I've had a lot of people ask me to mentor them over the past few years and in the past I helped several people, although I always ended up stretching myself too thin and taking on too many responsibilities. I've let my role as a Moderator on this forum take a backseat spot in my life for a long time due to the other things projects I've worked on, my own personal and professional development that I've been heavily invested in, and because in all honesty, I get a little tired of seeing the same things frequently and few people who stand out from the crowd.

I've tried to dedicate more time to posting worthwhile articles on here from time to time and although I get a lot of responses from people who appreciate the perspective I've given them, I often feel as though most people have trouble understanding the "bigger picture" of things I try to cover. I believe in a very holistic approach. I believe in covering everything there is to a person and making sure that everything works together to create the successful results you came here seeking and that for many of you, you haven't even acknowledged consciously, although you feel a hunger for something that you know you're capable of and have only gotten a taste of, or seen others experiencing and KNOWN that it was what you wanted.

I made this thread so that people who are TRULY SERIOUS about doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to get the results that they want, can apply to be my new apprentice. I am currently only taking on 1 and ONLY 1. I've gotten proven results from working closely with over a hundred individual and I'm willing to bet that from the number of people who have thanked me over there years for improving their lives, that I've made a difference for hundreds or thousands more. What I'm looking to do right now though, is dramatically improve the life of 1 dedicated person and perhaps in a month or two I'll take on 1 or 2 more.

This will NOT be a quick fix, or a short-term process and I won't accept anyone who is looking for something like that. The person who qualifies will want to change their life so strongly, that they are looking at the results they are going to get from working on attaining their dreams and doing it for the rest of their life. I guarantee that you will start seeing the results you are seeking within the next 3 months. No one can give you all of the things you desire in a quick fix "magic pill", but if you're willing to put the time and effort in, then everything you've ever wanted WILL BE YOURS, you have my word. For the person who truly understands and takes advantage of this opportunity, this will be worth more than most people make in a year because you will learn how to make everything you want of yourself.


To qualify as my apprentice, you MUST be:
Flexible
Adaptable
Trainable
Positive
Able to see the "big picture"
Serious about accepting this responsibility
Willing to dedicate AT LEAST 14 hours a week to WHATEVER I instruct
Have goals in mind

I am interested in accepting the BEST candidate, so I will accept whoever fits these things the best, as well as someone I think I'll be able to achieve the most with based on my own opinion of their personality and whether their goals fit with the things I intend to teach. I'd recommend browsing through some of my posts if you're not overly familiar with me - by clicking on the link to my Reputation Points you can see the ones that other members found most helpful! If the member who I select lives in an area that in person coaching is possible, that will be a big advantage, however I will choose someone who lives completely out or range if they seem more dedicated and worthy of this privilege.

I will be accepting applications until December 30th. I will select a worthy Apprentice on December 31st and on January 1st you will begin the training necessary to achieve all of your goals and dreams in EVERY area of your life!

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye

I was talking with some members about this in the chat earlier and a few people wanted to know why I was doing this and what I wanted to get out of it.

This is my Christmas present to someone who really deserves it. My only motivation in doing this is to find someone who truly wants to improve their life and become successful in every way imaginable, yet doesn't know how to do it alone and help them make all their dreams possible. I'm thinking about doing the same thing for at least one person in my local community as well, just to give something back for everything I've received this year!

Merry Christmas PUA Forum!

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye

Hello Rye Lee, I am very interested in being your apprentice and I would like to take the time in telling you about myself. I am twenty four years of age, and currently live in Chicago. I came to the community earlier this year after a failed attempt to get into a relationship with a girl I was very into (This was not my first failure with getting into a relationship, but after this failure I knew something was wrong with the way I was going about things and knew I needed to seek out help).

I have already served an apprenticeship for my job, so I am fully aware of the dedication and time that is needed to go into something like this. I really am able put the time and effort into this, and am able to move my schedule around, with the exception of work (I work Monday-Friday 6 A.M- 4 P.M. Central time zone). I am also currently working on becoming a competitive ball room dancer, as well as taking the time to learn a martial art (Tai Chi).

I have eight core goals that I am currently pursuing.

My first goal is to gain finical success and freedom, so I can pursue the lifestyle that I want.

My second goal is achieve a certain level of physical health and fitness.

My third goal is to become more congruent with my spiritual and core beliefs.

My Fourth Goal is gain emotional intelligence and strength about for/about myself, and for/about the people around me.

My fifth goal is increase my mental capabilities.

My sixth goal is to elevate my social skills.

My seventh goal is obtain a fulfilling sex life.

