Order of Man - November 21, 2025


You Aren't Defined by the Dust and Rust ｜ FRIDAY FIELD NOTES


Episode Stats

Length

19 minutes

Words per Minute

179.37978

Word Count

3,540

Sentence Count

327

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

4


Summary

Rust, dust and wear and tear are just a few of the things that make a man a man. But at the end of the day, what does it really mean to be a man? And why does it matter?


Transcript

00:00:00.400 Rust and dust and scars and scratches and dings and nicks,
00:00:05.020 it's only proof that you've seen some shit in your life.
00:00:08.220 And you're hardened, and you're tough, and you're resilient,
00:00:12.280 and you've been through some difficult challenges in your life.
00:00:15.320 Those things are amazing. Those are stories.
00:00:17.340 Those are things that I have experienced in my life that make me who I am today.
00:00:21.040 And they're not meant to remind us that we're human.
00:00:26.360 They're there to remind us that we've lived.
00:00:31.000 Man, I was working on a little project this afternoon.
00:00:34.660 I found this metal grid thing that I'm going to put behind me and hang some things on.
00:00:40.060 And I'm really trying to improve my podcast studio and make this a better look and feel.
00:00:45.680 But as I was doing this, I couldn't help but think about the dust and the rust that was on the grid,
00:00:53.820 the metal grid that I had found.
00:00:55.760 And I'm going to show you that shortly in another podcast because it's going to be up on my wall,
00:00:59.760 and it's going to look good.
00:01:00.440 But as I was digging through the trash, there was a bunch of debris and dust and rust all over this thing.
00:01:07.300 And I brought it in, and I've been scrubbing it,
00:01:10.500 and I got some stuff at Ace Hardware to take the rust off and clean it up and make it look nice
00:01:15.880 so that I could actually bring it in the house and use it as a backdrop
00:01:20.140 and a very practical thing that I'm going to be using.
00:01:23.040 But I couldn't help but think, as I did, that we tend to, in modern times,
00:01:30.720 throw away things that are a little dusty, a little dirty, a little rusty.
00:01:37.020 We think that they're no longer useful.
00:01:39.340 We just tend to buy things on Amazon, cheap replacements for what was.
00:01:44.280 And as you guys have heard, they don't build them like they used to.
00:01:47.320 And this is a really quality piece of metal.
00:01:50.880 Somebody welded it.
00:01:51.780 Somebody took time to put it together.
00:01:53.800 And I'm not sure what it was used for, but I'm going to use it.
00:01:57.420 And as I was thinking about this, it dawned on me that we as men often feel the same way,
00:02:03.440 that we have so much dust and rust based on the years of struggle and toil and hardship
00:02:12.340 and work and being beat up and banged up.
00:02:15.640 And then eventually, it seems like we're easily discarded.
00:02:19.400 Whether other people do that to us, romantic relationships, friends, colleagues,
00:02:24.580 coworkers, employers, society in general just tosses men aside when they're no longer useful.
00:02:30.960 And sometimes we do it to ourselves.
00:02:33.500 And we believe that we're no longer useful just because we're banged up and beat up a little bit.
00:02:37.820 I want to share with you some thoughts that I had about that.
00:02:40.380 Five things in particular as to why the dust and the rust that you guys might be experiencing
00:02:47.200 in your life doesn't define you.
00:02:50.920 And despite the scars and the wounds and the rust and the wear and tear on your body,
00:02:59.140 you aren't defined by that.
00:03:01.140 You still have practical use.
00:03:03.640 You still are a man.
00:03:04.900 And you still are valued and treasured by the people who recognize hard work and diligence
00:03:12.600 and quality craftsmanship.
00:03:15.820 You don't need to be thrown away.
00:03:17.440 And for those of you who are dealing with some of this, because in the month of November,
00:03:21.420 we are talking about men's health awareness, mental and physical health.
00:03:27.140 I thought this would be timely to address.
00:03:30.120 So let's break this down.
00:03:31.120 Number one, you are not defined by what clings to you.
00:03:35.060 All right.
00:03:35.460 That rust is going to come to you.
00:03:37.660 That dust is going to sit on you.
00:03:39.400 If you've been put up on the shelf, you're going to get scarred.
00:03:42.520 You're going to get banged up.
00:03:43.420 You're going to get beat up.
00:03:44.200 But at your core, there's something deeper.
00:03:46.080 As they say, with a good old house, it has good bones.
00:03:49.900 It might just need a cosmetic uplift.
