Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha by John Romaniello Read Free Book Online Page A

traditional concept. Existing as the alter ego of the narrator, Tyler embodies all the best qualities that the narrator believes don’t exist within him. Durden manifests himself as all the best parts but brings with him the absolute worst: he is attractive, strong, intelligent, and clever; * however, he’s also destructive, anarchistic, narcissistic, and detached. While he is an exaggeration, Durden lives as what our society considers Alphas to be. He is confident, but arrogant. Self-assured, but self-involved. He is charismatic, but dangerous.
    Whether or not Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club ) was intending to make Tyler a representation of the Alpha is not an issue; the reality is, he came pretty close to embodying the polluted idea of the Alpha. In the zeitgeist, an Alpha isn’t ideal. It’s completely flawed.
    Society has Alphas pegged wrong; they are not the strongest guy or the one who makes the most money or has the most confidence. If you read the dictionary, the Alpha is the top of any group. He’s the captain, the quarterback, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The Alpha is success. But more importantly, it’s a persona dependent on individual progress and success. It’s about attaining the highest level of self-mastery and always trying to improve.
    The nutrition information, the training, and the hormonal optimization in this book—all that stuff is tremendously important. But we could have written that information like any other fitness book. We didn’t do that because we have higher ambitions: we want to change minds as well as bodies. We want to change lives. And part of that is taking ownership of the word Alpha —reshaping it from the ground up, giving it a new definition, and adorning it with new connotations.
    The first step on the path to harnessing your inner Alpha is attaining a higher level of physical prowess. That’s the foundation of what we’ll teach you. But from that physical transformation, other positive traits will follow, such as leadership, kindness, intelligence, and success. Throughout this book, we’ll share the fundamental lessons that will help you become the Alpha who embodies and masters these traits. This is a guide that will not only show you how to become a more efficient and powerful human but also how to live a more fulfilling and prosperous life.
    We understand the Alpha has some connotations that are hard to break. That’s why we want to define the traits so you understand what it really means to be the Alpha. Your evolution will depend on remembering that the poison is in the dose. We’ve identified the traits, but ultimately the Alpha understands when to turn these traits on and off, and when pushing too far leads down a path that is harmful to you and others. We’ll show you those barriers, but it’s up to you to draw the line and stay the path.
    Â 
    Â  ALPHA TRAIT #1
    Helpful—But Not Condescending
    The drive to become successful isn’t simply a means to a narcissistic and individualistic end. The Alpha understands that taking care of his primary goals is only part of creating the life he wants; the other half is influencing and shaping the world he lives in. It’s taking what you’ve learned—the good and the bad—and being able to pay that knowledge forward and make the world a better place. That is the foundation of this entire book: take the lessons we have learned about how to create an unreal life, combine them with your own life lessons to create your own version, and share them.
    But being helpful has its limits. The Alpha gives advice and encourages others, but he does not look to do things for them. He understands that they need to do things on their own, and while they sometimes may need assistance—whether with advice or guidance—the Alpha realizes that if he were to overstep his bounds and solve the problems for them, they wouldn’t learn. The Alpha