The

Engineering The Alpha Lifestyle Guide

Q:

All right. Ques9on number one, lets start with personal care, clothing
and fashion rst, okay?

Roman:

Sure.

Q:

Okay. So, lets talk grooming. The rst ques9on I would have iswell
before I even ask a ques9on I have to say that your beard is preKy
awesome. You do a very good job with your face so people probably
want to know, what kind of facial products you use for shaving and stu
specically?

Roman:

Absolutely. So, when it comes to skin care, there are really two specic
arenas. Like sort of a two-sted approach to having an awesome face.
The rst is general skin health and the second is shaving and all of the
products related to that.

So, the rst thing I would say lets talk about general skin health. Now,
you should have a good exfolia9ng face wash. Some sort of aSershave
face wash toner, and then a moisturizer. Now, you can get a liKle bit
more exac9ng and you can include dierent types of oils, and you can
even have eye creams and the like. I do recommend that anyone over 30
have an eye cream.

Heres how it works. The rst thing that you should have is a good
exfolia9ng face wash. There are a lot of good ones but some good brands
that you should look at are Anthony Logis9cs for Men. They have a great
deep pore cleansing wash. Another great one is Kiehls and they have a
fantas9c skincare line. They have a great exfoliator as well.

Here are the companies that you should look at because they will have
products in all of the arenas that I talked about.

The rst one is Anthony Logis9cs. From there, youre gonna look at Jack
Black. So, Jack Black Mens Skincare is very good. Then aSer that, Kiehls.
All three of these are very good and they all oer similar products.

I tend to use Jack Black quite a bit. I really like their face washes.

The rst thing you want to do is pick out the one that ts your style. I
tend to use Jack Black and Kiehls although Anthonys stu seems like its
a liKle bit for younger guys. So, if youre in the 20 to 25 range, I would

denitely say Anthonys is good. If youre a liKle bit older, Jack Black and
Kiehls. Kiehls is generally regarded as very high end. They sell it at high
end gym chains like Equinox.

So, my personal skincare regimen starts with an exfolia9ng face wash rst
thing in the morning.
I start with my Jack Black Face Bu Energizing Scrub, which is $30.00 for 6
ounces - but it does last a while. It has Vitamin C and menthol in it. I use
that rst thing in the morning or when Im in the shower. And then when
I am done with that, I use a toner by Kiehls.

Toner has a liKle alcohol and astringent in there. Its basically an an9-
aging thing. It keeps your skin looking fresh and clear and helps sort of
hide any of the general wear and tear on your skin. Its the general way to
put it.

I use an ultra facial toner. So, I put this on when I get out of the shower or
whenever I have nished washing my face.

ASer that I use Kiehls Abyssine Cream. Its basically an an9-wrinkle

cream. It has Abyssine, which is a survival molecule that thrives in
extreme condi9ons in hydrothermal ocean vents. It basically soothes
your skin and moisturizes you and just keeps your skin fresh and most
importantly prevents wrinkles and thats really important.

As for your eyes, I do use an under eye cream. I use something that helps
with puness and wrinkle reduc9on. I have an everyday eye cream that I
use. Then, on those occasions when lets say I stay up too late or my eyes
are par9cularly puy, I do have some other stu as well. So, I use this
one, which is an eye de-puer and its sort of like a s9ck that you rub on.
So, its got caeine in it, basically dehydrates the puness. So, those are
the four products I use.

Now, lets talk about shaving. Again, your typical skincare rou9ne should
have those four things. It should have a good facial scrub, a good toner, a
good moisturizer and an eye cream. Those are the most important things
because that will keep you looking young.

Moving on from there, lets talk about shaving. Shaving is one of the few
areas where men really get to sort of have a series like the kinds of
products that no one else gets to have. Its this thing that only men have.
There are a lot of dierent great shaving products and Ive been using a
few over the past couple of years.

So, how you shave is really important. I believe that you should use the
old school method of shaving when you use a badger hair brush to
lubricate and coat your beard. The badger hair helps exfoliate and soSen
the hair. One thing to know is that if youre going to shave with a blade,
you should always shave aSer a shower. Take a nice hot shower so that it
soSens the hair and opens your pores. Then, the rst thing that you put
on your face is a shaving oil and what that does is obviously lubricates
your face. I use one by a company called Toro, which is the best I have
found in a really long 9me. It lubricates your face and just allows the
razor to glide. It soSens the hair a bit but mostly allows the razor to glide
more smoothly over you and not cut you.

ASer you use the shave oil, youre gonna put on a shave cream. You put
the shave oil on and you let it sit for just a liKle bit and sort of rub it into
your skin. From there, you need to apply your shaving cream. So, you
take your badger hair brush which you can get from anywhere from $30
to $300. You soak your badger hair brush in hot water just right under the
faucet for a liKle while. From there you put your shaving cream on your
brush. You sort of put your nger in the middle of the brush and just
make a liKle indenta9on in the badger hair and then put your shaving
cream in there.

There are a lot of dierent types of shaving cream. Some are beKer than
others. Really the main thing that you need to do is gure out what is not
going to upset your face. I have been using one called Kyoku. Its a sake
infused shaving cream. Ive also been using Lucky Tiger. Ive been using
Lucky Tiger for a while, too. I like this. It has a nice travel kit. Ive been
using Lucky Tiger. It again soSens the hair and protects you while you
shave. You apply that on a brush and so then, you rub the brush along
your face in circular movements coa9ng your en9re beard. Thats really
important. Again guys, shaving is a human art form and it is unique to
men.

From there, the important thing is that you shave with the grain, not
against it. Taking short strokes and keeping your razor clean, so wash it in
between. ASer you are done shaving, splash cold water on your face
before you put anything else on it very, very cold water. This will close
your pores and 9ghten your skin. Then, from there you want to put on a
post-shave gel. So, the post-shave gel can really be any number of things
like there are all sorts of aSer-shaves and I have a few that I like. If you
have sensi9ve skin, again there are some things you need to test because
if you have sensi9ve skin, you dont want to put something on your face
thinking its cool and then have it upset your face. Then, youre gonna
break out or be all red or something like that. So, you dont want to do
that.

I have found that Mr. NaKys Jack Tars Bay Rum works really well and it
has a nice scent. So, if you are just star9ng to shave with a blade like I
actually some9mes consider is that I did not shave with a blade for years,
I just use an electric and then I switched to a blade and my skin was super
sensi9ve for a while. Now, I use a blade fairly frequently and this is my
aSer-shave stu. So, if youre just switching over, you wanna pick
something like Tend Skin. Theres this stu called Tend Skin, which is
what you would put on if you have not shaved in a while and it would
help prevent razor burns.
So, theres a sort of the two types of skincare that men use. Youre gonna
use a series of products for general facial care and then youre gonna use
a series of products for your shaving needs. If youre gonna do both on
the same day, make sure that theres about half an hour between when
you shave and when you put on the other products.

Q:

Okay. So, is there anything to say on the topic of haircuts or hairstyles?

Roman:

Sure. You should pick a hairstyle that ts your face. Now, I am known for
changing my hair very frequently. I really sort of have two modes.
Normally, Im sort of growing my hair and other than that, Im shaving it
o completely. So, I am fortunate that my face tends to look good with
most styles of hair. Most people I think are like that but you should try
and have a haircut that sort of ts in with the 9mes.

If youre gonna have longer hair, it cant be like at ironed or super

straight. Its generally like theres some wave in it. If youre gonna have
shorter hair, you cant put hair gel in it and have this wet look and spike it
up. If youre looking to be super aKrac9ve to most, then you would want
to do things that are with the trends.

Right now, short hair styled in a dapper way is very in right now. It is
parted generally on the side and the trend is away from gels and more
towards pomades and waxes. Theres a lot of old 9mer haircuts like these
things that would have been popular in the 20s where guys have really,
really short on the boKom and sides and then longer on top. Its a nice
look and you just have to nd one that works for you.

The important thing is that you dont want to have a haircut that is
impossible to style. You want something thats rela9vely quick and easy.
When my hair is long and curly, what my friends aec9onately call my
hobbit hair. Its harder to manage. I have to use dierent products
depending on the length and it takes much longer to dry. I generally,
actually have to do my hair. Whereas when my hair is short as it is now, I
get out of the shower, I run a towel over it several 9mes to dry it. I comb
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it forward and then I create a hard very sharp part with the comb and
thats it. I just part it and then let it dry a liKle bit and put some pomade.
Roman:

I know but what do I say about hair. Just like just dont look sloppy.
Most important thing is that if youre gonna grow your hair out and wear
long hair, dont go too long without gehng trims in par9cular. Make sure
you get your neck shaped up and you know Dont grow it super long,
thats not cool anymore. My advice would be not to do that. [Laughter]

Q:

Is it worth talking about glasses style at all for people who do wear them
or do you want to?

[00:20:00]
Roman:

Yeah. You should pick eyeglasses that t your face and the 9mes. Right
now, the trend is towards more obvious looking glasses. Something like
some sort of bold frames, generally very square whereas 10 years ago,
the trend was towards sort of invisible frames where the lenses
themselves would not actually have frames and they would just have
stems and a nose piece.

I would say that right now, I have two pairs of eyeglasses. One of them is
dark blue, which is a liKle bit more formal and the other one is like a
bright obnoxious blue. That is like really sort of fun. I tried on about 30
pairs before I found two that t my face the right way. If you have a
round face, you dont necessarily want to wear round glasses. You want
to wear something more angular to sort of draw away from the
roundness of your face. At the same 9me if you have a very angular face,
very like hard to nd jaw line, you dont necessarily want to wear angular
cut glasses because they can make you look very severe. Instead, you
would simply want to wear something maybe a liKle bit lighter or a liKle
bit rounder. There are a lot of dierent things you can do. If you want to
be safe, go with a nice rectangular frame tortoiseshell glasses. These will
always look stylish. Theyll always look classic.

Q:

What about sunglasses? I have trouble nding ones that t my face all
the 9me. I try to get aviators because I think theyre safe. I havent quite
gured that out yet.

