In this episode, Ryan talks about the importance of buying windshield wipers before it rains and why it's so important to have them in your possession when it's raining. He also talks about how important it is to be prepared for when it does rain.
00:00:00.000You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest. Embrace your fears and boldly chart your own path.
00:00:06.020When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time. Every time.
00:00:10.460You are not easily deterred or defeated. Rugged. Resilient. Strong.
00:00:15.520This is your life. This is who you are. This is who you will become.
00:00:19.760At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:00:25.260Gentlemen, what is going on today? My name is Ryan Michler, and I am the host and the founder of this movement.
00:00:30.000The Order of Man, which is now spanning the entire planet.
00:00:33.220We are working to restore and reclaim masculinity in a society that seems to be forgetful about what masculinity means and how it shows up and why it's so important that each and every one of us as men embrace what it actually means to be a man.
00:00:47.060There's a lot of confusion out there. It's my job. It's my responsibility and, frankly, my moral obligation to help clear up some of this confusion.
00:00:55.120And we do that each and every week by bringing you these podcasts. We've got the blog. We've got social media channels.
00:00:59.420We've got all of the things that will help you become a better man, a better man in your home, a better man in your business, your family, just your life in general.
00:01:07.400If you are working to become better in all of those areas, that's what my goal is.
00:01:12.160So we've got our interview show, which is done every Tuesday. We've got the Ask Me Anything with Kip Sorensen and myself every Wednesday.
00:01:20.180And then we've got this Friday Field Notes, which is me every Friday, obviously, where you are going to hear from me about some of my thoughts and insights and ideas and things I've been thinking about from throughout the week.
00:01:31.020And I've got a really interesting one lined up for you today. Very practical. It's a very practical podcast in discussion.
00:01:38.660Now, before I get into that, and I do have a lot that I want to get through, so I'm just going to make a very, very quick mention of my friends and show sponsor Origin Maine.
00:01:47.260Guys, if you're looking for gifts, if you're looking for a gift for somebody in your life, if you're trying to give somebody gift ideas, then I would recommend taking a look at what Origin Maine is doing, specifically with their nutritional and the supplemental lineup that's partnered up with Jocko.
00:02:04.400It's the Joint Warfare, it's their discipline, it's the Super Krill, it's the Molk, it's everything that you could need by way of supplements to supplement what it is you're doing with your exercise and diet and nutrition and all of the other things that you're doing.
00:02:18.100So guys, check it out. If you head to, let's see, originmaine.com, originmaine.com and use the code ORDER, O-R-D-E-R, at checkout, you will get a discount on every item that you purchase over there.
00:02:31.720Again, originmaine, as in the statemaine.com, and then use the code ORDER, at checkout.
00:02:37.960All right, guys, with that said, let's get into this discussion today.
00:02:41.920Now, you'll notice, probably notice, that I titled this, Buy Windshield Wipers Before It Rains.
00:02:48.180Now, the reason that I titled this is because I had a very interesting story, a very interesting scenario that happened to me.
00:02:56.540This was about a week and a half ago. I went into the auto parts store, and I went up to the clerk, and I said, hey, I need windshield wipers for this make and model of vehicle.
00:03:09.260He said, great. Looked it up on his computer. We went to the aisle, picked them out, and he said, why are you buying windshield wipers?
00:03:14.860I said, because when it rains, I want to make sure that I have windshield wipers to be able to clear off my windshield.
00:03:21.520Like, why else would you buy windshield wipers? He said, no, no, no. I'm just asking because it's not raining.
00:03:25.620And it was kind of funny. It's like, well, does it need to rain first in order for me to buy windshield wipers?
00:03:32.480And he said, no, that's just what most people do. He says, when it's sunny, nobody buys windshield wipers, but when it's raining, we sell out of them just about every single time, which I think kind of makes sense.
00:03:42.480I think we all inherently know that, but I would rather be a little bit more prepared up front.
00:03:47.860And that's what this conversation is about today.
00:03:50.080So I'd rather be prepared before something negative happens or something bad potentially happens and be adequately prepared for that thing, then have to rush and scramble and not be as effective in that circumstance.
