𝐁𝐄 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐍.

𝐁𝐄 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐍.

You are a man. Stand up and be a man.

Make the hard decisions.

Make the sacrifices.

Make the unpopular decisions. And become

comfortable in your own skin.

There's a moment

when every boy realizes no one's coming

to save him. And that's when he becomes

a man. And some boys never get there and

stay children forever.

There's nobody coming. There's nobody

coming to save you. There's nobody

Nobody is coming to save you

coming to help you. A night and shining

armor isn't going to ride in and save

you. You are the only one that's going

to be able to save you. The fact that

you still point fingers and complain at

other people because you're not where

you need to be in your life. It's not

just in life, it's your life. And I

think that's what men forget sometimes

is that your life is your

responsibility. Your life, you have to

be accountable for that. 100%, man.

Can't nobody do that work for you. Y'all

know can't nobody do it for you. Can't.

Life created this person, me. Life life

created me to be this person I was back

in the day. And I had to realize, man,

that's okay, man. It's not my fault. Now

I got to go back and fix this [ __ ]

though.

Mhm.

So, a lot of this isn't your fault. Why

you do some things you do, why you feel

the way you feel, but no one's coming

back to save your ass.

We have to take responsibility for

ourselves for creating it. You're not

living the best life that you want to

live. You're not the person you want to

be. You're not the person the 8-year-old

you wanted to be. And I bet you're not

even taking steps to become that person.

To be a man is very simple. You need

only two things. You need a spine and

you need some balls. A spine means that

you are willing to stand up.

Anatomically, you need a spine to stand

erect. Figuratively, you need a spine to

Have a spine and some balls

stand up for what you believe to be

true, which is in your heart of hearts

who you are. Now, having a spine also

lets you know where you stand in

relation to the universe. This is

because as soon as you stand up, you

cast a shadow, which situates you in a

specific place between the heavens,

literally the sun, and the earth, your

immediate surroundings. Unless you are

completely in line with the light, there

is no way to avoid casting a shadow on

this plane.

Among other things, this means that as

soon as you stand up, that is as soon as

you make it known who you are and what

you believe in, you will attract an

antithetical element in opposition to

that, the shadow. People will disagree

with you. People will disapprove of you.

Some people will despise you. And the

taller you stand, the more some people

will threaten, attack, and seek to

destroy you.

This is part of the risk of standing up

and having a spine. And this, of course,

is why we rightly respect people who

stand up for what is right despite the

personal risk of doing so.

Be a good man. Don't be a nice guy. And

what that meant in our world was, "Hey

man, when you're confronted with

something where you need to fit in and

do something that's against your

character and your values and beliefs,

you don't need to be a nice guy. You

need to be a good man." Right? Something

comes up, you need to stand up for

something that you believe in. Be a good

man. Don't be a nice guy, you know? And

that's I think it manifests itself in

every single area of life. I think it's

a profound thing. Be a good person,

right? You you know, rather than just a

nice person. Having a pair means that

you're willing to suffer the risk

associated with being somebody, a

specific individual with values and

beliefs. It means putting your money

where your mouth is. It means not giving

a [ __ ] whether you agree with me or

disagree with me. Not giving a [ __ ]

whether you approve or disapprove of me.

Not giving a [ __ ] if you love or hate

me. It means, if necessary, putting your

money, your relationships, your career,

your status, your reputation, and even

your life on the line in the service of

what you believe to be true.

A man is his own being, unperturbed in

his strength. He is like the great rock

which stands still amidst the chaos of

the ocean. A true man cannot be shaken

from his purpose, nor misguided from his

desire to protect others, especially his

family and tribe members. He understands

Definition to be a man

that all things emanate from his inner

fortress, which he continuously builds,

strengthens, and maintains.

A strong man knows he cannot pour from

an empty cup. He is assertive, and this

assertion is direct and calm. Primarily

this comes from his connection to his

values, principles and standards which

guide all of his decision-making.

