One of the things I've learned after running AOM for nearly two decades is that the fun part is creating, writing articles, recording podcasts, designing products, things like that.

The less fun part is all the operational stuff that comes with selling those products online.

And that's one reason we've used Shopify for the AOM store.

Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S.

It handles all the stuff you don't want to spend your day worrying about, inventory, payments, analytics, shipping, returns, all in one place. What I like is that it scales with you. Whether you're selling your first product or managing an established store, Shopify gives you the tools to keep things running smoothly. They've even built in AI tools that can help with product descriptions, page headlines, and product photography. Plus, as a customer, you've probably seen that purple shop pay button. There's a reason why it's everywhere. It makes checkout

incredibly easy, which means fewer abandoned carts and more completed sales. It's time to turn

those what-is into reality with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at

Shopify.com slash manliness. That's Shopify.com slash manliness. That's Shopify.com

slash manliness. Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AOM podcast, which since 2008

has featured conversations with the world's best authors, thinkers, and leaders

that glean their edifying, life-improving insights without the fluff and filler.

The AOM podcast is just one part of the McKay mission to help individuals practice timeless

virtues through thought, word, and deed. Also, be sure to explore our articles in Art ofmanliness.com,

read the deeper dives we do in our substack newsletter

at dyingbred.net, and turn our content into real-world action by joining the Strenuous

Life program at StrenuousLife.com. Now on to the show.

George Washington is perhaps the most familiar figure in American history, but most people really only know the image of him they see in marble statues and patriotic paintings.

Behind those symbols was a real man, ambitious, self-taught, intensely concerned with honor, and constantly wrestling with the immense responsibilities history placed on his shoulders.

In celebration of

America's 250th birthday, we're taking an extended look at the life of the man more responsible than

anyone else for the nation's founding. Here to impact that life for us is H.W. Brands, the historian, and

the author of a new biography of Washington, American Patriarch. Brands traces Washington's journey

...