Category: Masculinity

This section contains articles to help men be a masculine leader in their relationships.

  • Masculine Leadership Is Sexy (Even to Strong Independent Women)

    Masculine Leadership Is Sexy (Even to Strong Independent Women)

    Secret# 5: Masculine Leadership Is Sexy (Even to Strong Independent Women) This is the fifth in my series of 6 dangerously effective marriage-saving secrets. I help extraordinary men create long-lasting love, deeper connection, intimacy, respect, and authentic affection through personalized masculine confidence coaching. These secrets are field-tested. They’ll bring lasting positive change in your relationships.

    (Use these links to see secrets ONE, TWO, THREE, & FOUR)

    This article is not for the controlling jackass who bosses his wife around or treats women with disrespect. Quite opposite. The pointers you’re about to learn ARE for the man who mistakenly thought letting his wife wear the pants in the relationship would make her happy. Even if your wife has a stubborn streak, deep down, she feels leadership is sexy.

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    Masculine Leadership Is Sexy (Even to Strong Independent Women)

    Married Life Without Masculine Leadership

    Kate looked up from her phone and asked, “What do you want for dinner?”

    Travis almost didn’t hear her.

    He was lost in his laptop, pouring through new real estate listings.

    “I don’t care. Whatever is easy”, Travis replied with a smile.

    Kate said, “We have some leftover meatloaf. Or I could do a casserole”.

    Travis’s eyes stayed on his computer.

    He was more interested in the new listing he just found than what he wanted for dinner.

    “Whatever you want honey. If one of those is near the front of the fridge, just warm that up”, He suggested.

    “Think we could watch a nature show tonight? It’s been a while since we’ve done that. Or we could go for a drive and look at Christmas lights!”, Amy said with enthusiasm.

    “Maybe”, Travis mumbled as he tried to cut and paste an address from his web browser.

    Kate’s voice got serious, “I just think we need to prioritize making efforts for our relationship.”

    “Huh?”, Travis said, confused.

    Kate’s face got emotional.

    Her throat tightened as she said, “Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one fighting for us. I always have to fight alone”.

    Travis tried to make sense of where the conversation had gone.

    He felt himself getting angry.

    “Kate, you’re a strong independent woman. You love plowing your own way through life. The battles you fight, you bring on yourself”, he scolded disapprovingly.

    Hearing this did not sit well with Kate.

    Kate began walking out of the room.

    In a frustrated tone, she turned around and said, “Never mind.”

    Travis heard her walk into their bedroom and close the door.

    About an hour later, his mind was still foggy as he tried to process his conversation with Kate.

    He felt a little resentful that she didn’t make him anything to eat.

    While he warmed up some meatloaf in the microwave, he could hear a nature show coming from the TV in their bedroom.

    Yay!

    Dinner in bed would be fun.

    Travis brought his plate to bed and nestled next to Kate.

    She fell asleep moments later.

    He finished the episode by himself.

    This wasn’t the fun, connected, sexy evening he had hoped for.

    Leadership Is Sexy, Management Is Not

    Each time Kate brought up a question, Travis tried to manage it by not having an opinion.

    Management is a form of damage control.

    An ambulance dispatch system to retrieve hikers who fall off a cliff is management.

    Standing on the cliff’s edge offering direction away from the edge is leadership.

    In the business world, a manager is supposed to keep completing the same tasks over and over.

    When a problem arises, there is one goal: push through the problem so normal tasks can resume.

    The leader of a company looks broad-range.

    A leader ensures effort is spent on the right problems based on where he wants the company to go.

    Without leadership, managers can end up straightening chairs on a sinking Titanic assuming effort=success.

    You’ll win the battle but lose the war.

    The same applies to your marriage.

    Here are the replies Travis gave his wife in the story above:

    • “I don’t care”
    • Whatever is easy”
    • “Whatever you want honey”
    • “Maybe”
    • “Huh?”

    Do those sound like words of leadership to you?

    Those replies were attempts to manage “small fires” by abandoning his post as leader.

    Even the strongest, most independent, business-minded woman wants to relax.

    Her sexuality goes offline if she isn’t relaxed.

    Leadership allows her to relax and step out of the guessing game.

    Every time Kate bounced options off Travis, she was searching to know what he wanted.

    Since Travis offered no solid leadership, her emotions led the conversation (which became frustrating for both of them)

    Your wife wants the GOOD feeling of knowing she just gave you something you really wanted.

