Political Turmoil to Personal Resilience | ASK ME ANYTHING
Episode Stats
Length
1 hour and 9 minutes
Words per Minute
176.96028
Summary
In this episode, we discuss the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, why we are divided, and why we need to unify around something other than what we all believe in. We also discuss the dangers of division in our society, and how to deal with it.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Now, there might be some user interfaces that are worse than others.
00:00:03.520
There might be some glitch or some problem that actually happened with the technology.
00:00:09.260
But 99% of the time, it's doing exactly what you told it to do.
00:00:14.780
You just fat fingered the keyboard and punched in the wrong input.
00:00:21.140
The reason I bring this up is because you're living your life on operating systems.
00:00:32.260
Embrace your fears and boldly chart your own path.
00:00:35.200
When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time.
00:00:48.940
At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:00:56.740
Obviously, we had a crazy weekend, not just personally, but in this country.
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What a wild weekend with the stuff going on with the attempted assassination of former
00:01:16.320
And as information was gathered in, I probably got sucked into way too much internet and social
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media browsing, just trying to get some type of insights.
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And it wasn't as productive once that occurred for my weekend anyway.
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I think I saw some questions for today that we're going to address and we're going to hit
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We're going to cover some other topics as well, but obviously just crazy news.
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So there's a lot going on that we can unpack here, I think.
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In fact, I mean, there's, we have a handful of questions.
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I'm assuming that's kind of what was on your mind from a, from a headline perspective.
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I think let's bypass the headlines and we'll just get right into it.
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Some people even believe it was justified, which is completely asinine to me, but this is
00:02:32.500
And I think it speaks to the, the tone and the temperature of American politics, which
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I did spend a lot of time thinking about over the weekend, this common trope that you often
00:02:45.060
hear, which is united, we stand divided, we fall.
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And you hear all people say that we need to be united.
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That is the most important question to me, because anytime somebody says, united, we
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stand divided, we fall to me, I hear compromise.
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I'm not going to unite around ideas that I think are destructive and dangerous.
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I'm not going to unite around ideas that I don't believe in.
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And the people who don't agree with me, why would they unite around ideas that I believe
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So the only way that we come to some sort of unity is through compromise.
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And I've said this before, there's certain things I'm just not willing to compromise.
00:03:35.960
There's certain things that are, and there's certain things that are not.
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So I think we're probably headed for, at this point, I've thought this for a while, is some
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And I don't, I don't exactly know what that looks like.
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I know hundreds of thousands of people will likely lose their lives during this division.
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But we're at a, we're at a precipice now where there's no uniting around certain beliefs.
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The things that I share, I mean, I could post something on social media today and I'd have
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50% of the people complain how horrible I am and how evil of a human I am and how everything
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And why everything I stand for is what's wrong with this country.
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I'm not going to unite around those people and I have no sort of false expectations that
00:04:22.200
are going to start rallying behind me because all of a sudden they see the error of their
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And as men, I think you ought to really, really be aware of that and not play this little utopian
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fantasy game where you think everything's just going to work itself out.
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Because thousands and thousands of years of human history have told us this is going
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This is a sinking ship and you better be prepared.
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You might not have to deal with it, but for sure your kids and grandkids will.
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So there's my doomsday message for today to start you off on this, on this Monday for
00:05:17.220
You mentioned something that I, I slightly disagree with and, and you, you, you know,
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I do think there is a way to it and it's through debate.
00:05:31.620
It's through, uh, critical thinking and bringing ideas to the table and people considering one
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And the unfortunate part is we've gotten a place in our country where we don't do that
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That all we do is we need immediately demonize the other party.
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And it's, it's, it's as simple as, well, it's right or wrong.
00:06:00.380
And they're right is of course their interpretation of what is right and wrong, but there's not
00:06:06.280
And so you'll never have unified alignment when we don't have proper debate, where we
00:06:12.860
just attack people and jump to the conclusion of judgment and not seek to understand or have
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It's, and so I think it's possible, um, but we're not doing it.
00:06:26.260
And, and that's not the climate of our current society.
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Well, I don't, I don't disagree with what you're saying.
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I believe that civil discourse, working through ideas, having conversations brings us closer
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You know, I could post the sky is blue and somebody out there'll be like, on Mars, it's
00:07:01.220
You guys are like, just creating just like nonsensical arguments over nothing.
00:07:12.520
And I agree that all of that civil discourse is crucial and it's not going to happen.
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There's no, there's no path to civil discourse at this point.
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And I do think it's important to call this out.
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And gosh, man, I feel like I just repeat myself all the time.
00:07:30.680
They're like, oh my gosh, your Kip goes in saying the same thing, but why don't people
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And, and it's because they have outsourced their value to belonging to a critical party.
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And they would rather sit in the space of being a victim than taking ownership of their
00:07:50.340
And, and that's what it comes down to your book, sovereignty.
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I literally do believe that if everyone sought to have sovereignty in their lives, we wouldn't
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be like latching on to our identities being tied to someone else.
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Our, our, well, if I, you know, believe this political thing that my whole world's going
00:08:16.040
It's choosing to put your happiness, your, uh, your success or failure of life on the
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So you don't have to take accountability for it.
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It's, it's a lack of taking ownership of one's life.
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And, and, and the rub is, you know, you just said this, people are crazy.
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People are, and they're unwilling to address or face the music of taking ownership of their
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So they would much rather stay where they are because it doesn't, it means that they
00:08:56.420
And I just think we're at a point now where what we're doing in this movement is at this
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point here to serve those people who might be on the fence, you know, they don't know
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They don't exactly know if they're going to take responsibility for their lives or not.
