by Chad | Jun 18, 2019 | Manliness
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ~ Viktor Frankl
We can know this in theory, but it’s only when we experience it, when we’re stripped of all we have, all we thought we valued, all we thought we loved, that we’re faced with this decision.
At first we don’t even know that the decision is there, all we see is pain and despair and pity. We ask questions like, ‘what’s the point’? ‘Why me?’ And so on. We walk around with a cloud above our heads, with no light. After the initial darkness, reason and logic begin to creep in, hopefully this doesn’t take too long. We see that there are choices, especially when we come across quotes like this or books like Man’s Search for Meaning, we see that in every circumstance, we can have everything taken from us except our attitude and our choice to choose our path.
The decision isn’t easy to make, pity is intoxicating, pain, sorrow, and depression and all-consuming, but that decision is there and if we begin to make it in small things, we see that we can’t be broken, we see light, we feel true power. The truth is that we can, indeed, have everything we think we need and love and value taken away from us and we can actually choose to be better off for it, to become better because of it. In doing so we become truly powerful.
Most emails I get from guys – other than those about T – are about dealing with tough times, break-ups, a lack of certainty and clarity about life (which is difficult) and so forth.
What we often fail to realize is the choice that can be made. We can completely change our perspective on a situation, find good in it, find a worthy struggle within it… Struggle. It’s something we want to avoid in today’s society, and likely always have wanted to avoid, but it’s within struggle that we grow, evolve, and become someone better.
A worthy struggle can provide an opportunity to even change how you see yourself for the better. It can force you to create confidence where there is none, to necessarily change who you think you are because if you keep seeing yourself as a loser, a victim, you’ll never live the life you want to live. By forcing yourself to see yourself as someone and something better you climb out of whatever you’re facing and set yourself up for a better life in the future.
A worthy struggle is a gift, not a curse. It creates calluses where softness and weakness dominated. It turns a boy into a man. It turns a man into a warrior. It turns a warrior into a king.
Whatever you’re going through, even if it’s uncertainty, maybe pain or failure or depression or sadness and despair, don’t just ‘keep going’, though you should, no, step back, detach, see how you can use it to transform into someone better, how you can use it to become tougher.
Choose your way out.
Get after it.
Be Legendary,
Chad Howse
P.S. Get Man Greens Today (Sale on Multiple Bottle Orders)
by Chad | Jun 8, 2019 | Manliness, Wise
Be a better man, daily. No wish, no dream, follow the plan in this article and simply, be a better man day in and day out.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
We want to be better men, we all do. Few, however, have a plan to carry it out. Just like few men have a plan for power or wealth even though they dream about it nightly.
What follows are 9 action steps that you can take this week that’ll help you be a better man, but also become better at being a man, that is, the core, the base of what masculinity is, utilitarian above all else.
You’re here to serve a purpose. You’re here to win. You are not here to fill a clog, to fit into a puzzle, to exist.
A woman is born. A man is made. (read: The Manliness Checklist)
Manhood is something to aspire toward. It’s a goal, something to achieve, it isn’t something that occurs when you reach puberty or buy a house or even get married.
It’s something you win. People around you know when you’re there. They know they can count on your for all kinds of things that they maybe once couldn’t.
They know you’ll lead them in the right direction and for the right reasons and they’re glad to follow.
The Romans called manliness, excellence in all things. And it is. Excellence isn’t born, but crafted over time, as is manliness.
1. Do what you say you’re going to do.
A man is no better or worse than his word. Yet, we lie to ourselves every day. We say we’ll do this, act like this, achieve that, and we never do.
If we’d only do what we say we’re going to do in business and in life we would be able to look back at our lives with a pride rarely felt in the course of humanity. (read: what it means to be a man)
Intentions are like buttholes… You know where the line goes.
They’re shitty and everyone has them.
Accomplishments, well, they’re rare. They’re a big part of why we’re here. We’re not here to want to do something, intend to do something, or wish we could do something. We’re here to achieve. From big to small, do what you say you’re going to do, whether you say it to yourself silently or aloud to others. Get it done.
