SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

25 Core Manly Skills Every Man Should Have

In a day and age where gender lines are blurred and chivalry is fading away, there are some basic skills every man should have. Let me preface by saying these skills are not limited to men, but more so should come second nature to us. They are life skills you may or may not have been given or shown by your father or grandfather. As the years go by some of the greatest skills a man could possess are slipping through our fingers. Men are not as present in the lives of their kids these days so some of the skills may need to be self-taught or relearned. Become a Master of Language – Both the spoken and written word have become lost art. Avoid using slang and jargon, master your first language, perhaps even learn a second. Be a Reader – Reading will add to your arsenal of topics both at the water cooler, the bar or over dinner. Read the classics, history and self-improvement. Read more than just the articles in Sports Illustrated or Field & Stream. Pick up a Hobby – Men that are all work and no play are well boring to be around. Learn to fish, hunt, woodworking, or whatever. By adding versatility in your life, you become more interesting. Be Date-able – This goes for married and single men alike. Married men, date your wives, date your daughters, show them how much they mean to you. Single men, have respect for yourself and those you might date. Another notch […]

Leaders Who Go from “I” to”We” (Guest Post)

Once again my blog has been graciously taken over my a fellow blogger. Today’s guest is T.J. Tison, where she shares her story on her recent opportunity to have breakfast with a business industry leader. Here is her story: “The journey from “I” to We is a long one.”-Bill George I was recently blessed to hear Bill George speak at a leaders breakfast.  Bill George is business thought leader, Harvard Business School professor, and former CEO of Medtronic, and a man of strong faith. When it comes to being an effective leader, we would be wise to sit up and take notice when Bill George speaks. I did listen. One thing that stood out the most to me that morning was, as leaders, we need to take the journey from “I” to “We”. That journey can be a long one. Bill was once told that he wasn’t getting the best out of his team because he was forcing them to do his bidding without hearing their ideas. Early on in college he was encouraged to change the way he tried to lead because he was making it all about himself. Bill was operating as most leaders do. But he decided to intentionally change the way he led. It was a long, but worthwhile journey. Bill chose to make that change and you can too. Some leaders never make that change. They operate as an “I” leader until the day they retire, or die. We have all worked for a few of those.  It’s all about them, […]

How The Life of a Virtual Assistant was Born – (Guest Post)

Today I am honored to have guest blogger Trivinia Barber as my host as she discusses how the life of a Virtual Assistant came about, and how she answered His call. I often wonder what it was that Simon-Peter and Andrew were thinking when a man they had never met before approached them and said, “Come follow me”. Without a second thought, they dropped their nets and went with him. It was several years ago when God spoke into the lives of my husband and me, directing us to care for His children. We ended up adopting a precious daughter, who needed intensive therapy, and extra time and care with us as her new family. While I know we “left our [safety] nets” to obey him in our call to adoption, our call to business wasn’t answered with the same trust. I had spent my time working part-time in my corporate office and part-time working from home. Around the same time we began to really understand the level of care our daughter required, my company was bought out and the new owners gave me a choice: work full-time from the office, or part ways. No matter how you look at it, life as I knew it was ending and there was a fork in the road of the path before me. Family comes first, and I made the obvious choice to care for them above a corporate commute. I began working solely from home. It wasn’t too long before the requests and demands for my services […]