The Toxic Workplace, Executing on Your Dreams, and Developing Self-Discipline | ASK ME ANYTHING
Episode Stats
Length
1 hour and 11 minutes
Words per Minute
179.4051
Summary
In this episode of the Ask Me Anything podcast, host, Kip Sorensen, sits down with Ryan Mickler to discuss how to deal with negativity in the workplace and how to handle it in general.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest, embrace your fears, and boldly chart
00:00:05.000
your own path. When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.
00:00:10.440
You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong. This is your life. This is who
00:00:17.240
you are. This is who you will become. At the end of the day, and after all is said and done,
00:00:22.380
you can call yourself a man. Gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the Ask Me Anything.
00:00:31.500
Mr. Mickler is out today, and we both have some pretty crazy schedules this week. I'm going out
00:00:39.480
of country tomorrow on a last-minute business trip to meet with one of our clients, and I believe
00:00:45.300
Mr. Mickler is at SHOT Show in Vegas. He mentioned this last week. If you guys are in the Vegas
00:00:53.300
area, if you are going to SHOT Show, look him up. Ping him on possibly Instagram, and he
00:01:01.760
would love to meet up with you guys. His Instagram handle is at Ryan Mickler. That's M-I-C-H-L-E-R.
00:01:08.300
But for today, for Ask Me Anything, you get the one and only Kip Sorensen, and then of course
00:01:14.800
we'll kick the show off next week with Mr. Mickler when our schedules are a little less
00:01:21.160
hectic, and you can hear the opinions from both of us. Of course, this is the Ask Me Anything
00:01:30.280
this Friday. You will have Friday Field Notes, and then of course the Tuesday episode, which
00:01:36.580
is an interview show that Ryan does with high-caliber individuals, everybody from Tim Kennedy,
00:01:44.300
Jocko Willink, New York Times bestsellers. I can't say enough about those Tuesday shows.
00:01:50.000
In fact, when people ask me about the Order of Man podcast, I immediately say, well, you
00:01:54.600
know, listen to those Tuesday shows for a while before you decide to dive into the Wednesday
00:02:00.300
Ask Me Anything. The questions I'll be filming today are from our Facebook group. To join us
00:02:06.120
over there, go to facebook.com slash group slash order of man. There are, I think, 61,000
00:02:13.040
individuals within that Facebook group. We try to moderate the conversations to make sure
00:02:17.780
that they're effective as much as possible. Ryan will leave opinions and ideas and comments
00:02:23.540
on there. I'll do that from time to time as well. And then every so often we'll make a post
00:02:28.800
on there asking you guys for what questions you have for this podcast. And we filled those questions
00:02:34.940
here. If they're good questions, we cover them. If they're not so good of questions, we may skip
00:02:38.720
them. So try not to take it personal and add a bunch of meaning to that and just see it as an
00:02:43.440
opportune time to maybe ask a question that hasn't been asked as much before or give some more thought
00:02:48.760
to it. And I personally really like when these questions come from a position of not hypotheticals,
00:02:55.740
but actual situations that you can share slightly. I think that benefits the other listeners. So we have
00:03:02.640
a chance to relate a lot more. It's hard to relate to other people's people when we give hypothetical
00:03:09.900
situations. And so share yourself a little bit and put yourself out there for others to be able to
00:03:16.960
relate to you and, and learn and grow together. So, all right, let's dive into this. So our first
00:03:23.480
question is from Andrew King. What are your thoughts about dealing with toxic negativity in the workplace?
00:03:29.500
It seems at times that everyone around me are chronic complainers. Am I blind or is our life here in the
00:03:36.140
U S really that bad? How do you respond to toxic negativity? So first off, Andrew, this is a legit
00:03:44.020
concern, right? I think we can all agree that life is a hell of a lot better when you're around people
00:03:51.120
that uplift you and people that have just a negative opinion about so many things is almost daunting.
00:03:58.700
In fact, one of my friends, it's a complete opposite scenario, but, but I, but I think it addresses
00:04:04.800
the point here is one of my friends, uh, Richard, whenever I'm around him, I feel better because he
00:04:12.200
is such a happy guy and he's always goofing around and whatever. And it just uplifts me.
00:04:17.780
And that same thing comes into play when we're negative. And so, and I know your question, Andrew
00:04:23.060
is, you know, how do we deal with it? But, but I first want to point out, like, I think we can all
00:04:27.900
do a better job around the attitude that we have around other individuals by being kind, by being
00:04:34.860
joyful, by being sometimes lighthearted and not taking everything so serious. It makes such a big
00:04:41.640
difference when you hang around, uh, people that are happy and they're joyful about life and, and
00:04:48.640
they have purpose and they're driven, right? And not just negative and just complaining about
00:04:54.020
everything. And so I think the first thing I just want to call it is I think we can all do a better
00:04:58.300
job in regards to how we show up in our workplace, in our homes and the approach we take guaranteed.
00:05:04.600
You guys know it. And I know it when I come home and I'm pissed off, does it create a great
00:05:08.700
environment for my kids? Are my kids more happy? Is my wife more happy? No, all those scenarios
00:05:14.320
complex and become way more negative than if I came in or came into those situations with a more
00:05:21.320
positive attitude. And so I think the first thing is, you know, let's make sure that we,
00:05:25.540
we show up the correct way. Um, so to Andrew's question, how do we deal with it? So I've had
00:05:32.400
people in my life that are super negative, um, mostly through my childhood and, and, and growing up.
00:05:38.620
And so I dealt with this and the way I approached it eventually where I think was effective is to kind
00:05:46.120
of not necessarily call them out, but help them see the other side. And let's be honest. It wasn't
00:05:52.200
from a perspective of like, Oh, I'm going to really convince them to see the other side, but they can't
00:05:57.360
stand you always like countering their negativity. Like that gets old for them too. Right? So if we have
00:06:04.080
people in the workplace that is constantly complaining, like, Oh man, this is, I don't know,
00:06:07.980
whatever our communication, uh, here at the office is so negative and, and I wish we'd communicate and
00:06:13.860
be more transparent or whatever. And then you can always say, yeah, you know, that's a really good
00:06:17.340
point, but you know what, man, we still have a lot going for ourselves. We have this and we have that
00:06:22.340
and, and point out the, the positive things. And one that sets the tone with them, that you're not
00:06:29.160
the person that's going to dive into negative topics with them and, and bitch and moan about
00:06:33.080
everything and, you know, and just get on the complaint wagon about life, but you listened. Yeah.
00:06:39.980
You know, that might be a good point. However, maybe you should consider these things and it
00:06:45.060
forces them to realize that one, I think that they're being negative, but also to have a different
00:06:50.120
point of view. And one of two things are going to happen. I think that's going to rub off on them a
00:06:54.040
little bit, or they're going to stop complaining when you're around because they don't want to hear
00:06:58.700
your positive responses. They don't want to hear those things. They just want someone to complain with
00:07:02.480
them. And, and I think if we don't, um, engage in those conversations, eventually that stuff kind of wears
00:07:09.080
off. Um, it's not easy though. And, and I completely get that sometimes it's daunting. And especially
00:07:15.500
when you might be having a bad day, the last thing you want to hear is more people complaining about
00:07:20.600
more things. Um, and it might be really tempting for us to, to engage in that. But I think if we
00:07:26.640
stick to the path, uh, be present to the impact that we have around those, um, in our workplace,
00:07:33.060
in our homes, we can make a conscious decision to be a little bit more positive. And when people are
00:07:38.200
negative, help them see the positive aspects of the situation, Ricky Fox, we are raising my wife's
00:07:45.520
grandson and I'm the main male role model in his life. How do I get my wife to let me play the part
00:07:52.520
of full time instead of only when he's acting up? So Ricky, I think it's about conversations.
00:08:01.100
It's about asking the questions with your wife. Uh, so let me give you an example. I would have a
00:08:07.720
discussion about what is the ideal circumstance for this young man and literally have that
00:08:13.340
conversation with her, sit down and say, what could we do that might benefit Timmy the most
00:08:18.300
and, and work through it and have her come to the realization that, Hey, without a full-time
00:08:24.280
male role model in his life, he's at a disadvantage. Okay, great. So what can we do about that? And then
00:08:31.720
at that point suggest, Hey, I can make this role. And, but I would be really specific. What does it
00:08:37.320
look like to be the full-time male role model? And what does she think? What does she think? What
00:08:45.200
does she think that, that, that looks like? And what does it look like for you? And really be very
00:08:51.060
specific and intentional about the tactics that you guys both see. I would probably argue, or I'd
00:08:57.700
probably suggest that most women, when we had this conversation, that your wife's probably just like
00:09:03.180
every other woman. And they would agree with the idea that he needs a full-time role model. So get
00:09:08.860
her opinion and see what that looks like specifically. And then volunteer those services say, Hey, I think
00:09:13.240
I could do this. And I want to, uh, because she might not be including you in it because maybe she
00:09:19.340
feels that that's going to put you out or that you're not interested in it or something else.
