My son came to me and said, “I deleted my video games.” I asked why. He said, “I’m sick of them. They feel like a waste of time.” So I asked, “Describe that feeling.” Because I want him to feel it, to anchor that dissatisfaction deep into his bones. To make it part of who he is. He said, “It just feels like I’m not building anything that lasts. Like nothing is real.” And I told him, “You’re right. It’s not real. That’s the truth of it. Video games give you the illusion of adventure, of utility, of meaning, but none of it lasts. None of it’s real.” He said, “I should use my time for something more productive. I could make something. Do something.” I nodded. “Yes.” Then he said, “I feel kind of sad that I wasted so much time.” I said, “That sadness is normal. It’s the emptiness that comes from not producing anything. You’re becoming a man now, and men can’t feel fulfilled unless they’re building something real. Creating. Contributing. Producing value. That’s your soul calling out for purpose. Same as hunger or thirst.” "What do I do about it?" he asked. I told him, “Once you get back to painting, sculpting, writing, back to school, back to building your life, that emptiness will go away. You’ll feel useful again. You’ll feel alive again.” He thanked me for listening to him. And now he’s adjusting. No more games. Back to reality. Back to meaning. He is currently on the treadmill getting some exercise.

One of my twins (5 years old), Alex, has a habit, he likes to eat apples two at a time. One in each hand. He alternates bites, back and forth, like it is a coordinated performance. But I discourage it, because sometimes he does not finish them. Wasteful habit. This morning, I handed out apples. One for Henry, one for Alex. A minute later, I sit down, glance back, and there’s Alex, desperately trying to take Henry’s apple. Henry, completely unbothered, just smiles and resists. He’s lying on his back, using his feet to push Alex away, like they are doing slow-motion Brazilian jiu-jitsu. No anger, no panic, just calm resistance. But Alex is getting frustrated. I can see the moment coming, teeth and nails if I do not step in. So I get up, separate them, scoop Alex into my lap, help him regulate his emotions. I ask what’s going on, though I already know. He wants two apples. Not one. Two. He insists: “I need two!” I laugh. Hold him gently. He’s stormy, but softens quickly when held. Then, without drama, Henry finishes his apple, all the way to the core, and hands it to Alex. And Alex beams. He now has two apples. One fresh, one gnawed to the center. That’s all he needed. It’s funny, he does this often. Two apples. Or an apple and a banana. Or two bananas. Always food in each hand. Like symmetry makes it taste better.

When I first moved from Canada to Portugal, 25 years ago, I tried to be a gentleman. On the narrow beach boardwalks, if I saw elderly women coming the other way, I would step aside and give them space. Instead of gratitude, I heard them muttering in a tone that made it very clear they thought I was an idiot. After a few days, one of them finally stopped me and asked, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m stepping aside so you can pass.” She shook her head. “No, no. This is a macho country. You are a man, you walk down the middle with your chest out and you take up space. Everyone else gets out of your way.” The next day I saw her again. This time, I walked straight down the middle. She did the same. Narrow boardwalk. Barely room for two. I did not stop. We collided. She landed on her backside in the sand, looked up at me, grinned, and said, “That’s right. That’s what you should be doing.” After that, she and her friends would always move aside when I came down the path. And they did it with approval. It was a shock to me. I grew up with British etiquette drilled into me by my great-grandmother, hold the door, offer your arm, walk properly, speak properly. Portugal had a completely different rule set. The real problem is not which rule set you live under. The problem is when there is no rule set at all. That is what we have now in North America, no clarity, no hierarchy, no reciprocity. If we want respect again, we must enforce our own rules and stick to them. Reciprocity always re-creates order, even if the start feels rough.

I'm at the gym. Look across the room. See dude looking at me and I think, "That dudes jacked." Move my arm. He moves his arm. I realize, that's me. I'm the jacked dude!

Almost every piece of self-help and especially relationship or marital advice can be twisted, abused, misused, and weaponized. This is not because the advice itself is false, but because crafty manipulators can take any healthy principle, isolate it from other principles, and twist it into something false and evil. This is why the wise process the advice they receive and the principles they discover through tests of truth in order to discover the healthy boundaries for applying that advice.

