How does a man equip… himself, his kids, his little league team, his work team, his family… depends on what task he is equipping for.
This is The Emerging Man site so how do we equip ourselves as men? Do we invent the next best Batman utility belt, and carry everything we need to be successful at any task clipped to the belt?
The second of the Three E’s of Manhood.
equip (v.)“1520s, from Middle French équiper “to fit out,” from Old French esquiper “fit out a ship, load on board” (12c.), probably from Old Norse skipa “arrange, place in order,” usually “fit out a ship,” but also of warriors manning a hall and trees laden with ripe fruit,” ~ Online Etymology Dictionary
1: to furnish for service or action by appropriate provisioning equip an army 2 : dress, array 3 : to make ready : prepare wasn’t equipped to handle the pressures of the job ~ Merriam-Webster online
How does a man become equipped? As a boy the best method would have been to learn from his dad how a man takes on his responsibilities and handles them accordingly.
Having a dad who watched for those teachable moments throughout his young life, but also by having created a family lifestyle, a daily family operation, a set way, a set of family expectations and values…
Without that… without that… it is tough.
The single best way to find your way on the topic of being equipped as a man would be to… read. Read what men wrote. Read their ideas. Read through their experience and learn from it. Then take the time to apply what you learn and keep what works.
All life is about growth, fullness, and the inevitable. Here is a poem that I wrote that touches on that thought…
“The moon waxes and wanes
The sun rises and sets
We are born and we die
All provide but a moments fullness
Each moment is set by God
To realize the fullness requires Jesus
To appreciate it we need The Holy Spirit
Some have never seen a full moon
And people pay no attention to high noon
And how many have seen the glory of a man realized…” davebosquez.com/gloryrealized
As we make our way through ‘the battle smoke’ of this life we move from experience to experience, from weakness to strength, from strength to strength, with the last muscle usually being worked on is that of our brain.
Most men learn a trade or job, become settled, and quit learning. Reading only if it is absolutely necessary. And you young guys reading your social media is not the same as using your phones to read a legit book.
One of the marks of today’s Emerging Man is that he will be reading. At some level of frequency. Some are voracious and read daily. Some weekly. Some monthly… but it is a scheduled reading. Some times for business. Other times leisure. But always on purpose.
I just read an article where Bill Gates and Warren Buffet promote The 5 Hour Rule for reading. Scheduling 5 hours a week for reading. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/317602
We are perfectly willing to equip ourselves with the best bat for our men’s softball league which costs hundreds of dollars but are unwilling to read a book about raising kids…or read a book to our kids… that you could either get for free from (dare I say it) the library, or very inexpensively off of Amazon for the home library.
Be reading. Be knowing. Be equipping yourself with knowledge for today… and for tomorrow.
“…through knowledge the righteous escape.” ~ Proverbs 11:9
My current reading, as of this writing, a book titled, ‘Call Sign Chaos’ Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis and Bing West.
theemergingman.com 