The Mask of Masculinity by Lewis Howes: Issue 44 | November 2017

Lewis has built an amazing brand, The School of Greatness, and even published a New York Times bestselling book of the same name. If you want to go back in time and read that (you should), The School of Greatness was a book club pick in Issue 20.

This book, The Mask of Masculinity (Amazon link) is, as I said, different. It’s a bold and strong move for Lewis, and one that I’m thankful for. I’ve been following Lewis almost since the beginning (2009) when he was known as the “master of LinkedIn.” Since 2009, he’s grown mightily and has made an impressive amount of changes in his life and career. [Full Disclosure: As an affiliate, I receive compensation if you purchase through this link.]

The Mask of Masculinity is one of those impressive moves. It’s a book about what it means to be vulnerable and how being open and vulnerable can lead to a more fulfilling life. He shares how being vulnerable has helped him grow his audience and reach even more people with his message.

Being vulnerable is about being open and honest and genuine. It’s about wearing your heart on your sleeve and being true to yourself. That’s an approach I’ve always tried to embrace for Smart Passive Income. But I’d also love to become known for applying that to other areas of my life I’m passionate about too—including education, and integrating entrepreneurship into our schools.

In addition to the tremendous insight into adopting a more vulnerable strategy in your life and business, I also learned a lot about Lewis himself. He gets very real, and opens up about deeply personal life events and how those events have shaped who he is today.

I think what I found most helpful about the book was Lewis’s categorization of the different kinds of masks we wear. There are nine masks he writes about, including the “Alpha Mask,” “Stoic Mask,” and “Material Mask.” Learning about these masks helped me better understand the behaviors of the people in my life—and it allowed me to consider how I might better understand those people so I may help them if they need it.

As for who The Mask of Masculinity is for, it’s definitely geared toward men, helping us understand why we feel the way we feel and the masks we put on to hide our truths. But I definitely can see this book being useful for women who share similar instincts to put on a face and hide, or who simply want to better understand why us silly men act the way we do sometimes.

It’s not a business book. But I think we all know how important it is to be in tune with ourselves before we can serve and be honest with those around us—including our business audiences. In this modern (and refreshing) movement in business toward transparency and authenticity, this is a strong, bold book from Lewis Howes that definitely reveals all, and taps into a lot of what many people—men and women—are likely thinking but are too afraid to say or bring up.

Buy the Book on Amazon