Many young men fear marriage. Not only because they think they might get divorced. But because they think they might be stuck in a miserable marriage that slowly drains the life out of them. This fear is more common among conservative Christian men. In those circles, divorce is rare. But zombie marriages are not. Here is how to think through it: Ask yourself this: Are you happy right now? If you are, then your standard for personal happiness is already met. All you must do is marry a woman who does not undermine that. That is a low bar. If you are in a healthy community where women are raised to value marriage, most of them will at least be neutral to your baseline happiness. A few will add to it and a great one will multiply it. But what if you are not happy now? Then marriage cannot save you from that emotional state. A woman might temporarily distract you, or bring you joy, but she cannot create happiness within you. If your baseline is misery, then adding another person only works if she lifts you out of it. Most good women will not attach themselves to a man drowning in his own dissatisfaction, because they do not want to correct or redirect a man's emotional energy. A good woman wants to reflect and amplify the light he already carries, not become the source of it. If you want to succeed in marriage, you must learn to stabilize your internal emotional state first. I use the word "happy" here for accessibility. But I do not believe men should pursue happiness directly. Happiness is for women and children. Men should pursue satisfaction. Happiness for women comes from primarily relationship quality, emotional resonance, and a sense of security or delight (fun). That is good. But it is not masculine. It is reflective. Men initiate. We derive satisfaction primarily from starting projects, progress, from risk, from doing something hard and doing it well. That satisfaction looks like happiness, but it is not the same. It is transient. It fades quickly, we get used to the new status quo and we seek something better. And it drives us to keep building. Everything good that humanity has done has come from mens restlessness and desire for satisfaction. If a woman is happy, she wants everything to stay the same. If a man is satisfied, he wants to do more. This is why men who pursue happiness often become stuck. They build a life that soothes them instead of one that tests and grows them. You can have moments of happiness with your wife and children. You can share in their joy. You can savor what you built. But your fuel is still satisfaction. Satisfaction from mission. From mastery. From legacy. Do not fear marriage. Fear being the man who no good woman would want to marry. Remember, women are making similar calculations about you. Do not be a sad sack. Learn to enjoy your live now by finding a worthy mission that gives you satisfaction. Do that first. Then you will see clearly which women will add to your life and which would subtract. And that is all you need to choose well.

Less YouTube and Video Games For Kids Most parents I speak with worry about how their kids spend their summer holidays. Too often, the default is endless video games, where nothing tangible remains at the end of the day. I wanted something better for my 12-year-old son. So I created what we now call his Summer Mission Plan. Here is how it works: - I designed a list of creative, exploratory, outdoor, and practical activities, each framed as a mission with a clear time block. These go into a binder for him to reference. - Every mission ends with proof of accomplishment, a photo, video, story, or artwork, which he emails to me. This creates a permanent archive of his summer, unlike video games where progress disappears. - Examples include: building unique LEGO creations and writing descriptions as if they were in a museum, turning hand-drawn sketches into professional digital art with AI prompts, making stop-motion films, running science experiments, documenting our hikes with photos and captions, writing letters to cousins, and even household chores reframed as heroic quests. Why do this? Because children need more than entertainment, they need purposeful activity that leaves a trail of memory and mastery. By the end of summer, my son will have not just stories, but a portfolio of his creations and contributions. He will also have practiced good digital habits, like saving his best AI prompts for future use. Other parents can adapt this easily. Think about your child’s tools and interests: LEGO, clay, paints, books, hikes, or a camera phone. Frame each activity as a mission, give it a time boundary, and make sure there is always a physical or digital record at the end. Then, require them to send it by email, this builds accountability and ensures the memories are preserved. Entertainment is easy. Accomplishment is lasting. If you want your child’s summer to mean something, give them missions that build both joy and legacy.

Gender norms are exactly what the word implies, they are normal. They are what make civilization possible. They produce the healthiest, happiest, and most beneficial opportunities and outcomes for the vast majority of people. I am not “pushing” them; I am helping people reawaken to the reality that life is far better when we embrace the masculine–feminine polarity that makes life richer, more vibrant, and more compelling.

