Manly Honor Part IV — The Gentlemen and the Roughs: The Collision of Two Honor Codes in the American North Welcome back to our series on manly honor. In our last post, I said that Northern and Southern honor would be covered in one article, and that future posts would be shorter. Neither turned out to be true. An exploration of honor in the American North during the 19th century offers a fascinating framework from which to build on and expand many of the concepts we discussed in our post on Victorian England’s Stoic-Christian honor code, while also digging into the tensions that emerged as a result of its creation – tensions that are still with us today. The Stoic-Christian Honor Code in the American North The Middle and Upper Classes: The Honor of Gentlemen The North experienced many of the same economic, geographic, and social changes – the rise of industrialization, increased mobility and urbanization, the spread of evangelical Christianity (which took the form of the Second Great Awakening in the US) — that had shaped Victorian England. The Working Class: The Honor of Roughs Conclusion
16 Habits You Should Do Every Day | KratosGuide.com February 24, 2014 UPDATE This post was very popular and the experiment that spawned the article is still going (over 700 days now…) Get the updated article with more insights and in .pdf format from the authors personal blog right here I. For a long time now I have been ruthlessly attacking the question of what it is I do with my days. Your daily habits are HIGHLY correlated with success or failure. I can’t talk this up enough. II. “We are what we repeatedly do. Before I get into the specifics of the rituals I’ve integrated into my life I think it’s important to understand the paradigms I’m operating under. Habits – A lifetime approach When considering doing something every day for forever you obviously consider what effect it would have on you. This is the algorithm I’ve used for proactively constructing my life. Follow me through a short aside and lets apply this algorithm to a different and arguably negative activity; drinking alcohol. Mastery – The “S” Curve Meta-meta-cognition III. 1.
50 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere Who needs a gym when there’s the living room floor? Bodyweight exercises are a simple, effective way to improve balance, flexibility, and strength without machinery or extra equipment. From legs and shoulders to chest and abs, we’ve covered every part of the body that can get stronger with body resistance alone. Full Body 1. Inchworm Stand up tall with the legs straight, and do like Lil’ Jon and let those fingertips hit the floor. 2. Standing with the knees slightly bent, jump up as high as possible (pretend Jeremy Lin is watching!) 3. Embrace that inner grizzly. 4. Starting on your hands and knees, bring the left foot forward directly under the chest while straightening the right leg. 5. Ready to catch some air? 6. Turn those stairs into a cardio machine—no magic wand necessary. 7. Beginning on all fours with the core engaged, slowly walk the hands forward, staying on the toes but not moving them forward. 8. 9. Nope, we’re (thankfully) not walking the plank. 10. Legs 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Be the CEO of Your Life: Using Resource Allocation To Become the Man You Want to Be In the business world, managers spend a lot of time juggling resource allocation. Every company has a finite amount of resources — whether it be financial capital or human capital — to use and spend in order to achieve the company’s strategic goals. Effective allocation generates growth and success, while ineffective allocation results in loss and failure. This delegation can become overwhelmingly complex and difficult because there are often several departments within an organization competing for a limited pool of resources. Stock market analysts often look to a company’s resource allocation to determine the health and direction of that business. How Do You Allocate Your Resources as a Man? In his book How Will You Measure Your Life? Imagine that an independent analyst opened the ledger book of your life and looked over reports detailing the way you spend your time and money. Time Spent in Given Week: Become the Boss of Your Life: How to Effectively Manage Your Personal Resources Mint.
22 Habits of Unhappy People Comments Tech | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities - Part 3 Well, it’s not exactly as advanced as you’re used to seeing in sci-fi movies, but China’s colorful robot-themed restaurant can be a sign of things to come. They’re probably going to render us extinct one day, so we might as well enjoy their servitude, while it lasts. A unique restaurant, in Harbin, China’s Heilongjiang Province, has 18 different robots doing all kinds of jobs, from ushering in guests to waiting tables and cooking various dishes.