00:09:25.200
And so I think you just need to open up that dialogue and that conversation with her, get her
00:09:29.240
feedback and come up with a strategy of what's best for that young man. And I think you guys will
00:09:34.460
end up on the same page. Benjamin Norris, by the way, Ricky, totally like honorable, by the way,
00:09:42.700
and, and way to step up and, and look for an opportunity to, uh, be that role model for, for that
00:09:49.280
young man. All right. Benjamin Norris, if you knew someone starting from an absolute clean slate,
00:09:54.640
having no idea what makes a man, a man, what would you recommend? He start on first, second, and
00:10:00.380
third. All right. First, second, and third clean slate. No idea what it means. Uh, what, what makes
00:10:07.820
a man, a man, uh, this is totally off the cuff. So I'm sure a hundred percent. I'll listen to this
00:10:15.100
tomorrow and think, Oh man, I could have come up with something better. Um, the first thing that comes
00:10:20.440
to mind is ownership or in other words, accountability or not being a victim. So he,
00:10:28.320
I think all men that first step in the process is we have to take ownership of our lives. We have to
00:10:34.860
be sovereign. We have to realize the things that have worked and the things that have failed is a
00:10:40.360
direct result of how we've showed up in life. And if there are negative things about it, we need to
00:10:46.160
change it. And immediately if some of you guys might be listening, go, Oh, well, yeah, but keep
00:10:50.700
these circumstances. I don't care. You know what, how you respond to the circumstances also in your
00:10:55.140
control. So I think we really need to take ownership, not only for like how our lives are,
00:11:00.220
but also our attitudes and our feelings and our emotions. We need to own all of that. And only in
00:11:09.220
that growth mindset, do we actually have the ability to grow and become better men period. So if we don't
00:11:15.580
have the growth mindset, if we're not taking ownership and we're victims, nothing else is
00:11:19.460
possible. So that's why I think that's number one. Number two, I think a young man becoming a man
00:11:26.160
needs to have grit and metal, mental fortitude. I think that must be established. One is they need
00:11:34.540
to control their emotions and their thought process. And because when life happens and negative
00:11:42.000
circumstances happen to us, are we going to go crumbling? And I think that's what mental fortitude
00:11:47.320
and grit gives us. And then number three, I would say, look for opportunities to contribute and serve
00:11:54.040
and realize that the ultimate purpose in life is to serve others and, and to move beyond oneself.
00:11:59.740
I think number one, ownership and mental fortitude is focused on the tool, right? Us as the tool,
00:12:04.940
how we show up. And then three is the actualization of what that tool can do. And that is serving
00:12:09.820
other individuals. Hopefully that, uh, provides some, I don't know, some ideas there, Benjamin
00:12:16.220
James Aaron Simpson. Uh, sobriety has cost what I thought were friendships. No time of the year
00:12:24.940
is more obvious than on new year's Eve. No one enjoys a sober guy. He's the elephant in the room.
00:12:31.100
I know, uh, sobriety is my path, but do I try to mend these past friendships or is it best to find a
00:12:38.200
new group of like-minded men? So James, first off, man, this is kind of tough because, well,
00:12:45.940
I'm sorry, man. But if you have friends that are no longer your friends because you don't drink,
00:12:51.440
yeah, they're not good friends. Um, in fact, they're not friends. You are a drinking buddy.
00:12:57.400
That's all you are. And when you are not willing, uh, to get in line and act the same way they're
00:13:07.020
acting, really, they're no longer your friends. Uh, I say dump them, find some new friends.
00:13:14.200
Seriously. Um, I, I couldn't stand that, man. That'd drive me mad. So, um, I, I think you don't,
00:13:21.040
I don't, how's this? I think you complete the relationship. I think all relationships that we
00:13:25.920
have in our lives, um, if there's something unfinished with them, you need to mend it period
00:13:31.800
for your own benefit. And mending doesn't mean you have to be pals forever on. And, and, you know,
00:13:38.500
you're hanging out all the time. You can still complete a relationship with someone, have it be
00:13:42.940
mended and not be friends. So first off, I would, I would mend the relationship, whatever there is
00:13:48.860
that mend. I'm assuming there's a little bit more to this than just, we don't drink together and they
00:13:53.100
don't want to hang out with me cause I'm not drinking, but maybe it is as simple as that.
00:13:58.140
Maybe it's just you communicating that and being clear in your communication and having that freedom
00:14:03.540
of expression with them and letting them know that, that, that offends you or whatever. Um,
00:14:09.360
but I would complete that relationship with them. And then I would seek a new group of like-minded men
00:14:13.860
that are more in line with your values and what you're seeking for. And especially if not drinking
00:14:19.820
important to you, then obviously that's going to work out well. If you're constantly hanging out
00:14:24.320
with guys that are wanting to drink all the time, that that's going to be in conflict with your
00:14:27.820
circumstance. And that's not going to help you, especially if you're trying to stop drinking or,
00:14:32.980
you know, if you have any issues with, um, alcohol. So, um, it's tough, but you know what? I don't
00:14:38.960
think you have to like destroy the relationship with them. I think you can mend it, uh, complete it and
00:14:43.760
then move on. That's my recommendation. Uh, Tony DP, I'm going to call you DP, uh, or Tony alphabet,
00:14:53.040
uh, dealing with in-laws. Where do we keep quiet and where is the line where we need to step in?
00:15:01.380
Oh man, this is one of those hypotheticals, right? Tony. Cause I'm kind of like, well,
00:15:05.420
depends, right? The, like, what do you mean? Step in like, what's the issue? What's going on? Is it,
00:15:11.380
uh, um, is it serving your family in a negative way or, or something else? So I'll come up with
00:15:18.000
some hypotheticals. So of course we, we deal quasi with family. We may establish boundaries,
00:15:23.940
I think, um, of what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. Um, and, and I think you need to
00:15:30.180
withhold those boundaries. I think you need to be fair and, um, realistic with the boundaries that we,
00:15:36.320
that we, um, establish with our loved ones. But when those boundaries are crossed,
00:15:41.380
you always have to step, step in and, and withhold those boundaries. Now,
00:15:45.740
what boundaries you said, I think is really dependent on, does it affect your family in a
00:15:50.960
negative way? And is it serving the family? And is, if it's affecting your family in a negative way,
00:15:58.540
and I don't know, it's some drama that you can't deal with, or, uh, there's a verbal or,
00:16:04.440
you know, obviously physical abuse, then obviously you got to step in and you got to withstand those
00:16:08.800
boundaries. But, but I would focus on establishing boundaries, um, and understand why, and the
00:16:14.080
reasoning why behind them. I'd clearly communicate them. And then you have to withhold those boundaries.
00:16:19.360
If you don't withhold those boundaries, then the people are going to walk all over it constantly.
00:16:24.020
Um, so that's my focus. Sorry. I know it's like vague, but also your question is vague. So,
00:16:31.080
um, I had to be a little bit hypothetical there. All right. Joey Neely, would you agree that therapy
00:16:36.160
is crucial in self-improvement and should be prioritized if a sustainable progress is to be
00:16:42.260
made? Um, I think so. Uh, not always, I guess it all depends. Um, I think therapy, um, what,
00:16:51.940
let's be Frank, what, what is therapy? And I, and I think for me anyway, when I put a definition of
00:16:58.180
what is therapy, it is getting clarity and being present to the effects of how you show up and how
00:17:08.780
your thought processes affect you and those around you and how your communication affects other
00:17:14.420
individuals. So based upon that definition, yeah, I think it could be crucial. Now, is it required?
