Ty Nichols is a man of action. He is a father, husband, business owner, and community leader. He has invested thousands of his own money into an abandoned golf course that he has had visions of reviving. And today we talk about his dream of not only reviving that golf course, but we also talk about finally believing in yourself, casting visions so other people will believe in you, overcoming doubters on your path, what to do when times get tough, and whether or not to sell out when it comes to chasing a dream.
00:00:00.000Man, you ever seen an old house and think to yourself, man, I'd love to fix that up or an old truck and imagine the day where you and your children would drive around in that thing or maybe an old project you've been meaning to finish but never got around to it.
00:00:14.160My guest today, Ty Nichols, feels the same way. In fact, he's invested thousands of his own money to put into an abandoned golf course. He's had visions of reviving.
00:00:25.120And today we talk about his dream of not only reviving that golf course, it's called Fairway Fields, but we also talk about finally believing in yourself, also casting visions so other people will believe in you, overcoming doubters on your path, what to do when times get tough and whether or not to quote unquote sell out when it comes to chasing a dream.
00:00:48.580You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest, embrace your fears, and boldly chart your own path. When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time. You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong. This is your life. This is who you are. This is who you will become. At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:01:13.760Gentlemen, welcome to the Order of Man podcast. I am Ryan Michler. I'm your host and the founder of this podcast. And today I have one of those ordinary guys that so many of you have been asking about. And I say that a little bit tongue in cheek. I do not want to diminish by any means what my guest brings to the table, but I've known Ty Nichols, my guest today for five years, four or five years now.
00:01:40.520And I can tell you that even though on the surface, he may look like an ordinary guy like you and me. He's got some extraordinary thoughts, concepts, ideas, dreams, visions, and work ethic. So today we're going to talk about what to do and how to build some of those dreams that so many of you have been focused on.
00:01:59.800And if you're new to the podcast, welcome. This is geared towards helping you become the best possible father, husband, business owner, and community leader that you can be. Again, I've got Ty Nichols on the podcast today.
00:02:13.180Before I get to it, I just want to mention some other really good friends that have some strong work ethic doing extraordinary things at a French town, Montana. That's my good friends over at Montana knife company.com. Check them out. If you want a good, sharp, durable blade, 100% made in America, look no further than Montana knife company.com and use the code order a man to save some money when you do.
00:02:38.320All right, guys, I'm going to get right into it with Ty. He's the owner operator of Fairway Fields. That's an abandoned golf course that he's opening very soon. And it's bring being brought back to life by my guest Ty. Now I met him years ago when I moved to Maine. He's working with Pete over at origin. I had him on the podcast last week.
00:03:00.320And Pete must have saw something in him all those years ago. I don't think he was wrong. Ty and I have become friends since I left Maine. He has bought a golf course of all things and is working diligently to rebuild and bring it back to life.
00:03:17.940Now I've never doubted Ty would do great things. And with a social media following in just a few short months of over 1 million people, it's very clear to me that everyone else sees it the same way. Again, I said it earlier, this is an ordinary guy like you and I doing extraordinary things. And I'm proud to have Ty on the podcast today.
00:03:41.400Ty, what's up, brother? So great to see you, man. It's been years, I think, at this point since you and I have talked.
00:03:46.340Brian, what's happening, man? Good to see you.
00:03:50.840You got a family now. That's wild, right? You got a little girl. Is that right? One daughter?
00:03:57.140Yes, a one-year-old little daughter named Elsie.
00:04:01.080That's awesome, man. How's that been for you?
00:04:04.260The best thing I could ever ask for. The best thing that could ever have happened to me.
00:04:09.760Yeah. You moved to Southern California a little bit and now you're back in Maine. Is that right?
00:04:14.700Yeah. I was down in San Diego working for Jocko Fuel down there. We were setting up a media division down there and just being a little bit closer to Jocko and the podcast and Victory.
00:04:31.960So once I found out that the little baby was on the way, we came back to Maine.