2. Do what you don’t feel like doing.
One of the best barometers of whether you should do something or not, is that you don’t feel like doing it.
Try this for a day. Most people, men especially these days, avoid doing things simply because they don’t feel like doing it.
When you have that moment of not feeling like doing something, do it. Sometimes you’ll have to avoid something because it doesn’t stick with the plan, but the point is to do those things you initially set out to do but now don’t feel like doing at all.
Try it out. You will be a better man because of it. You’ll end the day having lived, achieved, and won. If you stack up enough days like that you’ll live a great, truly great, life.
3. Don’t get too low, or too high.
Enjoy your victories, celebrate them. We don’t do enough celebrating these days. That said, don’t get too high when nothing seems to go wrong, and definitely don’t get too low when it seems like everything is going wrong.
That’s nice to say, it’s a good piece of advice, but how do you actually achieve it, namely not getting too low?
You have to have a plan for your life and for your day, and you have to follow that plan regardless of how you feel.
Action is an antidepressant. Being static and stationary will make you even more depressed. I’ve been through this, recently actually.
I had every opportunity to get really low, down, and depressed. It was staring me in the face every day, and the only thing that prevented it was action.
I set out every day to not stop until 8pm, regardless of how I felt.
I had a bunch of work to get done, yardwork, I had the gun range, the archery club, cigars, and books.
I wouldn’t stop until the day was done and it was time to wind down. That’s how you avoid being too low, you’re too busy to be low.
4. Think.
There’s a reason why I smoke cigars and it has nothing to do with aesthetics or taking pictures and all that nonsense. Cigars are meditation for men.
I’ll smoke one every second day or something like that. It’s an hour or so of meditation, of thinking, of putting things into perspective, putting the pieces of the puzzle together for life and business and even relationships.
Do it however you need to do it, but men need that moment in a day, whether by stogie or pipe or book, where they have silence to get their mind right.
It will help you become a better man.
5. Read more than you watch.
TV can be good. It can be a winding down, you can get inspired from it and even learn from it. More often than not, however, it’s useless, and people watch far too much of it.
Spend at least an hour a day reading, and less time than that watching TV.
As a man, you need to be smart. You need to be able to strategize and plan, to dissect situations and to not allow your emotions cloud important decisions. Reading will help you become a smarter man. A smarter version of yourself is undoubtedly a better version of yourself.
6. Be dangerous.
Better dictates you’re better at being what men should be, a protector and provider. The fact that you have the capacity to be dangerous means you’re at least the former.
The reality is that there are bad people out there, and as a man, you have to be better at being dangerous than those bad people. This means you know how to fight, that you’ve trained to do so, that you’ve strengthened your body so as to be successful at fighting, and, well, you know how to use a gun. (read: how to be an alpha male)
The ignorance that guns are bad can stand between not having one when a bad guy does have one. They’re a tool, like a hammer or a knife and they’re a much more effective tool in certain circumstances when your family’s safety is on the line.
Be as dangerous as you can possibly be.
This is what being a good man requires. We’re utilitarian beings. We’re here to serve some purpose and protection is definitely one of those purposes.
7. Plan how to be successful.
Success isn’t something you wish would happen, but something you’re strategically creating. The more money you make, the bigger your impact can be. Money isn’t the be all end all, it’s a tool, a gauge you can judge how good you are at what you do – one of many.
Up until a certain time in life, boys dream about success, they wish it and pray for it, but men plan for it.
Until it’s a plan, it remains a wish. Have a plan to achieve power and success, and then do whatever you have to do to create it.
8. Be stoic.
Stoicism is a lot of things, it’s a way to live and think and how to see things. It’s an understanding that the event isn’t as important as your reaction to it.
You have complete power and control over how you see things, tragedy, victory, betrayal, the absurdly unfairness of life. Most things are not a part of you. They do not wish to harm you, they simply are.
