223 – The Virtues Of Hard Work

Being A Better Man

The Virtues Of Hard Work…

I want to take a second and talk about a message I received yesterday from a regular listener named Les. It made my whole day. Les bought a copy of my book, Forging A Man. Les has two young daughters and he started reading a chapter of the book to them as bedtime stories each night.

He told me about one story in particular that had a profound effect on them and even had them moved to tears. He went on to say that they are getting a lot from the lessons each story has as well. This is exactly the kind of thing I envisioned when I was writing this book. It can be used as a tool to impact other people. Not just men, or boys—but women, and as Les has testified, even little girls will get value from these stories. It’s called Forging A Man, but these stories are really about just being human, regardless of gender.

So thank you Les for sharing your experience with me. I would love to hear other stories like that from other readers just write: [e-mail]. If you have not gotten your copy yet, there is a link directly to it in the show notes of this episode.

Today I want to talk about the virtue of good old fashioned back breaking hard work. It’s something many people tend to avoid these days. There are many people who have never actually done excruciatingly hard physical labor in their whole life. These are soft times we live in. We buy our food already prepared. Our clothes come ready to wear, and the buildings we live in are just there…when something goes wrong we call someone else to fix it.

As a species we are becoming more and more distant from our physical roots. We have forgotten that our bodies are dynamic, useful tools capable of great industry. Some people compensate by going to the gym and working out real hard. They do that because it feels good. Hard work releases endorphins in your brain that make you feel good. Hard physical labor does the same thing.

I’m thinking about this today because a couple days ago I helped my brother on a job. A huge fir tree was cut down in a widow’s yard and she was paying my brother to remove it. I need more firewood for winter so I agreed to help. When I say it was a huge tree I am not exaggerating. It was over three feet in diameter at the base and over 100 feet long. It was cut into 16 inch sections, but each round of wood weighed several hundred pounds because they were so huge.

We had to split the rounds into smaller pieces just so we could handle them. I have a massive sledge hammer, it has a 20 pound head. All day I used this hammer to drive a steel wedge into the wood to split it up. Then we had to load it on a trailer and drive it back to our place, it took several trips.

It was a warm day and it was back-breaking, dirty work. Each time I swung that hammer it seemed to suck a little more life from my bones. The pieces of wood got heavier and heavier as the day went on. We were covered in sticky tree pitch and we were sweating profusely. It was a good thing we finished when we did because my right arm was about to give out. It had lifted that hammer so many times it was almost completely spent.

You know what though? It felt good. There is something about pushing your body and mind to the point of physical failure that is extremely rewarding. Not only that, but I have a huge pile of firewood for the winter. A wood fire is the only source of heat we use in our house. This winter when it is freezing outside and we are cozy and warm by our fire, I will remember this day. I’ll remember how it felt, and it will feel good all over again. Now, two days later I have a few sore spots, but I don’t mind at all.

I’m talking about the virtue of hard work because it is something that historically, has been a manly undertaking. Of course women can work hard too—and they do. There is a certain type of hard work that men have always been associated with that seems specifically manly. It actually makes you feel more like a man when you do it. I’m talking about the type of work that requires raw strength. The type of work that challenges your very existence. Men typically are the people who build things, and who tear things down. We are the people who move heavy stuff from one place to another. I think it’s sad that this type of work is looked down on by many people. It’s considered menial and “beneath them” by many who are privileged.

What I’m saying, is that it is good for you. It’s good for your body, your mind, and it’s good for the man inside of you who yearns to be tested and tried.

We don’t all have a brother who needs to move a big tree. You may have to search for opportunities to work like this. You can start by not avoiding hard work. Maybe you have an elderly neighbor who’s yard has gotten out of control. Why not volunteer to clean it for them? No charge, your payment is the satisfaction you will get from the effort.

Since it is Friday I also want to talk about our sponsor, Stump Town Kilts. Guess what I was wearing when we moved this tree. I was not wearing pants. I was not wearing shorts, nor was I wearing a wrestling singlet. That’s right! I was wearing my green stump town kilt. It was the perfect garment to wear during this job because I had ventilation all the way up my legs. I was able to keep everything I needed with me secure in the huge hidden pocket. The material was tough enough to handle the abrasion of hundreds of pieces of wood being carried against it, and…I was able to work hard and look great doing it the whole time.

I got some tree pitch on it, but I’m sure that will wash out and it will be like new again. I’m telling you, these kilts can literally be worn anywhere, doing anything. As a listener of this program you can get a substantial discount on your new kilt by going to stumptownkilts.com and entering the code: betterman when you check out. All one word, all lower case. When you do that you will receive 10% off your entire online purchase. Go to stumptownkilts.com and enter the code betterman to receive your discount today.

Now head out into the big world and whatever you do, don’t be one of the people that avoid hard physical labor. Not only is it not manly to avoid work, but if you avoid the hard work you will be missing out on what it provides. A sense of accomplishment and pride. The knowledge you can make a physical difference in the world. The good feelings that get released in your brain. Not only that, but the memory of a job well done will also add to your overall confidence. Men who are capable of working hard are regarded in higher esteem by others. Most importantly though, after pushing yourself to physical extremes and working hard you will go to bed that night knowing you are a better man today than you were yesterday.

Hey remember to to check out my new book, Forging A Man, available right now on Amazon.

(GET THE BOOK HERE)

Also, please take time to check out the MANLY RESOURCE CENTER, in the menu tab at the top of the page. Or, click on these links.

PATREON

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