The Art of Manliness - Manvotionals - Brett McKay [40]
“As for me, I am the friend of gods and of good men, an agreeable companion to the artisan, a household guardian to the fathers of families, a patron and protector of servants, an associate in all true and generous friendships. The banquets of my votaries are never costly, but always delicious; for none eat and drink at them, who are not invited by hunger and thirst. Their slumbers are sound, and their wakings cheerful. My young men have the pleasure of hearing themselves praised by those who are in years; and those who are in years, of being honored by those who are young. In a word, my followers are favored by the gods, beloved by their acquaintance, esteemed by their country, and after the close of their labors, honored by posterity.”
CHAPTER FOUR
RESOLUTION
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If industry is the motor that propels men to greatness, then resolution is the gasoline that fuels the engine. History is full of men who displayed bursts of energetic genius, but weren’t able to feed and sustain their initial fire. Men who tried but who did not persevere. Their flames went out as quickly as they ignited.
Resolution is a defining characteristic of the mature masculine. A boy will dabble in many things, but will seldom finish what he starts. When a challenge arises or when he grows bored with a project, he’ll move on to something else. So too the irresolute man. In place of dusty toys, he leaves behind the fixer-upper car on cinder blocks in the driveway, the half-finished deck out back, the angry first wife, the reams of paper waiting to become the Great American Novel.
It is easy to make a choice, much harder to endure in that decision and see it through to the very end. Starting a new job or project is fun and exciting. The feeling of new romance or adventure, of changing one’s life and turning over a new leaf, leaves a man flush with a boyish enthusiasm that will carry him through the first few weeks or months of an endeavor. But many men throw in the towel when the “honeymoon period” ends, when challenges arise, and the toil becomes tough. Then it’s on to the next thing. The irresolute man goes from one thing to another, ever in search of the illusory pursuit that will remain as easy and enjoyable in the middle as it was at the beginning.
A mature man, on the other hand, is able to power through the doldrums and the setbacks that beset him. When the initial passion fades, he is able to switch to another fuel source, that of willpower and commitment. He understands that enduring greatness comes to the man whose resolve remains unshaken through both thick and thin. The resolute man begins with the end in mind and finishes what he starts, no matter what. He is willing to endure suffering and hardship for glory and honor.
Resolution involves a combination of hardihood, perseverance, and decisiveness, and this chapter explores each of these important dimensions of the virtue. The selections are designed to fill the tank of your resolve, giving fuel to your drive and determination.
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“The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between men—between the feeble and the powerful, the great and the insignificant—is energy, invincible determination—a purpose once fixed, and then—death or victory! That quality will do anything that can be done in this world, and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities, will make a two-legged creature a man without it.” —Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
Perseverance: A Double Vitality
FROM READINGS FOR YOUNG MEN, MERCHANTS, AND MEN OF Business, 1859
[Perseverance] means the steady pursuit of a plan, whether good or bad; but it would be very unwise to persevere in a plan which conscience or practice