Read Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to know how to live. Read Proverbs, anything by or about Theodore Roosevelt or George Washington, and learn to deal with the worst and the best like a man. Read Man’s Search for Meaning as well.
9. Take care of yourself first.
This goes against what most of us think is ‘good’, but it’s the truth. This does not in any way mean you buck responsibilities, but you put the oxygen mask over your mouth before you put it over your kid’s.
If you suck, their lives suck.
If you’re unsuccessful, weak, fat, depressed, sad, down in the dumps, their lives are negatively impacted.
You have to be at your best for their lives to be at their best. You’re their foundation. So, take care of your shit. Get your money right. Get your mind right. Get your body right.
Have the things in your life you need to do to put wind in your sails. It could be hiking, hunting, shooting, reading, smoking a stogie every day, having beers with your pals once a week. Whatever you need to get yourself right, have it in your routine and don’t compromise.
Do the things on this list, most of them should be routine.
Next: Share this article if you enjoyed it.
And please comment! Would love to hear your thoughts.
Action Step: Boost Testosterone, Libido, and Improve Health with Man Grees.
by Chad | Jun 5, 2019 | Testosterone
I’m willing to bet that if you aren’t paying close attention, there’s something you’re snacking on that’s filling your body with estrogen… which is a major problem for men because the higher your estrogen levels are, the lower your testosterone levels will be. (read: 13 Most Powerful Testosterone-Booster Foods on Planet Earth)
But before I get into the list of five estrogen increasing foods you need to avoid, I want to let you in on a brand new supplement that I created to lower estrogen and skyrocket your testosterone levels by a whopping 540%!
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Plus, it’s packed with an “estrogen defense shield” to keep you from what I like to call “estrogen contamination.” Trust me, this is the only testosterone boosting supplement you’ll ever need again. And it’s completely natural and tastes great.
Check it out HERE.
After you do that, check out these 5 estrogen increasing foods you need to stay away from:
Wheat & Other Grains
A sandwich packed with carved turkey and bacon and fresh cooked wild game sounds good, doesn’t it? Well it is—but not if it’s piled in between two slices of bread. Because those slices of bread could be filled with estrogen and lowering your testosterone levels.
- A study conducted in Brazil found tested the grains in more than 5,000 mixed cereals and found that 32% of the cereals contained a grain with an attached fungus called zearalenone, which increases estrogen production in the body. The researchers insist there’s no way of knowing for sure if a loaf of bread, box of rice or any other grain contains or doesn’t contain zearalenone, and that you should avoid wheat and other grains if you want to avoid possible estrogen contamination.
- A study published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology found that exposure to xenoestrogens in wheat and grains are powerful enough to reverse the effects of anti-estrogen treatments. This is a taste of the anti-testosterone and pro-estrogen effect they can have if you eat them.
Soy
There’s no reason you should be eating soy. There are plenty of excellent protein sources out there to choose from… that will boost your testosterone levels—not put them in the pits like soy will.
- In a study from South Korea, researchers have found that a high intake of soy (even if it’s coming through a low-isoflavone soy protein extract—so basically even small traces of soy) can suppress both; testosterone and DHT. That’s a huge problem for men because DHT is the most powerful form of testosterone in the body. Yet, soy will shrink it to almost nothing.
- The only positive effect of soy consumption seems to be the fact that it’s relatively high in protein. Because soy is a plant, this is good news for vegans/vegetarians. However, you should know that according to a study from Cambridge University, animal protein is superior to plant protein when it comes to boosting testosterone.
- Because of the high amount of phyto-estrogenic isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein) present in soybeans, researchers have found that although having a significantly lower affinity for the receptors than that of estrogen itself, isoflavones can activate the estrogen receptors and minimize the effect of androgen receptors (where your testosterone binds with muscle tissue). Also bad news—soy is considered to be highly “goitrogenic”, meaning that it can disrupt the production of thyroid hormones by interfering with iodine uptake in the thyroid gland. The suppressed activity of the thyroid is considered to be one of the leading causes of low testosterone levels in men…
And speaking of protecting your thyroid, one of the main benefits of my new supplement—Man Greens—is that it keeps your thyroid functioning well so that you can attain the highest testosterone levels possible as a man…
Plus, it’ll give you a MASSIVE 540% testosterone boost. Check out Man Green HERE.
