A Man’s Life

Manvotional: The Builders

by Brett & Kate McKay

The Builders By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. Nothing useless is, or low; Each thing in its place is best; And what seems but idle show Strengthens and supports the rest. For the structure that [...]

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The Generations of Men: How the Cycles of History Shape Your Values, Your Idea of Manhood, and Your Future

by Brett & Kate McKay

As is the generation of leaves, so to of men: At one time the wind shakes the leaves to the ground but then the flourishing woods Gives birth, and the season of spring comes into existence; So it is with the generations of men, which alternately come forth and pass away. – Homer, The Illiad, Book [...]

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Cunning as a Serpent, Innocent as a Dove: The Art of Worldly Wisdom

by Brett & Kate McKay

Back when I was in high school, a mentor of mine gave me a copy of a small book that I’ve read and re-read several times over the years. The Art of Worldly Wisdom or The Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence, is a book of 300 maxims and commentary written by a 17th century Jesuit priest [...]

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Leadership Lessons from Dwight D. Eisenhower #3: How to Make an Important Decision

by Brett & Kate McKay

The complexity of planning and executing Operation Overlord — the largest amphibious assault in world history — was truly staggering. The mission involved formulating deception plans, building artificial harbors along the British coastline, figuring out how to effectively launch 12,000 planes and 7,000 vessels, land 24,000 paratroopers into enemy territory, get 160,000 troops across the [...]

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An Unimagined Success

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). How many times have we hoped for a specific type of success, only to have it elude us? We dream of being an Olympic sprinter, a prize-winning surgeon, or a writer of the great American novel. But [...]

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Becoming Well-Spoken: How to Minimize Your Uh’s and Um’s

by Brett & Kate McKay

In the pursuit of becoming a better man, becoming well-spoken is a task that should not be overlooked. How you speak is a huge component of the impression you make on others, and thus your potential influence on them. People will form judgments about your education, intelligence, background, and personality simply based on the sound [...]

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The Autonomous Man in an Other-Directed World

by Brett & Kate McKay

“The struggle between the autonomous few and the non-autonomous many — is only beginning.” -The Lonely Crowd First published in 1950 as a sociological analysis of American life, The Lonely Crowd became a surprising bestseller; its authors, David Riesman and his collaborators, had expected it to be of interest only to fellow academics, and yet [...]

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Leadership Lessons from Dwight D. Eisenhower #2: How to Not Let Anger and Criticism Get the Best of You

by Brett & Kate McKay

On the Halloween when Dwight D. Eisenhower was ten years old, his parents let his two older brothers go trick-or-treating, but told Ike he was too young to accompany them. Having eagerly anticipated a night of fun and freedom, Dwight was crushed. He argued his case for why he should be allowed to go out, [...]

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Leadership Lessons from Dwight D. Eisenhower #1: How to Build and Sustain Morale

by Brett & Kate McKay

Dwight D. Eisenhower had unarguably one of the longest and most taxing leadership roles in American history. For two decades, the lives of thousands, sometimes millions, of people and the fate of great nations hung on his decisions. As Supreme Allied Commander during World War II, Eisenhower oversaw the greatest amphibious assault in history, organizing [...]

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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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