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Gods of the Copybook Headings

by Rudyard Kipling

This poem was first published in the Sunday Pictorial of London on 26 October 1919; then later published in Harper’s Magazine January 1920.

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,

I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.

Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn

That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:

But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,

So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,

Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,

But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come

That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,

They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;

They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;

So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.

They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.

But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “Stick to the Devil you know.” 

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life

(Which started by loving our neighbor and ended by loving his wife)

Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “The Wages of Sin is Death.” 

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,

By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;

But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”  

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew

And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true

That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man

There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.

That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins

When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,

As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,

The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

————–

It was true in 1920 and it is true today.

Jack of All Trades

There is a commonly misquoted phrase that says, “A jack of all trades is a master of none.” However, the full quote attributed to William Shakespeare actually reads, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.”

Possessing skills in multiple areas is valuable. Today it is even more valuable than in the past.  Learning even a little bit about business, philosophy, physics, coding, economics, gardening, ranching, construction, etc. may put you in a position of immediate value in almost any group.

Become a T-shaped person.  This is a person who has specialized knowledge and skills in a particular area, as well as the desire and ability to make connections across different disciplines. 

I have personally found that expanding my learning in other broad areas of interest have made my expertise in medicine, health and diet so much more rewarding. It is why I have my own ranch with horses, goats, chickens, ducks and dogs. It is why I’ve studied European Swordsmanship and Martial Arts. It was the driver for getting trained in hypnotherapy. And, it is why I love riding motorcycles. All of these interests have played a role in deepening my medical expertise.

“Like chess masters and firefighters, pre-modern villagers relied on things being the same tomorrow as they were yesterday. They were extremely well prepared for what they had experienced before, and extremely poorly equipped for everything else. Their very thinking was highly specialized in a manner that the modern world has been telling us is increasingly obsolete. They were perfectly capable of learning from experience, but failed at learning without experience.

“And, that is what a rapidly changing, wicked world demands, conceptual reasoning skills that can connect new ideas and work across contexts. Faced with any problem they had not directly experienced before, the remote villagers were completely lost.

“That is not an option for us. The more constrained and repetitive a challenge, the more likely it will be automated, while great rewards will accrue to those who can take conceptual knowledge from one problem or domain and apply it in an entirely new one” (David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World).

It is possible that in an earlier world, where change occurs slowly, specialization represents and provides a significant competitive advantage. However, in today’s ever-changing world, integrating your specialist skills with a variety of other skills becomes a new and powerful competitive advantage.

In a world where you have the freedom to explore the things you’re curious about, don’t limit yourself to just one. Definitely be an expert in one particular field, but don’t be afraid to go out and learn about topics that aren’t directly related to your specialty.

“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

Magic In the Void

You’re standing at the grocery checkout line.

“How are you?” the cashier says muffled behind her mask.

You mumble, “fine thanks,” and wait for the little black box on the counter to beep “Insert Your Card.”

Then, groceries packed in your bag, you hurry back to your car and back to your real life as soon as possible.   With your family and friends you are the real you.

But, with everyone else . . . the sea of clerks, cashiers, tellers, operators, receptionists and waiters . . .

You are the robotic consumer.  Insert your card . . . Enter your PIN number . . .

You are a cog in the machine, just another blank-faced human perpetuating the dehumanization and castrating commercialism.  And, so the lines are drawn.

Subconsciously, all that “transactionism” is a dead spot in your life, a black hole . . . something you have to “get through.”

But, for the true creator, there is no limit on his or her art.

Every moment is an opportunity to create meaning, to create joy, to tell a story . . . even for the stranger.

When you FORGO that moment . . . when you spill that opportunity upon the ground, you not only lose the chance at creation, you lose your chance at reclaiming your POWER.  You become a slave to the dehumanizing system that saps your power drop by drop with every transaction allowing it to estrange us from each other unchallenged.