Mint Gum
On the surface, chewing gum seems like a great option, doesn’t it? You can chew on it to keep from overeating. It makes your breath smell fresh. Your jaw gets a good workout… But don’t be fooled. Every time you chomp down on mint gum, you’re raising estrogen and lowering your testosterone.
- Much of the research about peppermint and spearmint on male testosterone levels comes from male Wistar rat studies… One Turkish study divided 48 rats into 4 groups: Group one received drinking water. Group two received 20g/L peppermint tea. Group three got 20g/L spearmint tea. Group four got 40g/L spearmint tea. Compared to the water group, the peppermint tea at 20g/L group saw a 23% decrease in testosterone and the spearmint tea at 20g/L group saw a 51% decrease in testosterone. I know they’re rat studies, but that could be a huge price to pay just to chew gum or sip on mint tea.
- An Indian study showed that spearmint suppressed testosterone production… and was essentially an anti-androgen in male rats. The researchers concluded that spearmint increases oxidative stress in the hypothalamus, which lowers T synthesis in the balls.
- In one study done at the School of Medicine at a university in Turkey, researchers found that spearmint doesn’t only lower testosterone levels, but it also increases estradiol—a form of estrogen.
PUFAs
Listen man… PUFAs are everywhere. And there raising your estrogen levels and lowering your testosterone…
PUFA stands for Polyunsaturated fatty acid. And they’re most commonly found in walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and any kind of vegetable oil (corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil). And even if you don’t think you eat any of those foods, just know that most restaurants use vegetable oil to cook their food in.
Here’s the damage:
- One study from Lleida University in Spain found that PUFAs increase oxidative damage in the body. For men like you and me that means PUFAs will increase out cortisol levels. That’s bad news because, not only does cortisol lower testosterone… but it also shortens your life span.
- A study from Quebec Canada found that a PUFA heavy diet will lead to increases in a glycoprotein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG attaches itself to your testosterone and makes it ineffective in the body, so that even if you have a decent amount of testosterone flowing through your veins, SHBG makes sure it doesn’t do anything you need it to do for you, like build muscle, burn fat, or boost your sex drive.
- A study published in American Chemical Society found that vegetable oils are preserved with a propyl gallate—which is used to keep the oil from going bad, yet also increases estrogen in the body. It’s only one of many xenoestrogens out there and for men, should be avoided at all costs.
Guess what…
In my new supplement, Man Greens, my scientifically proven formula has been shown to fight against all of the above… cortisol, SHBG and estrogen. Plus it’s packed with active, natural ingredients that’ll make you strong, ripped, and more. Check out Man Greens HERE.
Factory Farm Meats/Dairy
Here me clearly… I’m not talking about organic dairy or meat products. But man, you need to be careful of those meats and dairy products packaged at the grocery store. A few lean bison patties may scream “testosterone” to the naked eye…
But a closer look may reveal that it’s actually packed with estrogen…
- There was growing concern in the 50s and 60s about meat and dairy products being pumped with estrogen. Typically, farmers plant a pellet in the ear of cows that pump their bodies full of estrogen because the boost in estrogen will lead to an increase in milk production. That estrogen pumped milk goes right to the shelves of your local grocery store.
- One Iranian study revealed that hormones and antibiotics used in the meat and dairy industry are packed with estrogen. The study found that nearly all store packaged meat contains estradiol. Also, these animals are commonly fed soybean, which then enters in their blood stream (and we get a cut of the estrogen when we eat the meat). I hate to break it to you, but you’ll never look at packaged meat the same again… Start hunting your own wild game or Get This Natural Estrogen Defense Shield.
Now What?
