Jason Boyett - A Guys Guide to Life: How to Become a Man in 224 Pages or Less

A GUYS GUIDE TO LIFE

HOW TO BECOME A MAN
IN 208 PAGES OR LESS

Jason Boyett

A GUYS GUIDE TO LIFE
2004 Jason Boyett

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.

Published by W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee, 37214.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted KJV are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Transit Brand Manager: Kate Etue
Editorial Staff: Deborah Wiseman, Sunny Vann
Cover Design: Matt Lehman at Anderson Thomas Design, Nashville,
Tennessee
Page Design: Lindsay Carreker

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Printed in the United States of America

04 05 06 07 08 PHX 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

To my parents, Mike and JoDeane Boyett.
You know youve grown up when your mom and dad
become your friends.

Acknowledgements

You cant write anything that calls itself a guide to life without it reflecting the wisdom of those who helped steer you along the way. So major thanks to my mom and dad, Mike & JoDeane Boyett; my in-laws, Dick & Beverly Storseth; and my grandparents, John & Mary Boyett and John & Cleta Brown. Each contributed to this book in more ways than I could count.

Special thanks to my crack team of advisers, parents, and youth experts, whose answers to a bunch of tough questions about teenage guys were instrumental in keeping the rest of these pages relevant: Darrell & Denise Anderson, Father Robert A. Busch, Jason & Leanna Craft, Jeff & Debbie Jackson, Calvin & Kristy Martin, Victor & Theresa Miller, Tommy & Lana Spencer, and Steve Trafton.

Im also grateful to Kate Etue and the team at W Publishing for the opportunity, and to my friend Katie Meier for setting such a high standard with A Girls Guide to Life (which I will admit to having read and enjoyed).

And, as always, to Aimee, Ellie, & Owen, my three favorite people in the world.

Its right there on the cover, so it must be true: This book tells you How to Become a Man in 208 Pages or Less. Yes, friends, the road to manhood is an easy one. Its all picnics and butterflies and sunny days. Its like slicing cake with a chain saw. Its something you can achieve simply by reading a slim paperback for teenage guys.

Right?

Riiiiiiight. To tell the truth, that clever little subtitlewhich I think is genius, by the way, if I do say so myselfis just a bit of shameless marketing. Its right up there with Get Rock-HardAbs in Only 7 Minutes a Day! or all the enlarge your manhood spam that fills my in-box on a daily basis. Which is to say, its a lot of hype. Its something to get your attention so youll crack open the book and see what this 208 pages thing is all about.

Guess what? It worked.

Unfortunately, you cant become a man in just 208 pages. Or 2,008 pages. Or by reading a book in the first place, regardless of its length. Becoming a man isnt an overnight thing. Its not something that just happens. Instead, its a process of growing, maturing, and making good decisionsa process that starts when youre a teenager. And being a teenager? Not so easy. But you knew that already.

With that in mind, let me roll out the red carpet. Welcome, guys. Welcome to the most confusing, awkward, and exciting years of your life.

Welcome to the bad stuff. Welcome to the days when it seems everyone has it together but you. Welcome to the days when life makes absolutely no sense, when your friends and parents and siblings all seem hopelessly out of touch. Welcome to the days when you feel like the body you woke up in belongs to someone else. Welcome to the part of life we all look back on and wonder, What the heck was I thinking?!

On the other hand, welcome to the good stuff. Welcome to the series of changes and events and discoveries that will stick with you foreverthe things youll still remember when youre thirty or forty or sixty years old. Welcome to the years that help define who you are and who youll be. Welcome to all the milestones that mark a guys life. First girlfriend. First kiss. First car. Welcome to the part of life youre bound to remember with a smile, the time when you truly felt alive. These are the good times.

Bad stuff, good stuff. Bad times, good times. Sound interesting?

For most guys, there is no more challenging time in life than your teenage years, especially in the area between your ears. Youre gonna be faced with a lot of new ideas, relationships, and situations requiring you to make the right choices. Youll start to think about things differently. Youll begin to see people differently, toofrom your parents and siblings to, of course, girls. Mentally, are you up to the task?

And what about your body? If anythings true about the transition from twelve-year-old pipsqueak to eighteen-year-old man, its that your bod will undergo a major overhaul. Changes out the wazoo. Some of them are actually pretty cool. Some of them can be really confusing. And others are, well, lets just say theyre embarrassing. Lots of teen guys go through this round of physical weirdness with no clue as to whats happening. Not you, though. This book will be your tour guide through the process of growing up physically. Weve got everything coveredgrooming, fashion, exercise, and, yep, sex.

But becoming a man isnt all about mind and body. Theres another vitally important aspect of life: your soul. Your spiritual side. Its what makes you who you are. Its what fuels your body and mind. And on the soul side of things? Big changes there, too. Youll start to ask a lot of questionsquestions about the world around you, about relationships, about God. A whip-smart mind is great. So is a strong adult body. But both of those are nothing without the strength, guidance, and balance provided by your soul.

So there you have it. Mind, body, and soul. Conveniently, weve structured this entire book around those three majors. Dont feel you have to sit down and read this thing cover to cover, though. Feel free to browse. Pick a topic that looks interesting and jump right to it. Each one is packed with info. Youll find real answers to your questions (even the hard ones). Youll find tips and tricks to surviving teen life. Youll find loads of advice on how to deal with the big stuff and the small stuff. And hopefully youll find that its good reading, too.

Anyway, a couple of hundred pages to go before youre a man. Better get moving.

PART ONE
MIND

This is probably the worst idea ever, but the first thing I want you to do as we kick-start the first chapter of the book is to (drum roll...) turn off your brain. Flip the mental switch. Im going to ask you a series of multiple-choice questions, and I want you to answer them as automatically as possible. Dont think too much. In fact, dont think at all. Go with whatever pops into your head first. Ready?

1. Which of the following occupations is the most manly?

a. Accountant

b. Construction worker

c. Nurse

d. Teacher

2. If all were equally attractive, which of the guys below would the hot girls be most interested in at school?