552 Be a Man

"A REAL MAN IS SOMEONE WHO LEAVES THIS PLACE BETTER THAN HE FOUND IT." - LEWIS HOWES I know him as a comedian with great videos, but were you aware at how inspiring JP Sears is? He puts himself out on the line every day, purposefully making himself look silly and taking chances. He doesn’t let fear get in his way, he embraces it. It’s normal for all of us to become scared, and hold ourselves back. That doesn’t create happiness, though. It creates comfort. If you want to be happy, take a lesson from JP Sears on this episode of Five Minute Friday, pulled from a previous interview. He discusses how fear isn’t something we should be pushing away from. It’s what we need to embrace in order push ourselves further, find out who we really are, and achieve the true happiness we want. Discover all of that and much more, on Episode 567. Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Lewis Howes?

  Episode #552: Be a Man.

• 0:09Lewis Howes?

  Confucius said it best: "The way of a superior man is threefold: virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear." Be a man. There's so much that's been happening in the world that's misrepresented and what it means to be a man. Just look at the media lately. You see all of the domestic violence with athletes in the sports world. You see all of the sexual harassment and sexual abuse in Hollywood executives with women.

• 0:49Lewis Howes?

  You see all of the political dysfunction and confusion and harassment that's happening with our political world. You see the Vegas shootings and all that's happening with the rage and the anger. You see the racial marches that's happening in Charlottesville where people are afraid and are living in fear. Men are afraid and living in fear and are reacting by wearing different masks, projecting an identity that is false masculinity. And it's time we step into what it means to be a real man. What does it mean to be a real man? To be bold, to be virtuous, and to live without fear? That means you need to embrace the things that you're most afraid of.

• 1:32Lewis Howes?

  That means you need to step into that fear that's been holding you back your entire life. You get to look at it in the eyes, stare the fear in its eyes, and open up and say, "You know what? I'm afraid. I'm insecure. I'm vulnerable to this fear. And now I'm going to learn how to embrace it and overcome it so I don't have that fear anymore." It's when we allow ourselves to be consumed by the fear, that's when we react. That's when we get defensive. That's when we fight. That's when we punch back. That's when we say things that hurt other people. That's when we harass. That's when we take out the gun and start shooting people. Because we don't know how to communicate and express ourselves with a loving way. It's time to be a man.

• 2:17Lewis Howes?

  It's time to strip ourselves of these masks. These masks that have been defining us through society, through peers, through athletics, through parents, through misguided mentors, whatever it may be. It's time to step into the way of the superior man. The virtuous, the wise, the bold man. Not the fearful, scared, little boy man who reacts out of fear and tries to prove himself right, win at all costs, make others wrong, and show everyone else that they're losers. The real man lifts everyone else up. The real man allows everyone to win around him.

• 3:03Lewis Howes?

  The real man doesn't need to say anything at all, doesn't need to react, doesn't need to fight, doesn't need to be angry, doesn't need to scream and yell.

• 3:16Lewis Howes?

  He is able to get his message and point across simply with a look, with his way of being, with his energy, with how he carries himself. His confidence in himself and his confidence in his weaknesses. He is so fully aware of who he is in the world. He knows that people aren't going to accept him. He knows that people are going to judge him. He knows that people are going to attack him. Because when he lives his life fully chasing his dreams and stands up for something that he loves and appreciates, always, always, always, people will try to bring him down. And he is confident with himself. And he is okay, and he smiles during those moments because he is a real man.

• 4:01Lewis Howes?

  He is virtuous, he is wise, and he is bold, free from fear. For me, I look at a man as a symbol of inspiration. Someone who lives to be of service along his journey. He's someone who follows his purpose, who experiences fear, but has the courage to face them and move forward anyways.

• 4:23Lewis Howes?

  He's someone who is loving to all people, creatures, and the world, himself included. He's someone who can take care of his basic needs and teach others how to live in abundance. He's someone who doesn't judge people, but looks for ways to lift others up. And he is someone who leaves this place better than the way he found it. That, to me, is a man. This is Five Minute Friday, episode 552. If you enjoyed this, please share it with your friends in the full show notes over at lewishouse.com/552. Let me know what you thought of this. Let me know if any of this resonated with you, or if I missed the mark, let me know

• 5:06Lewis Howes?

  over on Instagram or Twitter @lewishouse. Take a screenshot, tag me, and share it with your friends. My new book, The Mask of Masculinity, is out in a week. Make sure to preorder your copy right now, lewishouse.com/bonus, to get a full video interview where I break down more of these masks, and you can dive in deeper behind understanding, if you're a man, why we wear certain masks, how they reward us in life, and the prices we pay for living with them on. And if you're a woman, how to understand why these masks are important for you and the men in your life, and to really get deeper inside the mind and the heart of all the men in your life, from your father, to your brother, to your son, to your boyfriend, or

• 5:50Lewis Howes?

  your husband, your uncle, your coworkers. When you can fully understand these masks, you will have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the men in your life. Make sure to grab your copy, lewishouse.com/bonus, to get the bonus video for free and all the information, or go directly to maskofmasculinity.com. I love you, and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.