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The Frontier Stoic by Mark Hatmaker

 


Well, well, well, that book is finally here!

THE FRONTIER STOIC: Life Lessons from Those Who Lived a Life.

·        227 pages of Old School Hosses leading the Way.

·        Available in softcover in our store.

·        Or as an e-book here.

 

A preview below…

A ROMAN, A FRENCHMAN, A YANKEE, & A MAASAI WARRIOR GO INTO A BAR

OUR ROMAN DRINKING BUDDY

“None of those who have been raised to a lofty height by riches and honors is really great. Why then does he seem great? Because you are measuring the pedestal along with the man. A dwarf is not tall though he stands on a mountain; a Colossus will maintain its size even when standing in a well. This is the error under which we labor, and how we are deceived; we value no man by what he is, but add the trappings in which he is adorned.”-From Seneca’s Epistles

·        See clearly; see the immediate.

·        Remove trappings; unroil the mind.

OUR FRENCH DRINKING BUDDY

“The pedestal is no part of the statue. Measure him without his stilts; let him lay aside his wealth and titles; let him present himself in his undershirt. Is his body healthy, active, and able to perform functions? What sort of soul does he have? … Is the soul rich in what is its own or rich in what it has borrowed? Has luck had nothing to do with it?...Is it calm, unflustered, and content? This is what we must see; that is how the great differences between us should be judged.”—Montaigne, “Of the Inequality Amongst Us.” [1580]

·        See clearly; see the immediate.

·        Remove trappings; unroil the mind.

 

OUR ROMAN DRINKING BUDDY CHIMES IN AGAIN

“Do you see that king of Scythia or Sarmatia, his head elegant with the badge of his office? If you wish to see what he amounts to, and to know his full worth, take off his headband; much evil lurks beneath it. But why do I speak of others? If you want to take your own measure, put aside your money, your estates, your honors, and look inside yourself. At present you are taking the word of others for what you are.”-Seneca

·        Every bit of time and attention spent on pointing those fingers, wagging those jaws implies that our own houses must be in mighty perfect order as we’ve got all this free time to right everyone else’s wrongs.

·        We must be one impressive bunch.

·        Me? I’m of little help to the world. Being imperfect, I’ve got books to read, tactics to train, a family to enjoy and be bolstered by, you know, weak stuff like that.

OUR YANKEE DRINKING BUDDY

“If you maintain a dead church, contribute to a dead Bible society, vote with a great party either for the government or against it, spread your table like base housekeepers, —under all these screens I have difficulty to detect the precise man you are: and of course so much force is withdrawn from your proper life. But do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. A man must consider what a blindman's-buff is this game of conformity. If I know your sect, I anticipate your argument. I hear a preacher announce for his text and topic the expediency of one of the institutions of his church. Do I not know beforehand that not possibly can he say a new and spontaneous word? Do I not know that with all this ostentation of examining the grounds of the institution he will do no such thing? Do I not know that he is pledged to himself not to look but at one side, the permitted side, not as a man, but as a parish minister? He is a retained attorney, and these airs of the bench are the emptiest affectation. Well, most men have bound their eyes with one or another handkerchief, and attached themselves to some one of these communities of opinion. This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars. Their every truth is not quite true. Their two is not the real two, their four not the real four; so that every word they say chagrins us and we know not where to begin to set them right. Meantime nature is not slow to equip us in the prison-uniform of the party to which we adhere.—Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”

·        See clearly; see the immediate.

·        Remove trappings; unroil the mind.

·        Unlock the prison door of cocksure readymade easily spewed assumptions and talking points.

 

FROM THE MAASAI WARRIOR TRADITION

“Ugomvi wa kondoo haujali simba. "

“The quarrel of the sheep doesn’t concern the lion.”

·        Which critter would you rather be?

·        But be honest with yourself, which one are you?

A KICK-IN FROM THE OLD-TIMER AT THE END OF THE BAR

“Never took my hat off to anyone but women, men I respected and anyone I’ve sweated alongside on a given day. Readymade respect never made much sense to me. Manners and being polite sure, but getting’ all hot and bothered over another man’s ambition, never made sense to me.”-From the Journal of a Cattleman

OUR MAASAI PICKS UP THE TAB FOR US

“Jifunze adabu kutoka kwa yule asiye na adabu.”

“Learn politeness from the impolite.”

·        In other words, if you don’t like what you see going on, Don’t Be That.

·        But our Maasai wisdom is more than simply don’t be like or associate with the “impolite.”

·        Our Warrior Drinking buddy advises us to embody the opposite qualities.

·        To be the shining beacons of calm, polite, graceful, thoughtful warriors in a sea of WTF.

·        To be the clear-seeing insouciant lions among the nattering sheep who devote so little time to their own lives and loved ones, but rather elevate the ambitions and egos of strangers.

Lions work on themselves and their own Pride. That’s how they got to be lions.

To all my Lions out There!

VALE! [“Be Strong! Be Worthy!”]

“Susuat’u!” [Loosely translated from the Comanche concept of “Cool, laidback, but ever-ready cat. In other words, a lion amongst sheep.”

Resources for Livin’ the Warrior Life

The Black Box Store

https://www.extremeselfprotection.com/

The Indigenous Ability Blog

https://indigenousability.blogspot.com/

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast

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