Finding Purpose in The Decline of Western Civilization
By Ryan Felman
@PathToManliness
The reason that there is a crisis of masculinity in this country is obvious. The reason why young men are struggling with suicide and living a decent life is because we have built a society that simultaneously depends on men while constantly bashing them for who they are.
Read Part 1 Here: The Decline of the American Empire
So, let’s skip the part where we bitch about life being unfair and focus on actionable advice to help guide young men on the Path to Manliness.
If you haven’t read this yet, check out 20 Ways to Reclaim Your Manhood for more advice.
Fuck your feelings, but if you go out dressed like a slob all the time, you have no idea how much you are holding yourself back. Now I almost never wear a suit or a tie, but I always look good when I step out the door. Why? Because you never know who you will meet. It could be the love of your life. It could be a motivated young man who wants to help you on your journey. But you have holes in your shirt or you look possibly homeless, so he decided not to continue the conversation.
People don’t take this one seriously enough, but people will treat you differently based on how you dress. I once had a guy from Edward Jones offer me a job while we were waiting for beers at a bar in Chicago. I was wearing jeans and a button down, but it fit well, and it was a good solid look.
What got me the job offer was my words in our conversation, but we likely wouldn’t have talked much if I was wearing a snapback and an oversized football jersey. This is another habit that separates the men from the boys.
A man knows how to hold a conversation with friend and stranger alike. Hold eye contact throughout the conversation and speak confidently. This takes practice for many and that is why you should talk to as many people as you can every day. Leave the phone in your pocket and you’ll stand out over the average young person. Be sure to actively listen to the other person; too many people are just waiting for their turn to talk. Fun tip: if you don’t have anything to say, just repeat back part of the last thing the other person said and make it clear you are pondering what was said. This usually will queue a person to expand on what they were saying.
One of my biggest regrets of my youth is the amount of time I wasted playing video games. Now I had some fun playing games with friends online who had moved far away, but I spent a lot of time gaming. It is just a waste of time and an unhealthy habit. I still worked out plenty and had more interesting hobbies, but gaming held me back from reaching a healthier physique and being a more interesting person. I recommend taking the time wasted on gaming and focusing on reading books, writing and spending more time outside.
Gaming is addicting, especially online gaming. Most of us have so few hours of free time to focus on healthier habits or self-improvement. If you are constantly leveling up your online character, you’re neglecting your own personal character. This leaves you in danger of becoming a NPC IRL. Gamers will take every free moment they have and spend it in the virtual world like this is Ready Player One.
No one ever went to their deathbed saying they wish they played more Fortnite.
The world is far too interesting if only you get off the quick fix of dopamine from gaming, porn and Netflix. This past weekend I went for a 7-mile run downtown at sunrise when the world is at its most beautiful. I participated in a big wheel race, I hit the weights and read about 100 pages in this book:
By the way, grab this book for yourself or your kid. It is a classic story about a boy who goes off to live in the woods and he explains in detail how he makes snares and a bed, among other outdoor skills. This is the perfect book to inspire a young boy to spend more time outdoors learning real life skills. Many of life’s issues feel insignificant when you take the time to get outside and enjoy the peace and quiet found in God’s country.
This world is full of too many people following Logan Pauls and Kardashians and not enough people following Hemingways and Thoreaus.
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
Find Your Purpose
I hear of many men who are uninspired by this life. They tire of dredging through another work week and live for the weekend. These are the same men who have no direction nor drive. At the very least, they need a vision. So many young men are lost, adrift at sea in a society that feels foreign to them. They turn to vice and video games living sad lives of quiet desperation.
Put down the controller and hit the gym. Stop smoking cigs or the dumb ecigs and start running.
Step one is getting yourself in shape, so you will gain the confidence to live in the real world.
Step two is to start writing until you have found your purpose in life.
Step three is to keep writing so you can maintain direction and sanity.
If you need further help, DM me or email me and we can take it a more personal direction. This life plan that the boomers laid out for us has been disillusioning for many men. The American Dream is a disaster and the old ways have failed too many. Suicide is spiking for white males and few people have the balls to talk about it. Society has attacked toxic masculinity and “white privilege” relentlessly and some poor souls believed the propaganda. Your life matters.