A devoted mother can work twice as hard, but she can never replace the role of a father. A father’s role is irreplaceable in a child’s life, and the absence of that presence can have profound consequences.

As a son, honor your father and make him proud. As a father, be a worthy example of a man for your children, protecting and providing for your family.

Never allow society to diminish or devalue the role of fatherhood.

"Unbroken prosperity cannot withstand a single blow; but the one who has waged constant war against his misfortunes has grown thick-skinned through suffering. He yields to no calamity, and even when he falls, he continues to fight on his knees."

— Seneca, On Divine Providence (De Providentia)

So these are your trophies? A collection of empty bottles displayed to impress people just as shallow as yourself? What a remarkable achievement. Take them home, and in the reflection of every bottle you will always see that they mirror your own interior.

If you have ever wondered whom you captivated with such ostentation, know this: ridicule is capable of impressing as well. Who but the frivolous would be drawn to frivolity? The heads that turn to admire your display are the same ones that bow in flattery, yet tell me—how many of those purchased friendships will ever rise in your defense? Far more likely, they will rise against you.

You behave like a child desperate for attention while someone who truly awaits you at home is left behind. Your foolishness distracts no one from your disgraceful reputation—one built on a hunger for approval. It is a fact that people never speak the same way in our presence as they do in our absence. The smiles they offer you to your face only keep you from realizing that you have become the subject of mockery from every direction.

You ought to be an example, not an embarrassment. And if you believed I would flatter you as others have taught you to expect, then climb down from that cursed pedestal of yours before someone else sends you crashing from it.

I have no purpose here other than your betterment. But if you found my words harsh, then prepare yourself, for they are nothing compared to what awaits when all that remains are the debts of your excesses.

The greatest secret to truly unforgettable sex isn’t technique or duration.

It’s having someone who desires you with hunger. That raw, almost animal lust, where the person can barely hold themselves back.
Everything else like affection, communication, and equality is great, but without that primitive spark, it turns into lukewarm, dull sex.

As Nelson Rodrigues used to say: “Desire is the only truth of the human being.”

Most people settle for crumbs of desire and pretend it’s enough. That’s why you shouldn’t choose someone just because they’re affectionate and feel little lust. Seek out, too, the one who awakens in you passion, chemistry, and that nearly irresistible urge.

"Entre o passado onde estão nossas
lembranças e o futuro onde estão
nossas esperanças, há o presente
onde estão nossos deveres."

— Henri Lacordaire

"Feeling anger is punishing oneself
for the failures of others."

— Marcus Aurelius

There are two kinds of men in life.

1. Men who play not to lose.

They cling to everything.

The mediocre job.
The mediocre relationship.
The mediocre life.

They are afraid of losing what they have because they don’t believe they could build it all again.

2. Men who play to win.

They’ve lost before.

Money.
Women.
Opportunities.
Status.

Life has already tested them, and they survived.

Because of that, they know something the first group doesn’t:

They can always start over.

The question that defines your future is simple:

“If everything disappeared tomorrow, could I earn it all back again?”

If your answer is yes:

You move differently.

You take risks.
You speak your mind.
You walk away when necessary.

You don’t become attached to outcomes because you trust your ability to create new ones.

If your answer is no:

You become defensive.

Fearful.
Anxious.
Drained.

You spend your life protecting what you have instead of building what you truly want.

The highest form of confidence is not believing you’ll never lose.

It’s knowing you’ll be okay even if you do.

Build that man.

Everything else will follow.

"When a woman loves a man, she overlooks even his worst transgressions. When she does not, even his finest qualities fail to earn her forgiveness."

— Balzac

“To be happy you must eliminate two things: The fear of a bad future and the memory of a bad past.”

— Seneca

Ascolta bene, amico mio!

Some men display friends like medals on their lapels—many of them, yet lifeless. Others surround themselves with a large family: a devoted wife, attentive brothers and cousins, flattering nephews, all ready to celebrate birthdays, but few willing to face the world over an injustice done to their own blood.

Blessed, then, is the one who finds, among so many familiar faces, even a single person willing to rise against an offense committed against him.