"The Brothers Bloom (2000) is a movie that touched me. I recently rewatched the opening and the film beautifully shows how far these brothers go for each other. The film is about two orphaned brothers who go from family to family because they are two little con artist rebels that nobody can control. At some point, the younger brother likes a girl, but he doesn’t know how to approach her. So the older brother who wants a better life for them uses their con artistry to not only make money for themselves, but also to let him get in touch with the girl he likes. The plan works, but the younger brother realizes that there is nothing genuine about it. A few years ago my brother and I started a YouTube channel: 'Het Besef' (The Awareness). We would do these pranks where we’d create and film awkward encounters. In one video we stared at people to the point they’d start asking if something was wrong. It never became big or anything it was just for fun. But watching the opening of the film, I came to realize that, in a way, I did it to get closer to people than I normally would. Aside from it just being a project my brother and I liked to do together. We were raised in such a way that when our parents couldn’t afford the toys we wanted, we’d make our own to play with. I guess we’re still doing that; creating our own opportunities and realities."

__________________________________

Your. . .

Balls,

Penis,

Rod,

Manhood,

Do you love it? Or is it still taboo for you to even say those words out loud? Without being vulgar or crass, can you simply utter those words without a flinch? Or do you feel some level of shame and disgust at just the thought of using those words…?

We are men after-all. Those words describe only one physical part of us—that is indicative of so much of our essence—so why shy away from using them with complete sincerity or sense of normalcy? Love your manhood, your rod, your penis, your balls. There is absolutely no shame in them, nor should there be any. Love yourself 1000% and own it. For the record, narcissism and egoism are not loving of yourself because there is no real substance in them, no real character or esteem coming from them.

Learn to find out these little nuances about your masculine essence and see where you shy away from embodying yourself totally. The energy of shame is always a clue as to where you can start peeling back the layers of knowing & being comfortable with yourself more clearly & cleanly. Seek out all your nervous ticks and eliminate the root cause of them by understanding why they’re there in the first place (what purpose they served) and then consciously stopping these nervous ticks in their tracks. You want to do this because your nervous ticks hinder the authenticity of your self-expression, and you come off exactly how you DO NOT want to come off. In loving yourself and loving through all your *stuff* (like nervous ticks), you can express the best of you to the best of your ability. And your greatest man self will fulfill it’s own destiny in the process of doing so. This is just the start of what it takes…

Keep unfolding your greatest man,

Exploring the different virtues not conducive to the health of your masculine expression. Bolded are the anti-virtues, what follows in the brackets is different insights and distinctions, or other commentary around the theme of the anti-virtue being highlighted. Some food for thought for the manosphere after a longtime.

X - sloth  [sloppy on the outside is sloppy on the inside, clean on the outside is “cream” on the inside;  take it how you want, but one thing is a given—you’ll never meet a man who’s got a great, healthy, powerful self-image of himself that dresses crappy and acts sloppy or otherwise carries himself in a dull manner;  no, a man of true value treats himself as such—in manner, in deed and in virtue…fresh as f*ck]

X - laziness  [“the lazy man walks the same road twice”;  why waste your time and energy?;  value your time and energy (which if you don’t already, I promise you, having a purpose and path of pursuit for your life will definitely make you value your time and energy);  when you do value your life like this, your life begins to take on more power and expression;  every single person who values their life has life valuing them back, watch for this next time you meet such a person, chances are they take a lot of action in their life and have a lot of “rewards” to show for it;  action is what creates your life and living is a ‘verb’ so get moving because your laziness is your self-destruction]

X - entitlement  [does nothing for you and literally robs you of your personal progress;  it’s okay to setup a positive expectation for the way you view things and the outlooks you have on life and the people that you interact with, but never make demands of things that are not yours to begin with nor things that you have yet to earn—it sets up a bad precedent for your own psychology and leads you astray;  you have right to yourself, your thoughts, your actions, your choices, your body, your energy and the things that are generated by all of that, all the rest let it be & let it flow however it wants to;  you have a right to yourself, consume yourself with the knowledge of that and demand the best out of yourself]

X - passivity  [masculinity, the male essence, by virtue is the active principle in life so to allow yourself to be too passive in the way you go about your experience of life is unhealthy to say the least;  you want to stay active, stay in motion, stay flowing with the very juice that makes more of you;  go take the world full-on with the fullness of your desires, dreams, determinations;  there is a notion in sex consciousness that says how a man fucks his woman is how he fucks the world, meaning to say that how you relate to your own sexuality is a direct correlation to how you live your life;  just think about the potential of that one;  chances are that if you are a passive lover as a man then you are probably pretty passive in taking on your dreams and goals and not much is happening to move the needle forward in your life;  your passivity could lead to you being extremely stuck in life, think about it…]

X - immaturity  [is behaving like a child, not to be confused with being playful or spirited, and blaming others for not having your needs being met;  whining, complaining, tantrums, hissy-fits and other self-absorbing behavior is indicative of acting as a child;  to do so as a child is one thing, but to continue this sort of behavior well into your adult years is very unhealthy;  part of being a mature realized adult is working with and knowing the power you do have to make way for yourself and how you want to live;  you only enable your lack of power if you act immaturely;  an adult always takes responsibility for him/herself and are at cause for what’s transpiring in their world]

