Boot Camp (JimmyB + MBS)

[Mind_Body_Soul]

I mentioned a while back that I met my current roommate via the Wingman search. Anyways, JimmyB and I decided to do the Bootcamp for sh1ts and giggles and we will be posting our experiences in this thread. This should be interesting to say the least.

 

[Mind_Body_Soul]

Week 1

So today JimmyB and I went to the local mall to do the 50 eye contact/hi's. I pretty much assumed this exercise would be cake as I already say Hi to everyone I meet, but I wanted to do the bootcamp from start to finish, so WTF right?

We walked into Macy's and before we had even entered the main section of the mall I had about 20 or so. It only took an hour or so to get all 50.

The rest were cake and nothing was too noteworthy.

The one interesting factor that we both noticed ---- AMERICANS ARE ANTI-SOCIAL. The hardest part of the exercise was getting people to make eye contact with you. Most people are just walking around with their heads down, no smile, etc. They are just in their own little world. It's so sad. We were walking around with huge smiles on our faces, laughing out loud, and having a great time. When we would say hi to people, it was as if we shocked them out of their world.

A lot of the people acted like we slapped them across the face and woke them up out of the matrix. Most said hi back, a few just looked at us funny, and only 1 or 2 actually said hi BEFORE we got the chance to. I think I only counted 1 and it was a store clerk.

The women that we contacted all responded quite positively as expected. Here were two guys doing something different. No sh1t they're gonna react. All the other betas walkin around were being all antisocial, so we were in charge.

When people wouldn't respond, we would make fun of them in a nice way as we walked away. We'd say things like "Oh we must have been too good looking for them" or "B1TCH!!!!" if it looked like a stuck up b1tch.

Overall, an easy start for the bootcamp, but I can see where a lot of guys would have trouble even with this easy starting exercise. Like I said, we've both been in this community for some time and decided to do this for fun and to learn something new. Anyways - next week's exercises should be more interesting.

 

[jimmyb]

This exercise was definitely one MBS and I considered "easy" in our books, however, I still feel it is necessary to complete all the steps along the way. No one should feel embarassed if this exercise would be difficult for them, because years ago, it would have been MUCH more difficult for me. Beginner or Pro, there should always be valuable lessons learned from a hands on exercise.

Since my thoughts were not clouded by approach anxiety, I gathered valuable insight on the state of today's society. Now, when I say today's society, I am speaking about the one that immediately surrounds me. I can not speak for different cities, countries, etc. I have noticed what I'd consider more positive eye contact when (in my AFC days) I was in Montreal.

As MBS mentioned, I noticed a huge lack of confidence in the people that surrounded us. Barely anyone would make eye contact, and most eye contact was nervous eye movement to view their surroundings. MBS and I are non-threatening looking (in my opinion) and were laughing and having a good time. There is no reason anyone should have feared being mugged or harassed. Employees are the only ones who had an open posture, and that's their job, it's NATURAL to them, as this should be NATURAL to a DJ.

This brings me back to a few months ago, when I was with a non-community friend. There is a busy music festival by my house every year, and on Main St the crowds are flowing by. We sat on the sidewalk, and attempted eye contact with every passerby. Less than 2% made eye contact back, and the few that did, were females, probably HB6-8.

Anyway, looking forward to future exercises. Constructive comments, questions and thoughts are welcome.