Life's most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today, the third Monday of January in the good old Los Estados Unidos, we celebrate a holiday signed into law in 1983 by Ronaldus Magnus Regnum called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Tricky race relations in our nation aside, good advice and sound observations are universal. With wise words in mind, and many of my places of business closed for the day, I’ve decided to focus on a core MRP concern: Providing value to others.

“The Red Pill” gets bad reactions from those who don’t examine it (or their own motivations carefully), and are quick to label its proponents all sorts of fun names. My Inbox can attest to this, as I learned one day that I’m “a lying shitlord,” “who makes up” who he is and what he does to “fool hopeless losers into abusing their wives and children.” My villain status intact, I can honestly say that I do one important thing consistently: I provide value to others.

Here’s where I think many people get it wrong. I provide value to others, but I don’t do it for the optics or the validation. I certainly don’t do it based on the expectation that someone will, in turn, do something for me. I’m not deluded enough to believe I’m selfless or altruistic. I do it because I have enough introspection to understand that I’m selfish, and giving value benefits me in many ways beyond quid pro quo expectations.

For example, if feasible, I always volunteer for anything having to do with my children. They get to see me more apart from mom, learn from my example, and know that I’m a participant in their lives, and not just present. I believe I provide value through material and intellectual contributions to these activities and organizations, and in return, I often gain a certain level of control over the direction and success of the endeavor. Those in charge make the rules. The level of commitment to these groups by men is laughable, and the men involved might as well be women the majority of the time. These activities put one in a public place with many women of varying degrees of availability, yet another incidental thing of value to me. What one should also notice is that by not having a specific “pay off” in mind while providing value, it is easier to see and be appreciative of when it is returned.

When it comes to women, the Covert Contract of “transacting something for sex in return” blinds thirsty men to almost any other value a woman might provide. One’s inability to recognize value received is not the fault of the person providing it. What this also means, is that things one might do for a SO he self-describes as “valuable” may not be recognized for various reasons. Value recognition is a mental process that is clouded by emotion, routine and complacency. Without a new or positive association to the person providing value, what he provides to the relationship is irrelevant to the unreceptive. Value (and its appreciation and reciprocation) is the undercurrent through which all other RP concepts flow.

Being a masculine well-rounded man is not only stressed for the hunt. It is also necessary for relationship maintenance. This is why many contributors have value in MRP and to their SO’s, even though their focuses are different. Just a sample (and by no means exclusive or in order of importance):

• TFA is glow-stick man. He provides value through action and extreme ownership of his tribe.
• BBP is Dr. Dread. He provides value by explaining that strong emotion drives genuine desire.
• Over 60 is, well, over 60. He provides value by explaining that time does not quench masculinity.
• Parseus is the evolving RP parent. He provides perspective on balancing priorities.
• Two Guns is sexy Toby Keith. He provides hope for the recently divorced.
• Stoney is Canada’s best export. He provides the LTR training wheels and focus.
• Ex-addict is the unfiltered work in progress. He provides value to men who love broken people.
• Sampson is the wise widower. He provides parenting advice and French lessons in a cozy cabin.
• Scurvy is Rasputin. He is smart, tenacious, and unable to be killed via conventional means.

What all of these men have in common, is that they provide value to those around them (not just this sub).

By providing value and being the best masculine man that one can be, one is also at ease enough to accept and appreciate the value provided by others. The work is worth it just for the change in perspective alone.