Just Dave writing today.
One of the major interests Lis and I have is doing what we can to help marriages strengthen and succeed. These OneFamily letters from us and the Howards are examples of that. The intent is to provide you with the combined 25 years in leading parenting classes and the combined 52 years of marriage that somehow we can come up with a thought or two that will make your lives more rich, more secure, more pleasant, more organized, and more informed. OneFamily is designed to start conversations between couples.
However, OneFamily doesn’t much cover a central component to a successful marriage, and that’s success from a guy’s standpoint. It’s common for women to have their group of friends from which they derive connectedness and insight. But guys – not so much. If they do have a group of friends, it’s mostly superficial guy talk (and I speak from experience). All too often guys walk alone in their minds. What guys really need is one of two things: a group dedicated to success and accountability or a mentor to help them navigate all the increasingly complex elements of success: Work life, Family Life, Health Life, Sex Life, Social Life, Financial Life, Spiritual Life, Mental/Ego Life. These elements are difficult to balance sometimes. And at times, impossible to balance very well.
So that’s why we have the Ironmen initiative. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). Ironmen letters are for guys. Let’s face it, men and women lead very different lives. Men’s needs, their psyche, ego, motivation, career, health, and spiritual life are challenged by a whole different set of demands than are women’s. Both important, but handled quite differently. Topics like Motivation, Business Success, Financial Mastery, Character Development, Nature of Reality, Women, Porn, Spiritual Matters, and more, are topics best handled in a different forum than OneFamily. These topics explore the inner workings of a man’s development.
Who’s the biggest beneficiary if a man has his act together? Probably the women and children in his life. Ironmen helps men balance the demands of modern challenges and bring confidence and peace. It helps men think forward. Encourages. Challenges. Helps them get out of their comfort zone and lean forward in life. At least that’s the intent of all this. And like OneFamily, it’s a drip program that gives you little bits every week. Not too much, but hopefully enough to fit in your busy life.
OneFamily letters are a shared writing responsibility between two couples (Shelly and Rich Howard and Lis and me), but more importantly they are balanced between men and women’s perspectives. Whereas Ironmen is just me writing (for good or bad) recreating the lessons I’ve gathered along the 55 years I’ve been in the game. I try and be as relevant and transparent as possible. How else can someone gain insight unless it’s real.
If this is something you’re interested in, I encourage now and always, action. Sign up if you have interest: http://ironmen.headwaterslife.org/sign-up/
To your family’s greater well-being,
Dave Marr (with Lis’ approval).