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Maybe they came from a broken home or a damaged, uh, environmental structure when they were
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children and they didn't learn this, but they're kind of on the fence and they can see the silver
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lining and we're trying to serve those people, or we're trying to serve those who have already
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made a decision to take ownership and sovereignty over their lives.
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And they want to serve and they want to be valuable and they want to hold themselves
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accountable and they want accountability in society and culture.
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Like we can't serve, we can't save, we can't help because they're just not interested in
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living in a civilized society that prides itself on responsibility, accountability, being
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an asset over a liability and continually making themselves in their environment better.
00:10:01.540
And it's unfortunate, but it's the reality from where I sit.
00:10:04.060
And shame on, I don't know, it's shame on a lot of people for, for, for creating polarization
00:10:14.620
for the sake of power or for the sake of soundbites or viewership and other things that to be honest,
00:10:34.280
Well, you know, what's interesting, Kip, is I made a post on Instagram and I'd have,
00:10:40.440
And the post that I wrote was the iconic picture of Trump raising his fist in defiance after he had got shot.
00:10:49.880
And now if you don't quite understand before, maybe you can start to see the stakes at which this game is being played.
00:10:56.200
The election is crucial and it goes far beyond the consequences of our generation's poor choices.
00:11:00.760
Our kids and grandkids will suffer immensely unless we right this ship.
00:11:04.920
Now I realize I have a picture of Trump with the American flag.
00:11:07.320
And so there's some connotation behind that message, but the message is pretty neutral.
00:11:17.060
You know, and I had people get quite upset about all sorts of things.
00:11:25.080
I simply said that the stakes that are being played here are real.
00:11:31.180
Sure, you can make that connection, but also for us and also for our kids and also for everybody else.
00:11:40.060
You know, this election goes far beyond the consequences of our generation.
00:11:43.620
I mean, that could go either side of the table.
00:11:49.720
What's to contend with in that message other than you don't like the picture I posted?
00:11:59.700
Anyways, let's see if we can maybe bring some of these guys closer to some understanding and some help.
00:12:05.620
Not that we have all the answers, but maybe give them some context to consider their lives.
00:12:09.500
And that goes for, I mean, that's you and I, of course.
00:12:18.020
We talk about this often in the Iron Council, but it really does.
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And if we're playing small, if we're lacking integrity, if we're not living a life, I love this phrase, if we are not living a life worth living, then what are we doing?
00:12:38.700
And be shining examples to those in our lives and make sure that we're doing our part.
00:12:44.920
And it's not, by the way, that isn't the bullshit stuff that everyone usually does.
00:12:51.120
And it's not resharing Facebook messages and Instagram posts.
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I'm saying how you literally show up as a boss, as a father, as a spouse, as a son, as a brother, as a community member.
00:13:11.780
That's what I'm talking about, not regurgitation of online data and you counting that as standing for something.
00:13:29.380
But I would also say civil discourse is an integral part of the solution.
00:13:35.580
And so I don't think you're saying this, but I want men to hear, we're not saying disengage from these important discussions and conversations.
00:13:52.320
And specifically what I mean by that is let's not attack each other personally.
00:14:04.100
We're pretty aligned, but we don't always see it perfectly.
00:14:08.980
I would never call you an idiot because you see it a little differently than I do.
00:14:16.280
And this is what we see on social media all the time is somebody says something.
00:14:22.060
But somebody says something you don't agree and you're like, you're a freaking moron.
00:14:37.920
And that doesn't necessarily mean that we have to attack the individual.
00:14:42.900
Even in a Christian perspective, a lot of people get upset, Christians, about like, oh, you shouldn't judge.
00:14:48.980
Actually, in my experience, it isn't Christians who are saying that.
00:14:59.560
It's okay to judge the behavior, not the person.
00:15:06.580
It's okay to call out right from wrong without attacking an individual.
00:15:11.380
So if you come across an idea, and maybe it's even my idea that you hear and you're like, I don't agree with that.
00:15:23.500
I will make a commitment to try to articulate my thoughts and ideas intelligently without resorting to, you're an idiot, you're a fool, you're a snowflake, you're this, you're that.
00:15:35.440
And this goes to your point earlier, Kip, why we can't have conversations.
00:15:39.920
Because I don't want to converse with somebody who's going to do that.
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But if somebody disagrees with me respectfully, I'd have that conversation all day long.
00:16:00.760
Like, I don't know about you, but many times in my life, I'm like, I hear something, I'm like, I disagree.
00:16:10.880
And by me processing it, I can go, hey, you know, and I learn.
00:16:15.300
I'm like, okay, that's why I disagree and work through it.
00:16:20.780
So if I can't debate, if I can't articulate my stance on something, then I'm not also learning.
00:16:27.660
And now I'm just latched on to, well, I know I should naturally disagree because conservatives do that.
00:16:40.420
And by processing it, I'm just better off if I can articulate those things.
00:16:45.380
So there's some personal benefit to this as well, not just in the debate itself.
00:16:56.160
I actually, I don't know if you want to get into technical details or some of the nuances of the event.
00:17:03.600
But man, there's some things that are bothering me about it.
00:17:07.800
Do you have some key things on some of the videos that you've seen and you're just like, what the hell?
00:17:23.780
You know, I saw a lot of people be like, oh, the left orchestrated this.
00:17:35.580
But of course, if, for example, if you call somebody Hitler enough, it's not a stretch to assume that at some point somebody's got to eliminate Hitler.
00:17:44.840
That's rhetoric that leads to, and I'm not saying the person that called somebody else a Hitler is responsible for the assassination of Donald Trump.
00:17:56.640
I'm not saying that because that person isn't actively calling for violence against an individual.
00:18:01.520
But I am saying it ratchets up the temperature and people act on words.