Roman:

Aviators are interes9ng. I nd that its not generally about the shape
because I think aviators look good on anyone. Its about the size of the
lens, the size of the frame. If you have a small head and you wear these
glasses that have these giant lenses, theyre gonna look like goggles on
you. So, generally speaking, if you look at a classic aviator company like
Ray-Ban, they have four dierent sizes of aviators. They probably have

two dierent styles in each size. You just need to nd the one. Start small
and then work your way up and youll nd one that ts.

Most tradi9onal aviator is the more like the teardrop which doesnt look
good on everyone whereas you can get a soSer one thats more like a
square frame and those will good on just about everyone.

Q:

Are aviators they say the only sunglasses that looks good for all?

Roman:

No, I mean theres also right now, its also very trendy to wear wayfarers.
But the interes9ng thing about wearing wayfarers is that they dont
actually look good on anyone. I dont think wayfarers look right on
anyones face because theyre this very contrived shape. Because they
dont look good on anyone, everyone can sort of wear them with equal
ease. So, there I mean, youre sort of wearing them to make an an9-
fashion fashion statement.

The thing that you wanna do is really just nd colors and sizes that you
enjoy. Its not about really making them look good, its about making
them look fun with those.

Q:

No, okay. Next would be lets talk about your smell. I guess the most
important part of that is deodorant. I dont know if you have any insight
in deodorant other than just wear it.

Roman:

Yeah. Deodorant is an interes9ng thing because theore9cally, you should

smell good, right? But speaking prac9cally, deodorant can be dangerous
because the most lets say store-bought deodorants, like most of the
ones you would nd in the drugstore, they suck like magnesium from you
and they can cause all sorts of problems. In par9cular, an9perspirants can
clog your pores and create all sorts of problems in your lymph nodes.

So, I actually only wear deodorant when Im going out to dinner and I
think its gonna be hot and I might start swea9ng. But when I wake up in
the morning and take a shower, I dont put deodorant on through out the
day because I dont generally smell badly enough to need. I just gure I
shower in the morning and then Im gonna be going to the gym at some
point in the day and showering aSer a set. I think that most people can
get away with not wearing deodorant.

[00:25:00]

If you tend to smell and tend to sweat a lot then you would probably
want to nd lets say they have like a Paleo or primal paste or any of
these other things. Basically, a more natural deodorant that doesnt have

all these chemicals in it that will pump magnesium from your bones
would be my recommenda9on.

As much as I like stu like lets say, things that smell like mountain rush
or whatever these companies name their deodorants, I personally think
that its a really easy thing to avoid.

Q:

I have a personal project on this topic actually and Im about to get some
milk of magnesia and see if its an amazing deodorant. You can put it on
as long as you dont shower o, it will last for three days. It wont smell at
all for three days. It smells like nothing. Its just like you are smell-less. Its
insane.

My second thought is that the natural deodorants that Ive tried actually
make you smell worse. They get less and less eec9ve over9me and then
you would just smell awful. Thirdly is that if you nd yourself as being a
person with bad body odor, change your diet. Eat foods that arent so
toxic, like youre smelling what you ate. Eat more vegetables and juices.

Okay, and then the second topic on smell is obviously colognes.

Roman:

Yes, clog maze. I like nice colognes. Heres the problem with colognes.
Colognes that are really good and get a generally good response tend to
get very popular very quickly and theyre the colognes that everyone
wears.

I dont like to wear the colognes that everyone wears so I tend to buy
colognes that are a bit more expensive. Not because theyre necessarily
beKer although I do nd that theyre preKy amazing but rather because
they are not common. So, its really just whats the best way to put it?
Its basically separa9ng myself from the crowd, right?

So, for me the things that I like Car9er Roadster, its very good. Ford
Tobacco Vanille are both good. They are high end colognes and they have
a nice heady woodsy smell. If you want something a liKle deeper but also
less expensive, something thats more like an everyday cologne, you can
check out Tom Ford for Men. Those are all what I would call brown
scents. Theyre a liKle heady, theyre heavy and you would wear them
either at night or par9cular during the fall and winter.

You also want to look at green scents. Green scents are colognes that you
could wear during the day in the spring and the summer. So, its a couple
of good ones. Most of the Burberry scents are preKy light so they fall into
that category and theyre very good. A lot of Gucci scents are green
scents as well.

Heres actually a really, really easy way to tell if something is a green

scent or a brown scent. Just look at the color of the perfume because
generally speaking the green scent, it will be 9nted either light blue or
green or light green or maybe even a light yellow. Whereas if its a brown
scent its a brown scent, it will be darker, it will be brown or it will be in a
black boKle and the liquid itself will be like a gray. So its a really easy way
to tell. There are a few good ones.

Q:

So, weve got colognes covered, now lets talk briey about jewelries.
Lets start with the necklaces.

Roman:

Jewelry is a tricky subject. You cant wear a lot of jewelry unless youre
going for a very specic type of bohemian style. And even if thats the
case, you cant wear certain types of jewelry. You can wear one sort of
nice expensive piece and then a few cheaper pieces but if you were a
bunch of expensive jewelry, you just wouldnt look right. I was playing
poker recently with a guy who was wearing three David Yurman
bracelets, some sort of expensive necklace and a David Yurman ring on
one hand and then a larger gold ring on another hand. He just sort of
looked like a character right o a maa movie. It was really interes9ng.
You got to go light.

For necklaces, I tended to recommend that people pick one piece and it
should have some meaning. So, if youre looking to spend a liKle bit of
money to nd something that has meaning, what I would suggest is that
you go to a site called FallingWhistles.com. Its really cool. They sell these
they look like dog whistles. Its this very nice trendy piece. It comes on a
long chain and it actually has meaning and purpose. So, Falling Whistles is
a company that is trying to end the war in the Congo. The name comes
from the fact that they want people to stop turning a blind eye and
instead be a whistle blower on the atroci9es that are commiKed there.

Its actually a really cool looking necklace. It has some fashion obviously.
Its got some clout in terms of making you look cool. Also by buying it,
youre suppor9ng this great cause. And most necklaces, I hate to use the
term peacocking but most of the 9me people buy stu like that because
they like to draw aKen9on to themselves.

That necklace is a great conversa9on piece that has a built-in story and
thats really, really powerful. Theyre not super expensive. For $40 or $50,
you get a cool looking necklace and a great story to tell every 9me youre
at the bar. And it makes you look like a good person whos suppor9ng a
great cause, extra win.

I also like a company called Pyrrha, I think. Pyrrha is a jewelry company

that makes symbolic talismans. They have a signature line of handcraSed
8

jewelry that is designed based on 18th and 19th century wax seals. So,
every dierent necklace has a dierent meaning and they all have either
French or La9n phrases on them and theyre cool. I have two of them. I
was fortunate enough to meet the owners of this company. These are a
liKle bit more expensive. Generally, theyre gonna run you between $200
and $400 but again, they are these beau9ful single pieces that have this
incredible story. Each one has a dierent meaning and a dierent
phrasing on it and it comes from some families like wax seal. I really like
these so much so that I actually I have bought a few for my friends. These
are really cool. Again, anything that has a built-in story is cool.

Finally, there is a company called Cartography. Let me see if I could nd

the website. Yeah, the website is actually, its Cartography40N74W. So,
obviously, 40 North 74 West. This is really cool. The owner of this
company, Mark does he will sit with you and sort of interview you. He
travels all over the world and he nds his charms and trinkets. He puts
them on this necklace so hell talk with you and interview and based on
the conversa9on, he has with you and the sort of the read he gets from
your personality, he picks out what charms to put on.

Thema9cally, every one will have sort of an animal, some sort of a

medallion, some sort of precious stone and like a small pocket knife.
Theyre actually really cool. Mine has a stag on it. It has jade which has
grounding proper9es because Im so stressed out. Its just like this really,
really cool concept where these knives are completely, rather these
necklaces are completely customized to you based on the conversa9on
that you have with the owner of this company. They are expensive.
Theyre about anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000 but its this one of a
kind piece and again it has a built in story and thats really important.
Because why would you wear a piece of jewelry just to wear a piece of
jewelry? Why would you not want to wear a story around your neck? A
story that you can tell and I think thats really good.

So, for necklaces one to two pieces at most and they should always
have some sort of meaning. Those are three op9ons you have in three
very dierent price ranges.

Q:
Roman:

Okay. Con9nuing with the jewelry concept, bracelets?

Bracelets, yeah. If youre gonna wear metal bracelets, you can wear what
are called layering bracelets where they are theyre not gonna match
but they kind of like look like they go together. I would say no more than
two per wrist. There are a lot of dierent places you can get them,
Nordstrom, Bloomingdale, David Yurman has some nice one. But you
dont want to be the guy who has like ve bracelets that are obviously
expensive all on one hand because it just looks silly.
9

Personally, I do not wear metal bracelets. I prefer leather. Even then, I

prefer stu that like sort of looks like very rus9c and beat up. I have this
beau9ful bracelet that Im wearing now that my ance got me. Its got
like four pieces of leather cord all balanced together in these brass rings.
Its like a very cool its almost looks like Im wearing armor which I really
like. Ive also got these wrap around bracelets, theyre these long leather
bracelets that wrap around the wrist two or three 9mes from David
Yurman. They were like $200 or $300 each but its a really, really nice
look that allows me to create a dierent sort of image. I have a brown
one, a black one and a blue one so depending on how I pair them
together, its always a liKle bit dierent.

While were talking about wrist wear, we should talk about watches.
Every man should have a few watches. You should have a really, really
nice one. One really expensive watch, whatever expensive means for you.
That can mean $300, it can mean $3,000 or it could mean $10,000. One
really expensive watch that you really love the shit out of and pay special
aKen9on to. It just sort of like your I got this. You know you should buy
it for yourself. at a moment of great achievement.

