Manvational Posters - George Patton

I found this on The Art of Manliness and thought it needed to be posted here. I did a similar post on Teddy Roosevelt here on BadskiBlog a few months back. Basically they replicate those cheesy motivational posters that are found in offices across the nation, only instead of some picture of a waterfall and a quote on persistence they are filled with quotes from real leaders and examples of manliness. Pretty cool. Here is an excerpt from the post and a sample of a few of my favorites from General Patton.

George “Old Blood and Guts” Patton was a four star generally who ably led American troops during World War II. In his 36 years of distinguished service to the military, he earned the Purple Heart, 2 Distinguished Service Crosses, 3 Distinguished Service Medals, 2 Silver Stars, and several other decorations as well. Patton was as famous for his efficiency on the battlefield as his colorful personality off of it. He was a sight to behold, with his medals emblazoned on his chest, a shiny helmet upon his head, and two ivory-handled pistols around his waist. The men who served under him groused about his demand for absolute discipline, yet they knew that his strict leadership upped their chances for survival.

Patton, like every single man from history, was far from perfect. His love of war bordered on the crazy, and his behavior and outspoken nature often got him in trouble. His most famous controversial incident occurred when he slapped a man suffering from “battle fatigue” in a hospital and called him a coward.

But he was decidedly good at his job. He was born to lead men in battle. And while one can certainly disagree with his philosophy, he was undeniably a compelling leader and master motivator of men. His words will give any man a needed kick in the pants.

Manliness And The Decline Of The Blue Collar Male

I found this little post on Andrew Sullivan's blog a few days back and I think he (and the other blogger he references) explore an interesting topic that will become more relevant as we move into the future. Apologies in advance for the awkward citing of a blogger citing a blogger.

Decline of Blue-Collar Man, Ctd
by Richard Florida

A blogger says the issue is more class than gender:

Men have worked as essentially shop keepers and store clerks for a lot longer than they have worked on assembly lines. There have been waiters forever. Lawyers are the world's second oldest profession. Teaching was a male-only profession for centuries. The idea that men are and ought to be unreflective, grunting, two-fisted louts is a class thing not a gender thing and it is imposed upon working class men by a system that needs them to be beasts of burden.

Men who reject certain values and behaviors as "sissy" or "girlie" are rejecting success, and don't think their bosses aren't grateful.

His point hit home with me.

When I was a young boy, my father would often take me with him to Newark on Saturday's to buy "Italian Bread." We would inevitably pass by a neighborhood "beauty parlor" where my father would stop for just a minute. "Richard," he would say, "I was dumb. When your aunt (his older sister) moved to California, she wanted to give me this place. I could have made it work. I enjoy cutting your hair and coloring your mother's. But when I was young, beauticians were considered 'sissies.' So I let my pride take over. Instead of having my own place, being my own boss and doing something enjoy, I stayed in the damned factory."

I have always thought that self confidence and assurance are the real traits that define it means to be a man (or a woman for that matter). We are all influenced by others and their view of us but your worth as a human, and ultimately your happiness as well, are both tied to how comfortable you are with who you are and what you are willing to do to become who you ultimately want to be.

New Blog Addition (And Bonus Cool Quotes)-The Art of Manliness

I have put yet another blog through the Badski trial run, and that blog is The Art of Manliness. Do not be deceived by the name. This isn't a blog about hunting and killing wild animals with your bare hands, or dressing like a lumberjack, or finding new ways disconnect from all things emotional and 'girly.' This site is aimed at restoring the glory that is manliness; what it used to and should represent.

The Art of Manliness is authored by husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay. It features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men. In our search to uncover the lost art of manliness, we’ll look to the past to find examples of manliness in action. We’ll analyze the lives of great men who knew what it meant to “man up” and hopefully learn from them. Every week we seek to uncover the essential skills and knowledge today’s man needs to know.

My idea for the Art of Manliness came about as I was reading Men’s Health magazine. It seemed to me that the magazine’s contents were continually going downhill, with more and more articles about sex and how to get six pack abs. Was this all there was to being a man? And as I looked around at the men my age, it seemed to me that many were shirking responsibility and refusing to grow up. They had lost the confidence, focus, skills, and virtues that men of the past had embodied and were a little lost. The feminism movement did some great things, but it also made men confused about their role and no longer proud of the virtues of manliness. This, coupled with the fact that many men were raised without the influence of a good father, has left a generation adrift as to what it means to be an honorable, well-rounded man.

Talking about honorable manliness was to me a niche seemingly not covered on the web or elsewhere, and I decided to start The Art of Manliness to talk about all things manly- both the serious and the fun, but with the ultimate eye toward encouraging readers to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, men.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim that I’m an expert on all things manly. I started this blog not because I had all the answers to being a man, but because I wanted to explore the questions with other men. Thankfully, I’ve found a whole community of men who wish to discover the lost art of manliness too.

Not only does the blog have an awesome mission statement that falls right in line with BadskiBlog's underlying theme of self improvement and passion for life, it has some incredibly useful and entertaining content as well. I recently discovered that a guy I went to college with is a contributing writer for the blog as well. He is a good dude who is practicing what he preaches. Small world.

I thought this latest post was perfect to give you a taste of what The Art of Manliness is all about. You know the annoying posters that say some inherently good trait that all people think they have? Like when they say "attitude" and then it has some cheesy advice below and a picture of some stream or a waterfall. Yeah those posters. Well they dedicated an entire series of posters to Teddy Roosevelt and put some of his finest quotes on them. Great lessons learned from quite a manly man.

No one preached the art of manliness more ardently or lived it more fervently than TR. To start your week off with a swift kick in the pants of manly inspiration, we’ve created some TR-themed motivational posters. Each poster includes a picture of Roosevelt living the strenuous life, along with a motivational quote from the man himself.