The Search for Manhood in a Changing World With Frank Miniter

Frank Miniter is an author and investigative journalist with a penchant for outdoor adventure. He has floated the Amazon, run with the bulls of Pamplona, hunted everything from bear in Russia to elk with the Apache to kudu in the Kalahari and has fly-fished everywhere from Alaska’s Kenai to Scotland’s River Spey to Japan’s freestone streams. Along the

Along the way, he was taught to box by Floyd Patterson, spelunked into Pompey’s Cave, climbed the Gunks, and graduated from the oldest private military college (Norwich University) in the U.S. He was a Senior Editor at Outdoor Life magazine and was the Executive Editor of American Hunter magazine.

He is also the author of This Will Make a Man of You and The Ultimate Man’s Survival Guide. 

Favorite Success Quote

“I like a man who grins when he fights” ~Winston Churchill

Key Points

1. You Need to Stand Up for Yourself

The evolution of society and rapid shift in perceived gender roles has created a world in which manliness and masculinity are concepts that are ambiguous and difficult to explain, at best.

Yet no matter what your beliefs are pertaining to modern masculinity, I think everyone can agree on one simple fact.

You cannot consider yourself a true “man” unless you are willing to stand up for yourself, what you believe, and those you love.

I want you to imagine John Wayne, Steve McQueen, or even a character like Tyler Durden in Fight Club are sat at a table in a bar, surrounded by friends and family.

A stranger from another table comes over and starts insulting one of his family members, bringing up some past feud and looking to cause trouble.

What do you think they would do?

Would they cower in their seat, avert their eyes, and start nervously twitching?

Or would they get out of their seat, square up with the aggressor, look them in the eyes and invite them to leave before they had a real problem?

I think we all know the answer.

Being a real man has nothing to do with loving or looking for violence, but it has everything to do with being willing to take a stand for yourself or the things which you believe.

In the 21st century, it is important to realize that this rarely (if ever) means physical confrontation.

Taking a stand for yourself can be as simple as telling your boss that you need a raise because you have been working harder than anyone else and have measurable results to prove it.

It can mean speaking candidly with your significant other about the way that they have been addressing you in public situations and informing them that their actions are inappropriate.

And yes, occasionally, when all other options are exhausted, it can mean taking the gloves off and throwing a mean right hook when someone truly steps out of line.

Never be afraid to stand up for yourself, your friends, or your values, because at the end of the day it is better to live a short life where you face your fears and live boldly than a long life as a coward.

2. Life is Meant to be Lived in Community 

10,000 years ago on the plains of the Savanna, men lived in communion with one another. They lived together, ate together, hunted together, fought together, and died together.

Town elders would lead the tribe and create rituals and rites of passage for young men to pass through in order to become a man.

The warriors of each tribe relied on each other and trusted the men around them with their lives.

And for hundreds of thousands of years, this is the way that we as a species, and more specifically, we as men, have evolved.

We live in the most socially disconnected time in human history, and despite all of our technological advancements and the rapid growth of social media and other online platforms, the problem is not getting any bet