From the great man all things flourish

because he is attentive and most

importantly he is kingly in his own

nature. You have to take full

responsibility for everything that you

do. Why be subservient? You must be the

master of your own kingdom. That you

can't just walk into things with your

eyes half open. You're walking into

things with your eyes fully open. You

got to know what you're getting into.

You have to take possession of your

life.

And my grassroot background, we don't

back down from anyone. And that's what

got me in trouble. I don't play games. I

don't kiss anyone's ass. And I'm a real

You have to take full responsibility of your life

man. And that's why that's regardless of

being in a fight. I'm a man. And that's

why I want to be a man. And if I die, I

want to die man.

Be a dangerous man.

Now, being dangerous is not being a

threat. They're two different things.

All right. And it's not about going out

and lifting weights and getting a bunch

of tattoos and wearing leather jackets

and walking around with your chest and

Be a dangerous man

shoulders up hulking around saying, "I'm

dangerous." That's very rarely is that a

dangerous man.

Those who have swords and know how to

use them but keep them sheathed will

inherit the world. You should be a

monster, you know, cuz everyone says,

"Well, you should be harmless, virtuous.

You shouldn't do anyone any harm. You

should sheath your competitive instinct.

You shouldn't try to win. you know, you

you don't want to be too aggressive, you

don't want to be too assertive, you want

to take a back seat and all of that.

It's like, no,

wrong. You should be a monster, an

absolute monster. And then you should

learn how to control it. Having the

ability and and understanding you have

the responsibility to keep your family

safe is is is absolutely essential in in

in being a man in in in in providing. Uh

I I I think having a a healthy

relationship with violence, having an

understanding of it and I also think,

you know, being accepting, being kind,

being open, uh you know, being generous,

being empathetic are also uh uh you

know, part of being a man.

A man is a word.

And I believe that's so true. I love

that about the old school teaching is

you are your word. Does your word mean

anything or is just [ __ ] It's just

sounds in the air which today I see 99%

You are your word

of people it's

like smoke doesn't mean when I talk

about need I'm like man when he used to

say something it's done I love that you

don't need a contract okay you can do it

for processes but

before anything like the old days our

fathers would shake done it's done this

I love so I don't want to talk to my

employees and just say yeah we're a team

or a family. No, when it [ __ ] hits the

fan, I'm the first one that will back up

through action, not just words.

The personality of a person, the ways of

a person, the thoughts, the deeds, the

actions is all based around his heart.

For what is a man? A man is his heart. A

A man is his heart

lying cheating heart means a lying

cheating man. A loving merciful heart

means a loving merciful man. A living

heart means a living man. A dead heart

means a dead man. Regardless to man's

title, regardless to man's wealth, rank

or position. If the heart is not great,

then he cannot be great. But if the

heart is great, that man remains great

under all circumstances. Rich or poor,

large or small, so does the heart that

makes one large or small.

A man matures through early me mornings,

late nights, pain, losses, disrespect,

disappointments, deep reflection, and

moments of loneliness with just you and

God.

Age has very little to do with it. As

You have to suffer

you can meet a man who's 23 and a boy

who's 35

because always remember

it's the days that break a man which are

the days that make a man. The pain of a

loss makes a man come back and improve.

Makes him stay up at late at night

practicing while everybody else is

sleeping. Makes this guy say one day I'm

going to prove to the world that I'm a

winner. So, going back to you, there's

nothing wrong with competing. There's

nothing wrong with losing. As long as

you keep showing up and competing,

eventually you're going to get your

shot. It is okay to go through

challenges. It is okay to have to fight

through. This is a part of becoming a

man's man, and it's natural.

That's game, mate. Game is the hardship.

Some people have had it really, really

tough. don't get me wrong, but a lot of

people haven't had it that tough and

they're just making a meal out of it.

Like some of the like dark depths that I

went to with, you know, consistent

periods of acute depression and

bedridden sadness.

Yeah, it sucked. I don't identify with

that. Everybody's got challenges.

Everybody's got things that they're

struggling with. Man up.

Yeah.

Man up. The world is as easy and

convenient as it's ever going to be. And

you're complaining about the fact that

oh the existential weight of living.

