Jim Croce – I Got a Name #manlymusicfriday
Your name matters. Your reputation, your legacy. Think about it.
Plus. Jim Croce rocks.
Victim or Victor? Is your “heart” in the right place?
In our culture today – there is a rampant “victim mentality” – and while we don’t want to take away the legitimate issues that a real victim of a crime or abuse faces – we think somehow people have used their status as victim as a cop out, or invented reasons to identify as a victim.
Is your heart in the right place?
“I feel…”
These are two of the most overused words in the english language. Try to eliminate them from your vocabulary, unless you are literally talking about your feelings.
Feelings are great, and they have a purpose, but it’s certainly not to guide your life. Whoever said, “Follow your heart” was a fool. Your “heart” is your emotional center. Emotions have a great purpose – to allow us to enjoy life, to mourn loss, to have a tangible way to experience love – but feelings are fickle, and they are not meant to be the guiding force in our life.
You might feel like you’re defeated.
It’s okay to feel that way.
It’s not okay to let those feelings keep you on the ground while the ref is counting to ten. Get up, and keep fighting.
You might feel like your wife doesn’t love you any more, or like you don’t love her anymore.
I can’t deny that those feelings exist.
But I can say that love is a choice, not a puddle you fall in. Get up and keep fighting! Love is an action that you CHOOSE to do. I’ve found when you exercise that action, the feelings often return.
You might feel like the whole world is against you.
And it might just be.
but since when is that an excuse to stop standing firm in your convictions?
Don’t follow your heart. Lead your heart.
Make decisions based on wise counsel, and with common sense, and with your guiding moral compass, and with your convictions.
The heart follows wherever it is led. It swings back and forth like a pendulum. Just embrace that, learn to laugh and cry when you should, and don’t expect those emotions to be a roadmap to your destination.
Do you want to be a victor instead of a victim? Then put your feelings in the proper place.
“Goliath” – Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil #manlymusicfriday
I’ve always been a Steve Taylor fan – he’s a Christian musician who for some reason – never fit into the mold of all the others. So – whether you are a Christian or not – you might dig this.
Victim or Victor? Who are you?
In our culture today – there is a rampant “victim mentality” – and while we don’t want to take away the legitimate issues that a real victim of a crime or abuse faces – we think somehow people have used their status as victim as a cop out, or invented reasons to identify as a victim.
Who are you?
This question means so much. There is so much talk these days about “identity” – Gender identity issues aside, as a man, you need to know your identity. Know what it is that defines you.
If your history as a bullied child defines you, then you are a victim.
If your history as a sex-abuse victim defines you, then you are a victim.
If your poverty defines you, then you are a victim.
If your race, ethnic background, or physical attributes are “holding you back” – then you are a victim.
Regardless of whether or not we can legitimately be classified as a victim is the simple truth that we choose our mindset, and we choose our trajectory.
That starts by knowing WHO you are, and where you are in your life. Be honest with yourself, the good and the bad.
You can choose to remain a victim, or you can choose to be a victor. Make the victor your identity. Choose to identify not as someone wounded and hurt, but as someone who is overcoming that hurt. Don’t identify with your current circumstance, but rather with your pre-determined outcome.
De-hibernate: Waking your inner grizzly: Find your roar
Nature itself is going through a reset – the days are getting longer, the flowers and buds are forming on the trees, and mammalian creatures as awakening from their winter slumber.
As spring nears, you may find yourself still a little groggy from winter, and your inner grizzly may need some awakening.
Men, let’s look at how we can shake off the winter sleep and get ourselves ready to growl, eat fish, and maul hikers… err… something.
Every young grizzly must find his roar…. that guttural howl and growl that shows his ferocity and strength. If he’s been hibernating, he may have to find it again.
Your roar is your confidence. You may have forgotten just what it is you’re capable of… You may have been asleep, and put on a few pounds of winter fat. (or even more than a few)
You may have been pushed around, ignored, or let go.
You might be on the bottom rung. You might be tuned out and turned off.
But the truth is – you are made fiercely. You are made strong, and made brave. You’ve been made with talents, and you’ve developed skills. You are not some dog, civilized and trained. You are a stinking Grizzly. And you are strong, and you are powerful.
Embrace that power. If you have to re-identify it, then do that. But it’s there.
You might need to harness that wildness and power to build yourself up and get yourself in shape, and strengthen your resolve.
David Bazan: Big Trucks
I love this song – because it’s a great lesson from father’s to sons… and I wish I had learned it when my father tried to teach me.
De-hibernate: Waking your inner grizzly: Fuel up on food for your soul
Nature itself is going through a reset – the days are getting longer, the flowers and buds are forming on the trees, and mammalian creatures as awakening from their winter slumber.
As spring nears, you may find yourself still a little groggy from winter, and your inner grizzly may need some awakening.
Men, let’s look at how we can shake off the winter sleep and get ourselves ready to growl, eat fish, and maul hikers… err… something.
We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day… and as you are awakening your inner grizzly from his coma – you’ve got to make sure he’s got the right fuel to start his spring.
We aren’t talking about nuts, berries, or small game here… we’re talking about feeding your soul.
If you want to wake up the grizzly inside, you’ve got to make sure to provide the right kind of fuel.
What are you watching? What are you reading? What are you listening to?
I believe that if you want to wake up and be ready to face the world, your media consumption matters. Are you fueling up on junkfood, or are you taking in the right calories?
I’d encourage you to listen to music that uplifts you, or helps charge you up. Read books, magazines, blogs, etc, that help you improve in the areas you need to improve. Fiction? Entertainment? Sure – if it’s something that builds you up, charges you up emotionally, or challenges you to grow. If your media consumption is like a drug to numb you- you might want to reevaluate what you are putting in your soul.
De-hibernate: Waking your inner grizzly: Don’t take no for an answer
Nature itself is going through a reset – the days are getting longer, the flowers and buds are forming on the trees, and mammalian creatures as awakening from their winter slumber.
As spring nears, you may find yourself still a little groggy from winter, and your inner grizzly may need some awakening.
Men, let’s look at how we can shake off the winter sleep and get ourselves ready to growl, eat fish, and maul hikers… err… something.
Men, don’t be an opossum. When an opossum sees a threat, they hiss, and then they lay down and pretend to be dead. No – if we are going to wake our hibernating grizzlies, we need to shake off that passivity – and make a stand.
Don’t take “No” for an answer. Obviously – there are times that “no” is perfectly appropriate – but in general – don’t let an obstacle or a hardship, turn you back.
1. Be determined.
Once you know what you are supposed to do, you need to go get it. Don’t let car trouble keep you from showing up to work on your first day on the job. Don’t let your fatigue or weariness
or anything try to push you back in the cave.
2. Be consistent.
The biggest obstacle in your life is always going to be you. So when you commit to do something – do it. Don’t waver, don’t quit, don’t stop doing it. So often, we work hard, and we quit just before the payoff.
3. Think differently.
They say, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”
If you want to grab ahold of your success in your grubby little grizzly claws, you need to think outside the box, and to do something differently.
Your grizzly doesn’t need normal. He doesn’t want to be a “kept bear”… he’s wild, and he’s aggressive, and he’s dangerous. It’s up to you to channel that energy into the right places, if you want to grab a hold of your success.
Hangdog Hearts – Flesh ‘n Blood #manlymusicfriday
I heard about the Hangdog Hearts from my cousin in Indiana. Love the six string banjo and the dark southern gothic feel.