Men in Boys’ Bodies

 

Remember the movie Big with Tom Hanks?  Hanks played an early teen boy who passionately wished to be an adult or in his terms “big.”  His wish was supernaturally granted and he was off on the adventure of trying to live and work as a boy in a man’s body.  Ironically, we will soon need a movement that requires just the opposite – men in boys’ bodies – we will need our sons to grow up faster.

 

Not faster in terms of “adult privileges” like drinking and gambling; but faster in terms of developing the ability to assume responsibility and navigate through the “Swans and Storms” on our horizon. 

 

Some Americans didn’t make it through the Great Depression. Those that survived, and especially those that made it through World War II, lived to rebuild this nation through a unified movement of courage, hard work, innovation, risk and reformation. 

 

I’ve posted this clip before, but it merits a second view.  It’s from the highly acclaimed series John Adams based on David McCullough’s popular book.  In this scene Adams agrees to send his fourteen year old son (and future president), John Quincy Adams, to Russia as secretary to a fellow diplomat. 

 

 

Most of our boys are not ready to assume the responsibility of adulthood.  Unfortunately they may not have the luxury of the past few generations including my own, to wait until their second decade to engage.  A squall, as I discussed in the last post, can emerge at a moment’s notice with devastating (and far reaching) results.  The financial, political, and terrorist pressure systems are forming all over the globe.  Preparation starts with considering what responsibility your son will be required to assume in the next great challenge.  Take another look at him – I’ll bet he’s already a few inches taller.

No Man’s Land

 

My good friend, Doug Tatum, recently authored an excellent and widely acclaimed book entitled No Man’s Land; the subtitle of the book is “What to Do When Your Company is Too Big to be Small and Too Small to be Big”.  Doug masterfully describes the dangerous chasm young companies must traverse after initial growth in order to reach the next level of success.  He offers insightful observations based on years of experience working with companies in this category. His practical suggestions equip leaders of these ventures to make difficult, but necessary decisions.  Doug’s message is essential because these young companies are the future backbone of our economy.

 

There is another “No Man’s Land”, a different chasm which is far more prevalent and just as dangerous.  Let’s call it “The Teen Years, When Males are Too Old to be Boys and Too Young to be Men”.  In the book Do Hard Things, Brett and Alex Harris remind us that the word teenager is a relatively new term.  Until the early 1900’s boys became men between the ages of 13-15.  Even our American Indians were on horseback in battle when they turned 14.  How did these boys become men?  By assuming the responsibilities of an adult.  There was no extended, fabricated transition time where boys hearts, minds, and actions were “put on hold” until they could finish a formal education sometime in their early twenties. 

 

Take a look at the following clip from the new video series John Adams based on David McCullough’s popular book.  In this scene Adams sends his fourteen year old son, John Quincy Adams, to Russia as secretary to a fellow diplomat. 

 

 

Did you notice Adam’s acknowledgement of his son’s adulthood?  Can you imagine 99.9% of today’s fourteen year old boys assuming such responsibility? Many, if not most, of our male youth today are shackled in apathy, addictions, and insecurity.  For many men “No Man’s Land” extends well beyond their teen years as they carry the habits and behaviors of youth into business and marriage.  In a time when “Black Swans” of all shapes and sizes (I’ll discuss this term in the next blog entry) have the potential to emerge at any moment and change life as we know it, our boys are preparing less to be leaders than they are to be Wii-miesters. 

 

We must rescue (there’s that word again) young mens’ hearts and minds from the perils of No Man’s Land so they can participate as (at least part of) the backbone of our future society.