Gorilla Mindset is Mike Cernovich’s manifesto on mindset techniques to live a better life. In seduction terminology, it’s advice for improving your “Inner game”. Mike previously blogged for a male audience at Danger and Play (a site he since took down). Nowadays, he’s settled down with a wife and also became a father.
I never read his blogs at Danger and Play. But Gorilla Mindset fits in well with the self-improvement sphere and also Nice Guy Seduction. I mean this in the sense that a guy with a bad mindset, will almost certainly not have sex with attractive girls regularly. But with great mindset you can move mountains, whether sexually speaking, in your career, or other obstacles you face.
Contents
Positive Self-Talk
The first mindset shift he recommends is to treat yourself like a treasured and trusted friend. Look closely at your self-talk when no one else is around. Analyze it in every way possible. Write it down, record it with an app, talk to yourself in the mirror. Thus get objectivity on your mental state.
Next, Cernovich gives a few examples of affirmations to improve your mindset, such as “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. it smells like victory” (from the movie “Apocalypse Now”). Or, the doctor who repeated “Mighty Mighty Mighty!” whenever he was faced with a problem.
Healthier self-talk leads to a better relationship with yourself. Which, in turn, leads to improved relationships with others.
Another tip is to add “because” to your affirmations, to increase the likelihood you’ll follow through. My own example for e.g. a dry spell with women would be: I’ll successfully seduce a hot girl today because I’m tired of sleeping alone at night.
Next, he tells us to discard “maybe” from your vocabulary, and replace it with I will… For example, “Maybe I’ll meet hot girls and take a few home this month” should be: “I will take hot girls home this month.”
Turn self-criticism into a question e.g. how can I avoid making a similar mistake or choice in the future?
Framing (and Reframing) Your Challenges
How you frame your situation influences your happiness. See the positive in everything that happens to you. Also, focus on the strength you’ll gain through your trials and tribulations. See the strong masculine guy on the other side of all your challenges – instead of only focusing on your challenges (which will cause more stress in the present moment). Also, challenges make you “more intelligent, more emotionally complex, more resourceful”. Think like Cernovich: “Once I’ve gotten through this problem I’ll have a reservoir of strength that’ll make me unstoppable”. And of course, mistakes lead to Mastery.
With good mindset, every problem could be seen and reframed as a gift.
Be More Mindful
Gorilla Mindset gives typical meditation advice, which you’ll also find in many other places. Still, it’s nice to read in Cerno’s own words. He encourages being grounded in your body, instead of being in the head thinking unfocused random thoughts.
He explains Kai Green’s bodybuilding routine: Before each workout, check-in with self-talk and mindfulness techniques. He asks himself why he is at the gym. He visualizes who he wants to become. So you put 100% energy into your workout.
You could do the same in seduction: Remind yourself why you’re doing daygame, and visualize who you want to become. While quietening the mind’s endless mental chatter.
Everything you do, tell yourself what you’re about to do, and why. For example: I’m about to _______, and I’m going to do this because_______. Thus everything you set out to do, you do consciously, fully present, not half-assed.
He gives a few more exercises to be more rooted in the present moment, e.g. through self-talk: Here I am in the present moment…. then describe what you experience. Also, to relate this to seduction, notice the eye color of the girl you’re cold approaching. And look if she has freckles. Next, observe if she’s well-dressed with matching clothes.
In my own view, I’d say this is a good measure of how mindful and present you currently are in your day or nightgame. Do you notice the details? Or can you only remember how anxious or nervous you are? Relaxation leads to better conversations with women and improved flirting skills.
For deeper and more mindful connections with others, he recommends the mantra:
There’s no place else I’d rather be. There’s no one else I’d rather see.
Default Mindset
Mike investigates the concept of default mindset, and whether this can be changed. Find your own default state: Is it optimism, pessimism, or e.g. …being resourceful?
My own thoughts are: Can you trick yourself, like an actor, that you are feeling differently right now, or that you have a different default state than what you currently experience?
