You will never meet someone who is at the top of their game - who is the elite of the elite - who made it there in and of their own accord. The self-made man archetype is a load of festering dung. It isn't real. And any man who believes that it is real is either a mere dabbler or else exceedingly delusional. Or, perhaps it is both. Every single one of them had a coach; had a teacher; had a mentor; had brothers; had a tribe. A man who possesses none of these things is a man who has never tested his armor.

And therein lies the difference between weak men and great men. A weak man may well have armor. His armor lies unblemished upon the proverbial arms rack. Its glint has never been dulled by the sting of battle, its structure never dented by the bludgeons and blunt force that are the real lessons of life. His words may be well-formed, and he may have an appearance of warriorhood, but it is all merely shadow added to shadow - and no repetition of adding shadow upon shadow can ever amount to the whole. And the very instant in which the penetrating spear of truth or the sword of reality touches the phantasm that is the weak man - he and his armor evaporates with the utmost haste. He instantly reverts to a childlike panic or else he clings inexorably to a mindset that he believes to be true even when the results in life itself have shown him otherwise.

Weak men are married to their methods rather than to their mission. And so they will forsake their mission, or, perhaps, they will discredit the mission, or they may even insist that the mission was never really theirs to begin with - all the while adhering to an obsolete and ineffectual practice simply because they have learned to love the taste of their own bullshit. They insist that it is good, and they demand that everyone else believe the same. They are very much intolerant of questions or new ideas, as both challenge and usurp the weak man's self-made sovereignty that exists within his own mind.

The weak man is selfish and self-centered. He thinks only of his ways, his concerns, his methods. To him, the mission - and anyone involved in the mission - is secondary. And because he is so enraptured in his own methods, he will remain a feeble shell of a man floating through life as a chunk of driftwood at sea. Lost, lifeless, rotting, and insignificant. And his problems at the end of his journey will be the same as they were at the beginning. When he is finally consumed by death, it will be as if he had never existed.

Real men - the stuff of legends - never relinquish their pursuit of knowledge. They are not so enamored with themselves that they think themselves flawless or consider their methods gospel. Be they warriors, or athletes, or businessmen, or artists - real men align themselves with brothers and with pathfinders who will challenge their methods, beliefs, tactics and techniques. The real man tests his armor regularly. Rather than avoiding his weaknesses, he actively seeks them out. And when he has found one, he pursues another. He never abandons his relentless pursuit of his own weakness, because he understands that the elimination of weakness is essential to molding and making his armor into something stronger than what it is. He does not rest, he does not allow himself to slacken into the mire of triviality. His mind is ever fixated upon becoming the best version of himself.

Real men pursue strength, not perfection. Perfection is an impossible ideal and an illusion maintained by weak men. But great men pursue strength in mind, body, spirit and soul and they cultivate these perpetually. Real men invite their peers to test them and to challenge them. Real men embrace the strikes and the blows, because the lessons provided by these moments are invaluable. Every real man wants to be tested in training and preparation so that he understands his make and mettle when it really counts. In that critical moment where every second counts, the real man, forged by brothers and by bonds, will know how to act without hesitation. The real man charges furiously into toil and suffering because he has tasted pain before, and he is not deterred by it.

Real men seek wisdom and instruction and learning, and they are willing to make momentary, fleeting sacrifices in order to attain lasting gain. It is written that Odin sacrificed his eye to gain knowledge. Consider, for a moment, that many weak men would quiver at the thought of sacrificing an eye or a limb. But real men understand that with an eye one's sight might only reach a mile - but with knowledge, one's sight extends well beyond the reach of his eyes.

Let us reflect with unsentimental self-assessment and gauge precisely what type of men we are. Are we weak and considerate only of appearances and fantasies and trivial things? Or are we men who pursue knowledge and wisdom relentlessly? Are we weak men who think highly of our own methods, content with ourselves as we are? Or are we men who place ourselves among brothers and teachers who allow us to uproot our weaknesses, casting them upon the fires of strength? Do not shirk from challenge and pain, for these are life's greatest teachers. Do not avoid the confrontations of brothers, for our brothers have our best interest at heart and desire for us to become stronger men than we are. We must allow ourselves to be tested, tried and proven, for this is how we become truly strong.

Steven Kurvach, founder of The Viking Path
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