Be Better Guys: BBG

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Your Life

There are all the things that we have to do: go to work; pay bills; and do laundry. There's all the stuff we should do: remember to be respectful of others, even when we're busy; read more books and watch less sports; and get out to more cultural events, like theatre and museums. Of course, there's the stuff we love to do: go to see our favorite teams, if not live, then at a bar with friends; hang out with the beautiful women in our lives; go see our favorite bands; and get away to someplace exotic or just down the road. Sound familiar? Welcome to Life.

How we mesh those things together is our lifestyle. We'll be talking about why knowing "how to be" can affect where you end up. Not screaming at the assistant shows the boss you can manage people, which might lead to a raise. Holding the elevator door for the hard-charging redhead might start a conversation that ends over dessert. While we're at it, we'll point to some things to make the non-work, non-sleeping hours more enjoyable. That may mean you have to read a book, but you can handle it.

How to Be: All the Time

Etiquette is one of those areas most guys either think they know everything about or wonder they should ever bother. And in short, the reason is simple - part of being an attractive guy to women and customers and your coworkers and your family is what you show from the inside out. Knowing how to be isn't the hard part. Remembering to practice it is. And if you're already practicing the following tips and you're Mr. Perfect, you're free to go. Class dismissed. But before you grab your books and go, know that everyone can use a refresher course now and then — hey, we let some of these slip from time to time, too. Take a moment to review the following points:

Jock Divas: Don't Emulate These Guys

Athletes have become rock stars (and rock stars are becoming politicians; politicians are now celebrities; celebrities are in need of a new identity) and with it all the requisite pathos and drama. Tantrums, drugs, bad relationships that impact their performance, athletes are exhibiting all of the signs of Rock Star Divadom. Jocks went from being blue-collar heroes—Willie Mays playing stickball with kids in New York; I remember seeing Hall of Fame Redskin Art Monk take in a movie near my house; guys whom you might even run into at a bar or in your neighborhood -- to being celebrities, all glittery and distant. They've become the keeper of male virility, paragons of men's style, even models and designers. Combine money, notoriety, an insatiable need for "news" to feed the media beast with young, fit, and somewhat narcissistic personalities and you have a cauldron for development of the modern athlete/diva/rock star temperament. Someone shoves a mike in their faces and they feel compelled to say something, even when they have nothing to say, or at least nothing intelligent. Not all fall victim to it, but enough that the diva athlete is a cliché.