Knowledge For Men

Babette Hughes, did not start writing until her 80’s and has now become a prolific author of books like The Red Scar, The Hat and Lost and Found, and co-author of Why College Students Fail. Now 93, she writes every day with a fluidity and grace of a woman half her age; her most recent novel is Searching For Vivian. Her earned wisdom has enriched her contributions to the Huffington Post. Favorite Success Quote “When you accept the events that happen to you, you accept life, and when you accept life, life accepts you” Key Points 1. Stop Worrying About the Pressures of Society  As a man, society places tremendous pressure on you to live up to the standards it has unrealistically set. If you don’t drive the fastest car, own the biggest house, have the biggest paycheck, lift the most weight, be the most masculine and classically manly man yet also be the most sensitive and kind hearted lover that you can be then you have failed tremendously. Men, just stop! Live your life, love your life and be there for the people who really matter. You will not be on your death bed wishing you had made more money or owned a bigger house, you will wish that you had spent more time doing things you love with people you love. Life is too darn short to be unhappy. 2. Don’t Fear Failure, Embrace It  Mistakes are often looked at as a failure, something that you cannot recover from and something that will permanently tarnish your name. This isn’t true. Mistakes and failures are how you learn and how you grow into the man you need to be. They teach you valuable lessons about what is truly important and about the kind of person you should aspire to be. Use failures, don’t regret them. 3. Life Takes Time When you are young, you always want to move faster than necessary and try and get to the next checkpoint in life. You want to become the man you dream of over night. But life takes time. And that’s the way that it should be. Enjoy the journey and don’t rush it.

Sarah Jones is an online entrepreneur and dating coach for men who helps introverted men unleash the power inside of them to attract and date the beautiful women that they desire by expressing themselves openly and authentically, and avoiding the gimmicks of the PUA community. Favorite Success Quote “Enjoy the hell out of being you” Key Points 1. Love Being You  The first step that is essential to becoming a powerful man who can authentically relate with and attract the women he desires is simply to love being you. Love who you are! Love your weirdness, your quirky traits, your dreams and goals, your hobbies, your flaws, and your strengths. Many people suggest that loving yourself often causes people to steer away from personal development, but the opposite is actually true. If you genuinely love yourself and love who you are, what is the more loving thing to do? To allow yourself to live a mediocre life held back by fear and doubt? Or to break free and step into the life that you know you can achieve? 2. You Have to Live by Your Values to Truly Attract Women  One of the reasons that many shy guys fail with women whenever attempting “pick up” is that the techniques and tactics taught in the pickup community, even among those who encourage you to be authentic and genuinely relate, are often out of line with the values that you may hold being an introverted male. If you value genuine conversation and connection and are then told that you have to go to loud bars and clubs start dry humping on the dance floor to attract girls, you will feel disingenuous and it will come across in your interactions. 3. Break the Touch Barrier Quickly One of the ways that many introverts fail with women is that they are quickly “friend zoned” because they have a difficult time breaking the touch barrier. A woman will never see you in a sexual light if you are not able to comfortable touch her in a respectful way (and quickly) This does not mean you have to be groping and grab assing, it simply means that being able to initiate a playful touch on the arm or shoulder, or placing your hand on her knee to emphasize a segment of a story you are telling, will go a long way in having her see you as a potential boyfriend and a not a potential friend to cry to when her boyfriend turns out to be an asshole. 4. Your Inner World will be Reflected In Your Approaches Women have a sixth sense when it comes to how you are showing up in the world. If you are inwardly feeling unconfident, very unsure of yourself, and unworthy of the girl you are trying to spark attraction with. it will come across and she will be able to tell almost immediately. You have to first develop the inner confidence and put yourself in situations where you can be yourself (for example if you love music, go join a music meet up instead of trying to force going out to night clubs and bars), and then you will be able to meet and attract women easily and naturally.

