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

I see you're writing a second book about long-term travel but... where is the first? Can't find it listed on your site. I'm one month into living mobile and finding it has ups and downs. Could use a good guide.

Asked by redunzl over 11 years ago

The first book is about dating and women. The site began years ago as a men's dating site. You can find it here: http://postmasculine.com/models

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 over 11 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.

Hi Mark,
A beginners' mind question. First blog post? Yes, I need great content - but how does anyone know the post exists? Where to start? I like the "be a guest blogger" tip - but how do small spuds find one another to even begin?

Asked by Gemma over 11 years ago

Hunt around the blog-o-sphere, for every blog you're aware of, there are probably 2000 you're not. Click on people's blog rolls then click on all of those people's blog rolls and so on. You'll eventually find dozens of relatable blogs to yours. But also, starting on forums and comments is an easier place to start.

Do you do a lot of research when you write blog posts, or is everything pretty much coming from within? If the latter, how do you maintain credibility if most of the material is just one person's opinion?

Asked by holyhell over 11 years ago

I rarely do research for a specific post, but I do a lot of ongoing research in subjects I'm interested in. I read A LOT, and most of what I read is non-fiction. I try to keep up with all of the popular psychology books that are being published and as I read I make little notes on my computer of certain ideas, studies or anecdotes I'd like to use in a post. I also have a bookmark folder for articles and studies I come across on the internet that I could see myself using in a post. I basically build up a reservoir of research and credible material to fall back on when I need it to make my point. I just put up a post today about what I call "the prime belief." It relates a lot to William James, one of my favorite philosophers and someone whom I've read quite a bit of and about over the years. So when I decided to write the post, it was a matter of digging through my old books and verifying a few basic facts online before writing it. Citing stuff definitely does build a lot of credibility and I'm trying to get better about it. People take you more seriously and it helps keep me grounded and talking about what works not just some hair-brained idea I came up with on a Saturday night. It's particularly important for my industry too, because there's actually a scary lack of scientific research backing up a lot of self help. So I'd like to be the guy who actually does go through the trouble to cite a lot of research backing up my models and theories.

I've noticed a snowball effect. The more I improve with women, the more entitled I feel and the more my overall lifestyle and mindset improves. Controlling that aspect of my life, I feel like I can control anything. Have you experienced this?

Asked by legendart over 11 years ago

Yes. Improving with women can be a means for increasing your self-esteem, especially if it's an area you carried around a lot of emotional baggage. So yes, my quality of life and general confidence increased greatly when I became better with women. The bad news is that there's a limit to it. Everyone hits a point eventually where dating and sleeping with more/hotter women no longer affects their self-perception very much. At some point, any form of external validation stops fulfilling you. When this happens, you want to move your focus on to improving other areas of your life. Also, BE WARNED that men like us who regain a lot of our lost self-esteem through successful sexual and romantic relationships, we have a tendency to get hooked or even addicted to the validation that it brings. Don't become one of these men.

Who are your mentors as of today?

Asked by chadwick over 11 years ago

At the moment I don't really have any mentors, although I've had a few at various times in the past. These days, I'm more of looking at what the super-famous bloggers are doing (Tim Ferriss, Leo Babauta, etc.) and try to model or draw some sort of inspiration from them, since reaching that level seems to be the next step.

Do you make enough money on the blog alone to support yourself, or is the bulk of your income from ancillary products sold through the blog?

Asked by Dorian over 11 years ago

Not sure what you mean. I have my own products and books that I sell through my blog. The blog itself makes very little money since I do little to no advertising. But yes, I have supported myself for about four years now.