00:17:21.280
Can you determine those things and be present with oneself and make those improvements without going to
00:17:27.080
therapy? I actually think you can, but therapy is also very helpful with, um, gaining that
00:17:33.860
understanding. It's certainly with a spouse and getting a third party involved and helping with
00:17:41.380
the communication process, especially if there's some communication breakdown between you and a
00:17:45.840
spouse. And let's be honest, like getting coaching from your spouse is not an easy thing to do. And so
00:17:51.400
getting some coaching from a third party source, um, that's not so close, um, to the situation might
00:17:58.440
provide a huge amount of assistance. Oh, I loved an analogy. I heard, I can't even remember where I
00:18:03.100
read it, but it's like, it's hard to see the label when you're inside the jar. And, and that's what
00:18:09.040
a therapist can do, um, for us. I don't think it's required. Um, but I think it could be highly
00:18:16.180
beneficial, certainly in a, in a relationship, Taylor Brown, Ryan Mickler and Kip Sorensen.
00:18:24.360
What type of boundaries do you set with your kids and technology? There's a whole world out there
00:18:29.420
that they don't understand that as parents, we try to protect them from, but at the same time,
00:18:34.740
if you keep them from technology, they will fall behind because of how much it's used in daily lives
00:18:40.780
and how fast it's growing. So let's first establish that last statement. Um, I think personally that
00:18:47.680
your children or my children, I should just stick it to my opinion here in my, my own family. I believe
00:18:53.920
my family can be exposed to technology, um, in a very positive way that does not hinder them, um,
00:19:01.900
from using technology from, uh, like school or for obviously future job perspective. But I think I can
00:19:09.120
also still protect them, um, from things that, um, that are on the web. So first off, um, circle by
00:19:17.940
Disney, um, having a secured VPN that you have set up within your home. There's tons of apps that you
00:19:25.800
can configure on routers, um, on your wifi blocking schedule time, um, blocking devices, certain websites
00:19:33.920
on your own wifi. Now, obviously there's only limited control in which you can, you know, do within the
00:19:38.700
walls of your own home. Um, and, and I'll kind of share my opinion about some of those things. So
00:19:43.080
first off, this is what we do. So the only kids with smartphones in my family is my, my 20 year old,
00:19:50.700
which is at college. So obviously my ability to control whether he has a smartphone or not is
00:19:55.280
done. Um, it's over with my 18 year old has a cell phone or a smartphone. My 15 year old has a flip phone
00:20:04.020
and my six year old, the six year old has a flip phone really from kind of like an emergency
00:20:09.060
perspective. So that's number one. We're trying to delay how quick the smartphone gets into the hands
00:20:16.440
of our kids. And we're trying to delay that until they're older. That's number one. Number two,
00:20:23.420
after we say family prayers in the evenings, phones are plugged in upstairs in the kitchen and not taken
00:20:29.800
to their bedrooms. Now I'll be the first to say, we suck at establishing this boundary. I, I just
00:20:38.440
forget. Sometimes I go to bed and then I'm like, Oh crap. I never asked for their phones last night.
00:20:42.260
And, and trust me, these kids are not on their own saying, Hey, let me put my phone in upstairs.
00:20:47.600
Uh, they are looking for every opportunity as possible to take their phones to the rooms,
00:20:51.420
which obviously one, um, we do it because we want to like, you know, we don't want them late at night
00:20:58.360
on a phone and who knows doing what right from a, from a browsing the web perspective. But number
00:21:03.740
two, they're staying up all night and they're chatting and they're, you know, on Instagram or
00:21:09.140
whatever. And it's like, dude, you need to go to bed. Right. And so that's number one is to remove
00:21:13.100
the distraction from them actually getting sleep time. Um, no TV for the little guy. Uh, we have,
00:21:19.620
we have a one-year-old. Um, and after studying some books about dopamine and managing dopamine,
00:21:25.520
um, there's no way I want him even having any screen time, uh, at all at this age. And I'm going
00:21:32.280
to try to fight that as much as I can, um, from him not having screen time because, uh, there's a
00:21:37.300
major issue here. And, and, and this is the part that if you don't mind me kind of segueing into is
00:21:42.280
I really think a lot of the tech management around our kids and the boundaries are more about dopamine
00:21:49.720
management and managing delayed gratification as well as protection. So obviously we want to
00:21:57.080
protect them. We can, we can do that with our wifi and limiting screen time, uh, even managing screen
00:22:03.020
time for like TVs. That's super easy to do with smart TVs and those kinds of things. So I would
00:22:08.420
definitely put those things in place. I would have open conversations with kids about the effects of
00:22:13.560
pornography, um, especially our boys, um, and what's appropriate and what's not appropriate.
00:22:19.560
And then the, around the dopamine portion, kids get huge dopamine dumps from watching TV and playing
00:22:28.480
video games. And guess where else they get dopamine from? They get a small portion from listening to what
00:22:35.680
mom and dad asked them to do by choosing the right thing. They actually do, but guess, guess what's
00:22:43.000
dopamine dump is substantially more TV, right? The video game. And if they're constantly getting
00:22:50.360
huge amounts of dopamine from these other activities, they won't even it's, it's management
00:22:55.980
dopamine. Like they're being overdosed with dopamine through all these other like aspects where the,
00:23:02.460
the joy of delayed gratification of working hard and doing my homework and, and following the rules
00:23:08.500
and following moral principles doesn't even compare to the, the, the feel goods that they get from
00:23:14.760
watching TV and these other things. And so the more we can manage that and, and reduce, uh, the amount of
00:23:21.440
dopamine that they're getting from all these other areas, the higher probability that, that the things
00:23:26.600
like reading a book and learning and working hard will actually provide some value. So my mind has been
00:23:34.020
blown this, this past month or so around just kind of this concept of managing dopamine. And, um, I don't
00:23:41.000
know, it's really interesting. So maybe look into that too, Taylor, because I think it's a major part
00:23:45.940
of managing technology because technology is the conduit by which these kids are getting huge amount of
00:23:52.480
dopamine from. Okay. Chris Dalton advice for new fathers. I'm having a fraternal twins in the spring,
00:24:00.620
a boy and a girl. So Chris dude, super excited for you. That's awesome. Um, man, having kids is
00:24:08.700
amazing. It's so amazing. Uh, and, uh, whenever I hear about guys becoming a father, uh, it's just,
00:24:17.300
you know, uh, it's, it's going to be amazing and your mind's going to be rocked. And right now, remember
00:24:22.440
how you feel about the concept of unconditional love and then wait until you see your boy and your
00:24:30.440
girl for the first time. And then think about if you now understand unconditional love and you will,
00:24:36.120
and it's crazy because you don't right now until you see those kids. And it's, and it's pretty
00:24:40.200
amazing. So first off Chris twins, dude. Uh, so I've never had twins and I, and I think advice for a
00:24:46.540
new fathers of twins is a whole other, probably like level advice from just a new father period of a,
00:24:53.840
of a single child. So, um, man, talk about tough. It, it was tough with one kid, right? Plan to lose
00:25:01.380
a lot of sleep. Um, the, the one thing that comes to mind and this would be advice for any new father.
00:25:07.340
And I think it just gets heightened with the idea that you're having twins is have the conversations
00:25:13.660
with your wife about how you manage taking care of the kids and how you're getting sleep. Don't assume
00:25:22.400
anything. So let me give you a couple of examples and, and, and you think through your mind, if this
00:25:28.060
is productive or not. So what's, what's going to happen is, you know, I don't know, you'll be a
00:25:33.480
weekend and baby start crying in the middle of the night. Now in your mind, you might go, man, I got work
00:25:39.240
in the morning at 6am. Uh, she gets a nap with the kids. So, uh, she should get up and then she's
00:25:45.580
thinking, Oh man, I'm so exhausted because I've, I took care of him before bedtime and then he should
00:25:49.700
get up. And if you don't make these, these have be clear in this communication with her, you guys are
00:25:54.920
going to have all these set expectations on each other of what the other one should be doing. So
00:26:00.360
instead of being disappointed because most expectations go turn into disappointments,
00:26:05.540
actually have a communication about what those expectations are and what your guys's game plan
00:26:10.740
is. Guess what? It is not effective whatsoever for both of you to get up every single time. Why?
00:26:16.880
Cause you're both losing sleep. So come up with that strategy. It's like, okay, since you got work in
00:26:21.580
the morning, you got the kids tonight and then I'll take the kids in the morning, you know, late morning
00:26:25.440
in the afternoon or vice versa. But I would really just over communicate about what the strategy is
00:26:31.400
going to be, what she expects from you, what you expect from her and what you guys can do to best
00:26:37.860
manage the situation. Don't assume anything because guaranteed your expectations are not going to be
00:26:45.820
met and neither are hers. So just communicate over communicate. Um, I'm trying to think what else,
00:26:53.380
man, you got to help her out. You got to help her out as much as you can. Um, especially the twins.
