AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man / Morrison Shouts in my Ear - Ampersnd - 04-15-2026
I wanted to create an accounting of my current state in light of my upcoming run of AM 7.0.
The big thing is the checklist included in the sales page; I'll remove the obviously lackadaisical ones and stick to the serious points.
But first, a little bit of context:
My Life So Far:
Hi all; I've been on this forum since 2013. I was 21 at the time. I was a bit of a mess back then; big ambition but lazy with the every day things. Poor grades. Wanted to be a rock star but couldn't really play guitar or sing. No real success with women at the time.
Today, I'm 34, and I'm generally content with how my life has been going.
The Upsides- I have a four-year degree (which required five years due to stupidity in late teens)
- I've worked a five-year career in the job associated to this degree and was reasonably successful at it
- I've shifted gears and am four years into a new career that is more aligned to my interests.
- I have investments and a net worth; I have some credit card debt, but it is a small fraction of my assets.
- I've paid my taxes on time since filling them independently at 26.
- I book all of my own dentist appointments, and go to the doctors when I feel that there's something wrong
- I've been playing guitar since 13 years old, and I've been taking it more seriously since 2020; I'm a my all-time best playing ability.
- I've been taking singing lessons for four years and I'm at my very highest skill level; I would be classified a bass or bass-baritone but I can belt G4-B4 (iffy) and hit head voice in F5-A5.
- dd
- I've played guitar in a couple of musicals this past year. I have another one up in May 2026.
- I speak five languages; not just "know a few phrases", but I can hold entire conversations in all five of these languages. With German, my fifth language, I've just gotten to 7,100 known words.
- I've written seven non-fiction books, and I'm working on my eighth; started doing this in 2016.
- I've had a phase where I pursued a lot of women and have had a decent number of lovers until a couple of years ago.
- I have the ability to learn just about any skill to a basic degree reasonably quickly
- I hold a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu, and have been showing up for 7 years.
- I've done about a year and a half of kickboxing, and I'm pretty good at my high kicks
- I have a gym routine, and make it out 1-3 times per week, separately from my Jiu Jitsu practice. I'm as strong as ever.
- I'm in great shape; I'm 6 feet 2 inches, 220 pounds and fit in most size 33 jeans, as long as the thighs are wide enough.
- I have great health; no chronic ailments, pains, or medications
- I have a regular skin routine that keeps me looking reasonably young and youthful.
- My latest conscious/spiritual practice is to try to use tap into the subconscious with things from Dr. Joseph Campbell (The Power of the Subconscious Mind). These are all conscious-level practices.
The Downsides:- I probably have some kind of divergent thinking; it's not extreme but it has me thinking very deeply about things, pattern recognition, and getting bored with a lot of people's conversations.
- I was radicalized in my early twenties, largely due to YouTube videos and not very many friends at the time; I lost years in a pit of negativity and spite towards others. I've largely gotten over it.
- I have inner confidence - that I can get the job done - but I don't convert it into charisma (you know the type).
- I tend to yield in conversations and in physical posture more than the other person; I used to believe that it's because I'm bigger/taller/scarier but it might have become a habit that's affected my confidence.
- I currently have this strange inner shakiness - which evokes feelings of guilt or shame - that I'm working through, possibly related to Maximum Learning Speed.
- I've psyched myself into some shame related to sex and haven't had sex in several months. I used to approach plenty of women, and I accidentally went up to someone underage and I've gradually stopped putting myself out there since then. The motivation just isn't there anymore.
- I have some negative beliefs related to my aging and my desirability; a lot of my self-worth was tied up into being a young strapping lad, and now that I'm shifting into a different - more distinguished - look, I'm in this weird limbo where I don't know what I can do.
- A don't have that overwhelming pull to talk to women anymore; I currently don't have any interest in taking women on dates; I would have sex with various women I see.
- Without these drives, I realize how stilted or platonic my interactions with women are; they don't have that sexual edge because I see no point of trying it. I've approached several hundreds of women in my life and have had such a small success rate by doing that.
