Living like a Gentleman Spy starts with expanding your horizons.

007 knows his way around London, where to dive in the Bahamas, and which fork to use at an elegant dinner in Montenegro. Bourne has a safety deposit box in Switzerland and knows his way around London, Paris, New York, and many other exotic locations.

While most men don’t have the government expense accounts or money stashed in foreign safe deposit boxes to live that life non-stop the way Bond and Bourne do, it doesn’t mean you should short-change yourself either. You don’t need to board a 747 to embrace a more cultured lifestyle and enjoy the finest that life has to offer.

Before you book the trip of a lifetime, start by exploring your own area. No matter where you live, there will be attractions that you haven’t experienced yet. Don’t limit yourself to certain types of attractions — check out everything available to you.

Different cities will have different types of things available. Don’t neglect something just because you don’t think it will be interesting to you. The idea here is to learn something new here.

If you don’t have an idea where to start, here are some ideas:

• Tours
  • If you live in a major city, start with a tour if you’ve never done one; you will learn more about where you live and have a better idea of the types of other cultural attractions you might want to visit
• Museums
  • History
  • Science
  • Art
  • Air and Space
  • Military or War
• Government buildings
  • State or national capital buildings
  • Monuments
• Botanical Gardens
• Arboretums
• Zoos
• Aquariums
• Historic sites
  • People
  • Farms
  • Battlegrounds
  • Other sites of interest
• Nature Centers
• Theaters/Playhouses/Concert Halls
  • Plays
  • Operas
  • Musicals
  • Symphonies
• Festivals
• Sporting events

Google the top cultural attractions in your area — museums, theaters, gardens, beaches, historical sites, etc. Make a list of them, and visit one per week.

Get outside your comfort zone and try new things — especially things you hadn't considered before or don't think you will like. Your goal is to expand your horizons and be exposed to as much new stuff as possible.

“I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink.” ~James Bond, Casino Royale

007 knows his food, and you should too. Whether you’ve been brought up on meat and potatoes or fish and chips, you probably need to expand your culinary horizons. Like expanding your cultural awareness, you should start this process at home.

Use Google, Yelp, OpenTable, or foodie friends to check out different cultural restaurants in your area. American, Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, etc. Folks in small towns may be limited to the few basics listed above, but if you live in a bigger city, there’s a good chance you have many more options. Spain, Thailand, Morocco, Argentina, Ethiopia, Peru, Japan, and others have distinctive cuisines and dining habits that are worth exploring.

While you are checking out these restaurants, be open to exploring their cultures. What is appropriate in American dining may be a big faux pas in other areas.

In much of Africa and Asia, eating with your hands is common and expected. But southpaws beware — it is a sign of disrespect to eat (or give or accept gifts) with your left hand which is reserved for wiping your butt.
It is appropriate to slurp your soup in some locales but doing that in a Michelin starred restaurant won't win you any friends.
Chopsticks are common to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cuisine. If you are not already adept at their use, you should learn now. While their use varies somewhat by region, rules like not spearing your food and not standing them up in a bowl of rice are universal. Thai cuisine, on the other hand, is eaten with a spoon and fork; chopsticks in Thailand are used only for noodles.

Misconceptions are also common:

You won't find spaghetti and meatballs or thick crust pizza loaded with a bunch of toppings in any restaurant in Italy, and Italian dressing isn't; there you'll get olive oil and vinegar.
Real Mexican cuisine isn't about crunchy tacos, burritos, and spicy ingredients — if you try to order a burrito in Mexico anywhere but near the border, they'll look at you like you're an idiot.
Chicken Tikka Masala may be the best known Indian dish, but it's a British creation, not authentic Indian.

Wherever you go, always ask the waiters or staff for recommendations and cultural tips, don't just default to what you think you know or expect. It’s easy to take a few minutes to get online before you visit new places to get an overview of the culture and food before heading out.

You will want to check out as many of the cultural restaurants in your area as you can. Make a list of them and begin visiting one per week — especially those with cuisine completely foreign to you.

Many men have grown up accustomed to only eating a few staple foods. Because of this, they routinely turn down ingredients or cuisines that they are unfamiliar with or believe they will not like.

As a man — especially one desiring to live the Gentleman Spy lifestyle — it is unacceptable to be a picky eater. Sticking to a diet for health, body composition, and performance is one thing, but not eating or appreciating other cuisines is juvenile and not appropriate for an international man of adventure.

The good news here is that even if you've lived a sheltered culinary lifestyle, this is something you have full control of changing for yourself. Any time you tell yourself "I just don't like that," remember that is a decision you're making, and you can change it just as easily. Don't let opinions that you or your parents made when you were 5 (or 15) years old impact the quality of your life now.

Outside of specific dietary requirements, you should be comfortable and confident with as many cuisines and ingredients as practical. From Brussels sprouts or broccoli to blood sausage, curry, escargot, nigiri, sushi, or tagine, you should be excited about new foods, not worried that you won't like something.

