I first heard the concept of ‘you’ve got to be a man before you’re anything else’ in a video from the current cultural activist Andre Taylor (who was formerly known as ‘Gorgeous Dre’). He stated that before a man is a doctor or a lawyer (or any other job title he has), the title of being a man is the most important.

Being a man and exhibiting the principles of manhood come first. He went on to state that a man must remain a real man, regardless of how his woman is acting. This is especially prevalent today as men are heavily influenced by the women in their life, and they embody feminine behaviours.

For example, one thing that women often say is “he was acting like this, so I started acting like that too”, or “if he’s doing it, then I’m going to do it too”. A woman can say this, and it’s fine. The qualities of feminine energy make her reactive (click here to read the properties of the female energy). However, these are things a man should never say. A man’s behaviour should be proactive, not reactive.

No external factors are so great that it should stop a man from embodying the spirit of manhood. There are no exceptions to this rule. 

But the problem is men have been so far removed from masculine energy that they do not know what it is. The current culture’s attack on masculinity has robbed men of knowing how it is supposed to be properly expressed. But a man must learn how to express the energy he was designed to harness, and understand that nature wants him to do this.

For example, let’s take aggression. Although it may have a negative connotation in Western society and while aggression can obviously be misused, it is necessary for a man to be aggressive at times. And in comparison to a woman’s biology, his body is designed to be able for it. 

A man’s aggression can fend off people trying to attack his community and it will make him a capable protector. Aggression will make other people think twice before disrespecting him or his people.

This of course is a benefit to the woman he is with, as she can rely on him to fend off dangers from the world. So even though the modern woman may think she doesn’t like aggression in men, her biology may not agree.

This is one of the reasons why women do not like ‘nice guys’. Nice guys lack the ability to harness aggression that would keep the woman safe if it was necessary.

Despite this, society consciously discourages men from admiring their aggression, instead of teaching them how to manage it. While aggression can make someone dangerous, it must be controlled, as opposed to being suppressed.

This is just one facet of manhood which men must take pride in. It benefits nature’s process of survival and continuation. It is your divinely-ordained duty and it is imprinted in your DNA. Your value in the eyes of nature is measured by your masculinity.

A man must be a man regardless of what happens in his environment. He must keep his values and never stray from the principles of manhood. It is something to be proud of at all times and it is not something to be ashamed of. It is more shameful to not embody masculinity.

But you can’t stick to being a man if you don’t know what it is. So the following is a list of the behavioural traits that naturally come through the male body when it harnesses masculine energy. 

This list is called “The Pillars of Manhood”:

1. HONESTY AND AUTHENTICITY

2. RESPONSIBLE ETHICS & ACCOUNTABILITY

3. CREATE VALUE FROM NOTHING

4. ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES + TERRITORY

5. SPIRIT OF FREEDOM 

6. SPIRIT OF AMBITION: ABUNDANCE OF VALUE

7. LIVE WITH STRUCTURE AND HAVE A CODE

8.  BE STABLE + SECURE UNDER PRESSURE

9. OPERATE WITH LOGIC & INFORMATION

10. LEADERSHIP

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You see this spiritual attachment to manhood when you observe male-dominated spaces. Take gangs for example. They live by a code (pillar number 7). Members are told to uphold the code on pain of death. There is a ‘no snitch’ policy.

Once a gang member is in jail and is being threatened with long-term imprisonment, his manhood is being tested. Will he lose his values under pressure or will he remain a man of his words and stick to the code? 

In future, we will break down each pillar of manhood for further understanding, as it is essential if you want to know how to be a real man, or how to spot one.