My eighth and final goal is to developer myself and my lifestyle on a deeper level, and really gain true satisfaction and peace in my life.

I hope you consider my application. The one reason I feel that I would make a good apprentice is that I am currently driven to pursue the goals that I have listed with or without guidance, it is just at times I must guess, and sometimes stumble before I achieve the results I am looking for, and I think that having a mentor would benefit me greatly.

I thank you for providing me with the opportunity to apply, and for taking the time to read my application. If you have any questions please ask.

Ilium.

These are the types of qualities I'm looking for in a successful candidate.

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye

For now, working two jobs, I am not sure I could afford the time you ask for. I just wanted to post and say it is terrific for a high-ranking member of the forum to be willing to take an active, personal interest in any number of rookies like myself.

Thanks for your input DJ_Z, it made me think that I should say something about this that some people may be wondering. You mentioned being a rookie and in the past I've had a lot of people ask about what skill/experience level they need to be at before I'd work closely with them. Usually when a guy comes to me asking how to develop skill with women and relationships, I tell them to get up to speed on some of the general knowledge first so that they aren't asking lots of questions that already have tons of info on the forum for.

For what I'm offering here, I'm not concerned about how old you are, how much experience you've had, what your current beliefs about your skills levels are, your background or anything at all like that. The only things that truly matter are your determination to succeed in life, your ability to see yourself being a complete success and achieving everything you can possibly imagine, your determination to make that happen, your willingness and ability to be flexible, adaptable and trainable and an honest belief that you have unlimited potential just waiting to be tapped! I've worked with people from the age of 14-85 and because this is a WHOLE LIFE development program, I have no intention of restricting who I take on as long as they have the potential to develop themselves!

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye

My goals are lofty

I have had a lot of success in my life. I go to an ivy league university, I have successfully run a business the past summer, I am good at cold approaching, I'm good at learning new skills. I picked up ukulele last year, I picked up speed reading the past two weeks, etc.

My issue is. I never reach my goals. It's a weird concept. Despite the success I have, I still fail the achieve the goals i initially set out to achieve

I aim for A's, I end up on pace then fucking up at the end and end up with A-, B+, B, etc.

Weirdly enough if i aim for Bs, I end up with B-, C+, etc.

It's a weird thing my mind does.

I can pull girls back, but i can't seal the deal. However if i go with the mindset I'm having an orgy tonight, i get laid. But eitherway, I end up losing because I don't achieve what I expect to achieve.

My goal for the summer was to earn $15000 through a business strategy I had, halfway through the summer I was on pace of shattering that goal, I was at $9000. But in the second half of the summer I only managed to make another $1000. Not hat $10,000 is a crappy amount to be earning in 3 months as a 19 year old, but it wasn't what I had intended to acheive and what I could have achieved.

That's the thing with me. I'm also a very quick learner. I just lack the ability to master anything concretely. I don't understand why.

I always want to learn new things, but things don't manifest like I want them to. I started going to therapy for this recently, but it hasn't been very helpful

Recently I just picked up the Sedona Method hoping it might help, but we shall see

If you can help me with my "success anxiety?" I would be ecstatic.

Rye i commend your effort and dedication to the community. I also want to thank you for taking someone under your wing, its good to know that people on the internet can be real and genuine for a person that you havent met in person.

I am not applying for this because i am a college student and that takes too much time and dedication for grades and parties. Also the dynamics are completely different so the actual strategy and other shit for pick up is slightly different, although many techniques can work anywhere.

I have been absent on the forums for a few weeks and i am realizing that this community has actually has affected me in more ways than just my sex life. I gave my parents and my uncle, on multiple occasions, advice on social interactions and people's psychology. I of course just rambled on about things ive read on this forum (ive not really read many pua books) and the great thing was that everything i said was spot on for each individual scenario.

Once again, thanks for being a great part of the community so that it can help people like me improve not just in our sex lives but as a better person as well.

J Slay

PS - i recommend for a criteria for all applicants that they should be out of university, (in the workforce) and/or above the age of 21. This is due to many of the concepts that Jsmooth and others mentioned in his thread why-learning-game-if-youre-under-21-is- ... highlight= Im not saying that people under 21 cant be good puas too but for your apprenticeship, being over 21 years old will be a very significant aspect of how that person can effectively and efficiently follow your guidance to maximize your apprentice's potential.

_________________
Slayin ladies all around the world

You miss 100% of the shots you never take.
- Wayne Gretzky

I want to thank everyone who has applied so far, I've gotten some great applications sent to me and I have a feeling it's going to end up being a tough decision because there are so many people on the forum who are truly dedicated to achieving their dreams and personal vision of success!