Dale Partridge is a social entrepreneur and founder of Sevenly.org and StartupCamp.com. Described as “a mind who feels the trends before market,” Partridge teaches leaders and organizations how to position their brand, love their people, and develop profitable corporate social responsibility programs. He’s a renowned expert on branding, consumer psychology, and marketplace trends. He is an avid speaker and has been featured in various business publications including the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine, Fox News, NBC, INC Magazine, Mashable, MSN Money, Forbes and the Los Angeles Times. Dale resides with his family in Bend, Oregon. Favorite Success Quote “Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life”~Dolly Parton Key Points 1. Accountability is Key On your path to becoming the best man that you can be, there are a couple of key ingredients that, if you are lacking, will cause you to fail miserably. One of those keys is accountability. You have to have strong men in your life who are willing to speak truth and push you to become your best self. Men who are willing to call you out on your weaknesses and affirm your strengths. Without a strong support system you will fail. It is essential to your success as a man, in business, marriage, and personal growth that you develop this accountability and stick to it. 2. Men Are Overly Courageous in Business and Fearful in Family A huge problem with men today is that they are courageous in business and timid in their family lives. They draw all of this satisfaction from succeeding on the front of business, making millions and achieving their dreams, that they forget to be good fathers, husbands, and sons. If you want to live up to your full potential as a man, you have to have a balance between both. You have to succeed in business so that you can provide for your family, but you also have to be willing to sacrifice a bigger paycheck to be the man that your family needs. 3. Build Generosity into Your Life One of the cornerstones of being a good man is being generous. If you want to live a life of purpose and fulfillment, build generosity into your life, don’t sprinkle it in as an afterthought. Give your time, money, and resources to charities that you believe in, be willing to listen to the homeless guy on the street, sit and have a conversation with someone in need. Be generous in all areas of your life and it will come back to you, but more importantly, at the end of the day when you meet your maker, you will have a clean conscience and a full heart.

Dr. Roberto Canessa., is one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972 Favorite Success Quote “Don’t wait for the helicopters to rescue you” Key Points 1. You Have to Rescue Yourself  In life, no one is coming to save you, there are no helicopters on the way, you have to rescue yourself. In business, there is no one coming with that promotion you aren’t willing to work and ask for, in relationships, there are no beautiful women waiting in line to marry you while you play video games and live a mundane life, there is no magic pill to make you the best version of yourself, you have to choose to be the best, and fight for it every day. You have to rescue yourself. 2. Know there is Hope No matter how bleak things look right now, know that there is hope, there is always something better waiting for you if you are willing to have patience and put in the work. No matter how hard it is, no matter how much you want to give up, stay strong and have hope. 3. Take it One Step at a Time If you want to succeed at anything, just take it one step at a time. Don’t think about the massive journey ahead of you, just think about the natural next step, think about the one thing that you need to do today. If you can have laser focus on the next thing you need to accomplish your success in life and business will skyrocket. 4. Don’t Wait for the Plane to Crash  Life is beautiful and we have so much to be grateful for. Don’t wait for your plane to crash to realize that. Spend time every day in thanks, thinking about the people, things, and experiences you love. Just be grateful and allow the world to spin in its own way without worrying about it.

Chris Duffin is an accomplished power lifter, coach and gym owner, he holds the world record for the raw squat in the 220 lb weight class and holds a Guinness World Record for the most weight deadlifted in 1 minute with 42 reps at 405 lbs. He is the head coach and co owner at the Elite Performance Center. Favorite Success Quote Reject complacency like it’s a poison, chase your vision like its your last breath, this is your path to achieving greatness” Key Points 1. Reject Complacency and Live in Fear If you are not growing then you are dying. If you are a driven man who wants to achieve great things in your life and you take the action necessary to achieve those things, then odds are, you will come to a point in your life where you are comfortable. You will have made your millions, become successful with women, possibly having the dream wife, the big house, and the passive income business. But this is when life becomes most dangerous. Life is unpredictable and volatile. Once you achieve success you are at your most vulnerable because this is when you feel that you have permission to stop growing and pushing yourself. This is something that you must root out of your life like a cancer. You have to constantly grow, reject complacency, and live in fear. Live in fear because you are doing things that you don’t know you will be able to achieve, things that are making you better and making you stronger. 2. Success Builds Trust  If you want people to trust you, show them results. If you have a proven track record behind your name, then people will naturally support you when you start to take on more and more challenging tasks and activities. How can you expect your family to trust you in starting and growing a new business when you haven’t even achieved success in your current job? How can you expect business partners and investors to trust you when you have no proof of your abilities. Do what it takes to become successful and later, whenever you are making bigger and bigger leaps, you will already have the trust of the important people in your life. 3. Prioritize Your Life The age old excuse that you don’t have time for something is just a big lie you keep telling yourself. You have time for whatever you prioritize, and if you do not prioritize business, health or relationships, then they will suffer, there’s no way around it. If you want to achieve greatness then you have to prioritize it.

