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Notes -
While this is the correct way to play the game of hearts* for 80% of men, there is an alternative. There is only one alternative and it is high risk. You're betting the house on it.
You can use your 20s and early 30s to build a company or two or three and then have the financial support from your mid 30s on to date out of your league. If you don't have to work full time and have the discipline to stay in shape, the deterioration from 35 - 50 is negligible and with money and reasonable social proof (you can't be a shut in) you can date women that were not accessible to you in your 20s.
Two caveats:
2.This is not a guaranteed road to meaning and satisfaction with life. I've seen it up close, and the playboy lifestyle just isn't real. What this life gives you is options and an extended vitality window in which to consider those options. It is still on you to make decisions that align with a deeper philosophy of life.
As I said at the top, this shouldn't be attempted by, well, anyone from an EV perspective. It's living in deep risk. I think it deserves discussion, however, because this is how society actually moves forward - extremely outliers with outsized return generated by high levels of risk taking.
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