Why come home from your daily errands, chained to the commercial robotic scripts when you could be shining as the sun, creating art wherever you go.  If all of us are caught up in the machine, then it is time for you to gum up the works.

Make them laugh, make them blush, make their tight jaws fall agape.  Become the bright spot, the light that fills their feculence filled day. 

Not to make friends. . . Not to be nice. . .

But, because every human interaction is a chance to make magic in this crazy human circus.  And, those interactions heal the immune system, heal the body and heal the soul. Make some magic today.

The Myth Of the “Family Man”

You aren’t a “family man.”  Your a man with a family.   This distinction matters.  And, it matters to the survival of our species. 

You were taught to think of family life as the promised land – a blissful state wherein, once won, you collapse into the arms of an all-loving, all-sustaining woman, carried along in the euphoric carefree nirvana of procreation and whelp-tending . . . 

That once you entered the paradise of marriage and family life, the need for seeking and striving and straining and providing will, at last, be behind you . . .  

That you can slip gratefully into the rest and reprieve of being the “family man.”  

That’s the mythical dream we’ve be sold for the last 50 years . . . interwoven within our cultures, media and folktales.  But, as you know, it’s a lie.  It’s a deceptive lie upon which stories and movies have been founded.

Deep down, you and I know it.  What’s the point in trying if you know the game is rigged? For the satisfaction of knowing you are contributing to the greater good? That’s just the kind of stupid thing an intellectual Ivy League indoctrinated mind would regurgitate.

Family life demands much much MORE piss and vinegar, not less.  Anyone who calls marriage the simple domestication of a man never actually successfully tried it. 

In fact, it must always be the wildest of men who marry. 


When you marry, you don’t “settle down.”  You settle in for the long haul.  The long haul is where you sweat and bleed and hammer to create, and attack and guard and parry and defend from the ever encroaching evil at that scale of creation . . .  for the rest of your life.  Being  a man with a family is dangerous.  It takes courage, and courage implies a risk. It implies a potential for failure and the presence of danger. Courage is measured against danger. The greater the danger, the greater the courage.  And, courage is the only virtue that you cannot fake.

Family life isn’t some trophy to be won; some suspended state; some hall-pass that lets you opt out of the agonies and ecstasies of the masculine life. 

Family life is a fitting and beautiful burden; a mantle; a forged function of the highest order that draws more vision, power, brilliance and greatness than any unattached life could ever offer.

Yet, if you get that fundamental mindset wrong, then married life will feel like a constant catastrophe, getting burned at the forge of creation with the supposed fruits of family life perpetually denied you.   

The universalism of today’s society desires the “family man.”  The universalism that can only condemn those who defend, and can only separate those who attempt to differentiate, is the product and unintended consequence of a global trade. The one true god of the universalist is Mammon, and he embraces anyone with a pocket full of cash who doesn’t scare away other infecund customers. This is why we are told to accept the unacceptable, to condemn religions that condemn, to share cultures with everyone as if they belong to no one, to deny all racial affinity, to pretend that men and women are interchangeable. Because exclusion and a real man is bad for business.

Again, you aren’t a “family man.”  You aren’t some separate, cloistered categorical shell of a man.  That’s what every educational institution, every government and every feminizing organization within the world wants you to think.

You are a MAN with a family – a man subject to all the gauntlets and crucibles and devastations of our sex. 

So, quit the myth of the well-adjusted, happily-sequestered family man. Drop every pretense of arrival you were sold; lest you rob your family and yourself of your full power, your abounding glory, let loose your native self.  

You are just getting started.

You and I, we are, each of us, alone.  Even with a family, this is the first law of masculinity. And it is the most important law. Your value is equal to the value which you bring to your family and to your tribe. We are not equal. You are not special. Your masculine respect is earned, not given. 

