In this Ask Me Anything episode, Ryan and Kipp kick things off with a lighthearted but revealing conversation before diving into listener questions on purpose, vision, balance, and meaning.

They explore why men struggle to articulate what they want, how early conditioning shapes silence, and what happens when men open up and feel shut down. The discussion also tackles work-life balance, daily meaning versus long-term purpose, and why purpose is built through action, not found through thinking alone.

00:00 Christmas Check-In and Opening Banter
01:12 Viral Knife Story and Public Reactions
09:42 AMA Begins: Getting the Most from the Iron Council
16:57 Vision vs Character Traits
19:34 Why Men Are Conditioned Not to Want
20:17 What Happens When Men Open Up
30:53 Work, Home, and Community Balance
39:20 Finding Meaning in the Mundane
47:29 Purpose Is Built Through Action
50:16 Christmas Reflections and Closing Remarks

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

You know about breath work. You know about cold exposure. It's a thing all the major "influencers" tell you to do. I had some skepticism myself and that's why I wanted to have this man, the original cold exposure and breath work guy on himself, Wim Hof!

He is a man who has redefined the limits of the human mind and body. Known globally as The Iceman, Wim Hof has shown millions of people how to take control of their physiology through breath, cold exposure, and mindset. From climbing mountains in nothing but shorts to teaching everyday men how to regulate stress, build resilience, and reconnect with their primal strength, Wim's work challenges everything we think we know about comfort, health, and human potential. Today, we're talking about cold, breath, discipline, and what it really means to return to our factory settings as men.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Introduction and Creative Rituals
01:30 Daily Cold and Breathwork Ritual
03:02 Shutting Off the Thinking Brain
05:07 Stress, Cortisol, and Modern Life
07:24 Cold Exposure Myths and Shortcuts
10:05 Minimum Effective Dose of Cold
12:34 Enduring Extreme Cold
14:28 Cold Exposure and Better Sleep
17:09 Breathing, Detox, and Biochemistry
21:35 Carbon Dioxide vs Oxygen
23:45 Ancient Practices, Modern Brains
27:50 Purpose, Presence, and Feeling Alive
30:11 Fulfillment Beyond Words
36:50 Getting High on Your Own Supply
38:11 Faith, Soul, and Inner Purpose
43:26 Motivation, Discipline, and Cold
46:50 Intuition and Better Decisions
50:00 Dopamine, Depression, and Energy
51:02 Final Thoughts and Where to Learn More

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

Most men don't need more information - they need fewer lies.

The most common lie?
"I'm fine."

In this Friday Field Notes episode, Ryan breaks down why "fine" is how men drift, how standards quietly erode, and why most men wait until catastrophe forces them to take their life seriously.

This isn't an emotional exercise.
It's a logical, factual audit of your body, relationships, finances, mission, and integrity - with no stories, no excuses, and no rationalizations.

Ryan challenges you to stop protecting your weak spots, identify where you're cutting corners, and draw one non-negotiable line in the sand that you enforce daily.

You don't rise to your potential.
You fall to what you tolerate.

This episode will push you to:

• Take an honest inventory of your life
• Cut distractions, excuses, and self-deception
• Set one standard that changes everything
• Stop waiting for pain to force change
• Start today - not January 1st

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:
00:00 - The Lie of "I'm Fine"
01:55 - How Men Drift Without Realizing It
03:02 - Why You Must Audit Your Life
05:21 - Body, Marriage, Finances, Mission
07:01 - Where You're Lying to Yourself
09:02 - You Fall to What You Tolerate
10:41 - What Weakens You Is a Liability
11:23 - One Non-Negotiable Standard
12:13 - Discipline Doesn't Wait
13:14 - Stop Waiting for Catastrophe
15:23 - Audit Your Life Before It's Too Late
17:47 - Iron Council & Final Charge

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

In this Ask Me Anything episode, Ryan Michler and Kipp Sorensen tackle the number one issue facing men today: money. From scarcity mindset and debt to retirement planning, investing, and raising financially responsible kids, the conversation blends practical financial wisdom with deeper insights on discipline, self-belief, and values.

Ryan breaks down Dave Ramsey's baby steps, explains Roth vs. traditional IRAs, challenges popular budgeting rules, and shares how to instill abundance thinking in your family. A must-listen for men looking to build wealth without losing perspective.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Financial stress and the current economy
03:46 Physical baseline and discipline
08:59 Scarcity vs. abundance mindset
19:23 Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps
26:01 Roth IRA vs. traditional IRA
34:45 The 50-30-20 budgeting rule
37:29 Building wealth in an underpaid career
45:08 Teaching kids financial discipline
56:18 Iron Council and end-of-year call to action

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

Too many men today aren't struggling because they lack information. They're struggling because they're drowning in noise. And, I think it's time we start unpacking why the "modern masculinity" space has become obsessed with hot takes, call-outs, online outrage, and performative "accountability" - and why none of it builds strong men, meaningful connection, or lasting improvement.

