The Heroic Path Quotes

“To me, being a man means being kind, generous, and a good provider. The most important part of being a man is being strong. Having the self-confidence to handle any situation you face, whether you live in the city and face traffic, congestion, and crowds, or you live in remote areas with wild animals and inclement weather. And it’s a quiet self-confidence. A strong, self-confident man doesn’t announce his strength to the world. He leads by example. He’s the guy who steps up and takes charge when a challenge is faced, and then quietly fades into the background when the issue is resolved.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Sir Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”1 One”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“The village needs men who head into the woods and kill whatever is eating the livestock. It needs men who can charge remote beaches, men who can fight, not just at work, but also at home. The world needs Living Myth now more than ever. It needs men like my friend CJ, who moved from California to the projects of Portland to live among the needy, the poor, and thousands of homeless teenagers—to restore dignity and love them quietly and without fanfare. CJ”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“I think being a man is making the stubborn, daily choice to carry our own weight, even when all hell breaks loose around us.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Men stand tallest when they stand for others.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“When a man embraces the Death-Life, he no longer cares for the vox populi. He cares not for its ridicule or scorn or mockery, for its praise or flattery. He doesn’t care if his business is featured in the local paper, if he is despised by peers or honored by strangers. He steps out of the social media race, not worrying if his blog trends or if his Facebook page has enough “Likes.” He is unmoved.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Some men numb out, overeat, oversleep, avoid. We live in a hazy, alcoholic fog—wasting away on cheap beer, while the world goes madly on. No one can carry our weight for us. It is ours alone to carry. Our legacy is made or marred by how we carry it. Millions quit. Others stand firm under the weight. And when we do, we find our strength. I think being a man is making the stubborn, daily choice to carry our own weight, even when all hell breaks loose around us.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Manhood feels like a mysterious destination. Like a remote ManCave with lots of bearded men, and smoke and fire and drum circles. The bearded men don’t talk a lot; they just grunt and eat red meat. Somehow, they have man-skills. They aren’t trying to prove anything. They’re just simply men-in-the-raw. Undomesticated and unfettered. Somehow they are the initiated. They drink deep from the draughts of manhood.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Manhood feels like I’m spelunking without a flashlight. I’m crawling and bumbling around in the cave, trying to find my way through the bat guano and the blackness and the muck. But I keep bumping into stuff.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“leaving a crowd of rubbish friends behind. Deciding you will no longer live as a victim. Moving to another city to find a new life.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“We grow when we face ourselves. When we confront Something Awful. When we summon the courage to take on the impossible, venture into the haunted woods and step into the nourishing dark.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Many men have never tasted this tonic. We have no draughts of wildness to press against our lips. No wells, springs, or rivers to drink from with cupped hands. Young men are usually invited to drink by an elder. But we have no elders. No initiation rights. No place. We have no clear road or definition of manhood.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Mom delivered us from the Wild Things. But maybe the Wild Things are exactly what we need.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Unlike man, woman is not utilitarian. She was not created as a block of muscle and bone. She has form and delicate shape. She is curves and hips, soft skin and bright lips. Even more than her body, her soul is beauty. The lights in her eyes dazzle when she smiles. And the world stops to notice.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“We are not who we were born to be. Inside, we feel soft. Passive. We live under Mom's control instead of our wildness. In my life, this passivity shows up as indecision... I choose by making no choice, in the name of caution.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Sometimes we want to fail. It's our preemptive strike on fear, if we don't try before we get to the finish line - we never have to face it. To relieve ourselves of the fear, we prefail.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“We disengage from life, simply because we are afraid to fail. Men leave jobs, families, and responsibilities. Or we live hidden away from life, in basements or bars, drinking our lives away. Over time, we become wraiths, shadow-men living apart from reality and destiny.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“People were depending on me to do something. Anything. I had no idea what. But when you love someone, you figure it out.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“Men are like pickup trucks - We do best when we have weight in the bed. On icy roads, we tend to ski around when there is no weight over the rear tires. We perform best when we carry a load, when others count on us. This is when we rise, when we find our strength.”
― John Sowers, The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart

“But men are like pickup trucks—we do best when we have weight in the truck bed. On icy roads, we tend to skid around when there is no weight over the rear tires. We perform best when we carry a load, when others count on us. This is when we rise, when we find our strength.”
― John Sowers, Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart