In this episode, Kip and Ryan talk about the importance of being a man of action and how to deal with challenges that life throws your way. Kip talks about his journey to becoming a man and Ryan talks about how he deals with challenges in his life.
00:22:03.100Like, yeah, I really didn't, this was not on my radar until probably the last year that my greatest talents and what I bring to the table are also my weaknesses.
00:22:21.700And there's some importance of understanding it in ourselves of like, man, what is it that I bring to the table that's probably really unique that I'm highly talented in?
00:22:31.620Trust me, that same thing can undermine you as well.
00:22:35.300So be very careful and find that balance.
00:23:44.900I, you know, I do feel bad for the guy a little bit.
00:23:47.480I think in a way, I think part, I'm not taking any burden of responsibility away from an individual like that.
00:23:54.800But I think the burden of fame and social media spoke into him so deeply and it became so toxic and so, yeah, toxic is the perfect word for it, that it infected his mind and his, and his being.
00:24:12.980And so now all of a sudden, because he wanted to be famous, he started lying about things that he was doing.
00:24:21.420And I think he kind of came clean a little bit, but did not humble himself and rectify the situation.
00:24:27.720And a lot of that behavior is attention seeking, which tells me that he's not getting the same level of dopamine that he needed when he was initially getting the recognition for being the quote unquote Liver King.
00:24:40.020So social media and popularity and fame demand, demand him to pay up.
00:24:48.780And what that means is doing wilder and crazy, more nonsensical things in order to achieve the same level of, of notoriety and the same level of dopamine.
00:24:59.700And he's a product of what social media and fame can do to a person if it is left unchecked.
00:25:06.020Totally all from a massive amount of people that don't really know him and that don't give a shit about him.
00:25:18.000And yet it's like at the center of his validation, right?
00:27:03.540But the only difference is I have this microphone and 20,000 people are listening to me right now.
00:27:10.000And I thought, you know, that's why we should become influential.
00:27:14.340The larger our audience is and the bigger our microphones and the more credible our voice, the more positive impact that we can have.
00:27:24.300So a man like Liver King or Joe Rogan can have such a tremendous impact, more so than 99.99999% of us.
00:27:35.360And the question is, will they allow the doctrine of popular culture to grab them, to steal away their hearts and souls, to get them to perform for people who know nothing about them and care little about them?
00:27:48.220Or are they going to stand up for what they believe and have values and principles and use their crowd and their audience and their leverage for good?
00:29:56.280And a lot of times it's like, no, I don't want to.
00:29:59.140And look, I mean, some people are like, oh, jiu-jitsu is better for self-defense than this.
00:30:03.260And this is better than self-defense for this.
00:30:05.520Sure, there's that argument you can make.
00:30:07.900But you also have to ask yourself, what do you enjoy?
00:30:10.480Because the likelihood of you getting into some sort of physical altercation is probably low.
00:30:15.820And I don't know the data behind this, but I would say anecdotally, or at least intuitively, I would think that somebody who is at least somewhat proficient in some form of martial arts is actually less likely to get into a physical altercation than somebody who's not trained at all.
00:30:33.820So just the nature of you training probably keeps you out of situations.
00:30:39.100But if you look at the statistics, what is the amount of fights that go to the ground?
00:30:52.100Yeah, Raul, I've done Muay Thai in the past, like for a while, like to balance this to your point, Ryan, I had a coach where I trained once a week privates and just Muay Thai for probably about, it was about like an hour and a half, two hour session once a week, just to kind of get some standup.
00:31:12.360And I love, I love Muay Thai and kickboxing, super fun.
00:31:50.220I, you know, what I want to do, I had, I would love to get, I'm not sure if you're interested in this, just putting you on blast here on, on not blast, but putting you on notice here publicly.
00:32:45.560When guys are training for MMA fights, we'll, we'll throw four ounce gloves on, right?
00:32:50.980So we can have grips and we'll train with strikes and that changes everything.
00:32:57.120It's, I never did that, but I, I, it's a blast.
00:33:00.680Yeah, I like the concept of it because I think guys who are into jiu-jitsu, especially if they're competitive players, they, they think their art is the best.
00:33:11.700But when you get hit in the face, like struck in the face and you're trying to, I don't know, secure a, a, a body triangle or a, a, you know, an arm bar and you're getting punched in the face.
00:33:42.760I do like anyone listening to you appreciate this double unders, right?
00:33:46.660In wrestling, they use double unders quite a bit.