This is why men make fun of the “the family man.” Your brothers will not love you unconditionally for who you are, just being a man or yourself. They will criticize you. They will push you to your limits. They expect you to bring out your best, put on your “A” game. And, then, they only give you their respect when you’ve earned it, family or no. 

This isn’t shocking at all. It’s common knowledge to any man because deep in your genetics, it is hardwired into you, ready for use. 

Your childhood is over. The boy is dead. Wake up, step up.  It’s time to be a man with a family for the rest of your life.

Semper Virilis

Ten Life Lessons From Star Wars You Must Know

Commit to the life that you want to live – then live it.

“Do or do not… there is no try.” – Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back

We can spend our entire lives debating actions and, frozen in fear, fighting uncertainty.  Yet, in life, nothing is certain. We can either waste precious time in limbo or make a decision and stick with it!  Just start.

If you’ve fallen off track, just restart.  Try again.  You’re mindset should rejoice in success or learn from failure.

Surround yourself with people who are supportive of and believe in you.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” – Darth Vader in A New Hope

Even the great Lord Vader needed supportive people around him.  There is absolutely no reason to waste your time and energy on people who bring you down. Rather, fill your life with the believers and doers, people who inspire you and bring positive energy to your life. Otherwise, you may resort to the dark side…

Don’t lie to yourself. You usually already know what you should be doing.

“Already know you, that which you need.” – Yoda

Listen to your heart, The Force, and your conscience.  Listen to that Yoda voice you hear as you fall asleep or the nagging thoughts that simply won’t go away.  Though the road ahead seems perilous, the solution is within.  You know what you should be doing, just do it.

Don’t let the impossible hold you back.

“Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1,” stated C-3PO.

“Never tell me the odds!” retorted Han Solo

(The Empire Strikes Back)

Even if an asteroid field is hurling towards you and your odds of success are 3,720 to 1, don’t let this daunting ratio prevent you from following your heart.

If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, your dreams are NOT big enough.  You should be striving for big hairy audacious dreams.  Seriously.

Success often stems from overcoming failures.

“Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” – Obi- Wan Kenobi in A New Hope

Success cannot flourish without hard work. Losing weight is hard, but being obese for a lifetime is even harder.  Success is only found through trial and error, profound dedication, and the ability to see setbacks as stepping stones towards later victory.

You may have to learn 301 ways that don’t work before you try the 302nd method that is successful.

Do not let fear guide your life

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda in The Phantom Menace

Fear cripples us from doing what needs to be done. It prevents us from becoming the people we’re meant to be. It isolates us from others and makes us scared of those we do not understand. Historically speaking, fear has fueled many wars, genocides, persecutions, and riots. Clearly, Yoda was onto something. What are you actually afraid of?

Humor goes a long way

(As the garbage compactor closes in on Luke and Han Solo) “One thing’s for sure, we’re all gonna be a lot thinner.” – Han Solo in A New  Hope

When things get tough, it’s natural to freak out. However, freaking out isn’t the most productive or efficient way to solve a problem. Humor lightens the mood and allows everyone time to regroup and reassess the situation. It also keeps spirits high, enabling people to do what needs to be done. Plus, girls dig a guy who can crack a joke every now and again.

Humor is a method of alleviating stress and giving your brain a chance to reset for success.

Thoughts and actions directly impact the future

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” – Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace.

What we spend our days thinking about, and actively pursuing, directly affects our future (for better or worse). Considering this, we should invest our time and energy into the things and people we’re passionate about, and the dreams we have, rather than focusing on the negative or filling our lives with empty distractions.

Sometimes we just need to let go

“Let go of your hate.” – Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi

There is no room for hate, fear, and regret in our lives. Often, we just need to let it go so that we may finally be free.

When in doubt, improvise

If you are backed into a corner, do your best and improvise, then move on and don’t waste your time.

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May the Fourth be with you today!!

Are You the King or the Second Queen?