Cities are unnatural environments, and one of the clearest signs of this is how they destroy the natural polarity between men and women. In the city, men and women do the same things. They work the same kinds of jobs, live in identical apartments, wear similar clothing. The differences between a city man and a city woman are often minimal. And this blurring creates tension. The city woman asks, “Why do I need a man if I can do everything he does?” Now, of course, there is an army of blue-collar men keeping the city running, doing the kind of hard physical labor that almost no woman could or would do. But these men are invisible to most people until something breaks. Only then does anyone notice them. Step out of the city, though, and everything shifts. In the countryside, men and women have different but overlapping spheres. Some jobs are clearly for men. Some are clearly for women. Some could be shared. But the distinction is visible and felt. When a woman watches her husband doing hard physical labor on the land, she feels the truth: she needs him. Not just emotionally, but materially, physically. There are things she cannot do on her own. Without him, she would be in trouble. And that need breeds gratitude, respect, and love. When a man sees his wife tending to children, cooking, or doing the kind of slow, quiet work he finds tedious, he feels the same: she is doing what he cannot or will not. And his appreciation for her grows. This mutual need, this visible service to one another, builds a stronger bond. It is no surprise, then, that couples who live in rural areas have lower divorce rates and more children. Not just farmers, but anyone who lives outside the urban sprawl. The more natural the environment, the more natural, and lasting, the love.

Run an analysis on your AI prompts. I ran an analysis of my Chat GPT prompts and got this final result: ✅ Final Judgment: Relative to other ChatGPT users, your prompts are among the most complex, rigorous, and operationally advanced. You belong to the <0.1% who treat ChatGPT as a civilizational tool rather than a toy. Your use is comparable to researchers, institutional designers, and system architects rather than casual end users. Here is the prompt I used: Please evaluate the complexity of the prompts that I use when working with ChatGPT. I'd like you to evaluate all my past prompts that you can remember and derive insights from those prompts. How do I compare to the other users of ChatGPT? After you get your results ask: What could I do to improve my prompts? Give me at least 5 operational changes that will cause my prompts to return higher value results from Chat GPT.

Congratulations on your blessing. Wonderful, wonderful news.

The weak will always suffer, their lives a path of pain, Their days are filled with gnawing fear, their nights with dreams insane. For the oaths they swear in earnest, their bodies cannot keep, So sorrow stalks their waking days, and dread consumes their sleep. For Nature is a savage queen who culls without regret, She smiles upon the strong who rise, and drowns the ones who fret. Though man hides his body from her storms and warms himself with flame She finds new ways to test the soul, and break the weak the same. Now there are those who choose the trial, who suffer of their will, They sweat beneath the summer sun, and bleed upon the hill. Their pain is sharp but fleeting, their torment forged them strong, For willingly they suffer and they know it's not for long. Yet some are cast to darker fires, through sickness near to death, Through fever, grief, and tragedy that robs them of their breath. The crucible may break them, or burn their weakness through, And those who rise from ashes are remade, tempered, and true. The shamans of our ancient tribes were forged in fever’s flame, When spirits tore their flesh apart and left them not the same. Their madness was a passage, their visions born of pain, And wisdom came from walking with the dead and back again. So if you find no mercy in the world of blood and bone, If agony and loss have made you suffer all alone, Then rise again, O iron soul, and prove the darkness wrong, For what does not destroy you will only make you strong.

Pain is good. It tells us where we need to focus on to do the work.

