Nate Mitchelle 
Better looking people make more money.
Kate Beckinsale at the Comic-Con 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sorry, it’s true.
The Wall Street Journal released an article citing a study led by Daniel Hamermesh, Economics Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, confirming that attractive people get paid more than unattractive people. By how much? Like 3 to 4%.
And you’re probably like, “Who cares, it’s like 3 or 4%.”
But, on average that’s like $230,000 dollars worth of earnings. That could be a house that you missed out on owning. Just to put things into perspective.
Um, whoa. How superficial can we get?
Sucks you asked cause we can. SMH.
Get this, Daniel Hamermesh adds that an “average” looking worker makes $140,000 more than an “ugly” worker.
What the fuck dude!? It’s not even attractive and unattractive? It’s attractive, average, and ugly. That’s pretty superficial.
And it doesn’t end there.
Sorry.
Attractive people also get treated better in general. The benefits of being attractive are pretty sweet. According to an article from YouBeauty, here are some perks:
- You get paid more
- You get treated better
- You have better and more sex
- You even get off the hook in court . . . WTF
Goddamn, THAT is some superficial ass shit.
Unfortunately, the reality is that it’s the way the world works. And you’re probably thinking that I’m a total jerk for writing about this. It’s superficial and there’s nothing you can do about it.
But don’t leave the page just yet, hear me out.
See, attraction is an interesting subject and one that I’m fascinated by. At face value, (no pun intended) attraction isn’t all about your looks. When you take a deeper look at the science of attraction, there’s a lot more that goes into it from a psychological and physiological standpoint. Those physiological and psychological factors have more impact than the physical aspects of attractiveness themselves.
Basically, what I’m saying is that there’s something you can do to increase your attractiveness.
I know someone will be like, “Ha, yea, plastic surgery”.
No, not plastic surgery. But I thought about that as a potential loophole while reading the article and guess what? Daniel Hamermesh found out that plastic surgery pays back less than a dollar for every dollar spent on it. In terms of ROI, it’s not a good one. And who wants that fake shit anyway? We’re keeping it real.
In the next few paragraphs we’re going to go over factors YOU CAN CONTROL to increase your attractiveness. And in relation, help you to take control of other aspects in your life, like earning more money, having more sex, and even getting more respect.
That sounds fucking bonkers right?
Like how is that even possible?
Well it is. And I’m going to show you how.
Before I continue though, want to state the obvious. If you look like Brad Pitt (I’ve gotten that a couple of times . . . no. big. deal), or Kate Beckinsale, then yea – you got a leg up. The reality is that there are some things that you can’t control. And that’s okay. There are more factors that you can control and change when it comes to being attractive. This goes for both sexes.
So get excited and start learning about what factors you can control to increase your attractiveness.
Excited Brad Pitt (Photo credits: Giphy)
Here are some of the things we’re going to be discussing:
- The Golden Ratio
- Pheromones
- Confidence
The Golden Ratio
The what ratio?
I know, let me explain.
The Golden Ratio is a comparison of two objects which are proportioned in an ideal manner. From an algebraic perspective: a+b divided by a is equal to a divided by b. Figure below to demonstrate further.
English: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s an important figure to note because it’s a ratio that appears all over nature. It’s a figure that illustrates perfect proportion and one that is most aesthetically pleasing to our minds. This ratio is ideal, as it’s correlated with a low body mass index, low body fat percentage and is an indicator of your overall fertility, health, and mortality. We’re programmed to look for it, create it, and even be attracted to it.
This ratio doesn’t just appear in our bodies either, it’s also found in plants and animals. It’s found in art and architecture, like the Pyramids of Egypt and the Mona Lisa.
This ratio also explains why women are attracted to broad shoulders and narrow waists. And why men are attracted to narrow waists and healthy hips.
It ties in to aspects of your body you can manipulate to increase the perception of being more attractive.
Cool, so what are the ideal ratios for men and women?