So there you have it man…
5 estrogen increasing foods you must stay away from. And listen up, that’s just five. There’s plenty more where that came from…
In fact, if you click here I have a list of all the products in your home that are filled with estrogen… and I guarantee you’re using some of them. The bottom line is we live in an estrogen contaminated world… and it’s killing your testosterone levels, man.
That’s why I created my brand new, scientifically proven supplement, Man Greens. I formulated it to protect you from estrogen and to boost your testosterone levels by 540%. Trust me, it’s a game changer for you.
Don’t leave this page without checking it out. Grab Man Greens HERE.
by Chad | Jun 4, 2019 | Wise
When you talk about the weight room to a self-proclaimed intellectual, their eyes gloss over. When you say it parallels for much of what we can learn from life, they snicker. (read: Be Conquering or Get Conquered)
But that’s exactly what it can be. It’s a powerful teacher whose lessons align with life’s, and whose benefits apply to everyone, not just those after abs or shoulders or a nice big butt.
Whatever you want from working out requires pain and discomfort. You grow from destruction of the muscle by placing more weight on it than you’re currently adapted to push, pull, or lift. (read: How to Stop Comparing and Start Winning)
In the gym, you need pain to grow.
Post-Traumatic GROWTH
You’ve heard of post-traumatic stress disorder, we all have. It’s a psychological response to intense stress or a stressful event where we react negatively to said event.
Well, there’s also a phenomenon called post-traumatic growth in which people harmed by past events outgrow themselves (read Antifragile by Nassim Taleb).
That’s essentially what we get from strength training, too, we grow because we put our body through stress.
Our lives should yield the same response, we grow because of stressful events, not because of an absence of stress, harm, pain, and the like.
What you’ll find in this article is the means by which you grow one rep, one task, one mission objective at a time, and leave the rest to God, fate, or whatever you need to leave it to.
Growing From Pain – Being Antifragile
Humans are antifragile. Our species has thrived because it demanded we evolve and innovate. Innovation doesn’t occur under perfect circumstances, it’s most often born out of necessity – think the wheel, printing press, and religion – which, as much as anything, helped us manage unity in greater numbers.
Just like a muscle will atrophy without use, humans devolve amidst ease. We’re creatures that need struggle.
In an individual sense, we adapt to our routine, we adapt to our goals, and we adapt to who we’re surrounded by.
If we surround ourselves with alcoholics and losers, odds are that we’ll adapt to fit in. We’re better off to try to fit in with a crowd that we have to struggle to adapt to. We grow from stress, we evolve in turbulence.
It’s the theory that you rise to the challenge, or that the greater the stressor, the greater the growth.
If you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you will land among the stars. It is true. If you aim higher, if you allow your reach to exceed your grasp thereby bringing on more stress, you will likely grow more than you would if you only challenged yourself a little.
Stress, however, isn’t something we appreciate as a gift but something we try to avoid, not use.
What’s Next?
We live in a world with far too many options. We once passed our genetics on by being the best, the strongest, warrior, hunter, provider, and leader. Today we can, essentially, be fat, lazy, weak, and still get by, passing on that material because we – or someone else – has settled.
You don’t have to be the best, or the best at anything, to carry on your name. (read: 12 Rules for Life for My Unborn Son)
We don’t want to be the latter, of course, but we’re also not called to a specific action.
We’re not in a small hunting tribe or group of warriors where our clear purpose is to protect the women and children and provide for them, and possibly expand our territory. Yet, our DNA hasn’t changed enough for us to not need that singular purpose, however.
With a sea of options of what to do with our life or even what to do in the run of a day, we’re given too many options when we’re genetically programmed to focus on one.
For the first time in 3 years, I’m single. I recently had to break up with the woman I was engaged to, the woman that was to be my wife. The term, ‘had to’ is true, but that in no way makes it easier or easy at all. I’m now faced daily with solitude, without a woman I truly loved to communicate with, to enjoy, to simply be with.
The options of what to do are endless, which isn’t good.
The options of what to think or what thought process to follow or what to remember about what we had are also endless. Again, not good.