00:04:36.360Yeah. Are you from Maine originally? I know your folks live in Maine, right? Do they live in Farmington? Is that right?
00:04:44.900It's a little town outside of Farmington called New Sharon, which is 500 people, but basically. So yeah, I'm from also Farmington and New Sharon.
00:04:56.640Oh, I know the area, but nobody else who ever listened to this podcast would know New Sharon, but I do. And I'm proud to be able to say that I do know exactly where that's at. That's where Joe's from too, right? Is he from New Sharon?
00:05:14.020All these little towns, they're all connected. They all go to the same high school. There's like 30 towns that go to Mount Blue High School, which is Farmington.
00:05:22.460Yeah, man. Yeah. Dude, it's awesome to see what you're doing. Did you listen to the podcast that I had with Pete just last week?
00:05:30.280I did. I had it sent to me a couple of times, actually, and that was very cool to hear.
00:05:37.960Yeah, man. I've always thought really highly of you since we first met. You did some videos with me for our business.
00:05:45.080I think you used our property a handful of times to shoot some video for Origin and Jocko Fuel.
00:05:50.340And I've always thought highly of you. And then I didn't know this, but Pete said that you bought a golf course and you are rebuilding a golf course.
00:06:00.680Why the hell would you do that with all due respect?
00:06:03.460That's a great, great question. We're kind of asking that ourselves right now.
00:06:08.440But I mean, honestly, no, I bought it just to be clear. I bought it with my parents.
00:06:14.060We went 50-50 on it on just like a land loan.
00:06:19.020And, you know, I was looking for an investment. I was looking for something to put some money that I've been saving up into.
00:06:30.500And I was thinking, you know, Airbnb, but wanted something, wanted a piece of property that was unique.
00:06:37.700And, you know, I was looking all over the coast. And I just drive by this golf course every day for the past 10 years that's been abandoned.
00:06:47.180And, you know, I got talking to it with my parents and gave them a call and the price was right. So we did it.
00:06:55.460Where's the where is it? I may have drove past it on occasion, depending on where it is.
00:07:00.520But where's where's the golf course? You probably drove past it driving down one of the main roads route, too.
00:07:07.400But it's in Chesterville, an even smaller little town. Is that is that the route to strong or what what route is that?
00:07:17.380Man, it's like it's like headed between where you used to live and if you were going to go to Augusta, basically.
00:07:27.420Okay. Oh, got it. Okay. Got it. Yeah, man. I've seen some other courses out there.
00:07:32.920I mean, my real question based on that, I know your parents are into I think they're under real estate.
00:07:40.200I think they're into rental units. If I remember you saying years ago, is that is that accurate?
00:07:46.580Yeah. Well, my mom, she she started doing some some house flipping like probably about 10 years ago,
00:07:52.960maybe just like one foreclosure flip a year.
00:07:57.720You know, my dad's been working in the Coast Guard here. He retired after 30 years.
00:08:03.740So he's a couple of years out. I was looking for something to do.
00:08:08.280My mom was looking for our next project and I was coming back from California.
00:08:13.040And it's like we spent two years away from each other and we just figured how awesome would it be to, you know, team up on something and see what we can do.
00:08:21.920So the question then is, I mean, I know they're your folks, right?
00:08:27.360And so there's obviously that. So let's table that conversation for a minute.
00:08:32.240But we're talking about a lot of money here and we're talking about a lot of time, a lot of commitment, a lot of effort.
00:08:38.880Why do you think they believe in you? What is it about you?
00:08:42.120And also, I'm going to add Pete into that equation because Pete spoke so highly of you on last week's podcast that there's something about you and I recognized it as well.
00:08:55.060I want to hear from you what you think it is, because I know there's a lot of guys who would like to be in your position, but you created a lot of this.
00:09:27.280But I mean, why why my parents, you know, want to go into it with me?
00:09:35.220I mean, they've seen they had their doubts about origin and me quitting college and, you know, going and working for this like little little company and not going to college.
