In this episode, we talk with certified life and executive coach, David Meeson, about why men are so intimidated in approaching women, the skills you can develop to have a successful dating life, and why what he calls progressive desensitization is such a valuable option in love and in life.
00:00:00.220It's no secret that most men want to find love in life and someone they can partner with throughout life.
00:00:06.400But the reality is that far fewer men are doing the work required than ever before.
00:00:11.340And for those who are actively looking for love, many of them are just floundering when it comes to approaching women and building interest that could potentially lead to a long-term relationship.
00:00:22.080But David Meeson is a man who has made it his life's work to help men understand why they struggle and why society at large seems to be continually stacking the deck against the type of relationships that men listening to this podcast are looking for.
00:00:39.420Today, we talk about why men seem to be so intimidated in approaching women, the skills, and they are learnable skills that you can develop to have a more successful dating life.
00:00:49.320Why what he calls progressive desensitization, sorry, the tongue twister, is such a valuable option in love and in life.
00:00:59.700The alarming statistics around romantic relationships and young men's increasing aversion to them and how radical honesty, not overly agreeableness, is what creates attraction.
00:01:12.700You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest.
00:01:15.700Embrace your fears and boldly chart your own path.
00:01:18.380When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.
00:01:23.040You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong.
00:01:28.140This is your life. This is who you are.
00:01:32.360At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:01:39.080All right, man, welcome back to the Order of Man podcast.
00:01:42.120I've been looking to this one or forward to this one for some time.
00:01:45.340We had David on a couple of years ago, just about, and it did really, really well, resonated well with a lot of guys.
00:01:54.780And I know there was some valuable feedback and insight that many men, based on the emails and texts that I received, that they got from this conversation.
00:02:02.500So I reached out to David not too long ago, and I asked that he come back on because this is a topic that seems to be increasingly worse, and that's men entering the dating space.
00:02:14.860The statistics are wild, and we get into some of the statistics on this podcast, and by the way, speaking of the podcast, that's what we do here.
00:02:22.240If there's a topic or a conversation or something that's interesting to you, then it's my job to secure those guests, bring them on, try to ask good questions as best I can,
00:02:33.860and get good answers from all of my guests that you can actually apply in your life.
00:02:37.680We are bridging the gap between what we as men know and what we actually do.
00:02:41.760So this one is no different. Now, before I get to it, as I mentioned every single week, my friends over at Montana Knife Company, they make knives, and they make good knives, and they make American-made knives, and they're all good people up there.
00:02:55.600I've got some hunts coming up later this summer and moving into the fall that I'm very excited about, and I always, always carry a Montana Knife Company knife with me.
00:03:05.540Or if I'm in the kitchen preparing meal for my kids, or just an everyday carry, they've got them all.
00:03:11.760So check them out, montananifecompany.com. And if you end up picking up a knife, or a shirt, or a hat, or a whatever, they've got all sorts of stuff over there,
00:03:20.080then use the code ORDEROMAN to save some money. Again, montananifecompany.com. Use the code ORDEROMAN.
00:03:26.140Now let me introduce you to David. He is a certified life and executive coach.
00:03:30.820He specializes in helping high-achieving men find meaningful and lasting relationships.
00:03:36.700He's been on his own personal journey through social anxiety, like many of us have, and also a failed marriage.
00:03:44.200But he developed a practical, very mindset-driven coaching system that is designed to empower professionals
00:03:51.420to overcome their dating challenges and build genuine connections.
00:03:54.980He's got a proven four-step process. He's guided over 300 clients across more than 30 countries towards finding fulfilling partnerships.
00:04:04.240And he's also got a social media following now. This was not the case two years ago.
00:04:09.000Now exceeding 2 million people. He shares insights on dating and confidence and communication and his approach,
00:04:17.940which I actually value his approach because it emphasizes authenticity, clarity, effective communication over these superficial tactics.
00:04:29.200And that's really what separates him from traditional dating coaches or your typical pickup artist. Enjoy this one, guys.
00:04:37.880Vavid, what's up, man? Great to see you. It's been a while.
00:04:40.740Likewise, Ryan. Thank you for having me.
00:04:43.340Yeah, I'm looking forward to this conversation.
00:04:44.960I was actually looking at some statistics and I've seen this even just over the past couple of months of they're a bit alarming and they're also a bit disturbing.
00:04:53.600And I think the statistics that we see in declining rates of men dating, men getting married, and even having men having kids is not just an individual problem.
00:05:06.960I actually think it's a societal problem that we might be facing as well.
00:05:27.560Social media can be a great tool or if used passively, people swipe right, they don't get the results they want, and then their self-esteem plummets because they think they're not desirable.
00:05:37.180Yeah, well, and that's actually a good way to segue into one of the statistics that I saw.
00:05:44.660You probably have the data to back this up, but it seems like I remember seeing something like 90% of the women are pursuing 10% of the men.
00:05:55.820It's probably 95% of the women on these dating apps or maybe just in life are pursuing 10% to 5% of the men out there, which makes it really intimidating for a lot of guys.
00:06:06.020Yeah, I don't have the exact data on it, but it's probably 80-20, 90-10, 95-5, 100%.
