Character: Edward ‘Eddie’ Morra (played by Bradley Cooper)
Film: Limitless
Year: 2011

What is the scene about?:

Eddie is meeting his ex girlfriend, Lindy (played by a hot Abbie Cornish) after been separated for a while. At the start of the film, she dumps Eddie as she has fallen out of love with him, as she has lost respect for him. However, Eddie discovers a wonder drug that lets him learn using his full brain capacity and the results are life-changing! This is the first meeting between the two since Eddie has started harnessing his true power of development.

What makes him an AM:

Eddie is sitting upright, facing Lindy full on. By facing her full on, he is showing open, inviting body language, his non verbal signs are that he is powerful, open and is focused solely on her. He isn’t slouched or looking around, which are Beta behaviours.

00.01 – 00.17: As the waitress approaches, Eddie gives her his full focus. He chats to the waitress in Italian and cracks some jokes and is a bit flirty. Notice that Lindy isn’t sure where to look. She is taken aback by his new skills but is trying to avoid showing her surprise and love of it. Girls never want to show that they are falling for you. They want you to pass their congruence tests and work hard for them – they want the guy to do the running and be the prize for the man. Eddie has flipped the script here by not playing the typical game of the man chasing the girl and being supplicating to her (read: putting her on a pedestal and worshipping her!).

When Eddie chats to the waitress, he is showing that his sociable, easily at home in fancy restaurants and is full of confidence. Lindy knows that he has options (to fuck!), Eddie has taken her off the pedestal that he once had her on (at the start of the film). She is no longer the sole women he has options to, Lindy sub consciously knows that Eddie can go out and get another girl whenever he wants.

00.21 – 00.42: As his ex recovers her composure, she throws – what seems like – a casual question into the conversation. When they are discussing his new talent with speaking Italian, She mentions “I hope you didn’t do it for me?”. This appears on the surface as a bitchy question, as if she is saying that she hopes he never learnt it to impress her (something the old Eddie and a Beta male would have done) as it didn’t work and she is isn’t interested.

However, if you look at this question from a deeper level, you realise it is also a congruence test. Lindy is falling for Eddie again. On her unconscious level, she is scared that he may be the same Eddie as the weak Eddie in the beginning of the film and she needs reassurances that he has changed. Girls do this is in the clubs and pubs worldwide all the time. They have so many mating options that they can literally pick and choose whoever they want. As they have so many options, they have to come up with tests to eliminate the weaker options, so they are left with the best options available to mate with (or in today’s society – to sleep with). Lindy is seeing if the old Eddie will resurface and this new image and confidence is an act. Notice that the camera focuses on Lindy for a few seconds after Eddie says “No” and references it to his self-development month. Lindy appears shocked. Her ego wanted Eddie to say it was for her. Lindy wanted Eddie to admit his undying love for her (like he does at the start of the film) to give her a confidence boost but she would also be repulsed by him if he did say it. As Eddie states he learnt the language for himself and doesn’t apologise for anything, Lindy is taken aback but you can tell that Eddie has passed her test, the confidence he is showing is real. Change scares people, they always want you to be the same person, particularly if you were a weaker male) then them before. That is why you should look to make real changes to you inner game rather than learn some routines (that won’t work as your behaviour will show its not congruent with the real you.

After Lindy’s congruence test, a very important thing to watch is the eye contact that Eddie uses. He is looking directly at Lindy, he is maintaining eye contact with her, to show that he is for real. Girls tend to judge you on your eye contact. If you can look a girl in the eye and talk to her, they have a tendency to believe it. Beta males look away as it shows they have no confidence in what they are saying. Eddie only drops his eye contact with Lindy when he expands on his answer about why he started to learn new skills and develop himself. He admits that he needed a ‘wake up call’ and that her leaving him was the kick in the butt that he needed. By looking down, (NLP etc suggest he is accessing his internal, self talk feelings and thoughts here), he shows vulnerability to her. He is exposing himself, Lindy knows that he is being honest and being genuine. However as Eddie finishes the explanation, he brings his eyes up to meet Lindy’s again, to show that he has changed, that the old Eddie is behind him and he is a new Eddie and learnt from it.

00.42 – 00.47: Eddie asks Lindy a straightforward question about why she stayed with him but there is a lot more going on. As he says his question, he looks her straight in the eye. He is unflinching and it appears as if he is wanting the entire truth, not for Lindy to sugar coat it and try and spare his feelings. This is a sign of true confidence and power. His eye contact looks like he is boring through her, through the tests and her pretense of not been interested, he is wanting her honest, raw answer. With the vulnerability and also the power he is showing, no girl has power in that sort of situation! She is falling for him again badly (and Eddie knows it!).

What can you do to be like him or get laid:

• The film is about Eddie’s development since he finds the ‘wonder drug’. Eddie tries anything and everything as he finds he can easily learn as he tries new things. You may not have a wonder drug to help you but don’t let that stop you. There is nothing sexier to a woman, than a guy who is always looking to better himself or at the very least try and become a bit more civilised (better manners etc). It shows them, that this guy is a good choice as he is using his resources to develop himself. He is not resting on his laurels. Get out of your comfort zone – try anything you’ve wanted to learn or do. Try new things that you normally wouldn’t have considered e.g. music, drama, new language … the list is endless. Always remember: no time spent on self improvement is ever wasted, with or without a lady!
• Don’t apologise for what you know or have learnt. Eddie never apologise for what he learns or knows (he only apologises to Lindy for what he was, not what he becomes). Never apologise for bettering yourself. It is your choice what you do with your life. Apologising or following what other people expect of you (especially if it something that you don’t want to do) is a weak and beta male action. Be proud of who you are but if you want to improve, do it for yourself, no one else.
• Learn to maintain eye contact, when speaking to people (not just girls!). Remember though, it is to be warm, soft eye contact with some blinking! Simply staring is scary towards a girl as it smacks of being a stalker and intimidating (and may cause a fight if done to a guy). Eddie has success throughout the film as he maintains eye contact. People realise they can trust him as he looks them in the eye – a true sign of someone with confidence and believes in what he is saying. At the start of the film, when he is beta-Eddie, he can’t look anyone truly in the eye and it shows he is weak, scared and has no confidence. You will notice that very few people nowadays can look you in the eye or only for a very limited time. Become part of that small group, that gets a lot of girls!
• It is OK to be Self-depreciating (but only in small amounts). It is OK to talk negatively about yourself, but do so in a jokey, half-serious manner when possible. By being self depreciating, you are showing the girl that you are vulnerable, that you understand that you have flaws and more importantly, what they are. However, do not do it to a point where you are negatively talking about yourself all the time. This will show a lack of confidence (and belief in yourself) and nothing is unsexy to a girl than a guy without any confidence (and its fucking boring to listen to – trust me, I used to do this all the time!)

Limitless is an awesome film (one of my favourite films ever). It shows what you can do if you put your mind to it. Forget the drug, its not important. What is though, is that there is an infinite possibility for you to better and develop yourself. Pick something that you’ve always wanted to do. If it works then great, if not, you have found something that doesn’t work for you, got some learning feedback and have another thing to talk about when talking to people in social situations (not just girls). Better yourself and get women. There are a limitless number of girls to pull … get to it!