00:18:10.640
You guys listen to this podcast because words are powerful.
00:18:14.280
So when you say things, especially to people you have influence with, then they're going to hold some weight.
00:18:20.900
And the way people interpret what you're saying is important, and it's also, as a communicator, part of your responsibility.
00:18:29.220
If I, for example, was trying to communicate a message about manliness that nobody understood, is that their fault or my fault?
00:18:40.200
I need to do a better job articulating my thoughts so that people can act on it in a powerful way.
00:18:49.260
I'm not going to jump to conclusions, but I have questions.
00:18:55.060
How does a young man, I think he was 20 years old, climb onto the roof of a building that's roughly 130 yards away from where the president is going to be speaking?
00:19:08.580
There's plenty of people who have called out and said, hey, there's a shooter they identified.
00:19:18.280
A police officer even was confronted by this individual, and yet that individual still gets those shots off.
00:19:24.240
I did hear from a Secret Service agent that part of their rules of engagement, and I can confirm this, not with Secret Service, but with government in the military because I spent time in the military.
00:19:36.420
I can confirm that there are rules of engagement that hinder our side from eliminating threats as quickly as we could.
00:19:47.260
And what I heard from this particular Secret Service agent is that in this instance, they were not authorized to take a shot until and unless the president or the detail, whoever they were protecting, was fired upon.
00:20:03.740
You might have eyes fixed on a target, and you're literally disqualified from taking that lethal shot because you have to wait until that individual shoots at the president.
00:20:15.780
I have real-world experience with this in Iraq in 2005, 2006.
00:20:20.760
One of our rules of engagement was that we could not fire upon – I'm going to use – be a little bit sensitive with some security language.
00:20:28.920
We could not fire upon unless certain criteria were met, which means that that posed a greater threat to us.
00:20:40.540
It's the reality of war and battle and violence.
00:20:44.620
So there's things that are questionable, but also I can see some rationale behind it, although I don't agree with it.
00:20:53.240
I think some strategies and things need to change, but I also see the other side of it.
00:20:56.860
If you saw that guy crawl up on the building with a rifle and you're one of those individuals saying, hey, cops, there's a guy up there with a rifle laying down right there, what would you do?
00:21:12.480
Look, it's easy to say I would have done something.
00:21:17.260
I know, and I try not to do that either because I'm like in the heat of the moment or whatever, but I'm sorry.
00:21:23.300
I think I would have chucked at least rocks at the dude or something, wouldn't you?
00:21:29.800
I mean I'm trying to look at this as objectively as possible.
00:21:46.840
You start questioning whether he's part of the security detail.
00:21:56.220
Daniel Penny, he's the guy – we talked about it a couple weeks ago.
00:21:58.780
He's the guy that subdued that individual, ended up killing him in the subway.
00:22:08.080
And yet he was charged with, I believe, manslaughter.
00:22:13.760
You get enough of those stories and all of a sudden you're like, I'm not touching anybody.
00:22:20.160
Or, hey, I've got a wife and kids that I've got to protect.
00:22:23.920
Now, look, I know a lot of guys are probably going to hear this and be like, oh, you pussy.
00:22:27.620
You should have went up there and choked him out.
00:22:30.120
Yeah, you don't know unless you're in that situation.
00:22:33.620
I would like to think I would have done something.
00:22:37.980
And also there's some other considerations that I think in real world scenarios.
00:22:42.940
And there's a lot of people who have not been in real world life and death situations.
00:22:50.880
Like, oh, in a fight, I would kick that guy's ass.
00:23:04.340
Again, I'm trying to look at it as objectively as –
00:23:06.440
I would like to think you and I would go rush that together and do that together.
00:23:09.520
I mean I'm not saying I would have climbed up on the roof and got shot.
00:23:14.540
But I'd probably be a little bit of a pansy chuck some rocks at him and hide behind a tree.
00:23:23.280
I mean – and I'm trying to like evaluate the scenario because when I watch the video, I'm like, why are you guys like harassing him?
00:23:36.560
And so I'm trying to tell a cop like, hey, do this guy up the gun – oh, with the rifle up there?
00:23:45.280
And a lot of those secret service guys, correct me if I'm wrong, aren't in quote-unquote uniform or anything.
00:23:59.360
Yeah, I mean usually they have the uniform, you know, your suit.
00:24:02.540
But I'm sure there's undercover – yeah, I'm sure there's undercover individuals in – you know, that are just walking around that are part of the quote-unquote crowd that you'd never be able to identify.
00:24:18.860
I was like – because I watched that over and over again.
00:24:25.340
Like he's looking this way and he like turned his head just like a tad more right during that shot moment.
00:24:33.540
And I was like, dude, that may have been the difference whether he's alive or dead right now was really that head tilt, which is just craziness.
00:24:56.120
But there were some major, major breakdowns that need to be addressed.
00:25:00.680
Yeah, there's so many conspiracy theory things.
00:25:05.520
Like people not bothered in the crowd behind him.
00:25:11.980
I heard one person say that this shooting took place at 6-11 and 6-11, anything with the 11 sequence, so like 1-11, 2-3-11, 4-11, 5-11, 6-11 is satanic.
00:25:34.040
And it's super like, well, and to your point, you know, you don't know what you don't know until you're in the moment, right?
00:25:40.360
Whether you have like fight and flight scenarios.
00:25:42.520
And so I think we see that a little bit with Trump, you know, going, hey, I want my shoes.
00:25:51.640
And whether you like the guy or not, talk about utter badass, by the way, to pause for that moment and go, you know, hold on, hold on.
00:26:02.160
Or, yeah, you know, I was like, dude, most people would be frantically running and not taking a moment to like make a stand.
