Going for 8

Quite simply...I am rooting for Lance Armstrong to push into his 8th Tour De France win this month.

I am reading a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, called Excuses Begone. I am finding that it fits in well with my experience in the ManKind Project; no excuses and living in congruency with what I say I will do and actually do.

I see that Lance has made it his mission to prove those wrong who say he was doping in the last 7 tour wins. He insists that he is clean and that this will prove it. You go, Lance, live your truth with no excuses.

Stayed tuned to see if Lance can get 8.

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

Touching the World

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

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The ManKind Project is men dedicated to changing the world one man at a time. What does that mean in the context of the statement above?

Men in the ManKind Project are dedicated to standing next to every other man in the ManKind Project and holding a space to look at the way they touch the world around them. When you stand with these men, you know you are supported in change; whatever that change is for you. When a man changes, he changes part of the world.

As a group, ManKind Project men change the world. Will you change the world with us?

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

Man in the Mirror

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change"

Glen Ballard, Siedah Garrett, & Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Make that change.

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

A Man's Experience on the NWTA

From Daily Doings at the Line of Death Bar & Grill:

"I was at a camp near Bedford, Indiana, participating in the New Warrior Training Adventure, a weekend-long training sponsored by the Mankind Project. I had been active in a local mens' group for three years, and had heard about this training through some of the men in the group. I had been thinking about doing this training for a while, and when another man I befriended in the group went through it in August of that year, I knew I was ready to take this next step.

As cliched as it sounds, what I learned and did on this weekend has truly changed my life for the better. It taught me more about myself, and what being a man is about, than I could ever learn from either a college classroom, a textbook, a typical weekend seminar, or from the years I was in a college fraternity.

In a way, I got to take my own "hero's journey" that weekend. This ancient story is told many times in science fiction and fantasy, in different ways and using different characters -- Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, John Sheridan, or Paul Atreides. Many people I know are content to just sit back and read about their adventures (or view them). I had a chance to experience one for myself, and my life is better off because of it.

Thanks to the help and guidance of many other men who had previously been through the training, I was able to take a good, hard look at myself and my life -- what has worked for me in the past, what didn't work for me, why they didn't work, and what I needed to change in order for those things to work. I learned who I am and what I want, in a powerful, lasting way. And I learned how to listen to the voice of my heart again, which had been repressed the past several years.

Each man's experience during the weekend is unique and personal, as it draws on each man's previous experiences in life. If I were to tell you the details, it would be like telling you about a movie that I saw but you haven't seen. Why should I spoil it for you or anyone else? I will also not recommend this training lightly -- in order to get the most out of it, men who are interested should be ready to look deeply within themselves and have a genuine interest in personal growth.

I've also got to meet many other men who have gone through the same weekend, and develop friendships with them.

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Look, how many experiences do you look back on and remember it like it was yesterday? I mean with real clarity; like you are standing there right now! This is one of those experiences. Are you ready? Men are waiting...


I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

The Listening

So you found your way here. Chance? Fate? What force brings you here? Call it what you will; here you are reading this.

In my world view, everything is, and has a, purpose. You didn't just stumble in and start reading. Even if you think you did. For me, everything is a part of the great mystery. I can speculate or I can ride the joy of it.

Part of the great mystery is what goes on during an NWTA weekend. I see that men get a chance to look at their lives; what works--what doesn't. Men get to stand in a place that they may have never stood before.

A man asked me once, why did you go the the weekend? I answered as I had so many times before, "Something called to me, and I decided to listen. That listening changed my life."

What calls to you? The NWTA weekend? Will you listen to it?

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

MKP on Facebook

The ManKind Project has several pages on Facebook. I suggest the page below because it has become a clearing house for men sharing their experiences in MKP; much like I do here. So check in and become a "fan."

See ManKind Project on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-ManKind-Project/95845568627).

And Happy Father's Day to all you men who give the gift of love and light and love to your children and their mothers.

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

Camper Parts Can Change Your Life

A man's voice on the New Warrior Training Adventure from The Worlds of carl Michael rossi:

"A good part of the reason that I am here in Chicago is due to the New Warrior Training Adventure. I was visiting my family here in Chicago for the Christmas holidays when the camper, in which I had been traveling across the US in search of my next home, broke down. While I waited for the necessary parts I thought I was "stuck" here, and looked for ways to fill the 6 weeks it ended up taking to get the parts.

One of the things that happened as I filled the time, was I met a man. And he saw in me how truly stuck I was, and how my wandering wasn't getting me unstuck. He suggested I call a men's group called New Warriors. One thing I was aware of was how much I wanted a connection with men. No, how much I wanted to learn to be a man.

The short is, I went to "the weekend". And learned enough about myself that I wanted to stay for the 3 months of follow-up meetings with the men I had "gone through with."

That was in February of 1996. Eight years later I'm still here. Still growing. Still learning more about me. It's been the single most unexpected wonderful journey of my life...so far."

Finding Your Man

What does it look like to be an NFL player and a man? Aaron Taylor talks about what it was for him to find his "man" in the ManKind Project.

As men, we all come from differing backgrounds. Our needs are primal and cannot be denied. We need good fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and mentors to model "man" for us in a good way. Be that for a young man. Step into looking like the man you wanted to see when you were a young man.

He needs it; so do you.

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

What If?

I remember the day I walked away from my New Warrior Training Adventure weekend; a sunny Sunday afternoon. I felt exuberant, alive, tested, triumphant, connected, and full of questions.

One question always pops into my mind, and is background for this blog. I asked myself this simple question: what if all the men in the world took the training on the same weekend?

Well, getting past the hypothetical improbabilities of the question, I think the world would be unrecognizable.

Men would take themselves and their lives seriously, for one thing. I am in no way implying that men don’t now. I am saying with new and different eyes, though.

Men would care for the planet with new vigor and intensity; recognizing their connection to men and all things.

Men would listen; really listen, to what the voices inside them were saying, and then respond to those voices with clarity and definitive action.

Men would set down arms, and really hear the issues that cause the separation between us, and then work out those issues in clear ways.

My view on the world changed dramatically after the training. Why; because it was time for me to see. I was opened to the possibility that my life could change, that my life was my choice, that my life was mine.

So are you willing to take the leap? Are you the next man to wonder what the world would be like if all men led lives of integrity and accountability?

I am! And I am waiting to meet you on the other side!

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf

Challenge the Voices

Life is full of voices in my head saying I can't do this and I shouldn't do that.

• I was told I was too skinny and too geeky to have a loving, intelligent, kind, witty, beautiful wife...I am married to a loving, intelligent, kind, witty, beautiful wife.
• I was told I should not try to look at myself too much because "you don't need to"...going against that voice has changed my life forever.
• I was told I could not do math...I was a professional fabricator and built race car chassis' and parts and was a crew chief for a major professional race team.
• I was told I should not aim too high or I might fail...I am a senior editor at a major university and am successfully trading on the foreign exchange market.
• I was told I would never be taller than 5 foot 6 inches...I am 5 foot 10 inches and much taller than the voice who told me that.

What is your voice? Do you hear it holding you down? What voices have you overcome?

In my life, the ManKind Project has been a voice of "yes, you can," not "no, you can't or shouldn't."

I am asking you to challenge the voices! Now!

I'm out.
Old-faithful Wolf