A Man’s Life

Want to Feel Like a Man? Then Act Like One

by Brett

Since starting The Art of Manliness nearly five years ago, I’ve interacted with thousands of men from all over the world. One thing that I’ve learned over the years is that many grown men out there simply don’t feel like men. I’m not talking about “feeling like a man” in the cartoonish, hyper-masculine sense. Rather, [...]

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Manvotional: Somebody’s Mother

by Brett & Kate McKay

An old sentimental poem in honor of Mother’s Day. Somebody’s Mother By Mary D. Brine The woman was old and ragged and gray, And bent with the chill of a winter’s day; The streets were white with a recent snow, And the woman’s feet with age were slow. At the crowded crossing she waited long, [...]

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Can’t Have the Sweet Without the Bitter

by Brett & Kate McKay

I’m a big fan of the classic 1960s-era television show, The Twilight Zone. Even when you can see the episodes’ famous twists coming a mile away, they’re still enjoyable to watch, as the show managed to niftily combine elements of science-fiction, suspense, psychological thrills…and even a little social commentary and abstract philosophy. One of my [...]

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What the Race to the South Pole Can Teach You About How to Achieve Your Goals

by Brett & Kate McKay

In 1910, two explorers began their quests to become the first men to ever set foot upon the southernmost point on earth. It was the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration,” and the South Pole represented one of the last unexplored areas on earth. Robert Falcon Scott hoped to claim the bottom of the world for [...]

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Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Temperance

by Brett & Kate McKay

From The Cardinal Virtues, 1902 By William De Witt Hyde TEMPERANCE Temperance is closely akin to courage; for as courage takes on the pains which wisdom and justice find incidental to their ends, so temperance cuts off remorselessly whatever pleasures are inconsistent with these ends. The temperate man does not hate pleasure, any more than [...]

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A History of the American Bachelor: Part III — The 20th and 21st Century

by Brett & Kate McKay

Welcome back to our series on the history of the American bachelor. In Part I of the series, we took a look at the bachelor during colonial and Revolutionary War America. In Part II, we discussed the emergence of a distinct bachelor culture at the turn of the 20th century. Today, we’ll jump ahead to [...]

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Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Courage

by Brett & Kate McKay

From The Cardinal Virtues, 1902 By William De Witt Hyde COURAGE If man were merely a mind, wisdom to see particular desires in the light of their permanent consequences to self, and justice to weigh the interests of self to the impartial scales of a due regard for the interests of others, would together sum [...]

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A History of the American Bachelor: Part II — Post-Civil War America

by Brett & Kate McKay

Welcome back to our series on the history of the American bachelor. Last time we discussed the bachelor in colonial and Revolutionary War America where we learned about his origins as well as the laws and taxes levied specifically against single men. Today we turn our focus to the state of the American bachelor after [...]

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Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Justice

by Brett & Kate McKay

From The Cardinal Virtues, 1902 By William De Witt Hyde JUSTICE If man dwelt alone in a world of things, wisdom to subordinate things to his ends would be the principal virtue. The form of the perfect character would be a circle, with self as the center. The fact that we live in a social [...]

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Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Wisdom

by Brett & Kate McKay

What are the most important virtues for a man to live? Benjamin Franklin had his program of thirteen. We based our Manvotionals book on a set of seven. But is it possible to refine such lists further and whittle the large group of worthy human virtues down to its core? It is in fact, and [...]

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The Tool Works at Both Ends

by Brett & Kate McKay

From chipping out spearheads in primitive times to modern day tinkering with computer chips, men have always been very connected to their tools. For thousands of years tools have magnified and extended our natural abilities, allowing us to gain power and control over nature and our circumstances and better fulfill our roles as providers and [...]

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16 Manly Last Words

by Brett & Kate McKay

We’ve always been intrigued by the last words of others. What did a person use his final mortal breaths to utter? What were they thinking about? Were they scared as they glimpsed the great beyond? Or did they brace up and stoically give up the ghost? The following 16 men looked death in the eye [...]

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The Cabinet of Invisible Counselors

by Brett & Kate McKay

Have you ever had a discussion with someone who posed this question: “If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be?” It’s an interesting question to consider, but one that doesn’t have to remain strictly a hypothetical. Now, of course you can’t drag the bones of history’s greatest [...]

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4 Basic Life Lessons from Basic Training

by A Manly Guest Contributor

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mike Inscho. If you’ve been a reader of The Art of Manliness for more than a day, you know Brett, Kate, and all of the regular contributors do a fantastic job of searching out and relaying habits of great men to us. Men like Ernest Shackleton, Henry [...]

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Manvotional: Discipline-The Means to an End

by Brett & Kate McKay

I thought this Manvotional went well with this week’s article on “Freedom From…Freedom To.” From Self-Knowledge and Self-Discipline, 1916 By Basil William Maturin We do not endure [self-discipline] merely for its own sake, but for what lies beyond it. And we bear those acts of self-denial and self-restraint because we feel and know full well [...]

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Freedom From…Freedom To

by Brett & Kate McKay

There are two kinds of freedom. Freedom from (negative freedom) and freedom to (positive freedom). The splitting of freedom into this binary framework can be traced at least back to Kant, was articulated by Erich Fromm in his 1941 work, Escape from Freedom, made famous by Isaiah Berlin’s 1958 essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” and [...]

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How and Why to Write Your Own Personal Manifesto

by A Manly Guest Contributor

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Zach Sumner. “I only read nautical novels and my own personal manifestos.” – Ron Swanson If I were to say the word “manifesto,” you might think of either Communists or serial killers. This is understandable; the word has taken a beating over the years. But what if [...]

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The 4 Qualities of a True Statesman

by Brett & Kate McKay

Here in the United States, the inauguration of our next president is a year away, and the Republican primary season is in full swing. Journalists and pundits dissect the candidates’ every speech, appearance, and debate, analyzing what they did right or wrong, and who is waxing and waning in the polls. These talking heads, along [...]

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Manvotional: Be Faithful

by Brett & Kate McKay

From Courage, 1894 By Charles Wagner Steadfastness is the indispensable quality of every man who one day does not wish to be obliged to say: “I have wasted my life.” A man should not incessantly change with every impression of the moment, but should remain steadfast when he has once determined upon what is right. [...]

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← Previous Entries

A Man’s Life

Want to Feel Like a Man? Then Act Like One

Manvotional: Somebody’s Mother

Can’t Have the Sweet Without the Bitter

What the Race to the South Pole Can Teach You About How to Achieve Your Goals

Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Temperance

A History of the American Bachelor: Part III — The 20th and 21st Century

Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Courage

A History of the American Bachelor: Part II — Post-Civil War America

Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Justice

Manvotional: The Cardinal Virtues — Wisdom

The Tool Works at Both Ends

16 Manly Last Words

The Cabinet of Invisible Counselors

4 Basic Life Lessons from Basic Training

Manvotional: Discipline-The Means to an End

Freedom From…Freedom To

How and Why to Write Your Own Personal Manifesto

The 4 Qualities of a True Statesman

Manvotional: Be Faithful

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