The Keys to a (Young) Man's Kingdom
A life hack to mark you as truly somebody "SPECIAL!"
Over the years, I have handed out my own hard won wisdom to young men, from the totem pole of a writer with street cred.
A lot of it, close to 50 articles, has been curated on my /Self category.
Similarly, the advice below, from a co-contributor to the book, 99 Things Every Ambitious Man Should Know, is well worth passing onto younger generations.
💡 IDEA: Often, we men in our midlife, spend too much Time trying to be in ‘catch-up mode’ (take that adventure trip, rush into experiencing some risky thing, hurriedly find that golden coin, etc.)… and… not enough time spent in quality conversation with those we can leave an impact on.
Over to Billy Red Horse to edify what I’m suggesting:
by Billy Red Horse (The Gentleman Mystic)
If you are a competent, aggressive, driven, and even brazen male, congratulations!
You are ahead of a tremendous number of your peers and will most likely do quite well for yourself if you maintain your current heading.
A commonality among the driven is the continuing search for an edge, a shortcut or hack that will provide some hoped for advantage.
Most young men are content to pursue vigorously the perennial tropes of the day: work harder, work smarter, work longer; do more than anybody else, and you’ll get more than anybody else.
Certainly, there is much benefit to be had in applying this nose-to-the-grindstone mentality. As alluded to earlier, this approach alone is likely more than sufficient to position you well beyond your contemporaries, provided your execution is energetic and consistent.
But if you do things the same way everyone else does, then how does that make you unique?
What differentiates you from every other committed young man in your age group? Even those who fancy themselves as rebels or outsiders are generally little more than repackaged versions of others who may or may not themselves be mavericks.
So, you still want a hack, you say?
Something that will really give you an upper hand? A one-two punch of strategy and tactics that will distinguish both you and your work and mark you as someone truly special?
The magic potion of which I speak is not glamorous, nor is it the kind of approach which comes naturally to youth. The secret?
The wisdom of an elder.
I am not speaking here of a run-of-the-mill mentor. Mentors are commonly experienced in the same or similar field as the mentee, and the age of such a mentor is very often of little consideration.
The elder wisdom I am suggesting is a focus more on character than on technical expertise, a person who is intimately familiar with Time.
Find a guide or an archetype that you can (and will) model who is at least twice your age. Ideally, this would be someone willing to counsel you in the real world.
Online tutoring or the intake of information through the written word is just not as effective in this case. The elder wisdom which can benefit you the most is the wisdom of perspective. Measure is a skill best forged in the furnace of living.
The insights you can gain from one who has double your Life experience can cut years of your effort and reduce markedly the number of easily avoidable mistakes you might make.
Consider what would happen if you were to take the positives from the characteristics you currently possess and temper them with the demeanor, discernment, patience, confidence, and sagacity of a man old enough to be your father or even your grandfather, doing so while all of your peers continue to act and perform like the young bucks they are.
Any young man courageous enough to set aside the brash in favor of the mannered, the frenetic in favor of the measured would be more than a success.
He would be a god.
Follow Billy Red Horse on X (@BillyRedHorse) and check out his website: gentlemanmystic.com
A chapter from the book, 99 Things Every Ambitious Man Should Know. A book worth gifting to a loved one in your life.
And/or click the little 🤍 Like icon on the bottom-left. It will help “spark” the Substack algorithm, and give others on the platform a greater chance to see, and scare themselves, with my grizzly ways. ;)