I have a Breitling. I think it was like $3,000 that somebody gave to me. My
mentor gave to me when I graduated from college so it has a lot of
meaning. And when my book hits number one on the New York Times
bestseller, I have my eye on this Breitling that costs 11 grand that Im
gonna be buying. Im really excited about it because for me of course I
could aord to buy it whenever I want but Im not gonna do that. For me
its like a special occasion thing. Its this treat that I will buy myself if and
only if my book hits number one on the New York Times bestseller. It will
be my reward for all my hard work.

Then I also have a lot of less expensive watches that I just wear for
fashion purposes. I have a great one from Guess that was like $400 and I
have a lot of ones from Diesel that were $200. Each one sort of like goes
with dierent outits, some have a white band, some have a black band
or a blue band. A great company you should check is House of Horology.
Horology is the study of 9me and they make really, really great stu. So, I
think that those certainly are worth having. One great watch is really all
you need and then you can have a few less expensive watches that are
more of an everyday piece.

Q:

The side ques9on on all these is pocket watches. For a while you were
bringing that back. Is that s9ll happening?

Roman:

Yeah. Pocket watches are denitely s9ll a thing. I am big on pocket

watches. Its really something you can only wear with a vest or a blazer. I
10

think that you should start rela9vely inexpensive with pocket watches.
Dont spend more than $200 because its just not something that you are
going to get a lot of 9me to wear. Yeah, denitely, I think we should all be
focusing on bringing pocket watches back. Lets do it.
Q:

Whats your best travel 9p?

Roman:

Oh, actually I have a really, really great travel 9p that everyone should
use. A couple of years back, I got cer9ed as a travel agent. Its a really,
really funny thing. A friend of mine had done it and she recommended it
to me. So, I got cer9ed as a travel agent and it cost me like $400. It cost
me $50 to $100 a year to maintain it. But when I travel, I pay 50% to 75%
less than I would if I wasnt a registered travel agent for hotels. It doesnt
save me any money on ights, unfortunately. For example, whenever I go
down to Mexico where I try to go once a year, I like to just hang out in
Riviera Maya. Any9me I stay at an all-inclusive resort down there like
typically, those things should cost about $300 or $400 a night. I pay $89 a
night.

So, it was this cool thing that I did. I am able, as a travel agent, you go on
any vaca9on is technically whats called a fam trip or a familiariza9on
trip. Where youre extensively going to the hotel to familiarize yourself
with the property so that you could sell it to your clients, but of course
Im just doing it to go on vaca9on. It was a great investment for me. You
know, its probably cos9ng like $800 since the 9me I did it total including
the rst $400 sign up fee. I travel on the cheap. I actually just booked a
trip to Europe in May and the average hotel price when we looked was
about $300 a night for most of the hotels that I looked at. I am not paying
more than a $160 a night at any of them. So, Im saving quite a bit.

Q:

This is hotels all around the U.S.?

Roman:

Yeah, hotels all over. The U.S. is not as good actually so when you travel
abroad, you tend to save more. Its super cheap to travel to Mexico, very
cheap to travel to the Caribbean. Depending on the type of hotel you
want to stay in. Youre up seems to be cheaper as well. Obviously, youre
paying just as much for your ights but everything else is cheaper.

Q:

And you think this is beKer than some apps and online op9ons? [

Roman:

Well, it depends on the type of accommoda9ons you want. If you want to

go to a big city and youre staying in someones apartment, thats not an
all-inclusive resort, right? So, if you go to Mexico and youre staying in
this all-inclusive resort for $89, everything is included. So you could drink
5,000 ounces of alcohol a day like Joel Marion did when we were there. I

11

saw Joe have like 36 drinks in one day. But thats an en9rely dierent
story.

But lets tell it anyway. He was mostly drinking Bud Light but he also had
a couple of shots. Lets say that even at the cheapest bar, a Bud Light is
gonna cost $4.00. So, Joel was having 36 Bud Lights at $4.00 each. Its not
a ton of money but its s9ll close to 200 bucks, plus $9.00 shots like four
or ve of them through out the day. You could spend a lot of money. So,
the thing that I was recommending is worth doing because it will
denitely save you money depending on the type of resort or hotel that
youd like to stay in. You know what I mean?

Q:

Yeah. Well, Joels story there is amazing.

Roman:

Yeah, any story involving Joel Marion is.

Q:

I guess the only thing is that it doesnt cover airline companies obviously
Virgin.

[00:45:02]
Roman:

Yeah, for airline like I prefer to y Virgin or Jet Blue. Theres a great book
that I would recommend called Rock Your Travel by a guy named Algis
Tamosai9s. Algis is a friend of mine. He taught all about how to maximize
your travel in terms of frequent yer miles and all of these crazy things
like I dont really know a lot about that. My philosophy is I always y
Virgin and I am a member of their elevate program so I get miles and
stu. I also opened a Virgin credit card so I get miles.

So, whatever airlines you would like to y whether its Virgin or Jet Blue,
its denitely worth while to open their credit card because you do rock
up miles a lot faster and I can save in travel.

Q:

Essen9al clothing for every man.

Roman:

Essen9al clothing for every man. Men are really lucky in that they can
have a really respectable wardrobe with 16 to 20 items. Every guy should
have a nice pair of dark jeans, should have a pair of casual dress shoes in
both brown and black or colors that you can wear with brown and black.
Buy casual dress shoes, I mean thats something that is dressy enough to
wear with the suit but wouldnt look out of place with a pair of jeans. You
should have one nice suit preferably in blue or gray because those will be
the most versa9le. One great sport coat, generally you can go lighter on
this. So khaki colored is nice, you have a lot of versa9lity there sort of like
a dark top or dark taupe or dark tan. A crisp white buKon down, a v-neck
in both black and white, a pair of sneakers for training, a pair of every day
12

sneakers for going out just like hanging around. What else does every
man need? Yeah, a selec9on of t-shirts is really important. So, you should
have a couple of that look vintage, have graphics on them and then
maybe a few that are a liKle bit more dressy.

A cardigan, every man needs a nice cardigan. Actually, I would say two
cardigans. One that is more like a light sweater and then one that is more
like a chunky, like really thick cardigan almost like a Mr. Rogers cardigan.

Q:

Roman:

Where are the best places to shop? What about your favorite brands?

Places to shop really depend on what you want to spend. I would say
start in a place like J. Crew or Banana for the basics. Its s9ll gonna be
more expensive than going with a Gap but they will last longer and look
nicer. From there, if you want to jump up a liKle bit, if you want for like
really trendy stu oh, every man should have at least one really sweet
leather jacket. So, places that you can get stu like that are All Saints and
Diesel are very trendy places. Those work out really well. What else? Of
course, John Varvatos is a great place to shop. What else do guys need?

Q:

Whats your favorite store? Is that John Varvatos?

Roman:

John Varvatos is absolutely my favorite brand. I live in that stu. John

Varvatos is my favorite brand for shoes and outer wear like the leather
jackets are fantas9c and the boots are fantas9c but I am not likely to put
a pair of jeans from John Varvatos.

Heres an actually crazy thing. Although I dont mind spending a lot of

money on clothes, for jeans, I nd that a pair of $40 Levis is a much
beKer investment than a pair of $200 Sevens.

Q:

What about hats?

Roman:

Hats? Hats arent necessary but if youre the type of guy who could were
a fedora without looking on a douche bag, thats preKy cool. But I mean
hats are not really necessary.

Q:

Favorite brands of shoes?

Roman:

For favorite brands of shoes for casual dress shoes, I like Cole Haan. For
boots, I like Diesel, John Varvatos and All Saints. For sneakers, like athle9c

Oh, sure. I mean every man should have a really nice pair of khakis and
then if you want to get a liKle bit more adventurous like a couple of
dierent colors. I have a nice pair of purple khakis and orange khakis that
I really like.

13

sneakers, I like Asics. The Onitsuka Tiger is a really good brand. I think
thats really it.

Q: Tell me about suiting up.

Roman: From time to time, every alpha will need, in the words of Barney Stinson, to suit
the fuck up. Having and wearing a perfect suit is an essential part of not just being an
alpha, but being a grown up human being. You cant just dress up in t-shirts and jeans
all your life. Even if youre an author or an Internet entrepreneur like I am, you have to
occasionally dress up in big boy clothes and go out into the world.
Understanding how to pick a suit is really important. I will say that the first rule is: Do not
own a suit unless you are willing to get it tailored. But, you need to own a suit. Which
means, by extension, rule number one is actually: Get your suit tailored. There are very,
very few guys who can fit into a suit off the rack and have it look the way its supposed
to look. Particularly a jacket. Particularly a muscular guy like myself has a harder time
because I have very broad shoulders and a very narrow waist. So, if I buy a 42 or 44
regular off the rack, its very wide and boxy. So, I need to have things pulled in at the
waist so theyre more form fitting. This is hugely important. A suit should fit tightly to your
body everywhere you are comfortable having it fit tightly to your body.
As for types of suits, I believe you should own a black suit for more formal occasions.
You can wear it to weddings and funerals, which tend to come up. You should also own
another suit that is all-purpose. I would recommend either a navy blue or a charcoal
gray. If you own a lot of suits, you can get a little more experimental with patterns and
you can look at things like pin stripes and glen plaid and chalk stripes and all these
things. But, if youre only going to own two suits, then you should stay with basic
patterns and solids simply because theyre going to be more distinctive. And, if youre
going to wear the same navy blue suit to every wedding and it has a crazy pattern on it,
everyone is going to notice because youre probably going to go to weddings with all the
same people. So just keep that in mind.
The current style for suits is pretty trend fit. So, everything is pretty narrow. The pants fit
close to the leg. The lapels themselves are very narrow. And the jacket fits close to the
waist. So, if you want to dress for the current style, thats the way to go. In fact, the
smaller look is so prevalent, its even common for an abbreviated look. Jackets are
getting shorter than they used to be. Suits are now about a half an inch shorter. Ive
seen people take them up to two inches shorter than they used to be. Even pants are
getting shorter because socks are a big accessory now that guys want to show off.
Sometimes, if youre wearing a nice dark color suit, a flash of color from some pink and
polka dot pattern socks is a nice way to show a little fashion. To show this off, a lot of
guys are wearing their suit pants a little shorter. These are more advanced tips, though.

