ICONIC April 2016 | Page 28

SEVEN THINGS MEN NEVER SAY BY KYLE IDLEMAN [Foreword for the upcoming book, Wise Guys by Kent Evans. Available June 1, 2016.] by Kyle Idleman I’ve been working on a list of things that are hard for me to say. Here’s what I’ve got so far: Before I begin assembly, where are those instructions? I’ve had enough bacon. Sorry honey, I’m too tired. I just want to go to sleep. Hey bro, you want to run to the bathroom with me? Does this make me look fat? The winner, though, might be this four-word golden great: “Will you help me?” I just tried to say that and nothing came out but a cough. Go ahead—try it yourself. We guys are great at lots of stuff. I can throw that list together for you, too (Making lists actually is on that list!). But asking for help is not one of our primary skills. Which explains why we don’t like to ask for directions or read the instructions. We’re convinced we can do things ourselves. Doesn’t matter what kind of skill we’re talking about; we’re on it, whether it’s brain surgery or defusing a ticking bomb. We want to be able to say, “Look! I operated on this brain all on my own, and I never even went to med school!” Or, “Let’s hear it for me—I just defused this b . . .” There may be a few extra brain parts or bomb wires lying around afterward, but what matters to us is that we did it our way. 28 PAGE | ICONIC MAGAZINE So we forge right into adulthood with our “I’ve got this!” flags flying. Looming ahead of us are marriage, fatherhood, career, and other crazy adventures. There are guys all around us who may not have read the directions at first either, but at some point they wised up. Some of them came from households with truly loving parents and terrific dads, and they have many of the answers we need. We need to connect with those guys. We need to scrap the old DIY mentality, because being a husband, a father, a friend, and a devoted follower of Christ aren’t the same as installing a new stereo system in your car. Some of this stuff goes boom. On the manhood journey, we need help and we need each other, so you’ve come to the