Hank Moody: A ‘how to’ guide

If you haven’t watched Californication, you need to. What a great show. Except for the current season. I don’t know if they got new writers or if they just ran out of ideas but it’s really gone down hill…

Anyway, you’re not reading this to find out what I think of Californicaiton, you’re reading this because you want to know how to be like Hank Moody.

So, here we go.

First of all, a little clip to get your juices flowing.

Now, the fun stuff. I’ll break it down into a few steps so it’s easier to pull apart and criticise 🙂

 

How to be like Hank Moody – Step 1: Get deep

This video is key. Watch it nce for pleasure. Then, once you’ve cleaned yourself off, watch it again, but this time, pay a little more attention.

Don’t get caught up watching his actions, go deeper.

Not into his eyes, that’s a little gay… Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Look beyond his actions, his movement, his swagger…

Look to the underlying way he engages the world.

Is he focussing on what she might think of him? Is he focussing on what anyone might think of him?

He’s smoking in a supermarket and walking away from a hot chick in a Bikini who’s asking him for advice.

Do you think he really cares what anyone else might think of him?

The first step in being like Hank Moody is to look past all the actions, movements, and style and see that it’s the core of Hank that matters.

He’s not living his life for anyone other than what he desires. He’s doing what he wants, saying what he wants, living the life that he wants, when he wants to live it.

Now, here’s the fun part: if you copy what Hank is doing so that you’re more like him, are you going to be living your life based on what you want to do and what you believe is right?

No. You’ll just be copying someone else.

Does Hank Moody copy anyone else?

It’s ironic… The way to be like Hank Moody is to stop trying to be like Hank Moody because Hank Moody isn’t trying to be like anyone.

To be like Hank Moody, you first have to try to be yourself.

You have to let go of what other people think and focus on what you want. Nothing else.

 

How to be like Hank Moody – Step 2: Find the barrier

The next step is to work out what’s preventing you from doing what you want.

Is it social conditioning? Maybe… But has anyone ever done anything that went outside their social conditioning? Then is social conditioning really stopping you?

Is it the judgements and criticisms of others? Maybe… But has anyone ever done anything despite the judgements and criticisms of others? Then are they really stopping you?

Do the judgements and criticisms of others stop Hank Moody?

It’s not these things or anything external. The only person who’s stopping you doing what you want and living the Californication dream is you.

Social conditioning, judgments, fear, all these things happen in your world and you then decide not to take the action you want to.

It might feel like they’re preventing you but it’s just the choice you make that prevents you.

 

How to be like Hank Moody – Step 3: Deal with it

It’s not the fears, doubts, insecurities or judgements that are preventing you from becoming the Man you want to be.

It’s you that is preventing you from living the life you desire.

Specifically, it’s the decision you’re making in those key moments when these ‘barriers’ present themselves.

But, you’re not making a decision based out of nothing, you’re making it for a reason. Why? Because there’s an underlying layer that’s driving the decisions you’re making.

Would you like to know what that is?

It’s simple – It’s your purpose.

Your purpose, as I define it, is: how you’re trying to achieve the experience of life you desire.

If you’re holding yourself back and running away from the judgements of others, then I would suggest that you’re trying to experience some kind of positive emotion (happiness) and the way you’re trying to achieve it is through running away from fear and the judgements of others.

Do you think Hank finds his happiness through getting the approval of other people?

If you learnt how to find your happiness through a path other than trying to make people like you, you’d be more able to live the life of Hank Moody.

 

16 thoughts on “Hank Moody: A ‘how to’ guide”

  1. personally, I am a big fan of Californication and has watched the seasons quite a few times. I have always been intrigued by the way Hank is living his life, and inspired.

    This post pretty much sums up what it is about Hank that make girls wet and boys jealous 🙂 thanks

    Reply
  2. hey man u are right about all of those things but let me ask u a question and answer this on my email isnt this a fictional show so do u really think it would work in real life? and how
    ?

    Reply
  3. Hey Leigh, I’m just about to finish the first season.

    Which season do you think it went downhill on and how far are you now in it?

    Reply
  4. Why would you want to live like Hank Moody? You don’t get it. It seems like fun when you’re not living like that, but when you do you realise it’s not that good.

    Reply
    • I personally think that it’s because ‘good’ is relative to where you’re standing.

      If you feel trapped, insecure, and like everything is a struggle, then being like Hank Moody would be amazing. However, if you’ve tasted the kind of life that’s really possible when you break through our own personal barriers and become the kind of Man you want to be, then you’ll see everything from a bit of a different perspective.

      It’s all about perspective.

      Reply
      • And if you were like Jesus then everything else would be SHIT and you would have incredible long flowing Heavenly locks.

        Just my two cents.

        Reply
  5. I love this show just because i related to the show. I have always been like hank. But trhough out the show i have become more like hoom

    Reply
  6. It’s all well explained and I agree with everything but one thing.
    It’s not about happiness. In fact it’s just the opposite. Hank does not give a shit and alienates himself because he is miserable and wants himself to stay that way because he feels he deserves it. He is making himself dependable, dependable on Karen and what she might think of him. The core of Hank Moody’s attractiveness is that he is laid back, but still a romantic, who gives a shit, just not about everyone and everything, but a specific group of people. Dependability is the very core of our social existence, so what we really can do is limit ourselves in that matter, so we can care less, but still care. If Hank really didn’t care at all, he’d just be a piece of shit. Which he is not.

    Reply
  7. I agree with Adam. Hank Moody isn’t happy at all. He’s self-destructive and constantly hurting the ones he loves. He doesn’t do it on purpose, it just comes with the territory. Rolling Stone asked Duchovny the question “Do you have any tips for our readers on how to be more like Hank Moody?” He replied: “My advice is: don’t.” :-p Then again I’m still here because of Google, so every guy wants a bit of Hankness I suppose. At least the good parts of him. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with it. It’s not because Hank scores a lot of women that he’s someone you should look up to in all aspects of life.

    Reply
  8. There’s a number of things Hank has on his side to begin with: 1) Physically attractive, 2) intelligent, 3) actually loves and respects women for all their feminine charms and quirks, 4) he really loves pleasing women in bed as much as much as being pleasured (this is important fellas, watch the pilot. The lady in the boat is at the top), it’s a two way street, 5) he knows he’s good at pleasing a woman (see #4), 6) it’s a TV show so all the women are ridiculously hot. Add these to the fact that he is secure and confident intellectually in himself and you have a guy that women cannot resist. There’s nothing you can do about #6, but you can make the most of 1-5.

    Reply
  9. After Season 2 the story obviously went all over the place… But still there are some valuable lessons that can be learned from Hank. And it’s not how to be confident as much as to be your self at all times, bad and good. Or to put it even simpler to try and to see what will happen.

    Reply

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