Manvotional

I think we all have gone trough periods of our lives where we feel like we’re stuck in neutral.  Sometimes too much stress and pressure or just too much laziness can push us into a rut that seems impossible to get out of. The hardest part of getting out of a rut for me is [...]

Image from paoloboza
I ran across this poem by an anonymous author the other day. I think it sums up nicely how a man should approach life: play fair, don’t whine when things don’t go your way, and bust your butt in everything you do. Play the game of life well, and you’ll be a success.

This following essay appeared in the New York Times in 1995. As a young man, I remember it making a deep impression on me for reasons I couldn’t then quite articulate, and I cut it out and have saved it ever since. To a time in which the holidays have often become overly-commercialized and stripped [...]

William Shakespeare’s words speak across generations and cultures. In this scene, Polonius gives a bit of fatherly advice to his son Laertes before he heads off to France. While all the advice is good, the best doesn’t come until the end- “To thine own self be true.” Be a man of honor and integrity. Live [...]

In a speech, Roosevelt extolled the manly virtues that every boy and man should develop: hard work, courage, and a disposition to do good. The lack of men of character in the world today makes this speech relevant even today. As fathers or mentors, let us seek to raise up a generation of boys like [...]

We all face challenges in our lives. What separates men of character from spineless wieners is the way they face those challenges. In the poem “Invictus,” British poet William Ernest Henley describes how a man should respond to challenges. “Invictus” is Latin for “unconquerable.” Every man should have an unconquerable spirit. When life kicks you [...]

It is in times of turmoil and strife that true manliness is shown. A life without adversity makes a man weak, dull, and effeminate. In his essay, On Providence, the Roman philosopher Seneca discuses the importance of adversity in shaping a man’s life. According to Seneca, it is only through adversity that the Great Man [...]