We're living in a digital battlefield and most men don't even know they're fighting. The time we spend on our devices is unreal, and if it's free, you're the product. Algorithms and machine learning are engineered to hijack your attention, erode focus, and create compulsive habits. Today we're talking about auditing your digital life, removing the noise to find the signal, and building the discipline to guard your mind in an age of constant distraction.

Joining me is Richard Ryan, author of The Warrior's Garden, built on the principle that it's better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. We discuss digital detox, delayed gratification, accountability, and reclaiming the smallest locus of control so you can't be manipulated by the forces competing for your attention.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Recording Begins & Digital Reality Check
00:50 - The Attention Economy: You Are the Product
03:00 - Negativity Bias & Why Outrage Wins Online
07:00 - Screen Time Audit: The Lifetime Cost
10:00 - Subscription Culture & Hidden Digital Leakage
12:30 - AI & Cognitive Atrophy: Guarding Your Mind
14:00 - Digital Detox & Withdrawal Symptoms
16:00 - The "Dead Internet" Theory
20:45 - Expediency & The Death of Delayed Gratification
22:30 - The Marshmallow Study & Impulse Control
28:00 - Compulsive App Use & "First Pickups"
31:00 - Addiction Substitution & Dopamine Traps
36:00 - Accountability & Why 95% Succeed With It
38:00 - Gratitude as Mental Armor
41:30 - Optimism, Awareness & Opportunity
49:00 - Incentives Drive Outcomes (Politics & Power)
55:00 - Personal Responsibility Over Group Dependency
58:00 - True Diversity: Strength Through Capability
1:02:30 - Warriors Garden & Closing Thoughts

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

Men have lost initiation.

There was a time when boys were tested before becoming men. They faced hardship. They endured pain. They returned changed - recognized as men.

Today, that process is gone.

In this episode of Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler breaks down:

• Why modern men feel lost
• The three elements of ancient initiation
• Why pain is necessary
• How comfort culture is weakening men
• Why nobody is coming to initiate you
• How to initiate yourself

If you feel stuck, drifting, or chasing validation - this episode is for you.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Men Have Lost Initiation
00:26 When Boys Knew They Became Men
02:50 The Cost of Extended Adolescence
05:10 Comfort Culture Is Weakening Men
07:25 "Where Have All the Real Men Gone?"
08:05 The Three Elements of Initiation
08:30 Removed From Comfort
09:24 The Benefit of Pain
11:15 The Trial: Facing Fear
12:56 Recognition and Acknowledgment
14:49 Drifting, Chasing, and the Integrity Gap
16:35 Nobody Is Coming to Initiate You
17:14 Voluntary Hardship
18:45 What Initiation Looks Like Today
19:45 Brotherhood Is Modern Initiation
20:51 The World Needs Grounded Men
21:15 Questions Every Man Must Ask Himself
22:21 Do Something Difficult This Week
23:47 Steadiness Over Loudness
24:35 Choose the Fire
25:00 Join the Iron Council
25:20 The Men's Forge Event
26:00 Final Challenge

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 answer powerful questions from the Iron Council on leadership, fatherhood, faith, discipline, and personal responsibility. They explore how to eliminate noise and live an integrated life, coach teenage boys through cultural conflict, raise resilient children, and avoid bureaucratic leadership traps. The conversation also confronts modern church culture, challenges the pursuit of comfort over growth, and defines what it truly means to be present as a father - even when work demands time away.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Episode Introduction
03:50 - Signal vs Noise and Life Integration
14:27 - Coaching Teens Through Cultural Conflict
22:52 - Leadership Systems vs Human Judgment
34:41 - Faith, Masculinity, and the Modern Church
47:29 - Helping Kids Find Their Passion
52:31 - Defining Presence as a Working Father
56:19 - Men's Forge Event Announcement

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 a world that constantly pressures men to outsource responsibility, comfort has become a substitute for competence and dependence is sold as safety. But sovereignty isn't something given to you by institutions, culture, or circumstance. It's secured through discipline, ownership, and a commitment to lead yourself first. In this episode, we're talking about what it really means to secure your sovereignty—mentally, physically, financially, and morally—so no one else gets to dictate the terms of your life.

My guest today, Ian Wendt, joins me for a powerful conversation on reclaiming authority over your decisions, your time, and your future. We dig into the hidden trade-offs men make when they surrender control, the systems that quietly erode independence, and the practical steps required to stand firm as a self-governed man in an increasingly unstable world. This isn't about rebellion, it's about responsibility. If you're serious about protecting what you've built and leading with clarity and conviction, this is a conversation you need to hear.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00:00 - The Evolution of Podcasting
00:13:36 - Ryan's Origin Story and Order of Man
00:29:03 - The State of Masculinity Today
00:44:18 - Leadership, Standards, and Responsibility
00:59:03 - Marriage, Fatherhood, and Presence
01:14:32 - Building Brotherhood and Community
01:29:01 - Discipline, Business, and Personal Code
01:44:07 - Final Advice for Men Who Want More
01:58:34 - Closing Thoughts

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 believe confidence comes after certainty - once they make more money, gain more experience, or eliminate risk. In this Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler challenges that belief and explains why clarity, not certainty, is the real source of confidence.

