What should a real man/woman be capable of achieving in a lifetime?

[Nik Habicht]

This website could use a thread devoted to what a real man is. Might do some good.

I stumbled across the above quote in another thread --- and was intrigued. It reminded of a list of four things a man should accomplish in his lifetime, which IIRC was attributed to the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero:

To father a child

To write a book

To build a house

To plant a tree

I'll add a few as they flit through my mind:

To cook a delicious meal from scratch --- perhaps without even consulting a cookbook

To detail strip every gun owned

To teach a skill

To truly listen

To fix an appliance or gadget

What would be on your list of things a real man or woman should accomplish in a full and rich life?

[CSEMARTIN]

Learn humility.

[SA Friday]

Make peace with himself

[Skywalker]

Learn to do unto others as you would like them do unto you.

[DonT]

Be humble, patient, and understanding.

I need to work on all of these.

Edited July 30, 2008 by DonT

[vluc]

From Lazarus Long:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!

[Skywalker]

From Lazarus Long:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!

Yeah, but we can't live 2300 years to learn this all ...

Slight drift, I know, but wasn't RAH that said "an armed society is a polite society"?

Edited July 30, 2008 by Skywalker

[Anon]

- Never make lists of what everyone should do with their lives...

[RePete]

To make a woman happy and safe.

I feel I did this with my late wife, who died 2 years ago last Sunday.

We were married 15 1/2 years when she sucumed to a brain tumour as a result of breast cancer - for the 3rd time.

Man, do I miss her!

[racerba]

To have as many friends as possible.

AND

To sleep with a super model.

[Limitless13]

Save the world, or, save someone's world. Been trying to live by that for awhile now. So far it's been great.

[Coach]

I tend to think that a real man is a real man not because of what he has done but because of how he lives his life. A real man is honest, hard-working, courageous, kind to women and animals. A real man is not afraid to change the diapers or be a good father, but he does not wear sandals, thongs or lacey under garments. A real man eats red meat and does not care about fads, trends or political correctness.

A real man will be skilled in many areas and avenues of life, but not in all of them. Because a real man is dependable, consistent and loyal and not blowing around from place to place trying out everything under the sun. A real man is not concerned about what he gets to do in his life, but rather is concerned about his family, community and his country and contributing to these.

A real man does not fire up the chainsaw when one or two whacks with an Axe will do the trick. A real man does not talk guff and he does not tolerate it from others. He does not whine. He is not afraid to speak his mind.

Being a real man is more about character in my mind that a list that can be checked off. A real man may look completely different from another, and their experiences can be completely different as well. But as far as the things that count there will be some overlap.

my $.02.

[-JQ-]

To make a woman happy and safe.

I feel I did this with my late wife, who died 2 years ago last Sunday.

We were married 15 1/2 years when she sucumed to a brain tumour as a result of breast cancer - for the 3rd time.

Man, do I miss her!

Man I hate to hear this but yes - happy and safe

Mine died 3 years ago from ovarian cancer...at 40...and those "anniverseries" are tough silent milestones that no one else knows or remembers but you

It sucks like no one can believe who hasn't been there...like a hand grenade in my life...broken parts and pieces everywhere.

and - "Be humble, patient, and understanding.

I need to work on all of these" - yes me too.

--and understanding that you'll never really understand--

[mjbine]

To learn how to truly forgive....

[AlamoShooter]

- Never make lists of what everyone should do with their lives...

you just did

[ronhonda]

keep your daughter off the pole.

[Sac Law Man]

To say I truely changed someone elses life for the better

[vluc]

From Lazarus Long:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!

Yeah, but we can't live 2300 years to learn this all ...

Slight drift, I know, but wasn't RAH that said "an armed society is a polite society"?

I plan to be around....and yes, RAH did say that.

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

This website could use a thread devoted to what a real man is. Might do some good.

I stumbled across the above quote in another thread --- and was intrigued. It reminded of a list of four things a man should accomplish in his lifetime, which IIRC was attributed to the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero:

To father a child

To write a book

To build a house

To plant a tree

I'll add a few as they flit through my mind:

To cook a delicious meal from scratch --- perhaps without even consulting a cookbook

To detail strip every gun owned

To teach a skill

To truly listen

To fix an appliance or gadget

What would be on your list of things a real man or woman should accomplish in a full and rich life?

To give to someone what you can not have yourself with no expectation of thanks or reward.

As far as the Build a house part, I would modify that.

To build a home for someone else with no expectation of thanks.

I feel giving either by deed or by sharing knowledge is the mark of a true man.

We have many true men and women here. Thank you all.

Edited July 30, 2008 by Round_Gun_Shooter

[Slabbie Shooter]

To make his world better that it was.

to quote from the film "Kingdom of Heaven":

It's my land. What kind of man would I be if I didn't try to make it better?

[JKSNIPER]

Give back to the community without expecting anything in return.

JK

[rgkeller]

Break five seconds in the El Presedente

[badchad]

What would be on your list of things a real man or woman should accomplish in a full and rich life?

Whatever they want, combined with whatever they can.

[J-Ho]

Whatever needs doin'

[kimel]

I prefer to keep it simple: "Leave the world a better place going out than it was when I came in."