A Primer on Greek Mythology: Part II — The Mortal World and Its Heroes Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Tony Valdes. Welcome back to our series on Greek mythology. In the last post we defined what a myth is and examined the pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses. Today we will leave the lofty heights of Olympus and come down to the mortal world. Don’t forget, we’re headed towards some ideas for application at the end of the series. That being said, remember that the goal here is not to delve into every detail and variation, but rather to paint with broad strokes to get the big picture. The Creation of Man Now that the Olympians were enthroned atop Mount Olympus, the human race could make its debut. Version #1 – Metal Men In this version, the Olympians themselves created men out of metal, starting with gold. Version #2 – The Gift of Prometheus In the more common Greek creation myth, Zeus put Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus in charge of creating men and animals. The First Woman The previous myths pertain only to the creation of man. Theseus Perseus
How to Be an Awesome Uncle Psychologists tell us that one of the most, if not the most important factor in our happiness is the number of quality relationships in our lives. Decades ago, such relationships were easy to come by. You were very likely to be surrounded by extended family who all got together often for loud and boisterous celebrations. As you grew up, you got to know your cousins, and your aunts and uncles as well. These days, many families live far apart, and family reunions are few and far between — often non-existent, it seems. But everybody still wants to feel part of a clan, and family ties are just as important as they ever were. In the role of uncle, you have a chance to forge those ties in positive ways with your nieces and nephews. Uncles have a unique and important role to play in families. The uncle role is especially important for men who are unmarried and don’t have kids of their own. How to Be an Awesome Uncle Interact with them. Offer to babysit if you live nearby. Be a good example.
How to Network & Socialize Effectively: A Comprehensive Guide Now, despite the fact I write about style and own a custom clothier, I rarely go out and socialize. Being a father of three young children and living in a small Wisconsin town…well, it just doesn’t happen. To put it bluntly – I really had to prepare for this! This article is based off my experience and lays out the steps I took to ensure my time spent out on the town was worthwhile. Here’s the scenario: You’re in a large city, heading to an upscale evening social event. This is my advice on how to prepare for a night of networking and socializing, and how to make the most of this opportunity. Before You Go: Basic Logistics Any Boy Scout knows you should always be prepared. With that in mind, here are some basic steps to review before you depart: 1. This one should be fairly obvious, but know where you’re meeting people. The address is the starting point, and here are a few other details you may need to know depending on what sort of event you’re attending: 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2.
A Man’s Primer on Greek Mythology: Part IV – The Odyssey and Applying What We’ve Learned Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Tony Valdes. Welcome back to our series on Greek mythology. In the previous posts we established mythology’s core elements by examining the gods of Olympus, the creation of mankind, the mortal heroes, and the ten-year conflict of the Trojan War. In this final post, we will take the knowledge we have acquired and suggest a few practical applications that will help us achieve our goal of becoming better men. Homer’s The Odyssey As you will recall from the last post, Odysseus is the king of Ithaca and one of the heroes of the Trojan War. You also might recall that Odysseus never wanted to join the war; he only leaves his wife Penelope and infant son Telemachus because he is forced to honor an oath. You may have read The Odyssey before, perhaps in grade school or for a classics course in college. I’ve taught The Odyssey to high school students for five years, so I know the obstacles you’ll encounter while (re)reading Homer’s epic. Greek Hospitality
Manvotional: The Courage to Face Ingratitude With Thanksgiving this week, many minds will be turning to the things they are grateful for. But here’s a twist on the subject not often explored: what do you do when others do not share your attitude of gratitude and your good turns go unappreciated? Our good friend William George Jordan offers up a veritable cornucopia of powerful thoughts.“The Courage to Face Ingratitude”From The Power of Truth; Individual Problems and Possibilities, 1902By William George Jordan INGRATITUDE, the most popular sin of humanity, is forgetfulness of the heart. It is the revelation of the emptiness of pretended loyalty. Ingratitude is a crime more despicable than revenge, which is only returning evil for evil, while ingratitude returns evil for good… Gratitude is thankfulness expressed in action. The expectation of gratitude is human; the rising superior to ingratitude is almost divine. In justice to ourselves we should not permit the ingratitude of a few to make us condemn the whole world.
Unlocking the Science of Habits: How to Hack the Habit Loop & Become the Man You Want to Be For better or for worse, our habits shape us. A good habit is a strong ally in our journey to becoming the men we want to be, while a bad habit acts like a millstone around our necks. (Want to know why? Read this Manvotional.) To achieve our goals, whatever they may be, it’s necessary to defeat our bad habits and encourage the good ones. Fortunately for me, a book was published earlier this year that highlights the latest research by psychologists and neuroscientists on the science of habit formation. Below, we take a look at the science of habits and how we can hack the Habit Loop in our lives to break bad habits and make better ones. Our Brain on Habits Just beneath our gray and squiggly cerebral cortex sits a small piece of neural tissue called the basal ganglia. The inspiration came after researchers noticed that mice with injured basal ganglia developed problems with learning how to run through mazes. The Habit Loop Cue. And as it is with mice, so it goes with humans. That’s it.