One of the undervalued benefits of being a businessman is the immunity you develop to rejection. This is because, more than anyone else, they get doors, phones, even hands and articles of clothing slammed in their faces. Most business people are typically risk-prone and avid venture-seekers. Learning the tricks of their trade will inevitably help you in many aspects of life, not to mention, the benefits to be won in the dating world. So here are some tips on how to take it like man—-a salesman, that is. Interestingly enough, I haven’t had the liberty of experiencing rejection as it relates to dating, so take all advice with a grain of salt.

1. Accept that it might happen.
   I’m not trying to kill your self esteem here, (because we all know how important that is), but I’m trying to say that you shouldn’t ask your special someone the big question the way you’d ask your mom if you were her child. That’s just not smart. If you’ve never been stabbed before, then that’ll probably do it. Remember that salesman always expect rejection and have a little plan to take it in a little better. It might pay off to do the same. I hate to remind you that we don’t live in a perfect world, folks. There’s a possibility (and sometimes it’s rather large) that you’ll get a big fat “No.” Just know that it’s possible they’ll turn you down. Keep your head up and move on!
2. It’s a done deal
   Salesmen know when their prospective client is not going to be won over. In fact, if he’s a good salesmen, he’ll know not to waste his time trying to convince the client way ahead of time. Sure, there are times when they might ask if their client is sure of their final decision, which is all all cool and gravy, but they don’t start giving their life story explaining how they need that sale to live on. I mean the last thing you want to do is look like you’re suffering from diarrhea of the mouth. You didn’t lose your birthright, nobody died and you’re going to live another day. Stop crying, get off your knees, mop the doorstep (it’s only polite) and look to better prospects as the new day dawns.
3. Learn from it
   The reason salesmen aren’t extinct is because they inevitably learned a lot from their days of rejection and adapted accordingly. You can’t go through life without learning from your mistakes. (I mean you can, but trust me, you don’t want to be that person). If you learn from your mistakes (as well as those of others), you’ll probably have a much better chance the next time you feel the time is right—-or you might just realize that people don’t understand that life’s too short.

Popularity: 7%

You hear that guys? She actually wants to be your girlfriend! Go ahead, read the title again. See? That should be incentive enough for you to clean up your act. Everyone knows that mothers do an amazing job training kids and teaching them how to be good little boys and girls. How they manage to do this, I don’t know– it’s almost as if it were built into every one of them.

Now, as true as this might be, it is only ever applicable to children. In case you’ve been hit by a truck while recovering from severe amnesia, that’s typically people aged 1-6. If you’re not in this age group, you do not qualify. The woman you’re seeing doesn’t need to teach you manners, nor does she need to clean up or even show you how to clean up after yourself. She needn’t remind you of your age or hint at how immature you get just for you to realize that you’re supposed to be a responsible grown up. And now, a guideline for those who need it:

1. Clean up after yourself
   The beer, the food, the trash and don’t forget the toilet.
2. Volunteer
   You’ve done it before and you did it for free! Why not do it with the dishes or dinner? Or better yet, with both?
3. Manners, please!
   Manners just love to be used. So when you feel angry and upset and you just want to use the heck out of something, manners are calling your name.
4. Act Your Age
   Hopefully this won’t have to be an act for most of you but instead, would come naturally. Some of you, however, may need to take some classes on this one. Not that there’s a book that says what a so-and-so aged person should act like but someone who is say 26, shouldn’t act like a 4 year old. Okay, nuff said.
5. Be Responsible
   Remember when mom used to do everything for you cause you couldn’t do it yourself?
   Those days are over. It’s time to come to grips with that. Take responsibility for the roles you’ve placed yourself in and get better at them.

Hopefully, those should get you started on the right foot, and if that wasn’t enough, the ladies can give you some more detailed suggestions. Isn’t that right ladies?

Popularity: 8%

Sweetie, baby and hon are just a few of the pet names we’ve grown accustomed to calling each other. And in case you sit in front of a computer all day (programming of course) with no social life, a pet name is a name or a term of address used to express affection for a person, thing, etc.

Ermm, let’s stay away from things for now and focus on people. Okay, so you’re shopping around for a good pet name and you don’t know where to start. Well, it typically starts naturally. Your personality leads you to find the right word, group of words or even random syllables that is fitting to your relationship dynamic. But just case you’re out of ideas, here’s a general guideline;

The Safes – If you’re new at the dating game, or you just want to be friends, you might wanna stick with these.

1. Hey Girl/Dude (w,m): Hey, better safe than sorry right?
2. Buddy (m): This is for the good friend. It can have intimate implications if used in that way.
3. Hotshot (m): Once you’ve got the ball rolling, this brings about the flirt factor.

The Gangstas – For the non-lovy-dovy-head-over-heels, calculus-book-carrying dudes.

1. Shorty (w): You’re not the super emotional kind. You’re the manliest man in the world and you want everyone to know it. Derivatives {Shawtay}
2. Boo (w,m): Suggests intimacy and exclusivity. Eg. “He was my boo.” Meaning there was and will only ever be one. Derivatives {Booboo}
3. Sugar Mamma/Daddy (w,m): A dynamic where one person is comfortable freeloading from the other. Derivatives {Sugar Mom, Sugar Pop}

The Hips – Because the body is of the essence

1. Hottie (w, m): Typically used to describe a more physical/appearance-based relationship. Derivatives {Hot, Hots}
2. Hunk (m): You appreciate what you see on your man, not in him. Derivatives {Hunkie}
3. Stud (m): For the last time, you dig his body! Derivatives {Stud Man, Stud Muffin}

The Traditionalists – That’s right. The oldies but goodies.

1. Darling (w,m): A good bit of respect is suggested as well as deep sensuality. Derivatives {Sorry, they didn’t have derivatives back then}
2. Dear (w,m): The typical marital situation. Possess duality in being cutesy or being neutral. Derivatives {Nope. We’re still in the middle ages, folks.}
3. My love (w,m): Typically a soft feeling. Reserved for destined-to-be, love-at-first-sight folks. Derivatives {For love? Are you kidding me?}
4. Lovely (w): Another very soft and heartfelt term of address.
   Derivatives {May be interchangeable with “my love”}

The Weirdos – Let someone hear you say this in public, and you will be jumped!

1. Monkey Buns (?): Don’t even want to begin to think about this one. Derivatives {No Thank You!}
2. Huggalump (?): I promise, I didn’t make these up. Some of you actually call people by these names. Derivatives {…….why, oh why?}
3. Chunky Bunny (?): Oh yes, this one’s just flattering. Derivatives {I’m sure you can think of another insult to go with this one. }

Well that kinda spiraled out of control, didn’t it? Happens in life so why not here? Well, on another note, what is up with pet names? I mean, seriously. Doll face? Okay, what about the rest of their body? Sweetheart? But their lungs need some work huh? Maybe they smoke and perhaps honey bun implies that they’re cheap, replaceable and can make you sick to the stomach. Exaggeration? Not at all. Consider Chunky Bunny; pretty straight forward isn’t it?– You’re a soft, hairy vegetarian. Not that there’s anything wrong with soft hairy vegetarians but it could come off as offensive to some people.

Then there’s always the folks who use pet names because they’ve forgotten peoples’ real names. Yes, you’ve done it too! We say things like “Hey…man!” or “Hey…there!” or if we really want to save face, we throw in “I really miss you…..we should hang out sometime.” I’ll have to post a guide on how to covertly recover people’s names.

All that said, I have to ask, What’re your favorite pet names?

