Gents Journey

Gents Journey

The Cartoon

A character development course to find the versions of yourself you left behind

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Matt McManus's avatar
Gents Journey and Matt McManus
Feb 25, 2026
∙ Paid

Welcome to The Cartoon.

This isn’t a course. It’s a game. There are no boards, screens, or dice, but there is a get-out-of-jail-free card. I’m handing it to you right now.

You’re about to follow arrows, not steps. Arrows force you to look and possibly head in a particular direction, but it’s up to you. This is Phase One. There are eight arrows. Once accomplished, I’ll introduce Phase Two.

The Goal?

You’ll uncover that moving forward and backward. My goal was to find my character. I have. Now I have access to The Cartoon again. I could explain, but that would make this less fun. If played correctly, you’ll answer all your questions.

Here’s what you need to know:

The first time you heard the word “Character,” you were most likely watching a cartoon. And in that beautiful, elastic reality, anything was possible. The concept of character was attached to an infinitely possible world.

As adults, we’re told that our character defines us. That to succeed, one must have “Good Character.” It became attached to responsibility, morality, our identity.

The fun got sucked out of Character, didn’t it?

We left the Cartoon, along with magical pieces of ourselves (gems) back there. It’s time to go back and bring them to us and to now.

Let’s go get you.


What is Character?


Intro: Welcome to the game.

This video walks you through how The Cartoon works, what the arrows are, and what you’re about to experience. Think of this as your game manual.

Now, follow the arrows...


ARROW ONE: NEW SNEAKS. NEW HAIRCUT.

Planting seeds for who you’re becoming.


ARROW TWO: SWEAT AND SMILE

Sweat gets things out of the brain no therapist could dream of.


ARROW THREE: COOL

Breadcrumbs back to the versions of yourself you left behind.

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Matt McManus's avatar
A guest post by
Matt McManus
Father. Actor. Model. Friend. Entrepreneur.
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