FFN 086： 5 Books Every Man Should Read in 2018
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Summary
In this episode of Friday Field Notes, host Ryan Michler discusses his top 5 recommended books for men in 2018, and why you should read at least one book per week. He also discusses the importance of being a man of action, and how to live life to the fullest.
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? I want to welcome you to
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the Order of Man podcast, whether you've been listening in for years now or you're just
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tuning in. My name is Ryan Michler, and I am the host and founder of this podcast and, frankly,
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this movement. It's been inspiring to be surrounded by so many of you who are on your own personal
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journey to become a better man. I know that I'm a better man because I'm learning just
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as much from you as I hope you're learning from me and my guests. And that's what we're
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all about here, bringing on extremely successful men, sharing their insights, lessons learned,
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and, of course, delivering them straight to you. Now, if you are new to the show today,
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this one is a bit different, as are all of our Friday shows, which we call Friday Field
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Notes, because I'm taking what I've learned from throughout the week of being in the field
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and sharing it all with you here. But before I get into the quick overview of the five books
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every man should read coming up in 2018, I do want to give you a couple of quick announcements.
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First, make sure you go have a look at the details and dates for our meetup in Nashville
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on January 26th, 27th, 2018. You can get the details at orderofman.com slash Nashville. We've
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got brotherhood, camaraderie, events, breakout sessions, Q&A. And since we're talking about
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books today, you'll also get a signed copy of my new book, Sovereignty, The Battle for the Hearts
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and Minds of Men. You're going to get that at the event when you register. And again, you can
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register and lock in your spot at orderofman.com slash Nashville. And one other resource I know
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you'll be interested in, that's our exclusive brotherhood, the Iron Council. This is a digital
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band of brothers of sorts, having some incredible dialogue, challenges, assignments, and a powerful
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track to run on, on your journey to be a better husband, a better father, business owner, community
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leader, whatever it may be that you're trying to gain by being here. You can learn more and band
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with us at orderofman.com slash Iron Council. I hope to see you inside the Iron Council and also
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at the meetup in January. Now, with that said, let's have the discussion I wanted to have
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today, which is my top five recommended books for 2018. It's been said that the man who does
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not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. I believe that is true. We have
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so much access to the world's greatest minds and thinkers, and all we have to do is tap
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into those minds through the power of their written words. I didn't always think so highly
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of reading though. In high school, I would do whatever I could to get out of reading and
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doing book reports. In fact, the only book that I remember reading was The Old Man in the
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See, which of course is a classic, but now I read at least 50 books per year, and I make
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it an objective of mine to read one book per week. Now, I get a lot of questions about how
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I'm able to do this, and although that's not really the subject of today's podcast, I do
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want to tell you that it's very simple to read more. I commit to reading for at least 30 minutes
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every single day. Every single one of us has 30 extra minutes in the day, and if there's
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one thing that you can do to spend that time more effectively, it's reading. Again, you're
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tapping into the most powerful minds and ideas in the history of this planet. It's incredible
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that we have this opportunity. So with that said, and just in time for the holidays and
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any last minute Christmas shopping, let me share with you five books that are an absolute
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must on that list of 50 that I would suggest you read. Keep in mind that these are in no
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particular order, and if you need to reference them later because you're driving or working
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out or doing something else, you can head to orderofman.com slash books 2018, orderofman.com
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slash books 2018. Now the first book I want to recommend is As a Man Thinketh by James
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Allen. This is my most recommended and gifted book because if you get this right, if you
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get this right, everything else will fall into place. Now As a Man Thinketh was written
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in 1903, but the insights that are shared are as relevant today as they were more than
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a hundred years ago. It was described by James Allen as covering quote, the power of thought
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and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues.