I have to not only simplify my overall goal so as to focus, something I’d have to do anyway, but now I really have to do what’s next, and nothing else.
That is, do a task, then do the next one.
Reach a marker, then focus on reaching the next one.
We get outside of ourselves and knocked off our path almost routinely. We wander. We tread water wondering if the move we’re about to make is the right one. It’s paralysis by analysis and we’re all doing it.
I have to not only endure a difficult time, but grow from it.
I have to outgrow myself because of it.
None of what we face today is simple, which is why we have to work as hard at simplifying as we do at working. Simplification can take a second, but it often starts with a lot of contemplation, reading, and thinking.
To make the simple, simpler, focus only on what has to be now, and then what has to be done next.
In everyone’s life this exists. There is always a thing we should do now, and a thing we should do next. It’s the clarity, the ‘living in the moment’ you will need to create post-traumatic growth and antifragility (the latter isn’t just enduring pain and tragedy, but growing because of it and not in spite of it).
Resilience
Eric Greitens wrote a great book called Resilience. In it he focuses a fair bit on warriors returning home and, for the first time in a long time, not having a clearly defined mission.
We all need a plan, a mission, and the steps we need to carry it out, or the markers we need to hit to achieve it.
In the book he talks about running he’d do as a Navy SEAL. They were trained to not focus on the entirety of the run, but the next marker they had to hit.
I really run into trouble with this. I focus on the entirety of everything and where I am in relation to where I want to end up; it’s simply the wrong way to think.
When you focus on the next marker, the next article you have to write, the next video you have to make, sale you have to make, page you have to read, you end up doing a hell of a lot more than you would if you were stuck thinking about the confusing, unfocused bigger picture.
Life is judged by what you do, not by what you intend to do or the ambitions you had, and especially not by the talent and potential you had that could have resulted in great things.
If you and I would just do what we say we’re going to do we wouldn’t be able to stop eventual success – success defined by achievement and by who we become.
Do what you say you’re going to do. Do it in everything. It doesn’t matter if you say it to someone else, but better yet, do what you say you’re going to do when you say it to yourself.
If you have a list of things you have to do in a day, do them all, and always do them all.
That’s how you pull yourself out of a pit, out of uncertainty, and into success, happiness, and most importantly of all, meaning, something we often lack or are ignorant of amidst a painful circumstance.
Grow From the Only Thing We CAN Grow From
Doctors tend to focus on the negative. They want to solve something through medication or surgery, thus, post-traumatic GROWTH isn’t talked about and it sure isn’t funded.
You’d think that if there’s a positive response to the same thing that there’s a very negative response to, we’d be studying what makes the response and the outcome positive, alas, we depend on men like Taleb to do such things.
The growth response is a choice.
It’s a choice to detach and to learn from what we’re going through or have gone through.
It’s a choice to focus on the micro and trust in the macro.
If the micro is taken care of the macro will be won because it’s won by smaller, daily victories in the seeming minutia of our daily tasks.
Why write this article, for instance?
It seems small in comparison to where I want to go and what I want to become, you know, the macro.
Will this propel my business forward?
Will it get me what I want overall?
Nope.
Does it have the potential to reach a single person, to strengthen a bond with a customer, and to maybe even help my brand by strengthening a connection with one individual?
Yes, it has that potential.
It’s a focus on the micro. We have to focus on the micro, to do the micro. Making your bed will have a profound effect on how you see yourself and what you’re able to give to the world and the quality of human you’re able to live as.
This article is also an exercise in clarity. It’s strengthened my own views of how to win from stress, not necessarily by writing it but definitely by reading what I needed to read to be able to write it.
We do have a choice, then.
We can choose the path of growth.
We can give the macro to God, to the universe, to fate, to faith, to whatever your beliefs dictate you ought to give it to, and to do our best with the seemingly little things that have to be completed regardless.
We can take the pain, we can absorb it, we can learn from it, we can become antifragile because of it.
