A Man’s Life

The Importance of Building Your Vocabulary (And 5 Easy Steps to Doing It)

by Brett & Kate McKay

Awhile back, we offered advice on how to remove empty filler from your speech by minimizing how often you say “uh” and “um.” Today, we’re going to talk about removing another kind of filler from your speech (and your writing as well): empty words. Just like empty calories have the form of food but offer [...]

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“What the Young Man Should Know” From Harper’s Magazine 1933

by Brett & Kate McKay

Editor’s note: An AoM reader recently wrote me a letter recommending I look up this old essay, which originally appeared in Harper’s Magazine in March 1933. I did so, and was delighted by what I found. In the piece, Robert Littell takes on a classic genre: the listing of those skills every man should know. [...]

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Manly Honor: Part I — What Is Honor?

by Brett

Across cultures and time, honor and manliness have been inextricably tied together. In many cases, they were synonymous. Honor lost was manhood lost. Because honor was such a central aspect of a man’s masculine identity, men would go to great lengths to win honor and prevent its loss. If we take even a cursory look at history, [...]

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Of Men and Nicknames

by Brett & Kate McKay

Back in high school, my close male friends called me “Mama McKay.” It started out as a way to poke fun at my tendency to make sure everyone was taken care of and for being the guy who’d say “Fellas, maybe we shouldn’t be doing this,” whenever we were about to take part in some [...]

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Manvotional: The Power of Purpose

by Brett & Kate McKay

From Talks to Young Men, 1897 By Charles Henry Parkhurst When calculating the prospects of a young man, and the likelihood of his being able to go through life without being taken off his feet, I always want to know whether he stands for anything in particular. A written sentence may be mere words or [...]

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Lessons Learned from Longfellow’s Blacksmith

by A Manly Guest Contributor

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness. With last Monday being Labor Day, the unofficial end of Summer, I want to talk to you about determination, iron will, and hard work: lessons that I’ve learned from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Village Blacksmith.” My aim is to inspire you to [...]

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Vintage Business Motivational Posters from the 1920s & 1930s

by Brett & Kate McKay

Today’s business motivational posters — symbolized most prominently by “Sucessories” — are the butt of many a joke. But back in your grandpa’s day, they were an art form. Not only that, but motivational posters from the first few decades of the 20th century provide a window into America’s changing idea of manhood. During the [...]

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How to Treat Life Like an Experiment

by A Manly Guest Contributor

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Erik Kennedy from The Bucket List Society. I was quite scared when I woke up Monday morning. I hadn’t set my alarm the night before, and I didn’t know if it was 7 AM, 11 AM, or somewhere in-between. How late was I for work? To make [...]

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Count No Man Happy Until the End Is Known

by Brett & Kate McKay

As Herodotus tells it, Croesus, the ancient king of Lydia, was once visited at his palace by Solon, a wise sage and Athenian lawgiver. The king was delighted to have the itinerant philosopher in residence, and welcomed him with warm hospitality. For several days, Croesus instructed his servants to show off the full measure of [...]

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Manvotional: The Majesty of Calmness

by Brett & Kate McKay

“The Majesty of Calmness” From Self Control, Its Kingship and Majesty, 1905 By William George JordanCalmness is the rarest quality in human life. It is the poise of a great nature, in harmony with itself and its ideals. It is the moral atmosphere of a life self-reliant and self-controlled. Calmness is singleness of purpose, absolute [...]

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12 Concentration Exercises from 1918

by Brett & Kate McKay

Does your mind flit from one thing to another? Do you have trouble focusing on something for more than a few minutes? Do you consequently have a bunch of half-finished projects lying around the house, and a dozen half-baked ideas still knocking around in your cranium, and thus a pile of regrets about where you’re [...]

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A Timeless Tradition: A Man’s Treasure Box

by Brett

“We used to wait in the library in the evening until we could hear his key rattling in the latch of the front hall, and then rush out to greet him; and we would troop into his room while he was dressing, to stay there as long as we were permitted, eagerly examining anything which [...]

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Heading Out on Your Own — Day 1: Develop a Self-Reliant Mentality

by Brett & Kate McKay

The first thing we’re going to cover in this series on 31 bits of know-how you should learn before heading out on your own, is really more of a mind-set than a skill-set, but it’s a crucial building block that will lay the foundation for the rest of the “harder,” more practical skills we’ll be [...]

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Introducing Heading Out On Your Own: 31 Basic Life Skills in 31 Days

by Brett & Kate McKay

Growing up, Dwight D. Eisenhower (yes, Ike again — I couldn’t fit all the great facts about him into our leadership series!) was responsible for many chores around the house and for looking after his younger brothers. When his mother got sick and was quarantined in a room in the house for several months, Ike [...]

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Bosom Buddies: A Photo History of Male Affection

by Brett & Kate McKay

In my unending search for just the right vintage images for our articles, I have looked through thousands of photographs of men from the last century or so. One of the things that I have found most fascinating about many of these images, is the ease, familiarity, and intimacy, which men used to exhibit in [...]

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Leadership Lessons from Dwight D. Eisenhower #4: Always Ready

by Brett & Kate McKay

Supreme Allied Commander. Head of the American Occupation Zone in Germany. Chief of Staff. President of Columbia University. Supreme Commander of NATO. President of the United States of America. To read a list of the positions that Dwight D. Eisenhower held during his life truly makes you reflect on what a remarkable man he really [...]

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Getting Tough With Yourself

by A Manly Guest Contributor

Editor’s note: This is guest post from Marcus Brotherton. It originally ran on Men Who Lead Well (www.marcusbrotherton.com). One harmful mindset that can keep a man from fulfilling his calling and potential is self-coddling. This is when he convinces himself he deserves a break, and runs to something that ultimately harms himself. The WWII Marines of K/3/5 [...]

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A Man Is Punctual: The Reasons You’re Late and How to Always Be on Time

by Brett & Kate McKay

Read Part I: The Importance of Being on Time Being punctual is a skill any man can master; it doesn’t take any special talents or abilities. But even if you feel it’s an important trait to develop, you may still struggle with being on time and find the habit of always running late extremely difficult [...]

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A Man Is Punctual: The Importance of Being on Time

by Brett & Kate McKay

The life of George Washington was characterized by a scrupulous regard for punctuality. When he asked a man to bring by some horses he was interested in buying at five in the morning, and the man arrived fifteen minutes late, he was told by the stable groom that the general had been waiting there at [...]

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