00:03:53.700 It might need to adjust.
00:03:56.340 It might need to get with the times a little bit.
00:03:58.680 But good bones, guys.
00:03:59.900 And that's what you have.
00:04:01.240 You've been through hardship.
00:04:02.580 You've been through challenge.
00:04:03.680 You've been through divorces and setbacks and bankruptcies and lawsuits and car accidents
00:04:08.900 and heaven forbid, but maybe you've lost loved ones.
00:04:12.620 And throughout your life, whether you've been here for two decades or for eight decades,
00:04:18.240 you're still useful.
00:04:20.140 You have good bones.
00:04:21.360 You have good structure.
00:04:23.780 There's weight to what you're doing.
00:04:25.720 There's weight to who you are.
00:04:27.100 There's wisdom in all of those years of just being brutally beat up and banged up and put
00:04:35.540 to work and all the effort that you've exerted.
00:04:38.560 And I want you to know that you aren't defined by what clings to you.
00:04:42.660 That rust, that's not defining you.
00:04:44.740 I've got a 76 International Scout right now that's being restored.
00:04:49.740 And it's about, I would say, three to four weeks out before I get that thing back.
00:04:53.980 And there was so much rust.
00:04:56.360 Some of those panels needed to be replaced.
00:04:58.580 Some things needed to be fixed.
00:05:00.060 Some things needed to be upgraded.
00:05:01.740 Some things stayed where they are, but we just cleaned them up a little bit.
00:05:04.380 And it's going to be an incredible piece of machinery.
00:05:08.820 The bones were good.
00:05:11.220 The plans were good.
00:05:12.880 The engine is good.
00:05:14.180 And we're just going to clean it up, give it a little facelift.
00:05:16.580 And that thing's going to be an incredible order man vehicle.
00:05:18.840 And that's you.
00:05:20.700 You can be an incredible vehicle if you decide to knock off the dust, knock off the rust,
00:05:24.560 and do what you need to do to get back on your feet.
00:05:26.920 Number two, rust only forms on what sits still.
00:05:31.360 Guys, this thing was out in the yard, a neighbor's yard,
00:05:35.580 in a big pile of debris and trash and rubbish.
00:05:40.560 The only reason that rust was there is because it's been sitting out there in the elements.
00:05:44.780 It's been sitting out there docile.
00:05:47.300 It's been sitting there not doing anything.
00:05:49.720 And I'm going to bring it back to life.
00:05:51.420 I'm going to give that little piece of metal fabricated into a certain shape life.
00:05:58.620 I'm going to give it a purpose.
00:06:00.160 And men, you have a purpose.
00:06:01.800 But so many of you are sitting still.
00:06:05.480 You're letting your wife run roughshod all over you.
00:06:10.380 You're letting your boss dictate what you do in life.
00:06:13.460 You're letting society tell you what it means to be a man.
00:06:16.320 And while you're sitting there docile, all the dust and the nonsense and the filth
00:06:21.720 and the paint job that you have is oxidizing.
00:06:25.100 And it's just turning into rust and it's rotting.
00:06:27.240 It's eating.
00:06:27.900 It's literally eating you alive because you're being docile.
00:06:33.060 Because you're sitting around doing nothing.
00:06:35.500 Guys, what the hell are you doing?
00:06:38.100 Go out and do something.
00:06:39.900 Ask that woman on a date.
00:06:41.720 Go start that business.
00:06:42.940 Go pour into your current career to the nth degree.
00:06:46.340 You are meant to perform.
00:06:48.260 You are meant for something powerful and something good and to be productive.
00:06:52.880 And all you guys are sitting around.
00:06:54.100 Not all you guys.
00:06:54.980 A lot of you guys are sitting around binge watching Netflix.
00:07:00.340 Yellowstone maybe.
00:07:01.360 Wishing you could be like Rip.
00:07:04.060 Sitting around playing video games.
00:07:05.940 Call of Duty or Fortnite thinking, man, I wish I was as cool as these guys are.
00:07:11.300 Sitting around listening to this podcast.
00:07:14.060 And I appreciate you listening.
00:07:15.760 While you should actually be out there starting your own podcast.
00:07:19.140 Or being your own man.
00:07:20.560 Or leading the way that you feel inspired to lead because you listen to me or somebody else that I've had on the podcast.
00:07:25.920 And you're living your life perpetually through other people.
00:07:31.560 You're watching the college football program.
00:07:35.940 Or professional sports.
00:07:37.680 You're wearing a jersey literally with another man's name on your back.
00:07:41.760 And I'm all for having an outlet and entertaining yourself.
00:07:46.480 My girlfriend and I went to a NHL game last weekend.
