The Friend Zone Playbook

By Jarrod A. Tanner

If you’ve ever had a friend in your life that you wish were more, this is the book for you. “The Friend Zone Playbook” helps you not only decide if the person is right for you but teaches you proven techniques in order to possibly turn that friendship of yours into something more. Jarrod “J-Rod” Tanner holds no punches as he goes through real life scenarios to teach you how to decipher and take control of your situation. After reading this book, the knowledge you receive will help you gain the upper hand with that special friend you’re in the “friend zone” with. Both entertaining and informative, this book is not one that you will likely put down. The friend zone can be a confusing place, but with this book, you can play to win!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jarrod A. Tanner
• Release date: Nov 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370316281

Jarrod A. Tanner

From his childhood in the Bronx, New York, J-Rod was introduced to his first three loves: music, arts and entertainment. The city lights and the never ceasing pace of the city taught him to always be multifaceted and never stop hustling to reach his entertainer goals. He took his love of the arts with him at age 14 when his family relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. There he planted himself and grew. While studying Mass Communications at Norfolk State University he also sang lead in a local R&B group called Lot 14. Lot 14 traveled the country touring and winning the hearts of fans everywhere; they won Amateur Night at the Apollo and even incited a label bidding war before disbanding after six years. J-Rod’s passion for performing and entertaining ignited his interest in local radio. He used his charm and the social media presence he gained with the group to land a spot on the local radio station WNSB Hot 91.1. J-Rod entered the station as a brand new evening show disc-jockey and instantly introduced the surround Hampton Roads cities to his own version of a morning show in the evening time. This format proved successful and lead the competitive stations in the area to challenge his ratings.After college, J-Rod ventured into a few different endeavors but none surpassed the joy he had when working in the arts. Life experiences led him to use his own life as inspiration for a new wave of art. In 2010, he quit radio to spend more time with his newborn son, Christopher. He began doing public speaking in high schools all around the Hampton Roads area and began learning the art of comedy writing with his friend Jay Pharoah, who went on to become one of the leading cast members of Saturday Night Live. December 31, 2014, God renewed his passion for writing and lit a new spark in J-Rod to develop a few additional personal projects including The Repost Show, a hip-hop talkshow and The Friend Zone Playbook.Today J-Rod continues to build his writing and producing resume. He is also looking forward to the release of his first book, The Friend Zone Playbook. He continues to travel the globe writing and pulling source material from life, adulthood, and being a father.

Book preview

The FRIEND ZONE Playbook

A How-to on Getting Out of The Zone for Good!

WRITTEN BY JARROD A. TANNER

© ²⁰¹⁶ Jarrod A. Tanner. All rights reserved.

Published by Jarrod A. Tanner.

Smashwords Edition.

Art & Editing by The Lyricmonét Company.

This book is for you if...

X - You always find yourself in the zone

O - Want to know how to take control over your situationships

X - Want to learn how to use the zone to your advantage 

O - Want to find meaning in all of your new relationships

X - Want to learn how to stay out of the Friend Zone

Dedication

To Kelly...

Remember, no matter what,

you’re always MORE than good enough!

Contents

WHAT IS THE FRIEND ZONE?

Knowing Your Place

Using The Playbook

The Zone…

INSIDE THE ZONE

The Reality of Rejection

The Hope Demon

How-Not-To Use the Friend Zone

How-To Play The Game

Being in the Zone

THE PERKS IN THE ZONE

Beyond Social Media

Why You’re in the Zone

The Lessons

Why the Zone Exists

THE CURSE

Knowing Your Place

Why You’re in the Zone

What Are You Doing?

READING THE SIGNS

Assessing the Obvious

Know When You’re in the Zone

BEATING THE ZONE

The Advantages

If You Can’t Beat the Zone, Use It…

GETTING OUT OF THE ZONE FOR GOOD!

The Playbook Moves

Escaping the Zone

CAN YOU EVER GO BACK?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What is The Friend Zone?