    Saying, “Just warm up whatever happens to be the fridge” robs her of that good feeling.

    It’s very selfish to not know what you want.

    Masculine Leadership: How Travis Could Have Given it

    Especially for guys married to strong independent women, letting her make the choices in the house feels easy.

    Deep down, these men are afraid she won’t like him if he faces her strong will (or he’s just lazy).

    Sexy, FUN leadership Travis could have given Kate:

    • “Meatloaf sounds great! Let’s have that”
    • “No, we can’t look at Christmas lights tonight. We will next weekend though. It will be fun!”
    • “You feel like you’re fighting all your battles alone? I’m sorry, that sounds exhausting. Let’s talk about it after I get out of the shower tonight when I’m not distracted.”

    A unique difference between masculine leadership vs feminine leadership is that masculine leadership is CONSISTENTLY based on values, boundaries, and standards, NOT emotions.

    Your leadership is still a gift even If she protests with comments like, “I don’t want meatloaf. I’d rather have a casserole.”

    Here’s why: She didn’t know what she wanted until you did.

    Feminine energy finds her truth when contained by a strong masculine frame.

    Just as a river can’t reach the ocean without river banks feminine can’t know what it wants or where it’s going until it encounters our clear choices. 

    In her article, “What Every Man Should Know About Women” Author and mentor Teal Swan reveals how women live in constant fear.

    A woman’s fear is biologically woven into who she is as a feminine person.

    Strong independent women get tired of fending for themselves but will struggle to let their armor down if they don’t feel safe.

    When a man consistently “contains” his wife’s chaos by taking ownership of the situation, it provides the woman with a sense of safety.

    Getting On The Path To Masculine Leadership Right Now

    I take genuine, successful men through a field-tested process of masculine confidence development.

    Plant your feet on the solid ground of your values, boundaries, and personal standards by committing to this work.

    You’ll feel good stepping up as a natural leader in your relationship.

    Masculine leadership is sexy and your wife wants to experience it.

    Click HERE to schedule a personal consultation with me.

    Travis and Kate A Few Months Later

    Travis had a mind-jolting insight into the obvious: What he was doing wasn’t working.

    He confided his frustrations with another man whom he respected.

    Once a week, they would meet at a local diner to talk about what was happening in Travis’s marriage.

    This wasn’t a time for complaining about their wives.

    These were times to connect and get clear about how to lead trust and safety in their marriages.

    Travis began to realize most of his frustrations with Kate were coming from his own ways of thinking about her.

    When Travis’s mentor spoke to him man-to-man, everything made sense.

    Leadership and confidence weren’t something he had to go find, they were things he needed to stop holding back.

    Travis went on to create an intimate, fun-filled relationship with Kate.

    His only regret was that he let himself suffer for so many years before seeking the mentorship of an experienced man.

    Are you ready for a man-to-man talk that could change your relationship for the better?

    Fill out my “Get Grounded Now” consultation form and let’s have a chat.

    Much love brother,

    Garrett Prettyman

  • 4 Reasons Marriage Fails Without Masculine/Feminine Polarity

    4 Reasons Marriage Fails Without Masculine/Feminine Polarity

    In a world where the pendulum has swung far from supporting “patriarchy”, a new problem has emerged. Entire generations of men are afraid they’ll be undesirable to women if they come off as “chauvinistic”. Let’s cut the labels for a moment and look at masculine/feminine polarity from a purely energetic standpoint. I have an offer at the end that will increase your masculine polarity.

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    4 Reasons Your Marriage Will Fail Without Masculine/Feminine Polarity

    Rubber meets the road after we marry.

    Advice given on our wedding day is forgotten.

    The honeymoon phase ends.

    Our confidence on how to manage a relationship dips as we see things spin out with our partner that makes no dam sense.

    Here are 4 ways your marriage will fail without masculine/feminine polarity:

    1. Without masculine/feminine polarity, our partner feels like a roommate

     Regardless of our sexual identity, we feel attraction to what polarizes us.

    The idea of masculine/feminine polarity is not a new concept.

    In Tony Robin’s article, “How to increase relationship polarity” he states a very blatant truth: “When your relationship polarity becomes too similar, passion dies“.

    Harmony and polarity are not the same.

    When we share the same likes, dislikes, and perspectives, we have harmony.

    Harmony creates a great sense of friendship.

    Polarity is a spark.

