FFN 072： Lessons Learned from Hurricane Harvey
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
180.1514
Summary
In the wake of the devastating storm that has devastated the city of Houston, Texas, and the surrounding areas, there are many lessons we can learn about how to be a better man. In this episode, Ryan talks about the importance of preparation and the role of being a man of action.
Transcript
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You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest. Embrace your fears and boldly chart
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your own path. When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time. Every time.
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You are not easily deterred or defeated. Rugged. Resilient. Strong. This is your life. This is who
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you are. This is who you will become. At the end of the day, and after all is said and done,
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you can call yourself a man. Gentlemen, what is going on today? My name is Ryan
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Mickler, and I am the host and founder of this podcast, The Order of Man. I am glad that
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you are here with us today. Whether you've listened to one show or 100, this is a show
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about becoming a better man. So if you're a man and you want to improve your relationships,
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your health, your business, your bank account, your influence, your leadership skills, your
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whatever is important to you, you are in the right place. If this is the first time, guys,
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that you have heard this podcast, this show here, it's a short show. It's called The Friday
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Field Notes because you're going to listen to me for the next 10 to 12 minutes on some
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things I've been thinking about this week of being in the field. I'm on the same journey
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as you, as a man. On Tuesdays, however, we release our interview show with guys like
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Jocko Willing, Tim Kennedy, Colonel Dave Grossman, Lewis Howes, Andy Frisilla, Grant Cardone,
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so many more. So if you haven't done so yet, I know you're on it, but make sure you subscribe
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so you never miss an episode. Also, you may be interested in joining our Facebook group. We have
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nearly 37,000 men inside the group having hundreds of conversations about some of the same topics we
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cover here on the podcast and, of course, so many more. So if you're interested in tapping into that
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network on our Facebook group, you can do so at facebook.com slash groups slash order of man.
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Now, today, I thought it would be a good idea to address something that has impacted millions of
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people over the past several weeks, and that is the nightmare in Houston created by Hurricane Harvey.
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As I've thought about what those people must be experiencing and, of course, what we've seen
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online and TV, I can't help but think of a couple glaring lessons that we should all look to when it
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comes to how we conduct ourselves as men. I see some areas of improvement. I see some areas that,
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from what I can tell, are absolutely amazing to see in the wake of such a horrific situation.
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So I want to get right into these four lessons today. The first lesson that I want to talk about is
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that of preparation. It has become painfully obvious that there are so many people who have
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failed to plan or prepare in any measurable way for what this hurricane did. I'm not trying to make
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light of the hurricane. I'm not trying to make light of what these people are going through,
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but it is obvious that there is some lack of preparation here. It's difficult, of course,
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to know what to be prepared for, but as the founder of the Boy Scouts, Baden Powell,
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and I quote him quite a bit when he would say, be prepared for anything. I don't think it's any
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surprise that Houston and the surrounding areas could be hit with a hurricane, but I think the
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magnitude of this storm probably caught a lot of people off guard. And the result of that is people
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being stranded for hours. We've seen videos where people have been on top of their houses for hours
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and potentially even days, people without food and water. And fortunately, the death toll during
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this disaster has been relatively low, but I can't help but think that number would be even lower had
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more people expected the best, but planned for the worst. So again, I don't want to come across as
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calloused or unempathetic to what is happening in Texas, but I do believe that this should serve as a
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grave reminder to stock up on provisions and food and water, those types of things that create
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emergency plans based on the disasters that we are likely to experience in our areas. It'd be a good
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idea to have some cash set aside, create a bolt bag should you need it, and so much more. And by the
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way, we're going to be featuring some survival type podcast in the coming weeks and months. Now,
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the next lesson I wanted to cover is that nobody complains about masculinity when things are going
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wrong. Have you noticed that? We hear so much more about the quote unquote toxic masculinity that's
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permeating society when things are going well, but when things are going wrong, people aren't telling
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men not to be men. They're asking men to step up fully into their role as men, that of a protector,
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a provider, and a presider, a leader. I've been talking about these roles for two and a half years,
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and I think for the most part, people have been receptive to that idea, but I've heard from others that
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this is an outdated or antiquated way of thinking. It's easy to believe that when the skies are blue,
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but when things go wrong, when stuff really hits the fan, we hear the cries of help from somebody,
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from anybody to protect and provide and lead for those who, for whatever reason, cannot do it for
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themselves. This is why it is critical that we tune out the naysayers of masculinity. Those who would
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have us be anything other than men are those who will beg us for help when things go wrong because
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they have failed to plan for themselves. Again, disclaimer, I'm not making light of any victim of
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the hurricane. I'm just saying it's fascinating that nobody is complaining about masculinity.