14

Again: two suits. One black, and one either blue or gray. And it should fit well; it doesnt
have to be skin tight. There are all different things we can consider about suits. Do you
want a peak lapel or a notch lapel? Do you want a double vent or a single vent? These
things tend not to matter. Pick a suit that fits you fairly well and then get it tailored, and
the rest will sort of fall into place. Keep in mind guys, a $500 suit thats been tailored
and fits well looks a lot better than a $2,000 suit that hasnt.
Q: Do you want to talk about athletic gear? What should guys wear to the gym?
Roman:
Sure. Athletic wear. This is tricky, but its also really important because, as an alpha who
just picked up a great program to do in the gym, youre probably wondering, What
should I wear to the gym? Well, it really depends. You cant go wrong with sweatpants
or shorts and a t-shirt, as long as they fit right. One thing I would advise against is really
long basketball shorts. These dont tend to look good on anybody. They make tall guys
look super skinny, they make short guys look really short. Theres really no benefit to
wearing basketball shorts down past your knees. Instead, I suggest wearing shorts just
at the knee or, if you dont mind showing a little leg, one to three inches above the knee.
This is the first way to encourage you to train your legs more often, which we all need to
do. Secondly, its going to make you look a little bit more fashion forward, which is
something that alphas aspire to.
What are you going to wear on top? Depends on the weather, I guess. In the cold
weather, its always cool to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt and, theres always a place in the
gym for the big hoodie. But, most of the time, I just work out in regular t-shirts. If you
were part of the Land Rush, you probably got a sweet alpha t-shirt that you can wear to
the gym, which we tend to do. If not, they will be for sale very soon.
You dont have to get special workout t-shirts, nothing that keeps sweat away, no
UnderArmour or performance gear. Its really not necessary and, to be honest, I
personally dont find it overly comfortable. I am a bit of a minimalist in the sense that I
try to own as few things as possible. So, with things that I own, I try to make sure that
theyre multi-purpose. I would never wear an UnderArmour shirt to anywhere but the
gym, so why should I own it at all? Id rather own a regular t-shirt that I could wear to the
gym or out to dinner. That, to me, is versatility; that makes a lot of sense. Overall, its
really important for me to just be able to have a lot of basics.
Your t-shirt should fit fairly well. If you have a lot of fat to lose, a little baggy is fine. If
youre pretty lean, dont be afraid to wear a tight t-shirt. But, it shouldnt be a struggle to
get the t-shirt on or off. Guys, listen. I like a tight t-shirt as much as anyone else, but if
you have to ask for help to get your t-shirt over your head because its too hard with
your lats and shoulders, its a sign youre wearing your shirt one or two sizes too small.
No need for that.
Theres also an opportunity for tank tops and sleeveless shirts or even cutoffs. All of
these things are sort of regional; it depends on where you live. In New York, tank tops
15

are not overly common, but in California, where I spend a lot of my time, they are.
Wearing a tank top in New York tends to make you look a little weird, when cutoffs are
totally okay. Adversely, in California, cutoffs are not common at all. So, it really depends
on the image that you want to portray and what you feel comfortable in. But, in general,
you cant go wrong with a t-shirt. If you want to show your arms, thats really up to you.
Q: I think were done with fashion. Which do you want to talk about first? Girls or
business?
Roman:
Lets talk about business.
Q: Okay. Youve obviously done a lot of networking; Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote the
foreword of your book. So give us some tips on networking and how to make
connections with other people.
Roman:
If I may start off with a quote by Tim Ferriss: Your network is your net worth. Thats a
really, really true concept, and its something that Ive taken to heart. Over the past three
to four years, Ive really gone out of my way to develop a really extensive and powerful
network because having powerful friends makes you more successful. And, more
importantly, as you yourself become more successful, you put yourself in a position to
help your friends.
So, how to build a network. Number one thing to remember is that, all other things being
equal, people would prefer to hang out with their friends. Theyd prefer to do business
with their friends, theyd prefer to go to business dinners with their friends. So, your goal
in networking is not to add another colleague to your LinkedIn profile; your goal should
be about adding another friend. Think about it this way: Most people approach
networking like its LinkedIn, and you should be approaching networking like its
Facebook. Just try to be friends with people. Dont show them your resume or talk about
business too much because, most of the time, people dont want to talk about business
and would rather talk about stuff they enjoy talking about.
There are a couple of good examples that Ill give you in terms of how to act like a
friend. The first is with a very powerful fitness affiliate whose name I wont actually
mention. But, hes a very powerful fitness affiliate and I knew that he could make my
product more successful. We wound up at a mastermind in the Bahamas together. He
and I spent a lot of time together. You would think that my strategy would be to tell him
all about my product, how great it is, how much money he could make promoting it, and
all the things that people do when they try to build their network or whatever else. I
didnt do any of those things. I didnt talk about my product or business. Instead, we just
talked about girls. The whole weekend we were away, he and I were the only single
guys on this business trip with like ten couples. So, obviously, we had a lot to bond over.

16

So rather than talking about metrics and traffic and conversions, all he and I did for the
entire weekend was swap bro stories. We swapped stories about the mishaps of dating,
some crazy sex stories, and other things we experienced. At the end of the weekend,
we said goodbye and went home, and I felt like I made a bro for life. Two days later he
emailed me and said, What are the promo dates for your product? Im totally in. He
went on to do like 1,500 sales. So, the crazy thing there is that I built that network and
gained that affiliate not by talking about business, but by talking about sex and girls.
Again, I didnt approach it like LinkedIn; I approached it like Facebook. On LinkedIn,
everyone is like, Hi, Im this super professional person and heres my resume and my
business card. On Facebook, everyone is like, Hey man, what did you do last night?
Thats how you should approach networking because people want to be in business
with their friends.
Another great example is Tim Ferriss. I met Tim at a conference; well get to that in a
minute. Tim and I had some mutual friends, so I was not afraid to be a name dropper
and I wasnt afraid to be like, Oh, Nate Green says hi. Tim and I spent a lot of time
over the weekend talking. It was a fitness conference, but at fitness business
conferences people tend to talk a lot more about business than fitness. So it seemed to
me that Tim was really interested in talking about fitness, so thats what we did. He and I
spent a lot of time together and we talked about kettle bells and dead lifting. I didnt
hound him; I wasnt all up on his shit because nobody likes to be fanboyed. I just had a
great conversation with him.
As it turns out, we were on the same flight back to New York and I put myself in the
position to do that. Heres a little networking trick. Put yourself in the position to spend
time with people who you are interested in networking with. I had found out that Tim was
flying back at 1pm, so I changed my flight to 11am to 1pm to be on his flight. As it
worked out, we wound up sitting next to each other. So, he and I broed out the entire
trip. Most importantly, when we landed in New York, Tim had a meeting to go to, but it
wasnt for a few hours, so he was just going to bum around the city. I said, Why dont
you just come back to my place? You can have a drink, take a shower, and we can grab
some dinner so you can go to your meeting all fed. Tim really appreciated that, and I
didnt approach it like a guy who was trying to add Tim Ferriss to his network; I was just
making a nice offer as a friend because I thought it was the courteous and hospitable
thing to do. And Tim really appreciated that.
He came in, hung out for a while, then he went to his meeting and said, Oh, let me give
you my cell phone number before I leave. Tim Ferrisss cell phone number in the
Internet marketing world is probably pretty highly coveted, although Im sure hed be
embarrassed to hear me say that. The main thing is that I didnt fanboy him and I just
tried to be friends with him; I just tried to be cool. We talked as much about me as we
talked about him. It wasnt just me sitting there interviewing him asking, Wow. What
inspired you to write, The 4-Hour Workweek? How awesome is it to have such a huge
blog? Nobody wants to do that. A conversation is a dance and both people must
participate. Otherwise its an interview or a lecture and nobody wants to be friends with
people who constantly interview them or who want to be lectured or who lecture. So,
17

what we did was just hang out. Thats the thing. Again, the main thing is to treat
networking like Facebook and not LinkedIn.
Q: What other networking things do you want to talk about?
Roman:
We should also talk about putting yourself in the position to meet these people. How do
you meet these people? Where do you meet them? What do you do? Sometimes you
just have to go out of your way to put yourself in the positions to be around the people
youre interested in networking with. A lot of times, this involves money. In the case of
Tim Ferriss, I heard he was going to be speaking at a conference that I was interested
in going to already, but I was more interested in going once I knew he was going to be
there. So, I paid $1,000 and I went. I made a lot of valuable connections at that
conference, the most valuable being Tim. Again, I went in knowing that. Even if I didnt
learn anything at the conference or pick up a piece of marketing information or anything
that would help my business, I knew if I walked out of there with a relationship with Tim
Ferriss, it would behove me down the road. Plus, he just seemed like a cool guy. And
thats what happened. But, again, that cost me $1,000 to do. I invested $1,000 to
potentially gain relationships.
Another great example involves a conference that Tim himself threw in 2011 in Napa
Valley. That conference was very expensive; it cost $10,000 to go to this conference.
Thats a lot of money to invest. I dont care how much money you make, $10,000 is a
lot. But, my thought process was this: Anyone who was going to pay $10,000 to go to a
Tim Ferriss conference is probably someone worth knowing. Someone whose business
is already successful enough for them to have $10,000 of expendable income to invest
in their business? Those people are people I should know. Not to mention that the
conference was about how to write and market a best seller. So, $10,000 seemed like a
great investment to achieve my dream.
While I was there, I met Ryan Holiday, who is fantastic. He is a best selling author who
went on to be my media consultant. I met Tucker Max, a New York Times Best Selling
Author who gave us a jacket quote for the book. I met Neil Strauss who wrote, The
Game. Were doing some stuff with the Neil Strauss inner circle later on this year. All of
these relationships and benefits of these relationships came about only because I put
myself in the position to make them. And thats really important. I went out of my way to
put myself in these positions. So pay to play is very effective.
One final thing to mention is that you dont always need to pay to add people to your
network. A great example of this is Gary Vaynerchuk, who has since become a personal
training client. Gary announced on his Twitter that he was giving a talk about his new
book, The Thank You Economy, at the Apple Store in SoHo in the Village in New York.
I had a meeting that I pushed back an hour and I took a cab down and went to the Apple
store. You have to be strategic in your marketing, right? So I brought a copy of, Crush
It! and I asked him to sign it. I wore my Jets hat because I know Garys a big Jets fan
and I just thought Id let him know that were for the same team. And I brought him a
18

