From the category archives:

A Man's Life

The World Belongs to Those Who Hustle

by Brett

We get a lot of emails from men lamenting the fact that they feel stuck in neutral and asking for advice. Many of these men have great aspirations, but that’s all they have. Aspirations. Many don’t have any results to show for all their ambitious goals in life. Some are on year seven of a [...]

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Boosting Your Resiliency-Part 2: Avoiding Learned Helplessness and Changing Your Explanatory Style

by Brett & Kate McKay

This is the second part in a new series designed to help you boost your resiliency. For an introduction, see here.
Starting in 1967, Dr. Martin Seligman began a series of experiments involving 3 groups of dogs. The first group of dogs were given electric shocks, but were able to press a panel with their nose [...]

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Motivational Posters: Black History Month Edition

by Brett & Kate McKay

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Here in the States, February is Black History Month. So we decided to commemorate the month with a special edition of our motivational posters series, featuring some of history’s most influential African-Americans and their powerful words of wisdom. An excellent way to start off your week! Enjoy.

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In Defense of Nostalgia

by Brett & Kate McKay

One criticism that is occasionally leveled at this site is that we are “overly nostalgic.” The critic will say that we are promoting the false idea that everything was better in the past.
Now you won’t find anywhere on the entire site where we argue that everything was better in the “good old days.” Anyone who’s [...]

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Building Your Resiliency: Part 1-An Introduction

by Brett & Kate McKay

How did you do on the hardihood quiz?
Not so hot? Well join the club.
There are a lot of virtues lacking in the current generation of men, but I think an argument can be made that our lack of resiliency is the most critical.
And I say that as a man who has himself struggled to live [...]

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Lessons in Manliness: Chuck Yeager

by Brett & Kate McKay

“In this fraternity…the world was divided into those that had it and those who did not. This quality, this it, was never named, however, nor was it talked about in any way. As to just what this ineffable quality was…well, it obviously involved bravery. But it was not bravery in the simple sense of being [...]

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The Decline of Male Space

by Brett

Once upon a time, the world belonged to men.
Literally.
Because men had exclusive power in both private and public life, they controlled their surrounding environment and the way in which space was designed and decorated. Consequently, the world was once a very masculine place.
Thankfully, we’ve made progress in the area of gender equality and women have [...]

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The Civilian Conservation Corps: Training a Generation in Manliness

by Brett

Men of the CCC at Work and Play
Source: National Parks Service
Editors Note: If you’ve ever been camping, you’ve probably hiked on a trail or used a lodge that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. But just what was the CCC? In this article, Philip Rodney Moon explains the origin of this New Deal program [...]

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45 Manly Hobbies

by Brett & Kate McKay

Back in the day, leisure time was not thought of as a chance to “veg out,” but as opportunity to pursue one’s passions and interests, an outlet for the sides of a man that were not stimulated in one’s career. Unfortunately, we now often spend our leisure time camped out in front of the TV [...]

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The “Secret” to Becoming a Better Man in 2010

by Brett & Kate McKay

It’s a new year, a time for both gazing into the future and reflecting on the past. As you look back on the last year, how do you feel about the way it went? Do you have the sinking feeling that you are in the same place mentally/professionally/romantically/spiritually that you were 12 months ago? That [...]

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Motivational Posters: Winston Churchill Edition (Part II)

by Brett & Kate McKay

Since we are gearing up for the new year and pondering the task of improving ourselves in 2010, we thought it was a good time to hear from old Churchill again, master of giving men a needed kick in the pants. Hopefully these posters will leave you feeling motivated to get yourself in gear. For [...]

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11 Ways to Get Into the Holiday Spirit

by Brett & Kate McKay

“Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.” ~Francis C. Farley
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There are just two [...]

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Forging Habits of Steel: 7 Tips on Making and Breaking Habits

by Brett & Kate McKay

Habits make the man. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” If you want to be productive, you need the habit of planning. If you want to be physically fit, you need the habit of exercise. When you take a look at the habits in your life, what are they saying about you?
If you [...]

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Amusing Ourselves Out of Our Manhood

by Brett & Kate McKay

“How television stages the world becomes the model for how the world is properly to be staged. It is not merely that on the television screen entertainment is the metaphor for all discourse. It is that off the screen the same metaphor prevails. As typography once dictated the style of conducting politics, religion, business, education, [...]

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The Art of Manliness Holiday Gift Guide 2009

by Brett & Kate McKay

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The holiday season is officially here and that means it’s time for the giving and receiving of gifts. Men are notoriously hard to shop for, so we’ve once again created a holiday gift guide full of manly gifts that we think many Art of Manliness men will dig. We don’t include the latest gizmos like [...]

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