12 Life Skills You Need to Call Yourself a Man

5. Shine a Shoe

A real man is one who can take care of his every need without having to turn to others for every single task. Granted, there are things that not every man will be able to do or necessarily needs to learn to do, but there are simple, little skills that every man should know to help himself and shining his own shoes is one of them.

The manner in which you put yourself together says a lot about your manhood. Even the country gentleman who wears a Carhartt jacket, jeans, and boots every day for work cares about how he looks. He is ensuring that he is dressed in the proper manner to survive his every day working conditions.

So it is the same for a man working the corporate scene. Shoe shine stands are fine, but why pay for a service you can and should easily provide for yourself? Start by wiping down your shoes with a damp cloth to clean them of dust and debris.

From here conservatively apply some polish to a polishing cloth (or an old sock) and apply in circular motions until you achieve the finish and shine desired.

For an extra “spit shine” look, dampen the cloth first. Let the polish dry for upwards of five minutes, and the use a buffing brush to wipe off the excess polish.

The same technique can be applied to the edge of the sole, toe tips, and heel using a toothbrush rather than the cloth to get a more detailed finish on those regions.