Get outside of your culinary comfort zone and try new foods, new drinks, and new ways of eating.

“Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?" ~James Bond, Casino Royale

While the Bond of the books leaves much to be desired on the health front — three packs of cigarettes and a dozen drinks a day aren’t something we want to emulate — it is still useful to know your way around a bar.

007's wine and spirit knowledge comes from a lifetime of training and social events. From boarding school through his time at Dartmouth, his naval service and his time at MI6, Bond would have thousands of hours exposed to the finest food, wine, and spirits that society has to offer.

Most of us don't have that type of upbringing or level of access to high society events, but that doesn't mean you can't jump start the process.

• Start by learning the basics of wine online. Learn the differences between different types of wine, regions, years, etc. Learn what types of wines go in which glasses, and which wines go with which foods. Winefolly.com has a good beginner's guide, as do Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.
• Once you have a basic working knowledge of the types of wines, begin tasting them to see what you like.
• Try different wines with different foods to get an idea of what works together and what doesn't.
• Keep note of what wines you do and don't like.

You can go through the same process with other alcohols and beers.

Try different spirits, make different drinks, and see what you prefer.
Don't default to a drink you don't love because it seems cool or en vogue at the moment.

The next step up would be to research wine tasting in your area to see what is available. Most vineyards, many wine retailers, and some fine restaurants have tasting programs or courses. Check out LocalWineEvents.com to see what's available.

If you decide to really become an expert, formalized courses and programs like those from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) will give you a very in depth understanding of anything you could ever want to know about wine and spirits. Of course this is overkill for many, but for some, overkill is just enough.

Knowing what to drink, and how to drink it, is only one part though.

If you decide that frequenting bars or clubs is what you want to do, be smart and a gentleman about it.

• Be patient. Don't yell, whistle, snap, wave money, or otherwise act like an idiot.
• Know what you want. Don't be the guy who finally gets up to the bar and keeps the bartender or other patrons waiting while you figure out what you want to drink.
  • Have a signature drink (or few). Maybe you prefer your Scotch neat. Or a martini. Or tequila on the rocks with a slice of lime. Whatever it is, have something that you can always ask for without having to think about it.
• No shots. Order real drinks, and don't ask for a strong drink or good pour. If you want a double, pay for it. If you're that inclined to get drunk quickly, order more — or stronger — drinks.
• Treat the bartender like a real person, not a servant. This goes for service staff everywhere — just because they're there to take care of you doesn't mean they have to put up with your BS.
  • Put your phone away, stop showing the bartender every picture you've ever taken of your kids, and they don't need to know — or care — about your life story.
• If you want to order a woman a drink, ask her permission.
  • Even if things were going great and she was all over you, if she stops, so do you. Let it go.
• Tip more than you should. Don't preemptively mention tips ("I'll take care of you later...")
• Have cash. Don't be the guy who pays for a single beer with a credit card.
• If you're waiting at the bar before meeting others, clear out your tab before they arrive.
• Don't argue about the tab. If it's enough to argue about, it probably means you've had too much to be able to argue about it.
• If your [friend/colleague/date] says you're slurring or acting drunk, you are. Arguing only makes it worse.

Understand that drinking to get drunk is not ideal.

Real life spies use alcohol to build rapport and to loosen the tongues of their assets and targets, but getting drunk yourself defeats the purpose.

When you imbibe too much, you are no longer in control of the scenario, the interaction, or yourself.

When you drink, you will feel and perform better for longer by following these tips:

• Eat before you start drinking.
• Drink liquor, wine, or beer.
  • Limit sugary mixed drinks and don't go crazy on sweet liqueurs.
  • Don't pound shots like a college kid on a dare, sip real drinks like a man.
• Stick to one type of drink; don't switch from vodka to beer to wine to whiskey as the night progresses.
• Drink a full glass of water between every alcoholic drink.
• Before going to bed, drink as much water as you can. Keep a full glass of water on your nightstand to drink as much as you can anytime you wake up
• It is possible to improve your alcohol tolerance by increasing your consumption; drink daily or weekly, rather than going on a monthly bender, and slowly increase your intake over time. *See note below*

Doing the above will allow you to consume more alcohol, more regularly, while minimizing the negative effects as much as possible.

Do not become dependent on alcohol to have a good time and don't take it to excess. Just because you can increase your tolerance and minimize the negative effects of alcohol consumption, doesn't mean that you should.

Be smart, have fun, and stay safe.

NOTE: "Improving your tolerance" is a bit of a misnomer. You can become better at practiced skills, but alcohol will always impair judgement and slow reaction time.

You cannot reduce your susceptibility to these physiological impairments.

You may be able to talk more clearly or walk straighter as you drink more often, but as soon as anything goes wrong or something out of the ordinary happens, all of the physiological impairments show themselves with a vengeance.

No amount of practice or "tolerance" makes it safe to do stupid stuff while drinking.