So, what the hell is the friend zone? The funny thing is that there are so many different opinions on what it really is. When I first began the journey of writing this book I literally asked 10 people and received 10 different answers! I thought that was pretty crazy because from my experience, you or someone you know has DEFINITELY been in the zone before. The majority of people know what it feels like to be someone’s friend and for the most part, I’m sure that you know ALL of the people in your life that will never have a chance to be anything more than just a friend. As a matter of fact, right now, there’s probably some poor soul trying to figure out what they can do to become more than just your friend. They’re at home on their phone going through their favorite selfies trying to understand what it is about them that you just don’t find attractive. Every night, they wonder if you flirt with everybody else the same way you flirt with them or if you truly are feeling them; even if you’ve never flirted with them a day in your life. Meanwhile, you’re reading this book trying to figure out those same answers to that exact same questions for someone completely different! Of course, that person that you’re feeling is probably in a relationship that they have no idea how they got involved with in the first place. But that’s just the way these things go. When dealing with the affairs of the heart, nothing is usually ever fair. You’re not gonna be in love with everyone that wants to be more with you and everyone ain’t gonna like you either.

Think about it, we all have someone that we wish would see us a little differently. Or a person that you wish you would’ve met at a different time in your life, like maybe before you were in a relationship with that lame you’re with now or before they were in the relationship with that jerk they’re with who irritates your soul!

How about a person that you wish wasn’t your ex’s best friend! I know I’ve had that happen MANY times; I’d find myself going, Lord, why didn’t you show me the friend first?!?! That’s messed up, God! Or maybe it’s a person that you should’ve met first but you came late to the party and by the time you got there your friend already had the number. And I KNOW that we’ve all had a person in our life that we couldn’t figure out how they ever got the idea that they ever had a shot with us. Like, don’t come over here if I’m not sending for you! The point is, when it comes to pursuing someone, every single person has been disappointed or has been the person to disappoint. It’s normal; IT SUCKS, but still normal.

Friendships work a little differently. If you’re like me, you have a friend that would do anything for you and vice versa but you only look at them as you would a sibling. Nah, we not getting down like that. That’s my sister! Is that a person in the friend zone? Or is it that person that would do anything for you including give you the best sex in your life, if you were to let them? That person that when you broke up with your significant other, they came over to drink with you and told you that you were too good of a person to be messing around with losers? That person that you let get undressed and lay in the bed next to you, sometimes even spoon you; is that person in the friend zone? The one that your mom swears you should be with. The one that your friends think is really feeling you; the one that you always say goodnight to. Is it the guy at your job that brings you FREE breakfast every morning and smiles at you extra hard? Or is the person in the friend zone that girl that comes to your desk at work and tells you about all of the problems that she’s having with her man?

To be honest, a lot of people don’t really know the difference between a "Friend and the Friend Zone". It’s actually very understandable. I mean they do both have friend in the name. They both can describe a person that may or may not like you. Both titles are usually thrown around without real thought. Think about it, how many times have you called someone a friend and then 6 months later that so-called friend ends up betraying you? Or how many times have you thought you put somebody in the friend zone and then the next day y’all are having sex? Maybe that last one is just me… At any rate, the meanings of the two words can be tricky to define and a lot of times, you put a title on a person but the title doesn’t stick with the person throughout the duration of time that you know them. So, let’s clear this up once and for all!

With a true friend, you have no current interest in them romantically. None! Not even a little bit! They’re the person least likely to get your goodies at the end of the night! This person might be cute enough to get Ruth Chris on the first night or, Dammit I’ll bite you ugly like Rasputia. A friend might be funny like Jay Pharoah, keeping you crying in tears every time you’re with them or boring like Eeyore, where after 15 minutes, you realize why you only call the person every 3 days. Friends can be single or be in one of those relationships where the couple fights about who loves who more; I love you more than candy, babe. Well, I love you more than chicken wings! For both parties in the friendship, none of this really matters because when you actually need to count on each other, you’re there, no questions asked!

That’s because a TRUE friend has your back. A TRUE friend is loyal. A TRUE friend is the person you call at 3:32AM on a Thursday night because you are too drunk to go to sleep. A friend is the person that you ask if you should take that promotion at the new job even though it means that you have to wake up two hours earlier and you can barely make it out your house on time as it is. A friend is the person that calls you for no other reason than to bother you. A