Popularity: 20%

So let’s say you and your special someone go out to one of those really nice, really expensive shops, you know, like Publix. You get your shopping carts and off you go. She goes into the aisles dropping everything she sees into the cart (whether she needs it or not), naturally thinking nothing of it. The guy judiciously selects only what he needs and places those items grudgingly into his cart. Come time to pay, the woman won’t even look at you. In fact, if she’s smart she’ll go ahead of you, probably bag some items (not too many, lest her nails should break) and pick up a magazine while you think of how you’re going to produce $300 under 10 seconds. Oh, and if you do so as much as grumble, appear to be fidgeting for money or frown, she’ll give you this look like you’re the cheapest, most inadequate person in the world. I mean, it’s as if there was a contract written in blood that said the guy was the golden credit card, and the girl was the irresponsible consumer. But I trust that’s not you.

The least you could do would be to sincerely offer to pay for what you’re buying. I say sincerely because some women can be quite manipulative. Again, I’m sure that’s not you. Doing that then makes the guy prideful. It somehow makes him feel that he’s supposed to pay because he’s the man and letting a woman pay would belittle him and his “roles”. But the good part is that if he knows that you’d really pay for it, he’ll appreciate the gesture and will gladly pay for you. (Sidenote: We really do love paying for you ladies, but the money doesn’t circulate through the AC vents.) You can show your sincerity by actually reaching into your purse (assuming you actually brought money), pulling out some green and heck, even try handing it to the cashier. Your guy will notice, trust me. He’ll probably pull your hand aside, assuring you that he can take care of it. Or , if he can’t, he’ll let you pay and he won’t make a big deal about it. And it’s your job, ladies, never to bring that situation up. Just forget about it.

Now, You might say that the guy being the ultimate check card is tradition and people have been doing it for a long time. but that doesn’t mean it’s right or fair (for everyone or for you specifically) and it doesn’t mean you should take it for granted.

Popularity: 9%

Facebook has been a fantastic resource for me and I use it quite a bit. With it, I can keep up with people I’ve met at different functions, my international friends as well as my class mates. I can also buy books cheaper, communicate faster using yet another tool for self expression.

All that said, there seems to be an increasing number of people who’re not having such a good time with it. Perhaps because in the big scheme of popularity expectations, social life and relationships, Facebook makes it easier for thoughtless words and unnecessary deeds to surface. That said, here are five signs I’ve seen that indicate you probably need to give Facebook a break.

1. You get into unnecessary fights
   I’ve heard of best friends getting angry with each other because one of them couldn’t post “Happy Birthday” on their wall when it was their birthday. I mean, if it’s something that would have happened anyway, it’s fair game. But Facebook caused this one. So, either work to fix it or drop it altogether cause it’ll probably just happen again.
2. Things that shouldn’t concern you, do.
   Let’s face it. There were some things you honestly paid no attention to prior to Facebook because it wasn’t worth the time of day. Now, it seems like it’s your daily fix. It can come off as gossipy, superficial, scary, stalker-ish and quite unwholesome.
3. You stop communicating in person
   Ever see that person who’s whole life is broadcast over Facebook? But when you really try to get in touch with them, they’re always “busy”, wont respond to calls or even emails. Not that you’re continents away or anything, but because they’ve given Facebook too much of themselves.
4. It becomes way too personal
   There’s nothing wrong with sharing or showing some transparency. Most people need more of this in their life. However, it should be done in person. Many of you know that you can’t delete your profile off Facebook—only deactivate it. Why does this matter? Well, Facebook has access to every message, post, picture that you’ve ever put through their servers. This means your phone number, address, girlfriends, boyfriends and the like are accessible to universities, employers and law enforcement. I’m not saying you killed anyone and should be afraid, but if you considered Facebook to be a public open forum, you would’ve saved some of that information for more personal interaction. And even if you delete it now, it’s probably logged in their archives.
5. You become addicted
   We’re talking about the real definition of addicted here. When you religiously visit the site, stalking, “finding” people you want to befriend, losing sleep if need be, or losing hair at the idea of deactivating your account—even for a little bit.

So remember…

“Every Post you make
Every Pic you take
Every Friend you fake
For Facebook’s sake
They’ll be watching you.”

Popularity: 27%