Everybody's got that. Everybody has to

face this stuff.

Fellas, life is hard. It's always been

hard

from the beginning. And it will always

be hard. It's just the nature of it. But

it's our lot. It's our place. And it has

Life is hard

been for the history of mankind. Now, I

know things are hard for some of you. I

know things are extremely difficult for

some of you. Things have been hard for

me around here. I don't get on here and

post it. I'm not going to now.

No, I'm that guy. I'm that guy. I It

drives my wife crazy. No, I don't want

to talk about my feelings. I'm one of

those old school guys, you know, when

you talk about men's mental health and

that men have to carry this burden and

men have Yeah, that's what we do. Guess

what? Somebody's got to get up. I I have

a family, right? I have children. I got

to get up every day and go to work and I

have to, you know, do what I have to do.

And no, I I don't I mean, I'm give a

[ __ ] about my feelings. You know, you

see these guys these days on social

media like, hey, you know, talking about

their bad day and this happened and I'm

man, shut the up.

Oh, I know.

Get up.

I know.

Get the work and do what you got to do

and and and be a man. Be a man.

We all go through it. I've had folks get

on here and comment, "Dwayne, you look

you don't look good, man. You look

tired. You look sad. You look this. You

look that."

Look, I I go through life just like you

do. Okay? I have battles just like you

do. I stand between my family and the

world

just like you do. And I take the

beatings so they don't have to. And we

pay the price.

The difference is how do you look at it?

How do you approach it?

How do you deal with it? How do you

admit it and see it for what it is? And

then what do you do about it? What do

you do about it? You cry about it. You

mope about it. You drink about it. You

sleep around about it. You get mad and

get in fights about it. You just hang

around. Just turn the world out. Just

zombie about it. You fry yourself a

marijuana about it. Say, "Dwayne, I'm

sad." Dude, that's a part of life.

You think you're the only man on this

planet that's sad? Say, "Dwayne, I'm

going through depression." Well, welcome

to the world. Welcome to the rest of us.

You think I don't go through depression

sometimes? You think I don't get sad

sometimes? You think I don't just feel

wore out and burnt plumbed down to the

bottom of my soul?

We all do.

We all do.

That's what sets us apart.

That's what makes us different.

That's what makes us men.

And I don't mean ignore your emotions. I

mean integrate your emotions.

Talk about them. Manning up also

includes being mature about your

emotions. It means crying in front of

your friends and being vulnerable and

open. This isn't like some ancient

archetype of patriarchal toxic

masculinity. This is me saying transcend

and include your masculinity. Transcend

and include the challenges that you've

been through. We have to be emotionally

intelligent. Being emotionally mature

will save you from a lot of those

situations. Being emotionally mature

will help you when times are tough.

Challenge that you are facing might not

be going to war. It might not be

conquering a new land. It might just be

conquering yourself. Right? So you are

in your early 20s perhaps or maybe

you're in your early 30s.

Many of the problems that you're facing

will evaporate and dissolve with time.

What makes you

uniquely

you?

I think a lot of times folks, they're

not comfortable

because they're going along with the

society that's around them and they're

Be you

trying to fit in the framework

uh of what everyone around them or on

whatever social media they're on says

that they should be. There's roughly

close to I guess about 8 billion people

on this planet. Uh but there's only one

you. Would you stand out in the crowd?

for for too long in my life and it and

it got me in trouble for too long in my

life. I wanted to be accepted growing

up. I lied. I did what I could for if

you like UFC and I didn't. I love it. I

love it, man. Let's go watch it, man. Be

my friend. Be my buddy. That weak ass

[ __ ] I found out through this path of

life. Who is David Gogggins? Who am I?

So going through all I did it alone.

There was no trophy on the wall and the

mantle. That trophy's in my brain. No

one helped me get there. No one paid my

bills. No one did [ __ ] for me. No, no

one ran those miles, lost that weight.

What? Look, I suffered on my own and

developed this man who said, "That's who

I am, man." You got the power to change

things around.

Your life doesn't have to look like how

it's been looking for the past 5, 3, 4

years. It can look different. If you do

different things, if you put the work

in, if you show up for yourself, your

life could look totally different. you

start putting yourself in situations

that suck. You'll find yourself.

Yeah.

You'll find it real quick.

Except the one thing that can change

their entire lives, and that's looking

in the mirror and saying you, man. You

did this to me. You made me this way.

And I'm going to fix it. And I'm going

to fix it by controlling all the things

I could control. I'm going to control

what I eat. I'm going to control what I

drink. I'm going to control how I move.

I'm going to control the information I

put in my brain. I'm going to control

how I treat people and who I surround

myself with. And if you control those

things, you are now in the driver's seat

to create what it is you've always known

that you were here to create. What most

people do is they back away from

adversity. But if you want to see if

you're a brave person, what they call

the four o'clock in the morning courage.

Wait. When things go completely to

pieces, when things are the worst, when

your very best deal falls apart and your

rent is late and you're tired and you're

sick and everybody is mad at you and

your car doesn't work, then it's the

person that picks themsel up and says,

"Nothing is going to stop me." You know,

you know the best quality in the world

that you can develop and I give it to

you because I made it my life's habit to

develop this quality. I hope I've got

it. I don't know for sure. But the

quality is to develop the quality of

being unstoppable. Develop the quality

of being unstoppable. Say in yourself

that no matter what life throws at me,

it'll never stop me. No matter how rough

it gets, I will never quit and nothing

will ever stop me. Make the decision

that you can be tired, you can be worn

out, but nothing is ever going to stop

you. That's a wonderful decision because

then no matter what life throws at you,

you pick yourself up and you say, "Okay,

give it, you know, do give it your best

shot." As Fonzy says, nothing is going

to stop you. It's a wonderful feeling.

It's a wonderful feeling. It's a it's

the basis of self-esteem.

It's the only way to find yourself. You

don't find yourself if you like bench

pressing and you bench press all the

time. What are you finding out? If you

like to swim, that's all you want to do

is swim. What are you finding out? Put

that, you know, people always I people

talk about triple down on your

strengths,

right?

That's the weakest [ __ ] in the world.

No, triple down on your weaknesses.

Yeah.

Find out something about yourself.

If you had to create a human, what would

you put them through to make them tough?

It probably wouldn't be a really chill

life.

Yeah.

What would you put them through to make

them patient? we probably wouldn't give

them things immediately. And so it's

like we want these traits,

but each of the traits has a price tag

attached to it. And it's just like, do

you want to pay the price tag to get the

thing? And so I think if if people

reframed the the period of life that

they're going through as the price that

they're paying out of their wallet, but

the wallet is their time, as the seconds

of life that they're trading for it,

then I think more people be willing to

make the trade because at least when I

look at myself, like when I'm 80

something years old and I'm looking back

on my life, I want to have these traits.

But in order to have those traits, I

know I have to go through these things.

And I think for me that's given me a lot

of comfort in hard times.

You could put in the work. You could put

in the time. You could say I am not

going to settle. I am going to become

exactly who I'm meant to become because

I know that it's not just going to serve

me. It's going to serve my family. It's

going to serve my community. It's going

to serve my city, my state, and my

country. And it's going to create an

immeasurable ripple effect of people who

know that they can do it too. And guess

what? That's going to be hard. But at

the end of the day, even if you come up

short, even if you don't become exactly

what it is you want to become, you will

have created so much good in this world

that you will not have regrets when you

die. This is real life. 90% of your life

will suck.

10% will be happy. You may be lucky guy,

have a lot of money, have a great ass

woman, all this [ __ ] Trust me,

oneon-one with that guy, he's missing

something. His life still sucks cuz he

hasn't faced something that bothered him

his whole life. Something is still

eating that up almost everybody.

Everybody eating you the but maybe you

found a good way how I did growing up on

how to ignore that voice that's saying

you ain't facing some [ __ ] Period. Man,

this is what I don't understand about

people, especially men in the world

today. Why are they say so worried about

being afraid? Why are they so worried

about I was afraid every time I fall.