Roman Fitness System t-shirt and my business card. I said, Listen, I know you
probably get pitched on shit all the time, but I just wanted to say that I love your shit
and, if youre interested in training, I think we would have fun together. So thats how I
met Gary Vaynerchuk.
There are other ways to add people to your network, and thats through social media.
So, Gary actually lost my business card. But, I did put the idea of training in his head.
He didnt remember my name, so he was like, Well, now that Im already thinking about
training, let me just put up a post on my Facebook who the best trainer in New York City
is. What I did was leverage my audience. I figured if anyone could appreciate
leveraging social media to get what you want, it would be Gary Vaynerchuk. So what I
did was post a link to his Facebook post on my Facebook and told my followers to blow
him up and tell him I was the best and that hed be crazy to go with anyone else. So,
thats how Gary Vaynerchuk became a client - because I leveraged social media.
There are a ton of other ways social media is helpful in terms of networking. Again, if
you treat it like Facebook and Twitter, just going back and forth with people telling jokes
and busting on each other, thats how you build relationships. Well before I ever met
Roger Lawson or JC Deen or Ben Bruno or a number of other fitness professionals, we
were friends on Facebook because were in the industry. We exchanged comments and
sent links back and forth to each other. Whenever they were in New York, they stopped
by. Eventually, we became friends. Thats the power of the Internet: You dont need inperson networking; you can network online. As long as youre willing to make yourself
useful to people and are cool to people, in the long run, theyre really going to like your
stuff and theyre going to be down with you.
I have another good example in regards to social media marketing. A lot of people dont
know this, but interestingly, I met my fianc through Twitter and Facebook, in a weird
way. My fianc, who is actually my wife if youre listening to this after September 29th
2013, and I had never met but we had a lot of mutual friends, so we became friends on
Facebook and followed each other on Twitter and exchanged a few tweets back and
forth. One day she was teaching a seminar in New York. She reached out and said,
Hey, Im going to be in town. We should grab coffee. Well, we grabbed coffee. A month
and a half later, we were dating. Two weeks into that, I knew I was going to marry her.
So, your network can be built in a number of different ways, but it would be crazy to
discount social media. Its really important that you understand that this is a valuable
tool. Its not just valuable for building your platform and getting readers to your site or
whatever. Its important because it can help you build relationships with valuable,
valuable people...especially if you can make yourself valuable to them.
The final networking tool is to make yourself useful to people. Always, always try to help
people. I once wrote a list of rules called, Romans Rules for a Successful Life, in fact,
Ill share all 65 with you later on, and the last rule of all, which was number 65, stated,
End every single conversation with the question, How can I help you? and mean it
sincerely. I truly, truly believe that is true. As long as youre always trying to help
people, what you want to always do is be useful to them and just be an awesome guy.
19

Ill go back to Tim Ferriss because thats a good example. Tim came to rely on me to be
honest with him about other people in the fitness industry, someone who would be a
good affiliate or someone who would, perhaps, embarrass him. He asked me for advice
on who was who. I was very candid with him and I made myself very useful in that way.
So, Tim began to rely on me for other things, and when it came time for him to film
workout videos for his teaser app for the 4-Hour trailer, he asked me. So I made myself
useful to him not just by agreeing to be in the workout video, but also to take a redeye
back from Las Vegas and film at nine in the morning. So, I went out of my way to make
myself useful. And, again, I built my relationship with Tim and I truly consider him one of
my closest friends. Hes a great guy. I didnt do these things to try to network; I was just
helping my boy out. And thats the key.
Again, here are the three networking tips. Treat networking like Facebook instead of
LinkedIn. Put yourself in a position through either payment or effort to go where people
you want to network are going to be. Finally, make yourself useful. Thats all you need
for networking.
Q: If I could add in a bonus tip, it would be to understand social hierarchy. So, know if
theres a top dog in a group of people who you want to meet, go after him and have him
introduce you to do the rest of those people. That makes it a lot easier.
Roman: Yeah. Thats great.
Q: Okay. I dont know if theres any non-networking business tips you want to share.
Roman: I dont think so.
Q: Okay. So lets talk about girls. Youve been with many women. Some might even say
its a three digit number. My question for you is...youve probably dealt with a lot of
women, but had some issues. So lets just talk about...when a guy is trying to meet the
perfect girl, what traits should he look for?
Roman: So, as you mentioned, Ive been with quite a few women...and I dont mean just
sexually. Ive dated quite a few women. Ive had several casual relationships and Ive
had quite a few long term relationships for one, two, or even three years. As to the
question, How do you find the right woman? theres the old saying, You have to kiss a
lot of frogs before you find your prince. I think thats true. I dont necessarily think that
means you need to go through a lot of bad people, but I do believe that one of the best
ways to find out what you do like is to find out what you dont like.
It really is a lot easier to notice the things that you dont care for than pick up the things
that are really important to you. Most of us are not introspective enough or selfactualized enough, particularly at a young age, to know that someone with good family
values is important, or that someones stance on politics is important to us, whatever it

20

is. Instead, you find things that you dont like. This person drinks too much. I dont like
that shes a smoker. Or whatever else.
The first thing I would say is: Dont be afraid of the idea of dating the wrong person. Its
only through dating people who are wrong for you that you can start to eliminate people
who wouldnt be right. That is what will lead to finding someone who is exactly right for
you, like I have done with my fianc.
Here are some things. I think you should write out a list of the qualities that your perfect
woman would have. Whatever you think they are. Does she prioritize health and
fitness? Is she an avid reader? Does she like to go out and party? Whatever the things
are that you like to do, or think are important to you, those are the things that you need
to write down. It becomes easy once youve done that and made it tangible to see the
things that are important to you. Maybe youll look at that list two or three or five years
from now and think, Okay, it was stupid to put that on there. I really dont need this
woman to like all the same music as I like to consider her a perfect match.
For me, it has always been about figuring out the things that were intolerable to me. So,
like anyone else, I like to go out and hang out and party and have a good time. But, I
wouldn't want to be in a relationship with somebody who habitually binge drinks; thats a
little bit much to deal with. I had a girlfriend who did that when I was younger. I didnt
end the relationship over that; we dated for about a year. But there was this thing about
her that really bothered me and that I really didnt like. That helped me because I went
into my next relationship knowing that. I just didnt date a girl who did that again.
I also wound up finding things I did like from dating certain girls. I once dated this girl
who is pretty outdoorsy and we used to go hiking all the time because thats what she
liked to do. Long after that relationship ended, I still go hiking. I really enjoy it. Its
something I didnt know I liked until I met her because she exposed me to this new
thing.
When you date a lot of people, youre going to get exposed to things you like and things
you dont like. Over the course of time, you will start to sift your first tier, second tier, and
third tier qualities.
Of course, one of the most important aspects of finding a woman is putting yourself out
there. You cant just sit at home waiting for the perfect person to fall into your lap. You
have to go out and look. If youre the kind of guy who just wants to go out and sleep with
a lot of girls, you have to go out and do that. But, if youre the kind of guy who is just
looking for that one right girl you want to be with forever, you have to go out and look as
well. Neither situation is going to be remedied by waiting around at home. Dont be
afraid to go out, talk to people, get introduced. Dont be afraid of stuff like online dating. I
told you earlier that I met my fianc through Twitter and Facebook. Thats just how
relationships are formed in this day and age. Its not weird anymore. So, all of these
different things are important.

21

Q: Lets talk about the seduction process, if you will. You have set rules of things you do
on a first date, second date, third date...
Roman:
Right. Heres the thing. When I was younger, I would sleep with girls on the first date if it
felt right. I wasnt always trying to sleep with girls on the first date, but I wasnt averse to
it. I eventually wanted to stop doing that, or learned that I needed to stop doing that. I
believe there is a perception of men that states: Once men sleep with girls on the first
date, they wont respect her and cant date her anymore or dont want to date her
because theyve gotten what they wanted. I think thats crazy; thats never been who I
am. If I slept with a girl on the first date, I was like, Wow, we have a lot in common, we
both wanted to have sex. Thats important.
The problem is that I eventually began to realize that I attach a lot of responsibility to
sex. I had grown up hearing all about those terrible guys who did that to women, who
would sleep with them and never talk to them again. That fostered in me this desire to
be the opposite of that guy so strong that, whenever I slept with a woman, I felt
obligated to see her again. I would sleep with a woman, then hang out with her for five
or six weeks until it faded. Thats a lot of time I wasted with people who werent right for
me.
I wasnt sure if I could change the fact that sex made me feel obligated or responsible to
a woman, but I did know that I could change who I had sex with. So, the problem for me
with sleeping with women on the first date is that I didnt know if I liked her, I just knew I
wanted to have sex with her. After that, I didnt have sex with girls until at least the fourth
date. For me, that seemed to be the point where I would know a girl enough and
whether or not I would want to hang out with her long term.
So, if, by the fourth date, I wasnt interested in hanging out with her long term, I would
call her up the next day and say, I think youre great, but... Hey, Im not going to lie to
you guys, Ive lied to a lot of women. Id like to tell you that I called the girls and was
honest with them and told them that they're just not right with me, but I was really afraid
of hurting peoples feelings, so the lie that I always told was, Hey, Ive come to realize
Im just not over my ex-girlfriend. I would not judge you if you used it. That usually lets
you off without going through the whole process. If youve gone on four dates and
havent hooked up with her, havent kissed her, havent tried to take the relationship to a
physical place, then tell her its because of this emotional reason. Shell respect you. It
wont be that weird thing where the other person is wondering why you stopped talking
to them.
So I have that very specific process for dating now because my philosophy is that, by
the fourth date, Ill know if Ill want to spend time with someone long-term. And, if I want
to spend time with them long-term, Im willing to sleep with them. So, for me, the
process is (and Im not sure Ive shared this anywhere publicly): First date, no kiss.
Second date, no kiss. Third date, little kiss. Fourth date, sex. That always works really,
really well. If Ive learned anything from the dating community, its that there are a lot of
22

psychological reasons that the process works, not least of which is, if you dont make a
move on a girl for a few dates, shes going to feel obligated to try and win your affection
and shes more willing to sleep with you. It just makes sense to wait and its a very
effective model you can use.

