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Same material, a bit less power

This is the book version of Paul Janka’s material, written a couple of months before the recording of the 6 DVD set “Beyond the Digits”. The concept and techniques are basically the same, so you might want to read my review of "Beyond the Digits" , where I elaborate in depth on the content and its pros and cons.

The book is well written (Janka is a Harvard graduate after all); it ties up some loose ends he did not have time to elaborate on in the video program.

There is, among the new information, a nice breakdown on his numbers, approaches, rejections, etc. To his credit, Janka does not pretend to be a Superman and he is candid about his failures. He teaches that rejection is normal and to be expected, no matter your level, and admits he still gets it all the time. You just learn to shrug it off and move on.

Just like in the DVD set, the focus here is exclusively on day & street game, and it feels at the same time advanced (because of how ballsy the whole system is) and basic (because the approach to meeting women couldn’t be simpler).

Unfortunately, there is still no explanation on how to actually cold approach, besides saying “just do it”. You do get a lot of solid, original tips on how to have the right vibe and create sexual tension within the first few minutes.

Some of the concepts are more easy to grasp in written form, but many of the key ideas have been explained more at length, or just plain better, in the DVD set. If you want to understand Assuming Familiarity, Pulling the Sex Forward, etc, the videos will hammer those home much better than the book.

Too industrial?

Presented in the written form without the swagger of a live Janka selling it, the industrial, mechanical aspect of the system that bothered me in the DVDs is also more striking.

Interestingly, Janka himself realizes this, and he has a few pages discussing the deep psychological consequences of “being a player”, including feelings of loneliness and alienation; this is “the burden of the hustle”, when “your reality becomes the consumption of women”. He evens hint at quitting pick up and finding a soul mate.

This is a welcome, sobering chapter and again Janka deserves credit for his openness, although one could wonder why none of this was mentioned in “Beyond The Digits”.

Further, Janka has a blind spot here - the problems described do not come from “being a player” per se, but from the extremeness of Janka’s system itself. Moving on to new conquests almost immediately after getting each new girl, going for quantity over quality, limiting your interactions to a very narrow set of steps, over the long run this stuff is not necessarily psychologically healthy. Janka’s own rigid rules are setting him up for trouble, but he doesn’t seem to realize that – yet.

Still, there is a lot of good stuff in this book, and you can learn from extreme characters without copying their lifestyle 100%. Get the good tips and disregard the crazy stuff.

Invest in the DVDs

If you have to choose, I would strongly recommend buying the excellent DVD set (Paul Janka’s "Beyond the Digits") over the book, because seeing Janka’s presence and conviction on video helps to understand and internalize his points. Many of the key concepts are also better explained in the DVD set – this is especially true for the more advanced, original ideas.

This book is very reasonably priced, and worth buying if you would like structured notes of the material for review, or can’t afford the DVD set.