00:06:11.940But on dating apps, first of all, what I say to guys is you're not competing with most men.
00:06:16.360Yeah, there are some men that are genetically gifted beyond belief.
00:06:19.960They can have average pictures, and because they're 6'4 and perfect looking, they're going to get better results.
00:06:26.660But if you just get really good pictures taken, professional pictures, good outfits, you build a good profile, you can get good results.
00:06:33.480Now, I do say as a disclaimer, there are some men, and this is going to sound horrible, who are just – their face is objectively not that attractive looking, okay?
00:07:04.500They can find a quality relationship from them.
00:07:05.960But these other guys, they just have to rely on in-person approaches because if you're very charismatic and very confident, that can – you can talk away your face, so to speak.
00:07:18.020So I'm a big fan of believing that we're in the best times ever.
00:07:34.820We only need to spend 15 minutes a day on them.
00:07:37.660Those apps, they're engineered to give you short-term quick dopamine spikes, but not necessarily in a way to – what's the purpose of these apps?
00:08:08.460Everybody has an invisible account score associated with their profile.
00:08:11.540How many women swipe right on you, for example, or who swipes right on you determines your account score.
00:08:15.960So they're trying to match each other up and then if you don't have a good profile, for example, your first picture is not that great.
00:08:23.960Your facial expressions are a bit off.
00:08:25.300You can actually engineer it authentically and yet still effectively.
00:08:29.000If you don't do that, then your account score goes low and you wonder, first of all, I don't even think the woman that I want is on dating apps.
00:08:34.760Well, she exists in the real world and a lot of them also exist on dating apps.
00:08:38.480But we have to be so careful to not tie up our self-esteem in our dating app results because they say nothing about our desirability as a man.
00:08:45.080And I think most men, they are good men, kind men, right?
00:08:50.420To varying levels of success, but they're working on themselves.
00:08:53.820But their communication of themselves is not that great.
00:08:58.360And you know that you can have a great product.
00:09:00.440If it's not marketed well, it'll die on the shelf.
00:09:03.160Yeah, I think dating apps, well, probably just even approaches in real life are nothing more, at least initially, than an indicator in your ability to play the game that's being played.
00:09:15.160You know, whether it's approaching somebody you think is attractive out in public or on a dating app, it seems like you've got to know the rules.
00:09:23.860Otherwise, you're not even going to give yourself a chance.
00:09:26.120But I have this fear that too many men think it should just work or it should just happen or it should be so organic that all of this stuff isn't necessary.
00:09:37.700But there's no other aspect of life a man actually believes that.
00:11:50.740There's only two things when it comes to approaches.
00:11:52.140The skill of doing it and then there's approach anxiety, nervousness, AA, approach anxiety, right?
00:11:57.520And the only reason men feel rejection is because they haven't gotten enough and they overwhelm themselves because they see somebody who's truly physically attractive and then they think they have to be able to go and start a conversation with her.
00:12:49.200And so it may be for one person but not for another because of the state that I'm in right now, how many wins I've had over the last couple of months, my whole dating and relationship history, whether I've had role models or not.
00:13:01.420And so just start with somebody that you don't find attractive at all.
00:13:04.660Go talk to me and then you talk to somebody who's a little bit more attractive, a little bit more attractive.
00:13:07.880Progressive desensitization works for everybody, but we've got to do the work.
00:13:11.120And I see this with clients all the time.
00:13:12.480They say, yeah, well, I still have approach anxiety.
00:13:14.300Did you do progressive desensitization?
00:14:38.760If you just seek to add a little bit of positivity and you get into that momentum, it is, Ryan, an evolutionary hack to just talk to people in person in a kind and respectful way and to just be a little bit smart about it.
00:14:56.960And if you do it, you realize what an abundance of options there is.
00:15:01.260And the biggest mistake men make is they choose from scarcity.
00:15:04.800They stumble into one relationship, into the next without choosing consciously, without going through a phase of comparing their options.
00:15:12.360And so they need to just do progressive desensitization, talk to just people in general, and somebody who's gradually more attractive, gradually more attractive, gradually more attractive.
00:15:22.440And there's free resources and paid resources for that.
00:15:25.680Yeah, I mean, what you're saying makes so much sense.
00:15:28.260I just wonder for men that have a hard time approaching that part of the issue also might be that they're so vested in what this imaginary future could potentially be before they even get a woman's number, for example.
00:15:41.700They're worried about, oh, should I marry her?
00:16:33.880If you had more options, you wouldn't care because you want the day to go well, but you don't need it to go well.
00:16:40.560Women need to feel that you want them, but that you don't need them.
00:16:42.800And men pedestalize, but if they just take more action, they approach one person, they use more dating apps, they use Instagram, and they need a structure also.
00:16:50.600What I tell people is block time in your calendar.
00:17:27.620I may be wrong with this, but I believe most people are good people.
00:17:30.380And if you talk to them and you have more positive interaction points, you'll feel at home in the world.
00:17:35.080Wayne Dyer said that Albert Einstein once said, whether it's true or not, I don't know, but that one of the most important decisions we make in life is whether we live in a friendly or a hostile universe.