Ryan breaks down how ambiguity quietly drains a man's energy, why indecision exhausts the nervous system, and how avoiding clarity eventually leads to resentment, broken relationships, and missed opportunities. He also explains why most men don't lack clarity - they lack the courage to act on what they already know.

This episode is a call to action: stop negotiating with clarity, make decisions, and move forward calmly, deliberately, and decisively.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Confidence vs Certainty
00:38 - Why Ambiguity Drains Men
02:32 - How Indecision Exhausts Your Energy
04:34 - Clarity Calms the Nervous System
05:45 - Confidence Is Calm, Not Loud
06:30 - Why Men Avoid Clarity
08:08 - Clarity Requires Courage
10:16 - "Patience" as Avoidance
12:19 - What You Avoid Will Confront You
14:00 - Clarity Is Respect, Not Aggression
15:52 - The One Question You Must Ask Yourself
17:02 - One Decision Can Change Everything
19:07 - Confidence Comes After Decision
21:22 - Final Challenge to Get Clear

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 real-world questions from men across the globe. They discuss staying on the path after divorce, resisting the urge to chase new systems, and why consistency matters more than quick results. The conversation dives into parenting sons and daughters, raising boys through real-world apprenticeship, navigating estranged relationships with adult children, and how emotional regulation shapes leadership and influence.

From fitness and fatherhood to boundaries, patience, and embodiment, this episode offers grounded wisdom for men committed to growth.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Weekend banter and life updates
03:35 - Systems after divorce and consistency
14:12 - Predictions, expectations, and relationships
21:26 - Taking young children into the outdoors
29:29 - Connecting with daughters as a father
35:55 - Teaching young men leadership and decisions
42:46 - Estrangement from children and self-leadership
51:48 - Men's Forge event announcement and CTA

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

What does it mean to truly protect something you love? And, what are you willing to sacrifice to do it? Today's guest has gone farther into the wild than most people ever will, not for thrill or ego, but to defend one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. From the depths of the Amazon rainforest to the front lines of conservation, this is a conversation about courage, responsibility, and confronting fear head-on.

My guest today is Paul Rosolie, a renowned explorer, conservationist, and storyteller whose life's work is rooted in protecting the Amazon and the creatures that inhabit it. We talk about what the jungle teaches you about yourself, the modern war on nature, and his powerful new book, Junglekeeper, which challenges us to stop outsourcing responsibility and start defending what matters, personally and globally.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - Encounter With an Uncontacted Amazon Tribe
04:10 - The Amazon Rubber Boom and Tribal Genocide
06:45 - Protecting the Last Wild Places
08:20 - Life Before Civilization
10:00 - Romanticizing Primitive Life vs Reality
12:35 - Modern Man's Disconnection From Nature
15:35 - Why the Wild Shapes Strong Men
18:45 - Artificial Fitness vs Real Work
20:25 - Is Saving the Amazon Even Possible?
23:45 - Hope, Despair, and Media Manipulation
26:00 - Overpopulation and Ecological Limits
29:00 - Letting Nature Regulate Itself
34:20 - Conservation vs Human Arrogance
37:05 - How Storytelling Saves Ecosystems
40:55 - Why Extreme Activism Backfires
43:45 - Hunters as Conservationists
46:50 - Dropping Out and Going All In
49:55 - Near-Death Encounters in the Wild
54:25 - From Adventurer to Protector
56:00 - Hope as a Weapon Against Despair

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

Healthy boundaries are essential - but most men don't know what they actually look like. In this episode of Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler breaks down eight practical boundaries every man must establish in his personal, professional, and romantic relationships to build respect, alignment, and long-term success.

These boundaries aren't about control or ultimatums - they're about clarity, self-respect, and creating relationships that truly work.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Why Boundaries Matter
01:10 - Why Men Struggle with Boundaries
02:38 - Grace, Communication, and Relationships
03:05 - High Fences Make Great Neighbors
05:05 - Alignment in Healthy Relationships
06:15 - Boundary #1: Reciprocity
07:26 - Boundary #2: Initiation
08:50 - Boundary #3: Flow
10:55 - Boundary #4: Capacity
12:08 - Boundary #5: Self-Abandonment
14:45 - Boundary #6: Regulation
17:30 - Boundary #7: Exit Boundary
22:55 - Boundary #8: Potential
24:10 - Identifying Triggered Boundaries
26:05 - Communicating Boundaries Effectively
28:40 - Join Iron Council
30:05 - Final Thoughts & Sign-Off

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