00:07:52.380 It was amazing.
00:07:53.100 It was fun.
00:07:53.580 But I'd never wear one of those guys' names on my back.
00:07:56.500 The only name that's going to go on my back is Mickler.
00:08:00.000 Not you.
00:08:00.920 Not one of those players.
00:08:01.920 Not one of my guests.
00:08:02.880 Not some hero.
00:08:04.320 Jesus maybe.
00:08:05.440 But me and Jesus.
00:08:06.620 That's the only name I'm ever going to wear.
00:08:08.400 Why do you wear other men's shirts on your back?
00:08:16.220 Why do you proudly profess how great they are, but you're not willing to do the work to make yourself great?
00:08:22.980 You're sitting still.
00:08:24.060 You're being docile.
00:08:25.600 And you shouldn't.
00:08:26.360 And that's where the rust forms.
00:08:27.520 Number three.
00:08:28.480 Guys, we can wipe away what no longer serves us.
00:08:32.200 You know, no man is too far gone to be restored.
00:08:34.820 I've got that little grid that I was talking about earlier.
00:08:37.340 And I sprayed some rust stuff on it and wiped it off.
00:08:42.060 And it looks good as new.
00:08:43.500 But somebody threw that away.
00:08:44.700 Somebody discarded that.
00:08:45.880 Maybe because they no longer needed it or it no longer served the purpose.
00:08:48.980 But it served a purpose for me.
00:08:50.980 And so I sprayed that stuff on there.
00:08:52.620 I wiped it down.
00:08:53.420 And it looks beautiful.
00:08:55.160 Somebody built that.
00:08:55.940 There was another man who welded that together who had a purpose, a design for that thing.
00:08:59.560 It was probably useful for a time.
00:09:01.160 But I found it useful for me right now.
00:09:03.840 And that's you.
00:09:04.700 You are not too far gone to wipe that dust off.
00:09:07.920 You're not too far gone to remove the rust.
00:09:10.100 You're not too far gone to strip away the layers that are no longer serving you or anyone else.
00:09:14.640 And so you have to ask yourself, what is it that I need to remove in order to be productive and a value-add, an asset, in other people's lives?
00:09:24.420 Maybe it's addiction.
00:09:26.300 Maybe it's bad behavior.
00:09:28.300 Maybe you owe somebody an apology.
00:09:31.340 Maybe you can just send somebody a message and tell them that you're thinking about them.
00:09:34.940 You know, I did that today.
00:09:36.520 I sent my oldest son a message and I told him how proud I was of him.
00:09:39.920 It was unsolicited.
00:09:41.380 But I told him I loved him.
00:09:42.480 I told him how proud of him that I am.
00:09:44.820 I told him about the characteristics that he has and he possesses that I think are going to serve him well.
00:09:51.460 I encouraged him.
00:09:52.680 I uplifted him.
00:09:53.960 I decided to move and take action and wipe away.
00:09:57.460 I even acknowledge some of the ways that I struggle as a father.
00:10:00.860 I'm going to strip away everything that doesn't serve me and I'm going to only lean into the things that do.
00:10:08.180 And ask yourself, what are you clinging onto or what is clinging onto you that is no longer serving you?
00:10:14.920 Is it alcohol abuse?
00:10:16.520 That's what it was for me for years.
00:10:19.420 Is it a bad attitude?
00:10:21.780 Is it the attitude of being a victim or blaming it on everybody else?
00:10:26.480 Those are the things you need to get rid of.
00:10:28.320 Get rid of that shit.
00:10:29.160 But tear that stuff away.
00:10:32.320 Strip that stuff away and let what is truly meant to be reveal itself.
00:10:36.980 Number four, rust and dust and scars and scratches and dings and nicks.
00:10:44.240 It's only proof that you've seen some shit in your life.
00:10:48.100 That's it.
00:10:49.220 It's only proof that you've seen some really difficult things.
00:10:53.920 And you're hardened.
00:10:55.480 And you're tough.
00:10:56.880 And you're resilient.
00:10:57.760 And you've been through some difficult challenges in your life.
00:11:01.200 I've got scars all over my body.
00:11:03.020 Nothing severe, fortunately.
00:11:04.360 But I've got a scar here on my arm.
00:11:05.940 I've got one here on my lip.
00:11:07.640 I've got one here on my head.
00:11:09.240 I've got a big scar on my shin.
00:11:11.400 I've got one just above my knee.
00:11:13.360 I've got a little gimp sometimes because certain parts of me are sore and beat up and banged up because of my days in sports and manual labor.
00:11:23.400 That's good.
00:11:25.780 Those things are amazing.
00:11:28.620 Those are stories.
00:11:29.420 Those are things that I have experienced in my life that make me who I am today.
00:11:33.160 And they're not meant to remind us that we're human.
00:11:38.260 They're there to remind us that we've lived and that we have been through challenge and adversity and hardship.
00:11:45.260 And I had a mentor early on that said, your mess is your message.
00:11:49.640 Your scars are your stories.
00:11:54.400 The things that you've been through, embrace those things.
00:11:58.660 Don't be ashamed or embarrassed about them.
00:12:01.020 So you have a little rust.
00:12:02.300 Good.
00:12:03.440 It means you're old, which also means you're wise, hopefully.
00:12:06.980 It means that you have something to share to other people that could benefit from the lessons that you've learned the hard way.
00:12:13.280 Maybe they don't have to go through it.
00:12:14.700 That's part of the reason that I started Order of Man.
00:12:16.840 Again, I don't want you guys to experience divorce.
00:12:20.360 I don't want you guys to experience hardship.
00:12:22.340 I don't want you to experience bankruptcies or lawsuits or accidents or injuries or physical ailments.
00:12:29.560 I don't want that for you.
00:12:30.740 I don't want your sons and daughters to experience that the way I did.
00:12:34.520 And so I took my scars and I turned them into stories that might be more helpful for you.
00:12:39.360 So what stories does your rust tell about you?
00:12:42.400 What stories does the dust that you've collected over the years of living tell about you?
00:12:50.360 What does that bum knee say about you?
00:12:55.160 What does that surgery that you had say about what you've been through?
00:12:59.440 What does the emotional baggage say about the challenges that you've endured?
00:13:06.360 And how can you take that instead of being so selfish about it?
00:13:09.340 How can you take it and pour it into other people so they don't have to experience what you're experiencing?
00:13:15.660 I love the rust.
00:13:16.840 I've got a neighbor who has this old pickup truck.
00:13:21.660 It's probably, I don't know, from the teens, 20s, somewhere in there, maybe 30s, maybe even 40s.
00:13:27.760 I don't know.
00:13:28.200 I'm not a vehicle guy, but he's got this truck and it's this teal truck and it was his grandfather's and he restored this thing.
00:13:34.240 It's a bit of a sleeper because he put this incredible engine inside of it, but he left the rust.
00:13:40.020 He varnished over it, but he left the rust and the scars and the dings and the nicks.
00:13:44.440 And I said, why did you do that instead of fully restoring it?
00:13:46.800 He said, because I love the stories that they tell.
00:13:49.440 I love the memories of me and my grandpa going around town, driving around in this truck.
00:13:55.560 And I wanted to embrace and remember that.
00:13:57.600 We ought to remember those as well.
00:13:59.000 They're not there to be embarrassed of.
00:14:00.640 They're there to embrace.
00:14:02.540 And guys, the last thing I want to share with you is that somebody else's trash is another person's treasure.
00:14:09.020 That little hunk of metal was out in the trash.
00:14:11.720 And I'm not blaming anybody who threw it in there.
00:14:14.100 I don't know why they threw it in there.
00:14:15.480 They no longer needed it, obviously.
00:14:16.940 But somebody else's trash is someone else's treasure.
00:14:20.720 You might have been discarded by a woman.
00:14:23.520 You might have been overlooked by other people.
00:14:27.260 I get turned down for podcast guests literally every single day.
00:14:33.380 I get overlooked.
00:14:35.080 I'm a bit of an underdog in a lot of cases, as are you.
00:14:38.080 People underestimate what I'm able to do as they do with you.
00:14:42.680 And you know what?
00:14:44.420 That's okay.
00:14:45.600 I've done that to other people.
00:14:46.980 I've overlooked.
00:14:48.600 I've underestimated.
00:14:50.640 And what is somebody's trash is another person's treasure.
00:14:55.900 I've had incredible guests on the podcast where so many people have overlooked what we're trying to do here
00:14:59.740 and the mission we're trying to create.
00:15:01.240 There's an infinite number of people who believe in the mission, who believe in what we're doing,
00:15:09.420 who embrace the mission to restore and reclaim masculinity.
00:15:14.720 And I'm not for everybody.
00:15:19.020 And you're not for everybody.
00:15:20.780 And just because you were discarded by that last woman or discarded or overlooked by your last boss
00:15:26.860 or overlooked by the potential client that you may have had,
00:15:30.500 doesn't mean you aren't valuable.
00:15:31.920 It just means you weren't for them.
00:15:33.320 And that's okay.
00:15:34.320 We're not for everybody.
00:15:35.140 But we are for the right people.
00:15:36.840 Find your people.
00:15:39.320 Think about who specifically you can serve, who you would add value to their lives.
