Arts Entertainments

Dating Success: The Schleprock Factor

If you have no idea who “Schleprock” was, don’t feel bad. You have to have been a kid in the 70s to get an idea. You’ve probably heard of “The Flintstones”, of course. Fred and Barney live in syndicated popularity about forty years after first appearing on primetime television in the 1960s (yes … the show was originally aimed at all ages).

Well, a few years later, Hanna and Barbera decided to create a children’s show with Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm when they were teenagers. One of the characters in this now relatively obscure cartoon series was named Schleprock. Now, to say that bad luck followed Schleprock would be an understatement. Basically a dark cloud LITERALLY followed the boy everywhere. And every time it appeared, I could be ALL BUT SURE that something bad was about to happen. When it comes to personality, imagine “Eeyore on steroids” and you won’t be far behind.

Decades later, the show has practically been relegated to the vault, but Schleprock himself has become an archetype in a strange way. You may have seen the movie Boiler Room and remember how Ben Affleck dismissed the first victim during the classic “group interview” scene by saying, “Come on, come on Schleprock … get out!”

But I think some of us have gotten to the point where we identify with Schleprock too closely. ESPECIALLY when it comes to women. Trust me, I hear the sob stories detailing “limiting beliefs” all the time.

Guys all over the world believe that they are not good enough to attract high-quality women. And even if they think they are, for some reason they get the impression that all these crazy women just don’t like them, and they won’t like them.

Dozens of times I have heard the mantra: “I guess I have no luck with women.” Well, here it is, Schleprock. You do NOT have a “dark cloud” following you. Not in real life, at least.

Don’t get me wrong, I won’t start to doubt that there are TONS of guys out there, possibly even reading this newsletter, who have experienced the Schleprock phenomenon of BAD THINGS that seems to happen around them ALL THE TIME. But luck has NOTHING to do with it.

And that’s the BEST NEWS possible. Because, you see, that means (as is the case with most of the problems with women that we face as men) that you can DO SOMETHING about it.

Let me tell you. I think “The Schleprock Factor” follows a very predictable formula. And here it is:

NEGATIVITY + IRRESPONSIBILITY = SCHLEPROCK

At the risk of underlining what may be completely evident in that equation itself, let’s analyze it a bit. When we have a NEGATIVE attitude, we essentially lack confidence, right? We see a situation and we expect the worst. We see a task before us and, naturally, we assume a final failure in it.

And logically following, we project that kind of failure onto others as well. Call it a “poverty mindset” or whatever, but if our view of others failing is driven by our discomfort with their success OR by a genuine assumption of a negative outcome, it really doesn’t matter.

The ramifications are the same: NOBODY IS GOING TO PARTICULARLY ENJOY HAPPENING WITH US. This is DOUBLE for MOTORCYCLES (members of the opposite sex). After all, trust is one of the “Big Four”.

And in addition to being a BUMMER, negativity and failure have this way of being contagious. Oh. It’s no wonder you hear so many self-help “gurus” talk about “getting rid of negative people.” Right? Without a doubt, simply having a negative attitude can be enough to trigger “The Schleprock Factor.”

But wait, there’s more. The simple compound NEGATIVITY in the equation is IRRESPONSIBILITY. You remember IRRESPONSIBILITY. That’s the trait that makes younger women IGNORE men their own age and FLOCK with older men.

Seriously … it’s not gray hair, man. Irresponsibility involves making bad decisions, both errors of omission and errors of commission. Being irresponsible, in addition to being a strong indicator that one lacks wisdom (that is, experience in life), it also shows that we lack SELF-RESPECT enough to protect ourselves from BAD consequences. Think about it.

So ultimately, when you combine a NEGATIVE perspective with poor decision making, you essentially remove ATTRACTION from the picture.

In light of all this, let’s review the “Big Four” checklist and take inventory.

Let’s see … No confidence? No attraction.

Masculinity? Assuming the worst and having bad judgment aren’t exactly the characteristics of a provider OR protector, are they?

And when decision-making and self-respect are at stake, how can you expect to INSPIRE CONFIDENCE in a woman? Is that the kind of leadership she will gladly choose to follow?

Finally, what about the character? Well, I don’t exactly see Schleprock enshrined in the Great Man’s Hall of Fame.

If what I’m talking about sounds like “tough love”, I don’t apologize. But ALWAYS REMEMBER … the fact that YOU CONTROL “The Schleprock Factor” is GOOD NEWS. And as always, it all comes down to deserving what you want.

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