The Art Of Manliness

If you're like most men who work a 9-5 job at an office, you're probably spending a lot of that time sitting down at a desk. Then when you get home, you might be a little active, but then you'll sit down at your desk in your home office, or you'll sit on the couch and watch TV. All that sitting is not good for your body. Some doctors even say it does as much damage to your body as smoking does.My guest today highlights all this research in a new book called Deskbound. In the show, Kelly Starrett and I discuss the dangers of sitting, and what you can do to un-do all that damage. There are a lot of great action steps that you can take right away. Don't miss it!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the quest to become the men we want to be, we're often our own worst enemy, especially when it comes to our egos. Our ego is prevents us from being humble and teachable when we're first starting out on an endeavor, it blinds us to our own weaknesses in times of success, and it can cause us to wallow in self-pity when we fail.My guest today is Ryan Holiday and in his latest book, Ego is the Enemy, he discusses how ego can thwart our personal progress and success as men. Today on the show we look at examples from history of men whose hubris caused their downfall and other men who were able to successfully harness their ego to attain greatness. Along the way we provide actionable steps to prevent ego from becoming your enemy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A few months back, we had Frances Cole Jones on the show. She's the author of How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your Brilliant Self in Any Situation.At the end of that show, Frances directed our listeners to her website to ask her any question about how to better present oneself. She was flooded with questions from AoM podcast listeners, and today I have Frances back on the show to answer some of those.We cover difficult conversations, how to bolster your small talk skills, and specific tips for developing your charisma.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why are some people more successful than others? It's a tough question to answer because it relies on a number of factors, many which are out of our control -- like genetics and plain old luck. But there are a few factors that we have a say in -- one of those being the ability to persevere even in the face of setbacks. Otherwise known as grit.My guest today, Professor Angela Duckworth, has spent her career researching this trait, and in today's show we discuss her new book, Grit, and the ways we can increase this trait in our ives.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A special Father's Day edition of the art of Manliness Podcast. Retired Navy SEAL Eric Davis talks to us about his book Raising Men: Lessons Navy SEALs Learned from Their Training and Taught Their Sons. We discuss lessons from SEAL training on teaching your kids personal responsibility, mental toughness, and leadership.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fishing has been used as a backdrop in both film and literature for finding the meaning of life and coming-of-age stories (A Rive Runs Through It comes to mind). But these fishing-as-life metaphors often become trite, losing some of their significance.My guest today wanted to write a book about fishing that's not about fishing. He wanted to suss out philosophical and life ideas without making the fishing metaphor trite. And I think he did a darn good job.His name is Mark Kingwell, and in his book Catch and Release, he explores his newfound love of fishing. Within that, he also explores the themes of masculinity, boredom, procrastination, and more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you an endurance athlete unhappy with your stalled performance? Are you constantly battling aches and pains? Are you running 30 or 40 miles a week, but still can’t get rid of your spare tire around your mid-section?If so, this episode is for you.Today on the show I have Mark Sisson on to talk about his latest book Primal Endurance. We discuss the well-entrenched endurance training myths that many athletes follow that result in sub-par performance and the counter-intuitive programming and dieting protocols you need to follow to break through your performance wall.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We live in a time of uncertainty and complexity. Things are always changing; whether it's business, politics, or life in general, you're having to constantly adapt and make decisions, even when you don't have all the information. This complexity is at its peak during combat, and us civilians are in for a treat today because my guest has gleaned lessons on dealing uncertain situations from his own time in the military.Jocko Willink is a retired Navy SEAL officer who served and led in the Battle of Ramadi. During his time in Iraq, he developed and taught other men how to lead in times of extreme complexity, which led to his book, Extreme Ownership. Today on the show we talk about decision making, self-discipline, and much more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've probably heard of the great battles fought in Europe and the Pacific during WWII, but did you know that part of WWII was fought just miles off the coast of the United States? And that the men taking part in these battles were civilians?Well, my guest today has published a book about this oft forgotten of WWII history. His name is William Geroux and his book is The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats.Today on the show, William and I discuss the U.S. Merchant Marine and their important role during WWII and why they were targets for German U-boats off the coast of the United States. We also discuss why Mathews County Virginia produced so many merchant mariners during WWII and the family from Mathews County that produced 15 men who took part in the merchant marine war.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are tons of books about how to be happier, how to improve yourself, how to be less angry, etc. These books often tout things you should add to your life to get to where you want. But sometimes the best way to achieve a goal is to actually subtract something from your life, and to stop doing the things that are making you miserable.That's the approach today's guest took in his latest book, How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use. His name is Randy Paterson, and he's a psychologist. Today on the show, we discuss the things he's seen with his patients -- common lifestyle choices and thinking patterns -- that make them miserable, and what you can do to eliminate those things from your life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've probably all seen the Dos Equis 'Most Interesting Man in the World' commercials. He goes on great adventures, has tremendous stories to tell, is friends with the rich and famous, etc.The Dos Equis man is a fictional character. But here's the thing: there was a man from 19th century who would put the Most Interesting Man in the World to shame. And you've probably never heard of him. Frederick Russell Burnham was a world-famous scout, took part in multiple wars all around the world, prospected for gold and oil and jewels in the world's roughest environments, and befriended Teddy Roosevelt amongst many other famous men of the era.There's a new book about his life called The Splendid Savage, written by Steve Kemper. Today on the show we discuss Frederick Russell Burnham, including what drove him to take part in all these adventures and what men today can learn from his life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're an endurance athlete, you probably experience the wall - that moment in the race when you're pushing yourself really hard and your body just tells you, "Enough. You can't go on." The same can be said for strength trainers too - you're lifting a weight that's been easy before, but now feels too heavy to complete. So you wonder if it's maybe your body telling you you've had enough, and it's time for a rest.But what if that's all in your mind? What if your body can go further and push itself harder? My guest today has written a book that focuses on recent research regarding mind over muscle - how we can push ourselves beyond what we think we're capable of by using a few neurological principles. His name is Matt Fitzgerald, and his book is called How Bad Do You Want It?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're a dad, or plan on being one someday, you probably have some advice or principles that you'd like to pass on to your children so that they can grow up to be well-adjusted adults. My guest today has not only passed along his wisdom, but compiled it into a couple books. His name is Walker Lamond, and I first had him on the show back in 2009 to discuss his popular book, Rules for My Unborn Son, which lays out style advice, etiquette tips, and all kinds of other principles that he wanted to pass along to his son. On today's show, we talk about how that journey is going with Walker's 8-year-old son.We also talk about his new book, Rules for My Newborn Daughter. We talk about fatherhood, and how it's different for a daughter vs a son, as well as a ton of other dadhood and parenthood topics.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're in the middle of a presidential campaign here in the U.S., and once again commentators, politicians, and reporters are bemoaning the apathy and disengagement of young Americans, but there was a time in American history when young people were the most passionate participants in American democracy. No, it wasn't the 1960s. It was the 1860s.My guest today on the podcast has just published a book about nineteenth century politics, and the energy that young voters brought to the process, and how young people, particularly men in the nineteenth century, looked to politics for a sense of manhood and adult identity during a time of economic and social upheaval.His name is Jon Grinspan, and his book is The Virgin Vote: How Young Americans Made Democracy Social, Politics Personal, and Voting Popular in the Nineteenth Century. On today's episode Jon and I discuss why politics was an essential part of male identity in the nineteenth century, and how a man's first vote was an important rite of passage into manhood d