00:26:18.000
I mean, you can definitely surmise that from it.
00:26:20.960
Again, whether you agree with it or not, he's rebellious.
00:26:41.180
Well, we're kind of jacking up questions here because we had one about headlines around Trump and our thoughts and reactions to it.
00:26:50.940
Him and Ryan Gant had kind of similar questions.
00:27:02.000
And maybe, Ryan, you kind of kick us off with just a quick, you know, what is the battle plan?
00:27:06.280
Just really quick in case we have some new listeners.
00:27:08.440
Yeah, the battle plan is just an operating system for how you approach your day.
00:27:15.240
You know, it's too many guys are going at it haphazardly, believing that they're just going to make the most of it without having a plan.
00:27:27.560
You might get lucky once, but you can't do it every single day.
00:27:31.400
And so we, Kip, you and I and other people in the Iron Council are about creating replicatable results.
00:27:38.420
By having a system that will begin to articulate what works and what doesn't.
00:27:44.420
We're going to help you identify and create objectives and tactics and checkpoints when we talk about those things that are going to help you move in the right direction.
00:27:52.040
And if it's not moving you in the right direction or at the pace you would like, we can then begin to identify where exactly is the breakdown so we can shore it up, fix it, and get better.
00:28:06.720
Because I just thought this was really neat and it's related and it won't be as related once you go over your battle plan.
00:28:14.260
I found that I learned this last week from a psychology perspective, one of the driving motivators for an individual is the goal of, or the tracking of improvement.
00:28:27.840
One of the top motivators for people is the tracking of improvement, right?
00:28:37.900
Let's say you went to a hoop on a park or in a gym and you started shooting.
00:28:50.020
I'm going to see how many times out of 10 or how many times in a row.
00:28:56.020
But by default, you start analyzing improvement as an individual and it keeps you motivated.
00:29:03.640
It keeps you shooting at that gym for another hour or so.
00:29:10.480
All of a sudden you shoot two and you're like, this is stupid.
00:29:22.180
Like it gets, it's part of the human condition.
00:29:26.080
And so not only is it going to help us sure up and analyze and improve, it also keeps us
00:29:32.920
focused on a target and it helps us focus on improvement.
00:29:42.320
You know, if you never saw any sort of improvement in your life, you'd give up hope and you'd stop
00:29:51.080
My two oldest sons, we have an adjustable basketball hoop.
00:29:53.440
And they're constantly moving it up and down to see at what height they can dunk.
00:30:00.080
You know, so my second son, he's like at eight and a half feet.
00:30:02.540
And he's like, maybe I can get, you know, eight feet, 10 inches or eight feet, 12 inches.
00:30:07.500
And they're constantly like seeing how they can improve until they can get up to that 10
00:30:13.000
In fact, in the battle planner itself, I, I had this quote put into it and it's by Carl
00:30:18.520
It says simply that which is measured improves that which is measured improves.
00:30:24.740
If you want to grow your bank account, you got to look at your bank account.
00:30:30.360
You want to be a better husband or a better father.
00:30:32.660
You got to be able to articulate and identify on what scale you're operating now.
00:30:39.060
You have to, otherwise you just won't get any better.
00:30:41.800
So for me, I'm working, we always work on four key areas.
00:30:46.440
And, and so there's, there's, like I said, four, four areas that I'm working on.
00:30:51.820
Calibration is getting right with yourself spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.
00:30:56.420
Connection is, is the relationships that we have.
00:30:59.220
Maybe that's a romantic relationship or relationship with your kids or a brother or a parent, whoever
00:31:08.560
That's becoming a man of value and giving back.
00:31:11.080
Sometimes you will be paid and compensated for that.
00:31:16.300
Other times it's just being a valuable member of the community and being an asset, not necessarily
00:31:24.360
So for conditioning for me, this quarter, I'm trying to lose some excess body fat.
00:31:34.520
And then I have daily tactics, things that I do on a daily basis.
00:31:40.000
That training changes from day to day, depending on what I'm trying to do.
00:31:45.160
So I have my nutrition, my diet, everything I have that I want to eat and I'm supposed to
00:31:52.360
And then with contribution, for me, completing the course Divorce Not Death is a priority
00:32:02.220
So that's specifically for newly divorced men who are trying to navigate those first 12
00:32:09.400
But I have the daily tactic of working on the website daily, recording videos daily, and
00:32:14.420
then doing research and data analysis from social media accounts.
00:32:18.140
So on a daily basis, I'm working on developing that course.
00:32:23.740
It's just a matter of finalizing it, but it's done in my mind already.
00:32:33.020
On the conditioning front, actually, my, you know, I feel pretty locked in.
00:32:37.640
I'm so motivated about going to the gym and getting on the mats that I don't need to
00:32:44.340
Um, where I struggle is on my protein intake, getting enough, uh, and the good old sweets.
00:32:53.000
So my focus is, is around getting enough protein intake, 200 a day with no candy.
00:33:01.080
Although I do have myself saying I can have candy one day a week, which is usually Saturday
00:33:09.160
And that's fine because you're deliberate and intentional about it.
00:33:13.480
It's when you're not intent, it's when you're up at 10 30 at night and you're like, I'm going
00:33:20.840
But planning it and saying, Hey, you know what?
00:33:31.320
The moment you stop becoming intentional is when you start to lose it.
00:33:36.800
It, I, I have to shut it down cause I will, I'll go nuts late night.
00:33:42.420
The other thing that, um, and I share this one just because it's been so impactful in
00:33:47.540
the past and I'm doing it again cause it's something I really need to focus on is, uh,
00:33:53.500
no phone, uh, from, from six to nine is what I have on my battle plan.
