The 10 Cardinal Rules of a Successful Man

This blog is primarily dedicated to defense issues, and has been since its creation in 2008. But ever since its founding, I have, from time to time, published postings about other topics, so I’ll do so today as well :

This one is very important: my observations on how to become a successful man, based on my experiences, and thus, what distinguishes a successful man from a failed guy.

The 10 Cardinal Rules of a Successful Man, according to Zbigniew Mazurak, are (in no particular order of importance):

1. You have to be able to make decisions fast – and oftentimes, without anyone’s advice. You must decide what is most important for you, and then stick to that priority unless and until it disappears. No one else can do the deciding for you. You must not be indecisive; a decision (even if it later turns out to be wrong) is still better in 99% of cases than no decision at all. Can you imagine Napoleon, Ronald Reagan, Sun Tzu, or whoever was your favorite leader, quibbling for hours on what decision to make, especially in simple cases?

2. To become successful with women, as almost all guys want to, you will first have to become successful in life in general (which is what all these rules, and especially the next one, are about). About 90% of women (and girls) will prefer a very successful (wealthy, influential, handsome, strong) man who is not good at seduction and courtship over a failed nobody who can’t get a decent job (or any job at all). Yes, women really prefer wealthy, powerful, influential, handsome, physically (and emotionally) strong men over those who aren’t; those traits are really important to them, no matter how many people tell you that “women don’t care about money, influence, looks, and physical strength.” It’s fashionable these days to say that, but it’s wrong. If you don’t believe me, just ask yourself this question:

How many women would love to date famous, wealthy guys like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, or Daniel Craig? Answer: quite a lot.

How many women would want to date an average Joe, especially if they can date someone wealthier, more handsome, and more powerful? Answer: not many.

Just as men want to date the most beautiful women available, women want to date, sleep, and eventually marry (for those who carry about marriage) the wealthiest, most handsome, most powerful, and strongest men they can get. And who can blame them? They want comfort, affluence, and fun! Moreover, those who envisage having children at some point want their children to grow up in the most affluent, most secure household possible. Dating a failed man would condemn them to a future of misery, poverty, and lack of security.

3. To become successful in life, you must, first and foremost, work hard for many years. Becoming successful won’t come easy (if it did, almost everyone would’ve been successful right now), nor will you achieve life success fast. Whatever other people tell you, there are NO shortcuts to becoming a successful man.

Now, all of that may very well sound obvious. But working hard is only part of the story. To be successful, you must be working hard on those things that will objectively give you tangible benefits in life – preferrably the biggest benefit you can get. You should not expend ANY effort whatsoever on endeavors that do not benefit you in a tangible way. If you do, you will only waste a lot of time and money for no benefit whatsoever. A good case in point is: what major should you study? Forget about studying majors such as History, Political Science, Philosophy, Social Science, English, etc. – degrees in these majors are worthless pieces of paper that will only land you a place on welfare rolls or a job at McDonald’s – not a position with Google or HP. Study the “hard sciences” hard, obtain degrees in fields that are in high-demand, and obtain a good job. Which brings me to my next point.

4. Always do what is profitable for you. Forget about doing things that bring you no benefit. Also, always do what is best for YOU, not others. No one will take care of you; you must do that. Always do what is best, and most profitable, for YOU. Do not sacrifice yourself for others’ sake.

5. Do what is best for you regardless of what others (except your spouse, if you have one, and those who have power over you) think. Seek their opinion and advice, but at the end of the day, do what is best for YOU, regardless of what others (except those listed above) think.

6. Don’t assume you know everything. You don’t. People who claim to be experts, or who gladly accept being called “experts” by others, are usually people of little knowledge on that subject. The truth is, you learn throughout your entire life.

7. Also, in order to be attractive to people, you must have an interesting hobby/pastime; one that is interesting to many people, that is. It can be a sport, but doesn’t have to be. Being an interesting man who does interesting things, has visited fascinating countries, has many interesting stories to tell, and lives an interesting live opens a lot of doors and increases your chances of success with everyone – not just women. It can also increase (somewhat) your chances of getting that job you dream of. If you can engage the interviewer in an interesting conversation on the subject, he/she will think more of you.

8. Learn widely-spoken foreign languages like French, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese. This will quite literally open the door to the cultures and the hearts of the people where these languages are spoken. Also learn German, in case you need to immigrate to Germany or Switzerland (19 Swiss cantons have German as their sole official language and it is the only language really spoken by the locals in these cantons).

9. Never, ever, reveal any of your weaknesses or failures before anyone, unless you absolutely must because you are being interrogated and must say the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You never gain anything from such a disclosure. Also, never show weakness or fear in front of anyone. Again, you never gain anything from showing it.

10. Don’t shower anyone – not just women – with too much attention. People don’t like that. At best, you will become a bothersome nuisance for them; at worst, they may come to think you need them and want their attention at all cost – and will demand ever-increasing ransom from you for their attention.

There are, of course, other principles a man must abide by to be successful, but these are the 10 most important ones. Failing to abide by any one of them will lead to failure in life. Men who abide by all ten are successful in life – and with women.