Why You Need a Wise Male Mentor (DQ Solo)

#115:

“Mature men need to admire other men, living and dead.

We especially need to have contact with older men whom we can look up to.”

• Robert Moore and Douglass Gillette, King Warrior Magician Lover

 

I received an email from one of our readers a few days ago who shared the following:

 

“At some point after 40, I accepted that mentors and leaders may not be in the cards for me after my only {older male} mentor died earlier this year.”

 

This saddened me.

 

The idea of a man going through some of the most challenging and transformative years of his life…

 

…without the guidance or counsel of someone who had been there before…

 

…is upsetting and unacceptable to me. 

 

Why is it that most men in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s have no “wise elder” male mentor to look up to?

 

Where have all the wise male mentors gone?

 

We need our wiser, older brothers.

Our older, wiser brothers need us too.

 

In today’s episode, I share with you the story of the wise elder who had the greatest impact on my life as a young man (ages 18-22):

 

Dean Richard Mateer, University of Richmond.

 

He taught me, with so very few words, what it meant to elevate from boyish behavior.

He called me forward to a standard of healthy masculinity that sits at my core today.

He showed me what it was like to be a leader.

 

I love you, Dean Mateer.

 

We need more of you.

-DQ