CHAPTER ONE COURAGE

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus

-William Ernst Henley

Described as a rallying cry to those who find themselves thrashing about in the darkness of hard and trying times, Invictus is one of the world's most well-known poems. Nelson Mandela said that he recited it numerous times during his imprisonment. He did this to remind himself that it was his courage that would see him through, no matter the end.

When we hear the word courage today, we imagine a romanticized idea of what courage looks like. For me, it's always the same thing. It is the berserker standing alone in the middle of Stamford Bridge while facing an army of 15,000 Saxons so that his clan could maneuver for a strategic retreat.

As the historical account tells it, he held the bridge alone, striking down 40 men with his Dane Ax. He allowed no one to pass before the English sent men with pikes and spears beneath the bridge to stab at him from underneath while he was engaged with other fighters. While there is little to no chance of an opportunity to engage in such an incredible act of courage today, courage is nonetheless imperative to a man's being. I don't foresee myself marching into battle, skeggox in hand, and ready to meet my enemies any time soon. Still, each day allows me to do battle with a relentless and omnipresent foe.

Myself.

Molded by the ease and convenience of the modern world, man is drawn on the surface, to the path of least resistance, yet to take it leaves him feeling restless and unfulfilled. Deep inside him stirs a beast, a warrior, a man in his purest form just waiting to be unleashed. It takes courage to march into battle with oneself and live a life where every decision made is intentional and has a purpose. The man within is not at all suited for a life of ease.

He lusts for new lands and people to conquer. Things that are generally frowned upon in a civilized society. Yet to deny this indulgence is to deny who we truly are as men. We were not bred or evolved for comfort. We were bred for war, and we must show the courage to wage it. Even if the enemy is staring at us in the mirror.

So how does a man in the modern world show true courage in the world he lives in? The empire is a thief in that it has robbed men of the opportunity to become great. You don't really have to be all that brave to go to work, the grocery store, or just outside to throw some steaks on the grill. As of the time of this writing, there are no bandits nor Mongol hordes roaming the streets trying to kill you and ransack your village. There aren't any warring clans seeking to use you as a sacrifice for their gods or take your resources and women.

So again, I ask, how is a man supposed to show courage, real courage today?  To answer this question, we have to answer a few others. What is the definition of courage? Put plainly, it is merely the willingness to act even in the face of fear and full acknowledgment of the potential consequences.

But what is there to be afraid of anymore? You can go and do whatever you want, wherever you want today, with little to no risk to your own safety in most, if not all, first-world societies. The concept of courage itself has become watered down. T.V. and internet celebrities are often referred to as courageous when they decide to "come out" as gay or transsexual. If they have an opinion that goes against the status quo, they are seen as brave. In reality, unless you're living in a third-world country where saying such things will get you killed, the courage required to do these things is over-exaggerated and overvalued.

Suppose acting courageously in civil society requires the presence of fear. In that case, for fear to be present, there must also be implied risk. The greater the risk, the greater the amount of courage required. The less risk, the less courage is needed, and ultimately the value of that courage is greatly diminished. The risk associated with coming out or speaking out today is little more than some hurt feelings or perhaps losing a job. While it can be devastating to many, it still beats taking an ax to the face at the hand of a fearsome enemy. This isn't necessarily all that bad. Living in a society where the risk of being attacked by a random enemy on a daily basis is a good thing, but the caveat is that we end up having little to nothing to fear and, by that measure, no real opportunity to be courageous.

In order to find opportunities for traditional courage outside of joining the military, law enforcement, or a local fire department, we need to try to find the equitable risk of our own time.

The old phrase, you are your own worst enemy still holds true even today. Whether through self-doubt, self-sabotage, complacency, apathy, or even nihilistic philosophies that seems to be growing more and more prevalent as our modern world slips into a more secular collective.

You can often see this displayed through social media arguments between the faithful and the faithless.  Having faith in something requires an act of inner and more personal courage than that of the kind of courage you would see on the battlefield. Risk is present in the manner that if you're wrong, you're going to someplace that you're not going to like very much in the event of your inevitable death.

Having faith in oneself also requires courage that is sometimes considered irrational or unjustified courage. Believing that you can achieve a goal with no past track record of being an achiever is unjustified. Does a soldier who has gone to war multiple times have courage? Of course, he does, and it is by all means justified. But the new soldier, the one who has never seen a battle yet willfully walks into the flames of war, also has courage, but this is an irrational and unjustified measure of it.

It's easy to put on a brave face and act courageously when doing something you've done before. Even if the risk is still there, the experience gained from having gone through something fearsome before reduces the amount of courage required.

The Havamal, which roughly translates to Words of The High One, is a poem of collective Norse wisdom taught by Odin. It is thought to have been written between 858 and 1250 AD. In the 16th stanza of the Havamal it says, "A coward thinks he will ever live, if warfare he avoids; but old age will give him no peace, though spears may spare him." This appears to be talking about the consequences of avoiding battle and being left with regrets that will follow you throughout your final years. As I mentioned before, these opportunities for battle in today's world are few and far between.

This brings us back to being our own worst enemy. We still have the opportunity to go into a battle each and every day, even if it's not a battle in the traditional sense of the word. Each day we are faced with choices that will take us down one path or another, and as humans, it is within our nature to always choose the course with the least amount of obstacles. The need for comfort and efficiency often overrides our biological need to conquer new lands and achieve new heights or status. In order to combat these tendencies, a man must be intentional with his endeavors and not fall into the trap of promised comfort and ease.

The act of intentionally seeking out hardships or the path of most resistance requires courage and a certain amount of self-belief, just like the soldier who willingly goes into battle for the first time. This is not to downplay the soldier by any means. This is merely an analogy meant to convey the need for courage when facing the unknown and its unforeseeable risks. To challenge oneself is the ultimate form of sacrifice that we can achieve in today's world. In doing so, we risk revealing things about ourselves that could shatter our previously held identities and make us finally face who we truly are.

A man will naturally hold himself in high regard amongst his peers until his mettle is tested and he is proven otherwise. Asking, "Am I enough?" leads men to measure themselves against other men, and the risk of discovering that we do not can shatter our ego and confidence. Taking on challenges that will test our merit is not something that comes easily, but it is required if a man wishes to discover who he truly is.

A common theme that often comes up is that we need to return to the type of lives our ancestors lived hundreds of years ago. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm a pretty big fan of indoor plumbing and clean drinking water. Yes, it is true that our predecessors were stronger and far more capable than we are today at survival. But that is because it was necessary for them. If they had failed, you wouldn't be sitting here reading this book.

No, I don't think that we should go back or regress to the way of life as it was lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Our ancestors did what was needed out of both necessity and the desire to make their children's tomorrow better and easier, much like we continue to do today. The fact remains, we evolved to live a much harder life than the one we have today.

However, the unintended consequences of these wholly natural and noble endeavors have brought us to where we are today. This is...