I have condensed this list as it was original 75. I picked out what I thought was the best 17 and I have included them here for the gentlemen out there. Let me know what you all think.
J.C. Leyendecker "The Bespoke Aficionado's" 17 Skills Every Man Should Master
1. Give advice that matters in one sentence.
-I got run out of a job I liked once, and while it was happening, a guy stopped me in the hall. Smart guy, but prone to saying too much. I braced myself. I didn't want to hear it. I needed a white knight, and I knew it wasn't him. He just sighed and said: When nobody has your back, you gotta move your back. Then he walked away. Best advice I ever got. One sentence.
2. Tell if someone is lying.
-Everyone has his theory. Pick one, test it. Choose the tells that work for you. I like these: Liars change the subject quickly. Liars look up and to their right when they speak. Liars use fewer contractions. Liars will sometimes stare straight at you and employ a dead face. Liars never touch their chest or heart except self-consciously. Liars place objects between themselves and you during a conversation.
3. Name a book that matters.
-The Catcher in the Rye does not matter. Not really. You gotta read.
4. Cook meat somewhere other than the grill.
5. Show respect without being a suck-up.
-Respect the following, in this order: age, experience, record,reputation. Don't mention any of it.
6. Be loyal.
-You will fail at it. You have already. A man who does not know loyalty, from both ends, does not know men. Loyalty is not a matter of give-and-take: He did me a favor, therefore I owe him one. No. No. No. It is the recognition of a bond, the honoring of a shared history, the reemergence of the vows we make in the tight times. It doesn't mean complete agreement or invisible blood ties. It is a currency of selflessness, given without expectation and capable of the most stellar return.
7. Know how to tell a joke.
8. Know when to say no.
9. Know how to caress a woman's neck. -Back of your fingers, in a slow fan.
10. Avoid boredom.
-You have enough to eat. You can move. This must be acknowledged as a kind of freedom. You don't always have to buy things, put things in your mouth, or be delighted.
11. Point to the north at any time.
-If you have a watch, you can point the hour hand at the sun. Then find the point directly between the hour hand and the
12. That's south. The opposite direction is, of course, north.
12. Ask for help.
-Guys who refuse to ask for help are the most cursed men of all. The stubborn, the self-possessed, and the distant. The hell with them.
13. Throw a punch.
-Close enough, but not too close. Swing with your shoulders, not your arm. Long punches rarely land squarely. So forget the roundhouse. You don't have a haymaker. Follow through; don't pop and pull back. The length you give the punch should come in the form of extension after the point of contact. Just remember, the bones in your hand are small and easy to break. You're better off striking hard with the heel of your palm. Or you could buy the guy a beer and talk it out.
14. Give a woman an orgasm.
-Make it so she doesn't have to ask after it. Otherwise, ask after it.
15. Not monopolize the conversation.
16. Speak a foreign language.
-Pas beaucoup. Mais faites un effort.
17. Know some birds.
-If you can't pay attention to a bird, then you can't learn from detail, you aren't likely to appreciate the beauty of evolution, and you don't have a clue how bird like your own habits may be.
J.C. Leyendecker
"The Bespoke Aficionado"
jcleyendecker@yahoo.com
- Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.
No comments:
Post a Comment