00:03:59.960So it must've been, I don't know, three, maybe four days later, it was raining and I didn't anticipate it raining.
00:04:34.060I've caught myself by surprise and not put myself in the best situations, not when it comes to just buying windshield wipers, but every facet of life.
00:04:42.940And so I think all of us have a tendency to do this.
00:04:45.040But the idea behind buying windshield wipers before it rains is that when something negative happens, whether it's a rain or a divorce or a natural disaster or an emergency situation or a medical condition
00:04:57.620or any number of things that we are likely to face as men in our lifetime, it's critical.
00:05:03.640It's critical that we be prepared for those things.
00:05:06.340I came across this quote that I wanted to share with you from the book.
00:05:10.580And I've quoted from this book before.
00:05:11.880So you guys are probably familiar with it.
00:05:24.100The real man gains renown by standing between his family and destruction, absorbing the blows of fate with equanimity.
00:05:30.960Now, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't know initially what equanimity was.
00:05:36.580So I looked it up because I wanted to make sure I knew what the hell it is I was talking about.
00:05:41.020And equanimity means this mental calmness, composure, and an evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.
00:05:49.800Guys, I think this makes perfect sense.
00:05:51.960I think this illustrates perfectly part of our job as a man.
00:05:56.840Now, it says family in here, but I think you can broaden that out to mean community, to mean neighbors, to mean those under your care, employees, coworkers, colleagues.
00:06:08.040You gain position, if you will, by being the type of man who's able to stand in difficult situations with mental calmness and clarity and focus.
00:06:19.060And the decisiveness and leadership skills in order to get you past that thing that you may be dealing with or others past the thing they may be dealing with as well.
00:06:27.440So what I wanted to talk with you about today, and again, this is going to be very pragmatic.
00:06:32.780It's very practical what I want to address with you.
00:06:34.860And if you go to orderofman.com slash prepare, orderofman.com slash prepare, I have put together a very rough checklist of some of these things that I think each and every one of us need to at least consider, if not implement in our lives,
00:06:52.500in order to be more prepared for a dark day, a rainy day, a natural disaster, an emergency, a death of a loved one, I mean, you name it, anything that may happen to us.
00:07:02.040And what I did is I broke these subjects down into, I think I've got six here.
00:07:07.900Yes, six main categories that I think each and every one of us need to be prepared in a little better.
00:07:12.840Now, mind you, in disclaimer here, this is not the end all, save all.
00:07:15.960All right, so I realize there may be additional things here, and if there is, share those things with me, share those with the guys, get in our Facebook group, which is facebook.com slash groups slash orderofman.
00:07:26.460I'm very active on Instagram at Ryan Mickler, relatively active on Twitter, which is at orderofman.
00:07:32.780Connect with me in any of those places and we can talk more about this.
00:07:35.320But again, I broke this down into six categories.
00:07:38.240I'm going to go through them right now, and these aren't in any order, all right?
00:08:26.160And we've had other guests that have talked about that stuff.
00:08:28.400But ultimately, and at the foundational level, if you're not exercising on a daily basis, you are inadequately prepared to deal with all that life has to offer.
00:09:14.140But you really, really ought to strive to put the right fuels into your body so that you are burning up fat, that you have the opportunity to build muscle, and you're fueling the machine that your body is so it can perform and produce when it's called upon.
00:09:28.880So, number one, again, daily exercise.
00:09:32.820And number three, and I think this is something a lot of guys overlook, is proper sleep.
00:09:37.360We hear a lot of guys talk about, oh, I'll sleep when I'm dead, and sleep is for the week, and nobody should take naps, that kind of stuff.
00:09:52.360And I've had other podcast guests on that have talked about how to get that type of sleep.
00:09:56.560But, guys, that's critical, critical that we find and carve out enough time in our day, in our evening, to get the right amount of sleep so that we can be well-rested, our body can recover in a way that we can go back to work and put it into work and be more productive.
00:10:24.980But, look, if you're getting these basics right, you're probably better off than 95% of the population, which is go out, exercise every single day, at least an hour, I would say, if not more.
