Preface: Some of these rules are gems of advice I’ve articulated before in other posts, but the collective message is a good blueprint for conducting your life as a man.
Rule One: Let your experiences, both good and bad, be your life lessons and opportunities to grow as a man. Experience is a great teacher.
Rule Two: Don’t be afraid to take risks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plus, this is how you get experience.
Rule Three: Commit to self-improvement of mind, body, and spirit. The man who is strong of mind, body, and spirit is unstoppable. That means eating right, exercising, being well-read, being at peace within yourself.
Rule Four: Have ambition and have goals. A woman can never truly respect a rudderless, jobless man with no plan.
Rule Five: Be competent. You don’t need to be able to add an extension to your house with your own hands or be an astrophysicist, but a man should absolutely be a master of his chosen craft. A man should know how to change a tire, understand basic car maintenance, be able to cook and clean for himself, and take the lead in making his woman comfortable and secure.
Rule Six: Be confident. Confidence is the conduit to success. It is cultivated by our experiences, both successes and failures.
Rule Seven: Never self-depreciate, even as a humorous compliment to your woman. This not only undermines your confidence, but is insulting to your woman in ways she will likely never tell you. It’s not sexy or endearing, so don’t do it.
Rule Eight: Exercise self-care. Along with diet and exercise, men should be mindful of their hygiene. Don’t be a metrosexual, but if you have a beard, keep it trimmed and clean. Take care of your skin. Do regular “manscaping” (keeping your body hair under control, yes, even and especially “down there”). Powder your balls. Women love men who exercise self-care. This becomes even more important as you age.
Rule Nine: Cultivate your knowledge. There is more than one section of the newspaper (yes, even the digital ones). Worldly, well-read men are sexy to women. A man should be able to hold a conversation with anyone at anytime about anything. Knowledge comes with experience and intellectual curiosity. Being informed about the world and able to articulate your opinions intelligently is a skill that impresses the ladies and opens doors for you.
Rule Ten: Dress with style and smell well. Don’t dress to be trendy and dress your age, but also, don’t be afraid to be bold. Learn the difference between eau de toilette and eau de parfum and find your “signature man scent”. Also, watches are to men what jewelry and purses are to women. There are purpose-driven watch styles you should learn about. I’ll explain them in a future post.
-The Rational Ram
The Rational Ram 