Hi,
I don't do cold approaching and still do pretty well with the ladies. I'm nearing 40 and don't even have a steady job. Also still live at home. Did I mention I'm only 60 inches tall and am not Caucasian looking?
So what is my secret? I relate to Disney Channel a lot even when I was a kid. The Little Mermaid was real to me and I wanted to have Lizzie McGuire as my best friend. So I conducted myself in such a manner where I would draw interest from those type of girls. I dressed like Cory Mathews from Boy Meets World and took honors classes in high school because that is where all the pretty girls were at. Since I was a Disney fan, it showed through my pores. I was/am into pop music; romantic songs fueled by ballroom dancing to the Ariel-type girl I was in love with. Megadeath and Iron Maiden may get acceptance with the guys but Taylor Swift and Nickelback gets you the chicks. I didn't worry about an emasculated image because I was/am clearly a sports playing jock, liked cars and was openly pursuing skirts.
The journey hasn't been smooth and obviously I have not landed a ring but my cupboard isn't empty. Once I finished school the workplace was/is my main pool of discovering talent. I didn't take the dating within the office taboo seriously. Did I run into trouble? Yeah, but it comes with the risk. A risk worth taking. Corporate doesn't care as much as you think especially when they are thinking of getting rid of you in the next round of layoffs so you might as well seize the opportunity to get a phone number.
As much as I tried to manipulate the system to land the girl of my choice up to 90% of scoring is based on luck. Women generally want authenticity so if you look like you're trying to be manipulative the smart ones will see right through it. I try to log as many years of friendship/communication as long as possible. The best ones I have been involved with for 12-20+ years. The irony is that they are not the ones I want to be with romantically but they are always in the picture. They are also the more good-looking of all the suitors that I have had so that tells me I'm doing something right. The only advice I would have is finding out what type of girl you want to be with and dress/act/have interest in subjects those girls would find attractive. You want to sell your idea, you have to know your buyer. I'd like to have a girl who wears tight jeans and has a lower back tattoo as a fuck buddy but what I have to offer doesn't do well in that market. Aside from the more innocent girls, I've been graduating to women in business suits with advanced degrees and not much interest in raising a family of late. I've had to alter my attitudes and make adjustments if I want to land those type of females. In any case I don't stubbornly insist women conform to my tastes, I'll bend to work with theirs.