Today I'm joined by my friend, Jack Donovan, to talk about why gossip masquerades as moral authority, how "calling men out" often replaces real accountability, the difference between integrity, honor, and reputation, why social media rewards division, not leadership, the dangers of pedestalizing others—and why men need a code to live by.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Studio Setup & Creative Work
02:24 - Why the Right Needs to Create Culture
04:22 - The Problem With Hot Takes
06:06 - Engagement vs. Building a Movement
08:17 - Writing as Intellectual Discipline
10:16 - AI Art, Aesthetics, and Snobbery
12:01 - Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt
14:11 - Funding Art and Leaving a Legacy
17:07 - Storytelling as Masculine Power
19:33 - Integrity as Aesthetic Congruence
21:09 - Integrity vs. Disintegration
23:14 - Faith, Ritual, and Mental Wholeness
25:16 - Philosophy as a Code of Conduct
26:50 - Honor as Reputation
30:13 - Tribalism and Dehumanization
33:18 - Why Men Gossip
36:49 - Malicious Gossip vs. Accountability
41:14 - Reality TV Culture and Privacy
44:43 - Judging Without Context
46:22 - The Danger of Moral Pedestals
49:32 - Hubris and Public Failure
52:31 - The Trust Recession
55:29 - Projection and False Narratives
58:51 - Redemption and Change

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

Most men obsess over goals - the outcomes, the achievements, the shiny targets. But goals don't build men. Standards do.
In today's Field Notes, Ryan breaks down why standards define your identity, how they outperform goals in every way, and why your life only changes when you elevate the rules you live by. He shares powerful examples, including recovering from a major injury, why men fail when they rely on motivation, and how to build standards that make you unshakable.

Ryan also outlines a four-step framework to reset your identity, eliminate weak standards, and cement the behaviors that transform your life. If you want 2026 to be different, this episode explains exactly where to start.

Key Takeaways
Goals are emotionally dependent, standards are identity-based.
Standards keep you anchored in the present - goals keep you trapped in the future.
Goals collapse under adversity; standards strengthen you because they're non-negotiable.
A man becomes powerful when he lives by a code with zero negotiation.
Your life changes when your identity upgrades, not when your goals get bigger.

Four-step framework to build standards that stick:
-Identify the man you refuse to be.
-Build non-negotiables in all four quadrants (Calibration, Connection, Condition, Contribution).
-Build accountability.
-Enforce consequences when you violate your own standards.

00:00 - Introduction
00:09 - Why Most Men Get Goals Backwards
01:20 - Goals Don't Build Men — Standards Do
02:33 - Examples of Weak vs. Strong Standards
04:34 - Ryan's Pec Tear: Standards in Adversity
06:24 - A Man Rises or Falls to His Standards
07:50 - Why Goals Fail Men
09:33 - How Goals Delay Action and Keep Men Stuck
11:23 - Goals Collapse Under Stress
12:57 - Standards Create Structure and Strength
14:38 - How Standards Transform a Man
16:10 - Standards Prevent Moral Drift
17:32 - Building Trust Through Consistency
18:57 - Standards Make Men Anti-Fragile
21:03 - Stop Waiting for "All Green Lights"
22:43 - Identity Before Action
23:28 - Fast Progress Comes From Identity Shifts
24:26 - The "Light Yourself on Fire" Lesson
25:14 - Reverse Engineering Goals Into Standards
25:57 - Step 1: Identify the Man You Refuse to Be
27:38 - Making Weak Behaviors Repulsive
29:31 - Step 2: Non-Negotiables in the Four Quadrants
31:32 - Step 3: Accountability
33:00 - Step 4: Enforce Consequences
33:42 - Final Challenge: Raise Your Standards
35:45 - Iron Council Promotion
36:33 - Preview Call Details

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

In this week's Ask Me Anything, Ryan and Kipp dive into discipline, motivation, and the realities of staying committed when life gets heavy. They discuss sustaining purpose in long-term work, navigating burnout, and understanding the difference between quitting and evolving.

The conversation takes a powerful turn as Ryan opens up about the passing of his father and what it truly means to forgive and move forward. They also address why men seek validation, how to handle relationship breakdowns, and what books shaped them this year. Practical, grounded, and deeply human - this episode hits every level.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Opening & Morning Discipline
01:56 What Keeps You Driven?
11:26 Quitting vs. Evolving
20:02 Burnout and Battle Plans
26:05 Losing a Father & Processing Grief
34:56 Why Men Seek Validation
49:43 Most Impactful Books of the Year
56:12 Iron Council Preview Promotion
58:49 Closing Remarks

Battle Planners: Pick yours up today!

Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto.

For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood.

Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

I know you've felt like, in the past, you've been hesitant to share your true feelings and beliefs. Maybe you didn't want to offend that woman you were pursuing. Or, maybe you didn't want to upset your boss and run the risk of losing your job. Or, maybe you were afraid of what society or social media would say if you shared your true thoughts.

My guest today, Father Stephen Gadberry, is familiar with all of that in a way that many of us relate with. As a Catholic priest, US Air Force Veteran, and American Ninja Warrior competitor, he knows how compelling public criticism can become. Today, Father Gadberry and I talk about discipline, what "turning the other cheek," really means, how to handle false accusations, what true accountability actually means, the difference between your "vocation," and "occupation," and how God will speak to all of us.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Introduction
00:22 Masculinity and the Church
01:20 Growing Up Rural and Military
02:20 Has the Church Become Soft?
04:00 Culture, Covid and Truth
05:40 Truth vs Feeling Good
06:50 What Does "Love at All Costs" Mean?
08:20 Learning to Speak Truth Boldly
10:30 Men and Zero-F Attitudes
11:30 Tempering Instincts and Temptations
13:40 Crash and Burn Lessons
15:40 Discipline and "Doing Hard Things"
17:15 Small Things Shape Big Character
18:45 Christian Persecution Today
21:20 Should Christians Fight Back?
23:40 Violence, Duty, and Discernment
25:20 Bold, Relatable Preaching
27:20 Conviction vs Condemnation
30:00 Accountability Done Right
31:40 Guiding Boys and Raising Men
34:10 Real Discipline and Real Consequences
38:50 Guilt, Shame, and Responsibility
41:15 Preaching While Imperfect
45:10 His Calling and Vocation
53:15 Hearing God's Voice
56:30 Silence and Spiritual Clarity
57:50 Real Masculinity and Faith
59:00 Where to Follow Father Stephen