No man is an island, a lone wolf is a dead wolf, and independence is mostly an illusion. This is not to say that you shouldn’t find time to be alone in solitude or that you shouldn’t strive to be as self-reliant as possible so no one has to carry your weight. What I’m saying is that without a networked and varied support system you won’t get nearly as far as you would have otherwise. A man without a tribe to fight for will never amount to what he could have been if he did have one. Individualism is for children who have never spent a day in the real world.
Again this isn’t to say not to be your own person as you know I’m all for pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps and being as self-reliant as possible but that’s so you can attach these things to a greater group and not be a burden to them but rather be an asset to them. Here I’m going to go through building a support system as well as the different levels of support. I think of the biggest reasons that so many people are in the straights they are now is because of the atomization of man in the modern world. We are a tribal species and were meant to be with our brothers and blood, when this doesn’t happen bad things result.
Finding Like Minded Inviduals
The internet has been both a blessing and a curse in many ways. One of the benefits is that it has allowed people to find like minded individuals like them, however one of the drawbacks is that people have then believed that these online “friends” are replacement for the real deal. But hey it’s a start and better than nothing. And let me say this before going forward. If you’re living somewhere where you don’t like the people around you then you’ll need to move at one point or another. Find other employment because having brothers and like minded people is infinitely more important than having some more cash at the end of the year in the bank account.
Seriously, your soul will be crushed if you live somewhere not to you’re liking for too long. As the good book says “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?”. But as I was saying find some like minded individuals is a start. Finding places like the masculine movements of all stripes where it’s a guy like Jack Donovan, a red pill guy, or someone will similar goals that’s a great start. I think something like the Fraternity Of Excellence works great for this. However (and this isn’t a knock of FoE) it’s no replacement for having flesh and blood brothers by your side and around you. But again it’s a start and sometimes the best one can do at this point in their life.
Brotherhood
It confuses me that so many guys now-a-days don’t have a group of men that they can call brothers. What do guys do now? I know for me it’d just be weird to not have “the boys” at any point in my life. A man without a tribe is like a fish without water. When you don’t have brothers who not only have your back but are also there to call you out on your bullshit and hold you to a higher standard you’ll never be all that you can be. And I’m not talking about the bunch of weak fucks calling each other “bro” as brotherhood either.
This is a vetted group where admission must be earned and bullshit is called out. If you don’t have guys that are in your corner willing to throw down for you and willing to make you live up to your biggest potential you’re missing out on one of the essentials of life. Find these men at all costs. Forge yourself into a man that will be an asset to a brotherhood/tribe, not a liability. Again be all that you can be but at the same time find brothers who will make you even more. The sum is greater than the parts, don’t forget that.
Family & Blood
We live in a weird world where people will call someone they never met (and that probably hates them) across the world their friend and someone they care about but at the same time they haven’t reached out to a cousin or brother in years. Tell me how that shit ain’t weird. Anyways family, deep roots, and blood are some of the most important things to have. I was lucky to come from a big rural family. Grew up with cousins, uncles, aunts, and a whole network of support throughout the area. You never feel alone when your blood runs deep.
Atomized individuals are easy pickings for those in power. The baddest dude around ain’t shit around four or five regular dudes and that’s the truth (still should strive to be the baddest mofo you can be but that besides the point). When you have a support system deep and wide things change completely. Maybe you don’t have a big family and that’s unfortunate, it really is. But I’d still encourage you to reach out to those you can and build bonds of some kind. I know for city people this might sound weird but it’s important.
Summary
These things are not exclusionary, meaning that you can have a band of online “brothers”, a brotherhood and tribe you’re a part of (even if it’s just friends you’ve had forever who can function in such a way), and having deep bonds with your family. As a matter of fact I’d say that working on developing all three (with brotherhood and blood being the primary focus) is what you should be doing anyways. So remember the lone wolf is the dead and exploited wolf while the wolf pack is king of the forest and woods. Get strong, get fierce, and above all else get connected to blood and brothers.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.
-Charles Sledge
