"The first step on being a MAN.
Ignoring the hunger, because yes boy you will be starving, starved of attention, starved of affirmation, starved of love, starved of being told you are enough.
Step two on being a MAN.
Comfortability with replaceability. You are only as good as you are useful, you are only as valuable as you are needed by others, if there ever comes a day boy, where you fail to provide for everyone with a smiling face, don't be surprised when they tell you all that men do is take up space." -Unknown
Step three on being a MAN.
Sacrifice. To sacrifice for everyone around you, including yourself, sacrifice for your goals and to sacrifice for the better outcome for the ones around you. Remember one thing boy, through every dark night, there's a bright day, so no matter how hard it gets boy, stick your chest out, keep your head up, and handle it.
Step four on being a MAN.
Integrity. The day you're faced with a challenge boy, you better think of who you aspire to be. Staying stern in your values and holding yourself accountable. Get comfortable with failure boy, because without failure you cannot grow.
Step five on being a MAN.
Building. You cannot go through life just showing up, eating, and sleeping boy. You will get depressed boy. You need problem solving, you need stress. You need something difficult to overcome, and through that you will last, happiness doesn't always last boy, but nearly comes and goes.
Step six on being a MAN.
Never giving up. If you give up, what do you have to be proud of, you'll be proud that you never gave up boy. go after your dreams boy, never compromise that. Never let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. Your time is going to come. What scares you more, The idea of failing or the idea of knowing you never tried.
Step seven on being a MAN.
Exhaustion. You need to get tired; you need to get tired o what's going on in your life, get tired of your habits, get tired of your results, get tired of the actions that you're putting in every day. No one cares when you're tired boy, don't stay there, if you take on the journey don't complain. You must change boy, or nothing changes.
Step eight on being a MAN.
Pain. Giving up pleasure for purpose. Take your purpose back boy, don't let the world give you a purpose, because you will be forgotten, redundant, interchanged. There is no easy way, there is only hard work. All this pain is necessary to achieve success.
Step nine on being a MAN.
Controlling your emotions. You're capable of so much. Fueled with power unknown to yourself. Be cautious in your reactions boy. Don't let that power control you, you control the power. Slow to anger, fueling your ambitions. Open doors don't knock them down boy, its you against you.
Step ten on being a MAN.
Discipline. Don't mistake motivation for discipline boy, motivation is a feeling that comes and goes boy, and its doesn't matter if its there or not, discipline is infinitely more important. Discipline gives you power to love yourself. Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray boy. Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is foolish.
Step eleven on being a MAN.
Loneliness. Teaching yourself to obey everything you have commanded yourself to do and become boy. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Surely you are with you always, to the very end of the age boy.
-Adam McClain
