The Gatsby Plan
From Ladder Wiki
The Gatsby Plan is a method of 'conquering' a former IP by leaving their life for a while and coming back as a completely different person. Generally this is a situation that happens naturally after an IW gets sick of their IP and removes them from their life by NEXTing them, only to return at a later date as an improved individual who is more than likely attractive to the IP. The name is derived from the book, titled 'The Great Gatsby', by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
A good example of a Gatsby is a man who never approached a girl properly and then removed her from his life after fruitlessly pursuing her. He then returns unexpectedly, only to dress better, have more money, and act more confident than he did when he was her IW - essentially he is a new man to her, just as a girl who was fat and dorky returns skinny and successful in her career to a class reunion and wows all of the men. This sometimes results in the former IP's attraction, and the Gatsby may or may not get to have sex or a relationship with her, because he may or may not have truly changed his actions with women that affect lasting attraction (although the money or whatever else has changed may be a catalyst to invoke enough attraction to make his game irrelevant). For this reason alone it is important to understand that this method is pretty much worthless in the eyes of IW.com forum members, because often the Gatsby realizes his former IP is not nearly as great as he once thought, or he may even be with a girl whom he places much higher on his Ladder, thereby making his former IP worthless to him. In fact, the primary benefit of The Gatsby Plan actually comes from the seemingly peripheral aspect of the Gatsby Plan: it gets the IW to stop focusing so much attention onto the IP. The success rate of actually attracting the former IP is amazing low. But in the meantime, the promise of POTENTIALLY getting the IP usually induces the IW into actually living a real life. Thus, in the process of trying to win-back his IP, the IW typically finds a real life with real relationships with real women instead. And thus, in retrospect, he discovers that he doesn't want to be in the IW/IP relationship anyway.
Remember, nothing material truly makes you a different person. Money, clothes, possessions - they all may help your attitude and appearance, but if you suck at life, you suck at life. Keep that in mind as you read more articles on LadderWiki or posts on the IW.com forums.
Cliff notes of 'The Great Gatsby' can be found here
