Category: Deep(ish) Thoughts

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How to be a Gentleman: Cell Phone Etiquette

Is there any other modern day device that is so intertwined in our lives as our cell phones? These devices allow us to access the sum of all human knowledge yet we use them to take selfies, watch cat videos, and not talk to the people around us. Intentionally or not cell phones have made us inconsiderate to the people around us.

So what are some guidelines for a gentleman and his cell phone.

Turn off the sound.

No one want’s to hear what ever you have chosen for your ringtone. These beeps, buzzes, and songs interrupt conversations, meetings, movies, and dinners. We have been trained to check our phones when they beep at us.

Also, don’t use speaker phone in public. It’s disruptive to those around you. Strangers generally don’t want to hear what ever it is you are talking about. Especially if it is personal, private, or confidential.

User your phone When and Where appropriate.  

This one should be easy. Don’t use your phone in the bathroom, at meals, in meetings, or in theaters. Don’t use your phone when someone is waiting on you to give an order or pay for something. Don’t use your phone in meetings. The idea is to not use your phone in settings where you disturb, disrupt, or delay people around you.

Don’t discuss personal, private, or confidential information in public

Remember when you are on your cell phone that you may be in a public spot. If that is the case be careful what you talk about. Personal or private information as well has confidential business conversations are best not done in public areas. If you have to take the call in a public area, remember to find a quiet, out of the way area to talk, and remember people may be able to hear what you are saying.

These are just three simple rules to guide you in your cell phone use. I hope they make sense. Did I miss anything, what else do you consider to be important about being a gentleman and cell phone usage? Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest as TheDapperManUS, or on YouTube as The Dapper Man.

Greg from The Dapper Man

P.S.

A quick reminder that The Dapper Man is hosting it’s first contest, join The Dapper Man in supporting No Shave November by donating what you would normally spend on shaving services or supplies and help with cancer prevention, fighting colorectal cancer, and help support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

At the end of the month Mrs. Dapper Man will choose 3 people to receive a beard care kit from The Dapper Man. It will include a bottle of The Dapper Man Beard Oil, and a can of The Dapper Man Beard Balm.

To qualify you must:

  1. Live in the US
  2. Join The Dapper Man’s No Shave November Team , no donation required to enter
  3. Follow The Dapper Man on Facebook or YouTube
  4. Post pictures or video of your No Shave November Journey to our Facebook page or in the comments of one of our YouTube videos.

 

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How and Why to make S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Do you feel like you’re just drifting through life? Living paycheck to paycheck, just paddling water and not going anywhere? If you do then continue to read on as we discuss the need to have goals, how to make S.M.A.R.T goals, and reviewing your goals.
If you were to look at the great men today and throughout history and they all have this one thing in common. They had goals. That goal differed from person to person but they had an end state they wanted to reach in mind.

The reason to have a goal is to keep your dream, your vision in the front of your mind while you work to achieve that dream. If you don’t have goals it is far too easy to lose you direction and drift aimlessly, or get discouraged and give up on your dream all together. Goals will motivate you when you’re tired, bored, frustrated, or discouraged.

So how do you go about setting goals? I recommend that you find a quiet area for you to relax and think about what you want. What do you want from life, from your family, from your job? Relax and let your mind wander a bit, and write down what pops into you mind. This flow of consciousness may not make a lot of sense, floating from one idea to another, but it is important to let you mind wander freely and jot down the ideas you come up with. Do not refine, restrict, or edit what your mind comes up with, just relax and write it down. Editing and creating plans to achieve these goals comes later.

After some time try grouping your dreams into categories. These can be anything you want, suggestions include: Education, Financial, House / Home, Family / Relationships, Career. Once you have done some general organizing it is time to refine these ideas and making S.M.A.R.T Goals. S.M.A.R.T is an acronym that helps ensure you are able to achieve your goals.

S – Specific: Your goals need to be specific. For example, “I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of November”. Have specific goals keeps you focused, if your goal is to broad or generic you can’t create a plan to meet that goal and you can become discouraged. So, the goal would be to lose 10 pounds by the end of November instead of “I want to lose weight.”

M – Measurable: Your goal should be measurable. This allows you to track your progress so that you can see the finish line. Going back to the weight loss example. If you have lost five pounds, you’re half way to your goal.

A – Actionable: Your goal should be actionable, meaning you should be able to create a plan to meet your goal. Again with the idea of losing weight you could plan to increase your exercise and decrease your caloric intake. How you do that should be again be specific, like I will cut back on the fast food for lunch at work and go walking half an hour each night after work.

R – Realistic: One of the biggest problems with setting goals is making them unrealistic. I want to lose 25 pounds this month. Losing that much weight in so little time is not only hard, but it can be unhealthy. Make realistic goals. I will lose 3 pounds a week, or 10 pounds a month. Having unrealistic goals is more harmful of not having goals. By overestimating what’s possible you quickly become depressed and may even give up on your goals.