ROAD RULES FROM THE

ROAMIN ROMAN

ROAD RULE 1
SHOW UP EARLY
Im listing this one first because its the one that it not only made the
most difference in the way I travel, but also took me the longest to get
through my thick head.
Most people dread flying and dread airports even more. Having spent a
lot of time in airports over the past two years, I sympathize completely;
for much of that time, I thought I hated airports and flying and
everything related to it. However, over the last six months, Ive come to
realize that I really hated to do was rush and wait.
Three years into a travel-heavy lifestyle, I decided to conduct an
experiment: what if I could eliminate the rushing, and turn the waiting
into something else?

23

For my next 10 flights, I went to the airport early. First two hours, then
three. Now, I dont mean two or three hours before my flightI mean
two or three hours before I would normally get there, which is about 50
minutes. Meaning, if my flight was at 5pm, Id get to the airport at
maybe 1pm.
This has changed my life in ways I cant even begin to describe.
Heres the thing: what Ive noticed from taking more flights than I care
to remember is that the last 3-4 hours before you leave the house is lost
time. Youre too busy running around and making sure you have
everything that you simply cant be productive.
As a writer and entrepreneur, I need to be protective of my time, and
losing several hours is unacceptable.
When I started showing up early, those hours were reclaimed. I just find
a table, pull out my laptop, and start working. Those extra three hours at
the airport are when I have gotten work done without even breaking a
sweatincluding this article.
In addition to that, I never, ever have to feel rushed.
I highly recommend this for any entrepreneur. It will make travel so
much more awesome.

ROAD RULE 2
BRING THE INTERNET WITH YOU.
For a long while, I was very hesitant to sign up for some sort of portable
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internet service, because paying 50 bucks per month, every month,

seemed silly, when I might need it only once every few weeks. Instead, I
would pay for Internet at airports with boingo, or pay for the daily
Internet service at hotels I was staying at.
Eventually I realized that I was being absolutely moronic. Not only was
I spending about the same amount, but I was sacrificing quality of
connection. Not smart, Romaniello.
About six months back, I made one of the smartest decisions of my life
and turned my iPhone into a mobile hotspot. All I need to do is plug the
phone into the computer, and I have a fast, high quality connection. And,
rather than add another new bill every month, it simply increased an
existing monthly bill by about $20. Pretty awesome.
Now, I can work anywhere. While I initially thought that the benefits of
having done this would really be limited to long travel, its been pretty
helpful in other spots; for example, my favorite coffee shop in NYC has
notoriously slow Wi-Fiwhich no longer bothers me.
By having Internet in my pocket, I can get more work done, pretty much
whenever I want.

ROAD RULE 3
PACK LIGHT
You are a chronic over-packer. You are. Admit it. Go to the mirror right
now and say, Im an over-packer. I have a problem and Im ready to
deal with it.

25

This is not a judgment, its a simple truth99% of people are overpackers, and for most of my life, I was no different.
Currently, I might be an under-packer. Twice in two yearslast years
trip to India and this trip to ThailandIve traveled internationally for at
least 12 days with nothing more than a J. Crew weekender bag. Yeah,
thats the actual name.
And while it seems at this point completely NBD to travel for two weeks
with a bag designed to accommodate a three day trek, please believe me
when I say that this was not always so. In fact, I remember one time
specifically when I went to visit Joel Marion in Tampa for a weekend
and used a bigger bag than the one pictured above.
Think about thatI now take less for a two-week trip than I used to
when I was traveling for 48 hours.
When I think about it now, the most ridiculous thing is how much
garbage I used to bring with me on a trip. Did I really need thee pairs of
shoes? Where the hell was I going? What happened on that tripand
others like itwas that Id wear 30% of what I packed. It was stupid.
The truth is, you do not need to bring that much stuff. That includes you,
ladies. I understand the desire to bring two outfits for every day (trust
me, I do), but the fact is that you can make do with less clothing than
you can really imagine.
If youre traveling for business, your office clothes will also do for a
night out.
On a given vacation, you do NOT need three pairs of dress shoes. Even
if you fancy, huh?
If you want to get a bit Zen, its also true that carrying less baggage
26

makes you feel less stressed.

Pack less and your travel and life will get less complicated.

ROAD RULE 4
DECIDE YOUR STANCE ON
CHECKING BAGS
Ive always been of the mind that checking bags is a waste of time and
energy. In the first place, hanging on to your bags pretty much
guarantees that you arrive with them; airlines can sometimes lose your
luggage, which I assume is a pain in the ass.
While the fear of potentially lost luggage is always at least a partial
factor, I believe that most people avoid checking bags simply because it
adds time to the tripwaiting at the baggage claim for the conveyor belt
of doom for what can sometimes take close to an hour is a nightmare for
some people, and theyd rather avoid it altogether. I certainly used to fall
into that category.
These days, however, I have taken to checking baggage, and Ive learned
that I dont mind the wait. In fact, I actually enjoy it. Firstly, what Ive
realized over the past three years is that theres really no reason to rush
those 30 minutes arent adding to my trip.
When Im on vacation, I dont need to foster a mindset of urgency; I
should be aiming for the opposite. Checking bags helps me do that
changes my pace and lets me slow down. When the trip is for business,
Im never rushing from a plane to a meeting; I arrive the night before
27

and the meeting is the next morning. Getting to a hotel with an extra 30
minutes to spare certainly isnt going to make a difference in my
experience.
Moreover, when I deplane, I generally have a few things to catch up on,
and I need some time to do it. Having 20-30 minutes to kill while I wait
for my bags is an opportune time to do this. Keep in mind, as I
mentioned in my second point, I carry my internet with me at all times,
so I can have a seat near the carousel and log in to check email, if I need.
Business stuff notwithstanding, I have an infinite number of other ways I
can productively spend a half hourand I bet you do, too. Even if its as
simple as calling your loved ones to let them know you landed safely
and then catching up on social media (both, in my world, important),
you can kill time and teach yourself to relax.
All of that said, I do realize that checking baggage slows you down,
which can put a crimp in travel plansespecially if youve got
connecting flights with a short layovereven if your bags are checked
all the way through to your final destination, if your first plane is late,
you might make your second plane but your bags might not.
Rather than court disaster, I use the following rule: check youre direct,
protect when you connect.
Okay, I just made that up now, but what the hell do you want from me?
Ive been sitting an airport writing for three hourscut me some slack.
Jeeze.
Anyway, Im not trying to convince you to check bagsIm just saying
you need to decide your stance on checking bags, and stick to it.

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ROAD RULE 5
ALWAYS HAVE EXTRA GADGETS
PACKED
I cant take even 1% of the credit for this particular ruleall of it goes
to my boy Tim Ferriss, who gave this tip in a New York Times article on
travel tips from Silicon Valley peeps. (Note: in that same article, Tim
says adamantly that he doesnt check baggage, but, again, its all about
picking your stance.)
This rule is pretty simplekeep an extra charger for your phone, laptop,
iPad, or any other gadget you travel with in your travel bag at all times.
When you travel, use those cords, and when you get off the plane to go
home, leave them in your suitcase.
Im sure I dont have to explain this, but if youve ever found yourself in
India without a cord to power your laptop, youd quickly agree that this
simple step can save you a lot of headache.
As an aside, I actually leave my Kindle in my travel bag at all times,
along with the charger. I dont really like reading on a tablet, and when
Im home I only read actual books, but I find having a few dozen books
in your pocket when youre traveling is pretty handynothing is worse
than being limited to the reading selection at an airport bookstore.

ROAD RULE 6
29

MAKE TRAVEL DAYS EITHER

CHEAT DAYS OR FAST DAYS
This is fitness related, so pretty much everyone can use this advice.
My theory is simple: airport food and last minute meals are just not
going to help you hit your goals. They just arent any good, and its
impossible to stick to your dietary restrictions, count macros, etc. And
even if you could, its a pain in the ass.
About a year ago, when traveling back and forth to between LA and
NYC three times a month with my co-author Adam, we noticed that the
days where we were physically traveling just went to dietary hell. We
tried to be healthy and would buy mixed nuts or jerky at the airport, but
it just wasnt working. Drastic measures needed to be taken, so we came
up with this feast or famine approach.
Its as simple as it sounds: any day that you are physically traveling, you
will either eat whatever you want and not have to worry about limiting
yourself at the airport, or when you land late at night and just need a
quick nosh.
Alternatively, you can simply choose to fast all day. This is what Adam
usually does. Not only do you get to ignore airport and airplane food, but
fasting is pretty easy when you have a six hour flight. Most of the time
will be spent napping or working.
So, if youre looking for a way to get your diet under control with
constant travel, follow this rule.

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ROAD RULE 7
ALWAYS HAVE A BACK UP
(TRAINING) PLAN
Anyone who has ever stayed at a hotel knows that the gym situation is
always an issue. Usually, I try to find a real gym close to the hotel, but
that generally means renting a car to get there and paying guest fees.
That can add up. Plus, you just may not find a good one. For that reason,
I sometimes settle for training at the hotel.
Now, while some hotels do have pretty decent facilities, most of the time
youre going to wind up with a few treadmills, a universal machines, and
a usually incomplete set of dumbbells going up to 50 pounds. Now, you
can get a good workout with all of that, but you need to have a plan.
Think about it: when was the last time you went to a hotel gym and just
did whatever? Probably not too long ago. Was that a great workout?
Probably not.
When youre limited in terms of equipment, it can sometimes sap your
energy and creativity, and you get a lackluster training session.
Personally, I want to avoid this at all costs.
To that end, I always carry 3-5 pre-written metabolic circuits with me in
my pocket notebook; these are fast paced circuits that will help me burn
fat or stay lean, without using weights heavier than 50 pounds. I put
some time into creating them, know theyre awesome, and having them
written down means Im going to follow them as closely as possible. Not
only does this make your workout better, it also helps you get out of
there a little faster.