Chicks
A large number of studies show that men are increasingly attracted to a certain proportion of waist to hips on the female body. That ideal standard is a waist to hip ratio (WHR) of .07. So, a woman with a 22.5 inch waist and 33 inch hips would be right on point.
It’s important to note though, that this ratio is a guideline. NOT AN ABSOLUTE.
A study conducted by Elizabeth Cashdan, from the Department of Anthropology in the University of Utah, actually identified women with a WHR higher than .07 as attractive in some non western populations. The study still confirmed that having this ratio is optimal for fitness, fertility, and health.
In other words, the closer you are to that ideal WHR, the healthier, less body fat, and more attractive you are, perceptibly. But don’t beat yourself up about it if you’re a little off. The study confirms that though this number is certainly ideal, it’s clear guys have preferences. Speaking from a guy’s perspective, I can tell you for an absolute fact that we feel the same way about every girl in the world that Lil’ Wayne does.
Trust.
Dudes
Large studies also show that women are increasingly attracted to a certain proportion of shoulders to waist on the male body. That ideal shoulder to waist (SWR) ratio is 1.6. So, someone with a waist that measures 30 inches and a shoulder width that measures 49 inches, would be right on point for their ratio. You can read more from my man, Nate Green, who can back me up on this point in his T Nation article on “What women want“.
Again, this is a guideline, not an absolute. If you have this ratio, that’s great! If you don’t, no worries. My waist is 31 inches and my shoulders are 43 inches. Which means my ratio is a 1.38. I’m off and got some work to do. But it’s okay, the closer I am the healthier I am, and more attractive I am perceivably.
A study published by T. Horvath, Ph.D, from the University of Windsor, in the Social Behavior and Personality Journal can confirm this concept of the ideal ratios as guidelines. The more slender the female figure and the wider the male upper body, correlated positively with perceived attractiveness from both sexes. In other words, the closer you are to these ratios, the more attractive you are perceived. It’s good for your health too, just sayin’.
And if that wasn’t enough there’s more. See, making sure that you have aesthetically pleasing proportions is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s more that comes along with attraction, and has to do with some physiological and psychological factors that you can take control of as well.
Pheromones
Pheromones are a hormone which is secreted externally and triggers a particular response in social situations involving the same species. There are a variety of types of pheromones in different species, including humans.
What’s interesting about pheromones is that the organ in our olfactory system used to pick up on them, the nonvestigial vomeronasal organ, isn’t as dominant in humans as it is in other non human animals. Humans have evolved to pick up on other forms of communication, like verbal and visual cues, though pheromones still do a play a role.
Guess that explains why we don’t piss on stuff to “mark our territory”.
Studies do indicate that pheromones effect sexual attractiveness and other social interactions, such as business, friendship, and paternal relations. Now, the studies aren’t as vast because the science is new. But, it’s important to note that these are factors come into play never the less.
It’s something that you are emitting externally and can effect how you are perceived. So pay attention.
Chicks
You have a lot going for you in terms of signals that you can emit to get a guys attention. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that though. You probably get a lot of attention just going to get a cup of coffee on your way to work.
A study published by Norma L. McCoy from the University of San Fransisco, showed that pheromones increase the sexual attractiveness of women to men. The experiment involved using a pheromone perfume and showed increases in frequency of sexual intercourse, dates, and even . . . cuddling.
Awwwww.
Dudes
Your sweat gives off a lot of sexual vibes. It really shakes up the hormones in a woman and drives them to be more attracted to you.
Not only that, women can tell the difference between a fit guy and an unfit guy through the pheromones they emit in their sweat. Yea, I know . . . it’s fucking bananas. Randy Thornhill and Steven Gangestad from the University of New Mexico published a study showing that women were able to identify greater bilateral symmetry through the scents of T-shirts.
Some more motivation to work on that ideal ratio eh?
And it doesn’t stop there. Your scent alters hormones in a woman’s body as well. The Journal of Neuroscience published a study showing that women who catch a whiff of male sweat get their cortisol levels going nuts.
