In this episode, I discuss why women would rather run into a bear than a man in the woods, and why you should be a better man than a bear. I also discuss the 5 things you can do every day to make sure you re a man.
00:00:48.820At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:00:53.700Unless you've been living under a rock, it's likely that you've come across the common thing of the day, which is this man versus bear debate amongst women and social media.
00:01:09.680I've been hesitant to address these things.
00:01:12.160I typically shy away from these pop culture phenomenons because they're ridiculous and stupid.
00:01:18.180But so many people have been talking about them.
00:01:20.660I thought I would address this today and talk about this concept of man versus bear.
00:01:25.460Talk about the nuance and the intricacies.
00:01:27.600And more important than that, I thought I would share with you reasons why women are overwhelmingly saying that they would rather run into a bear than a man in the woods.
00:01:38.460It's ignorance, it's stupid, it's silly, I get it, but we're going to talk about real practical information that you can employ on a daily basis to ensure that the people in your life, not just the women, see you as somebody who is kind and caring and protective and a man at its core.
00:01:59.320Now, before I get into the conversation, I want to mention real quickly that we're going to be opening up the Iron Council.
00:02:04.580That's our exclusive brotherhood in the middle of June, and I would love for you to band with us.
00:02:10.300If you want to learn more about what we're doing, why it would be beneficial for you, and how what we share and teach is going to help you in your life, then go to orderofman.com slash ironcouncil.
00:02:26.980You can see all the features and benefits, and then you can join our waiting list because we're going to be opening this thing up for the masses.
00:02:33.380We're going to have 200 people who are going to enroll with us in that window starting June 15th through June 30th, and I would love for you to be one of those men.
00:02:43.040All right, guys, let's talk about this whole bear versus man.
00:02:46.900I don't even know where this got started.
00:02:52.640I just kind of feel like, frankly, and I'm a little bit bitter and contentious today, so I want to throw that out there.
00:02:57.720But I feel like more and more, we live in this society that just makes a mockery of what it means to be a man.
00:03:04.080There's no woman in her right mind or in the circumstance would love to find herself confronted with a bear more than she would with a man.
00:03:19.960And I hate that I even have to bring it up here right now, but we do because this is a cultural issue that seems to affect every single person on the planet, and I'm sorry to say that women are afraid of men.
00:03:34.120I'm sorry to say that they think that masculinity and manliness are the bane of their existence.
00:03:40.780I'm sorry to say that there are so many men out there that have perpetuated these myths and these lies and this hurt amongst other women that they actually believe to some degree that they'd rather run into a mauling, carnivorous, incredibly powerful, destructive, dangerous animal than they would a man.
00:04:05.020So I think it's our job as men to paint not only a positive light regarding what it means to be a man and what contribution we have to society, but also to make sure that we live that.
00:04:19.540And so I have identified five things that we can employ every single day to ensure that this stupid stuff just doesn't take place.
00:04:27.540Now, look, there's always going to be bitter women.
00:04:29.900There's always going to be this contention and this animosity towards men and women.
00:04:33.840I think this is part of the design to pit the females against the males, and it's unfortunate, but you're going to have a lot of hurt women and a lot of even hurt men and a lot of misinformed men and women who believe that we're supposed to be contentious and we are enemies and that women are against men and men are against women.
00:05:35.720Number one, guys, unless we want to continue to live in this stupid thing where women are honestly saying, it's ignorance, but honestly saying that they'd rather meet a bear in the woods than a man.
00:06:00.080Okay, physically, mentally, emotionally, if you're fat and you're out of shape and you're kind of a slob and you don't look the part and you're not acting the way that you should when it comes to your physical fitness, correct that behavior, please, as quickly as you can.
00:06:19.880There was one point in my life where I was 50 pounds more than I weigh today.
00:06:23.100I'm telling you what, if I could choose between being fat and lazy and being fit and not lazy, excited about life, energetic about what life has to offer, I would always choose to be fit over being fat.
