Mark Manson, Postmasculine.com

Mark Manson, Postmasculine.com

Mark Manson

Medellin, AT

Male, 28

I am a professional blogger, internet entrepreneur, and world traveler. I've been to over 40 countries and am currently working on my second book about long-term travel and how to work/live abroad. On my blog I write about self development and creating a unique lifestyle for yourself. Feel free to ask me anything.

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Last Answer on October 05, 2012

Best Rated

Were you an entrepreneur from the moment you stepped out of college, or did you work any regular jobs before "seeing the light?"

Asked by micah_88 about 13 years ago

I worked in a bank for a short period of time, maybe 2-3 months before quitting. My entrepreneurialism was unplanned and a bit serendipitous. I wrote about it on my site here: http://postmasculine.com/kill-your-day-job

What's a piece of advice that you used to dole out regularly that you later realized was totally wrong?

Asked by anon about 13 years ago

Ugh... good question. There are two that stand out: 1) I focused way too much of my dating advice on humor and coming across as cute and funny to women -- impressing them, really. Humor is nice and everything, but it's not the crux of attraction like I seemed to think for a while. Focusing on it so much also implies the idea that women must be impressed and entertained if they're going to like you, which is a terrible mindset to have. 2) That having sex with more women somehow changes you on a deep personal level, when in fact, sex is often shallow meaningless or even emotionally harmful. It's the same mistake most of the seduction industry makes, but I'm a little ashamed I bought into it so much wholeheartedly.

Do you use deadlines regarding to your work on the blog ? How and why ?


...Mark, thanks for answering my first question about the time you wake up. I was actually waking up myself, now that I'm out the shower I have this one...

Asked by Nicolas about 13 years ago

For articles and blog posts I set deadlines for myself because it's important to post content consistently and keep readers regularly engaged. For larger projects like books or products, I don't set deadlines but rather progress goals, i.e., "I want to write 5,000 words this week," etc.

Who do you see as your primary competitors? Do you monitor them closely, or just kinda do your own thing?

Asked by Friar Buck about 13 years ago

Before when I was primarily a pick up and dating site, my competitors were obvious: the other pick up businesses and coaches. Now that I've branched out into more self development and lifestyle and focused much more on my personal brand rather than specific advice, my competition and market has become more ephemeral. I think my biggest competition are the modern men's sites: AskMen.com, ArtofManliness.com, Men's Health, etc. But I think they are competition less in what they sell, and more in the space they occupy in pop culture and in men's perceptions of themselves. Ultimately, the goal of my site is to redefine what masculinity is and how a new generation of men perceive themselves. So while some sites or businesses may compete directly with my style product or my dating product, ultimately I'm competing for a space in the mind's of men at large. It's a lofty goal, but hey, dream big, right?

Do you eventually want to settle down with one woman? Would it have to be a woman who's willing to country-hop with you indefinitely?

Asked by Sumeet about 13 years ago

Yes, I do. And although she wouldn't need to be willing to country hop, she would have to be passionate about travel and different cultures.

Was there ever any one piece of reader feedback that resonated so much that it actually made you rethink something you were doing/writing/living?

Asked by The Innkeeper about 13 years ago

A couple years ago, I had a regular feminist commentator who would often disagree with me respectfully. Although it didn't happen immediately, she slowly, over the course of months, influenced me to start considering other perspectives. Unfortunately, a lot of the reader influence happens because of the bad apples. For instance, if I try to teach a concept in a certain way and some guys with that problem are able to rationalize their way out of the advice, then it forces me to sit down and re-think how I'm explaining concepts. I enjoy good criticism (emphasis on "good") and my work has been criticized a bit over the years that has helped me shore it up and make it stronger. But I can't think of one single reader comment or email that changed everything for me. Most of the influence I've gotten from readers has been a slow, long-term progression.

Hey Mark, where do you see the opportunities for people who want to live the mobile lifestyle but not necessarily run their own businesses?

Asked by Tom about 13 years ago

I think they're growing. More and more companies and corporations are offering opportunities to work remotely. I also think that the information age promotes more creative freelance type work. There will always be those jobs that always require you to show up, but I think things are going to be more flexible in the near future. It's likely that in 10 years, this lifestyle won't be uncommon at all anymore.