00:26:59.780
I'm sure she's going to be so exhausted all the time. And so ask her what she needs, help follow
00:27:07.880
your gut in regards to, you know, how you should be stepping up as a father and do your best, but
00:27:13.940
just really over communicate. I can't stress that enough. PJ Joyce, if you lost all of your wealth
00:27:20.940
tomorrow and could not return to the job you currently hold, where would you begin? This is kind
00:27:27.980
of a fun question, PJ. Um, and I'm really curious about how Ryan would answer this question. So my
00:27:33.700
apologies, PJ, if you're kind of hoping for Ryan's response here. Um, so I'm assuming, well, let me,
00:27:40.060
let me assume two things. So I am, this sounds a little cocky, but I am damn good at what I do.
00:27:46.620
So if I lost my job, um, I would just start a new consulting firm. Um, it's that simple. Uh,
00:27:54.340
I own my own consulting firm for 12 years, recently sold and merged with another firm.
00:28:00.280
If I lost my job here for whatever reason, I would just start doing what I've done for the last
00:28:05.840
geez, you know, 15 plus years of my career. I'm just really good at it. Now, part of me kind of
00:28:13.080
wonders if, if your question is, is like, but let's say you can't go back into consulting for whatever
00:28:18.080
reason. And I had to like come up with a whole new industry kind of scenario. Um,
00:28:22.120
man, uh, I don't know. Uh, I I'm a Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I love Jiu Jitsu. I love
00:28:29.900
teaching. I find great joy in teaching. Maybe I try to open a school. Um, you know, I have,
00:28:36.640
I have a huge interest in psychology, maybe go to school. I don't know. Uh, there's a number of
00:28:43.200
different avenues I could go down. Um, one of the things that I find is really interesting is I'm in
00:28:48.400
the technology consulting space and arguably it has nothing to do with technology. In most cases,
00:28:54.300
it's really business consulting. And so I think that transcends in a lot of different avenues and I
00:28:59.780
could easily use that skillset, um, for a number of different things. So, uh, that, that's kind of
00:29:05.180
the approach that I would take. Um, yeah. So hopefully that's, I don't know, uh, maybe, I don't
00:29:11.920
know, in hindsight, I'm looking at this question. I'm like, well, maybe he's looking for like kind of
00:29:15.500
steps. Like what would you do first? What would you do second? So let me give that insight just
00:29:19.300
in case someone's asking for that question. And it's really the approach I took when I first started,
00:29:24.600
uh, my own business. Um, a lot of guys have this mentality. Um, I have a good friend that
00:29:30.600
is into martial arts. He, he wanted to start a martial arts school and he had this mentality that
00:29:35.320
I need to raise a bunch of money. I need to get funding from the bank and I need to open a brick
00:29:40.220
and mortar school on the corner and then I'll find students. And, and my suggestion to him was
00:29:46.640
don't do that. Go to a rec, uh, a rec center, sign up and get a following, start teaching classes at
00:29:54.140
different rec centers, get a class going, get a group of individuals, get some revenue flowing,
00:30:01.100
prove that there's even a market for your services in that area. And once you've justified that and you
00:30:07.640
have a minimal viable product and you get some money and some cashflow going, then look to rent
00:30:13.820
a space or have a brick and mortar store or vice versa in the world of consulting. The way that looked
00:30:18.800
for me is I don't need to hire 10 employees. All right. To get started. The first thing that came
00:30:25.240
to mind is I called headhunters and I said, Hey, I want contract work. However, the only contract work
00:30:30.820
I want is corp to corp contracts, which means that those companies would pay my company, not W two or
00:30:38.600
10 99 directly to me as an individual. So they'd had to be corp to corp contracts. Once I landed a
00:30:44.880
handful of corp to corp contracts where it was just me, um, and my company, then I was able to
00:30:50.500
introduce new employees, subcontractors, maybe initially, right. Convert them over to employees
00:30:56.060
and then eventually grow the team. So there's a lot of creative ways that we can enter a new
00:31:00.860
job, um, and a market by really trying it out, try that MVP, get creative in regards to, but the main
00:31:08.440
thing is Ryan would say, don't overly plan, start taking action. See if there's even a need for your
00:31:14.460
market or your, uh, a need for your services within that market and, and just keep acting and then pivot
00:31:21.020
because there's a lot of growth that will never come to us until we act. And you may not even know
00:31:26.340
what to plan until you actually start taking action because there's a bunch of unknowns that will never
00:31:31.420
be present to you until action is, is made. All right. I'm get God got Gade Gade. How do you usually
00:31:40.400
start your day and how do you end it? Uh, so my typical day, um, I'll get up at about five 2530.
00:31:50.620
I'll go downstairs, uh, wake up my son and say, let's hit the gym. Uh, and then we go to the gym
00:31:57.160
and work out roughly for a little bit over an hour. Um, come back to the house, shower, um, journal.
00:32:04.820
Usually sometimes it's, uh, depending on if that workout went too long or we got out of the house a
00:32:09.700
little late, uh, that kind of disrupts my morning. But the ideal morning is, is workout, uh, journaling.
00:32:17.140
Uh, I have some, uh, affirmations that I read, uh, and then get into the office. Um, how my day ends,
00:32:23.840
uh, lately it's kind of fun actually. So one of the things that I've been wanting to do with my kids
00:32:29.580
is really, uh, reiterate the importance of reading. And so, um, what we started doing literally just like
00:32:37.600
two to probably two, three weeks ago is we have 10 minutes of reading as a family. Uh, we don't read
00:32:44.100
together though. So everyone grabs a book. I set a timer and we sit in the living room and we're all
00:32:50.840
quiet and we just read for 10 minutes. And what's great about it is most of the time that alarm goes
00:32:55.860
off and my kids are like, Oh wait, just a little bit longer. So I'm like, that's perfect. So we read,
00:33:00.380
uh, we will then have, uh, family scriptures and prayers. And then another thing that I've been doing
00:33:08.300
literally as of just like these last three weeks, because it's on my battle plan is having individual
00:33:13.780
prayers with my kids. Um, I think we have a tendency sometimes to say these family prayers, but my kids
00:33:19.140
themselves aren't getting on their knees and praying. And so, uh, we just kind of, I go to their room
00:33:26.540
and say, okay, it's time for personal prayers. And we say, start and everyone starts and you say,
00:33:32.600
amen, when you're done, but you still stay reverent until everyone's finished. Uh, and then we complete
00:33:38.360
our prayers and then I go to bed. So that's typically my day. I mean, I think there's a few
00:33:44.320
other things, maybe they're important, maybe they're not, but I'll set up my workout clothing
00:33:48.380
usually in the morning because it's super hard to get ready, uh, when I'm trying to be quiet and my
00:33:53.860
wife still sleep and those kinds of things. So I do a little bit of a prep before going to sleep.
00:33:58.880
But, um, other than that, that's, that's kind of the, the typical way I start in, in my day.
00:34:05.120
Ben Acosta, what do you think about Tony Robbins? Is there any issue with posting some of his self
00:34:11.580
help materials in the group? Um, so Ben, I'm assuming within the group, you mean within the
00:34:16.080
Facebook group? Um, I don't think so. I don't see any problem with that. I would, I probably
00:34:20.920
wouldn't, I would add to it, right? I just probably wouldn't repost. What I'd probably suggest you do is
00:34:27.460
share why whatever you're posting was beneficial to you and what you got out of it and share kind
00:34:35.800
of your take on it. And I think guys are, are more maybe interested in that. I, I, we could all
00:34:41.300
maybe find Tony Robbins stuff fairly easily if we wanted to. And so I'd be more interested, Ben,
00:34:46.980
in hearing why something in particular was beneficial and insightful to you and what you
00:34:52.640
got out of it. And that, that would, I think, benefit me more. Um, if you did it that way.
00:34:57.800
Um, I, I think Tony Robbins is obviously highly effective with what he does. I don't think he'd
00:35:02.580
be in a position he is without it. Um, and who am I to even have an opinion about Tony Robbins? I,
00:35:08.060
I think he's a stud. Um, I, sometimes I think he's a little over the top, but, um, you know,
00:35:14.080
I don't know, you know what I mean? But regardless, uh, the guy's a stud and highly successful and has
00:35:18.900
a lot of great content. So, uh, that's kind of my take on it. Russ, uh, Thorgerson,
00:35:24.580
Thorgerson, what is, uh, why is it so hard to execute something you dream of? The motivation
00:35:32.060
is there, the drive, but when it comes down to it, you don't follow through. They have a great heart,
00:35:38.180
a good head on their shoulders and all the knowledge to execute, but fell to follow through.