00:10:26.660Like, that is like a running joke in my group of friends and my family.
00:10:30.980It's like I was literally the middle person in my class of high school, like a totally average, like athlete.
00:10:40.020I'm like completely average at everything that I do.
00:10:44.300And I just try to like instead of, you know, it used to bum me out that I'm like, you know, I wasn't super good at any one particular thing.
00:10:54.040But I think I'm, you know, starting to realize that I can just kind of, you know, if I can just take that and apply, you know, being pretty good at a lot of things.
00:11:03.560And I can I can use that to my advantage.
00:11:45.180But I'm always fascinated with this idea that not only are men who listen to this podcast wrapped up in what makes somebody great, but also the fact that they don't see themselves as somebody who could be great, even though they might consider themselves ordinary people.
00:12:01.860Well, I mean, I remember the first time that that I took a trip with Jocko, he he asked me at the end of the trip, he was like, he's like, Ty, were you nervous to come down here?
00:12:20.600And because we were in New York City, never been to New York City.
00:12:57.900Um, but also to be fair, like I did see a few of the early months and years of you with origin and I saw your work ethic.
00:13:09.020Pete saw it, clearly talked about it last week.
00:13:12.580Um, he said, there's something different about you, you know, and, and, and I think from the surface, you might say a ordinary guy, but he did say there's something different about you.
00:13:22.800Would you, would you, would you agree?
00:13:24.840Is there something different about you than your peers besides grades or the average metrics we, we usually define ourselves by?
00:13:34.580I mean, I think that I, I wanted to be when, when it comes to origin and, and Jocko Fuel and, and getting close to Pete, like I wanted to be close to Pete.
00:13:48.800I wanted to be in his, in his conversations with, you know, building his business.
00:13:54.980Like that is truly like what I wanted when I was, you know, I did a year in, uh, in, uh, college and I was going to class and I just knew like, this is, I'm wasting my time here.
00:14:07.200Um, and I just knew that I wanted to be around somebody that was building something.
00:14:11.900And so I just, I know that I just, you know, did everything that I could to, to make myself as valuable as possible to, to Pete and everyone else that was around me.
00:14:24.300Um, I mean, I guess, yeah, I guess you could say that's different.
00:14:27.980Like it doesn't make necessarily me any different.
00:14:30.680Just, you know, what I wanted, I suppose.
00:14:32.700I think there's a level of humility that people might hear in their voice, which, you know, some people might say a little bit of, uh, I wouldn't say fear, but a little bit of discomfort, a little bit of uneasy footing.
00:14:53.160I, I, I really don't know how to describe it, but I think it's something that makes you a relatable person.
00:14:58.460And I admire that, you know, I really respect that because we see these people on social media and they're all larger than life figures.
00:15:06.360Uh, they're already succeeding at high levels, like Jocko, like Pete, like Jordan Peterson, like all the, all the people we're used to seeing.
00:15:13.160Um, and then there's guys like us who still have some of that same vigor and excitement about what we're doing, but maybe it isn't that same level of notoriety that you see from some of these heavy hitter for lack of a better term.
00:15:26.020I mean, you're definitely right about like, I don't know what the word is either about like fear or, or what it was, but I was, I was motivated by like, I don't want to be, uh, I don't want to be a disappointment to, you know, all these, especially, you know, especially my parents.
00:15:47.320I don't want to, you know, I was slightly headed down a, you know, party path, kind of like not, not so awesome path that I wasn't proud of.
00:15:58.660Um, and then, you know, I found, found origin and, um, uh, just dug my heels in and tried to do everything that I could.
00:16:06.580Like I said, just, just try to make myself as valuable as I could, as available as I could.
00:16:12.040Like, you know, one of my favorite like side jobs was like Pete would, I was, I was the guy who would go and get people from the airport.
00:16:20.300Like, regardless of what I remember that time it was like, I went and got people from the airport and it was my favorite job ever because I got to, I got like two hours with all of these business leaders and just super unique people that I just thought were super interesting.
