[September 15, 2015] I am taking a little detour into a lighthearted discussion about the Art of Manliness. In doing so I want to accomplish two things; first, to draw attention to an internet blog dedicated to the lost art of manliness and second, to reinforce a theme of mine here at theLeaderMaker.com about manly sports. What cool about this topic is that it drives people with weak intellectual skills absolutely crazy. So today we’ll be a little extra optimistic.
A few months ago I stumbled upon a website that immediately got my attention. It’s called … The Art of Manliness! The authors Brett and Kate McKay are doing a fantastic job putting out stories on manliness and actually give us some great information too. They are of the opinion, and I share that same opinion, that “men today feel adrift and have lost the confidence, focus, skills, and virtues that men of the past embodied.”1
Brett and Kate believe this is largely due to a lack of direction offered to men in our popular culture. Their blog is generated to help fill the void of direction and aim their content directly at men and their unique challenges and interests. What could be better? They promote the idea that men can be better husbands, fathers, brothers, and citizens. I will add that this also promotes better leadership in men. Great work guys and please keep up the good works.
The second thing I would like to draw your attention to is my on-going idea that manliness is promoted through sports. Yes, it is true that both men and women participate in sports and it does encourage and help train future leaders but my focus is on men. Sports help make for a better man. That is why I point out those sports which involve the greatest amount of daring and chutzpah2. We often hear that men are just dumb jocks because of their interest in sports but, it is my belief that it makes them better overall as a person and as a leader.
Vince Lombardi the great football coach – of days gone by – said, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” Lombardi would have made a great military man as well. He believed in those things that make us better people: perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Manliness is not defined through sheer physical strength, although it certainly is a part of it, but through determination to be a better man in our relationships with others, especially with women. Brett and Kate McKay are doing their best to help show us the way.
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- http://www.artofmanliness.com/about-2/
- My Jewish friend in New Jersey recommended I use the expression chutzpah meaning “he’s got a lot of spunk.” My peers in the U.S. Army Infantry use the word audacity which has a similar meaning and I used them both in the positive sense of the definition. See Wikipedia for a history of the term chutzpah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah