@Alchemist - Just because Zan says lots of things that didn't help you and his "method" is not a surefire way to skyrocket your success level to extreme heights without effort doesn't mean EVERYTHING Zan says is shit...
I see guys here throwing rocks at Zan and although I don't believe Zan has the capacity and the awareness of your problems to make a ladies man out of you, I do believe his "material" can make you be a more compassive, kind and honest person... which are qualities that I deeply respect in my good friends....and yes, not all...but many women respect in men. Many women would rather hook up with a cool, confident guy that seems to genuinely care about her (which is still a nice guy but not a "proverbial nice guy" aka a very insecure ass kisser) rather than a total dipshit.
So about Zan....
I would give him thumbs up for giving examples of ballsy-ness (Zan in the elevator with that girl, Zan inviting the woman from the cash registry to hang out with him without knowing her...), for telling guys that loving women is a good thing (philosopher Osho talks a lot about this and nobody can call a guy like him an idiot...), for teaching guys to be honest and open with women instead of manipulative, for teaching them that having a purpose in life is a necessity that will help you become less needy and will give women a sense of security, that guys should be more sexual / more comfortable with their sexuality, they they should be light and fun, that they should see her as more than a pair of tits and an ass, that some people should take control of their life and start designing it instead of letting their lives flow in chaos and monotony, for telling guys that they can do nice things to women IF you're not supplicating but you are doing it cause you want to (of course, it's common sense that you SHOULDN'T rationalize your pussy behavior with things like "I wanna do it". Instead, I find it VERY NORMAL AND BEAUTIFUL to buy your wife or girlfriend some flowers if she treats you like a fucking king and your relationship is great...), for telling guys that women are people ... with fears, insecurities, personalities, thoughts and everything and you can see them as people who you connect with instead of targets or objects of your desire that are perfect and you have to impress them. Also his "All women are my women" concept is very good because it teaches you to be a better person and not one of those dipshits who make fun of women cause they don't look like Adriana Lima. Another very important lesson that Zan teaches (I've got this lesson from a friend of mine who's the best I guy I know with women)... KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT aka DISCRETION. If you shut up, people won't find out and women can have secret adventures with you without feeling easy and so on and without making themselves vulnerable to social pressure.
Of course this is not a magic formula that will get you laid 100% or will change your life 100% in a giffy...but it's definitely good information that can help. A jacket and some nice boots are not enough to keep me warm in winter...but they sure help in keeping my ears and my feet warm.
I would give him thumbs down for giving guys the impression that loving women and celebrating them is all that's needed... for letting some of the Amorati do stupid shit without telling them they're doing stupid shit... for posting stuff on mASF about his past that's incompatible with what he talks about on his DVDs... for giving guys advice like "If someone invites you to his birthday party and you don't wanna go...tell them you're not going because you don't wanna go." If my best friend would tell me something like that without giving me a reason I would interpret it as "this guy doesn't give a shit about me and he's not my real friend" and it would significantly ruin a great relationship. Other cons: not helping the guys on the forum, not sending guys to get in shape, not talking a bit more about sex/being good in bed or at least telling guys about the importance of all of this and directing them to read about this / practice / get good /whatever... Another big con is telling guys that women are perfect and it's their fault... I met some pretty neurotic, manipulative, evil, heartless and shitty bitches in my life that did disgusting things to other people. It's NOT always the guy that's the problem. There are forums just like this one for women and they are discussing their own personal issues and problems. And sometimes....there aren't any issues at all...it's simply a lack of compatibility. Did you know that some people can't connect sexually well because their immune systems are not compatible...which affects their attraction levels/chemistry... or something like that? Not all women are cunts, not all women are angels, not all men are the problem and not all men are good (some men are total dipshits).
There are probably more pros and cons but I don't know Zan and I am not a student of his. This is my personal opinion of Zan's teachings... comparing his teachings to the attributes that people, both men and women, appreciated in me and attributes that friends of mine that are good with women possess. I have been in hospital an year ago and I met a guy...he was a good looking guy...and I asked him to talk about women....and he wanted to give me advice. The main things he taught me was to stop anallizing myself that much and worrying... the other thing that he considered very important was discretion. Besides, he told me some other stuff.... much of it seemed fragments from Zan's materials...although he never studied this stuff. I've seen him in action with the nurse and he was the real deal...light and fun, ballsy, elegant... The guy had balls, he was a good person and he was smart.
Now I am very aware that MOST of Zan's stuff....in the wrong hands... can be deadly. If the guy is insecure, it is very likely that he will not improve, using this new found set of theories to rationalize his already severe approval seeking behavior and some guys would probably be very lame because they put common sense aside. Also they can be misunderstood by guys, making them think that these are tools to get approval from women and not bonuses, stuff that makes you feel better about yourself, ways to live better and other good stuff. So partially you're right...Zan's stuff can create pussies. On the other side, you are fucking wrong... Zan's stuff can be very useful to some strong guys and they might not be the full puzzle but they are good pieces. There's a reason why Zan mentions that his stuff is NOT for young/inexperienced people but for reasonably old/mature guys who are already mature enough, are getting laid enough but they want to be better people, they want better connections and they want more possibilities regarding coming in contact with women.
I failed miserably with Zan's teachings because I didn't listen... I selected one or two concepts that I liked and thought that they would be enough ... one of them was "loving women" and the other one was "women are beautiful". Of course these concepts made me needy and very outcome attached because I already was kind of needy and outcome attached... BUT HEY...THERE ARE MANY GUYS THAT HAVE THESE CONCEPTS AND GET LAID A LOT! (the guy from the hospital...some of my friends that get laid like pimps...)
I will change most of my clothes but I will keep my awesome sunglasses. Zan's stuff = my awesome sunglasses.
@ rant. I don't understand what you are saying. Are you saying that being an asshole is a necessity with women and you can't get laid if you're a normal, kind, and reasonably understanding person? I mean.... I am not talking that you must be the kind of guy that arranges a meeting with a girl and she doesn't show up and you're like "It's ok, I understand her...something might have come up...". I'm not saying "let her push you around and step on you like you're a carpet". I'm not saying it's ok to be scared that she'll leave you and you won't find someone else and it's ok to be a pussy and that you shouldn't tell her what you think if something's not right. NO! On the contrary, I do believe men should be men and not take shit... but I also think this is compatible with being a nice person and an understanding person in cases where her needs and choices are normal. I can reject a girl I get along with well...and I expect her to understand that she's not my type... why wouldn't I be understanding with girls that want something else from a sexual relationship that what I have to offer? Maybe she has an obsession with really tall guys....I can understand that