In 2019, Lou Costa of Ironmill partnered with Manlihood on a blog campaign entitled “Rise Up” We wrote weekly blog posts exploring manhood, and calling men to step into more. We shot a handful of videos to go along with our posts, but we never used them. In June of 2021, Lou passed away unexpectedly. It was a shock to not only his biological family, but to the family he built around him as well. After he died, I dug out the unused footage that we shot. It was raw, powerful, and I think it deserves to be a part of Lou’s Legacy. Some day, Lou’s sons are going to Google his name. I want them to be able to see his face, to hear his voice, and see into his mind.
So these episodes are dedicated to my friend Louis James. Costa.
Lou talks about pushing through the pain to achieve more in his life, and Josh talks about resetting the toxic thoughts that hold us back.
This episode references these blog posts written by Josh and Lou.
For 40 years, Aaron Walker has run successful businesses, led his family, and been a leader in his community.
He credits the secret to the power of the MASTERMIND group.
Aaron has been in a personal Mastermind with his friend, financial guru, Dave Ramsey for over two decades. He has also learned from spiritual mentors such as David Landrith and Bob Warren, as well as Dan Miller’s 48 Days and “The Torch” Aaron incorporates education and learning opportunities into his daily routine, remaining informed of the latest tools and trends available, which he shares with the men on ISI Mastermind Group.
The Manlihood ManCast is a personal development podcast for men. The “Virtues of Manhood Series” will look at the virtues that masculinity should embrace, and in this episode, Josh Hatcher talks about the virtue of honor.
To honor something is to hold it in high regard. To recognize it’s value. It has come to mean respect or esteem. .
Men can often hide behind “masks” of masculinity. We hide our authentic self behind a different version of ourself – and we do it for a number of reasons.
The Mask of Stoicism – We bury our emotions, rather than to properly deal with them.
The Mask of Bravado – We pretend to be courageous when rather than to actually be brave.
The Mask of Success – We focus on the outward signs of success, while we neglect the thigns that are more important.
The Mask of Superiority – We pretend to be smarter, better, stronger, more superior than others – and often belittle others as a way to avoid facing the truth about ourselves.
The Clown Mask – We self-deprecate, and entertain – going for laughs because laughter is easy approval.
What we need to do – is to be our authentic self. There’s a time and place for each of the things that these masks represent. Not everyone needs to see your deepest emotions – and to learn to trust the right people so that you can be real with what your are feeling, and to be real with yourself about what you are feeling -but also to put in the work to deal with what you are feeling… That’s the right way. It doesnt’ mean EVERYONE needs to see it – but you don’t have to put on a false face.
With Bravado – sure – there’s a place for bravado. Sometimes – when you’re faced with a challenge that requires courage… and you don’t have it – you can drum up that courage – make yourself FEEL brave… and then the real courage is in the actual action step you take. But if you allow that bravado to become a MASK – a cover for your identity…
The same is true for Success – is it wrong to want to succeed? To have a nice house, or a nice car? Or if you HAVE a degree of success, is it wrong to show it? No. But do not allow it to become your identity.
We break out of our masks by: 1. Understanding who we are.
And that’s not even scratching the surface! We’ve got a World Series Champion Pitcher We’ve got a Syndicated Television KINGPIN with some SPICY attitude.
We’ve got BEST SELLING Authors.We’ve got coaches, leaders, creatives, and so much more that we’re going to feature in the next 100 episodes. 100 Episodes of Epic.
