The Building Blocks

16 May The Building Blocks

The Building Blocks

Males are born. Men are built. This is one of the greatest social truths I have ever learned. Now, I am committed to teaching it hoping that everyone who has the opportunity to shape the life of a male will embrace it and raise their sons accordingly. I have heard the cliché that mothers raise their daughters and love their sons. There is some verity to it. Of course moms love their daughters as well, but all too often some do not prepare their sons to be capable men. In the case of some single mothers they simply don’t know how. I hope I can help.

I wrote When I Became a Man to detail some of the things I learned in my journey to manhood. I am not great at telling stories. I am more of a propositional thinker than a narrative one. I am better at principles and axioms than I am at story lines, plots and characters. I am working on my story telling because I know the value of great truth placed in a good story. Unfortunately I have seen the real life stories of countless unprepared males. They usually do not end well. What is more the real life dramas of unprepared, underdeveloped males end up causing their single mothers exasperation and grief, especially when they did all they could and he still became what my mother would label as a pitiful man. Again, I think I can help.

Males are born. Men are built. I cannot say it enough. I have discovered there are 25 key building blocks that are necessary if males are to become real men. These building blocks are character traits that must be developed in males as they grow from boyhood to manhood. While the 25 building block traits are in no way exhaustive, they are foundational and unequivocal. Although there is no exact order for each building block to be developed and set in place hopefully all can be in place by the time a male reaches age 21. It takes several years for all 25 to be fully developed, but there should be at least an awareness and commitment to them by 21. Any thing later is probably going to end up being a matter of catch up or correction.

Hopefully by now you are curious about what the 25 building blocks actually are. Maybe you are saying, “Tell me what they are already!”. I will. As a matter of fact in each edition of MRS we will explore an aspect of one of the building blocks.   The blocks are the broad category traits. In each blog entry I will discuss some of the elements and details within each characteristic.   Some of the traits will be natural to your son. Others will have to be developed.   But know this. Just like the blocks in a building have to be laid, these 25 characteristics should be intentionally cultivated in a male by age 21.   Nothing is a given. Sons have to be deliberately raised.

 Block 1 is a sense of responsibility. We will tackle it in the next entry.

Mothers Raising Sons (MRS) is a resource to assist single moms in their effort to raise their wonderful sons to become exceptional men.   Each entry will elaborate on principles taken from the book, When I Became a Man. The foundational premise of the book is “Males are born. Men are built”.

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