I fall anyway.

Yeah.

Like I don't let fear guide what I'm

going to do. I do what I'm supposed to

do regardless of how I feel. So I don't

see anything wrong with feeling fearful.

Do what you are supposed to do

I don't see anything wrong with feeling

stressed or under pressure or anxious.

All these things men are trying to get

rid of. And I talk about men

specifically. I gender this because I'm

a man. I don't know how it feels to be a

woman. But all these things that people

are trying very hard to get rid of from

their brains, I don't see why they need

to leave. I will argue the point that if

I feel anxious and pressured and

stressed and fearful, I will get more

done than if I was happy. I think if I

was happy, I'd just be honestic and just

wasting my time. I think that you get a

whole bunch done with these negative

connotations and negative emotions. And

I think that life is suffering and pain

and you're here to go through it and

you're and the sooner you get used to

the taste, the more successful you're

going to be.

This is kind of part of being a man.

It's like you kind of got to it all up a

little bit.

I think so.

I think part of learning is dying. I

think part of learning is you got to die

a little bit because what is learning?

Learning is me giving up on my old [ __ ]

my old ideas. Those ideas have to die

for me to be open to some new [ __ ] And

so me learning how to be a better man, I

had to die a little bit. And that you

have the power to move. You have the

power to create change. You have the

power to transform your life.

You got the power to do that.

You are powerful beyond measure.

Just have faith in the fact that you do

You can change yourself

not know where your trajectory in life

is going to take you. And as you grow

up, you're going to go, I can't believe

how competent and powerful and capable I

am. I can't believe how well balanced

and and and and progressed I am and how

people treat me differently. Uh so

that's that's an absolutely huge part.

It took a lot for me to be a man.

It ain't easy. No.

It's the hardest thing a man a person

can ever do in the world is be a man.

Real dude.

Y

from working out to eating to family to

doing all the shitty [ __ ] You ain't

happy a lot.

Correct.

A lot. So, so all this [ __ ] that people

want to talk about, oh man, I ain't

happy a lot. All right. I ain't supposed

to be. So when you live that way and

people know you ain't lying and they saw

the work you put in, it makes a mother

feel alpha. Makes the alpha feel a

little bit weird around you. So after a

while when you exceed the standards of

the military, exceed the standards of

Navy Seals and you're constantly going

to this direction, you're some fat dumb

black dude couldn't swim. Now you're

exceeding the standard

starts to rub some people the wrong way.

and I would tell people about it.

The face of truth is open. The eyes of

truth are bright. The lips of truth are

ever closed. The head of truth is

upright. The breast of truth stands

forward. The gaze of truth is straight.

Truth has neither fear nor doubt. Truth

Be truthful

has patience to wait. The words of truth

are touching. The voice of truth is

deep. The law of truth is simple. All

you sow you reap. The soul of truth is

flaming. The heart of truth is warm. The

mind of truth is clear and firm through

rain and storm. Facts are only its

shadow. Truth stands above all sin.

Great be the battle of life. Truth in

the end shall win. The image of truth is

the cross. Wisdom's message is its rod.

The sign of truth is Christ and the soul

of truth is God. Life of truth is

eternal. Immortal is its past. Power of

truth shall endure. Truth shall hold to

the last. A real person, a real alpha, a

real go-getter, they ain't saying [ __ ]

about nobody.

Correct.

That's why you will never ever hear me

dropping somebody's name. You running my

mouth about somebody. I don't know what

you went through. I don't know what

Real man don't gossip

you're going through. I didn't wear the

shoes you wore when you were a kid. I

didn't grow up in your house. I didn't

have your family. I don't know [ __ ]

about you. So, guess what? I do. Shut

the up. Cuz real men don't say [ __ ] Cuz

first of all, we're too busy trying to

grind and be better.

Correct.

Second of all,

unless we know what we know, we know, we

shut our mouths.

But nowadays, there's not many real men

who who who live by that creed of like,

you know, if you're on social media

running your mouth and [ __ ]

you're just a [ __ ]

Correct. You're honestly that's not me

trying to be some after school special

[  ] You really are a [  ]

Real men ain't doing it. Real men don't

care about that gossipy [ __ ]

Get to work, man.