X - irresponsibility  [is not acknowledging your ability to respond to things in healthy, constructive, empowering manner;  also can be defined as carelessness and a refusal to hold yourself accountable for what you are required to do, whether they are family obligations or personal obligations that you have committed yourself for;  if you give someone your word that you will do something or follow through on some course of action then you better make sure that you are following through on that promise, otherwise you are being irresponsible]

X - irrationality  [lack of clear thought;  easily duped into other people’s ways of thinking;  unoriginal thought;  being a puppet and pawn to other people’s agendas;  hero-worship, to make anyone outside of yourself your hero is to give away your power to an outside source—and giving away your own power by choice is definitely irrational behavior, you are your own hero so step into that;  learn to think for yourself and see through bullshit, including your own delusions;  critical thinking is a must in this day and age of misinformation;  on the opposite end of irrationality is discernment, a discerning man is a wise man indeed, make your eye a discerning one]

X - indecision  [people don’t often waver when they know who they are and where they are going;  when you have deep inner confidence stemming up from the depths of your integrated character, you can quickly make important decisions without looking back on them in doubt and are slow to make a move to reverse those appropriately considered yet quick decisions;  indecision either comes from fear or a lack of trust you have on your ability to make the best decisions for yourself (which begets a weakness of character)—you don’t want that;  have character & be decisive, stand by those convictions unless you realize you were severely off-base (if you were, then immediately decide to course-correct and you’ll come out on top)]

X - dependent  [un-self-sufficient;  your cup is not full so you dip into others cups to fill up your own, which is not only unsustainable but asking for trouble—you’re playing not to lose, which ultimately is playing to lose; depend on yourself and go for the win;  also, dependent behavior taken too far is parasitic behavior, you’re just leaching off of others resources ultimately resulting in lose-lose situations across the board;  the best longterm strategy is developing your own sense of independence in life, work towards it if you are behind the eight-ball, you cannot go wrong]

X - ego/unaware  [closed-minded, narrow-minded, one-sided, unconscious expression of self;  you just don’t want to see yourself, and if you are choosing that then you won’t ever see what you’re made of and what you could set out to achieve;  be brave, see yourself in all it’s facets—the good, the bad, the ugly, the great—it will allow you to see more of life too;  never be afraid of the truth especially of the man in the mirror and what you see reflecting from it;  see it and see everything]

X - sociopathic  [no empathy;  unable to feel self and, by extension, definitely not others;  that is not a good thing and it is very severely damaging of your ability to experience lasting happiness and fulfillment;  cultivate the richness and depth of feeling otherwise you’re just a robot…or a serial-killer;  allowing yourself to feel things including deep pain is invaluable to your growth and your experience of the living world;  feeling is life;  don’t you want to feel alive?;  feel the electricity of the energy pulsing through your veins, the aliveness of your own vitality and strength and purpose…]

X - abusive  [not physically, not emotionally, not mentally, not in any way is a real man about that;  cowards are abusive, not real men;  cowards choose such a demeaning and low route to sustain themselves;  don’t do it to anyone, not even yourself;  respect yourself, create the highest sense of meaning and esteem about who you think you are or want to be—and by default, you’ll automatically bestow that esteem and respect on everyone else;  but first you, create your own deeper, truer sense of self-worth that profound affects how you do everything else]

X - narcissism  [thinking too highly of yourself without consideration for anything else—aka “buying your own hype”;  as a rule, never buy your own hype, it’ll actually keep you stronger as an individual, more even keel and able to act on your own merit, and if you have (the aforementioned) real self-worth then you’d actually have no need to be narcissistic in the first place because the awareness of your true self would govern you, not some false fabricated front of high-value]

X - violent  [be dangerous but never violent—dangerous with your charm, your wits, your ability to observe, your unpredictability, your spontaneity, your sense of humor, your kindness, your character, your physical capacity to exude strength, etc.—and yes, your composure too;  it makes you very dangerous because you then are capable of using your entire being for your highest good in any critical moment of decision-making] [composure makes you very dangerous, never forget that]

X - victimhood  [don’t ever play that card, victimhood betrays you and your power instantaneously;  the second you go there, you lose everything;  victimhood is not manhood;  men take their life by the horns and steer it in the direction of their own choosing;  they accept nothing less than their path and purpose to create their greatest visions in life;  they’re self-empowered and driven to take on the responsibilities that come with the territory of their self-chosen mission in life]

X - lying/deception/cheating  [nothing sinks you faster than the path of dishonesty, in any of its forms;  it is the biggest b*tch move you could ever play and no one does it hurt more than you;  historically, time has always proven that the person lying, cheating, deceiving always ends up on the short-end of the stick and any gains to be had from doing so only result in short term, temporary, minute, fleeting gains aka “fool’s gold”;  you owe yourself the opportunity to fairly play this game of life to the best of your ability—which is immediately disallowed when you lie;  and truth, that is your highest calling card in life, setting out on its path will ultimately be the most rewarding thing that you could do;  truth will always set you apart from the rest because majority of the players in existence don’t choose that;  truth will protect you and shield you against the deceptions of others;  it will illuminate for you a path of your own nobility, whereby it ensures that you almost always win;  one of the biggest platitudes that we’ve all heard is also one of the most evergreen pieces of wisdom you’ll ever receive, don’t discount it because “the truth will set you free”]

Lusting over a women’s looks creates weakness in you as a man. Why?

