Don't rock the boat. Don't ask for help. Don't try it if you might fail...

Every one of those is a cover story... covering for fear.

Some fear is easy to recognize. The bear, the ledge, the punch coming at your face. A man knows exactly what he's looking at, and he usually finds the nerve to deal with it.

The other kind hits just as hard and is far harder to spot, because it never looks like fear. It sounds like you.

I know men who will step on the mat with someone twice their size but can't stand up to their own mother.

That fear has been talking since you were a kid. You're a grown man, and you're still doing what it says.