We can win because of the pain we go through, not in spite of it and not being destroyed because of it.
Pain, stress, catastrophes are a part of life and an inevitable aspect of your story.
Being that they’re inevitable should lead us to choose to use them, even trying to appreciate them for what can be gained because of them or in response to them.
It isn’t an easy or common response. Self-pity is much easier and much more common. But what’s easy is rarely what’s good, and it’s often the most destructive path one can take, ending any opportunity for growth and guaranteeing dependence all at the same time.
by Chad | May 31, 2019 | Manliness
Image is everything. Okay, that’s not true, who you are and what you achieve is far more important than how you look. That said, you want to put the best version of yourself out there visually, because people do judge on appearance. If you look successful and manly you’re going to have that effect on others, which is what you want. (Read: 5 Steps to Be a Better Man)
You want to both look like the man and be the man.
Yet, style is trending toward the feminine. Men today are told to groom and pluck their face and chest and tighten their jeans and soften their skin.
In short, men are being pushed to look more feminine. Look at razor commercials or body spray commercials and you’ll see a slew of ‘somewhere in between’ looking humans, not men.
Men are also not being raised by men like they once were. What man knows how to fix his own truck, build his own fence, or fix the plumbing when it runs awry? Whether you want to look more manly in a suit or in jeans, in the boardroom or in the yard, I’ll show you 5 steps that’ll help you do that.
- Get in the gym!
You’re not trying to merely look ‘manly’, you want to both be the man and look like the man. You need to look like you command some damn respect and fear. You need to both be and look dangerous. Men, at their core, are just that, dangerous.
You’re technically a useless man if you don’t have the capacity to be a dangerous man. You’re useless to your community, your tribe, your family. If you can’t protect, you can’t do the thing that’s fundamental to masculinity.
And by gym, I don’t mean doing curls in the mirror with a tanned and hairless body. That ain’t how men workout. I mean join a boxing gym and learn how to fight. Join a crossfit gym and get your ass kicked. Get real world strong and athletic, not consumed by the aesthetic. (Read: Testosterone Supplements (what works and what doesn’t)
- Work with your hands.
Don’t wear lifting gloves, you’re not a woman. One of the biggest discrepancies between modern, soft men, and those from past generations, is their hands.
Men once worked with their hands, whether it was doing masculine work or working on their houses, you know, fixing things as men do.
Today we moisturize, we wear workout gloves, we use our hands to type and text not to hammer and shovel and bail. Popeye was created as a masculine figure, as was his arch enemy, both had massive forearms.
When you train your hands and your grip strength, you develop your forearms, and big forearms are very masculine. Call it ‘man cleavage’, because that’s the effect it has on women.
If you want to develop man strength/grip strength, try this program, it’s called Man Strength, and you get get it here..
- Trim but don’t go too far.
Masculinity is wild, or it has that capacity. You have to actually have the goods. Today the most popular videos and articles are those that focus on the things, the details, but not the foundation. You actually have to have what it takes. You have to be dangerous.
While masculinity is wild, if you want to look more manly today it’s also about success. You can’t look like a homeless fella. Get your hair cut every two weeks. Have a beard, I do, but keep it relatively trimmed.
Just don’t do all the eyebrows, manicures, pedicures, and the feminine things that men do these days. Look successful, not metrosexual.
Some easy archetypes would be Theodore Roosevelt, with his well-kept mustache, Tom Selleck, Sean Connery with his sometimes beard,
- Dress simpler.
Don’t be a fancy pants. Don’t be a peacock. Be a man. Dress like a man. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to dress down, you just don’t need all of the bracelets and fancy accessories that have become the norm these days.
Simpler is better if you’re trying to look masculine. If you want to look like something in between a real man and a fairy, then adorn yourself with every kind of accessory you can.
A man should wear a watch, always a watch, a gold chain if he wants, a good belt, but no bracelets, no rings other than the wedding one. Forget about the fancy sox. Forget about the wallet chain or whatever they’re called. And don’t jazz up your belt, simple leather.