Craig Filek is a father, a depth coach and highly attuned facilitator bringing over 20 years of experience in transformative men’s work, shadow work and authentic relating to his unique process for radically clarifying your purpose, making a powerful contribution, and stepping into your flow Favorite Success Quote “In every adversity lies the seed in an equivalent or greater benefit”~Napoleon Hill Key Points 1. Learn to Be With Yourself Part of becoming the man that you were born to be is to discover who you are and to learn to be ok with your shadow, unafraid and bold in accepting who you are. To achieve this level of self knowledge and acceptance, you have to be willing to spend time in solitude truly delving into yourself and allowing yourself the space to grow. Whether this is through meditation, time in nature or journaling doesn’t matter. What matters is that you make time for yourself to be alone with yourself and truly come to know and accept who you are. 2. You Have to Have a Rite of Passage to Become the Best Man You Can Be To truly thrive as a man, you must, even according to your own biology, go through a rite of passage that challenges you and leaves you a better man than before. Whether this is a retreat, solo trip around the world, starting a business, or competing in a boxing match, you need to have something that marks your transition into manhood and a new life, no matter how old or experienced you are. 3. Create a Life Map A powerful exercise to help you unlock your potential and become the man you need to be is to create a life map. Include your overarching purpose for the next 6 years, milestones along the way to help keep you motivated and on track, a daily one thing to focus on, and a list of daily habits to help you become the man you were born to be. No matter whether your purpose is to become the biggest name in personal growth, a pro musician, or simply to be the best damn father you can, breaking everything down in this way will help you to organize your life and goals in a simple way that you can easily follow and use to achieve your purpose.

This is David’s second appearance on the show, he’s back and better than before. For those of you who are not familiar with David Wygant, he is an internationally-renowned dating and relationship coach, author and speaker. Through his boot camps, personal coaching and his website, his advice has transformed the dating lives and relationships of hundreds of thousands of people from every corner of the globe. His funny — yet always direct — approach to dating, sex and relationships has revolutionized how people meet and interact with the opposite sex. Over the last thirteen years, David has become one of the most frequently-quoted dating experts in the media. He offers his advice as a lead writer for Yahoo! Personals, AskMen, Huffington Post and across television segments, newspapers and magazines, including MTV, The New York Times, MSNBC, Fox News, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health and E! Entertainment Television — as well as on over 2,000 radio shows. Key Points 1. Get Off Social Media and CONNECT People have lost their ability to connect. We spend our days on social media, constantly swiping and liking our lives away while the real juice of life passes us by. If you want to live a life that is full, full of love, passion, and joy, you have to put down the phone and learn to connect with people, get excited about who you will meet and what you will learn each day and turn your damn phone off! No man will ever go to his grave regretting that he didn’t have enough facebook followers, but many men die void of true love and connection because they were never willing to put down their devices and connect. 2. You Are Good Enough  Society, our family, and our friends have sold us a lie that we are not good enough. We have been taught that because we are not like someone else that we are somehow inferior and less worthy of love and success than others. This is b.s. You are who you are for a reason, embrace it! If you are a nerd, be a nerd, a gym rat, then be a gym rat, if you are a hopeless romantic, then embrace it and be who you are! Don’t let anyone or anything tell you that you are not good enough. 3. Give Love Freely All that matters in life is our ability to love. If you want to be happy and fulfilled, then give love freely. Love other people, love the world you live in, love your family, your friends, and don’t expect anything in return. As soon as you do this, the universe will open up doors and your life will be a roller coaster ride of joy, love, and connection. 4. Be Totally Present  Stop worrying about tomorrow. Quit spending your precious time focused on things that don’t matter. Unplug and learn to love, to be totally present and there with everyone you meet. Life is too short to live in the future. Give love and presence and your life will be more joyful and amazing than you can imagine.