00:15:43.920 And if you can do that, then you can realize that you aren't just objectively a piece of shit or a piece of trash,
00:15:49.720 but that you are valuable, that you have meaning, that you have significance,
00:15:55.240 that you are important to certain people.
00:15:58.320 You know, I go out and I get my ass beat every single day by the world.
00:16:02.320 And then I come home and you know who wants to spend time with me?
00:16:04.680 My youngest son.
00:16:08.240 He just wants to sit on the couch with me.
00:16:12.180 He doesn't care about the challenges I've been throughout the day.
00:16:16.120 He doesn't care that other people may have declined or rejected me or what I'm doing.
00:16:22.620 He doesn't care about any of that.
00:16:23.660 What he cares about is spending time with me.
00:16:25.180 And so we did that this morning before I got to work.
00:16:27.780 And before he got to his day, we spent some time watching YouTube shorts,
00:16:31.340 doing nothing, literally nothing.
00:16:33.420 And he just wanted to be close to me.
00:16:37.120 One person's trash is another person's treasure.
00:16:40.600 You are valued and important in the right people's lives.
00:16:44.160 And I hope you acknowledge that.
00:16:46.760 I hope you recognize that.
00:16:48.020 I hope you see who you are important to and you pour into them just as much as they want to pour into you.
00:16:53.700 Guys, your rust and your dust does not define you.
00:16:57.400 And I know it feels like it at times.
00:16:59.220 I know you have great ambitions.
00:17:00.540 I know you have great desires.
00:17:05.300 I know you want to make something of yourself.
00:17:07.860 I know you want to serve people.
00:17:09.560 I know that you want to make a dent in the world.
00:17:13.840 I do too.
00:17:14.600 But you are going to be overlooked.
00:17:19.560 And you are going to be passed over.
00:17:23.260 And people are going to judge you.
00:17:27.780 And they're going to believe that you're not worth anything.
00:17:32.900 Or they won't see the value in what you can provide.
00:17:35.740 I know that.
00:17:36.780 We all feel it.
00:17:37.560 But you are to the right people when you find the right mission, when you do the right work, and you don't sit still, and you don't get sedated, and you don't allow yourself to collect trash and debris and dust and rust, but you put yourself to work.
00:17:57.140 I have faith in you.
00:17:58.520 I have faith in myself.
00:18:00.280 It doesn't always go according to plan.
00:18:01.980 It doesn't always work out the way that we want it to.
00:18:03.960 But damn, if it isn't supposed to work.
00:18:05.960 Let me recap these things here.
00:18:08.840 Number one, what clings to you is not who you are.
00:18:12.100 Number two, rust only forms on what sits still.
00:18:15.280 Number three, wipe away what no longer serves you because no man is too far gone to be restored.
00:18:21.460 Number four, rust is proof.
00:18:24.200 Proof that you've seen some shit.
00:18:25.800 And number five, someone's trash is another person's treasure.
00:18:29.740 Guys, I believe in you.
00:18:31.540 I believe in me.
00:18:33.200 We can do great things.
00:18:34.440 Yeah, you're banged up.
00:18:36.560 Yeah, you're sore, and you're bruised, and you're beat up, and you're hurt, and you're tired, and you're exhausted, and people don't appreciate you, but you have things to do.
00:18:45.940 And you matter to people, the right people.
00:18:49.780 They will see you.
00:18:51.000 You keep doing work.
00:18:52.520 And don't for a second believe that just because you have some dust or rust or scars that you aren't worth anything.
00:18:58.180 You are.
00:18:58.560 All right, guys, that's my message for you today.
00:19:01.260 I hope it uplifts and edifies you as we roll into the weekend.
00:19:04.240 Be productive this weekend.
00:19:05.460 Don't you put another man's name on your back.
00:19:09.100 You be proud of who you are.
00:19:11.800 You make yourself into the kind of man that you're proud of, that your family and your loved ones are proud of.
00:19:15.660 You can do it.
00:19:16.180 I believe in you.
00:19:16.980 I'm here to support you.
00:19:18.320 Make sure you subscribe.
00:19:19.700 Make sure you follow.
00:19:20.980 Make sure you stay connected with us.
00:19:22.420 And wipe that dust off and get to work.
00:19:25.020 All right, guys.
00:19:26.020 I'll be back next week for one of our interviews.
00:19:28.660 Until then, go out there, take action, get rid of that dust and rust from the man you are meant to be.
00:19:33.980 Thank you for listening to the Order of Man podcast.
00:19:36.920 If you're ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you are meant to be,
00:19:40.900 we invite you to join the order at orderofman.com.