- Loosen them jeans.
No man should ever wear anything resembling a skinny jean. Get real jeans. If you’re jacked they’ll inevitably be a little tight around the quads, but they’ll be broken in. This goes for all pants, don’t wear skinny pants. Women, by God, keep wearing them, but it’s feminine to wear skinny jeans.
It’s better to wear whatever the hell your old man wears than to adopt that silly style.
- Increase Your Testosterone Levels!
When we look at masculine traits, Psychology Today has an interesting point in an article I came across:
“The majority masculine traits are directly or indirectly related to the amount of testosterone available in a person’s body. On average, men’s testosterone levels are ten to forty-five times higher than women’s.” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/my-brothers-keeper/201410/the-stigma-masculinity)
Testosterone is what makes men, men, and low testosterone will send your masculine traits plummeting.
The big problem is that testosterone is on the decline with men, so we have to take this not only more seriously, but into our own hands as well.
The higher your testosterone levels, the more masculine you will be and appear.
Every man needs help in this area.
Start with the Man Diet book, get your free copy here
Get your bottles of Man Greens here
- Be more competitive.
Today we’re told that being competitive is a bad thing, which makes absolutely no sense, but that’s what we’re told. We’re told that it’s destructive, along with other male traits like aggression, dominance, and stoicism.
The truth is that there’s something very inate in men that makes us want to be better than the next guy. That’s not something to be ashamed of or to hide from, it simply is. Thus, being a part of your nature, you should fuel that fire because being competitive will be an asset in life.
It will lead to more success, more meaning, happiness, and achievement.
Foster that competitive nature within yourself. Don’t run from it. (Read: How to Develop an Iron Will)
- Be more stoic.
Stoicism is a choice, but the American Psychological Association listed it among the things that makes masculinity ‘toxic’.
Stoicism is good, 100% good, and those that practice it become powerful, not victims to events or a bad state of mind, but able to understand that it’s not the thing that matters, but how we choose to react to it that matters most of all.
There can’t be anything bad about that, and it’s something you, too, should aim to become, a stoic.
You can’t see yourself as a victim as a stoic. You won’t feel sorry for yourself, you won’t allow yourself to feel down, you will only do what you have to do and what you must do to win in life.
- Be rough around the edges.
Today we teach manners before manhood. That’s an ass-backward approach to teaching boys how to be men.
Be a man before you aim to be a gentleman. Don’t fret over style, accessories, or aesthetics if you haven’t the barbarian virtues won.
Theodore Roosevelt put it best when talking about his nation on the whole, but it applies to the individual as well:
“Over-sentimentality, over-softness, in fact washiness and mushiness are the great dangers of this age and of this people. Unless we keep the barbarian virtues, gaining the civilized ones will be of little avail.”
If a man isn’t dangerous enough to easily defeat bad men who are dangerous, then the ease, the softness, the emotion of human relationships, the civility we enjoy in our society, is lost.
It’s not enough for a man to know how to dial 9-1-1 and to wait for a cop to come to his rescue. By all means dial the number, but in the 15-minutes it takes for them to get there you’d better be able to successfully take matters into your own hands.
Be good at being a man before you even think about being a gentleman.
If you take that to heart, if you get in touch with who you are as a man, remove any feminine aspects from your personality, forge the barbarian virtues that are masculinity, and then polish it up with good, simple style.
You have to be a man before you can even think about being a gentleman. We’re lacking that
How to Look More Manly
The easiest way to look more manly is to be more manly. What’s being more manly? For that, you have to go back to its base, to be better at being a man not just merely good. Men are utilitarian.
We need to be able to protect our family, our women, our tribe, so get good at protecting, be a good fighter, warrior, learn to use guns and so forth. Learn how to fix things around your house. Become more successful, be the provider, the protector, not the fella wasting his money on clothes he can’t afford, looking silly in the process.
Adjust who you look to for style tips.
Look to Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and Teddy, not the latest celebrity with estrogen-filled veins.