- I'm realizing that people's opinions of me have more influence over me than I realize. The thought of being the "creepy old man" lingers more than it should. Or of feeling people's disapproval of me if I became socially magnanimous or if they saw me flirting with a hot woman. I realize that I'm technically not afraid of anyone or more things, but it's the internal feelings stirred up when I'm witnessed or heard, especially while talking to women.
- My current credit debts relate to various business and spiritual coaching I've taken which have not bore fruit. I've also spent thousands on Facebook ads and have basically broken even on them. It's not strictly the fault of the coaches either; they're correct in their teachings, but some part of me either got psyched out or disinterested (probably a subconscious strategy to avoid completing the necessary steps).
- My many attempts - and "failures" (aka running out of steam) - in business have discouraged me from trying again. I know myself, but every time I try something in the hopes that things will be different costs me something. It's technically more profitable for me to stand still at the moment.
- I also feel self-conscious about my lack of 'movement' and upward mobility these past two years and what I can offer other people.
- I feel fine when dealing with people normally, but not when I'm trying to get them to do something for me (date me, buy something from me).
The Checklist - aka 'Do These Apply?':- Still live with your family ... instead of having your own residence. DOES NOT APPLY. Have lived alone since 18 with parental support. Returned to them at 23. Left home at 25 fully independently and did not look back.
- Do not have at least one legal, reliable, stable source of income... DOES NOT APPLY. Have had reliable self-sustaining income since 24 years old.
- Do not have stable, reliable transportation. DOES NOT APPLY. I have a car.
- Were raised by a single mother, and need to balance out the feminine influence on your upbringing - I had an overbearing, hyper-critical mother, but my father occasionally knew how to put his foot down
- Hold feminist beliefs that are holding you back from achieving your potential and or goals as a responsible adult man. DOES NOT APPLY. I believe in the basics between men and women, and I was at my most "feminist" at age 28, and it has slowly gotten more old-school.
- Have social anxiety - Yes, and I've been feeling especially shaky in recent weeks
- Consider yourself "woke" - This one is 'iffy'; there are ways where social structures really screw over people and there are certain angles where society is quick to pile onto minorities or women. I'm not irrational about my view of society.
- Feel guilt, shame or anything else negative about yourself simply because you are male - Yes, I've internalized a lot of the toxic discourse around women and dating.
- Believe that women are better than, smarter than or otherwise superior to men (or you as a man) - I've developed the belief that women are motivated and oriented toward checking off a lot of societal boxes much sooner than men; at the same time, they get endless forms of societal sponsorship, so it's no wonder that they do alright. I do like how they can take good care of their space and care enough about the small stuff to .
- Have been described as/are a "white knight", and it's still true - DOES NOT APPLY
- Have been described as/are a "simp", and it's still true. DOES NOT APPLY, though I feel that I can assess whether a woman or a man is in the wrong.
- Are subscribed to one or more accounts on OnlyFans. DOES NOT APPLY, though I have a spank bank that I add to but never look at haha
- Are afraid of women. Not afraid, but definitely wary of a lot of the bullshit they can pull, and society doesn't give a shit or punish it. I do have a lingering worry about jealous men challenging me or squaring up.
- Were raised in a female dominated household, with a weak father or no father figure present. There was a period in high school where my mother was a histrionic tyrant and my dad didn't reign her in. This might apply.
- Hide from, avoid or try to escape adult responsibility. DOES NOT APPLY for the basics.
- Identify as being a part of any group that has an identity based on weakness, failure, flaws, feminine or being any kind of loser. DOES NOT APPLY
- Let yourself be treated badly by others, especially females. I have a complex where I would refuse to let that shit stand, to a toxic degree where I would ruminate on it and try to turn the tables as hard as possible.
- Have been called/are an Incel, and it's still true. Have never been called, but some of my viewed might get me called that. I'm currently a "Voluntary celibate".
- Moderate a reddit forum. I have a bit of status on a Discord server, but I get my voice lessons there, so probably doesn't apply.
