You know as well as I do how hard and difficult life can be at times? Whether it s a mental struggle that we're having, anxiety, depression, or even suicidal thoughts, it might even be something emotionally charged. Maybe you lose your job, maybe you're struggling in your relationship, maybe the relationship you have with your kids is in turmoil, or maybe you've lost a client. The possibilities are endless, unfortunately. But what I ve noticed and what I think is common sense is that everything that we deal with as men, with a few minor exceptions, have to do with other people. And when other people struggle, it's our job as a father, a husband, a partner, a friend, a client, or an advisor, to help other people get through their struggles as much as we need to learn to get ourselves through the struggles.
00:00:00.000Because the way that you present yourself often is going to be the first thing that people are going to see when you walk into a room.
00:00:07.840And if you look like a slob, people aren't going to treat you anything other than a slob.
00:00:11.840But if you look like a man who's bold and assertive and courageous and capable and you walk with your shoulders back and your chest out and you're proud of who you are and they can see that you have confidence and you're wearing clothing that fits and physically fit and capable,
00:00:32.560You know as well as I do how hard and difficult life can be at times, whether it's a mental struggle that we're having, anxiety, depression, maybe even suicidal thoughts.
00:00:44.240It might even be something emotionally charged.
00:00:57.020The possibilities are endless, unfortunately, in the things that we need to deal with.
00:01:02.280But what I've noticed and what I think is common sense is that everything that we deal with as men, with a few minor exceptions, have to do with other people.
00:01:13.300And when other people struggle, it's our job as a father or a husband or a partner or a client or an employer or an advisor and a coach to help other people get through their struggles as much as we need to learn to get ourselves through the struggles.
00:01:31.700And I've talked at length about how we can improve our own mental, emotional, and spiritual resilience and toughness and sovereignty.
00:01:40.860But today I want to focus on becoming the rock, not only for yourself so you can navigate those difficult times, but becoming the rock in other people's lives.
00:01:52.560Your clients and your employees and your community members are relying on you.
00:01:56.920And the way that we show up often spells the difference between whether or not they're going to be able to navigate the difficult circumstances of life just like you do or not.
00:02:05.480And if they're in your life, it's safe to say that they're an important part of your life.
00:02:09.500So today I want to share with you seven things that you can do right now, starting immediately.
00:02:27.060Number one is you as a man need to communicate your desires.
00:02:30.340I know this might sound a little counterintuitive, but if people don't know what you want and don't know what you're after, they're going to make assumptions.
00:02:39.200And usually when people make assumptions, they're not favorable.
00:02:54.040Men, you have to communicate what you want.
00:02:55.860So if in your household, things aren't going as well as you'd like them to, or there's something in your house that you want to improve, then it's your responsibility to communicate that effectively with your wife, with your children, with the people who will be impacted by the decisions that you're making.
00:03:11.840If you're in a relationship with a wife or a girlfriend, or maybe even just dating, being able to communicate what you want out of that relationship might feel intimidating to you.
00:03:25.640But imagine what it feels like when you're with a person who you don't know what they want, and you're trying to guess and assume that they're hopefully on the same page as you.
00:03:35.480I believe that it's a man's job to go first in all aspects of life, and including relationships.
00:03:41.500So if it's a romantic relationship, your job is to tell the other person how you feel.
00:03:46.940Your job is to recognize areas where the relationship can improve and communicate that desire with other people.
00:03:55.540If you're not getting what you want out of the relationship, whether it's something minor like greater signs of affection, or something much deeper like getting married, or changing the relationship dynamic because it's been struggling and trying to improve it, then it's on you as a man to communicate first what you want.
00:04:15.520There are effective ways to do this, obviously, and there are some not so effective ways to do it.
00:04:20.280And we'll hit a little bit on that today, but at the end of the day, don't let people guess what you want.
00:04:26.600If you have a new client or a prospect, your job is to ask for the sale and tell them how you can help them.
00:04:37.980Always be the kind of person who, even if they don't entirely like what you want or can't get on board with what you want, at least they know what it is you're after.
00:04:46.820A man who is clear about that, who can articulate his wants, needs, and desires, is a man who is safe to others, and a man who can be relied on when things go sideways.
00:05:20.260Maybe you and your wife are trying to tighten up the diet for yourself and for your family, including your kids.
00:05:28.760And every time your kids are with grandma and grandpa, they don't really care, and they let them eat whatever they want, fast food, all the candy in the world,
00:05:37.660and they have no care in the world whatsoever for your own desires to raise your family in a healthy way.
00:05:45.320That's a boundary that you may need to establish.
00:05:47.380Like, we don't feed our kids this stuff.
00:05:50.560If that doesn't apply, maybe it's a certain behavior or conversations that your in-laws might be having with your kids,
00:05:58.600Like, we don't talk about this stuff with our children.
00:06:02.440It might also be the way people communicate with you.
00:06:06.100And I would say this goes in every aspect of every relationship, whether it's a romantic relationship or a friendship or a professional relationship.
00:06:14.360Let's take a professional relationship, for example.
00:06:16.520If a client of yours is angry and upset with you because you didn't meet the service on time or it came in over budget and they're having to pay a little bit more than they thought they would,