If you have no idea who “Schleprock” was, don’t feel bad. You have to have been a kid in the 70s to have an idea. You’ve probably heard of “The Flintstones”, of course. Fred and Barney live on in syndicated popularity some forty years after first appearing on prime time television in the ’60s (yes… the show was originally aimed at all ages).

Well, a few years later, Hanna and Barbera decided to create a kids’ show with Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as teenagers. One of the characters in this now relatively obscure cartoon series was named Schleprock. Now, to say that bad luck followed Schleprock would be an understatement. Basically, a dark cloud LITERALLY followed the guy everywhere. And every time it showed up, you could be ALL BUT SURE that something bad was about to happen. As far as personality goes, picture “Eeyore on steroids” and you’re not far off.

Decades later, the show has been all but relegated to the vault, but Schleprock himself has become archetypal in a weird way. You may have seen the movie Boiler Room and remember how Ben Affleck dismissed the first victim during the classic “group interview” scene by saying, “Come on, come on, Schleprock…out!”

But I think some of us have gotten to the point where we identify too much with Schleprock. ESPECIALLY when it comes to women. Trust me, I hear the sad stories detailing “limiting beliefs” all the time.

Guys all over the world believe that they are not good enough to attract high quality women. And even if they think they are, for some reason they get the impression that all these crazy women just don’t and won’t like them.

Dozens of times I’ve heard the mantra, “I guess I just have no luck with women.” Well, here it is, Schleprock. You do NOT have a “dark cloud” following you. Not in real life, at least.

Don’t get me wrong, I won’t begin to doubt that there are a LOT of people out there, possibly even reading this newsletter, who have experienced the Schleprock-like phenomenon of BAD THINGS that seem to happen around them ALL THE TIME. But luck has NOTHING to do with it.

And that’s the BEST NEWS possible. Because, you see, that means (as is the case with most issues with women that we face as men) that you can DO SOMETHING about it.

Let me explain it to you. I think “The Schleprock Factor” follows a very predictable formula. And here it is:

NEGATIVITY + IRRESPONSIBILITY = SCHLEPROCK

At the risk of underscoring what may be entirely obvious from that very equation, let’s analyze it a bit. When we have a NEGATIVE attitude, we essentially lack confidence, don’t we? We see a situation and expect the worst. We see a task before us, and naturally we assume final failure in it.

And logically, we project that kind of failure onto others as well. Call it “poverty mentality” or whatever, but whether our view of others failing is driven by our discomfort with their success OR a genuine assumption of negative outcome, it doesn’t really matter.

The ramifications are the same: NO ONE IS GOING TO PARTICULARLY ENJOY GOING OUT WITH US. This goes DOUBLE for MOTOS (Members of the Opposite Sex). After all, trust is one of the “Big Four.”

And aside from being a BUMMER, negativity and failure have this way of being contagious. Oh. No wonder you hear so many self-help “gurus” talking about “getting rid of negative people.” Good? Without a doubt, simply having a negative attitude can be enough to trigger “The Schleprock Factor.”

But wait, there is more. Compounding simple NEGATIVITY into the equation is IRRESPONSIBILITY. Do you remember IRRESPONSIBILITY. That’s the trait that makes young women IGNORE men their own age and flock to older men.

Seriously…it’s not the gray hair, man. Irresponsibility involves making bad decisions, including both errors of omission and commission. Being irresponsible, in addition to being a strong indicator that one lacks wisdom (ie life experience), also shows that we lack SELF-RESPECT enough to protect ourselves from BAD consequences. Think about it.

So ultimately, when you combine a NEGATIVE perspective with BAD decision making, you essentially remove the ATTRACTION from the picture.

In light of all this, let’s go through the “Big Four” checklist and take inventory.

Let’s see… No confidence? No attractions.

Masculinity? Assuming the worst and having poor judgment aren’t exactly the hallmarks of a provider OR a protector, are they?

And when decision-making and self-respect are at stake, how can you expect to INSPIRE CONFIDENCE in a woman? Is that the type of leadership she would gladly choose to follow?

Finally, what about character? Well, I don’t exactly see Schleprock enshrined in the Great Man’s Hall of Fame.

If what I’m talking about sounds like “tough love,” I don’t apologize. But ALWAYS REMEMBER… the fact that YOU CONTROL “The Schleprock Factor” is GOOD NEWS. And as always, it all comes down to serving what you want.