- Have glasses that are held together with tape. DOES NOT APPLY
- Like to go to Weenie Hut Jr.'s (and especially Super Weenie Hut Jr.'s) for a milkshake. Lol SpongeBob
- Spend more than 2 hours a day gaming on a regular basis DOES NOT APPLY
- Prefer to spend your time watching TV, playing games or scrolling the Internet to doing anything else. DOES NOT APPLY, but I use the internet a lot for various self-improvement reasons.
- Have mommy issues or daddy issues. I've HAD mommy issues, but I think that I've held some complexes on both sides.
- Live your life on social media, especially TikTok. I watch a LOT of YouTube; I hit my gyms and do music wherever I can. I don't thrive in bustling social venues.
- Cannot or do not think for yourself. DOES NOT APPLY; I've been writing about a book per year for the past three years
- Believe whatever you see in the news media. Not since 2020, but only because media companies serve corpo interests.
- Want and or allow others to direct your life, because you don't want to do it yourself. Technically not, but I do wait on opportunities more than the other way around (of creating my own opportunities).
- Seek permission from others to do things you should be getting permission from yourself to do. See above. Same case.
- Allow yourself to be disrespected by others on a regular basis, especially females. I simply dismiss women who try disrespect. No use in arguing. It doesn't really happen.
- Have low self esteem, self respect and or sense of self worth. Half and half. I consciously think positively but I hold myself back from 'big leagues' activity.
- Harbor self hatred. I've never hated myself; in fact, I've always viewed myself highly, and felt that others were stupid for not seeing my value.
- Are afraid to grow up. I'm sure there are areas where I'm held back, but I've been functional for 10 years.
- Cannot take care of yourself without help from parents, family or a girlfriend/wife because you never grew up. DOES NOT APPLY.
- Allow someone else to dress you when you are capable of dressing yourself. DOES NOT APPLY.
- Do stupid things like get money, and then blow it on something you merely want, instead of paying your rent, when doing so will prevent you from being able to pay your rent
- Think the United States is still a "patriarchy". Various insular religious groups in the US employ it. Most women are secular and have all of the social approval in the world to buck anything resembling a responsibility to their partner.
- Would get married without a per-nuptial agreement. "But don't you love me? I feel like you don't trust me"
- Would get married at all, and you live in the United States, and have no awareness of how the laws and family courts are arrayed against you. Haha I've been paranoid about marriage since the age of 19.
- Consider yourself submissive, especially to one or more females. I'm quiet and not a bold leader, but I'm not submissive.
- Are a shut-in because of anxiety. Potentially true.
- Would rather masturbate than have sex with someone else because of anxiety. This is technically true, though this used to not be the case.
- Prefer to have someone direct you or tell you what to do, even outside of work. I don't ever enjoy being bossed around; I respect competency.
- Have traumas that work against you for becoming a fully responsible adult man. I'd be curious to see what becomes available to me when I run this program.
What I Hope to Achieve:- To fully own my sexual desires, no matter who's around or who's listening
- To lean into my edge and have the foundation for immense charisma
- To remove whatever strange feelings and attitudes I have about money, and to learn how to create money from a principled, fun-loving place.
- I want the courage to be a true artist; of allowing my feelings and my passions to guide me even when people are judging or hating.
- I want the grit and inner resolve to stand up against the machine - the Man - and win
- I want the ability to share world-shifting visions with other people, and to pull them into my world by my self-
- I want to tap into inner joy in the basic things, including conversations.
- To truly be untethered from the things that I feel codependent on (my apartment, my job, etc.)
- I want to be a bold visionary of a leader; a communicator who is able to be highly-visible, handle criticism and scrutiny, and build for others
[*][font=serif]I want to develop a sturdy spiritual core and explore that much more deeply
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Have at ye - 04-16-2026
Good luck in your run! Stage 0 can be an ass-kicker, but it's worthwhile.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Benjamin - 04-16-2026
Good luck, i'm about to start myself tomorrow night.
Did you make a thread before this? It was weird because I seen it in latest posts but it lead to an error that it didn't exist, then this different one popped up and works. I've not seen that error before so I don't know what happened.