00:35:43.060
I E losing weight, standing up for yourself, switching jobs, leaving a toxic relationship
00:35:49.600
and so on and so on. Um, so why do people, right? Why don't they, and it's interesting Russ,
00:35:56.480
cause I'm assuming, you know, obviously you have someone in your, in your life where you're like,
00:36:00.380
man, dude, they have it all. Like the dream's even probably a great dream and you believe that
00:36:05.340
they can pull it off and they're, they're smart enough and everything, but they just don't
00:36:10.120
follow through. And, and I personally think it comes down to their story. Like it's, it's sad,
00:36:17.920
but we all have these stories that we have these defining moments in our life. Um, that, you know,
00:36:24.540
we're, we're kids and you go to the fifth grade and someone makes fun of you. And at that moment in
00:36:29.140
your life, you change, you make a decision that like, you know, I'm this way I'm not liked and I'm not
00:36:36.540
loved or whatever. And then your personality changes. And then you have another defining moment,
00:36:42.900
probably early in your teens. And then another defining moment later in your teens and these
00:36:47.120
things ride on us and they make up our personalities. Um, and we believe these stories as though
00:36:56.820
they're true. In reality, I think a lot of these stories that we come up with are not there. They're
00:37:02.720
our interpretation of what happened. And most of them are from the mindset of a five-year-old from
00:37:08.100
an eight-year-old. And as adults, we were not even connected to them. I think a majority of us don't
00:37:16.040
even know what these defining moments are in our lives that, that make up the fabric of our quote
00:37:21.360
unquote personalities. And we just have this attitude of like, well, you know, this is kind of who I am
00:37:26.920
or whatever, but we don't understand why, why I have such a strong opinion about certain things,
00:37:32.580
why these certain things really, really bother me. And we take our past of what's happened to us
00:37:39.240
throughout our lives and we carry it into our future and we let it determine how we execute on
00:37:45.180
things. And I think deep down, a lot of people that struggle with execution, uh, and having happiness
00:37:53.040
and success in life, it's because they have not became present to these stories that they tell
00:38:00.400
themselves. And the majority of these stories, unfortunately, uh, are pretty deep and are things
00:38:07.740
like, I'm not loved. I'm not good enough. I can't do it. And, and they're almost subconscious to us.
00:38:16.040
And I really think that's at the heart of most of our failures. Um, because deep down we're
00:38:23.440
listening and we live into these stories based upon experiences that we had as kids.
00:38:30.620
There you go, Russ. That's my, that's my take on it. That's why I think that is at the heart of most
00:38:35.300
of that. Jonathan Harps, Ryan and Kip, not a question, but a sincere thank you for all the tools that
00:38:43.160
you've given me to be more capable man. Just checked off sovereignty from my local library for
00:38:48.960
the fourth time. And as always gaining a new perspective on life. Thanks again. And best wishes
00:38:54.640
for this coming 2020 year, Jonathan. Awesome, man. Thank you guys. I can't, I mean, and maybe Ryan,
00:39:02.320
Brian, Ryan probably gets way more like obviously compliments than, than, than I get, but I'll guarantee
00:39:10.060
you, um, you guys reaching out and just letting us know of what's working and the, the difference
00:39:16.340
that the podcast is making or the difference that these interviews, uh, that Ryan has on to on the
00:39:22.320
Tuesday show is, is benefiting you or Ryan's book sovereignty of how's it, how's it, how it has made a
00:39:28.260
difference in your life is huge. It's really huge. Sometimes I can't even imagine how daunting Ryan
00:39:35.360
feels from time to time. I feel daunted. And all I do is a stupid, ask me anything episode on Wednesdays
00:39:41.140
and I feel overwhelmed sometimes. And, and getting messages from guys, um, like you guys do send is,
00:39:48.300
is just so nice. And it, and it rejuvenates me and reminds me what we're doing at the value that we're
00:39:55.200
providing. And, uh, it keeps us, it keeps us going and, and don't get me wrong. I mean, I get that,
00:40:00.980
that we should be committed to this cause and we shouldn't have to require, uh, reassurance of
00:40:06.840
what we're doing, but let's be frank. It's nice. Uh, it's certainly nice. And, and Jonathan, thanks
00:40:13.200
for, for letting us know and, and dude, just happy that you guys are here supporting us on the podcast
00:40:18.520
and, and that you're showing up, uh, for the people in your life, because that's what this is all about
00:40:24.200
is, is by us becoming better men. Um, we're creating positive impact in the homes, um, with our families
00:40:31.660
within our communities. And, uh, and that's ultimately what we're trying to do. All right.
00:40:37.420
Tristan Ramirez, how to get over, uh, over retroactive jealousy, meaning you have resentment
00:40:45.780
and jealousy regarding your partner's sexual past. Oh man. Ah, oh man.
00:40:54.200
I should have read this one earlier so I can give some thought to this.
00:40:59.560
Okay. Well, what's, what's first point out? Okay. Maybe, can we point this out that like,
00:41:05.860
this is one of the benefits of like not having sex before marriage, right? So this is, is not a thing.
00:41:12.340
Uh, Tristan, I'm sure that, that if your partner right now had no sexual experiences before you,
00:41:20.760
that like, obviously this would not even be on your radar. So that would be kind of nice,
00:41:25.640
I'm assuming. Um, and, and the reason why I like hesitated a little bit thinking about this is, um,
00:41:32.620
I mean, I get it. Like, I totally get it. Um, I've been in relationships in my past and, and, um,
00:41:38.980
uh, this is tough. Like this is really tough. So, um, I get it, but I think you just have to be
00:41:48.280
present kind of, to be honest, back to what I was saying earlier, you got to be present to the story,
00:41:54.020
like the meaning. Cause let's be frank. Like, um, well, at least in the world we lived in today,
00:42:00.240
it's not uncommon, right? That we're going to end up with, um, uh, a partner or a spouse that's,
00:42:05.900
that's probably been sexually active with someone else. And so, um, one, uh, the, the probability of
00:42:13.580
us, uh, having a spouse that has not been sexually active is going to be really tough. Um, especially
00:42:20.100
depending on the community and, you know, state and your religious beliefs and those kinds of
00:42:24.020
things. Um, but regardless, like, is that what's really bothering you? Uh, and I would probably
00:42:29.840
suggest that, that it's not actually, it's, it's all the made up stuff that you're adding, you know,
00:42:36.860
the, um, did she, did she enjoy sex with other partners more than she enjoys, uh, sex with me?
00:42:43.760
Uh, did she do, you know, did she do these things with other guys, but she doesn't do it with me,
00:42:47.640
right? Like it's all those things. And, and even at the root of all those kinds of comments and thoughts
00:42:53.940
is, does she love me as much? Does she care about me as much? And it's a comparison trap, right?
00:43:01.760
A comparison trap, um, with a spouse that is with you, not with them, with you, but we don't think
00:43:10.780
about that, right? We don't go, well, geez, she chose me. She married me. So obviously I am good
00:43:15.800
enough, right? That that's way too logical, right? We'd rather like think about this and, and think of
00:43:20.560
all the, you know, uh, things that she doesn't probably like about us and that she may have
00:43:26.920
enjoyed more with someone else than us and blah, blah, blah. Just realize that's your story. That's
00:43:32.360
not even truth. Um, and if it is truth, AKA, she told you that, well then, you know, maybe you should
00:43:38.680
be moving on from that partnership. Um, but I think in most cases it's, it's the story, uh, that you're
00:43:45.840
telling yourself. And so get present to where that story is coming from. I think second is,
00:43:50.560
um, focus your attention on, and don't write, we're going to always find evidence and things
00:43:56.920
that we constantly ponder about. And so if you're investing a lot of brain cycles on those kinds of
00:44:02.460
things, um, you're, you're going to make it worse for yourself. And so, and, and I'm not saying like
00:44:08.660
turn your eye to it and avoid it and, you know, don't address it. Like if there's some legitimate
00:44:14.020
concerns or whatever, have that conversation with her. But, but I really think this is, this is probably
00:44:18.500
more in your head and more of the story that you're telling about yourself and what it means
00:44:22.640
about you than probably anything else. And, and appreciate the fact that she's with you right
00:44:28.100
now. She's with you. And that says a lot. And so maybe trust in that. Um, that's a tough
00:44:36.060
one. All right. Jeff Kessler, can you go into depth about how you develop to self-discipline?
