How my son will slay dragons in the 21st century
A sample of lessons, insights, and observations I want to share with my son so he can slay all the dragons and demons hiding in modernity and become a warrior-king
I feel one of our chief duties as fathers is to provide practical guidance for our children on how to thrive in any environment. That perogative applies whether we are raising our families in a luxury loft in the exurbs of a metropolis, live in an uncontacted tribe deep in the Amazon, or in an ancient village that’s existed since time immemorial. In other words, our duties as fathers transcend space and time.
We must teach our children the ropes so to speak.
My father taught me so much, and I want to add some things to that discarnate volume of dad knowledge, in no particular order.
Watch your hand(s) catching the ball or feet touching the ball. When throwing, kicking an object, keep all your attention at the target.
You don’t need lighter fluid to light charcoal on the grill. You need 1) a “Pyramid” of alternating layers of charcoal and tinder and 2) at least 25 minutes to let the coals light
There are men and there are women. We are almost totally alike, but the differences are everything. Respect, but don’t worship, women’s nature, and do the same for yourself.
Follow your interests, but keep in mind the most valuable lessons are those that are immediately useful to people around you. Everything else is a nerdy pursuit for fun and friendship.
Nerdy pursuits are some of the greatest sources of joy in life.
Be a funny guy, but don’t try to be The funny guy.
Pay attention to nature. Simply observe the activities of all the life around you. Reflect.
Learn how to cook. There’s nothing lamer than a person who is dependent on meal-delivery apps.
Leadership is real, and no, it’s not as simple as a corporate program or for-profit certification course. Learn to recognize genuine leaders. These days Managerial-Bureaucrat types have co-opted the term “Leaders” and “Leadership” to dignify their petty obsequiousness.
A leader earns loyalty from others. How they do that is unique to their circumstances, their environment, and their personalities (which is why you should be extremely skeptical of previously mentioned leadership programs).
Understand the purpose and benefits of dancing. A few benefits coming to mind are 1) you can process the emotions you’re experiencing via music physically and communicate your inner life wordlessly 2) you are capable of coordinating your movement to a rhythm. By the way, these two reasons are probably why women are attracted to men who can dance.
Perfect the counter-attack. As a training partner at my BJJ gym and Navy SEAL vet told me, “The best defense is to attack the attacker.”
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
When it comes to women and relationships: Never lie. Tell them the unvarnished truth about how you feel about them and your intentions. You won’t waste your time or theirs( which is quite frankly, much more critical in their youth).
Have fun with women, but don’t sleep around for fun. There is nothing casual about sex so treat it with that level of recognition.
Stay away from women who don’t seem to understand the above point.
The world is everything that is the case. How you see the world is entirely up to you.
What do you think of these lessons so far? Share your thoughts in the comments.
“Leadership is real, and no, it’s not as simple as program or for-profit certification course. Learn to recognize genuine leaders. These days Managerial-Bureacrat types have coopted the term “Leaders” and “Leadership” to dignify their petty obsequeiousness.”
All of the lessons you laid out are great. I like this one a lot.
Attack the attacker and slow is smooth and smooth is fast are absolute truths. Also, being unavailable while being unavoidable is key to self defense.