Hope the run goes well for you.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-16-2026
(04-16-2026, 01:37 AM)Benjamin Wrote: Good luck, i'm about to start myself tomorrow night.
Did you make a thread before this? It was weird because I seen it in latest posts but it lead to an error that it didn't exist, then this different one popped up and works. I've not seen that error before so I don't know what happened.
Hope the run goes well for you.
I saved this as a draft on a few occasions before fully posting. Maybe it made the thread visible but inaccessible?
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - NOMAD - 04-16-2026
I'm looking forward to your journal, man.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-17-2026
I'd like to stir the pot a little.
Something has happened which only occurs every three months; where I see a post where a woman alludes to something like the following:
"Grown men will make philosophical realizations that I've had in the shower at 12 years old."
There's something incredibly bold and tone-deaf about a statement like that that sincerely warms my heart.
I've even heard a female ex-theologian state that the average woman is more X-st like than X-st himself; I think she missed the point.
I have two directions to go with this; one is a logical instinct, the other is a curiosity.
First, the logical instinct. If there are all these women supposedly having profound world-altering thoughts that equal Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, why have very few of them bothered to write any of them down? And when I've read some, why does it come across as generic facile trite?
Here's where I'll get controversial; I think that a lot of women sincerely believe that they're knocking it out of the park in every respect in life, but that they suffer under fools who fail to recognize their sheer greatness and feel resentful over it, when in reality they're mediocre like the rest of us, but in different respects.
As a counterpoint, I recall having music rehearsals at the home of a woman in her 40s and seeing her Modern Languages degree by her piano; I mentioned it and brought up the languages she learned during this degree. Turns out that I did a better job at speaking Spanish, Italian, and German on my own independent non-degreed study than what she managed to do LOL.
Here's the curiosity; I wonder if the ability and willingness to allow emotions to flow - something that I believe women are, at the start but not forever, more equipped to do - allows certain mentalities to get unstuck, and your philosophy might shift after this happens. I have some opinions on this; that a lot of men become hard-line obstinate on certain topics because they're unwilling to internally re-live a negative experience and feel (then process) its negative emotions. This isn't woo-woo, but the ability to feel it without fighting can progress things more quickly.
A few extra thoughts:
* I've had certain realizations re-affirm themselves year over over, in an increasingly profound way each time. Ideas such as 'sondern' or empathy or the 'invisible hand'. It's arrogant to presume that my 20 year old version of these ideas matches my 35 year old version or my future 55 year old version.
* A person's failure to properly articulate a profound epiphany doesn't mean that the epiphany isn't profound; most people aren't writers or public speakers.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-20-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~12-13 days.
I discovered that I might apply for the 50% discount and realized that I've been kicking the can down the road; I've forwarded my email receipt of AM 6.0 to support so that I don't miss an opportunity.
I came to some self-realizations about myself. I dislike exposure, especially the kinds which are out of my control. This is why I'm comfortable and easy-going with most people about most topics (thank you OGSF) but I hate when my conversations are witnessed.
I tend to speak quietly, especially if I'm talking to a woman I'm interested in and am actively trying to flirt. It feels so vulnerable and exposed.
I also think that I have some inner trauma from the corona-times; not from a 'watch the news and be afraid' perspective, but rather from the fact that I worked in a long-term care home between 2020 and 2021, then worked in a town hospital in 2022 until I got my remote job. There was a lot of compromise and discomfort associated with all of the preventions. I haven't left my current job since that point, though I would like something better at this point. I think that I am secretly avoiding work out in the open again because of this reason.
A last insight is that I've cleared some of my toxic "away-from" motivations - the incentives making me run from a negative outcome - but I haven't addressed my toxic "run-towards" hang-ups.
Altogether, my desire to push for a better future is lower, and staying put is more tolerable.
I've also felt a drop in libido, and it's probably testosterone-related due to being 5 years older. But libido comes and goes; it might be psychological as well.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-24-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~7 days.
Finished UMS last night. If I count the 2 days off from the loop, then this is T-Minus 9 days.