00:44:42.660
What are your current struggles and what strategies do you utilize to stay the course?
00:44:48.740
Um, so self-discipline, um, I really think self-discipline comes down to getting very present,
00:44:57.340
um, to delayed gratification. Um, and this is just really present in my mind because as a father,
00:45:05.080
I I'm, that's my number one complaint of, of, uh, of two of my boys are really more than one than,
00:45:12.280
than the other, the other two is he lacks self-discipline. He lacks discipline. He lacks
00:45:17.240
discipline. And what that really means is he has not learned delayed gratification. There is
00:45:25.360
gratification in doing things that require discipline. Going to the gym is gratifying when
00:45:32.880
you're done. Working outside hard on the farm is great. When you're done reading a book and finishing
00:45:41.560
it is great. When you're finished, when you're done, right? There's, there's value and gratification
00:45:47.820
and a lot of things. The issue is, can we delay it? Can we go through the grind and experience
00:45:55.320
hardship and struggle and grit or whatever, and reach the benefit once we're done? I think that's
00:46:00.860
myself. That's my definition of self-discipline or what's at the root when we lack discipline.
00:46:07.780
It's really an issue with delayed gratification. And so, um, for me, it's about the grind. Um,
00:46:17.400
and I make it more about, or at least for me, it's more about how I show up in life and the man I am
00:46:26.180
and what that means and, and what it represents and the impact that it makes on my kids and my family.
00:46:32.120
And that drives me to at least act. And then through that process of repetitive action,
00:46:40.000
um, over difficult things, I received the benefit of that discipline. And then it re rejuvenates me.
00:46:51.760
Right. And it creates the habit of like, yes, that was worth it. And, and you start getting some
00:46:56.620
momentum and a really good book on the subjects is atomic habits where, where you really think
00:47:02.540
about, it's like, man, so much of what we do is actually habit driven more than it is anything
00:47:06.920
else. And it's about repetitive process and constant and, and, um, consistency more than it
00:47:13.920
is anything else. And so I would really focus on those areas of focusing on atomic, uh, atomic
00:47:20.180
habits, these small habits that need to be reoccurring in our lives. I'd look for opportunities
00:47:24.940
to create or to have a delayed gratification, um, areas where I currently struggle. Um, what
00:47:32.220
strategy do I utilize to stay the course? Um, areas where I probably currently struggle
00:47:36.680
is, um, geez. Um, I don't know, like sometimes, I mean, I don't know, I'm pretty consistent
00:47:45.560
on my workouts and those kinds of things. I think, um, an area where, where I struggle with
00:47:51.060
having discipline is these, the thought process that today's unique, that today's the exception
00:47:56.980
to the rule. And I'll use that to justify all kinds of stuff. So if I'm focusing on not
00:48:03.560
eating crap food, um, then, but today's bad, right? Oh man, I got all these means got back
00:48:10.420
to back. The baby woke up like two times last night. I'm exhausted. So I'm going to definitely
00:48:15.480
pound that Dr. Pepper because, you know, today's the exception. It's not the normal day. Um, the
00:48:22.500
exception is, is okay. And, and I use that thought process to justify all kinds of lack
00:48:29.100
of action on my part. Um, the reality though is guess what? That's every day, every day is
00:48:35.520
that way. And one tactic, I guess I, that I used to, or strategy that I used to stay the
00:48:41.880
course is I have to remind myself that if I can't handle today, what right do I have to handle
00:48:51.720
anything bigger in my life? If I can't handle a baby keeping me up until, you know, later in the
00:48:58.880
night, if I can't handle a teenage son, not listening to me, if I can't handle, uh, the, the,
00:49:05.280
the issues of, um, you know, maybe drama on a team, if I can't handle, uh, uh, confrontational
00:49:13.060
conversation with one of my employees or having to let someone go, if I can't handle those
00:49:18.640
things, what right do I think that I can even be on this podcast? What right do I have to even
00:49:26.220
coach or think that I'm a decent example to my kids on how to address something difficult?
00:49:31.680
What, what right do I have to think that I need something greater in life that I deserve
00:49:38.940
something greater than I have? If I can't even deal with what's my current circumstances,
00:49:44.440
if I can't even handle the way I show up based upon the circumstances in my life. And so when I
00:49:50.480
think that I think, Whoa, you know what, what I am dealing with is not that big of a deal. And you
00:49:56.380
know what, I can handle these situations. And, and with the idea that if I tackle life as is right
00:50:02.800
now, I'm learning and I'm growing in a way that I can take on more that I can take, play a bigger game
00:50:08.860
in life and not play small. But if I can't even deal with what I have, I don't have a right to be
00:50:14.840
asking for any more than I already have. So that that's, I don't know, that's something that kind of
00:50:19.980
gets me fired up when I think of from that perspective. All right. Taylor Edgar, how do I
00:50:25.820
help my wife who is having depression issues with weight management, self-discipline, self-worth,
00:50:30.940
and so on. I try to be the best husband and father. I can be doing all I can with what time I have at
00:50:36.980
home. We have a seven year old and 18th month old twin girls that definitely keep us busy and make it
00:50:43.940
hard to focus on ourselves. I try to help with making time for her to go to the gym or go with
00:50:49.860
me on walks, knowing that if she would just go, it would help her physically and mentally,
00:50:54.040
but she won't do it. I don't know what to do and it's hurting our marriage. Thanks in advance.
00:51:02.860
So first off, if she's dealing with depression, um, I can't say this enough, man. I, I would,
00:51:09.460
I would suggest that, that she might want to, she might want to see a counseling, um, one maybe for
00:51:16.000
your marriage. Um, but, but certainly just maybe for herself, there might be things that she's
00:51:21.340
dealing with that, um, that she doesn't want to have that conversation with you about, uh, maybe
00:51:26.580
it's something she's embarrassed about, or I don't know what it is. Um, but maybe there's a higher
00:51:31.780
probability that she might be willing to open up and have that conversation, um, with a counselor.
00:51:36.820
And so, and, and, and depending on the degree of depression, if it's like legit depression,
00:51:41.680
um, I would highly recommend, uh, that she seek counseling. I think that would be good for her,
00:51:47.720
for her to find her voice, uh, and her conversation, um, and have that conversation,
00:51:52.360
that open dialogue with other individual. What's with what's struggling in her life here. Here's the
00:51:57.700
reality. And, and, and I'm not saying Taylor that you're doing this, but I think it's,
00:52:01.300
I think we should all consider that we do this, that the communication that our spouses have with
00:52:08.040
us is based upon how we react to past conversations and they learn not to communicate with us about
00:52:15.180
certain things. Because the last time I brought that up, you overreacted the last time that you
00:52:20.620
got angry, you did this. And, and we really start teaching our spouses to like not express their
00:52:28.180
feelings to not have freedom of self-expression. And instead they bottle it up. They don't
00:52:34.700
communicate with us because right. Cause we have like quote unquote train them that it's not effective
00:52:40.360
to communicate with us. So one, I think we should all be mindful of that. And Taylor, I'm not saying
00:52:45.980
that you're doing that, but what I'm saying is I do that is what I'm saying. Um, and, and it's very
00:52:52.660
much how our kids communicate with us, right? Like, you know, if, if our teenage son is talking
00:52:58.320
back, guess what, who, who set that up? We did, right. We, we set up that scenario that said that
00:53:05.140
was justified, that that was okay. Or, you know, we build belittle them enough in our conversations.
00:53:10.900
And then they see that as the means of communication, right? Or we give them what they want when they
00:53:16.520
act up a certain way. Like, trust me, we're playing a bigger part in, in how those that we love
00:53:21.260
communicate with us. And I think there's a huge value add for us to evaluate that and maybe take
00:53:26.640
some ownership and, um, evaluation of our part that we've played in that. Um, sorry, that's a
00:53:34.340
huge segue Taylor. So back to your question about your wife, you know, I think counseling is number
00:53:40.020
one. I think number two, um, obviously be the example to where I think you're probably doing the
00:53:45.280
right thing of trying to help her out. Um, you might play like a little bit more hardball with her too,
00:53:50.920
you know, it's like, you know, maybe come home, um, and grab the kids and throw them in the car
00:53:57.400
and drive off and then text her and say, Hey, got the kids for the next four hours. Um,
00:54:03.920
your friend, so-and-so is on her way over to hang out with you. Like do that kind of stuff
00:54:08.300
because she might be running this whole guilt trip. Like, you know, I need to focus on my kids and,
00:54:13.960
and, and I, she might be feeling guilty for doing things on her own. So, you know, kind of play those
00:54:18.760
cards a little bit in a fun kind of way and put her on the spot and say, okay, you got four hours
00:54:23.120
to do whatever you want. Or I'm taking the kids to your parents' house for the weekend. Enjoy,
00:54:27.620
you know, and, and align and make arrangements for her friends to come over and visit with her.