Now, not saying that you should chill with the showers. Not showering just leads to body odor. And ain’t nobody got time for that.
What about Social and Business Relationships?
The indication that pheromones are linked to sexual attraction is prevalent. And though research has been limited on how it effects other social interactions, it’d be silly to think that they don’t. An article in the Smithsonian Magazine mentioned newborns and how they scoot towards the scent of breasts. Or how adults can tell by the smell of perspiration whether or not a person was anxious. Or how the smell of tears decreased levels of sexual arousal in men.
This signals to me that pheromones play a heavy role in how we interact with each other. Not just sexual attraction but likability as well. But since we’ve evolved to pick up on a variety of different forms of communication, such as verbal and visual cues, it’s tough to do the research.
However, the next factor I’m going to discuss with you is the most important of all. It ain’t tough to do research on. It’s the make or break in sexual attraction, business relationships, and all social interactions which you engage in.
Confidence
I think that both guys and girls can relate to the following situations.
A gorgeous girl with a dud as a boyfriend? Vice Versa?
Or better yet, a total idiot who is calling the shots at your company?
I know that you’ve come across these things in your life and been like, “How did that happen?”
Well it’s based on something more important than your ideal ratio, and pheromones you emit. It’s based on confidence, or how you feel about yourself and the way that you convey that feeling to others.
Eric Ravenscraft wrote a great article on LifeHacker discussing why confidence is so important. It sums up how confidence correlates to career success and romantic success as well.
In it, various studies are cited. Some of which include:
The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that men can feel worse about themselves when their partner has a higher level of success.
The International Journal of Cosmetic Science shows that something as simple as cologne increased confidence in men, enough to be rated as more physically attractive by women in photographs.
The University of Texas and University of Melbourne have conducted studies linking the correlation between confidence and overall career success.
Dana Carney, a Harvard graduate, Hass Business School Professor, and expert on non verbal communication (and a pretty girl at that) published a study on “power posing”. The findings were that certain poses displaying power create psychological, physiological, and even behavioral changes which have real world implications. Safe to assume those implications include attraction, likability, and respect.
It’s clear that all the studies I’ve cited and real life examples point to ideal ratios, pheromones, and even confidence as a strong influence on how attractive you are perceived. And in relation, how much earning power you have, how you’re treated, and even how much sex you have.
The question is how do we leverage these influences to increase our attractiveness?
And the answer is simple.
Exercise.
Now, some of you might be reading this like, fucking duh?
Confidence?
Being good looking?
Exercise?
Isn’t that shit obvious?
Yea, in theory.
But in practice . . .
We’re all insecure. Me included. I wish I had naturally broader shoulders, was taller, and could wake up tomorrow with a 1.6 SHR. Wouldn’t be surprised if you had some items on your list of insecurities too.
And exercising consistently?
There’s this thing called life that gets in the way all the time. Networking events, drinks with friends, family engagements, client meetings . . . You feel me?
All that stuff sucks, but I don’t sit in a corner and cry about it.
I take things into my own hands. And I’m going to show you how you can too.
Now, the information we get on how to change everything we’ve discussed today is simple, exercise. It’s all over the place. But that shit is obvious.
Ask anyone if they want to look good and feel great. Fucking yes, obviously. But ask people why we can’t exercise on a consistent basis even though we want to – everyone’s clueless. It’s actually my beef with a lot of advice given about exercise. Exercise is just like eating healthy, we know we want to, but we don’t. Why?
Well next week I’m going to give you the answers. I’m going to go over how consistent exercises influences the factors we discussed today. Most importantly though, dig deep into the psychology that enables you to exercise consistently. Shit nobody talks about.
Better sex, better treatment, better pay, and you might even get off on that speeding ticket as an added bonus. You can have all that by exercising consistently.
Need I say more?
Sweet, cause this guy needs to get back to cranking out some emails.
Tune in next week so you can take control of your exercise routines and in turn, get all the added benefits you deserve. It’s going to be super interesting and quite honestly, I can’t wait to share it with you.
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Thanks so much for reading,
