The New Age of Pick Up

Pick up in the 2000s was the Wild West. You saw funny furry hats, leather

bracelets and pick up lines that would make sailor blush. The community was a mix of sex starved boys and men that wanted to become a better human.

There was a steep divide between the two and over time the negative aspects of the community made it a joke from the people outside looking in. It was a rare time when the most outlandish expressions ruled and over the top novelty was sold as dating advice.

The Game by Neil Strauss is a time capsule that gave the world an inside look into pick up before MeToo, before the pandemic, before Tinder.

Was the world better?

It some ways it was, even if it was strange. In other was it was backwards.

Now there is a new age of pick up emerging. It shouldn't even be called pick up. It is more like a return to the original form of socializing. It is promoting the social encounters with others. Making public life interesting again. Bring back the point of cafes, where people could mingle over a cup of coffee. That along your day you will bump into people and one of those conversations might lead to something deeper.

This is a more enlightened form of game. It takes into account that the fun that we all want to have. Everyday we walk outside and see someone we could share 5-10 minutes of talk with.

While I am more introverted, I have noticed that when I engaged in a small conversation out in the wild I learned something new.

I remember more of the wild conversations I have

had then the ones I have had at business Networking events.

That Is why I find this New Age of Pick Up so interesting. It is defined more by curiosity then strategy. You are surrounded by people and getting to know a few of them along your natural day would improve the quality of your life.

You don't have to do anything special.

2000s pick up was made into a science. Introduce yourself, make her laugh, flirt, pull the girl. There was so much mechanical procedure that turned socializing into a process rather than an exploration or an art.

Men and women need to normalize small talk in their life. The world surrounds you with answers to all needs and questions but if you don't talk with people you would never know that.

One of my favorite stories of natural game is when I lived with this Colombian family in Boston for a month.

I had a few adventures with them and learned a lot from that experiences. I will share one of those lessons and stories with you today.

One of the guy I was with was well 6.4 ft tall, married to a beautiful wife, had his whole family around him and worked a job he enjoyed. One day we were going out to camp, for a night in the woods. We wanted to pick up some sandwiches and cookies to enjoy in the forest so we stopped by subway.

While in line with him, I noticed how he was having a casual conversation with the girl behind the counter. A simple how was your day, We are going camping, small talk. By the time it was time to pay she asked him if these were for here or to go. He said "I will take you to go,..., O you mean the sandwiches". It was a small joke but It made me smile and the girl behind the counter blushed before she laughed too.

I remarked about how smooth he was and he just looked at me and said how she works behind that counter and is probably bored. "I just want to have some fun you know."

It is time for our society to level up.

Reframing from pick up to the Art of Socializing is how we can collective upgrade culture.

It help people evolve out of the lower level of consciousness, which make people act and think in self serving ways by showing people there is a higher consciousness that you can use.

That higher level of consciousness makes the boring waits in lines fun, makes the baristas behind the counter blush, and fill 20 minutes of your day with a new face.

It's the small changes that make big differences over time.

Fill your day with small social changes, become a social animal, and have more fun talking.