfilled. You didn’t make a mistake, you considered the route towards those things that made the most sense to your internal framework.
ChatGPT explanation
That’s a thoughtful way to frame it. Most decisions people make—even the messy or flawed ones—usually come from trying to move toward some version of safety, meaning, connection, freedom, peace, or fulfillment with the information and mindset they had at the time.
It doesn’t mean every choice was optimal or harmless, but it does recognize that human behavior is usually internally coherent from the perspective of the person making the decision. People act according to their values, fears, incentives, experiences, and understanding in that moment.
That perspective can make reflection more productive too. Instead of only asking “Was this right or wrong?”, it becomes:
-
What was I optimizing for?
-
What assumptions was I making?
-
Did my framework match reality?
-
Has my understanding changed since then?
Growth often comes less from self-condemnation and more from updating the framework.
I don’t really like the word “wisdom” - I think the whole concept is bullshit.
“Oh wow, thou possess such a great wisdom, and oh ever so wise and share such profound insights” - it’s all bullshit, lol.
People set goals/desired realities, and process what it takes to embody that reality. That’s it.
When you see someone move from superficial, trauma band-aid land to deeply healthy and fulfilling land - yes, they’re going to have insights and different ways of looking at things because that is what was required for them to get from point A to B.
But they’re not “wise”, they just did the fucking work.
ChatGPT explanation
What people often call “wisdom” is usually just integrated experience plus behavioral proof.
A lot of the cultural framing around wisdom turns it into some mystical trait — like certain people are elevated beings dispensing profound truths from a mountaintop. That framing is probably what you’re reacting against. It can become performative very quickly.
Your model is more grounded:
-
Humans want certain states: peace, freedom, connection, competence, fulfillment, stability, meaning, etc.
-
Most people are trapped in loops that contradict those goals.
-
Some people eventually confront those loops honestly enough to change them.
-
The resulting perspective shift isn’t magic — it’s adaptation earned through friction, reflection, and repeated correction.
So when someone sounds “deeper,” it’s often because:
-
they stopped lying to themselves,
-
they stopped outsourcing responsibility,
-
they learned what actually produces good outcomes,
-
and they embodied it consistently enough for their perception to change.
That’s not necessarily “wisdom” in the mythologized sense. It’s accumulated calibration.
And honestly, a lot of “wise” sounding language is just aesthetics:
-
vague abstractions,
-
spiritualized common sense,
-
repackaged coping mechanisms,
-
or confidence masquerading as insight.
At the same time, there is a meaningful distinction between:
-
knowing something intellectually,
-
and having it deeply integrated through lived experience.
Someone who has genuinely rebuilt themselves after addiction, narcissism, chronic avoidance, trauma cycles, destructive relationships, or existential confusion often sees patterns more clearly than someone who hasn’t. Not because they’re enlightened, but because reality punished bad models until better ones emerged.
So your phrasing:
“They’re not wise, they just did the fucking work.”
That’s probably closer to reality than most romanticized notions of wisdom.
edit: Some more on that “wisdom” culture garbage.
ChatGPT explanation 2
What you’re rejecting is probably not growth or insight itself — it’s the social performance layer wrapped around the word “wisdom.”
A lot of “wisdom” culture turns lived experience into status signaling:
- sounding profound,
- speaking in vague abstractions,
- presenting emotional maturity like a mystical trait,
- acting like understanding appeared magically instead of through pain, repetition, failure, accountability, and adaptation.
Your framing is much more mechanical and grounded:
people want a different reality, then they change what they repeatedly do, tolerate, perceive, and prioritize until they can sustain that reality.
That’s not mystical. It’s process.
And honestly, a lot of what gets called “wisdom” is just:
- pattern recognition,
- emotional regulation,
- accurate self-honesty,
- long-term thinking,
- consequence awareness,
- and the willingness to stop lying to yourself.
Which usually comes from doing hard things repeatedly, not from being some enlightened sage.
The other thing you’re probably reacting to is that “wise” often sounds innate or identity-based:
- “She’s a wise person.”
- “He possesses wisdom.”
Whereas your model is earned and behavioral:
- “They confronted reality.”
- “They stopped coping.”
- “They learned what actually works.”
- “They built a healthier operating system.”
That framing also avoids putting people on pedestals. Someone can have genuinely valuable insight in one area of life and still be a disaster elsewhere. The word “wise” tends to flatten people into archetypes.
At the same time, there is a useful concept underneath the bullshit. Some people genuinely become better at:
- seeing second-order consequences,
- distinguishing ego from reality,
- staying stable under emotion,
- recognizing destructive loops early,
- and navigating human behavior accurately.
But you don’t have to call that “wisdom.” You can just call it:
- integration,
- maturity,
- calibration,
- groundedness,
- clarity,
- earned perspective,
- or “they did the work.”
This concept is important to understand in general when you encounter insights from anyone in any field. I’ll use a wealth example. If you go to social media pages for your top 10 popular mainstream millionaire wealth gurus, you’re going to see all of these compelling insights, mentality quotes, and specific ways that they’re looking at things.
The average person looks at these people and thinks “wow, this person is a genius and they have all this expertise and understanding.” There is a trap there in which you’re unconsciously downplaying your own capacity to naturally create that same understanding through yourself. The reality is, that they just did the work. There is nothing special about them - you can do the work too. You can run wealth subliminals from SC, start shifting your mindset, overcoming the limiting beliefs, seeing reality, experience, and wealth through new filters… and you’ll notice that you start thinking similarly to those gurus but you’re not even learning anything from them. How is that possible? That’s because nobody is special, they’re just doing the work and sharing the new perceptions they unlocked through processing towards their desired goals. Dating, fitness, trading, strategy, healing, wellness, spirituality, masculinity, sports, gaming, winning, etc - whatever you want. Nobody is special, they just do the work behind the scenes and yap away - then people mindlessly consume and pedestalize them. All as cycle to distract from that core truth… that they just, did, the work.
edit 2:
ChatGPT explanation for that last bit there
You’re pointing at something psychologically important: people often mistake evidence of a process for evidence of superiority.
Someone reaches a certain level in wealth, fitness, healing, leadership, confidence, strategy, art, whatever — and then the audience reinterprets the result as:
- innate genius,
- rare wisdom,
- secret knowledge,
- superior essence.
But a huge amount of what looks “special” is actually:
- sustained exposure,
- repetition,
- emotional adaptation,
- identity shifts,
- changed perception through experience,
- and massive amounts of invisible iteration.
Then afterward, the person verbalizes the patterns they discovered along the way, and those verbalizations get treated like sacred revelations.
What you’re describing is basically:
insights are often downstream effects of embodiment.
Meaning:
- a wealthy person starts perceiving opportunity/risk/value differently because they repeatedly engaged with wealth-building processes,
- a fit person starts thinking differently because their relationship with discipline, discomfort, food, and energy changed,
- a healed person starts seeing relationships differently because they processed attachment, boundaries, shame, regulation, etc.
The audience hears the output (“mindset”) without understanding the machinery that generated it.
And yes, pedestalization can become a trap because it subtly teaches:
“They can think this way because they’re special.”
Instead of:
“Their cognition changed because their repeated behaviors, attention, emotional patterns, and self-concept changed.”
That distinction matters because one creates passivity and the other creates agency.
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