00:17:46.240And I think that's a decision we have to make over and over again because there is evil in the world.
00:17:50.360But if I focus on that, I'll attract more of that.
00:17:52.820Not in a way, but because I'll unconsciously start exhibiting certain micro expressions that have people respond differently.
00:18:01.540I've been going out for many, many years.
00:18:18.600I'm really looking for ways to not get into those situations.
00:18:24.520And if you just talk to people more and you offer a little bit of value, one compliment, and now here's a real tactical point for guys, you have to overshare.
00:18:32.820Because in a business setting, what we learn as men is that if people are supposed to like you, you ask them a lot of questions.
00:18:40.920That doesn't work with women because if you talk to a woman anywhere, you have to get permission, implicit permission to people ask, to even ask that question.
00:18:50.140Imagine a homeless person comes up to you and starts asking you, so what do you do for work?
00:18:58.240So, but instead, I'm not sure if you've had this.
00:19:00.200If a homeless person comes up to you, comes up to you and starts sharing, you know, so this is my story.
00:19:04.940And they start just sharing, you're like, oh, all of a sudden there's a little bit of a connection and you're much more willing to want to give to them, even though both people, both homeless people are probably equally deserving of love and support.
00:19:17.280But the one person just overshare a little bit instead of asking me questions.
00:19:20.720Hey, guys, so what happened is they'll tell a story.
00:20:00.120I think for most people because we always hear the adage of, you know, don't make it about yourself and be humble and all of these things that we grew up, even outside of the dating space, that we grew up adopting as, you know, don't make yourself the center of the universe.
00:20:16.380And I don't think that's what you're saying.
00:20:18.360But I imagine a lot of men interpret what you're saying that way and it feels really awkward.
00:20:23.340Well, I even, the other day on one of our group calls with our men, I had asked guys to share their strengths.
00:20:31.620It is amazing how difficult it is for men to share what they're good at.
00:20:35.220They can talk about what they're bad at all day long.
00:20:37.820No issue, especially in a group like that.
00:20:39.760But when you start asking, what are you good at?
00:38:29.500I do like also that you talk about this idea of radical honesty.
00:38:33.900And I think that is an element of being humble, that I don't always see it the same way, that I might see things differently.
00:38:42.520But I imagine the biggest issue for men when it comes to honesty about what they want to need, or maybe it's a political difference of opinion, or a cultural difference of opinion, is losing the one or letting this one get away.
00:38:58.880But that's that scarcity mindset, I imagine, versus, hey, I should probably share my political and cultural views because I want to know on date number one, not date number 40.
00:39:18.240And then, for example, Sam Harris, who I disagree with on a lot of things, who I still respect as a human being immensely, he's an amazing – I disagree with him on a lot of things.
00:39:26.360There's no need to get into the particulars.
00:39:28.120But he wrote an amazing book called Lying.
00:39:30.840And he basically says, you should never lie, ever.
00:39:33.760Don't even tell your kids Santa Claus exists.
00:39:35.360Now you can have a nuanced discussion around that.
00:39:37.600But radical honesty is something I'm working on as well.
00:39:40.120Anybody who says, I never lie, full of shit, right?
00:39:42.500Because we all make small mistakes here and there.
00:39:45.400But then it's a real effort to just say what it is.
00:40:15.540If you don't agree in politics or religion, she won't be your wife.
00:40:17.840If you don't agree in politics or religion, that person is not going to be your business partner.
00:40:20.760And then you have to realize, as much as you can live in the world, as we talked about earlier, and wish beings well, as Jack Kornfield says, and look for kind interaction points with a lot of people.
00:40:32.880You also have to understand that 9 out of 10 people you don't want to have in your life closely.
00:40:38.780Not because there's anything wrong with them.
00:40:40.420Just because they're different in the way they view the world.
00:40:44.120And if you have to have arguments at the dinner table about religion and politics, spend less time with those people.
00:40:51.020Well, you know, I already hear what people might say to that is, you know, you do want other people, other opinions.
00:40:56.580And sure, you can have other opinions.
00:40:58.320And I think in relationships, of course, you're always going to have other opinions.
00:41:02.400To me, that's the point of a relationship, somebody that can share things with me that I'm not aware of or privy to or I've never considered.
00:41:12.380Like, why would I be in a relationship with a woman if she can't bring something to the table and round out a perspective I might have?
00:41:18.340But if it's things that are just non-negotiables, you said that she won't become your wife or that person won't become your business partner.
00:41:27.700I think the threat is she might actually become your wife because you both do it anyways in spite of red flags.
00:42:18.720But with my ex-wife, we'd argue about the most fundamental things, and you cannot have a happy relationship if you don't agree on your fundamental values.
00:42:29.280And politics and religion, they're just a manifestation of where you are in the world.
00:42:34.580Do you think this idea of radical honesty, and I've used the word confrontation, I don't know if you'd use that word,
00:42:41.600because that has a negative connotation to it as well.
00:42:44.140It seems to me that based on what I've heard you say and just in general,
00:42:48.080that that ability to disagree is actually an attractive quality to women because it's a sign of surety and confidence.