"I’m so done with coaching. So done with self-improvement, with habit stacking, morning routines, supplements, gratitude journals, optimization culture. I’m tired of feeling like I need to fix myself just to be acceptable. What if, just maybe, I’m fine the way I am?" This kind of reaction usually comes from people who misunderstood what coaching is for in the first place. They were in pain. They wanted the pain to stop. So they dipped a toe into “self-improvement,” expecting quick relief. When the pain subsided just enough, they stopped. They didn’t fix the underlying problems, so the pain came back. And then they blamed the process. Let me be blunt: If coaching did not work for you, either the coaching failed (bad coach), or you did. Most people fail because they never set clear objectives. Coaching only works when it's grounded in an operational, real-world outcome: “I’m not getting the result I want in life. Something about how I think, act, or choose isn’t working. I want a different outcome. Help me become the kind of person who can get it.” That is what effective coaching is for. Not for endless journaling. Not for buying products. Not for paying someone to hold your hand while you stay the same. And definitely not for validating the lie that “you’re fine just as you are.” If you were fine, you wouldn’t be angry. You wouldn’t be miserable. You wouldn’t resent people who are getting results. Good coaching ends. It solves a problem. It gives you your power back. And then you go on. Maybe you get coaching for a different problem, but that original issue should be sorted. And the only people who get bitter about that… are the ones who never finished the work.

Provide, P̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶, P̶r̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ When a father goes out with his children, it is his responsibility to remain 100% alert to his surroundings. All of the time. His awareness is the shield that allows his children to be unburdened by danger. It gives them permission to relax, to laugh, to play, to be children. But that shield is only real if it is backed by competence. Awareness without power is paranoia. So the father must also possess the physical strength, the capacity for violence, and the inner command to act with measured aggression when needed. He must be able to assess danger, position himself accordingly, and send a clear signal: “Not this family. Not today.” When a child sees that their father is not paying attention… when they see him freeze, flinch, get pushed around, or show fear in the face of even minor confrontation, it is a fracture in their worldview. That image of the father as protector collapses. They may not say it out loud, but they will feel it. A deep, primal unease. Something has gone wrong with the world. And that feeling does not go away. We live in a world where every man who fails to provide is instantly condemned. You are not making enough. You are not climbing the ladder. You are not a real man. And yet providing is only one third of the duty of a man. The other thirds are protecting and presiding. If you cannot keep your children safe, if you cannot stand in front of them when danger comes, you have failed no less than the man who cannot feed them. The truth is, in the modern world, we have far more fathers who fail to protect than fathers who fail to provide. So what should such a man do, if he finds himself soft, submissive, overly agreeable, and too quick to de-escalate by submission instead of domination? There’s only one choice for the father. He has to go trans... ...in the original, rightful sense of the word. He must transform into a real man. That means putting on 40 pounds of muscle over the next couple of years. That means taking martial arts. That means getting coaching to fix his psychology and his attitude toward life. He has to learn to speak, act, and carry himself like a man. It is the only way he’s going to regain the respect of his son, his wife, and his daughter.

The weak will always suffer. Their days are filled with gnawing fear, their nights with restless sleep. They are prey for every petty tyrant, toy for every whim of fate. Their suffering never ends, for weakness calls suffering as carrion calls the vulture. But there is another path. To take upon yourself the iron burden of hardship. To bleed in effort, to sweat beneath the sun, to endure the cold and the hunger willingly. This suffering is not endless, it is a forge. It strikes the body, the will, and the soul until they are made unbreakable. Yet not all are tempered in the forge of chosen hardship. Some are cast into a darker crucible, ravaged by sickness, crushed by tragedy, or dragged to the brink of death. In ages past, shamans were often born this way, stumbling back from fever and visions, remade by suffering. Others are hardened by grief, betrayal, or the loss of all they held dear. Such ordeals either break a man or burn away all weakness. If he endures, he emerges with iron in his spirit, proof of the ancient law: what does not kill a man makes him stronger. Choose then which pain you will embrace: the ceaseless torment of the weak, or the sharp, cleansing trials that make you strong. For the strong suffer, yes, but only for a season. And when the trial passes, they rise. They stride through the world as men, not prey.

Most people have a need to complicate things. If they are an expert, it makes them more needed. If its complicated then it means you need more therapy, more coaching, more counsel. I try to do the opposite. I reduce everything to first principles. Once you learn those, you can solve your own problems. I do not want to create dependents. I want to create people with as much sovereignty as possible, given their personal limitations.

Thank you. It's my friends tractor up in Sweden. It is like brand new, a real beauty. Just the right size for a homestead.