    Where there’s Polarity, there’s energy.

    Polarity pulls us out of our comfort zone and lights a glow in us.

    A healthy relationship needs “spark” to fire on all cylinders. 

     

    2. Our wife cannot relax into her soft, creative, motherly, sensual, flowing, feminine energy unless she senses a strong, protective, masculine “containment” around her

    She needs something to kick against to know where she stands.

    Feminine energy moves away from things that don’t feel like safety.

    We all know what a woman is like when she’s been wearing the pants around the house.

    She feels empowered at first.

    Soon, she becomes harsh, angry, and resentful.

    Our wife is fully capable of being her own “masculine containment”.

    However, she isn’t able to relax into a soft or receptive state while she’s being her own man.

    • Masculine “containment” is simply masculine energy that responds rather than reacts to her outpours
    • Masculine energy is grounded in unchanging values and takes extreme ownership of her, and ALL aspects of his kingly realm
    • Masculine makes clear decisions for the betterment of the realm, regardless of emotion.
    • “Masculine containment” serves to protect but not necessarily to please

    Without this grounding, our relationships will rise and fall with the waves of her moods… Nobody enjoys that voyage. 

    3. Sexual intimacy flatlines unless someone leads and someone receives

    Both men and women can embody masculine or feminine energy.

    We may switch roles several times per hour.

    The problem is when one of us gets STUCK in an energy that isn’t our natural resting place.

    A man stuck in feminine energy will:

    • Grow passive, indecisive, and depressed
    • Feel like he’s at the mercy of those in his life
    • Blame others for how he feels
    • Let people walk over him
    • Avoid conflict like the plague
    • Hope and fantasize about sexual intimacy instead of leading it
    • Assume others are responsible for dealing with inconveniences in his life

    Why?

    Because in his heart of hearts, he is a king.

    A king leads, Does hard things, and takes responsibility for his actions.

    A king also knows what he has to do and does it even if it makes him unpopular…To not do so violates his own sense of purpose. 

    Your relationship won’t survive unless someone takes charge in the realm of intimacy.

    4. There is a depth of love that cannot be known unless it’s “tested” by a polarizing opposite

    For our wife to feel a deep trust and freedom to love us she must challenge who we are.

    Like going to the gym, Masculine grows through challenge.

    When she changes her mind, doubts our choices or distracts us from our mission she is “testing” how deep our roots are. 

    We should appreciate that she wants to feel our strength, integrity, and deepest truth by challenging it. 

    How You Can Gain Masculine/Feminine Polarity

    There is an effective process to becoming a man with polarizing masculine energy.

    I teach this process to men all over the world and effectively use it in my own life.

    The process teaches us a new way to think about our feelings.

    We learn to make choices from our non-negotiable values.

    Everything becomes black-and-white, “yes” or “no”, based on our personal life mission.

    We learn to give our gifts freely and not attach to outcomes.

    Masculine/feminine polarity is a natural occurrence. 

    My offer: Set aside 60 minutes and I’ll set aside 60 minutes.

    We’ll discuss your current situation and decide if working with me 1:1 is the right move for you.

    Fill out my Get Grounded Now form to schedule a call.

    You won’t regret it.

    That’s a promise. 

    Be grounded brother,

    Garrett Prettyman

  • Blow-Up With Wife: 3 Mistakes To Avoid

    Blow-Up With Wife: 3 Mistakes To Avoid

    Our relationship can feel like it’s spiraling out of control when our feelings are at the mercy of our wife’s emotions. Our thoughts can feel urgent: “had blow-up with wife… must resolve now…Why, why why is she doing this??” I’m going to share 3 mistakes to watch out for.

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    Blow-Up With Wife: 3 Mistakes To Avoid

    Blow-Up With Wife: How Tom Handled It

    Tom’s head was spinning. 

    The last 20 minutes with his wife Jessica had gone horribly wrong. 

    They had taken a quick weekend vacation. 

    She had seemed a little “off” at the hotel that morning. 

    On the drive home, something imploded in her. 

     “I don’t feel appreciated or loved by you…I need you to give me more verbal affirmation“, Jessica complained.

    Tom thought to himself, “Well if you want to be told you’re sweet maybe you should act sweet”. Even though he didn’t say this out loud, Jessica could sense he was thinking it. 

    “But I do love you. Just look at all I do for us to have a nice house and dependable income. I’m always nice to you and have never hit you are done anything abusive”, Tom argued.