Do you understand that the intent of the apprenticeship that I'm offering is not purely a pickup one and that it is intended as a whole life development program to achieve complete success and happiness in every area of your life? Your abilities with social interactions and especially with women, will improve dramatically, however that is not the sole focus, nor will I be using any standard methods of coaching or training programs people who teach pickup generally use. Your focus must be on "the big picture" and long-term, entire life goals, not simply getting better with women.

Due to this and the number of people interested, I have some questions that you need to give some thought and include in your successful application in the next 2 days if you intend to be chosen for this opportunity:

Tell me, what your goals are personally and professionally?
What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest weakness?
Who has inspired your most in your life?
What are your current areas of interest and focus?
What do you intend to achieve in the next year?
In the next 5 years?
Describe what YOUR life will be like when you feel completely successful.

I look forward to reading all of your replies!

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye

Okay Rye Lee, you have more questions I see, I have answers.

Tell me, what are your goals are personally and professionally?

My personal goals are the ones that I listed in my original post, however my professional are I would like to gain all seven major welding certifications in my field of work.

What is your greatest strength?

My greatest strength (according to a lot of people), is my ability to inspire others.

What is your greatest weakness?

My greatest weakness is my inability to sexual escalate, and the depression and frustration it creates for me.

Who has inspired your most in your life?

The person who has inspired me the most is my friend CareBear (my nick name for her). My reason for this is because of the fact she escaped an extremely psychically, mentally, and emotional abusive relationship, and was able to turn her life around and become one of the most successful and happiest people I know. That type of strength is one that truly inspires me.

What are your current areas of interest and focus?

My currently interest and focus are as followed: Ballroom dancing, Tai Chi, My profession, My sex life, and creating my dream lifestyle.

What do you intend to achieve in the next year?

I have ten goals I wish to achieve this year
1. My first goal is for me to get into shape
2. My second goal is save up $5000.00 over the next three months and finally get some money into the stock market.
3. My third goal is to finish my bronze program at my dance school this year.
4. My fourth goal is to gain my first ranking in Tai Chi.
5. My fifth goal is to become a Pokemon master.
6. My Sixth goal is to gain a sexual presence.
7. My seventh goal is to gain a 2000 ranking in the chess community I am a part of.
8. The Eighth goal is to work on some lifestyle designs.
9. My ninth goal is to really get my dance group rocking and rolling.
10. The Tenth and final goal is I'd like to gain another welding certification.


In the next 5 years?

I currently have Several five year goals at this time.

First, I'd like a girl friend.

Second, I'd to finish my schooling to become a competive ballroom dancer.

Third, I'd like to get a degree as a chef.

Fourth, I'd like to have more earning power through the stock market.

Fifth, I'd like to have all my welding certifications by then.

Sixth and last, I'd like to have my social dance group have over 50+ members.


Describe what YOUR life will be like when you feel completely success

My ideal life is me sitting in at a VIP table in a club with my girl friend. We are accompanied with a large group of friends that are made up of interesting, liberal, beautiful, bad ass, men and women, all having a really good time. There are people outside our section wanting to be a part of us, and I have the power to do this by qualifying them and seeing if they would make a good fit for my social group or not. I personally am financially well off, in great shape, and have obtain a unique skill set (such as dancing, cooking, martial arts training).

I hope these answers are what you were looking for. If you have any more please feel free to ask.

Ilium.

_________________
"Long is the way
And hard, that out of hell leads up to light." - John Milton's Paradise lost.

the-adventures-of-ilium-vt134843.html

Hello Rye, we met and talked on PUA Chat (I hope you recall our conversation), where amongst other things we discussed I told you that I would be applying. I am the type of person who strategically calculates his every step, and this is reflected in the way I do things; I have purposely withheld my application for last for auspicious reasons, as I felt this would be the most advantageous course of action. My bid will be unlike any other, because not only will I speak about myself and address your questions like the others have done, but I will also take things a step further and provide a powerful piece of evidence that will speak for itself and on my behalf, as a testament of who I am, who I aspire to be, how I see the world, how I am seen by it, what I have achieved, what I aspire to achieve, and what I am capable of.

I will commence my self-introduction by posting the personal statement that I wrote for myself when I turned 18 back in 2007 to define my life and the direction of every step I take; the same personal statement I have have posted on my Facebook since 2007 when it asked me "tell us a little about yourself", which has remained unchanged, unedited, since the first day I wrote it till this very day:

---
Throughout my life, I have always have had two dreams, two objectives, that I held onto tightly, two goals that guided my actions in everything I do:

1. To set an example and be an idol for people, where people look to me for inspiration, look up to me, and follow my example by improving myself as much as I can and always attempting to do the rightous thing. This is nicely summarized in Gandhi's famous quote "Be the change you want to see".