00:54:32.840
You know, there might be some ways that you can kind of spark it up and, and get creative. Um,
00:54:38.280
the other thing is, and, and only reason why I bring this up is, is I've been really present to
00:54:43.760
this lately is it's really interesting is sometimes we talk a lot on this podcast and in, in the iron
00:54:50.980
council, which is the, um, brotherhood that's kind of tied to the order of man podcast. And,
00:54:58.440
and we talk a lot about being a lighthouse and, and this, this idea that we're not tugboats,
00:55:03.140
right? We don't push people to shore. We, uh, let our light so shine, right? So people see,
00:55:09.720
um, a different way of being and it, and it creates an opportunity for them to possibly relate
00:55:17.320
and find that out for themselves, right? We can't force people. Um, but when we show up a certain
00:55:23.480
way in life where we can be a light unto other, other individuals and they see possibility in our
00:55:29.980
way of being, that could be really, really powerful. Um, however, I think I quote unquote,
00:55:37.880
my mind or my perception is I do that. But what's interesting is I do that without,
00:55:43.860
I think I'm doing that without being happy and kind. And if you really think about it, right,
00:55:52.540
I can be getting after at work. Let's say a highly effective employee and I'm killing it.
00:55:58.360
My team's highly effective. I'm doing all these things with my kids. We're doing our nightly reading.
00:56:03.260
I'm working out with my son. Like, dude, I'm on the path. I'm killing it. I'm doing an amazing job.
00:56:07.940
But the whole time I'm so damn intense that I'm not playful and I'm not kind, but I'm getting
00:56:14.740
after it and I'm doing all those things. Do you think that's inspiring? I don't think it is.
00:56:20.220
And, and lately I've been really thinking about this for myself. It's like, man, you know,
00:56:24.280
it's funny is like, I think I'm this lighthouse, but guess what that lighthouse looks like?
00:56:28.120
It looks like happiness. It looks like joy, right? You could be getting after it and hitting the gym
00:56:37.480
and do all these things. But if you're walking around moping and depressed and pissed off all the
00:56:43.020
time, that's not inspiring. Who wants to be like that? No one. So I really think like, at least for
00:56:50.620
me, it's like, I read, I need to reassess the importance, the importance of being happy and
00:56:58.100
being kind and playful while doing all these other things. Because if happiness and joy has been
00:57:06.600
removed or is not present for other people to see, that's not a light. And, and I don't think
00:57:12.540
we're going to have people following us and, and, and following our guidance and direction when we
00:57:19.460
are highly effective, but we come across like we're depressed and, and pissed off all the time.
00:57:25.720
So maybe consider Taylor, like, how are you showing up? Is it joyful, right? That might lighten a huge
00:57:33.600
load for her. It's tough, right? And let's be honest. It's super tough because you don't want her
00:57:39.220
dependent on you being happy, right? We should all seek sovereignty, including your wife. But that
00:57:44.880
might just be like the Kickstarter that she might need in this particular circumstance. I hope that
00:57:50.800
helps. Josh Coglin, after reading while at heart and beginning to deal with my wound, my wife and I
00:57:58.620
started to find hers and it was linked to how her father treated and treats her. And she will not put
00:58:05.480
up boundaries to prevent her from being further wounded. What advice can you give to help me help
00:58:11.760
her? I think the main thing that comes to mind is, well, first off, I'm assuming that she is
00:58:19.960
kind of found this out for herself, right? So she's at least present to the idea of, of this wound that
00:58:27.840
she has. I would just have the open dialogue of why she is not, um, putting up boundaries.
00:58:37.280
And it kind of goes back to what we, what I was talking about earlier. It's like, man, it could be
00:58:41.500
her story, right? Like, I mean, she, she could be so tied to getting the approval of dad that she's
00:58:48.080
willing to put herself through the gutter to, to feel loved and accepted because maybe that's what
00:58:52.860
she's, you know, that's her story that she's dealt with her entire life. And so I really think it's
00:58:58.520
like a in-depth conversation of like, why is she okay with him? Quote unquote, you know, hurting her
00:59:07.640
or, you know, being rude to her. Why is she okay with it? And like dive into it, like really just have
00:59:15.520
this open dialogue. Don't make her wrong by the way, right? There's no right and wrong in this
00:59:19.880
conversation. Um, there is just what's so. And so I would really focus on why, and I would keep
00:59:26.940
asking the question why in more wise and more wise and really get present to what that looks like.
00:59:33.080
Second, then, and this is where Ryan and I were like the carrot and the, uh, what does he say?
00:59:38.780
The carrot and the stick, right? The carrot is a good thing that motivates us. The stick is the
00:59:43.960
negative thing that motivates us. I like the stick. Ryan likes the carrot. So I'll give you the stick.
00:59:49.040
What does this teach your kids? So I I'm assuming you have kids, but how she stands up for herself
00:59:58.880
and what she allows to happen to her, our kids learn and they think that's normal and they will
01:00:07.080
pick that up. And so I'd be really present because it's really easy for us to put ourselves through the
01:00:12.680
grinder. Right. But I think once we get present to like, Oh shit, what I'm doing affects my kids.
01:00:19.580
And they're now going to have to be struggling with the same stuff that I've dealt with my entire
01:00:24.860
life because I chose not to deal with it and handle it appropriately. That inspires me at least.
01:00:30.960
I mean, I don't know, obviously the stick. And so I'd get really present to what this means and how
01:00:37.840
this affects people around her and affects you and affects her dad. Um, let's be honest. Most of the
01:00:43.560
people that we establish boundaries against it's obviously some of it is to protect us, but it's
01:00:49.520
also to protect them, right? Her dad may need that boundary. It might be exactly what the doctors
01:00:55.600
ordered and it might be good for him. So we don't do benefit to our kids. For instance, when you
01:01:02.520
establish boundaries and then let them walk all over it, that's not what's ideal for our kids. And I'm not
01:01:07.720
ideal from the perspective of like forcing them to confine to like what we think they should do. No,
01:01:13.380
it's like learning discipline and learning boundaries and rules like that benefits them.
01:01:18.680
That will help them become better people. And so this might be the same case with her father. And so
01:01:24.120
maybe that's what she needs to hear is like, Hey, for your dad, for your guys' relationship, your
01:01:28.180
relationship could be so much better if you're willing to establish the boundary and withhold it.
01:01:32.440
Joshua Baru, what should a young man do after engagement and what to prepare for before
01:01:39.820
marriage? Okay. Should a man do after engagement and what to, uh, and what to prepare for before
01:01:46.640
marriage? Oh man, I don't know, Joshua. Here's the, here's the deal. This is, I'll just tell you what,
01:01:52.280
what I think. Um, Oh, handful of things. Let me step back, talk about everything. So you guys need to
01:02:01.520
get on the same page about how you're going to handle finances. Where are you going to live?