00:16:37.620And I just got to pick their brain and, um, I got a lot out of those, out of those rides.
00:16:43.520And that just came from, you know, trying to make myself as, as value as valuable as I could.
00:16:47.760And that's actually, I hope people hear what you just said, because I think most guys, when they want to achieve something big, they would say to themselves, well, I want to be in the boardroom, right?
00:17:01.200And you have been, you have been in the boardroom, but they, they say, I want to go from here to the boardroom, right?
00:17:07.840And you went from here to, I'll pick people up if I have to.
00:17:13.740And, and most people would say, well, I don't want to pick people up from the airport.
00:17:17.760That's better than the boardroom because you have one-on-one time with them for literally four hours round trip.
00:17:24.680People don't get one-on-one time with Jocko in the boardroom.
00:17:39.580Well, and it, it was, you know, a big part of it was that sometimes it was at, you know, nine, eight o'clock on a Saturday or something like that.
00:17:49.780And people would call me up and say, hey, can you go get this person or tomorrow morning, can you go get this person?
00:17:55.940And I just, you know, did everything, did everything that I could to say yes as much as possible.
00:18:02.540Like, obviously there's times that you can't say yes to things, like you have plans or whatever, but I did, I did my best from, at least for the first, you know, four or five years of working for Pete, of just like, just do everything that's asked of you.
00:18:18.740And offer to do more, like, like state that you want more, you want more responsibility, you want to do as much as you can like that.
00:18:28.440I think I did that and that, that built a lot of trust, I think.
00:18:32.140I hear a lot of guys talk about wanting to do more and they're willing to do more, but it's always with attached to a statement.
00:18:40.540And the statement is, they don't pay me to do that.
00:18:43.820They don't pay me enough to take care of that.
00:25:09.720I'm going to step away from the conversation very quickly.
00:25:11.960If you two are an ordinary guy wanting to do extraordinary things, I want you to band with us in our elite brotherhood, the Iron Council.
00:25:20.080Now, I've been doing this now for over 10,000 men going through our programs.
00:25:27.100I can say with confidence that we know exactly, exactly what we are doing.
00:25:32.720So, if you're an ordinary guy looking to do extraordinary things, look no further than the Iron Council because we're going to offer you brotherhood, camaraderie, accountability, all of it designed to level up your life, your relationships, your fitness.
00:25:47.400And, guys, we open up on September 15th.
00:26:09.220For now, let me get back to it with Ty.
00:26:10.720Well, I imagine the efficiency of 44 acres is a challenge too because, you know, I'm looking at my property and you've been out there in Maine, 50 acres, which I think 32 of it was field, including the house and the property.
00:26:28.360And then the other 16, 17 acres was wooded.
00:26:31.580But you've got to be super efficient in that amount of space.
00:26:36.060People might hear that and say, you know, they're sitting on their 10th of an acre lots and thinking, that's a ton of acreage.
00:26:41.740It's really not that much when you think about putting nine holes on 44 acres.
00:26:49.840I mean, all of the, all of the old equipment that came to run the golf course came with, came with the place just kind of, you know, like halfway, halfway apart.
00:27:02.380So we had a guy, a local guy come in named Ralph and he just came and fixed everything.
00:27:19.640Like I've totally, like, it totally went over my head anytime I went playing golf.
00:27:26.060Like this is like, you're like taming nature constantly.
00:27:29.640And it's like, is it, that is a brutal, there's a, that is a game you're not going to win eventually.
00:27:35.660You know, unless you're out here, like the joke, and I don't know if I ever told you this, but the joke is that everything in May is trying to live and survive.
00:27:44.920Everything in Utah, Southern Utah anyways, is trying to die or kill you.
00:27:49.640And so it's a, it's a little bit of a different, you should come out here and golf with me sometime.
00:27:56.000It's a little different than in May, but, uh, equally as learning, I'm sure.