We all know one.
A father, a grandfather, a mentor – they are someone that, in our eyes, walks on air.
Whoever it is, they give the best advice. They cannot take a trip to the grocery store without it becoming a social event. They have the cash when others are in a pinch. They are even happy to scratch some gravel on the neighbor’s front porch if it comes to it.
Like most guys I know, I’ve always wanted to be this man… A great man.
The Question Remained, How?
I was ten or so when I committed to this pursuit, which proved to be much more difficult than I had imagined.
My main problem was that there were no rules or guidelines on how to pull it off. Which made my strategy simple.
Whenever I came across one of these guys, like an apprentice watching his master at work, I would take note of each remarkable quality that these men possessed and do my best to put it into practice whenever I could.
Sixteen years later and these are some of my favorites.
Their Character Is Something Out of a War Movie
I love nothing more than meeting someone who is so stubborn about their morals and values that they will go to extremes in order to stick to them.Even if it is against their own best interest.
Morals and values are the operating manuals for life. If they are out of whack, everything we believe in can topple over with a slight gust of moral opposition. Great men point their moral compass in the right direction, and they make no exceptions to pointing it anywhere else.
Life Is Their Responsibility
More specifically, these guys are problem solvers. Problem solvers that are happy to shoulder everyone else’s difficulties.
Because life is defined by problems/difficulties and how we react to them.
It’s no secret that no one else cares about our problems the way that we do. Great men do not want anyone else to be responsible for their life or the life of those around them.
They quickly learn that there is no sense in complaining. The only course of action is action. And when action is no longer needed, they go in search of the next problem or difficulty in their path.
They Verge on Arrogance, But Somehow, They Remain Humble?
In my experience, great men are some of the cockiest people that I have ever met.
And with good reason.
Because they have been through some shit – they have worked hard, faced countless adversities, and made the right moves time and time again.
Yet, they have enough years under their belt to know that vanity is better left untapped.
In doing so, everyone else tells their stories for them. Which only earns them more respect and raises their legend to unimaginable levels.
They Don’t Talk About Love, They Show It
My favorite thing about this lesson is that it was taught to me by a woman.
That woman being my mom.
Her love took form in more ways than I could count.
Some of the highlights being – giving up everything that was important to her for everything that was important to me. Being the first to hear bad news and the last to hear good news. Paying for STD tests that I thought she would never find out about (all time story behind this one).
Like a great mom, a great man understands love. And regardless of the circumstance, the relationship, or whatever might be happening in life, their love is unwavering. So much so that the people on the receiving end can always feel it.
They Pass the “Life or Death Test”
A few years ago, I started to put the people that came into my life through a test. That test took the form of a simple “yes or no” question:
“If I were dropped off in the middle of Nowhere with nothing more than one phone call to save me, could I reliably call this person?”
The people that are trusted with this phone call are likely the kind of people that would rather give up everything they have, including their own life, in an effort to save my ass.
If you are lucky, you might meet one of these people every ten years.
The Start of a Long Journey
Although I am only twenty-six, and hopefully have plenty of years of learning ahead of me, I believe that these five qualities are as good a place as any for a young man to start the journey of becoming a great man.
Just as importantly, these traits are traits that anyone can work towards to make their life honorable and fulfilling.
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