Last year I put a garage gym in my house. It's been fantastic, but it's not without its problems. For starters, there's the issue of space. How do you cram in a gym when you have to fit a car in your garage as well? The start up costs for a garage gym are hardly anything to flinch at. How can you save money on equipment without skimping on quality? Which equipment do you actually need? The other issue is just motivating yourself when working out by yourself. How do you motivate yourself to workout when it's just you in your garage and it's dark and 30 degrees outside?My guest today, he has spent his career doing garage gyms and helping people transition to garage gyms. His name is Jared Moon. He's written a lot of content for our site on how to make DIY fitness equipment, like the ever popular DIY prowler. He's got a new book out called Garage Gym Athlete. Today on the podcast, we're going to talk about how to become a garage gym athlete: the pros and cons of garage gyms, the math of garage gyms, the economic

Most of us living in modern, western democracies live relatively safe lives. We're not having to constantly protect ourselves from marauding, blood thirsty tribes or fend off criminals at every corner.But...There's always the possibility that our life would be threatened by another human being. What should we do in those situations given the ethical, moral, and legal implications of defending ourselves?Well, my guest today has spent the past 40 years studying and teaching about this topic. His name is Tony Blauer and he's the founder of the SPEAR self-defense system. Today on the podcast, Tony and I discuss how to get better at detecting and defusing threats and what you need to do to become a human weapon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it mean to live a “life of the mind?”Why is it important that we make time to ponder and contemplate the heftier ideas of what it means to be a human?And if we have the desire to lead a contemplative life, how exactly do we go about doing it?Well, my guest today has spent his life pondering and thinking about these questions. His name is Father James Schall. He’s a Jesuit priest and philosopher and the Professor of Political Philosophy at Georgetown University. Father Schall has written on a wide variety of topics, but today on the show we focus on his book The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking in which he elucidates on ways of approaching thinking so that it delights and edifies us. Today on the the show, Fr. Schall and I discuss what it means to take part in the Great Conversation, why the life the mind has some drudgery to it, and brass-tacks things we can all do to live a more thoughtful and contemplative life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr

You want to be more productive. You want do more, in less time, so you can spend time doing the things you actually want to do. So we read articles and books on productivity, and have the best of intentions, but too often we just find ourselves spinning our wheels. You can't self-motivate to do the things you know you should be doing. If that describes you, you'll love this podcast. My guest today is Charles Duhigg. We had him on before to talk about The Power of Habit, and today we're talking about his new book, Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.This isn't your standard self-help book. Rather than relying on old platitudes, Duhigg turns to science and real-world examples of motivation and productivity. We also get into the nitty gritty and give you solid tips on how you can improve your day-to-day life and work.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

During World War II the Greek island of Crete was occupied by the Nazis and was a strategic stronghold. To take back the island, Great Britain created a small band of misfit resistance fighters consisting of poets, historians, and Cretan shepherds. Their job was to muck things up for the Nazis, but one day they decided to do something completely audacious: kidnap a German general and get him off the island.Against all the odds, they accomplished their mission.How’d they do it?My guest today on the podcast went to Crete to follow in the footsteps of these WWII resistance fighters and along the way discovered that they had tapped into the ancient Greek art of the hero. His name is Christopher McDougall and in his book Natural Born Heroes, he takes readers on a whirlwind tour through history, psychology, and fitness to show how these clever, courageous Englishmen emulated Odysseys and other Greek heroes and what regular Joes can do to live more heroically. In today’s episode, Chris and I discuss the mindset, the

If you've been following the Art of Manliness for a while, you know we're big fans of Theodore Roosevelt. There's a new biography out about him that talks about his work as a natural historian, conservationist, hunter, etc., and it uses TR's own field notes as the primary source.It's called 'Theodore Roosevelt in the Field,' and on today's show author Michael Canfield and I discuss what we can learn about Roosevelt's approach to life from his field notes, how this note-taking honed his keen sense of observation, and of course, the lessons that men can take from his adventurous life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.