Brett and Kate McKay
Brett McKay is the head man at The Art of Manliness.
He and his wife Kate are the principle writers for the site. Brett works for a legal research company and juggles his duties there with his duties at The Art of Manliness. When looking at the articles Brett helps to create, it is easy to see that he uses his research skills in both jobs. In article after article men (and women too) are treated to manly information running the gamut from just plain fun to highly motivational.
Also, Brett and his wife Kate are the authors of a new book, Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice for the Modern Man, which will be launching in late October 2011. Be sure to check out the excerpts while you are there. Excellent, wouldn’t you agree?
On his website Brett says, “I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim that I’m an expert on all things manly. I started this blog not because I had all the answers to being a man, but because I wanted to explore the questions with other men. Thankfully, I’ve found a whole community of men who wish to discover the lost art of manliness too.” His humility and expertise combine to make Brett’s site the go-to place for men who want to deal with the art of honorable manliness.
Brett attended the University of Oklahoma. After graduating with a BA in Letters, he went on to pursue his lifelong goal of going to law school. It was while he was attending the University of Tulsa College of Law that he started the Art of Manliness as something fun to do in his spare time.
I’m very happy to be able to ask Brett a few questions and see what this man of awesome integrity has to say about the journals in his life.
JIB: Welcome Brett, it is nice to talk to you about journals, something you and I agree is an important tool in today’s world.
Brett: Thanks for having me! Yes, big fan of journals and journaling. It’s such an underrated and unappreciated practice in our modern day.
JIB: How long have you been using a journal?
Brett: I’ve been journaling off and on since I was in elementary school. My middle school journals are a hoot to read. I let my wife read it a few months ago and it was non-stop laughing.
JIB: Your wife must have had a blast seeing those notes. Did you plan a time to share them or was this more of a spontaneous situation?
Brett: Completely spontaneous.
JIB: Did your parents or grandparents keep journals or diaries?
Brett: They did and my 95 year old grandpa still does. He keeps a little memo book in his front shirt pocket and records the happenings of everyday. He’s been in the journaling habit since his days with the U. S. Forest Service. The service required all rangers to keep a diary of the days events. When the big shot ranger would come out to my grandpa’s forest station, part of the inspection was checking the diaries. If my grandpa missed a day, he’d be reprimanded.
About 15 years ago, my grandpa thought he was about to kick the can, so he wrote his life memoir. His diary and journals we collected through the years helped him write a very detailed history of his life.
JIB: What a wonderful story about your grandpa. Has he or have you considered having his memoir published or is it more of a family affair?
Brett: It’s published, but he printed enough copies to give to his children and grandchildren.
JIB: Many people who keep journals say there was one person in particular who influenced them to start their own journal. Do you have someone like that in your life?
Brett: Journaling is encouraged in my faith (I’m Mormon). They encourage it because 1) it’s a way to share your life with your posterity which is important to Mormons because we’re big into genealogy; and 2) journaling is good for the soul. There’s nothing more cathartic than working out a problem on the paper of your handy journal.
So ever since I was a little kid I’ve been encouraged to write in a journal by different Sunday School teachers.
JIB: Your entire culture has encouraged your journal writing. How wonderful. We have noticed that many of our LDS friends are excellent diarists. So, was there one phase or time in your Sunday School years when you were more prolific?
Brett: Middle school for sure. I was a really earnest kid and took to heart counsel from adults I respected. If they said it would help my life, I’d do it. I didn’t get too deep in my entries. Just recounted what happened during the day.
JIB: Was there an initial instance when you figured out that putting words in a journal would be (had been) of value to you?
Brett: Probably in middle school. I quickly learned how much more productive I was when I kept a regular journal. I even have entries where I discuss that.
JIB: Was there a specific difficulty you had to overcome in order to be a regular journal keeper?
Brett: I’m sad to say I’m still not a regular journal keeper. Well, not as regular as I’d like to be. The big difficulty is just setting aside a specific time for journaling. When I have a specific time, it gets done. But when I take a “whenever I have time” approach, it never gets done.
JIB: Yes, we understand that dilemma. Finding the right pace (how often, how long) can take a bit of experimenting. Are you more likely to be consistent when things are going well or when difficulty seems to be your middle name?
Brett: Surprisingly I’m more consistent when things are rough in my life. I guess I use my journal as a therapist to sort through issues.
JIB: Do you believe you have been able to accomplish more in either your personal or business life because you’ve kept a journal?
Brett: Definitely. The most helpful aspect of journaling has been hashing out problems and issues with pen and paper. I’ve had several instances where a problem has been vexing me for days. Feeling frustrated and anxious, I’ll crack open my journal and just start writing. Usually after 30 minutes, answers and solutions start appearing. It’s almost like magic.
JIB: If you had to escape a fire at your house would your journals be among the items you would hope to save?
Brett: Certain journals. There’s some that are more important to me than others.
JIB: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about keeping a journal?
Brett: Writing out your thoughts brings clarity to your thoughts.
JIB: Do you distinguish between the words diary and journal?
Brett: I guess I don’t. I treat my journal as a tool to record daily happenings and to pour my inner most thoughts into.
JIB: Do you have a favorite pen for use in your journals?
Brett: It changes from time to time. Right now I’m using a Uniball Gel pen. I like how it writes.
JIB: What advice would you give someone who isn’t sure keeping a journal is worth it?
Brett: Give it 30 days. It will take about two or three weeks of good solid journaling to start seeing the benefits.
JIB: Please tell us a story (or better yet a secret) about your website The Art of Manliness?
Brett: A secret about The Art of Manliness…. Let me see. Well, I recorded the idea for The Art of Manliness in a pocket notebook I had with me in a bookstore. Journaling made the Art of Manliness possible!
JIB: You’re kidding me right? I love it! I certainly couldn’t have asked for a better story. And, would you mind elaborating a little? Did you see a book, a picture, read a phrase? What inspired you? Was your notebook entry short and sweet or long and detailed?
Brett: I was just standing in front of the men’s interest magazines reading the headlines and realizing that what they wrote about didn’t appeal to me. You can only read about how to get six pack abs so many months in a row. That’s when I had the idea of “why not start a men’s magazine you’d want to read?” So I whipped out my notebook and jotted down some ideas of articles I’d write about, brainstorming what I’d call the site, etc.
JIB: Wow, that is just wonderful Brett. Thanks so much for taking the time to supply answers to my journaling questions.
Brett: That was fun!
There is always something new and exciting going on at The Art of Manliness and I do highly recommend you spend some time looking over the site and getting fresh and witty information about all things manly. Kate and Brett are an excellent team and they always have invaluable material.
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