00:33:59.100
Uh, maybe said another way, no phone once I come home from work until the kids are in bed
00:34:10.940
The objective is, uh, it's energy and being present with my kids and I'm not giving them
00:34:26.500
And there was a question that, that ties into this.
00:34:28.740
Sometimes people have men have a problem with objectives, which is synonymous with goals.
00:34:42.040
So you said to be more present, to be more available, that, that doesn't mean anything
00:34:48.840
Now I have my own thoughts about what that looks like, but that's probably different
00:34:53.800
And so when we have these objectives that are hard to quantify, you need to be able to
00:35:03.100
A guy was asking about, it might've been one of the last questions.
00:35:05.720
And he was like, how do you do this when there's hard to quantify objectives?
00:35:15.740
So while Kip, you're looking for that, here's what I would say.
00:35:22.860
He was talking about, if I remember correctly, specific in the realm of calibration, getting
00:35:29.360
right with yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
00:35:32.700
So my calibration tactic is not just to be more mindful and understand myself better
00:35:40.960
But my tactic, excuse me, my objective for calibration this quarter is to complete Jordan
00:35:54.780
It will lead to me understanding myself better.
00:35:58.620
It will lead to, and my tactic is 30 minutes of daily study with the program itself.
00:36:04.060
And if I'm not doing that on the weekends, then I have created another secondary tactic,
00:36:08.640
I call it, of reading 30 minutes of self-development, self-help information, books, resources, articles,
00:36:18.640
And at the end of the quarter, I can say, did I complete it or not?
00:36:32.920
When it comes to kids, here's what I would say.
00:36:38.680
So if your goal is to develop a deeper relationship with your kids, then maybe you identify five
00:36:47.680
So maybe it's the amount of time you spend with them, the amount of communication you
00:36:53.720
have with them throughout the day, the quality of the time that you're spending, their level
00:37:02.760
And then maybe it's something like trying new things with my kids together.
00:37:09.440
So now what you do is on a scale from one to 10 is you rate each one of those, those five
00:37:14.820
areas that you've identified on a scale from one to 10, one being the lowest, 10 being
00:37:18.720
the highest, and maybe you average out to be a six.
00:37:23.900
Then your goal with your kids this quarter is to turn that into a nine.
00:37:29.000
And you have your five key areas you want to do that, that you've identified.
00:37:39.240
So your average might be six today and their average, maybe it's seven.
00:37:46.440
And now you feel like you're an eight, but they still feel like you're at a seven.
00:37:53.660
This is the power of quantifying what you're going after.
00:38:01.700
But they'll tell you if you've gotten better or you're more present with them or whatever.
00:38:06.680
And if that's truly the objective, then it's, it's really their perspective that you're kind
00:38:15.740
You don't get to decide if you're more connected.
00:38:19.840
And also I would say this, you can do this with your, your spouse too.
00:38:26.080
Here's the, here's the catch guys, whatever feedback they give you, you cannot rationalize,
00:38:40.660
You just have to say, thank you for bringing that to my attention.
00:38:54.060
Now I know what I can work on, but you do not rationalize, justify, defend, because then
00:39:00.000
they're not going to give you it because you're rejecting them.
00:39:03.700
You're invalidating what they're trying to tell you.
00:39:06.460
So don't, well, the reason I'll spend as much time with you is because I'm at work.
00:39:12.740
You didn't ask and they don't care about your excuses.
00:39:19.920
So if they say, dad, I really wish you'd spend more time with us, period.
00:39:33.620
And if it's important to you, you're going to now figure out a way to make it work.
00:39:37.160
So it was Bo actually that, that had a question around this.
00:39:41.840
He was actually asking, and it was around calibration because we know those are kind
00:39:47.860
His question specifically is around checkpoints for those.
00:39:50.880
So using the examples that you have, what would checkpoints like a 30 or 60 day checkpoint
00:39:55.900
look like just to address his question specifically?
00:39:59.480
I mean, calibration, you know, for what I'm doing with a self-authoring program, my, my
00:40:06.200
checkpoints for 30 and 60 days are the amount of modules I've completed pretty easy.
00:40:12.240
But a checkpoint is basically the progress you've made.
00:40:15.100
If we're talking about it in the context of relationship with kids, you might, for example,
00:40:23.660
universally, I think taking a trip with your kids that they get to plan is something that
00:40:29.180
they would really find valuable and they would feel more connected to you.
00:40:34.680
So maybe in 30 days, it's like, okay, I'm going to do all this work, but in 30 days,
00:40:38.680
we're going to do something that's interesting to them.
00:40:40.680
And maybe one of them decides we're going to do a camp out.
00:40:44.700
You guys have this camp out and you enjoy yourself and enjoy your time, but there's something
00:40:52.560
But that, that's what I would do is, is just create those checkpoints based on whatever's
00:41:03.080
Have you noticed that I'm more present when I come home?
00:41:05.960
Or do you feel like, you know, I'm not ignoring you or I'm not distracted with other things
00:41:11.140
and that we're doing things together and, you know, use it as an opportunity to have that
00:41:17.940
And when you do those questions, don't ever lead.
00:41:23.540
So the question is actually, how do you feel I'm doing with these areas that you identified?
00:41:31.340
That's a, that's a better question, which is going to lead to a more accurate, truthful
00:41:45.700
How do you get through a friend who is super tied into online communities and relationships
00:41:50.580
to the point where it's all consuming for them instead of building a relationship in person?
00:42:06.640
I mean, the only thing you can do is invite him into your circle model.
00:42:11.760
You know, if you're going to the game, bring them along.
00:42:15.000
If you guys are going to do some pickup basketball, invite them along.
00:42:17.540
If you're going to go on a hike, invite them along.