    “You never kiss me unless we’re having sex”, Jessica snapped back. 

    Lately, this was true. 

    Jessica had put on a few pounds. 

    She had been getting more cranky and moody.

    These were all turn-offs for Tom. 

    He felt kissing her would be rewarding her moody behavior. 

    Tom said, “Ok fine. I’ll stop kissing during sex if you don’t like it.”

    “That’s not the point. Just, never mind. You never get it!!”, She replied.

    Jessica was crying now. She turned away and refused to talk. 

    Tom felt stumped. 

    Now what?

    3 Mistakes Tom Made

    1. Tom tried countering each of Jessica’s objections with a solution

    All he needed to do was affirm her own emotions back to her. 

    The issue is never what your wife brings up in the moment.

    I know, this doesn’t make sense…

    Men bring up something because it’s the issue at hand.

    Think of the female brain like a pot.

    She’s been collecting bits and pieces in this pot for a while.

    At some point, she realizes the bits and pieces mixed together stink.

    She’ll pull one piece out and say that is why the pot stinks.

    The reality is, it’s a combination of many pieces that stink.

    So whether she’s complaining about the dishwasher not being loaded, your love language, or the way you laughed when she tripped, her issue is not with that specific thing.  

    2. By Tom withholding praise from his wife he was lowering the bar for her behaviors. 

    Women grow towards what’s praised or honored. 

    Men grow towards what’s respected or what feels like freedom.

    Here’s a concept that’s hard for men to grasp:

    We set the bar for our wife’s behavior by praising her before she’s reached it.

    Want a wife who is sweet and kind?

    Praise her for being sweet and kind.

    Want a loving affectionate wife?

    Praise her for loving. 

    When you demonstrate this kind of high regard for her she grows towards it. 

     3. Tom’s thinking stunk. 

    Our feelings come from our perceptions. 

    All Tom needed to do was relax in his sense of well-being to regulate his own triggers.

    This would have created an energy of understanding and empathy toward Jessica. 

    Our wife can always smell what we think. 

    Women’s sixth sense is keen and we can’t talk our way out of something we’ve behaved ourselves into.

    When a man is relaxed in his self-worth and innate value, he doesn’t sink into despair or confusion when his wife is having “a moment”.

    He can remain present in a strong, loving way.

    When we provide this kind of emotional leadership, she will sift through all the smelly pieces in her “pot” and get them sorted on her own.

    In the end, you’re still there.

    You’re calm.

    You’re “with her”.

    This is a unique masculine gift a woman needs to let herself flow into her soft, feminine state. 

    Tom needed to realize his feelings (like confusion and frustration) were coming from his thinking, not his wife’s complaints. 

    I wish I could tell you Tom learned from his mistakes and turned his relationship around.

    He did not.

    Tom assumed his wife was crazy and continued to criticize her reactions.

    He went from “blow-up with wife” to “divorced” within 6 months. 

    This was the wake-up call Tom needed to finally get some help.

    Having mentorship from an experienced man changed everything forward for Tom.

    He became the man he always knew he could be.

    It was too late for his marriage but not too late to create amazing relationships going forward. 

    How You Can Avoid Tom’s Mistakes

    There’s an effective process I take men through.

    Your brain gets rewired.

    Your perceptions shift and you become a happy, confident, emotionally-online man. 

    This is the kind of man who can lead a woman through her emotions with ease. 

    He’s grounded and solid in his values and holds to his integrity. He knows what he wants and he knows how to create it. 

    If I offered you a brand new house for a $100, would you jump on it? The value my coaching offers is no different. The Masculine Confidence Framework I teach is priceless. It’s been refined and improved through many years of working with men. It’s going to have a positive effect on your next 30 years. Do it for your family. Do it for you. You won’t regret it. That’s a promise. Fill Out this form to schedule a FREE consultation.

    Much love brother,

    Garrett Prettyman

  • How To Lead Your Wife Without Controlling Her

    How To Lead Your Wife Without Controlling Her

    I’m going to show you why it’s so dam attractive when you lead your wife without controlling her.

    The core of masculine leadership is the ability to direct others by giving them choices.

    The core of feminine leadership is the ability to sway or attract others through receptivity.

    Society has heavily taught the mindset that men and women are equals and both sexes have the same value.

    Society tells us we’re all human, and that giving attention to something unique about someone’s sex, color, or background is “racist” and therefore BAD.

