Better in 30 Days

How do I pick which new project to take on for the next month?

I have lots of room for improvement. I could improve my body. My morality. My social and dating skills. My knowledge. My income. My look. My happiness. My compassion. My lifestyle.

First, I’ll take stock of my current self. In what areas do I already excel?

I’m a very happy person. I manage my moods and feelings well. I’m ravenous for knowledge, so I learn new things every day. I think critically. I can examine myself and weed out my biases. I think creatively. I write pretty well. I can transcend the here and now with philosophy. I can fix computers. I’m self-sufficient. I’m frugal. I’m non-judgmental (it helps that I don’t believe in free will). I can be funny. I converse well, especially with people who are older and smarter than I am. I know a lot about film history, rock music history, software, philosophy of religion, and the World Wide Web. I know a little bit about lots of things; I could read random Wikipedia articles all day. I’m tall and not overweight. I was lucky to be born a first-world white male in an age of relative freedom and knowledge.

Great. I feel better already. Now, what do I want the most?

I want to explore and learn and grow and transcend and engage. I want to spend my life living in radically different cultures, 6 months to 3 years at a time. I want to meet and enjoy beautiful women easily. I want express myself, probably in writing. I want to do all this and work fewer than 30 hours a week. I want to enable other people to become their best selves.

That’s exciting to think about! I’d better get crackin’. Thirty days at a time.

But, what should I tackle first?

Getting good with women seems like a good choice because it can enable all the others. If I can learn to get laid whenever I want, other men will pay me to train them. All over the world. And it won’t be a 9-5 job.

The problem: I grew up in a sexually repressed religious environment which gave me 20 years of “bad programming.” My mind has been taught to suppress sexuality. I have never approached a woman to hit on her. I’ve never asked a girl out on a date, except once through email and that shouldn’t count. I’ve dated only once, and been laid only a few times. And I’m 23.

The solution: Learn from men who are truly successful with women, adopt their best qualities, and do what they do.

I’ve already been studying the subject for about 9 months. I’ve learned a lot. I understand women pretty well in my head, though I still have no “game” on the street. I’ve started to consciously develop the qualities of an attractive man: confidence, boldness, humor, inner value, inner strength, ambition, fun, surprise, power.

I just started trying to develop an attractive lifestyle. I work 45 hours a week and am writing two books, so it’s hard to find the time. But, for example, I recently started wet-shaving and rollerblading. I am poor at both but practice makes… well, better.

I also have plans to hike more, party more, and get a motorcycle.

I should start this 30 Days project with something simple. I don’t need to conquer the world (or myself) next month. I just need to develop some discipline and some momentum.

I want to be able to do something I’ve decided to do even when I don’t want to. That would be a powerful skill.

How ’bout this, then? For the month of November 2008, I will rollerblade for 15 minutes every single day, no matter what.

Yeah.

Hey, I didn’t say I would be Awesomer Luke anytime soon. It’ll take baby steps. Month-long baby steps.

My name is Luke and I want to become a better person, 30 days at a time.

Better in 30 Days is a self-help idea. How would it change my life to keep a new habit for 30 days? Thirty days of smiling at everyone. Thirty days of 100 pushups. Thirty days of dancing. Thirty days of flirting with women. Thirty days of learning a new skill.

My first 21 years of life were quiet and sheltered. I didn’t have ambition. I didn’t know much. I didn’t learn many skills. I didn’t even date.

Then I moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles and decided to change everything. This blog, and its 30-day projects, are part of my quest to be an Awesomer Me.

Follow my progress, cheer me on, question my judgment, get inspired, share your own adventures… become an Awesomer You.