I have a confession to make: When I was 18, I encountered a transformational program by David DeAngelo (Eben Pagen) about inner game and breaking your patterns and growing as a man.
I remember being inspired enough by these teachings to push myself toward approaching 100 women throughout November 2010. I remember doing it and it was nice. In December, I spoke to a hot 21-year-old blonde who went on to become my first sexual partner (and ghosted me afterward for a couple of years).
For the thousands of times I've since pushed myself out of my comfort zone - especially in my late teens and my twenties - I feel as though I've hit a dead end, and I've felt this way since about 2024. I put in 10 units and get back 1 unit; the 1 unit feels fickle and impermanent.
And so, my unconscious strategy has been to pour mostly into myself and my skills, since I trust myself to deliver on my own investments; accordingly, any person who urges me to pour into them - because, they "promise" to be worth the investment - struck me as a false prophet; someone who is full of it.
I've pushed my limits in trying at business, at busking, at performing live, at approaching women, at doing side projects.
It was uncomfortable, but I told myself that the accompanying rewards would be worth the struggle, but it was always a small trickle of return.
And my solution is apparently to keep pushing, despite the overwhelming downside of it? Of the lost effort, the disappointments, the social embarrassments? That's discouraging.
I feel incomplete, lacking courage and exhibiting a form of cowardice by remaining disengaged and removed from the problems of my day.
I feel a disconnection between my uneasy action-taking and the rewards for doing it; the reward always appears to be a small fraction of the effort I put in.
I feel the external world collapsing with opportunities' doors closing, and I don't give enough of a shit to take drastic action.
Thankfully, I've had a string of musicals starting in 2025 to keep me busy.
Thankfully, I've written a book per year (since 2024) to challenge me.
Thankfully, I've cracked a code for language learning that will possibly put me on a one-language-per-year trajectory.
Thankfully, I've become stronger, more athletic, and deadlier than I've ever been.
Thankfully, I still always have hope, which has never left me.
But I really want for AM 7.0 to correct something inside of me. To develop the courage to fully express myself. The courage to extend myself on tasks and meetups which are important to me, and to follow through even without logical reason. The courage to pursue any woman I want. The courage to set firm boundaries and uphold them, even if there's a cost that I would otherwise avoid. The courage to rock the boat.
In a sense, my action-taking was all funneled through a nerve-ridden, score-keeping, and sometimes resentful nervous system that would constantly broadcast that energy. Many people get the vibe from me to stay the fuck away, though I don't consciously want that.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-24-2026
A perfect instance of desiring more courage; I'm at a work meeting and people are just clamoring to say their piece in the middle of other people.
I want to unmute and say "listen y'all, I'm getting frustrated here with the overtalking; if someone is talking, have the discipline to avoid launching into your own idea please."
It has very little tangible benefit and much more risk of downside, and so I accept that this is happening; however, rectifying the situation is the right thing to do, and I'm not doing it.
I know that should I open my mouth and put a bit of bass in my voice to effect some order, or potentially embarrass someone who is overstepping, I risk tripping over my own words, or crumble from the fear of blowback, or to diminish the force of my request.
The act would require me to push out of my comfort zone, then overanalyze myself for the rest of the day. The idea makes me uneasy.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-25-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~6 days.
Awesome news to hear about AM 7.0 already coming with an upgrade to the underlying tech.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-26-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~5 days
I think that my problems these past couple of years comes from my unwillingness to assert myself because I've removed my traumas and hang-ups which led me to justify my existence through intense skill-building and I now lack a positive form of pursuing goals.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-27-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~4 days
Debating on starting Stage 0 either tomorrow or the day after.
I assume it will be with 6.0G until 6.5G gets released.
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Ampersnd - 04-28-2026
Stage 0, T-Minus ~3 days
Is today the day?
RE: AM 7.0 - The Measure of a Man - Shannon - 04-28-2026
I suggest you pause for a little bit and wait for Stage 0 in 6.5G. I should be able to start building Stage 0 in a day or so. Not sure exactly when it'll be finished, though.
|