    That statement I just made will offend many people and push them into the streets to protest for something that nobody can even give them.. Their SELF-WORTH.

    This is because somewhere along the line, we as a culture have misguided where our value lies.

    Value Is Something Nobody Can Take From You Because Your Value Does Not Lie OUTSIDE You. Your value Lies INSIDE Who You’re BEING.

    You see brother, When I talk about masculinity and femininity this has nothing to do with who is better, more powerful, more valuable, or equal.

    When I say “masculine leadership” this in no way implies the woman is, “less than”.

    There are basic rules to our universe:

    •  What goes up must come down
    •  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
    •  What you resist will persist
    •  Polarity brings clarity to attractiveness

    A car only needs one steering wheel to reach its destination.

    When The Driver Knows Where he’s Going And Is Confident At The Wheel, Everyone On Board Can Relax And Enjoy The Ride.

    You can be the feminine energy in your relationship if you want.

    For some men, they feel most alive when they are the flowing, soft, receptive, nurturing partner in the relationship.

    Other men feel most alive when they are clear, direct, logical, and creators of action towards definite plans and a definite purpose.

    Many people try to shoot down the latter man because he makes them feel uncomfortable about their own state of inaction or their own lack of purpose.

    What the clear, logical man is actually doing is providing leadership.

    Masculine Leadership Creates Space For The Other To Be Feminine.

    Attraction arises between masculine and feminine energy.

    Here is where men shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to leadership.

    We tend to copy how we saw leadership demonstrated by those around us while growing up.

    It’s easy to thinkg of leadership as being “in charge”.

    We assume telling people what to do or what we want is leading them.

    But here’s the truth. Bossing people around will manifest “you not being chosen” in your life.

    Is being chosen something you have wished for brother?

    Have you said: “I just want her to CHOOSE me?”

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    How To Lead Your Wife Without Controlling Her

    You Lead Your Wife By Simply Presenting Your Position In The Form Of Choices.

    Let’s say you and your wife are in the kitchen and she just said something rude or hurtful to you.

    1. Decide your position, then decide “where to from here”?

    …Let’s say you decide you want to talk about it with her.

    2. Don’t explain, rather STATE how you’ve been impacted. “Dang babe, hearing that hurt”.

    3. Give her options based on YOUR position. “Do you want to talk about it right now or later tonight?”

    By giving her options to your position, she gets to CHOOSE your position.

    If you had said “Dang babe, hearing that hurt. I want to talk about this with you later tonight” She would feel PRESSURE, not FREEDOM to choose you because you are TELLING her what to do, not LEADING her to what to do.

    Another example is to imagine you are at the park with your kids.

    You decide it’s time to go.

    LEADERSHIP would say “Almost time to go kids! Do you want to get in the car in 5 minutes or in 10 minutes?” Shouting “Get in the car kids, we’re leaving!” doesn’t allow them to CHOOSE your leadership.

    Pushing people, bossing people, forcing people, is not leadership just as avoidance, beating around the bush, indirect answers, and waiting for the other to make the move is not leadership.

    Even if a woman is saying with her mouth she is a “strong independent woman who doesn’t need a man to tell her what to do” she can’t help that when the man confidently takes the wheel of the car her body can relax, take a nap, and enjoy the ride.

    To Lead Your Wife Without Controlling Her Is Like Driving A Car

    If a car had a steering wheel for each passenger, the destination would never be reached.

    Hell, if a car had no steering wheel or gps guidance system the destination would never be reached.

    Your marriage is that car.

    Your marriage will not work unless someone is at the wheel.

    I was that man who abandoned the driver’s seat of my marriage because my wife was complaining about my “driving” (and lack of “driving”). I decided to let her have a turn rather than step up.

    Letting her take the wheel put too much pressure on her to maintain safety and a definite direction.

    She jumped in the next car with the next driver who came along.

    Women’s brains are wired to use feelings to reach a conclusion.

    Men’s brains are wired to use logic to reach a conclusion.

    Nothing undermines a man’s masculinity more than when he goes against his logic by adjusting his values and life direction in an attempt to make his partner feel happy.

    Be grounded in your position brother.

    Lead your position by giving her clear choices and notice how THAT kind of leadership allows you to lead your wife without controlling her.

    Want to become a grounded, strong, masculine leader? Complete this form to have a FREE “Get Grounded Now” consultation call with me. No sales pitch. No snake oil. You have nothing to lose!