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It's imperative that we be prepared for that day. It will come. We don't know when,
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we don't know how, but it will come. And this leads me right into my next point. And that is
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that masculinity is alive and well. It is alive and well. Turn on the news or do a simple Google
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search and you're likely to see hundreds and thousands of volunteers who have stepped away
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from their jobs and their homes and their families, their callings to serve the people of Houston.
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If there was ever a question of where the quote unquote real men are, I think we can plainly see
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questions being answered in the form of volunteers, men bringing in their boats, guys working together
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to save lives, donating time, blood, money, food, water, those resources, everything. Frankly,
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it's inspiring to watch an army of men who are adequately trained and stocked with the right
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provisions to be able to accomplish as much as they have on their own dime and on their own time.
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It's interesting to see the media try to scramble for any negative story they can. But when you look
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around, all you see is good in the wake of this horrific and this horrible natural disaster.
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I'm not, again, I keep saying this, I'm not trying to make light of this horrible experience, but look
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at what we're learning. Look at the example that is being set. Look at the people helping each other,
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regardless of the color of their skin, what side of the political aisle that they happen to sit on,
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or what their socioeconomic status happens to be. And guys, this leads me to my last point that I want
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to make and certainly not the last lesson I think we're going to glean from this experience. It may
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not seem like it now, especially for those who are immediately impacted by Hurricane Harvey, but
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struggle is good. Struggle teaches us lessons. Struggle makes us physically strong and mentally tough
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and emotionally resilient. Struggle brings people together to fight against a common enemy.
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It binds us. It unites us. It puts things in perspective. I mean, I rewind back to 9-11 and
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you think about the tragedy that was 9-11, but also look at the fact that people came together
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and they rallied together and they helped each other and they supported each other. It was amazing
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and inspiring to see. And we're seeing a little bit of that here with Houston. It really just puts
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things in perspective. The things that we argue about, the trivial matters become less important.
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And the real issues and the real matters of taking care of each other and serving our families and
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serving our communities as men is put into perspective. We spend our entire lives trying
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to avoid struggle. And although I'm not necessarily suggesting that you go looking for it, we should
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strive to see it for what it is. An opportunity to learn. Houston's going to get through this.
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You will get through your struggles. If you consider the alternative, it's not really a choice
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at all, is it? And when your back is against the wall, I think you'll be surprised at what you can
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actually accomplish. Again, let me run through these lessons. Be prepared. The second one is
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that people aren't complaining about masculinity because things are going wrong right now. Number
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three, masculinity is alive and well. I love to see this. And last but not least, struggle is
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important. Guys, on that note, I want you to know that Order of Man is trying to do its part.
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What we've done is we've created a Houston Strong shirt available for purchase. And all the proceeds
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from these shirts are going to go directly to the support and relief for those affected by Hurricane
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Harvey. So if you'd like to pick up your Houston Strong shirt, you can head to orderofman.com
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slash Houston Strong to show your support and to do your part. Guys, this is a tragic event, but it's
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also an opportunity to show the world how we believe men should behave. Donate what you can,
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buy the Houston Strong shirt, volunteer, give what you can, live up to that mantra that we live by here
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at Order of Man, which is to protect, provide, and preside. This is the perfect opportunity to show the
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world what that actually means. Again, Houston's going to get through this. They'll do it because
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we're going to rally around them. They'll do it because they're rallying around each other,
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their neighbors, and their communities. It's amazing. I'm inspired by all the people of Houston
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and how resilient and tough they are. I'm inspired by the thousands of men who have put their lives
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on hold to help, and I'm inspired by you. So now it's our turn. Let's do our part, guys.
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Thank you for listening to the Order of Man podcast. If you're ready to take charge of your life and be
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more of the man you were meant to be, we invite you to join the order at orderofman.com.