One thing that I've learned over the years is that many grown men out there simply don't feel like men. I'm not talking about "feeling like a man" in the cartoonish, hyper-masculine sense. Rather, I'm talking about "feeling like a man" in the sense of that quiet confidence that comes from moving from boyhood into mature masculinity.

Many of the guys I've talked to (particularly the ones in their 20s and 30s) have confessed to me that they still feel like a teenage boy walking around in a grown man's body. Because they don't feel like mature men, many of these young men are putting off adult responsibilities like careers, families, and civic involvement until they can look at themselves in the mirror and say: "I'm a man."  In the meantime, these young men drift insecurely through life, wondering when they'll finally start feeling like grown men.