00:06:38.800I can't believe this is even a debate.
00:06:40.640I can't believe these are words that are coming out of my mouth, but it's the reality.
00:06:43.660I would much rather be fit because not only do I feel better about myself, but I'm better able to fulfill my duties and my responsibilities and my obligations to the people around me.
00:07:01.220Stop consuming all of these plastics that are in every little element of what we consume from shampoos to soaps to toothpaste to even the food that we consume.
00:07:12.820Think about the fuel that you're feeding to the machine that is you and make sure that you're feeding it as properly as possible and then making yourself capable in all ways.
00:07:35.100You know, how strong are you mentally?
00:07:36.720If something challenging happens to you, do you crumble and wither away at the slightest sign of adversity or do you step up and really step into who you are meant to be as a man?
00:07:48.520By putting yourself in difficult circumstances and situations, going to the jujitsu class, asking the woman on the date, starting the new business, having the difficult conversation, telling somebody how you really feel versus how you've always been telling them how you feel.
00:08:06.100Guys, we need to develop some mental fortitude.
00:08:09.040I would also suggest that having upfront real conversations with people.
00:08:15.460When people have upfront real conversations with you, you don't cry and cower and wimp out and complain about how mean they're being.
00:08:23.220You listen attentively and you think about the things that you can employ in your life that they're sharing with you that will make you better.
00:08:45.420There's difficult circumstances that you've been faced with in life, whether it's your own doing or something completely outside of your control.
00:08:52.920But I just, I personally, you can decide for yourself.
00:08:56.800But personally, I don't want to succumb to my emotions.
00:09:00.120I don't want to cry because I'm feeling bad.
00:09:04.280I don't want to react or lash out at other people because I'm feeling angry.
00:09:08.300I don't want to slink away from doing what I need to do or want to do because I feel guilt or shame about the way I've showed up in the past.
00:09:17.860And I don't think you should be either.
00:09:20.520I think you should be fully aware of your emotions, fully aware of how you're feeling and what you're experiencing so that you can move forward in confidence.
00:09:30.740When we talk about stoicism, which is a really hot topic, so many people believe that it's this absence of emotion.
00:09:38.300It's the acknowledgement of it and utilizing it effectively to move forward in your life.
00:09:44.260So this man versus bear argument, it really starts with yourself.
00:09:48.860And I'm not here to tell you that we need to convince ourselves or women that we're worthy of their admiration or attention or respect.
00:09:56.820The more we try to do that, the more we placate to this nonsense of the man versus bear mentality and the whole feminist movement that has pushed women in the wrong way and move society in a very dangerous and destructive direction.
00:12:25.380They want to tell you to be a good boy.
00:12:27.200They want you to tell you to do it a certain way and behave this way.
00:12:32.660And sure, there are elements of masculinity and manliness that are universal, but there's also parts that you just cannot live for somebody else.
00:12:43.540The more that you live for somebody else, whether it's your spouse or your employer or your friends, the more willing you as a man are willing to jeopardize and sacrifice your own values and virtues.
00:12:55.600Don't be controlled by external factors.
00:13:06.040Think about the lessons that you've acquired, the information that you've experienced, where you come from as a son of God.
00:13:15.540That should be your only motivating factor.
00:13:18.180And if you get that right, all of the other stuff falls into place.
00:13:20.880If you know who you are eternally, spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, then there isn't going to be an outside factor that comes in and gets you to leave your post.
00:13:33.400And that's what I want you to not do is to step down from the mantle of masculinity into this lower tier that just acquiesce everybody else's request, whether it's virtuous, noble, righteous or not.
00:13:45.660The world would be a better place if you were so secure and confident in yourself that not a single person, entity, government, institution, employer, etc. can cause you to falter.
00:14:01.420Be strong, be bold, be courageous, be assertive, be active, work to shore up your weaknesses and free yourself from the shackles that is the opinions of others.
