WE LOVE OUR TOYS, BOYS

A man and his toys. Oh, they might get more complicated, or bigger, or certainly more expensive, but no matter what else he has going for him, a man has a special place in his heart for his toys. They might consist of cars, like Jay Leno and a few hundred classic models he has to have a staff to maintain--but he can easily afford this and his wife Mavis probably says what most wives say about their guy's toys, "It keeps him out of trouble."

Obviously, there is a toy gene missing in such men as Tiger Woods, John Edwards, and Elliot Spitzer--they don't seem to have had any toys that could keep them out of trouble. Okay women, here's the bottom line, I wouldn't trust any man who doesn't have at least one category of toy he is passionate about. Cars, electronics, any kind of collectibles except living, breathing specimens.

One of the exercises I often give coaching clients is to spend a specified amount of money frivolously on toys. Men seem to find this easier than women. I think it's one of the main differences between the genders. I'll go out on a limb here, and say, in my opinion, men like to indulge in some kind of play with some kind of object. Women like to indulge in themselves. They amount of energy men put into their toys, women more than equal in pampering themselves with potions and products designed to make them more attractive to men. Which most men, at least the ones with any brains, greatly appreciate.

Let's face it, the things women obsess about are much more beneficial and pleasing to men than any of the mens' toys are to the women in their lives. Not that men want to hear about that new hand cream or bikini wax, but they definitely want to admire the result. The results of their hours spent playing with toys, not so visible, not so easily appreciated. On the other hand, men who play wholeheartedly with toys tend to be calmer, more fun-oriented, and more tactile--in other words, more likely to pleasingly play with their women in mutually satisfying ways.

One of the sites I send clients to for choosing some of these frivolous items for their homework assignment, is

www.ThinkGeek.com--and maintaining my position from on high on top of Mount Integrity, I wouldn't dare ask someone to do something I wouldn't do myself. So I consider it my duty to regularly make frivolous purchases from this website. I felt validated the other day when I was at the San Francisco Apple Store for my one-to-one session with one of their geniuses and asked him if he knew about ThinkGeek. His face lit up, and he exclaimed, "That is such a neat place!"

And what kind of toys do I get for myself--what guilty pleasures am I about to admit to here? Well, my latest is a desktop finger drum set, five mini drums that light up and make actual drum sounds when you hit them with your fingertips. http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/922f/

Check out the short, silly video to see them in action.

The also have edible items, and this gives me a chance to explore "Things I would be unlikely to ever put into my mouth if I had more sense." The latest of these, and the jury is still out, are Caffeinated Maple Bacon lollipops. I'm only about halfway through my first one. Starting out, it's mostly the flavor of maple syrup, and with my weird tastebuds, I've never liked syrup on anything...butter only for me on pancakes, waffles, french toast. I was despairing of ever discovering any bacon flavor, when about a third of the way through the big lollipop, little shards of something I assume to be bacon bits began to appear. Tickling the tongue, but definitely tasting more bacony than maply (or is that mapely?).

And if you can go through the thinkgeek online catalog, or that of

http://www.perpetualkid.com/, or www.ThingsYouNeverKnew.com

and not even be tempted, you might want to have your testosterone levels checked. Or you might just be one of my beautiful female readers, too busy to waste your time on such nonsense as you head for the spa.

Jerry

And by the way, one of my other toys is my other blog, focused on prosperity, at:

www.MoneyloveBlog.com. You can also download my free ebook there, The Moneylove Manifesto--in which the Appendix features the most revealing stuff a motivational teacher has ever shared about himself. And if that doesn't rouse your curiosity, you probably don't like toys either--or kittens, puppies, and bacon lollipops.