On the Subject of Fakeness

For a long time I've been pursuing friends who are real: genuine, honest people who are true to themselves and their word. However I've met a whole lot of people who I would consider un-real, and they piss me off. After thinking about it even more, I've started to question that maybe I am the one who is un-real. If all of these people I know who I think are fake are actually enjoying life a lot more than I am (happiness is key!), maybe I am the one doing something wrong?

I've halted on gaming right now to focus on improving self-confidence (which is the core of inner gaming), and so I'm going through Robert Anthony's eBook on "Total Self-Confidence". It got great reviews on Amazon.com, along with Think and Grow Rich. The basic idea is similar to NLP and reframing: if you can change the way you think, you can change the way you act and are perceived. If you can understand your thought patterns and learn to rewire them, you can truly achieve happiness and confidence. That's my goal for now: confidence and happiness. Women are a nice fringe benefit of confidence, but they aren't my primary goal here.