You do not need to be 100% man (or woman). 80% is usually enough.

In the Internet, the printed magazines, the literature, and also within the common knowledge you can find hundreds or thousands of lists of things that 'real man do', or 'real women do not do', etc. Even on this blog there is an example - the advice that Don Quixote gave to Sancho Panza in the masterpiece by Cervantes.

What is my attitude to such guidance?

First of all, these pieces of advice are usually right. Some of them may not be appropriate for our times, some for the culture, some for the social position, but in general they preach the universal values that a happy and balanced society is based on, including the happy and balances relationships between a man and a woman, a boss and an employee, a parent and a child, and so on. This is why reading them is, in almost in every case, very commendable. I cannot go wrong by reading what other people thought and decided to leave as advice to others.

And how much of that do I need to implement on your life?

I cannot accommodate everything, as the pieces of advice are sometimes very specific and personal. This is why relying solely on one source of such life wisdom is not necessarily a great idea. What I  do is looking for common themes. Comparing the contemporary ones with the old ones, and getting be surprised with how little the things have changed over the years. Comparing the ones from various cultures, and being amazed how many common themes exist. Comparing the ones written by men and by women, and again getting astonished that, with all the differences, we see so many things in identical ways.

Whatever is a common theme, it is probably worth accommodating. Whatever is not, shall be approached with caution.  About 80% is the former, about 20% is the latter. Therefore, if I am reading about the 100 things real men do, I will likely go for 80 of these.

A simple way to make sure that your days are not wasted

Have you noticed that the time gets warped? The longer you live, the faster it runs. Almost everyone reports this perception. When we were eleven years old, why did a year last 10x longer than it seems now? Why do you take a week of holidays from work, you look at all the time you will have for yourself, and end up feeling as if you had only one day off, and do not even remember what you were doing on each day of that week?

There is a good chance that you know the lyrics of "Time" by Pink Floyd. This is a perfect description of what I am writing about. I originally wanted to quote just a verse or two, but actually the whole lyrics of that song make most sense.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

A few days ago I read an interview with a prisoner serving a long term. The interview was about reading and studying while staying in jail, and that inmate said (I do not remember the exact words) that unless you go to bed in the evening even a little wiser and knowledgeable than when you woke up in the morning, your day had been wasted.

I was quite moved with that statement that I find very true and appropriate. I can add to that - not only 'wiser or more knowledgeable', but also more resourceful, more helpful, more creative, just a better person compared to the one you were in the morning. This is the best method to handle the feeling of your life running away.

There is a similar statement: To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed, by Sidney Poitier, an American actor. But I personally think that one gets better during the day, and not necessarily during sleep .... it is what we do when we are awake that matters?

Now, get up and do something. Something that makes you better. Learn, write, fix, help, explain, entertain someone. Whatever suits you, and whatever is best for you. As long as you go to sleep a better person than you are now.

Watching Star Wars when you are almost 50. My review of 'The Force Awakens'

I went to see the film yesterday. It was a great and pleasant surprise! But let's start from the beginning. And I promise there will be no spoiling - I am not going to tell you what the film is about.

I saw part IV (the first one that had been made) back in 1978. I was 12 at that time. It was stunning. 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'The Return of Jedi' were less of such surprise, but they were still good.
In the 90s and 2000s', parts I-III came out. I watched them with my son, who was 4 years old at the premiere of Part I. I did not like those films particularly, there was a lot of computer effects and showiness (as the technology had progressed so much by then). At the same time, the plot was rather dull and boring, lacking the emotions of parts IV-VI. The acting was so-so.
So how about part VII? Well, had it not been shot in 3D,  would say very little change from parts IV-VI. The same views, the same scenery, even the same people. Natural continuation. And there is no overload with special effects; I would even say that the director keeps them on a leash, lest movie did not differ too much from the first completed part of the saga. What a surprise and relief!
The actors do a great job. The film is about people, not about robots, spaceships, and creatures-that-are-out-of-this-earth (yes, there are a few, but again - things are well balanced). Harrison Ford is magnificent, more or less like Clint Eastwood in the later productions.
One may comment that the story is based largely on the themes from part IV. And what? Even if it is, I do not mind. Anyone who reads a lot of classical literature knows that human and social problems do not change much. On the principal level, people's behaviour today does not differ too significantly from what it used to be hundreds, or even thousands, years ago. This is why most religions are based on rather dated texts and principles, and most of them (not all) apply in today's world. In the end, most books, films and plays tell very similar stories. Thus the numerous references to Part IV are not a problem - actually, they feel nice to me.
In conclusion - quite a wonderful movie. More of these please. Innovation is good when it brings some value, but when it is innovation just for the sake of innovation, it can kill a good product. And when something is good, it is better to hold to it. This film illustrates this principle very well.