00:33:48.820I remember tough guy, double unders, I love to stack pass and just smash them on their head, you know, and I like to go slow for whatever reason.
00:34:00.660And I remember we're training for a fight, double unders, stack passing, and this guy's just teeing off on my face, just rights and less, right?
00:34:10.120And I'm like, and my hands are wrapped around his leg, so I, I, I can't defend.
00:34:39.020Say, Dylan Duvall, I feel like every strong man hits a crossroad when life starts shaking everything up.
00:34:48.580Breakups, jobs that no longer fit, drifting from old friends, and getting tired of who you used to be.
00:34:55.060How do you lead yourself when God starts stripping away what's no longer meant for you?
00:35:01.440People, comforts, even parts of your identity, and you're thrown into the fire to rebuild, often alone, as you outgrow old patterns.
00:35:10.900Um, first, okay, so first of all, I really like this question, but first I would say, don't let God humble you.
00:35:20.480And, and what I mean by that is if you wait until God humbles you, it's going to be a lot more painful than if you do it yourself preemptively.
00:35:28.660Because he has a really good way of teaching you lessons that stick.
00:35:32.100Like, so you want to talk about getting punched in the face repeatedly, let God handle your, uh, humility and you'll figure out really quick, I don't want to learn my lesson that way anymore.
00:35:45.060So you should be preemptive in your humility.
00:35:48.000And when things are going really well in your relationship or with business or your fitness or your finances, that's a little bit of a little warning bell.
00:35:57.020Like a little, a little alarm should be going off saying, things are going good.
00:36:05.060Is, is my wife actually happy and content or is she complacent, frustrated and thinking about leaving me?
00:36:13.680You know, it, are, are my clients really doing well and I have a good relationship with my clients or are they talking to my competitors?
00:36:21.580And that's why I'm not hearing a whole lot from them anymore because they're talking to my competitors and they're being wined and dined by them.
00:36:29.400So when things are going really well, that's a really good time for you to start thinking about what you need to do to humble and grow yourself.
00:37:06.180What's a silly example of this would be, I remember when I moved from California to a small Southern Utah town when I was a freshman in high school.
00:37:17.760And it was interesting because I was a little fish in a big pond, so to speak, in California.
00:37:25.020But when I moved to Southern Utah, I became a bigger fish in a small pond.
00:37:30.660And it was pretty cool, you know, as the new kid from California, the girls liked you, you were new.
00:37:38.520But what also was cool about it is that nobody knew you from before.
00:37:43.720So you could remake your identity however you wanted.
00:37:54.000And you got to remake yourself into something that maybe you've always wanted to be but were too afraid to do it because of the opinions of others or the box that you or others had placed you in.
00:38:03.240And that's why you have a hard time when you go through a divorce or you go through a bankruptcy or you go through a job loss is because there's people around you chirping at you, nipping at your heels like hyenas, laughing at you, poking fun at you, mocking you, talking behind your back, trying to make you fall even further, kicking you while you're down.
00:39:30.160I can't help but maybe think that there is some disappointment from you, maybe even some secondhand embarrassment that you're dealing with because people are asking about my relationship.
00:39:39.800And I just want you to know, I own that.
00:39:44.020And there's things that I did that I wish I could have done differently.
00:39:46.960And there's things that I think she maybe did that she could do differently if we were to rewind.
00:39:51.860But from here on out, I can't consume myself with that.
00:49:05.180Like, there's so much that this is critical to, you know, how we show up in the world, to your point, as a father or as a husband and many other areas.
00:50:40.840But instead of going out to date and take risks and courting a woman and doing it the real way, it's like, well, dang, I'll just watch this pixelated version and get myself off.
00:51:56.380Like, that's so non-threatening and such an easy opportunity to express yourself.
00:52:01.860Or if your wife says something that you don't like, it's like, hey, hon, I think I understand what you're trying to say.
00:52:09.260But when you use those words or you say it like this, the way that it feels to me is insulting.
00:52:15.480It feels like it's an insult or a dig at me for not doing something.
00:52:23.200And so I don't think you mean it that way, but I just want to express that because it would be more productive if when you needed to share that with me, you tried this instead.
00:52:33.160Just little ways of expressing yourself.
00:52:37.080And the more you do that, the more clear you are about that, the more willing you are to connect and express.
00:53:30.360So I know it's kind of a negative goal, but it also means that I need to train properly, that I need to do the right things, that I need to feel correctly.
00:53:40.060Because the likelihood of me injuring myself at 44 is significantly higher than it is at 24, unless I'm doing something dumb, like jumping off a cliff or something, which I'd be more likely to do when I'm 24 than when I'm 44.