00:14:11.880Number four, teach your sons and teach your daughters.
00:14:17.020We have a moral duty and obligation to not only lead by example, but to actively teach what our sons need to know so they can be great men.
00:14:26.180To teach our daughters the lessons that we've experienced and what to look for in a great man.
00:14:31.060If you cannot turn to your future generation, whether that's your son or your daughter, your niece, your nephew, the boys or girls that you happen to coach on the soccer or the baseball team,
00:14:41.400and you can't turn around and help them, teach them life lessons on the soccer field or the baseball diamond or the football field.
00:15:37.100It's so easy to change your opinion and change who you are and change how you show up based on the way that your wife feels or based on the way that your employer feels.
00:15:48.040Or even, heaven forbid, based on the way a random stranger on the internet feels about you or the issue you're discussing.
00:15:55.200I've been talking about transgender issues over the past week, I would say, and I can't tell you how much hostility and vitriol is directed at me over the comments that I've made about a man being a man and a woman being a woman.
00:16:09.520I am not dissuaded from somebody saying that I'm a bigot or I'm a homophobe or a transphobe or I need to educate myself.
00:16:17.240Or one guy said, you really need to feel guilt and shame for the way you think and your parents should be ashamed.
00:17:04.660I want you to stand on principle and truth and list other people who are standing on the principle of truth and justice and righteousness and honesty.
00:17:16.500The more of us, and believe me, it's the overwhelming majority of Americans, the more of us who band together and be strong and take stands, the more inspiring it is for other people to take these stands.
00:17:28.800Guys, the last thing I want to share with you today is that you should enlist other men.
00:17:32.800Again, we're tying this all back into the bear versus man conversation, which, again, is completely ridiculous.
00:17:40.220Any woman that is ever facedown with a grizzly bear who wants to rip her eyeballs out and eat her fingers for a snack, know that that's not really what you'd want to face.
00:17:56.660And if there's this perception that men are going to take advantage of them, that men are going to misuse them or mistreat them or not protect them the way that we as men do for our women, then, of course, they're going to start to feel that way.
00:18:11.440But what we need to do is we need to enlist other men in this battle.
00:18:15.100It's not enough that you alone do what needs to be done.
00:18:17.840And clearly, if that were the case, then all the women who answered this bear versus men question would have said men.
00:18:28.120It's your neighbors, your co-workers, the guy that sits right next to you in the cubicle that you barely talk to, your cousin that you haven't seen for five years.
00:18:38.940Those are the people that met your neighbor who, you know, you casually wave to as you guys are both mowing the lawn.
00:18:46.140These are the people who are important.
00:18:47.900And it's very crucial that you enlist other men in this battle.
00:19:04.760I know there's a lot of social media posts that have gotten a real good laugh out of bear versus man.
00:19:10.720But again, it's indicative of a greater problem.
00:19:13.020And to turn the other cheek and assume that this isn't an issue is wrong and will lead us down a path that we're not interested in going.
00:19:23.860But I think what I can share with you is that the overwhelming majority of what I shared with you today doesn't have to do with how a woman perceives you necessarily,
00:19:33.300but how you perceive yourself, the work you're willing to do on yourself,
00:19:39.260the challenges that you're willing to take on, the stands that you're willing to enlist in.
00:19:49.000Guys, not to mention, this is very attractive to good women.
00:19:53.080If you're strong and bold and courageous and assertive and all of these things that we talk about with regards to masculinity and a woman box at that,
00:21:00.180I'm going to do a better job about hitting these cultural things.
00:21:02.960I've shied away from them in the past because they are so ridiculous that I just don't want to deal with them.
00:21:07.980But if that's what it takes, if it takes me doing a video on bear versus man, then that's what I'll do.
00:21:15.740If that's what gets dozens or hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands or even millions of people introduced to the valuable work that we're doing here with Order of Man, then that's what I'll do.