00:10:54.140And even if you're not in the position of authority within that domain, I do believe that it's your job as a man to be prepared in these environments and then to help other people in these environments be prepared.
00:11:06.640So, let's break this down a little bit more here.
00:11:09.160Number one, I wrote, is understanding travel routes, understanding traffic, understanding time, understanding travel routes.
00:11:16.960If one traffic or, excuse me, travel route is packed or congested, do you have a detour that you could take?
00:11:24.680But understanding how to get to and from and wherever you're going is really, really important.
00:11:52.960I've even heard people, experts, talk about having boots at the front door or toys in the yard, which actually ward off potential break-ins.
00:12:05.420And having an animal, having a man, and having children in the home makes things unpredictable.
00:12:12.220And they're trying to alleviate that so they'll avoid what they think might potentially cause problems.
00:12:17.460At the end of the day, you want to make yourself the hardest target out there.
00:12:21.920And if you can make yourself, your domain, the hardest target out there, you're significantly more likely to keep your domain secure.
00:12:29.500Clint Emerson, 100 Deadly Skills, former Navy SEAL, friend of mine.
00:12:33.840He's got some great stuff on not only securing your domain, but how to be prepared in natural disasters and emergencies and everything else.
00:12:40.460So, I definitely recommend that you look up Clint.
00:12:43.240He's actually been on the show a couple of times.
00:12:45.300Don't know what podcast numbers are, but you can go back and check it out and find that.
00:13:10.160You have to know how to get out of there most effectively, how to get out of there most efficiently.
00:13:15.080Patiently, you need to be able to communicate with your family and your colleagues and your coworkers so everybody's not running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
00:13:29.960If anything ever happens, I'll just do this.
00:13:31.980I'll just be a badass and get all this stuff taken care of and everything will be fine.
00:13:36.280Look, you are setting yourself and those people under your care up for failure.
00:13:41.120If you aren't thinking about these things ahead of time, you aren't planning for these things and you aren't creating some sort of contingencies and plans that will ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible in the wake of chaos, frankly.
00:14:08.460My wife has a garden out in the backyard and so she cans every single year.
00:14:13.940We've got salsa and we've got peaches and we've got green beans and we've got all of these different fruits and vegetables that are canned and secured there for our use should something happen.
00:14:22.940And even if something doesn't happen, look, you might fall upon hard times.
00:14:27.040There was a time in my life where, I mean, we were really, really struggling financially, struggling to make the mortgage and the car payments and the everything else.
00:14:34.680And we were living off of food storage.
00:14:36.480We would take beans out of the cans and food storage and we were eating beans and rice and everything that we could just to survive.
00:14:44.280And so that food storage really, really came in handy during those times.
00:14:48.200And then the next thing I wrote down here is bug out bags.
00:14:51.060Just having some sort of bag and I've got two hiking bags here in my cellar.
00:14:54.820But having a bag that has some equipment, some tools, some resources that you may need should you have to get out of the house quickly.
00:15:04.760This could be in a hurricane, for example.
00:15:08.140People had to leave their homes or even in the fires.
00:15:09.960People had to leave their homes and everything was destroyed and they didn't have anything to take with them.
00:15:14.400So this is extra clothing, basic, basic medical supplies, maybe some food can be in there, firearms, these types of things can be in there.
00:15:25.680I would also say on food storage, I'm just thinking about this now, that having ammunition would also be important.
00:15:31.540And this is sometimes I lose people on this and they think I'm one of these right wing nut jobs or something like this.
00:15:36.960But having ammunition set aside and your firearm set aside, and I'll talk more about that here in a minute, is also really, really important.
00:15:43.520You just don't want to be caught unprepared.
00:15:46.000And I hope that I never have to use a lot of these things.
00:15:49.260I hope they just sit there and don't do anything and I just review them periodically and that's the most use they get.
00:15:54.060But man, I just want to be prepared should it happen.
00:16:01.680Now, my background is financial planning.
00:16:04.180A lot of you guys know that and just this past week and a half, two weeks, I updated our estate planning documents.