Right.

That's it. Reminder that if you want to

be exceptional, you're going to be

different from everyone else. That's

what makes you exceptional. You can't

fit in and also be exceptional. Both

have discomfort. When you fit in, you

have internal conflict because you're

not being 100% you. When you're

Don't fit in

exceptional, you have external conflict

because everyone sees you as different.

Pick one. When your friends start to

say, "You've changed." Remember, it's

because they don't know how to say

you've grown. There's a race of men that

don't fit in. A race that can't stay

still. So, they break the hearts of Kith

and Ken, and they roam the world at

will. They range the field, and they

rove the flood, and they climb the

mountains crest. Theirs is the curse of

the gypsy blood. And they don't know how

to rest. If they just went straight,

they might go far. They are strong and

brave and true. But they're always tired

of the things that are. They want the

strange and new.

They say, "Could I find my proper

groove? What a deep mark I would make."

So they chop and change. And each fresh

move is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets as he strips and runs

with a brilliant, fitful pace. It's the

steady, quiet, plotting ones who win in

the lifelong race. And each forgets that

his youth has fled, forgets that his

prime is passed. Till he stands one day

with a hope that's dead in the glare of

the truth at last. He has failed. He has

failed. He has missed his chance. He has

just done things by half. Life's been a

jolly good joke on him and now is the

time to laugh. He is one of the legions

lost.

He was never meant to win. He's a

rolling stone and it's bread in the

bone. He's a man who won't fit in.

Success guy is a very, very lonely road

man. Very few people willing to endure

the pain, the sacrifice, the due

diligence to be successful. It's an

uphill battle. And along that road,

you're not going to see too many

friends. You're going to see your shadow

It's a lonely road

most often. You got to trust in the

heart of hearts. Inside what you're

doing, what you believe in is a worthy

cause, a winnable fight. See, the thing

is for many people, they've tried the

same path you're on and they failed. As

you walk this journey, you're going to

see carcasses all over the place of

people that didn't quite have it. That

should inspire you cuz you got further

than that person and that person, but

you're not looking to get further than

them. You're looking to finish. The only

expectations we need to have is of

ourselves. Did we put the work in today?

Did we do good today? Did we achieve our

goals and dreams today? Those are the

expectations that you need to have. The

difference between a winner and a loser,

the failure is there every single time.

As the winner gets back up and does it

again and does it again until it goes

his way. So now you're down that path

and you're all alone. How do you know

you're on the right path? How do you

know what you're doing is in the right

direction?

If you're wondering

if you're on the right path,

look at the small things of life. How do

you do them? When you wash your car, you

spend an hour washing your car and you

finish washing, you put the hoses and

everything away and the brushes, you

come outside to look at the job you did,

but you notice the spots's missing. What

do you do? Do you regrab the hoses, pull

it all out, and finish the job, right?

Or you say, "You know, it's good enough.

That's good enough." Because the thing

about good enough is we don't know if

it's enough until the end hour, the

final hour, and everything's on the on

the line. We that's when we find out if

it is enough. And if we come up short,

man, doesn't that suck? I promise you

guys,

if today you never say good enough,

tomorrow you'll always have enough. What

I'm saying is a character of who you

are. It's not the title that makes you.

It's not the success that makes you. The

character defines the success, defines

the fame, and it starts right there.

Championships aren't won in the theater

of the arena.

They're won in the thousands of hours in

the training room and the labs and the

5:00 a.m. runs and it's raining when

everyone else is sleeping. That's when

it's won.

The hard champion is a light switch

that's always on. It doesn't go on and

off when someone's watching. It's

constant.

It's how you look at something. if your

name's attached to it, that you do it

right, the best of your ability every

single time. Today is the day. Today is

the day that I will look back 10 years

from now and say that was the day that

everything changed. And because you took

that responsibility and because you

became that person that you know you're

Change today....

supposed to become, the world will

become a better place.