The Art of Manliness A Map for Finding Direction and Purpose in Life (Again and Again)
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Apr 28, 2026 
Jim Collins, business researcher and Good to Great author, explores why life is more cyclical than linear. He talks about foggy seasons after youth, upheaval, and midlife. He looks at finding your “frame,” taking small steps through uncertainty, handling luck and drudgery, and why meaningful work can bloom surprisingly late.
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Three Personal Seeds Started This Research
- Jim Collins says this project began with three personal seeds that kept resurfacing across decades.
- He lost his father "while he was still alive," watched his wife lose her athletic identity, and learned from John Gardner to study lifelong self-renewal.
Encodings Explain Why Some Work Suddenly Clicks
- Collins defines encodings as durable built-in capacities that feel natural when life brings them into view.
- John Glenn looked ordinary in college, then flying revealed calm under danger, split-second judgment, and a cockpit that fit him "like a glove."
Your Biggest Chapters May Start Much Later
- A life can stay unfinished far longer than people assume, because major chapters often begin after 50 or 60.
- Brett McKay notes Eisenhower was unremarkable at 52 before World War II; Collins adds Franklin still had 53% of his biography left at 60.
