Life Lessons from The Old Man and the Sea. “Que va,” the boy said, “It is what a man must do.” “Success” is all too often assumed to be the indicator of the value of a man. But success, in and of itself, merely speaks to a particular status and may have nothing to do with the journey that the man took to get there, or whether or not he retained his integrity along the way. Among the many aspects of the story, it is the idea of redefining success and victory that makes The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella, so profound.
It is a seemingly simple story: Santiago is an old, experienced fisherman who hasn’t brought in a catch for months. On the 85th day of this dry spell, he heads far out into the Gulf of Mexico where he hooks a giant marlin. Unable to pull the fish into his skiff, he holds onto the line for three days before killing it with a harpoon. Yes, a simple story on the surface, but also a tale with a much deeper message and a relevance that transcends time and place. “A man is not made for defeat.” “No. Manvotional: Cynicism. In my post on the Switch of Nature, I contended that cynicism constitutes one of the greatest threats to manliness. There were a couple of comments in reply which argued that cynicism is not wholly unhealthy. And I agree; I did not mean that cynicism is always bad, rather that it is bad in unhealthy amounts.
This selection, from a century’s old Atlantic Monthly article, does a nice job of explaining the need for balancing the strengths and weaknesses of this characteristic. From “CYNICISM,” 1904By Arthur Stanwood Pier One of the seeming waywardnesses of our human nature is the respect for a cynic that lurks in nearly every heart. The respect is not for his character, certainly not for his disposition; but it goes out to him as a man of intellect, and is often disproportionate to his ability.
To hear that a man is cynical is to accept him as of superior intelligence. Hence we find him excellent company. This, however, is not the only cause that contributes to the general deference. How to Stock a Home Bar. Editor’s note: This is a guest post from AoM reader Jeff Trexler. For the gentleman who enjoys entertaining, a properly stocked bar is a must. A well-mixed drink can help schmooze a boss, romance a date, and impress a friend.
Mixing drinks at home for friends and family makes me feel like some swanky 1960s gentleman pouring drinks in his Space Age-inspired mid-century home. I love that feeling. Starting a home bar can seem like a daunting task to any man, but it doesn’t need to be so. Becoming a home mixologist should be fun! Today I hope to show you that stocking a home bar can be affordable and easy. The Home Bar Rules Home Bar Rule #1: Pick alcohol you actually enjoy imbibing. Another reason I recommend picking spirits you enjoy is that the home bar is your chance to share your personal tastes with your friends and neighbors. Home Bar Rule #2: Start small. So my advice to the man just starting out: start small, grow gradually. Alcohol Gin. Vodka. My go-to vodka is Grey Goose. Tequila. 10 Cheap Date Ideas She’ll Actually Love.
Manvotional: The Know-It-All State of Mind. From “New Mexico,” 1928By DH Lawrence Superficially, the world has become small and known. Poor little globe of earth, the tourists trot round you as easily as they trot round the Bois or round Central Park. There is no mystery left, we’ve been there, we’ve seen it, we know all about it. We’ve done the globe, and the globe is done.
This is quite true, superficially. The same is true of land travel. As a matter of fact, our great-grandfathers, who never went anywhere, in actuality had more experience of the world than we have, who have seen everything. We are mistaken. Manvotional: Energetic Men. Energetic Men We love upright, energetic men. Pull them this way, and then that way, and the other, and they only bend, but never break. Trip them down, and in a trice they are on their feet. Bury them in the mud, and in an hour they will be out and bright. They are not ever yawning away existence, or walking about the world as if they had come into it with only half their soul; you cannot keep them down; you cannot destroy them. But for these the world would soon degenerate. From Readings for Young Men, Merchants, and Men of Business, 1866. The 5 Switches of Manliness: Legacy. We started the last post in this series with a surprising fact–that only about 33% of our ancestors were male.
We’ll begin this post the same way: When the Titanic sunk, the survival rate for the rich, first class men (34%), was lower than that for the poor, third-class women (46%). Most people know that the Titanic had less lifeboats than were needed for the number of passengers, and that the richest passengers were given first dibs on those limited seats. And yet, the numbers tell an interesting tale. Women and children first. The Expendability of Men The answer goes back to what we discussed last time in the Switch of Challenge and can be traced to the biological differences between men and women. In World War I, there were 9.7 million, almost exclusively male, military deaths. 6,026 American service members have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Men made up 93% of the 6,000 on-the-job deaths last year.