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ROAD RULE 8
TRY TO PICK THE PERFECT FLYING
TIME
My final tip has to do with planning your travel based on the most ideal
time to fly. Now, obviously this is a particularly high level tip, and
applicable only to those who fly consistently, and who dont mind
spending a little extra money for a good time to fly. Further, this is most
applicable to those who take the same flight path fairly frequently. Still,
its a good tip, so I wanted to share.
When I say find the perfect flying time, I am referring to the time you
depart and landdepending on what you need to do, it makes sense to
choose a time that allows you the most freedom.
Most of the time, people assume that flying out early in the day makes
the most sense, so you have more of the day left when you get to your
destination. This makes sense if youre going to a tropical place and
need to maximize sun exposure, but for business its not really an issue.
Over the past two years of flying East-West and back, Ive found the
times that make the most sense for me.
When flying from NYC to Cali, the perfect time to leave is 5PM EST.
This not only allows you to get in a full day of productivity on the East
Coast, it also makes life easy once you land. Youll touch down at about
8:30 PST. This is just enough time to check in, grab a quick bite, and go
to bed. Youll get a full nights sleep and wake up naturally at about
6am, and BAM just like that, your body is set to Western time. If
youre fasting that day, you can go right to bed and not be hungry.

32

When flying from Cali back to NYC, Ive found that you really cant
have a sweet spot. Even if you leave at 7AM PST, youll still get in at
about 3PM EST. Not only will you be exhausted, but you will lost most
of the day. The way to mitigate this? The dreaded red-eye. Seriously.
When I fly back from Cali, I normally take the 11:30PM flight. This gets
me into NYC at about 7:40AM EST. I only get about five ours of sleep
on the plane, but with a cup of coffee, thats easy to manage. Not only
do you get a full day on both coasts, but youll likely save money on the
flight as well.
So, if you are a frequent flyer and always find yourself going to the same
locations, spend a little time to figure out what the perfect flying time is,
the time that allows you to maximize your productivity and enjoyment
on both ends of your trip.
Once you do this, your travel becomes more fun and less stress. As an
added bonus, it becomes easier to plan, because it narrows the window
for searching flights. Double win.

Romans Rules
This list came about organically, and is the culmination of something
like 16 years of work, if you can believe that.
When I was 14, I was given an assignment in school to simply write
down my own Ten Commandmentsrules about things I thought were
important to me personally, and that I would abide by.
I wrote them down and handed them in, but also added them to my
33

journal at the time.

A few of the rules from the original list will appear below, although
some have been either changes or omitted the ones about asking for
things, or sleep, and the like are from this list.
Just about decade later, I added a few rules to it, as part of a joke email
chain that was being passed around among my friends. Most of the rules
pertaining to sex or fashion came about in this addition, and a few of the
fitness ones.
Finally, I have made some additions over the past month or so. Heres
how this came to be. I had actually quite forgotten about this list, not
having looked at it since I was about 24, but was brought to mind by a
book.
Recently, I read The Guinea Pig Diaries by AJ Jacobs, which is
essentially a collection of articles chronicling Jacobs various lifestyle
experiments. These include everything from living a month as a
beautiful woman (by controlling his babysitters online dating profile) to
experimenting with radical honestly. All of the experiments are
extremely interesting, but the one about George Washington is most
germane to our conversation, and is in fact the inspiration for this post.
Chapter Seven of The Guinea Pig Diaries is called What Would George
Washington Do? The premise of the experiment was to behave like
GW for a month, in every way possible.
You might be wondering, how does one behave like George
Washington? Or, more specifically, how does one know how George
Washington might behave? Very good questions, with a single specific
answer: you just follow the list.
Washington, you see, had a list of 110 rules that governed his behavior,
called Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and
34

Conversation. Washington was not the original author of the rules

they were penned by French Jesuits sometime around 1595but he did
take the time to painstakingly copy the entire list by hand, and followed
them as closely as possible for most of his life. (If youre interested, you
can read the entire list here.)
Jacobs experiment, then, was to follow these rules as closely as
possible, and in essence, do what George would do, and react as George
would react.
It was a cool chapter, and it gave me a bit of inspiration. Add to that the
fact that a number of my friends have similar listsCraig Ballantyne
has a list called 12 Rules I Live By, and Jason Ferruggia has one entitled
39 Ways Not to Be Like Everyone Else.
Upon reading all of these, I decided to pull out my own list of rules, add
to it, and see where it went. I have been exceptionally pleased with the
results.
I want to share that list with you, and a bit of why I think it has value.
But first

ABOUT MY LIST (MILD DISCLAIMER)

Before anything else, I should just point out that in order to make the list
feel more real, I have fleshed out a good portion of the rules to give them
context and clarify my meaning.
As I mentioned above, some items on the list are quite old, and were
added when I was a teenager; theyre a bit obvious and perhaps bland.
Other were added when I was in the prime of youthful debauchery; these
rules are based on the experiences and worldview of a 24-year old, and
so they are a bit over-the-top.

35

I left in certain rules from both periods that I think I still believe in. In
other words, although many of them do not apply to my life now, its
simply a case of having an entirely different lifestyle, rather than being
an entirely different person. For example, Rule 23 has not been
applicable to me for quite some time, but in the event it was, I believe I
might follow it.
The more recent additions show a lot of the change in what I think about
in the day to day. These are the ones about networking, or adding value,
and of course quite a few about fitness. Moreover, I think that the
biggest difference in the tone of the advice or the place it comes from
is the direction of application.
What I mean is that a lot of older items are things I applied to myself
instinctively, the newer ones come from lessons Ive learned, both as a
person and a coach.
These newer rules, I think, are the ones where I felt were giving
advice or perhaps writing a rule for other people to follow; the general
rules I wish someone had told me when I was 18 that would have saved
me a bit of time and a lot of pain. (Although that might have precluded
the inclusion of others, which came about as the result of bitter lessons.)
This list gives some insight into who I am and a few of the things that
are important to me; however, please consider that I take very few things
seriously, so some of the items are largely on there for laughs, and while
the fitness stuff is relevant, I dont know that I could say its important in
my worldview of personal behaviorits just damn good advice.
While I think a huge number of the items here are universally true, I
dont think that this could be ported to another person and be completely
applicable. In other words, Im not making broad suggestions for how
everyone should live their respective lives.
These are my rules, for my life; and so I ask you to keep in mind, as you
36

read this, that this list is a set of principles by which I govern my

behavior, or try toand that I am exceedingly and eternally aware of
how very imperfect I am.
I know that one or two items might, to some, seem either weird or stupid
or vain or petty; thats fine, because I have at times in my life been all of
those things just hopefully, not all at once.
Now that weve got that cleared up, lets get into the list.

ROMANS RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING

1.Never get more than 9 hours of sleep, or less than 3.I believe in
adequate rest, but too much sleep wasting time that could be spent
on anything from self-edification to world domination.
2.Its better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
3.Stretch your hip flexors.They hate you, and are staging a rebellion
against your posture; the only way to quell the uprising is with
daily stretches.
4.Write it down.Your memory is shit.
5.Get your clothes tailored.A 200-dollar suit that fits well looks better
than a 500-dollar suit that doesnt.
6.Show love.Never, ever, ever hold back from giving a compliment, as
long as its sincere.Theres never a bad time to say something
nice; get in the habit of doing this. People will love you for it.
7.Give credit.Dont steal other peoples shit. If you got an idea from
someone else, drop their name and throw them a link. Do this even
if its not proprietary. Especially in the fitness industry.
8.On cologne:less is more, if you buy the good stuff. Have a scent for
day and night.
[[Romans Note: This rule was added when I was 24, and also
included have a scent for each girl youre dating. I have no idea
37

what my logic was, but the entire thing was probably as stupid as it
sounds. I felt the need to edit this rule because while I still think
its important to have a few scents, I dont think one for each
person youre dating is necessary. In any event, now that I'm a onewoman man, I rotate my scents only seasonally, so as not to
confuse her.]]
9.Nobody gives a shit about your SAT score. Or, really, any other
accomplishment older than two years. If you feel the need to work
this into conversation, you need to become more interesting. (See
Rule 34.)
10.If a girl hasnt seen Star Wars, dont bother dating her.
11.Youre allowed to say no to shit you dont like.I dont generally
believe in the idea of obligation. While there are things you
probably should do, there is almost nothing you need to do. If
I dont like something, I will very rarely agree to do it. I have said
no to everything you can imagine.For example, I no longer
attend holidays with my extended family; I just dont enjoy it (too
much fighting), so I dont go. Does my family complain? Sure. Do
they try to make me feel guilty? Absolutely. Do I cave in? Fuck
no.If you dont like something, take a careful assessment of what
going will cost you, and what it can do for you. If theres no
amount of goodwill that will make it seem like a good balance,
dont do it.
12.Do something you hate.Do it every day for 30 days. Then never do
it again.
13.Dont criticize an idea unless youre willing to provide an
alternative.- Momma Roman. If you dont have a better
suggestion, shut the fuck up.[[Romans Note: I find this is
especially useful for trying to pick a restaurant.]]
14.Dont date a woman with another mans name tattooed on her
body.The presence of such a thing implies one of two issues:
unfinished business, or a tendency to make irrational decisions.
Neither of these is worth dealing with.
15.Never play cards with a guy who has a city in is nickname.Miami
38

John, the Cincinnati Kid, Texas Dollyall dudes better to avoid.

