"Is being a good bastard enough?"
And the answer is... yes. It's everything.
I remember growing up in New Zealand and hearing my father have conversations with friends or clients about someone they may not have known well yet. The question about this person was always: Is he a good bastard? That's all that seemed to matter. If you were a good bastard, you were allowed in the circle, you were accepted, you were trusted.
In our current world, the one that constantly tells us we need to achieve more, earn more, become more, sometimes we forget the most important thing: who we are. Or, as we'd say in New Zealand, being a good bastard.
It's not about what we have. Not our job title. Not our bank account. Not the things we can show people from the outside.
Are we a good bastard? Are we someone people can rely on? Do we show up when it matters? Are we a good mate? A good partner? A good father? Do people around us feel better because we are in their lives?
Is there anything else that matters more than this?
I've worked with a lot of men here in Denver who are incredibly successful on paper. They've built businesses. They've achieved goals. They've ticked all the boxes. But as "successful" as they are, they're still chasing something. Most of the time it's becoming the kind of man they actually respect, so that at the end of the day they can look in the mirror and feel like they are enough.
A good bastard doesn't mean perfect. It means someone who owns his shit. Someone who can admit when he's wrong. Someone who can have the hard conversations. Someone who looks after himself so he can better look after the people around him. Someone who brings energy, kindness, honesty and presence into the rooms he walks into.
It's not about becoming or pretending to be someone else. It's becoming more of who you already are.
So, a challenge for you this weekend: ask yourself, "Am I being the kind of man the people I love deserve?"
Because being a good bastard might just be the greatest thing we can become.