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I have tried to make the book simple so that all can easily grasp and follow its teachings
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and put into practice the methods, which it advises. It shows how in his own thought world,
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each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad that enters into his life. And that
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by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life and transform
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his circumstances. Guys, this is a very quick, very powerful read. And I personally read it three
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to four times per year and keep a copy on my desk. If you feel like you need to get your mind right
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about the situations that you may find yourself in, this is the book for you. Now, my second book
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recommendation is Iron John by Robert Bly. This is a really interesting book and one that I may not
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really mention or fall into my usual category of books, but it is such a powerful read. Essentially,
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it's Bly's look into what it means to be a man from his work with men. It's written as a story in
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which a young man is guided through the transition into a mature man. It covers the archetypes of
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masculinity and causes you to think about your role and responsibility as a man. And of course,
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how we show up in this world. Again, that's Iron John by Robert Bly. Now, the third book I want
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to recommend is Mansfield's book of manly men by Steven Mansfield. Another one of my favorites here,
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Steven Mansfield breaks down four masculine maxims in this book and really lays the
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framework for the way good and honorable men show up in all areas of their lives.
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I personally know Steven, and I can tell you that this is a man who lives by the word he shares.
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And he's become a friend over the past couple of years. This isn't necessarily why I share the book
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with you because I found this book and have recommended well before I knew Steven.
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But if you are interested in learning more about the book, whether you've read it or not,
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you can listen to my first interview with Steven Mansfield at orderofman.com slash 038 038.
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We dive into the details and additional questions about, again, Mansfield's book of manly men.
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Now, my fourth book recommendation is Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. Wild at Heart is one of my
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all-time favorite books. It does have a Christian undertone, which won't be a problem for many of
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you, but any man, any man can gain so much insight about what it means to be a man in the first place
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and why we act and behave the way that we do. For me, one of the most important conversations
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that is brought up in the book is this idea that boys and men are on a constant journey to
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answer the question, am I enough? It was written in 2001. And it's amazing to me how much staying
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power this book has. Although after reading it, it's really not hard to see why it answers a lot
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of questions for me about my background, why I feel the way I do, why I felt inadequate for a lot of
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my life and is a call to return to our masculine roots in a society that seems to more and more
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want to do away with masculinity altogether. And as a side note on this book, I also had an
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interview with the author, John Eldridge, which you can find at orderofman.com slash 139.
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Now, the fifth and last book that I want to recommend for 2018 is my book, Sovereignty,
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The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Men by yours truly. I know this is a bit biased,
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but if I didn't think my book belonged among the other greats, I can't even really imagine writing
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it. It's not currently out, but it will be February 1st. And if you head to orderofman.com
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slash book, orderofman.com slash book, you can get signed up and get notified when the pre-order
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will be available, which will be pretty soon. Sovereignty explores the idea that many modern
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men have given up control and power of their own lives in the form of excuses and lies and
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justifications and rationalizations. This book is about the battle that is being waged against men
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and the sabotage, frankly, that we inflict upon ourselves. I cover 13 virtues that will help all
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men reclaim their sovereignty and place them on the path to ultimate control and responsibility over
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their own lives. If you head to, again, orderofman.com slash book, you can get the notifications
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of when that book is to be released. So gentlemen, there you have it. My top five recommendations
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for 2018. Number one, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. Number two, Iron John by Robert Bly. Number
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three, Mansfield's Book of Manly Men by Stephen Mansfield. Number four, Wild at Heart by John
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Eldred. And number five, Sovereignty, The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Men by, again, yours truly.
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Of course, I'd encourage you to read a lot more than that, but you now have a start. If you want to get a
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quick resource for these books, again, head to orderofman.com slash books 2018. This would be a really
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great list to share with your loved ones if they are looking for Christmas ideas. So guys,
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get reading. You've got a couple of books to read. I hope that you're going to read a lot more than
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just five, but again, just a quick start for you and get your year started off in the right
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direction. Gentlemen, that's all that I have for you today. Until next week, read lots of great books,
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tap it in the minds of powerful people. Of course, take action and become the man you are meant to be.
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Thank you for listening to the Order of Man podcast. If you're ready to take charge of your life
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and be more of the man you were meant to be, we invite you to join the Order at orderofman.com.
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