2. To be a powerful and charismatic leader, where I unite people towards a common, noble, goal; to make the world a better place in any and every way possible. Simply put, I have always dreamed to lead the world towards a profound and positive change.

Then one day, I came across what I consider to be a revelation; in my reading of Sun Tzu's book, The Art of War (a recommended read!), I came across a very wise quote that defined the course of my life; "A leader leads by example, not by force". This short phrase showed me that all along, both of my dreams were in reality one and the same; by setting an example and earning people's admiration, I can inspire, unite and lead them.

And thus, this has become the one dream I aspire for, the one goal I work for, which is why I seek self-growth in anything I do, be it in something as fleeting as a simple conversation, or as defining as a relationship.

"Give me a place to stand and I will move the world" - Archimedes.
---

This is the thinking that gives my life its very definition and skeleton, so I am sure by now you see the perfect congruence between my life goals and aspirations, and what you have to offer. My very reasons for joining the pickup community were also in accordance to these goals, it was to improve and perfect an aspect of my life that could be made better, and as you know, the journey of self-improvement in all fields of life is endless.

The next step of my post is to elucidate where I stand right now in life, before I let my aforementioned evidence speak for itself and on my behalf. Today I am 22, and I am currently in the biggest transitional phase of my life; I just graduated with honors from university a few months ago, where I have been that ambitious top-achieving straight-A student since childhood for almost all of my life, and am currently seeking to kick-start my life and career with the right power and direction that would give me the momentum I can be proud of. I believe the timing and goals of the opportunity you present is perfect for me while simultaneously making me the perfect candidate for you, as I am in the biggest transitional phase one will ever go through in their lives; not only career-wise and social-wise but also innerself-wise, which I believe is where all change begins. And coincidentally, I am also in the process of finalizing my New Year's Resolutions, which I have never broken since I was 18 (and thus a big thing for me), and plan to be particularly ambitious and high-aiming with this year's resolutions list.

I end the initial phase of my application by giving you the piece of evidence I spoke about in the first paragraph, which is none other than my life's track record - my Resume, complete with glowing recommendations I have received from the biggest authorities of my university. In order not to dampen its effect, I will suffice to say that I have been often told by those who read and complete it that its contents are unlike anything else they have seen from someone at my stage of life. I hope you also enjoy the read!

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?ci ... CHE3pc0_o8

The second part is the questions, here goes:

1. What your goals are personally and professionally?

A. Personally: In order for me to properly communicate thoughts about my personal goals, I should first define and explain what I believe a "person" is, and what are the components make one up. Whenever I meet and/or analyze a person, including myself, I divide their traits and characteristics into three fields/types, with each of the three having subfields of their own, and rate them on these fields accordingly. The fields and subfields are:

- Mind: This field has two subfields/components, intelligence and knowledge. They both compliment each and lead to each other, but they are not one and the same. Intelligence is the mind's inherent thinking and analysis ability that is fired up when processing knowledge, while knowledge is the "raw materials" the mind works on and processes (using intelligence) to gain that understanding. Being intelligent allows you to gain more knowledge as well as link previously gained knowledge to come up with new knowledge, and being knowledgeable broadens your mind's horizons and perspectives, and teaches the mind to think in new and improved ways. So while both lead to mind growth, they are not the same and are both requirements for a good mind.

- Body: The two subfields are the person's looks (both natural looks and presentation), and health/fitness. No need to go into detail.

- Soul: This field's components personality, heart, and ethics. To give quick examples, charisma falls under personality, kindness and compassion under heart, and loyalty & righteousness under ethics.

My personal goal is to reach as close to perfect ratings in all three fields with all their subfields as possible, and find the female counterpart of my aspired perfection. I would never hold someone else to standards I do not hold myself to, so I have always applied these standards to myself before someone else.

B. Professionally: As mentioned in my CV, I aspire to work in an organization where I can both invest my abilities and grow them, where I will enjoy facing and overcoming challenges, where my work will be appreciated rather than freeloaded off of and/or stolen. Moreover, and further into my career, I would like to become an entrepreneur where I implement a specific idea I currently have to change humanity, but currently do not have the capital to put it into motion. My dream is to have a non-profit organization to change the scape of humanity forever, where I become the powerful leader and example who proves to the world that Winston Churchill's statement "Good and Great are seldom the same man" does not always apply.

