5 Things that Inspire All Men

If you want a truly exceptional life, there is only one thing that stops most men from achieving that. We’re talking about inspiration.

Think about it.

Every man has the potential to be great. We are all given the stuff necessary to make dreams come true, but only a handful ever do. And do you know why? Because you can’t achieve anything without utilizing some form of inspiration, and inspiration, by our definition, goes far beyond the “head, heart, and dick,” the popular television show, OZ, once proclaimed.

Inspiration is so important to your ultimate success and happiness in life that you’d be wise to take note of a few of the things that you could draw from every day in order to become more productive, popular, successful, and admired. And most all of these resources are totally within your own grasp if you only know where to look.

Here are six places right off the top of our heads.

Respect

“Treat people with respect,” Isaiah Mustafa (Old Spice Guy) explained to us as being an essential part to becoming a better man. But unfortunately, not everyone has received that memo, which poses a big problem for some men. You see, a man draws inspiration from respect. This is because it gives him the confidence to walk outside the line. To make big decisions on his own without getting approval (we’ll talk more about that in a moment). And when a man feels like he can do whatever it takes to get the job done… the job usually ends up getting finished and finished well.

But how do you develop this kind of respect when you don’t have any to speak of at the moment? You earn it. You earn it from respecting others, living an inspiring life, and being an inspiration to others who are struggling with the same things as you.

Expectation

You’ve likely heard this before, but your character is a combination of what you and other people think of you. But here is something you may not have heard: You will never attain any amount of success over what those expectations are set at (unless you are extremely lucky – but don’t count on it.). So if you walk through life expecting dog food crumbs and pitty, well, that is exactly all that you will ever receive. So ramp up some big expectations, because that is the only way to climb yourself out of any gutter.

Admiration/Love

Admiration has the same power to men that love has over women. This is why a man’s partner, family, and friends are a huge source of inspiration. If there is at least one person out of these three groups who admires and believes in you, then you are leaps and bounds ahead of the ones who don’t. This is because it is difficult to believe in your own best abilities until someone (important) confirms that you do have some. This is a reminder to choose your circles carefully, for while you may not be able to choose your family, you can always choose your friends and lovers.

Sex

“Phenomenal sex is the elixir to life,” Survivorman, Les Stroud once told us. And he was right. But this inspiration must end once your out of the sheets (or off the coffee table, etc.). You don’t want to covet sex so much that you are willing to change your goals and values just to continue to receive it. There are people out there who will hold back sex in order to control your life and inspiration. Never let this happen, because sex is best – just as in everything else – when it is free and naturally inspired.

Approval

You may not know this about yourself, because you are strong, determined, and rarely need anyone – but you also live through the motto of seeking approval for almost everything you do. Men seek approval of their peers constantly while growing up, and then at some point in their lives, they begin to do so through their wives and girlfriends. And the problem with that is a man is only truly free to be inspired if he can enjoy the things that actually inspire him.

So drop all the social expectations, words of wisdom from Arnold Swatzeneggar, and that really uncomfortable man talk you had with your dad outside on the porch when you were a teenager. If you seek approval for everything you do, you stifle your heart and creativity – and that is pretty much where all your raw inspiration resides. Don’t do that. The only approval you need is your own. So just give that to yourself right now and be done with it.

Instinct

Every man has a basic set if instincts. And whether you believe that this knowledge has developed from all the other great men and women in your gene pool who have walked this earth before or not, you can’t deny the strong pull that occasionally leads your heart into one direction or another. And provided that instinct has nothing to do with expectation, sex, or approval, we remind you to follow it.

But before you can follow, you must learn to read, because these instincts may at first seem subtle. Then once you get the read part down, you only have to follow with your heart. And while such instincts may not always be right, you have to trust that there is a lesson to be learned from them, and then the next instinct that comes after will be much better than the last.

And that, my friend, is how you play the game and win.

Recommended Reads:

101 Lessons for Men to Live By

7 Books Every Man Should Read

How to Sell Yourself to Get Anything