Speaker 1: Hi there, it's Johnny Depth and I've written one thousand
first dates Portrait of a Palm Beach player for guys
like us. It's literally a roadmap for avoiding the minefields
of mature dating. I had to learn this the hard way.
Control your reactions, control your outcome. People say dumb things.
We all do. It's part of being human. An awkward moment,
a poorly phrased comment, or a misread situation. These things
happen all the time. Most of the time. They don't
mean anything. They're not attacks, they're not threats. They're just
blips in the rhythm of human interaction. So if you're
the kind of man who wants to get ahead in
dating and in life, you've got to learn to let
the small stuff slide. But what if someone crosses the line.
What if the comment isn't just awkward it's rude. What
if the behavior is just clumsy, it's controlling or manipulative.
That's when your reaction matters most, not the other person's behavior,
your reaction, because you don't control what other people say
or do. You only control how you respond, and your
response determines your outcome. This is one of the core
truths every high value man must understand you will be tested.
You will be poked, prodded, and provoked. Whether it's a
woman on a date, a colleague in a meeting, or
a stranger in traffic, people will try to get a
reaction out of you, and the moment you give them
what they want, whether that's anger, frustration, or desperation, you've
handed over your power. There's a phrase used in military
circles that I've come to love, Charlie, Mike. It means
continue mission. In other words, stay the course, don't get
thrown off, don't let us set back, derail you if
someone insults you, shrugs you off, mocks your ideas, or
ghost you. Charlie Mike, continue mission, let it bounce off
your armor, and keep moving forward. Because the truth is
people can only control you if you let them. The
second you lose control of your emotional state, you become reactive,
and a reactive man is not a powerful man. A
reactive man is at the mercy of others. He's dancing
to someone else's tune. That's not where you want to be,
not in dating, not in business, not in life. The
best men I know, the ones who truly embody masculine strength.
All have one thing in common, emotional discipline. They don't
lash out, they don't break down, they don't let the
world dictate their mood. They respond with clarity, calm, and purpose.
And it's not because they're emotionless, because they've trained themselves
to respond instead of react. So how do you develop
this kind of strength? It starts with awareness. Pay attention
to your triggers. Notice what sets you off? Is it
being ignored, disrespected? Challenge whatever it is, Identify it, then
reframe it. When someone pushes that button, see it for
what it is, an opportunity to sharpen your control instead
of reacting. Breathe, pause, smile, even, and then decide with
intention how you want to proceed. This kind of emotional
control is magnetic. Women sense it, they feel it, they
respect it. A man who can maintain his composure under
pressure is infinitely more attractive than a man who's emotionally volatile.
Why because he's safe, not in a boring way, but
in a this man knows himself kind of way. And
in a world full of weak, reactive men, that kind
of stability is rare. Now, none of this means you
should tolerate disrespect quite the opposite. If someone is genuinely rude, manipulative,
or controlling, you don't owe them your time or energy.
You don't need to argue, explain, or retaliate. You just
exit gracefully, decisively. A calm exit is more powerful than
a dramatic confrontation. It says you're not worth my peace,
and believe me. People remember that this principle is especially
important in dating. You're going to meet people who test you,
sometimes intentionally, sometimes subconsciously. A woman might push your buttons
just to see how you respond. She wants to know
if you can handle yourself. If you lose your cool,
she'll see you as weak. If you shut down, she'll
see you as emotionally unavailable. But if you stay centered,
that's when she leans in. That's when she starts to
trust your strength. Let's say you're on a date and
she makes a sarcastic comment about your job or appearance.
Instead of snapping back or getting flustered, try this smile
and change the subject or throw it back playfully, deflect
without defensiveness, because what she's really doing is checking for
your frame. Are you solid or are you shook? And
if your frame is strong, you've passed the test. Controlling
your reactions also protects your long term happiness. If every
rude comment or rejection sends you into a spiral, you're
going to live in constant turmoil, your dread, dating, your
fear failure. But if you learn to see those moments
as noise, as irrelevant distractions, you'll move through the world
with freedom. You'll take more risks, engage more fully, and
recover more quickly. The most successful men aren't the ones
who never fail. They're the ones who recover fastest. Rejection, failure,
and friction are baked into the game. You're not going
to avoid them, but you can choose how you respond.
You can keep moving forward, you can continue mission, and
when you do, you become unstoppable. A man who controls
his reactions controls the room. He controls the energy of
the conversation. He controls the tone of the date, He
sets the rhythm he leads, and women crave that they
want to be with someone who can hold it together
no matter what life throws their way. This doesn't mean
you become cold or robotic. You're not hiding your emotions,
you're mastering them. You still feel things, You still connect.
You still care, but you express those emotions with intention.
You speak with purpose, you act with strength, and that
makes all the Let's say someone ghosts you after two
great dates. Instead of chasing or venting, you simply move on.
No texts, no follow ups, no drama, just silence. That
silence says more than any angry message ever could. It
says I'm good with or without you. Or maybe someone
tries to provoke you with politics, religion, or a personal job.
Instead of engaging in a fruitless debate, you keep your cool,
You smile, you change the subject, or you end the
conversation entirely. Again, it's not about winning the argument, it's
about winning your own peace. When you stop reacting emotionally,
you start seeing clearly, You stop chasing validation, you stop
needing to prove yourself, You start living on your terms,
and that shift changes everything from the way you date
to the way you lead your life. Control his freedom,
Control is attraction. Control is power. So the next time
someone tries to get a rise out of you, remember
your reaction is your responsibility, not theirs, yours. And when
you master that, the rest of the world has no
choice but to respect it. Charlie Mike continue mission, because nothing,
not rejection, not insult, not friction, can stop a man
who stays in control. To get my book, one thousand
First States. Portrait of a Palm Beach Player Click the
link in the description or go to www dot Palmbeach
player dot com. Happy datinq