16.Dont judge what people do in the bedroom.As long as its
consensual and not with underage kids, make the effort to simply
not care where they put their junk, including with what type of
people, or how many people, or in what way they do it. Chances
are, their porn browsing history is no more fucked up than yours.
17.Try not to have enemies. But if someone insists on making
themselves one, eat their fucking heart.
18.Suns out, guns out.
19.Use semi-colons; however, use them correctly. Personally, I view the
semi-colon to be an indicator of good writing; while this is a gross
overstatement strongly influenced by personal bias, I stand by it.
20.THIS:

39

21.At least once in your life, get absolutely shredded.

22.Buy the jeans that make your ass look the nicest.This is the only rule
that applies for jeans. End of story. Thankfully, its not always the
expensive ones; Levis fit me like a (very tight) glove.
23.If a girl cheats on you, fuck her sister.Or her best friend. Or her worst
enemy. Or all three. Ladies, same applies to you.[[Romans Note:
Yeah, Ive done this, and no, I don't really care how terrible or
shallow it makes me seem, because I certainly think it evened us
right up.]]
40

24.The high five is somewhat outdated. However, well have to continue

to use it until a suitable replacement is found.
25.Train your forearms.
26.Never tell someone you dont own a TV. That kind of
condescending, elitist bullshit makes you look like an asshole. You
dont have to own a TV, or watch itjust dont say that. Also, be
aware whats on it; having a general understanding of pop-culture
is fairly necessary for successful conversation, unless youre
speaking exclusively to other condescending, elitist assholes.
27.Always be the first to reach for the check. Do this even if the other
person invited you out. If they put up a strong fight, letem have it.
28.Finding a sports team to hate is as important as finding one to love.
And probably more satisfying.
29.Network Like a FIEND. Tim likes to say, Your network is your networth. While hes not wrong, I prefer to say that your network is
more like a Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party. In D&D, a
balanced party will have characters that can deal with everything
from magic to picking locks. In life, you cant be good at
everythingbut you can find people who are good at what youre
not. Develop your network so that you can always reach out to
experts when you need helpand more importantly, can leverage
that network to help others.
30.Ice cream is the perfect second date food.
31.A man can never have too many leather jackets. Some make you
look dashing, some make you look dangerous. The right leather
jacket adds a masculine edge to any outfit, and can be appropriate
for most situations.
32.Try everything. Try every training program and every diet. But when
you try them, go full out and commit for the appropriate length;
program hopping isnt a good idea. A complete lack of direction is
almost as bad as dogma. I covered this in this video for
SuperTraining.TV.
33.Answer all insults with a smile. Not everyone is going to like you,
and some people will be vocal about it. Theres no point giving
41

them the satisfaction of giving a shit.

34.If someone doesnt like dogs for a reason other than fear or allergies,
Im simply not interested.
35.Read as many books as you can. Reading often makes you more
interesting, more intelligent, and though I cant prove this, I
suspect a more useful human being. It also makes you a better
writer.
36.There are many things that cannot be taught, but nothing that cant be
learned. I generally advise seeking out experts for coaching;
however, there are things that you simply need to learn from
experience.
37.Deadlift.
38.Wasting food is not a sin. You dontneedto clean your
plate.Eating past the point of being full isnt going to make
starving kids in third world countries any less hungry. If you want
to help, make a donation.
39.Along the same lines, buy your cheat day foodsonyour cheat day.
Throw out whatever you have left over. No need to court disaster.
40.Its not the years in your life; its the life in your years. Dont listen to
arguments on lifestyle based on longevity.For me, living a life
fully of quality years is by far more important than making sure I
have a higher total quantityof them. I quantify that quality by
feelings of enjoying my food, loving the way I look, and achieving
my goals.Perhaps I should have been a rock star instead of a fitness
professional, but to be honest, I really dont give a shit if your
method adds 10 years to my life if it makes me small, fat, and
weak. I dont want to live ONE DAY in that condition, let alone an
extra decade.Ill continue to keep my weights heavy, my steaks
rare, and even enjoy the occasional night out. To quote Neil Young,
its better to burn out than fade away.
41.Admit your mistakes with honesty and humor. I find that oh,
fuckballs,Im the worst is a pretty good entry point for most
things.
42.Get really good at being bad at stuff. I covered this in this video.
42

43.Keep 100 bucks stashed away in your car for emergencies. Cause ya
nevah know.
44.Develop a signature toast. Im experimenting with mine. In the
meantime, whenever my friends and I raise our glasses, I intone,
Ours is the Fury. These are the words of House Baratheon, which
I am using as a placeholder until I develop my own.
45.Dont trust spell check. Ive learned this the hard way.
46.Scared Money Dont Make Money. This is an old saying that is
common in the poker world, which is another way of saying
fortune favors the bold. In that context, if you arent willing to
put your money in on a coin flip gamble from time to time, youre
not going to book a big win.In the context of both life and
business, I mean that if youre never willing to take a risk, you
have almost no shot of building anything worth mentioning. There
are no statues built to those who lived lives of mediocrity, and on
the tomb of NO heroes will you find the words, he played it safe.
47.As it turns out, women are right:wearing nice underwear does make
you feel better. Here are mine: Technically, this is a progress pic for my legs.
But still. Those are some sweet panties.

48.Learn how to cook.If youre approaching 30 and you cant make a

few meals, take the next month and learn. Seriously, time to grow
the fuck up it. You should be able to feed yourself. Its a basic
human function. Heres a cookbookto get you started.[[Romans
Note: I dont make this recommendation blindly. You can check
out my foray into cooking here.]]
49.Tip generously outrageously. Not because you have a lot of money, or
because of the 1% chance a waitress might give you her number;
but because at some point this week, some jerk stiffed her, and it
ruined her week. You just fixed it. Karma will be kind.
50.Floss your teeth for better fitness. I feel that you need to have the
basics down before you start in adding things intended for
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advanced reasons. I have friends who dont floss but go out of

their way to use whitening strips or see a dentist for teeth
bleaching. This is stupid, to meif you just took care of your teeth
on a daily basis, youd have to worry a bit less.In the fitness
context, people ignore basic nutritional needs, but try crash diets or
supplements; they cant take the time to foam roll, but want the
hottest training strategy.If you cant make a habit of flossing your
teeth, you shouldnt bother with supplementslikely, you dont
have the basics figured out.
51.Everything in moderationespecially moderation.
52.Resolve conflicts quickly, privately, and without anger. Throwing a
tantrum never did anything for anyone; getting angry and
sputtering hurts your cause, anyway. As for privatelyin the world
of the interwebz, better to resolve things with one person than start
slinging mud.
53.Get really,reallygood at making introductions.When you introduce
two people, use first and last names; then take moment to explain
how you know each, and end by giving each a compliment. If its
a business introduction, make a suggestion on how you think they
might help one another. In-person and email intros are important.
54.Once in your lifeandexactly,onlyonceball the fuck out. Get
bottle service in a club in the Meat Packing District, or a cabana in
Vegas. Realize how stupid it was, and dont do it again. Read about
my experience here.
55.Take the lead.Always suggest days and times to meet, instead of
leaving it in the air.
56.If youre gonna write a book, write a fuckin book.- Tim Ferriss.
Anything worth doing is worth doing right; go after it and do the
absolute best job you can.
57.When explaining your dietary habits, keep it simple. If you find
yourself at a party and youre 15 minutes into describing the
difference between Paleo and Slow Carb, take a breath and stop
talking. No one really cares about your endeavor to reset your
insulin sensitivity.
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58.There is no such thing a multi-purpose sock. Athletic socks should be

worn with sneakers, and no other shoe. Ever. Dress socks when
training is equally unreasonable.
59.Learn to askfor the things you want.People arent mind readers.
Whether in a relationship or in business, you are responsible for
your success and happiness. No one is going to magically figure
out what you want. Ask for it and make a strong caseyoull be
absolutely floored by the response.
60.Try not to roll your eyes.Hey, I said TRY. Dont judge me.
61.Dont own a lot of things. Except books.
62.Steak should be served medium rare at most. If you eat a steak
medium well, you are not good at eating steak. Check here a blog
on why rare steak isnt bad for you.
63.Use your sex drive as a general measure of health, as it indicates
hormonal balance. Low sex drive is a symptom of everything from
depression to low testosterone to over-training. Basically, if you
dont want to get freaky, something is probably wrong.
64.Dont kiss on the first date.
65.Endeverysingle conversation by asking, So, tell me: how can I help
you?Be sincere and mean this. Help however you can. This is the
most important rule of all.

NEXT STEPS (YOUR TURN)

Obviously, Im going to suggest that you make your own listand
youre likely to simply ignore that suggestion and just treat this piece of
writing as a funny blog post. But, I would like you to really do it. Heres
why I think this has value.
Firstly, sitting and taking the time to actually write out what is important
to you, and how you think you should behave reveals a few things. The
most obvious of these is that you actually have to decide what to
include; on other words, really think about your values. I find that just
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doing that makes you a bit more mindful.

Take a moment and think about the rules you actually follow in your
day-to-day life; then think about all the rules youd like to follow. You
might be surprised at the difference in these two lists. Put another way,
you might be surprised at the number of rules youd like to live by that
youre breaking every day.
Secondly, writing anything down makes it realit creates tangibility. I
firmly believe that by writing down a list of behaviors youd like to
adopt, or rules youd like to abide by, you are much more likely to do
just that. It creates a concrete system of assessment; a definite lens
through which you can filter your view of a situation. Where once there
was only an idea, now there is a guiding thought process and a behavior.
Having such a list will make you much more likely to follow the things
on it. I know this, because its been working for me. In addition to typing
it all out as above, I hand wrote all of my rules in my journal (not the
descriptions, just the rules).
In the time since did this, I have become exceptionally more aware of
them every day, and its definitely affecting my behavior. I find myself
giving compliments more freely, stretching my hip flexors daily, being
more cognizant of my sleep schedule, and even wearing my sexy
underwear more often.
PUT SIMPLY, THE RESULT IS LIVING LIFE IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE THINGS I THINK ARE IMPORTANTAND, BY
DEFAULT, IM LIVING A BETTER LIFE FOR ME.
And I think thats worth writing a list.

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