00:42:19.120
If you're going to go, you know, meet some, meet some girls somewhere, you know, be in a
00:42:33.380
I'll tell you what, over the past two years, I've interjected myself less into other people's
00:42:46.680
Short of saying, I don't care about your problems.
00:42:50.480
I will say that your problems are your problems.
00:42:54.140
So if I see something that I don't think is going to be good for you, it's not really
00:43:00.160
It's not even my problem really to like address all that much.
00:43:06.520
I might tell you that I see something, but outside of that, like that's your deal, man.
00:43:17.200
I'm going to add you into our friend circle and explain the benefits and show you the benefits.
00:43:26.980
You can keep playing video games if you want or doing online chats or whatever it is you're
00:43:39.280
Jimmy Hellwood, how to maintain focus on the path.
00:43:44.120
One of my biggest issues I have is being distracted and procrastinating from the path I want to
00:43:49.480
take by social media that focuses around the poor direction of the world is taking.
00:43:53.600
For example, I've been doing great all week, maintaining focus, and then suddenly the Trump
00:43:58.780
assassination attempt happens, and I'm back gorging on what went on on YouTube, and then
00:44:06.840
Even though I'm not American, I sincerely hope that you can unite from these last few years
00:44:27.660
This was an event that is very impactful in not only American culture, but globally, I
00:44:40.420
You can have somebody suggest something, and you were going to do something else, but you
00:44:47.640
But if you think it's going to be unhealthy, or it could become unhealthy, just set boundaries.
00:44:57.080
Kip, you and I talked about it at the start of this meeting.
00:45:01.080
Hey, I'm going to look at this stuff for 30 minutes.
00:45:05.160
30 minutes, I'm done, because I'm moving on to this.
00:45:10.240
You know, there's things where I might be cleaning the house.
00:45:13.160
I'll clean the house to distract myself from my work.
00:45:16.600
Like, so I'm like, oh, I got to do this podcast.
00:45:22.280
And I'm out in the living room folding laundry.
00:45:25.640
It's like, okay, the laundry isn't what needs to be done right now.
00:45:33.740
But when this laundry is folded, then you are going to do X.
00:45:40.240
And then once that's done, then I can go back and fold the rest of the laundry or do the dishes or distract myself with whatever else I feel like I have to distract myself with.
00:45:47.680
But the boundaries and the rules are important.
00:45:52.780
When you are on your computer, a lot of times, and I'll say this too, ah, damn computer, like I hate technology.
00:46:05.860
Now, there might be some user interfaces that are worse than others.
00:46:09.640
There might be some glitch or some problem that actually happened with the technology.
00:46:14.700
But 99% of the time, it's doing exactly what you told it to do.
00:46:20.820
You just fat fingered the keyboard and punched in the wrong input.
00:46:28.360
So the reason I bring this up is because you're living your life on operating systems.
00:46:38.300
The operating system that has created your life can be adjusted.
00:46:45.040
So just put rules in place and then follow those rules.
00:46:49.340
If you exercise, you're going to be in better shape than if you don't.
00:46:56.860
If you eat better, you're going to feel stronger, more capable.
00:47:01.080
You're going to have energy and focus throughout the day.
00:47:05.980
If you're able to regulate your emotions, you're going to feel happier.
00:47:09.020
You're going to be able to converse with more people.
00:47:24.080
Figure out what rules you're working that are not serving you.
00:47:26.760
And then replace them with better rules that will serve you.
00:47:31.800
But I find this fascinating, or at least it's helped me.
00:47:40.220
And what a lot of people don't realize is we're seeking immediate gratification or dopamine hits of the feeling of being busy and accomplishing something.
00:47:50.980
You'll see people do this when they avoid deep work or work that requires a lot of effort and attention.
00:47:57.500
They'll go, oh, well, I'll just do my email really quick because they get a quick fix, right?
00:48:02.740
It's like, oh, yeah, see, I'm productive, right?
00:48:07.640
You know, it's like, oh, I'm valuable versus, well, what were the results you came up with, right?
00:48:24.820
Because I'm going to have a sense of accomplishment fairly quick.
00:48:29.180
But the two-hour podcast blog that I got to write, that's going to take some time.
00:48:35.200
And so just be aware of it and look at all these little teeny distractions that you constantly do to avoid the work that you should be doing.
00:48:45.900
And I just think being aware of it has helped me.
00:48:48.920
And I have actually, you talked about time boxing.
00:49:11.240
And I'll go all in on 20 minutes, every fiber of my being, to try to get it done.
00:49:17.760
Like kind of what we were talking about earlier.
00:49:19.960
I got to get that article written up or that documentation done within a 20-minute period of time.
00:49:27.180
And I don't do anything else within that time box.
00:49:36.220
Because I think people would be interested in that.
00:49:37.320
You can literally – there's cubes with numbers on each side of the cube.
00:49:40.940
And if you tilt the cube and put the five on top, it will be a five-minute clock.
00:49:48.420
There's all kinds of stuff that people use for those.
00:49:54.320
I like what you were saying about look at the result.
00:49:57.640
You know, yeah, you have folded laundry but no more money in the bank account today than you did yesterday.
00:50:05.020
I think I'd rather have a little more money in the bank account than some finely folded T-shirts.
00:50:16.280
And does he get that done first before he does anything else, which forces him to almost do those items?
00:50:28.320
The other day – and I have to-do lists everywhere.
00:50:33.800
And the other day, my girlfriend and I were going to a friend's wedding.
00:50:43.300
And I had about three hours that I could do some work for Thursday, Friday, and then get ready for this week.
00:50:49.960
I was more productive in that three hours than the three previous days combined.
00:50:58.500
It tells you how good we as human beings are at procrastinating.