Dennis Meyers was a normal everyday man until he suffered from a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. After years of struggling to find joy and fulfillment in his new life, he discovered a way to make peace with his accident and has written about it in his book “You Have not a Leg to Stand On”. Favorite Success Quote “You’ve just got to go on” Key Points 1. You Have Just got to Go On Life will knock you down, it will throw punches that put you on your knees, it will shatter you and batter you and try and keep you on the ground, but you have just got to go on. Everyone will suffer in life, especially if you ever intend to do something great with yourself, the key is not if you suffer, but how you suffer. You must accept the hardships and move on with your life, grin and bear it, be willing to laugh in the face of pain. There is little else that you can do, and allowing life to knock you down is a surefire recipe, not just for failure in business, but failure in life. 2. Learn to Take Life as it Is Just as life will knock you down and you must learn to keep moving, so will life present you with situations and circumstances that aren’t ideal. While many people will moan and gripe about how unfair life is, the wiser man realizes that if there is nothing he can do to change the situation, he must simply take life as it is. Make peace with the pain, because sometimes it’s all you can do. 3. Put Yourself Second  While life may be difficult at times, and may present massive challenges to many people, life is much more challenging if you are operating from a selfish perspective. You have to be willing to put yourself second, to live for something bigger than just you, to truly live a life of service, if you want to find peace in this life. Serving others is the quickest way to remind yourself of all that you have to be grateful for and all the amazing blessings you have in your life.

Craig Ballantyne has been the Editor of Early to Rise since 2011. He’s also a Strength & Conditioning coach in Toronto, author of Turbulence Training, a contributing author to Men’s Health magazine, and a member of the Training Advisory Board for Maximum Fitness and Oxygen magazines. Favorite Quote “Success is simple” “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do”~Epictietus Key Points 1. The First Mistake You Make in the Morning is Reacting vs. Responding In the mornings, it is so easy to sleep through your alarm, start your morning in a frenzy and get put into a mode of reaction vs. responding. When you start your day this way, the day is already lost, you have already fallen into the trap of reacting to your environment instead of responding to circumstances that you had already planned and prepared for. To beat this, wake up 15 minutes before you have to and focus on your goals. Not one hours, not two hours, just 15 minutes. 15 minutes to allow yourself to focus your intentions for the day and get into peak state. Consider it a gift to yourself, and after a few weeks of this your results and productivity will sky rocket. 2. Do a Brain Dump at the End of the Day As we go on through our days, our brains become cluttered with all sorts of stuff from work, family, personal struggles, past failures, and future worries. At the end of each day, do what is referred to as a brain dump, where you sit and write out everything that is on your mind so that you are no longer mulling over it while you should be present. Doing this will allow you to clear your head and show up fully whenever you are with your family, relaxing at the end of the day, hanging out with friends, or anything else that you decide to do. 3. Create a Vision Statement  One of the most important things that you can do is to decide where you are going and who you want to be and condense this into a mission statement that will remind you of your goals and keep you on track when decision making becomes difficult. By having a vision that you are moving towards, you will stay focused on where you are headed instead of the pain of sacrificing pleasure in the moment for gain in the future. 4. Its not what you can do but what you can avoid doing A significant portion of success is not just knowing what to do, but knowing what to avoid doing. If you can understand your stumbling blocks, the things that cause you to fail and fall, and the distractions that prevent you from achieving at the level that you want to be, then you have won half of the battle. By finding ways to use accountability and leverage to eliminate these distractions entirely, you will boost your productivity, happiness, and success 10 fold over. 5. Create Personal Commandments  In adittion to your vision statement, one of the best ways to add structure and simplicity into your life is to create personal commandments, rules that you follow no matter what that can guide you and make decisions easy. Some examples of personal commandments could be I will not watch adult content I will limit alcohol consumption to 3x a week, and never more than 2 drinks a night I will stay faithful to my wife no matter the temptation I will always give 10% of my income to a noble charity I can’t tell you what your commandments should be, but having a list of rules and guidelines that you follow is absolutely essential to becoming the man you want to be. 6. Structure Creates Freedom Throughout much of the interview Craig discusses creating rules and guidelines for your life, and many of you may be turned off by the concept. But what you may not realize is that structure creates freedom. By having rules in place you are free making difficult decisions based solely off of emotion, by having structure in your life, you will increase your success and free time and have more freedom to pursue the things you love and spend time with people that you love. 7. Follow the Law of Action Attraction While many peopele may ascribe to the “Secret’s” law of attraction, Craig suggests the law of action attraction. Basically focus on what you want, create the vision board, write the goals out, say your affirmations, and then take MASSIVE ACTION to achieve those goals. Surround yourself with A+ players, create a mastermind, enlist the help of smarter people to aid you in achieving your goals, and take massive action. Not only will you attract what you want into your life, but you will have taken the proper proportion of action required to ensure that you are ready for it. 8. Before You Start on the Journey Ask If It’s Worth It  Before you start down any journey, you must decide if it’s worth it. You have to have a strong enough reason for doing anything, or you will fail,. Plain and simple. Whether the journey is a new instrument, sport, business, or relationship, ask if it is worth it before you begin and  compare the opportunity to your vision statement and personal commandments