01:02:06.340
I would talk about names. Is she going to take your name? Like, this is one of those things that
01:02:11.960
like, you just might be assuming some stuff. And then she may say no. And then you might go,
01:02:16.040
well, shit, that really bothers me. So I would talk about as much as stuff that you need to talk
01:02:20.820
about of what marriage is going to look like. And I know that sounds kind of like depressing
01:02:24.500
because you're probably on cloud nine and we're in love and I don't want to talk about negative
01:02:28.400
things. But man, you need to work through all that stuff as much as possible. Get on the same
01:02:33.180
page, set the tone for how communication looks like within your marriage. Do that now. There's
01:02:38.780
no reason to wait. So start working through that process and setting the precedence of this is how
01:02:44.420
we communicate in this marriage. That's, that's number one. Number two, I get really present the
01:02:50.900
idea that this will be the greatest thing that you will ever do and the hardest thing that you will
01:02:55.880
ever do. And that is normal. So when you guys get in your first fight and she freaks out and slams
01:03:02.620
doors and whatever, realize, Hey, guess what, dude? Welcome to marriage. Deal with it. I think
01:03:09.220
our generation and the generation behind us, or let me just share, I'm not, I'm not in a position to
01:03:15.580
tell what, what generations are doing for me. I remember the first time I got in a fight with my
01:03:20.880
wife after we got married and I thought, Holy crap, I made a mistake because I had this opinion
01:03:29.180
that I should never fight. You should never fight in a marriage because my parents were never good
01:03:35.380
examples of what an argument looks like in a marriage or how to resolve an argument. Like
01:03:40.920
Jesus has never argued, right? Like there's never a, an argument. And so when that happened for me,
01:03:46.940
I was like, Holy crap, like I married the wrong person. Something's wrong. And, and so get really
01:03:51.820
present. Like, Hey, guess what? It's going to be tough and that's okay. And that's what makes you
01:03:58.000
guys stronger together. If you're willing to work through those issues and not brush them under,
01:04:03.580
under the rug. So I really get on this train and this idea of what communication looks like.
01:04:10.200
It's going to be tough at times, but we're committed. We're going to grow. We're going to become
01:04:14.980
better. And I honestly believe that she is not capable of becoming the woman that she's capable
01:04:22.380
of becoming. And you not be, uh, you, uh, becoming the man that you were meant to be. And I don't think
01:04:28.680
that's possible without marriage. I really don't. And so buckle up, enjoy it. Have a great time when
01:04:36.660
things are difficult. Don't assume something's wrong and like want to throw the, the, the whole
01:04:42.740
marriage out the window because it's getting tough, uh, because that's not how it works.
01:04:47.100
So stick with it. Congratulations, by the way, on your engagement and, um, uh, have an amazing
01:04:53.480
marriage. All right. Um, probably last question here, Jason Lepke. How do you deal with your
01:05:00.540
partner that has an extreme road rage issues trying to be calm and deflective does not seem to be work.
01:05:07.300
It seemed to work. So, um, and this is, I mean, first off you don't call her out on the road rage
01:05:14.680
scenario in the middle of road rage. Right? So I think that's like rule number one, right? You have
01:05:20.300
this conversation when you're not in traffic and she's not pissed off and when she's probably in a
01:05:27.000
really good mood. And then I would have the conversation about, um, you know, the, the dangers
01:05:35.040
of road rage and, and what that's teaching the kids that are sitting in the back seat and with
01:05:42.300
the effects of her and just, just, I would just really go through the dangers of it all. I mean,
01:05:47.800
and, and you'd want to do this in a, in a, in a, in a, an environment by which she's already in a good
01:05:52.680
mood and, and things are going okay because obviously, you know, you don't want her pissed
01:05:56.580
off and then you're going to like, well, let me coach you about the dangers of road rage. Like
01:06:00.140
that's not going to help out either. And you might want to even pull some statistics around,
01:06:03.420
you know, you know, things that happened during road rage and those kinds of things.
01:06:07.120
And, and for me personally, I never understood it much because I just, I don't know. I think
01:06:12.900
people that lose control of their emotions, um, are, are, that's a really bad sign. And so I don't
01:06:20.100
like it. In fact, it really bothers me, um, when people lose their emotions and they like freak out.
01:06:26.300
So, um, I don't know, maybe there's some books that, that I can't even think of any books
01:06:31.580
that might be down this path, but, but I think it's about being present of what you,
01:06:36.340
what you ponder about and what you think about. I mean, for me, it's funny because I swear anytime
01:06:41.340
that I've ever gotten pissed off at driving, I swear that, that I'll give you an example.
01:06:47.100
You know, if I had someone cut me off earlier in the day and I was like, Oh my gosh, like
01:06:51.380
complete jerk, whatever guaranteed later in the day, I accidentally cut someone off,
01:06:56.740
like guaranteed. Like, and then I'll be like, and then I'll remember me doing that earlier in
01:07:01.200
the day and go, I'm such a dick. Right. And it's like, here's the reality. Most people don't know
01:07:06.640
who you are, especially in a car. And so no one's out to get you. No one's, everyone's worried about
01:07:12.240
themselves and they're not present to anybody else. And, and we don't know the story that everyone
01:07:17.260
else is having. We don't know what's going on in those vehicles. We don't know the day that they're
01:07:21.240
having. And this goes for life in general. Right. And so we got to be a little bit slower
01:07:25.400
to place judgment and, and most importantly, to assume that we're the center of attention so much
01:07:31.380
that, you know, people in other cars are out to get us and piss us off. Like really where any rage
01:07:37.580
is a result of like reflection of backed on ourselves and what we're meaning, making it mean
01:07:43.500
about ourselves. That's why we get mad about it. No one gets mad because a car moved from lane one to
01:07:47.880
lane two. We get mad because when that car moved that disrespected us, right? It's like, you know,
01:07:53.160
we got to let go of that meeting. Um, I don't know, maybe, I don't know the good way to actually
01:07:58.140
coach her though, man. Um, maybe just get present to, to the effects. And, um, and, and if you have
01:08:05.040
kids, maybe you can use that, that angle of, you know, what does this teach our kids of how to deal
01:08:09.520
with their emotions and dealing with things that bother them? And maybe this isn't a, a great example
01:08:14.760
to them. So, um, good luck, man. I, that was, I probably should have skipped your question,
01:08:19.760
Jason, maybe save that for another AMA because, uh, I don't know. I don't have much to, to offer
01:08:25.800
in that regard. So, all right, guys. So we're up on, we're roughly up on the hour or so. So,
01:08:31.620
um, we're going to go ahead and wrap this up. So, uh, stay tuned. Obviously, uh, you're catching
01:08:36.600
this. Ask me anything. This is on Wednesdays. Ryan does his interview show with, uh, just amazing
01:08:42.860
people. Uh, they're, I don't know. I just love the interview shows on Tuesdays and then on Fridays,
01:08:48.860
uh, you'll get Ryan doing Friday field notes. Uh, this is where Ryan kind of shares his thoughts on
01:08:54.160
a, on a soapbox of whatever topic that he deems kind of important. And some of that comes from
01:09:00.140
social situations to conversations that we get on, uh, the Facebook group at facebook.com slash
01:09:06.440
group slash order of man, or some of those topics might come or results of conversations that we're
01:09:11.720
having within the iron council. The iron councils are exclusive, exclusive brotherhood. Uh, we have
01:09:17.940
roughly, geez, we might be almost up to 600 guys. It's been growing like crazy of late.
01:09:23.400
Uh, you can learn about the iron council and what we do, um, at order of man.com slash iron
01:09:29.700
council. And as always, uh, to support this movement and this podcast, if you guys like this
01:09:34.980
message, if you like what we're attempting to do, um, and the mission that we're on support
01:09:40.160
this podcast by subscribing. Uh, we typically record a lot of these videos, uh, on our YouTube
01:09:46.620
channel. Uh, you can just search order of man on YouTube. Um, and of course you can invite
01:09:51.880
others if, or you can join the Facebook group. Well, like I said earlier, facebook.com slash
01:09:56.660
group slash order of man. And of course, uh, pick up your latest swag, your order of man
01:10:01.260
swag. The store has been replenished with all kinds of gear, everything from wallets, shirts,
01:10:07.560
hats, flags, decals, and of course the battle planner, uh, to learn more about what that quote
01:10:14.100
unquote battle planner is for you guys that don't know, uh, look up Ryan's book sovereignty.
01:10:20.160
Uh, and that will explain a lot more. And that's really at the foundation of what we do, uh,
01:10:26.100
within the iron council, uh, in regards to events, June 11th through the 14th, 2020 is
01:10:31.380
our legacy event. That's a father and son event in Maine. Um, and it is awesome. It is probably
01:10:37.760
one of my favorite events that we put on that's for boys between the ages of eight and 15 years
01:10:42.820
old, uh, to learn more, go to order of man.com slash legacy. And as always to stay connected
01:10:50.120
with us and Mr. Mickler, you can follow Mickler on Twitter and Instagram at Ryan Mickler. That's
01:10:56.200
R Y a N M I C H L E R. And you can connect with me on Instagram at Kip Sorensen. That's K I P P
01:11:05.480
S O R E N S E N. And until next time, which is pretty much Friday filled notes, take action and
01:11:14.440
become the men you were meant to be. Thank you for listening to the order of man podcast. You're
01:11:19.580
ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be. We invite you to join