00:51:02.400
And I can't remember the law right offhand, but that your work expands to the time allotted.
00:51:11.300
And when your time allotted contracts to your point about 20 minutes, then the work, the time it takes to get it done contracts as well.
00:51:19.720
So while you look that up, look through – I mean, how many times have there been a scenario where you have –
00:51:34.520
And all of a sudden you're like, how in the hell did I get that done in 10 minutes?
00:51:46.860
Daniel Franklin, if you've never went through the rites of passage with your father, such as your first buck or a filet crepey – I don't even know what that is – or how to control your temper, how do you teach those to your son?
00:52:03.500
So how do you teach your son these rites of passages or important principles that were never taught to you?
00:52:20.040
So if you've never shot a buck, then you need to get into hunting.
00:52:25.020
If you've never fileted a fish, then you need to go out and fish and then filet a fish.
00:52:34.280
So if you don't know how to regulate your emotions and you always get angry, then you need to start reading a book or listening to a podcast about how to understand your emotions better.
00:52:43.100
The one I would give you is Men's Work by Connor Beaton.
00:52:47.200
That will help you regulate your emotions more effectively.
00:52:51.320
And he's got some really, really powerful information on that.
00:53:00.840
With your kids, this is actually really powerful.
00:53:04.380
So let's say, Kip, you're my son, hypothetically, in this scenario.
00:53:16.260
That's the weirdest shit you've ever said, Kip.
00:53:21.540
You started off this podcast with, like, hey, guess what?
00:53:56.160
I'll take care of it financially because I'm making money.
00:54:07.520
Let's go shoot together and get the ego out of the way.
00:54:11.620
I think a lot of the times in these scenarios and environments, you as a father might believe, like, oh, I should.
00:54:26.580
Like, all these guys were like, oh, you should know how to do that.
00:54:37.960
Why should I know how to do an oil change on my car, basic maintenance around the house?
00:54:44.280
So get rid of the shoulds and the ego around it and just say, you know what?
00:54:50.820
Yeah, maybe that is something that would be good for me to learn.
00:54:53.320
And so now as a 43-year-old man, I'm going to figure it out.
00:54:56.540
And I've got a 16-year-old son and a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.
00:55:02.920
And what a powerful way to bond with your kids.
00:55:07.120
When there's no ego involved, you're all contributing in a cool way.
00:55:16.140
But get rid of this thing like, I have to have it figured out or I'm less of a father.
00:55:35.080
I will not, because it's not true, go into that environment and pretend like I'm a better hunter than him.
00:55:45.080
And number two, it just doesn't help the dynamic.
00:55:47.960
Like I can learn things from him if I'm humble about it.
00:55:52.020
And I go into it with the spirit of learning together and experiencing it in a fun way without the expectation of I'm the man.
00:56:08.140
And then imagine a scenario by which your dad came to you and said, hey, son, I've always wanted to do this.
00:56:17.720
And you tell me you think less of your father for doing that.
00:56:24.240
I would have loved to be part of that with my dad.
00:56:37.580
Well, Kip, you know, as you're saying that, there's also things that you might know, but you can still approach it with that level of humility and learning.
00:56:49.520
And you need to replace the battery in the car.
00:56:57.180
My son or my daughter doesn't know how to do that.
00:56:59.600
So you bring out little Billy or little Susie and you're like, hey, Susie, like we need to change the battery in the car.
00:57:07.380
And so I figured you and I could spend the morning doing that.
00:57:21.960
There's another little latch you got to lift up.
00:57:33.900
And you teach her in a very humble way by experiencing it together.
00:57:38.780
And now you just didn't regurgitate a bunch of information.
00:57:43.400
And not only is she going to learn better, but she's going to feel more proud about it because it wasn't dad who changed the battery.
00:57:52.860
She's contributing to the family, and she's making her dad proud.
00:57:57.160
That's a way better way than just to say, as we all do as dads, like, hold the flashlight, right, which is terrifying for kids.
00:58:03.960
Have you seen that short meme video where this dad's holding the measuring tape, and there's, like, a little three-year-old on the other side?
00:58:20.420
And we all laugh because we're all, like, all been there as dads.
00:58:29.980
Chris Ferguson, how do you recollect yourself after the sudden and unexpected loss of a friend?
00:58:40.960
Well, first of all, if that's the case that you're dealing with now, I'm sorry to hear that.
00:58:51.560
We weren't real close, I would say, but that was hard.
00:58:57.500
I've lost people in my life, but never anybody, like, super close to me.
00:59:09.520
I think without going through that scenario, I think it's okay that you give yourself some time to grieve.
00:59:21.020
We have this really interesting thing around death where we all just, like, mope and mourn and cry and complain around death.
00:59:28.940
But the way we do it, we might reconsider that, which is, hey, I had a really good time with this person.
00:59:35.000
You know, and I had a good life with this person.
00:59:42.260
So I would give myself that time to grieve, and then I would also consider how that person would want me to live.
00:59:50.800
You know, Kip, if you passed away, I wouldn't, like, sit around and sulk over the loss.
00:59:59.280
I would be really grateful for the lessons I've learned and the time that you and I've had together.
01:00:03.900
And then I would consider, I would consider you, I actually would consider you on a daily basis.
01:00:16.100
If I was going through this, what would Kip tell me?
01:00:32.340
Well, and I think, the other thing I think to remember is, and I'm stealing this from Jocko.
01:00:37.540
You know, he had a, he did an episode on dealing with grief.
01:00:45.060
And then I think it was like six months later, I lost someone.
01:00:53.600
Where I was like, oh, yeah, he's totally right.
01:00:56.700
And he uses the analogy of ocean waves crashing.