Mike believes you can. He recommends incorporating affirmations like: “I am resetting my home base, my default state is going to be one of resourcefulness, invincibility, and ________ (fill your own in).” Take control of your default state.
He also includes more NLP exercises to capture resourceful mental states in your past and anchor them to the present moment. This could e.g. be used before you go out gaming, to help with approach anxiety. Check out NLP: The New Technology of Achievement for further reading.
“How I feel is a choice I make in the present moment.”
Focus your Awareness
Chapter 5 (Mindset and Focus) is about consciously choosing focus every moment of your day, to get closer to your goals.
Cernovich suggests asking yourself: What am I focusing on? And is what I am focusing on right now making me feel better or worst about myself or my situation?
I’d even add: How deep is your focus? Thus how immersed are you in what you’re doing right now.
Don’t get distracted by anything, instead, strengthen your focus all the time.
Least Favorite Chapters
Chapter 6 to 8 were my least favorite chapters, as I barely learned anything new. Not sayin’ you won’t learn anything though, since I’ve simply already studied a lot on these topics. This part fits less into the very specific mindset category of self-improvement. However, like Mike, I do believe that you are what you eat. There is no point in trying to have a healthy default mindset if your diet consists of garbage.
Chapter 6, the mindset and lifestyle chapter includes typical advice like cold showers, get enough sleep, have morning routines, and quirky brain exercises when you wake up.
In Chapter 7, he dumps a lot of his health and fitness ideas. First, is to drink beet juice to increase Nitric Oxide. This allows your blood vessels to dilate, and it may improve blood flow – good recommendation. Plus, there’s typical well-being advice like get 8 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, drink green juice, eat a high fiber diet, explore the link between gut and brain health, and lift weights. Next, he gives a few recommendations of interesting supplements to invest in.
In Chapter 8, there’s very basic posture advice. With this section, it seems like he’s padding out the book since posture was already mentioned earlier. Moreover, Cernovich adds interviews with doctors, in some of the chapters, which also feels like padded out content.
Gorilla Mindset Money Advice
Similar to Maverick Traveler’s Way of the Maverick, Mike Cernovich encourages being the producer (and seller) rather than only the consumer (or buyer). Furthermore, create an online presence to get more clients, e.g. videos – even if you only have a smartphone. In addition, he recommends saving for your future by investing with discipline instead of speculation. Overall, this is an interesting chapter on thinking differently about career, finance, and making money.
Be a Man of Vision like Cernovich
Mindset and Vision is a well-written chapter, with a unique take on visualization. Mike starts by stating the benefits of visualization. Similar to goal-directed daydreaming, imagine yourself achieving your goals. Visualizing where you want to be (and with whom), allows your mental state to improve. Which you carry with you when life is difficult.
Since he believes in present moment awareness, he argues that dreams can be more realistic than memories. As it is, memories can be somewhat biased to your own mental filters. He asks: “What if you started from the proposition that your past does not exist, and treat memories as no more real than imagination?”. A very philosophical and thought-provoking question.
Apply this to e.g. your youth or teenage years, when you were shy before you got your first girlfriend… Were you really shy? Or maybe you simply didn’t know what to say? Maybe you were more focused on other shit and could care less about women at that point. Thus, my point is that our pasts are, at least to some degree, open to our own interpretation.
Final Quote:
For the rest of the day, do not think about the past. When a memory arises, remind yourself, “This is not real.” Instead of thinking about the past, visualize the future.
Conclusion – Gorilla Mindset
Since Inner game is 50% of seduction, I recommend reading this book to build yourself up mentally for cold approach and seduction. Of course, you still need some outer game help as well. However, improving your mindset and life skills will by itself also lead to increased success with women. For example, be in better shape, and women find you more attractive. Or improve your income, and you can afford a nicer place to live close to the nightlife. Or, be more confident, and feel less approach anxiety.
Even though this is not specifically a seduction book, it’s totally worth checking out. Grab a copy of Gorilla Mindset with this link for a special price at Amazon.
Readability: 5/5
Price 4.5/5
Quality of Info: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
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For more mindset related content, check out our post: The Winning Mindset to Pickup Girls
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