00:53:53.100So longevity is really important to me.
00:53:56.280And I was talking with my chiropractor a couple months ago, and he said, you know, Ryan, you know what the biggest factor for people, and I think he was being anecdotal just based on what he had seen, but he said one of the biggest factors for people getting injured and getting hurt and then eventually dying is muscle mass.
00:54:17.120He said, well, there's a lot of research to back that up.
00:54:19.320And he said one thing that he sees as a chiropractor a lot is that people will fall, and because they fall, they don't have the muscle to balance themselves.
00:54:41.900And so then it gets worse, and there's people that have been obviously stuck for hours, if not days, because they literally could not get themselves up and out of that position.
00:54:52.240So for me, I want to build now, build and maintain strength well into my 50s, 60s, and 70s, because I do want to have that longevity.
00:55:01.840And I don't want to, when I'm 70 years old, be hung up in a wheelchair or be unable to leave my house.
00:55:10.400I want to be able to play with my grandkids.
00:55:43.740As men, we often struggle with our identity.
00:55:46.900Do you think part of that comes from the devaluation of ourselves and feeding on toxic internal dialogue?
00:55:53.140Was there ever a season in your life when that inner battle was especially intense, where things felt extreme, even to the point of wanting to tap out?
00:56:03.320And yet, on the other side, you experienced the breakthrough you had been longing for.
00:56:08.440If so, what or who carried you through?
00:56:11.480Has that moment repeated itself, or is this just the cost of leveling up and killing off the old lies and stories?
00:56:37.440I know I'm genuinely, like, I would be curious about the answer to that question, because there's probably other men who could really benefit from what we do inside the Iron Council, who have been listening for a significant amount of time.
00:56:48.440And it could be that you didn't know about it.
00:56:50.080It could be that the value didn't seem to be there.
00:56:52.340It could be that your financial situation wasn't where it needed to be to join.
00:56:56.160It could be a lot of legitimate reasons.
00:57:00.720Okay, so as far as the internal dialogue, I think it actually is external dialogue first, because, you know, I was over at somebody's house yesterday, and they had a one-year-old.
00:57:14.100And the one-year-old little boy was learning to walk, but he was doing really well.
00:57:28.040He got on this little buggy toy that he had, and he put his hands on the handlebar, and he did a front flip inadvertently over the, like, his head, like, dragged him over himself.
00:58:26.080And so, all of a sudden, now we're conditioned to base our existence and our actions and behaviors and thoughts on the approval of other people.
00:58:35.700And then we start to adopt it as our own.
00:58:38.300I went through a divorce, and everybody said this is a horrible thing, and so I am a failure.
00:58:42.900I've embraced that language, and now that's what I am, and that's who I am.
00:58:48.860So you have to be really aware of where this idea of shame and guilt and embarrassment are coming from, and it's all externally related.
00:58:57.800And what I would suggest is that when you have these failures, acknowledge them for what they are.
00:59:41.780And to go back to what Chris's question was about identity, when we start wrapping up our identity in what we did or didn't do, then that's a problem.
00:59:50.540And it works on the positive end as well.
00:59:54.160If you have a really big month at work, and you're like, I am amazing at this.
01:03:07.600And if we acknowledge that, then I know that in the midst of a divorce or the midst of a bankruptcy or the midst of a job loss or the midst of gaining 50 pounds over the past three years, I have a track record of success.
01:03:22.100I tend to forget it because I'm only focused on negative things, but I've done this.
01:04:12.080Other competent people that you might hire, a coach in business, for example, that would be network.
01:04:17.200Going to a conference, that would be a network.
01:04:20.680So, if you don't have those networks based on what you're trying to accomplish, and Chris, you tapped into the framework and network inside the Iron Council.
01:04:27.720The only question now is, are you going to utilize it?
01:04:30.060Because sometimes people will come in and they'll say, oh, well, you know, nobody's welcoming me.
01:04:53.580Or join the topical channels based on, I want to be a better father, or I want to learn how to cook, or I want to train martial arts, or I want to get into hunting, or outdoors, or I want to start a business, or I want to get my finances in order.
01:05:20.340He says, hey, Ryan, new to everything you offer, but excited to be here and drinking from the fire hose.
01:05:28.160He says, my question is, where would your first steps be if you're in a situation where you are facing an internal voice or habit that is inhibiting you from taking time to invest in yourself as a man, such as the guilt felt when leaving rowdy kids with your spouse after you've already been away for a significant amount of time?