When you were a boy, much like me, you likely dreamed of the day you would be a king.  You dreamed of the day you would marry a beautiful maiden, have children, own lands . . . You dreamed of the day you would be loved, feared, and venerated.
You saw the way of the king, and you knew in your belly that this was your call:
  • To build the kingdom that you dreamed about
  • To live a life of benevolent power
  • To be admired, respected and beloved.
But somewhere along the way, the dream was corrupted. For we saw that kings can be craven.
We saw that some kings can be cruel.
And when the queens of the land bristled in unison . . . men, seeking to appease them, broke their scepters over their knees. And, men, the world over, resolved not to be king, but to be a second queen.  They resorted to work in cheerful cooperation as a second wife, without the danger or the terror that lives within the man, that husband king.
Thus, the path of misery for man, and wife alike, was paved. . . the emasculated king, living his life as a second queen.  Yet, man was never meant to take a wife and father children only to relinquish his God given dominion to become the “second queen.”
You and I, we come to marriage and family for kingship:
  • To provide safety and shelter for your queen and her cubs
  • To ravish the queen and see the animal heat in her eyes
  • To live in glory and honor
  • And when called upon, to willingly go heart-in-mouth into the fray
You may not have servants or lands or chests of gold. But, if you have a wife, if you have children, if you have an audience to serve . . . you have everything required for true, abiding kingship.
For a king is king not by the command he claims for himself or the fealty others pay him.  He is king by pressing and wielding his dangerous power to the noble service of others in the creation of value and honor.
Kingship is the exercise of dangerous magic nobly.  It is an exercise in unconditional love applied. Through force of will and force of imagination, you make your visions manifest.
Kingdoms are not won, they are not granted, they are not inherited . . . Kingdoms are CREATED.
Do not wait for your wife to become the queen. Do not wait, grumbling, for her to adulate or serve you. The principle buried by the softened souls of this civilization, by generations of absentee fathers, by generations of fatherless homes, by generations of men without their scepters is this . . .
It is the KING that makes the queen, not the other way around.
You stare foggy and angry at the hole in your drywall, at the un-replaced light bulbs, at the broken fence in the yard . . . at the mind-numbing banality all around you.  Yet you want to feel alive again . . . deeply, lastingly, the way you dreamed as a young boy that you would feel when you became king.
That feeling doesn’t come from a manicured yard, a check in the mail, or even from some bestowed title from an Ivy League tower.  It comes from indwelling and OWNING the role you’ve already won. You “have” a family, but it will not glow until your breathe everything you have into it . . . until you animate it with all your might and mind and heart and lungs.
Why are you waiting for some outside appointment? Rise up. Stand up. Throw out the box of cereal.  Give the macaroni to the neighbor. Eat the bacon, fire up the smoker. Take on that task that’s been gnawing at you for months.
Create your kingship NOW.  Do it TODAY: one kiss, one meal, one light bulb, one filled hole-in-the-drywall, one meal, one poem-in-the-lunchbox at a time.  Stop sitting there braiding each other’s hair.
BE THE DAMN KING because the queen is already taken.  Whether or not she returns that love does not matter.  It is the act of loving her that actually fires you, it is not the reciprocation.  Any love or adoration she returns is immaterial.  The essential magic has already happened inside you.  The fire has already been lit.
“Why would I kiss that mouth?” you say. “Why would I gaze into those cold, bitter eyes? How could I treat as queen this woman who sneers and scorns so unbearably?”
And that, there, is the double-bind that has been holding your very kingship, holding your marriage captive.  This love, this respect, this adoration you long for her to give to you . . .
It is not hers to give, but for YOU TO CREATE within her.
You see, it is the KING that molds the maiden into the queen, into her best and highest self.  Not with silence or criticism or ultimatums, but with acts of imagination and love.  No matter how deep your disillusionment, it is the only way.  You must create the queen.
The power is within you . . .
Click Here Now To Learn How.
(Adapted from Brian Ward’s Third Way Man)