Character in How to Be a Real Man

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What older men are actually watching when they meet you

Respect at twenty-two isn't awarded for your job title, your car or your bench press. It's earned in about six small, boring behaviors.

GuideBoys & GirlsSam Ortiz23 Sept 20266 min

Raising a Kid Who Looks People in the Eye

Please, thank you, eye contact and a handshake are teachable skills, not personality traits. Drill them the way you'd drill free throws.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideDatingMarcus Vale22 Sept 20266 min

How to tell when it's time to stop dating and choose

Most people who say they need more information already have enough. They need a decision, and the nerve to make it.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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BRO for Her6 min read

The things to watch before you marry him

Character shows up in ordinary friction, not on good nights. What to look at, what to ignore, and the lines that don't move.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideBoys & GirlsCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Raise a Girl Who Is Kind and Still Says No

Kindness and backbone are the same virtue pointed in two directions. Here's how to build both before she turns twelve.

GuideDatingSam Ortiz22 Sept 20266 min

When Your Children Meet the Woman You're Dating

The introduction isn't a scheduling problem. It's a character problem, and getting it right starts months before anyone shakes hands.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan22 Sept 20266 min

Judge him by what he does when it costs him something

Character doesn't show up in conversation. It shows up in the small, expensive moments — and most of them happen in the first year.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideBoys & GirlsCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Raise a Boy Strong Enough to Be Gentle

Gentleness isn't the opposite of strength in a boy. It's strength with a brake pedal, and you have to teach him to use it.

GuideDatingMarcus Vale22 Sept 20265 min

When you're the one who wants it more

Wanting marriage isn't the weakness. Financing someone else's indecision is, and there's a way out that leaves your dignity intact.

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What should I wear to this?

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GuideDatingMarcus Vale22 Sept 20266 min

How to run a first date that earns a second one

Ninety minutes, somewhere you can hear each other, a plan you made yourself, and one question that gets past the résumé.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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GuideDatingMarcus Vale22 Sept 20265 min

How to ask somebody out in person and not be weird

The ask is one sentence, eight seconds, and a specific plan. Almost everything that goes wrong happens before or after it.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideDatingMarcus Vale22 Sept 20266 min

What the first three months are actually for

Ninety days is long enough to learn who someone is and short enough to walk away cleanly. Use it properly.

StoryHistoryWes Dunbar4 Oct 20267 min

Before Paul Bunyan Was an Ad, He Was a Few Thousand Real Men

The north woods camps ran on pine, pancakes and nerve. They built the Midwest, nearly burned it down, and left a lesson in how to clean up after yourself.

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GuideLifeCal Brennan26 Sept 20266 min

Everyone around you already knows your blind spot

You can't see how you come across. The people who share your kitchen and your office can, and they'll tell you if you ask the right way.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Fitness5 min

Why the streak broke and what the next morning is for

History7 min

The Wright Brothers Flew for Five Years Before the World Believed It

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideLifeCal Brennan23 Sept 20265 min

Nobody's watching, and that's exactly the point

Character isn't decided in the crisis. It's decided in four unremarkable seconds at a self-checkout, and you've had a few thousand of those.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

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Movies & TV6 min read

Sports Movies Where the Game Is the Least Interesting Part

The scoreboard is a lie. These films are about what a man does when nobody's clapping, plus the content concerns before you press play.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

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