Sometimes the best examples of real men aren’t famous, they’re not celebrities or in the history books, but they have provided you or me with the best example possible of what it is to be a real man. They, and not the guys in the history books will have the most profound effect on the type person we are, and the person we will be in the future.
See the last guy(s) on the list.
The more I researched it, the more I realized there are a lot of great examples of real men, guys who faced adversity but didn’t lose who they were in the process. Guys who can serve as role models for the rest of us, not because they were perfect, actually because they are far from it, they know it, and they do their best each and every day.
I’ve missed some great fellas in this list. It was brought to my attention yesterday that Terry Fox would be a good person to mention, and I don’t know anyone that would disagree. The guy was a stud athlete who got cancer and instead of feeling sorry for himself he took his illness and ran with it, literally. He’ll be remembered forever for his journey across Canada in the name of cancer research.
I also thought about guys like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who have donated billions to charity and may go down in history more for their philanthropy than they will for the companies they have started and for the money they have accumulated.
But here’s the list I came up with. Not every guy has had a profound effect on the world, but they’ve had a profound effect on someone, and sometimes effecting one person in a big way can last a lifetime.
Tim McGraw
I’ve been a fan of his for a while, as much for his music as for the content of his words and the image he portrays, an image that doesn’t seem manufactured in any way as he appears to be much more genuine than most celebrities. A couple things have set him apart from the rest who appear to share this quality, his actual life.
I love Springsteen’s music and I’m a big fan of his, but I’ll use him as an example. He has love song after love song talking about a woman who he eventually cheated on. They’re great songs and are very heartfelt, but the reality of what’s going on in his life opposes the feelings he pours out in his lyrics. To each his own, I’m not here to judge, but don’t claim to be head over heels in love then go have an affair.
I could go down the list and give examples of other artists who appear to be humble, appear to have not let the fame go to their head, but Tim isn’t on that last, as far as I can tell. He’s still madly in love with the women he married in 1996 and with his daughters. He’s flawed, imperfect, but when it comes down to it he appears to be a good man.
Here’s a quote from a “Men’s Journal” article that pretty much sums up his self-awareness.
“At times, you think, Is this silly?” says McGraw. His den is devoid of music-career mementos. “I’m a 42-year-old man jumping around with 16-year-old girls screaming at me. There are times when you think that you look like a clown.”
Jesus
He’s a tough guy who held his principles even when being betrayed by his peers. There have been more books written about this man than any other guy in history. His life has had an effect on more people than anyone else in the history of the world and a lot of the guys on this list will attribute some part of who they are to him.
He pretty much sums up what it is to be a real man. He was a carpenter, a laborer, and he was as tough as they come. He knew how to treat people the right way, and He didn’t complain when things got tough.
Tom and Roger Howse
It’s great to talk about these celebrities and men of history, and label them as “real men”. But I never knew any of them. I’m going off what’s written about them, and I’m sure it’s true, but the guy who’s going to have the biggest effect on me is going to be somebody who’s actually a part of my life.
This might not be your Dad; it may be a grandfather, a teacher, a coach, or even an uncle or a friend. But they should be held in the same regard as the guys on the list before them.
My Dad has shown me what it is to be a real man. He’s shown me what’s important; he showed me how to be tough and how to be a leader, just like his Dad – Roger – did for him. It’s easy to forget about someone you see or talk to everyday, it’s easy to take them for granted or to not place them in the same regard as people like Lincoln, Gehrig, or Braddock, but in reality it’s them who have and will have more of an effect on the man I am, and the husband and father I’m going to be.