Because it immediately lowers your own esteem about the value of everything else that makes a human being--whole and complete. It’s a subtle way to give away your power for something so superficial as looks or physical dimensions on a body.

To appreciate beauty is one thing. To ogle at a woman who’s got big breasts and a lifted derriere like you’ve never seen such a thing is totally and utterly dis-empowering.

Get into a relationship with one of those women who exclusively derive their own value from the size and shape of their “assets”, and you’ll quickly realize just how costly the whole ordeal can be--both on a material, financial level and more so on the immaterial, soul level. You would have to sell out big time on your own character, moral-standing & freedom of expression just to entertain their attention, or simply, to get a slice of their time.

We all have the freedom to make the choices that we want to in terms of the decisions we make. So why don’t you make a stand for the value of a woman’s soul and affirm yours in the process.

Your hormones may tell you that you would like to sell-out a piece of your soul just to have sex with someone who had certain physical proportions, but the aftermath would definitely be a price that you would never have paid to play if you had known in the first place. Your testosterone has much, much, much more power to create and be a force for purposeful existence than you have any idea. And you don’t have the idea because if you experienced this power, there would be no relinquishing of it in the first place--it is that enlivening. Take the clue and find a way to experience it. Know what it is like firsthand to channel the energy, the sheer-force of your manhood. Incredible, it is. 

The question to ask yourself when making any decision in any moment of your life. “Is there integrity in this?...in what I’m about to do, in who I’m engaging with, in my communication (the way I talk and express myself), in my thought process...”

If not, you are betraying yourself and the environment you find yourself in (which you’re also creating yourself), that includes those you interact with. Think about how complete your life would be navigating life this way. No bullshit. No nonsense. Pure results. All truth (which means no compromise and 100% fulfillment). You have the ability to empower your every moment in this way, constantly affirming your absolute integrity. It’s seriously powerful because the minute you begin to veer off-track, the radar would sound off and chime in through your inner consciousness letting you know that something is not right, that you’re not right. Instantly, you course correct. Why make yourself a liar? Better yet, why settle for less than your best, less than you (and everyone else) deserve? Having your inner impulses tuned in to direct you in living with full integrity makes life have your back, and it ups the quality/the standard of how you live it.

The problems we experience, very often come in when we are not doing something that totally aligns with our innermost values. We’re asking for trouble when we operate out of integrity with ourselves. That’s the biggest problem we face. We sabotage ourselves without even knowing it. All it takes is a little self-awareness to cultivate our integrity radar. Once it’s active and working, we don’t need to allow in any bullshit in our lives. Truth is--we are creating our lives and “the everything” we experience as a result of that, is what we have to show for it. The best part is that it is our choice to allow it or not. We are in control. But this control is not some OCD-type behavior or some ego-maniac, power-hungry drive rather it is our own level of self-awareness. Your self-awareness is what will allow you to check in with yourself so that you can find the space in any moment to realize if there is in fact 100% integrity in what you are doing. Your body will even tell you to check in with yourself--it will trigger the reminder every time--if only you would pay attention to the feelings that come up in your body.

Some situations to help you kick-start that integrity radar: - when you have sex with a woman, are you doing it the right way? was the basis of the whole interaction with the woman based on honesty? did you lie in any way? do you even want to follow-through on what the interaction would require out of you moving forward?

- when you are dealing in business, are you operating in accordance with your true values? the way you went about to solicit business, did it match the integrity of your character or did it leave you feeling off on the inside? is the way you market yourself clear or does it leave things open to interpretation so that you can play in the grey area?

- when you eat food, is it supporting the health of your mind, body and soul or corrupting the integrity of it’s healthy, vital nature?

The discussion and insights available here at the Greatest Man Blog are not band-aids. They are NOT quick fixes, but yes, because of the level of insight and understanding that they are coming from—they do begin to quickly help you. Immediately even—if you can grasp it fully and embody the understanding.

This is definitely not about one-night stands, day game, night game, “this” game, “that” game. It’s simply about life and your place in it as a modern day man living in this time period. We are about that—you becoming your greatest man. Who gives a shit about the fluff anyway. No misinformation, no borrowed knowledge. Pure experience and practical insights on a lot of things and perspectives that no one usually talks about.

The posts here are about bridging the gap between the macro and the micro. The macro being the life and paradigms men live through and have to face. The micro being you. Everything is tactical and not tactical at the same time. It’s strategy and totally a lack there of too. There’s no difference to the whole being, as long as it’s actually coming from the space of your true self. Are you mind-body-soul in alignment when you say something to a woman, when you interact with her (or the rest of the world)? That’s what this is about. That level of badassery, of character, of strength. All or nothing.

No techniques needed to own your truth. ...To live.