01:05:50.720I'm glad he clarified, because there could be a lot of different things.
01:05:54.160So, what Peter is dealing with is the guilt of self-care, knowing that his wife's going to have to maybe take on a little bit more responsibility or the desire to maybe spend time with his kids.
01:06:26.700But I think you probably already know that, which is why you joined the Iron Council, because you know that you need to take care of yourself in order to serve your wife and child or children better.
01:06:36.960So, how do you do this on a tactical level, because that's what you asked, what do you do with or how do you deal with?
01:06:44.700And I bet if you said, if you sent her a text right now, and you said, hey, hon, can I talk with you about a little bit about my self-development stuff tonight?
01:07:16.980I just want to make sure you and I are on the same page, explain a little bit about what I'm trying to do and why, and see how it might impact you positively and negatively.
01:07:27.160What wife is not going to be open to that conversation?
01:07:30.240So, she says yes, and you sit down with her and you say, hey, you know, I've really been thinking about it.
01:07:34.460Man, I'm filling in a few blanks here, so if it doesn't apply to you, you still get the concept.
01:07:40.140But you might say, hey, you know, as you know, over the past couple years, you know, I've gained a few pounds, and I'm probably about 40 pounds overweight.
01:07:51.000And you also know that I haven't been real happy with my job.
01:07:53.880And you know that because you've been on the receiving end of my frustrations.
01:07:59.680And I hope you know that they have not entirely been with you.
01:11:08.400So I would really operate, like there's almost nothing that you can't accomplish and or commit to if you address the what would things need to look like for you to feel okay about it.
01:11:22.600And then, of course, right, you have to honor your commitment and your word and make sure that you're doing those things.
01:11:31.360I wrote that down right as you were saying it because, again, I don't know this about, I think this is Peter.
01:11:37.480I don't know this is about Peter's situation.
01:11:39.120I know enough about a lot of other men's situations, and even my own personally, where a man might say, hey, I'm going to do this thing, and she's like, whatever, another one of your stupid things.
01:11:53.260Or you might say, she might not even express that.
01:11:56.180She might not say that vocally, but inside, even just with her demeanor, like she slouches her shoulders, rolls her eyes, and like walks off.
01:12:11.020He's going to create more debt for us, and I'm going to be strapped with the kids for more time, all so he can change his mind in two days.
01:12:38.180In WorkKit, for example, with the work that you do, if a client comes to you and says, hey, I have these needs, and this is what I'm looking for, and you come to them, and you want to impress them.
01:13:04.420I'm going to have to figure it out than it is to lie and say, oh, yeah, we can have that to you in 24 hours because you're managing expectations.
01:13:10.680So, in fact, if you knew it was going to take you 72, what I would say is it's going to take me 96 hours.
01:13:21.280And when the client says, okay, that's like by Friday.
01:13:53.880And every Wednesday, I was busy with work or I had an appointment or I had a podcast or I had this or I had that.
01:13:59.520And she was a trooper to give her credit.
01:14:01.660And so, she didn't really say anything about it.
01:14:04.040But inside, because it came out later, you better believe.
01:14:07.780And inside, she was pissed about it, rightfully so.
01:14:13.140So, if you say you're going to go to the gym, you better go to the gym.
01:14:15.480If you say you're going to help the kids on Wednesday night when she goes and plays bunco or has a tea party or pillow fights,
01:14:21.680whatever it is women do when they get together, then you better be there to take care of the kids so she can go have fun with her girlfriends.
01:14:57.620He's a woman, but he's in a man's body, Rob Schneider's body.
01:15:00.220And they're all like pillow fighting and they're playing.
01:15:02.680And all of a sudden, he's just like swinging for the fence and just like taking them out and just demolishing them through their pillow fights.
01:16:23.780To learn more about the Iron Council, you can go to orderofman.com slash ironcouncil.
01:16:29.040And, of course, connect with and stay connected to Ryan on the socials for just, you know, notifications of what we have going on, upcoming events and whatnot.
01:16:39.120That's at Ryan Mickler, both on X and Instagram.
01:16:45.900Well, I actually know the Battle Ready program.
01:16:48.460So if you're waiting to join the Iron Council, Kip, you talked about being ready in order to be ready for that.
01:16:53.820But even as a standalone, even if you decide I'm never going to join the Iron Council, the Battle Ready program will help you learn the exact system that I use.
01:17:01.440That's this right here, my 12-week battle planner that I have on my desk.
01:17:06.300And I actually went through it this morning, just like Kip.