Jack Donovan is an author known for his writing on masculinity and tribalism. He is the author of The Way of Men which answers the question, “what is masculinity?” Favorite Success Quote “There is a difference between being good at being a man and being a good man.” – Jack Donovan Key Points 1. Build Your Strength If you want to be seen as a real man and have the self-confidence and respect that comes with it, then you must become a master of the four tactical virtues: Strength, courage, mastery and honor. Strength is just what it sounds like. If you want to be a truly masculine man, you need to have a high level of physical and mental strength. You must be able to lift heavy objects, endure pain, and handle yourself in conflict. Subconsciously, women and other men will judge you based on your perceived strength. If you are constantly displaying signs of weakness in your body, your mentality, or your conviction, you will lose trust from the people who matter most and lack the confidence you need to thrive in life. 2. Be Courageous Courage, the second virtue, is typically a by-product of strength. Whenever you have high levels of self-confidence and real strength that you have tested in battle (the gym or the octagon), you will be able to charge into unknown situations with courage and fearlessness. This is imperative for success in all areas of life. How can a woman trust you if you don’t have the courage to speak your mind and be honest with her? How can you business partners trust you if you don’t have the courage to make difficult decisions? How can you trust yourself if you are constantly cowering away from challenges and never pushing yourself to be more? The more courage you display, the greater trust you will have in yourself and the more trust others will place in you. 3. Practice Mastery The third tactical virtue and the topic of much discussion in recent years, mastery is what truly separates the boys from the men. Regardless of the craft, all men respect a master. They respect a master marksman, a master programmer, a master weight lifter, master seducer, and a master entrepreneur. If you want to truly be held in the highest level of esteem by your peers and by society, then you must commit yourself to mastery. Whatever craft you decide to master, you must be willing to endure the brutal hours and sustained periods of practice. But at the end of the day, when you are one of the greatest in the world, all of the pain and hardship will be worth it, and you can consider yourself an even better man. 4. Embrace the Importance of Honor Honor, the final of the four tactical virtues is where the rubber truly meets the road. If you are strong, courageous, and masterful, but you do not have honor, if other men cannot trust you, if you do not keep your word, and you do not manage your reputation, then you are not a real man. Honor is not about dying for a noble cause or serving in battle, it’s simply about guarding your reputation. It’s about doing what you said you would do and showing up in all situations with integrity and conviction. Without honor, the other four virtues are for naught. 5. Build Your Tribe and Complete Your Rite  To embrace masculinity and become the best man that you can be, you must build your tribe of men and go through a rite of passage. Men need time with other men away from the influence of women. We need time to fight and be wild, time to embrace our wildness, and time to let it all out. Once you have found that group, it’s important that you undergo some sort of rite of passage signaling your passage from boyhood to manhood. It might seem simple, but creating an intentional rite and seeing it through is one of the most powerful things that you can do both for your psyche and your confidence.