T – Time Bound: Having a timeframe for you goal will allow you to prioritize your goals, but also helps motivate you to achieve that goal. Also, there are long term and short term goals. Make sure you have both. Short Term goals are anything that will take up to three months to complete, Long Term goals are goals that will take more than three months to complete. It is important to have both short and long term goals, and your short term goals can be stepping blocks to achieving your long term goal.

Once you’ve created your list of S.M.A.R.T. Goals it is critical to monitor them and review them from time to time. You should review your goals at least every six months, if not every three. Life throws your curves, you may achieve a goal, or a goal may fall off your list for a variety of reasons. So review you goals and see if they still are your goals every 3-6 months. It’s okay for goals to fall off your list, just have another goal to replace them with.

So how does all of this apply to being a gentleman? It goes back to the idea that a gentleman is always learning new things, always trying new things, always evolving. A gentleman is always driven towards a goal of his, whether it is financial independence, travel, or starting a family.

Well I hope you enjoyed this article and thank you for visiting The Dapper Man we hope you have a fantastic day.

Greg from The Dapper Man

P.S.
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Introducing Mrs. Dapper Man

Who is Mrs. Dapper Man, and what does she think of my beard and my Yeard Journey?

Mrs. Dapper Man is my sweetie, and has been very supportive in my journey to grow a yeard and my starting of The Dapper Man. She is constantly thinking of ideas for the site and videos I can do, and has stated that when my beard gets long enough she is going to braid it. I think she’s joking but she says she isn’t so we’ll have to wait and see.

She has also been helping me with recipes for The Dapper Man beard oils and balms. We hope to have our second round of testing complete within a few weeks so that we can offer our first The Dapper Man Small Batch Beard Oil and Beard Balms on sale soon.

For more please watch the video and thank you for visiting The Dapper Man we hope you have a fantastic day.

Greg from The Dapper Man

P.S.
If you like our webpage please sign up to receive email notifications about new content.

Please feel free to comment on our posts. What do you like, what can we improve on, and what would you like us to do a post talking about?

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and on YouTube:
Facebook: @TheDapperManUS
Twitter: @TheDapperManUS
Pinterest: @TheDapperManUS
YouTube: @TheDapperMan

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A Gentleman is Always Learning

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 “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” ― Henry Ford

One thing all successful men and women have in common is that they are always evolving, always learning new things always growing. The same thing goes for a gentleman, a gentleman should always be learning new things, reading new books, having new experiences. But why should we continue to learn new things, try new foods, listen to new ideas?

There are many reasons, but one is that we will earn more. Take the example of an IT Consultant. Technology is changing so fast that it’s almost impossible to keep up with it all, and if one doesn’t learn the new technologies one will fall behind and become obsolete. The same thing happens to doctors, new medicines, procedures, and diagnostics come out, and if you don’t know them you become less useful over time. 

Also learning new things, like hobbies, can help with mental and physical growth as well. Learning a new sport like golf can help with physical fitness by increasing range of motion with your swing, and help burn calories while walking. Also you can make new friends on the links. Photography is another hobby that can help with mental growth. First by finding a picture you want to create uses the right side of the brain, the creative side, and the technical aspects of getting that shot use the left side of your brain, the analytical side.

Learning will also help you grow and evolve into a better leader by helping you be more charismatic and help you engage with others. A leader knows he doesn’t know everything, and is always looking for learning opportunities, and these opportunities can come from anywhere, even the lowest member of your team.

Also by going new places and trying different things it will help you relate to people, and find common ground in which to communicate for the sharing of ideas, or the resolution of conflicts.

These are just a few reasons why we should all continue to try and learn new things, to go to new places.

What new things have you learned, or new things you’ve experienced?

Greg from The Dapper Man

 

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A Gentleman is Clean & Tidy

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A gentleman is clean and tidy. This does not mean the gentleman is afraid of getting his hands dirty, quite the opposite a gentleman will tackle any job or task to the best of his abilities. So, what does I mean when I say a gentleman will be clean and tidy?

First a gentleman would not wear wrinkled, torn, faded, stained, or miss matched clothes out in public. These clothes are appropriate for working around the house, in the yard, or on the vehicle, but not to wear in public. You don’t have to buy bespoke clothing to be a gentleman, but you do need to make sure the clothes you wear are well made and fit well and are well made.

A gentleman will keep his hair, beard (if he has one) skin and nails neat, and his skin soft. If you have never had one I highly recommend getting a manicure and pedicure once a month. Not only will this help keep you hand and feet clean, but your nails will be filed down, and skin soft. Plus the massage that comes with the treatments.

A gentleman doesn’t let his hair get to long without a haircut. Depending on how fast your hair grows and the style you like (personally I like the old fashioned regular haircut with a side part. It is my favorite vintage barbershop look. This is also true for his beard. A man’s beard should be well groomed with beard oils, and beard balms.

Greg from The Dapper Man