01:01:15.300
And out of nowhere, you'll just be flooded with an emotion.
01:01:20.120
I remember it was actually even before my dad passed away, I was just dealing with it.
01:01:28.260
Like, okay, he's, you know, we're probably in the final chapters of life here.
01:01:32.640
Like, there was all the evidence was proving that he was going to pass away soon.
01:01:37.520
And I was handling it, you know, emotionally and mentally fine.
01:01:42.620
And then I remember just one night, I was just like, during our family prayer, I just couldn't handle it.
01:01:50.720
All of a sudden, I was just like, I can't deal.
01:02:00.760
And so to that, I would just say, that's just how it's going to go.
01:02:06.700
And you're going to have moments of maybe moments of despair and feeling really sad.
01:02:12.620
And then those breaks will get longer over time.
01:02:17.060
But every so often, you'll get a random wave that will crash on you and shove your face into the sand.
01:02:24.740
And I think in those moments, we're presented with the opportunity to learn and grow.
01:02:32.660
And we've talked about this recently more than normal, but embrace that it's okay.
01:02:45.600
See, you know, we've talked about always making difficulty wrong.
01:02:49.680
Like, maybe we need to normalize that a little bit.
01:02:52.700
And also realize that death is sometimes a hard thing to deal with.
01:03:04.900
And the big question is, what are you going to learn?
01:03:13.600
And find that evidence of growth and opportunity in your moment of suffering.
01:03:20.340
Because otherwise, your suffering is lost if you're not going to become a better person for it.
01:03:28.700
Kip, I think this is one of the biggest problems with the rise in mental health that we see, specifically among men, is that you're not supposed to feel a certain way.
01:03:53.180
You lose a loved one, how could you not be sad about that?
01:03:56.180
So then if you believe that in that sadness there's something wrong with you, then not only do you feel bad about being sad, because that's the way you're feeling, but then you start to feel guilt and shame for being sad.
01:04:10.920
So by believing that there's something wrong with you or that you're broken, you're actually exacerbating the problem.
01:04:16.640
Rather than believing, hey, I'm sad right now, and it's not fun, it's not enjoyable, it's not comfortable, but it's part of the human condition.
01:04:25.200
It means I miss this person, it means I love this person, it means I had a good relationship with somebody I cared about, and I think I'm just going to be sad today.
01:04:34.040
Now there comes a point in time where we can't just wallow in our own self-pity, but it's okay to be sad.
01:04:39.840
The way we respond to it is really the question.
01:04:43.680
Like, you can't go treating everybody else like shit.
01:04:46.560
You know, every once in a while, my daughter, she'll have a bad day.
01:04:49.920
And when she has a bad day, it's externalized onto other people.
01:04:55.360
And I tell her, hey, bud, like, I know you're having a bad day.
01:05:06.920
But what's not okay is treating other people poorly because you're upset.
01:05:12.000
So if you need some time to go in your room and cry or draw or you want to go on a walk with me or maybe you need to distract yourself, like, whatever we need to do, we can do that.
01:05:25.560
But you're not going to treat people poorly because you're sad.
01:05:31.780
You can be sad and we'll give you the space to deal with it.
01:05:34.940
And also, you don't get to externalize that in a negative way on other people.
01:05:39.940
So it's really just a matter of how you handle it.
01:05:49.420
Well, one of the things I wanted to mention and bring up is, you know, on the concept of sadness and loss.
01:05:57.300
A lot of guys in the wake of my own divorce a couple of years ago have – are going through the same thing.
01:06:08.520
And they've identified what they're going through and they've shared with me their own personal struggles.
01:06:13.280
And when we talk about, as men, appropriate responses, we can be sad and sorrowful.
01:06:20.040
And then we can talk about appropriate responses.
01:06:22.200
And the appropriate response for me is, how do I help more men who are navigating this?
01:06:30.400
I'm not going to not share what I've learned to help other people who might be dealing with the same set of circumstances.
01:06:36.180
And so we've created a course called Divorce Not Death.
01:06:40.700
And I called it that not only to be a little bit edgy with it so people would pay attention, but because I know how many people are willing and really ready to take their life in the wake of some sort of news like this, like your wife wants a divorce.
01:06:57.680
And what I want to do is I want to help you navigate the first 12 months of divorce.
01:07:01.300
This is not for a man who's trying to get his wife back.
01:07:04.840
This is not for a man who's 20 years into divorce.
01:07:08.060
This is not even meant for a man who is in a separation or having a difficult time with his marriage, although it will help for all of that.
01:07:15.840
It is specifically designed for dealing with all the ramifications that you have to deal with from emotional burden and pain to separating assets and finances to legal ramifications and custody schedules, everything that you need to know in the first 12 months of divorce to beginning to date again at some point when you feel ready and comfortable, all of it.
01:07:38.560
It will be ready in the fourth quarter of this year, so October.
01:07:43.280
But if you go to divorcenotdeath.com, you can sign up for – watch a quick video and sign up for notifications and information when that comes available.
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And we're also going to be dropping some resources that lead up to that time that you can use because I don't – if you're at divorce's doorstep right now, I don't want you to have to wait three months to be able to get some information.
01:08:07.040
So we're going to start dropping some of that information ahead of time.
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So, again, if you go to divorcenotdeath.com, drop your email in there, and we'll help to whatever degree we can navigate really, really difficult times.
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You've gone through divorce years and years ago, so you're in a different place than I am.
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Man, we're talking about some crazy stuff today.
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We've got to change a ton of these things, man.
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We'll be a little lighter next week for you guys.
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Hopefully we gave you some things to consider today.
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Go out there, 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.
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You're ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be?
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We invite you to join the order at orderofman.com.