What is Get Real, Man?

Get Real, Man is a newsletter about growing up after you’ve become an adult. It’s a place for modern renaissance men to keep maturing well into life. As Jung said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Becoming who you are doesn’t just happen by accident. It happens when you bring together work, family, and spirituality into one whole, and then demand more from every part of life. This newsletter is the antidote to false purpose and empty living, a quest into a life of depth.

This isn’t a place for dogma or false idols. Instead, we are living a fully human life using the tools of philosophy, spirituality, work, and fatherhood. No bullshit, no holds barred, call a spade a spade, real warriorship in service of our own humanity. That means an open mind, a healthy dose of skepticism, and the insistence to know what actually matters. For your part, use the insights and lessons learned to keep seeking. To not settle for less than you deserve as a man and human. Because there is more out there. (And if you can, support this work with a paid or Founding member subscription).

Why Subscribe?

All subscribers get a once a week post delivered every Thursday. These follow five few themes:

• finding the courage to expect more from life

• reconnecting with the full range of our Self

• the best lessons from the world’s wisest teachers

• tools for the modern warrior, fighting for our human spirit

• simple joys that help us feel fully alive in this life

If you want to support this work, you can become a paid subscriber for $6/month or $50/year. All posts are free. Paid subscribers are making a bet that my work is worth funding. We will figure out other benefits in the future, but you should view a paid subscription as a way of saying “Damn Latham, what you’re doing is worth it. I want to see it in the world.” Founding members are the same, and will receive a physical talisman from this quest.

Who am I?

Hi. I’m Latham. 

For years I’ve had this sinking feeling that this can’t be all there is. And I’ve tried A LOT. As my wife says, I only know how to go big or go home. 

I went from skater counter culture to Navy Officer, startup operator, and entrepreneur. I was steeped in science and reason, from studying Physics to being a Navy Test Pilot and leading a quantum engineering team. I even have my name on the same wall as Neil Armstrong at the Navy Test Pilot School. I learned the lessons of business as a startup operator, venture capitalist, and founder. In all that, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was missing something. I tried therapy, psychedelics, meditation, art, and just about anything at the other extreme, but nothing held the answers. That is until I stepped away from it all to seek what was true.

I now dive into the depths of spirituality, philosophy, and storytelling to know what it means to explore myself in this world. I fight against the entropy of life, to find out what it takes to live a fully human life. For myself, for my son, and for you.  Every week I share those lessons with you, so that you can bring them into your own life.