2. What is your greatest strength?

I believe my greatest strength is my combination of intelligence and ambitiousness. For success, my intelligence is my tool, my ambitiousness is my fuel.

3. What is your greatest weakness?

I believe my greatest strength is that I do not know inner peace, and have not known it for the past 8 years. My greatest source of happiness is achieving my objectives and reveling in my success, but such happiness is always short lived, as once I conquer a mountain peak there is always another one in the horizon waiting to be conquered, and thus my next challenge, and climb, begins. Additionally, I have gone through interesting challenges and uncontrollable circumstances in life that have lead to me not knowing security (for example, my father losing his job amidst top-managerial corruption and my mother falling perpetually ill), and while I have learnt valuable lessons in life from these experiences and they made me an even stronger and more mature individual, it also means that inner peace is something that is lost to me. I know that if I do not do anything about it, I am bound to suffer disease and heart problems later in life, so I hope I can get that weakness sorted before it gets me.

4. Who has inspired your most in your life?

To be honest, I have always looked inward for inspiration. When I have a problem, I would look at past events and how strongly I handled them to remind myself of how strong I can be if I put my mind to something, and how these events have lead to me being stronger than ever (what doesn't kill you really does make you stronger). I would then ask myself "Do you want to break the trend now, after all you've done and the distance you've covered? Or will you make it happen again?".

That being said, there are great people and minds in history who really inspire me intellectually. The ones I find the most inspiring age Bertrand Russell, Carl Sagan, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Sun Tzu, Lord Acton.

5. What are your current areas of interest and focus?

Currently, in this life-changing transitional phase, I have three primary areas of focus, or short-to-medium term objectives. To move to an ideal nation where I can grow and blossom with its people (Norway is a beautiful example), to kick-start my career and finding the right job to launch me into the career world, and as a constant, to continue my self-growth in all three fields.

6. What do you intend to achieve in the next year?

I intend to choose and move to my nation of choice where I can spent a good chunk of my life, to find that job to start the career I dream of, and to make more strides in my journey self-growth than I ever have!

7. In the next 5 years?

My third objective of self-growth is always constant, so after I get the other two out of the way, I plan to fully focus on that one. I also hope to find the right female for me, although with her, I would never use the term "settle down"; my life is a journey and adventure, and I plan to find the female with the qualities to become my life traveling partner and teammate to accompany my on the rest of my journey towards my, or our shared, dreams.

8. Describe what YOUR life will be like when you feel completely successful.

The following scenario is perhaps too grand and the goal yet too far, but it is what I aim for. Your question asks how my life would be like if I was completely successful, which would mean that I have achieved all of my goals and dreams, however grand they may be.

I visualize my life's ideal scenario/results through a scene in my mind...in my ideal future, I see myself standing on a podium, giving a great speech at an awards ceremony, getting honored for my contributions, with my female partner, family and friends sitting in the front row with prideful smiles on their faces. I am giving the speech with such eloquence and charisma that I move my audience and listeners to standing ovation and heartfelt inspiration, where the topic purpose of my speech is inspiring my listeners to become the best versions of themselves they possibly can, and transform the world into the best place it can possibly be, by spreading knowledge and compassion, and dispelling ignorance and bigotry. In my heart, I feel inner peace, an empowering sense of achievement, and pride, and vow both to myself and my audience to continue onwards my journey towards my, and our, ideal tomorrow.



I would like to end by saying, in congruence with my aspirations, I plan to pay whatever knowledge and successes I gain forward towards the people of the community, and if my dreams become reality, the world as a whole. Thank you for reading, and I hope it was as much a pleasure for you reading this as it was for me writing it.

I want to thank every single member who took the time to submit an application! You guys have some amazing goals and determination that will serve you all well in achieving those goals; never give either of those things up and you WILL accomplish anything you set your hearts and minds to!

It was very hard to choose an Apprentice due to the quality of the applications I received, however due to my long-term goals with this project, I am happy to say that some of you will be given the opportunity to accept this position in the future - so keep making progress and don't go anywhere!

Congratulation go to Celestias for winning this opportunity! His application really blew me away and inspired me. I'm excited to get the chance to work closely with someone of his caliber and I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot from him as well. If everything goes according to plan, then those of you who are selected to be Apprentices in the future, will get the chance to learn from him as well!

Happy New Year MPUAForum members! I wish you all the best in achieving your resolutions, 2012 is going to be a big year for change!

_________________
"The 'Brick Walls' are there to allow you to prove how badly you want something!" ~ Randy Pausch

~ Rye