How to Earn Respect From Other Men

You can't fake it or force it.

If you want to be treated like a man, you have to act like a man. Above all, acting like a man means taking on responsibility without grumbling or complaining. And it means direct speech without any waffle words or detached irony.

You aren’t owed respect. You have to earn it. Respect you didn’t earn isn’t worth much anyway, and you’ll always have doubts clawing at your mind, making you feel like an imposter, because you are.

Reframe the problem. The question is not "why don't they respect me?" The question is "what have I done that's worthy of respect?"

I had to earn it from my father-in-law. I can pinpoint the exact conversation where our relationship started to change.

He didn’t like the church we were going to at the time. He thought it was a bit loose with the Bible and that we could do better.

While we were at his house, he brought it up with me while we were alone in the living room. He was concerned.