When you type the words, “man in the arena” into Google two things come up, Tom Brady and Teddy Roosevelt’s powerful speech. A few months ago, before we found out about Tom Brady’s divorce I would have agreed with those search results and said he belonged in that search query with the words, “man in the arena.” I know, technically he had a show that was titled “Man in the Arena”, but I believe he should be removed from being labeled as a man in the arena at least according to the definition I will describe in this blog.

The Original Man in the Arena Speech By Teddy Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Isn’t Tom Brady In The Arena?

If you have been following then you know in HeRose we do not define success as one dimensional. Every man that joins HeRose is committed to what we call Whole Man Success. We will not submit to the popular low bar of one dimensional success the world has laid out for men. Meaning, many men look at Tom Brady’s situation and support it. They say things like, “he is providing for his family, she should support him.” Or they will say, “He is chasing his dreams and he still is doing well, she should support him.” As we said Whole Man Success is Six dimensional; Health, Wealth, Relationships, Mental, Spiritual, and Adventure. One dimensional success is easy. I am not impressed with fitness influencers who are 21 living at home and have a six pack. If your whole life revolved around health and fitness, it would be easy to be in physical shape. Show me a man who has a full time job, starting a side business, who is married, has kids, is devoted to a noble spiritual walk, actively learns to improve, and who actually moves slow enough to stop and smell roses, if this man is maintaining a healthy and strong body, that’s impressive. In my book Tom Brady is disqualified as a man in the arena, because he is succumbing to the one dimensional world definition of success. He is sacrificing his family for his “job”, his “dream” “money”. Don’t be like Brady, and lie to yourself and think you are in the Whole Man Success arena, when really you are in the audience.

The 3 Deadly C’s of Audience Living

What does it mean to be living in the audience?

The definition is, the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event. The word I want you to focus on is, spectator. 

Have you fallen into the trap of simply being a spectator in your life? Spectators are more concerned about the score of the game, the stats of the players in the arena then they are about the score in their lives, the stats as a whole man. Again, it’s easy to make money, to have a job, just because you earn money and provide for your family does not mean you are not in the audience. Let’s look at the three characteristics of a man in the audience:

1. Critic – “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better”
   1. Overly opinionated about others and lacking self introspection. This high level of opinion can show up in many areas like politics, sports, social Media, video games, neighbors, and so many other areas. 
   2. Here is a question you can ask yourself to see if you have this characteristic. Do you criticize others more than you work on yourself? That. You move from humbly recognizing your weakness to boldly yelling out about someone else’s weaknesses.
2. Comfortable – “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;”
   1. Overly comfortable is the goal of an audience man. We live in a world that is constantly comfortable and this has robbed many men of the greatness that can come from challenge. Do you hold so tight to your comfortable routine that it has allowed for atrophy in your life? 
   2. Have you gained too much weight to where it is impacting your mobility or overall health? What about your relationships, when was the last time you took your wife on a date, when was the last time you spent individual time with your children? 
   3. When was the last time you actually pushed yourself to do something hard?
3. Cautious – “Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause..”
   1. Overly cautious is this man’s way of life. You will stay in your lane, you won’t rock the boat. As long as you have a paycheck and a home you are “doing alright”.
   2. This man is best described with a emoji, 😑. A meh face, or another way to put it, apathetic. This man has lost his fire, he has lost his ability to dream big, to fight for something bigger than himself, this man just wants to make it to the weekend so he can pop a beer and “relax”.
   3. No man is meant to live small, every man has been given a purpose that will bring out the fire within.

There are too many men living lives in the arena, and realize too late that it leads to regret and unfulfillment. It may provide entertainment and pleasure in the moment but the only thing that provides peace and fulfillment is living a life of purpose through Whole Man Success. There is hope though if you find yourself in the audience. You can always choose to step into the arena. The only prerequisite is a willingness to step into the arena. 

Arena Men A.C.T.

The first thing we have to address here is the truth. Are you willing to face the truth? Are you willing to truly accept full responsibility for where you are in life? The second thing we need to address is are you willing to step into the arena even though it will be difficult at times? Let’s look at the three contrasting characteristics of a an Arena Man:

1. Action – “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…” “but who does actually strive to do the deeds…”
   1. This man is tenaciously pursuing to beautify all areas of his life.
   2. This action comes from a humble recognition that he is flawed, and instead of feeling shame, this man with support of other arena men courageously embraces himself, the good the bad and the ugly, and then takes action. 
   3. He is focused on self improvement not for the validation from the audience but for a burning desire to get better. 
2. Challenge  – “Who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;”
   1. This man recognizes the truth that philosopher Seneca stated, “No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself”.
   2. One of the only ways to challenge himself is to be around others who are growing and even better than he is in multiple areas of life. 
   3. He recognizes that in order to see growth in all areas of life, you must tear the muscles so that stronger ones can grow. And in order to do that there must be a level of accountability in his life to other arena men.
3. Tenacious – “who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
   1. Let’s look at what the word tenacious means:
      1. tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.
      2. This man must hold on to the truth that he is meant for a larger purpose than himself. He is powerfully made, worthy of love, regardless of world results this man fights to believe that he is a HERO.
   2. This man must tenaciously focus on the fight and not the victory or the loss. Because when you are living in the arena of Whole Man Success, there will be high achievements and very low losses.
   3. This man must be able to tenaciously stand alone in this belief, not by himself, because an arena man knows no man is self made. However, there will be times this man must fight alone in the arena, and he must hold true to all that he believes. This will encourage other men to follow in his example. 

The Invitation To Step Into The Arena? 

Often men drift into a life of frustration and average results and arena living because of the company and comfort he keeps. HeRose utilizes the power of challenge and accountability to call men to the arena, to reignite men to demand adventure in life, forge meaningful relationships, build abundant wealth, and develop a strong mind, body, and spirit.

Will you join us in the arena? If the answer is yes, then jump over to our signup page and jump into the fight with us. 

Join HeRose Now.

If you will not be joining us, then I ask you to stay connected to us, stay reading our blog, following our social media, and listening to our podcast. Because we know eventually you will recognize you are an arena man and in order to win you need other arena men with you in the fight.