Nice Guys Finish Last: Richard Jewel, Exhibit A

Richard Jewel should have been a hero. He discovered a pipe bomb and had authorities evacuate the area just minutes before it went off. Richard was totally dedicated to law enforcement. Even though he was in between jobs, working as a security guard, rather than slack off and eat hot dogs, he was relentlessly and vigilantly patrolling the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Within 3 days the FBI leaked that he was the object of an investigation. He was under 24-hour a day surveillance, with the FBI renting a house just across the street. A friend was talked into wearing a wiretap and inviting Richard over to dinner. The FBI got search warrants and cleaned out everything he owned. They even got his mom's Tupperware and Disney tapes, as the media filmed it all.

Don't Believe the Self-help Books: Why Hard Work Leads Nowhere

Richard had followed the advice of the self-help books, in his words "giving 110%." He worked extra hours. He was the perfect employee, with total commitment to his job, however menial that job might be. Yet all of his hard work was turned against him: His dedication to a less-than-perfect job meant he was "obsessed." Get it? Only a total loser would work hard at a dead-end job, somebody who was just desperate enough to plant a bomb to make himself look like a hero.

Think long and hard the next time you hear any bullshit like, "Be the best janitor you can be." When a child is molested at the school, your hard-working Gomer Pyle self is the first and most logical suspect.

It Pays to Get Laid

Men hate being without a girlfriend, probably most of all because of the stigma that goes with it. A gay man without a girlfriend at least has a reason, but a lone, heterosexual guy with no girlfriend? It is too easy to be branded as a dysfunctional loser, and Richard was an overweight sitting duck for the media. At first, Richard looks like a chubby teddy bear, a "Go-o-olly" good 'ol boy addicted to beer and beef jerky, but once you find out he's a 33-year-old bachelor with no girlfriend, it practically screams, "I plant pipe bombs in the park!"

This is why guys get married, because it saves them the crushing humiliation of having no girlfriend and broadcasting to the world what a loser you are. And no, I don't think a guy is a loser because he has no girlfriend. No one can admit it, but it's all too common, because guys are just supposed to know how to succeed with women. For the too many guys it's easier to crawl under a park bench and remove a pipe bomb than to approach a woman. If Richard were married to a fat slob, a total shrew and had no sex with her –or even worse, had sex with her—he'd be "okay."

No guy ever considers the fact that being able to score women may mean the difference between being a hero and being an oddball who is demonized and scapegoated as a bomber, or rapist, or molester.

Do You Look Like You Are Capable of Your Aspirations?

Many beta males dream of the day they get their lucky break, and Richard got his, only to have it result in his life unraveling. Never mind that he actually was a hero, one of Richard's problems was that he didn't look like a hero. Being diabetic didn't help, but gave him a pudgy look that the media and Leno could so readily label as "Fat Loser."

Richard Jewel, rest in peace. You were a true hero. I just hope that I and other men can learn from your tragedy.