00:16:12.480So this is our wills, our trust, advanced care directives, financial power of attorney, all of that stuff I wanted to make sure was taken care of, was updated.
00:16:21.920My wife and I are going on a trip next week.
00:16:24.460So I want to make sure that all of that stuff is taken care of should something unfortunate and unexpected happen to us.
00:16:31.220We want to have those things taken care of.
00:16:36.180Again, that's a trust, that's a will, that's your advanced care directives, which is basically the way that you will be treated medically if you're incapacitated.
00:16:46.520And then also your financial power of attorney, again, if you're incapacitated.
00:16:50.740In addition to that, you want to have savings.
00:16:54.480You want to be setting aside money from every single one of your paychecks.
00:16:59.160I mean, heaven forbid you get injured and you can't work.
00:17:02.940That also comes in play with insurance, disability insurance, health insurance, life insurance.
00:17:08.560I mean, I think we have a moral obligation to provide for our family even after we're gone.
00:17:12.820So having some of these insurances in place, life insurance, health, disability insurance in place is a very, very good idea to ensure that we're protecting those that we frankly have an obligation to protect.
00:17:23.920So get your insurances in place, set money aside from every paycheck.
00:17:28.220I mean, if you get disabled, you'll be taken care of.
00:17:30.240If you get laid off, money will be there.
00:17:32.340These are all very, very important strategies.
00:17:34.300And again, I know I'm covering this from a 30,000 foot view and I'm really going through this fast.
00:17:49.380It's not all dolled up and pretty, but it'll give you a basic checklist of the things that you can score yourself on.
00:17:56.380You know, maybe you're good in the financial department, but you could really use some use in the skillset department, which is what I wanted to talk about next.
00:18:37.060And you're always going to be more comfortable with something that you understand.
00:18:40.780I don't ever want to have to use my firearm outside of hunting.
00:18:44.440But if that day comes where I have to defend myself, my family, my neighbors, my colleagues, my coworkers against some sort of threat, then I want to be sure that I know that I can handle myself and I can handle the tools at my disposal.
00:19:16.480You've used it in the past to train with.
00:19:19.040And so you're fairly comfortable with it.
00:19:21.520But there's probably 5 to 10 to maybe even 15 percent of you who have never even thought about this.
00:19:26.340Guys, go out, go to a shooting range, find a qualified instructor.
00:19:31.040Even if you don't purchase a firearm, know your way around one, know how to shoot one so you're not all freaked out if you ever come in contact with a firearm.
00:20:04.780But there isn't one that's going to inoculate you against every possible circumstance in which you may find yourself.
00:20:10.980But having some sort of skill set with administering physical violence to another individual and then being able to defend yourself against physical violence is always, always in your best interest.
00:20:24.140And it's not only about the violence because it will also help you with the discipline component, with the mindset.
00:20:29.840But at the end of the day, I think every single man out there, in order to fulfill his responsibility as protector, needs to learn some sort of martial art.
00:20:39.100So we've got firearms training, we've got martial arts, and the third component of this is medical training.
00:20:44.000You have to know some basic medical stuff.
00:20:46.280If you came across an accident, could you help that individual who's bleeding or somebody who's in shock?
00:20:52.120Could you at least, at a minimum, recognize what the symptoms are and what they may be experiencing that and then being able to communicate that or keep that individual safe and secure and frankly alive until proper medical help can get there?
00:21:04.160But having medical training is really, really important.
00:21:07.700So those are the skill sets, firearm training, martial arts, and medical training.
00:21:12.160The next thing that I wrote down here is vehicle.
00:21:15.080I mean, we spend a lot of time, some more than others, inside of our vehicles.
00:21:18.880And so it's really, really important that we know how to use our vehicles, that we know how to our way around them.
00:21:26.540So one thing that I think of is preventative maintenance.
00:21:29.200So making sure that you're getting your oil change and you're getting the tunings and the tune-ups on the car, like making sure that your vehicle is running as best as it can.
00:21:39.800I posted a picture of some of my shotguns the other day and somebody had made the comment.