The Chance for Immortality She looked at me blankly. “What?” She hadn’t. The 5 Switches of Manliness: Nature. In this Switches of Manliness series, we’ve been talking about those unique parts of a man’s psyche that have fallen into disuse in the modern world and need to be reactivated. But there’s likely some overlap between the needs of men and the needs of women; for example, primitive women used to be quite physical too, and I think modern women need to have an element of physicality in their lives as well. But with this switch, there’s definitely more than a little overlap. The Switch of Nature is for everyone. Men. Women. Children. Squirrels. Man’s Separation from Nature: The Third “Frontier” With the rest of the switches, there was a good amount of theorizing going on as we looked back in time and tried to uncover the life and perspective of primitive man. A life that centered on a deep, vital connection to nature was the norm for humans for tens of thousands of years.
My grandpa sold his ranch over ten years ago. Nature and a Man’s Health At the Tulsa Zoo, there is a polar bear exhibit. The Art of Manliness | Men’s Interests and Lifestyle. Win the War on Debt: 80 Ways to Be Frugal and Save Money. The manliness of frugality cannot be overstated. Frugality cultivates the manly qualities of independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, simplicity, and minimalism. It keeps a man free from the enslaving chains of debt and gives him an sense of manly pride and satisfaction. Frugality build a man’s immunity to the siren call of “stuff,” helps him learn to make do with less, and adds pleasure and happiness to his life by providing opportunities to practice delayed gratification. Frugality also fosters the DIY spirit and inspires a man to create, instead of consume. We could wax long and poetic about the manliness of frugality but let’s get down to the brass tacks: how does a man become frugal?
We’ve created this list of 80 practical–and often pretty painless–ways to save money. Victory over debt is at hand! Automobile/Travel 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Dressing and Grooming 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Health and Fitness 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
Food 31. 32. Creating and Consuming: How to Be Mature. After doing the podcast on the “Making of Modern Immaturity” a few months ago, and reading the comments left on that post, I got to thinking about this question: “What makes a man mature anyway?” Masculine maturity used to be easy to spot and define: a man got married, sired some progeny, and got a job to support his family. He knew he was a grown man and everybody else did too. These days those kinds of markers are being put off more and more.
There are a variety of reasons for this, some cultural, some economic. And while I personally believe that getting married and having kids is one of the most effective ways to grow and mature as a man, I’m not comfortable saying that men who don’t do these things aren’t mature men. The problem is, in the absence of these old markers of maturity, guys don’t know how to transition from boys to men. So I’d like to suggest a definition of maturity for our modern age. Create More, Consume Less. Boys are consumers. The Weakening of Man’s Free Agency. How and Why to Start a Journal.
My grandpa, Bill Hurst, was a journal writer his entire life. His journal was quite simple. He just kept a small notebook in the pocket of his pearl snap shirts and jotted down a short description of the things he did and the people he did it with. This is something he did pretty much every day for his entire life. He also kept extensive diaries of his time as a forest ranger in the Wasatch Range. About 12 years ago, my grandpa took all these diaries and daily journal entries and began to write his memoir for his children and grandchildren.
The finished product was a 500 page behemoth filled with stories from my grandfather’s life. Here’s just a few of the interesting things I learned from reading it: My grandpa met my grandma by hitting on her while she worked as a telephone operator.My grandpa helped pay for college by playing pool.He worked as a sheep herder during the summers in high school and college. There’s more. Great Men Keep Journals I could go on, but I think you get the idea. 5 Items to Snap You Out of Your Digital Writing Routine. This content is brought to you by the new Hyundai Elantra which helps you “Snap Out” of your routine to live your best life. Click here to learn more about the new 2011 Elantra. What’s this? Tis the age of clickety clack. Well, more like just clickety. When modern man writes these days, chances are he’s hammering away at his computer’s keyboard or working his thumbs over his phone’s keypad. The use of pen and paper has fallen by the wayside.
But while technology has made communication easy and convenient, traditional methods of writing should not be totally forgotten. By scanning the brain, researchers have found that writing by hand improves memory, cognitive activity, and the expression of ideas. So writing with pen (or pencil) and paper can really keep your mind sharp and your ideas fresh. Col. Every man should keep a journal. Maybe you’re among the millions of people who have tried to start a journal, but never got into the habit. Price: $142 Fountain Pen We sign documents every day. The Art of Conversation: How to Avoid Conversational Narcissism.