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

In this Ask Me Anything episode, Ryan and Kipp tackle some of the most misunderstood challenges men face today. They break down how to establish clear and healthy boundaries - especially the role of reciprocity in relationships - and why unspoken expectations often lead to resentment.

The conversation also explores the importance of physical touch between men and how appropriate, grounded connections build trust and brotherhood. Finally, they address jealousy, comparison, and social media, offering practical strategies for cultivating gratitude while still pursuing growth. This episode is a tactical, honest discussion on showing up as a grounded, intentional man in every area of life.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Opening
06:57 - UFC Commentary and Attention Spans
12:07 - Taking Ownership Around Authority Figures
19:42 - Carrot vs. Stick in Self-Discipline
26:20 - Physical Touch and Connection Between Men
31:47 - Choosing a Word or Theme for the Year
37:04 - Boundaries, Reciprocity, and Resentment
48:50 - Discipling and Mentoring Young Men
56:50 - Overcoming Jealousy and Social Comparison
01:03:51 - Raising Boys and Recommended Resources

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 realize how much of their anxiety, distraction, and frustration is tied to what they own—and what owns them. We live in a culture that constantly tells us to want more, buy more, and accumulate more, yet peace, clarity, and contentment feel further away than ever. Today's conversation is about pushing back against that noise and asking a harder, more honest question: When is enough, enough?

My guest is Joshua Becker, author of Uncluttered Faith: Own Less, Love More, and Make an Impact in Your World. Joshua challenges the idea that minimalism is lifeless or empty and reframes it as an intentional act of stewardship, generosity, and purpose. We talk about consumerism, greed, anxiety, and the hidden cost of everything we own—and how living with less can actually free us to love people more deeply, live with greater clarity, and invest in what truly matters. This is a conversation about discipline, contentment, and creating a life that serves your mission—not your possessions.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Why Consumerism Fuels Misery
02:15 - The Inner Motivations Behind Overconsumption
04:49 - Selling With Integrity vs Manufacturing Need
07:10 - How Algorithms Shape Desire
11:44 - Purpose as the Filter for Consumption
14:42 - When Possessions Become a Burden
18:16 - Experimenting With Owning Less
21:13 - Reducing Phone Dependency
24:13 - The "Any Benefit" Mentality
28:01 - Wealth, Anxiety, and Possessions
32:20 - Wanting Less vs Earning More
34:06 - Money as a Magnifier
38:51 - What You Own Ends Up Owning You
44:17 - When Is Enough, Enough?
47:44 - Discovering You Have Enough Through Giving
51:59 - Generosity and Abundance
55:20 - Stewardship as the Antidote to Comparison
58:10 - Uncluttered Faith and the Hope Effect

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

Pain is part of life. Breakups, divorce, job loss, grief, frustration - every man faces suffering at some point. The difference between men who grow stronger and men who grow bitter isn't whether they suffer, but how they carry it.

In this episode of Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler explains what it really means to "suffer like a man." Not suppressing emotions. Not performing toughness. But learning how to metabolize pain into strength, discipline, clarity, and usefulness.

Ryan shares five powerful principles that will help you stop wasting your suffering and start using it as fuel for growth, leadership, and resilience - in your work, your family, and your life.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Suffer Like a Man (Intro)
00:50 - Suffering Isn't the Problem
01:45 - Why Men Numb Pain
03:11 - When Suffering Makes You Bitter
04:56 - Stop Resisting Pain
06:10 - Name the Pain
06:58 - Contain It, Don't Leak It
07:23 - Explode or Implode
08:45 - Move Pain Through the Body
10:58 - Don't Waste Your Suffering
11:35 - Extract the Meaning
13:12 - Let Suffering Make You Useful
15:18 - Suffering Builds Strong Men
16:42 - Suffering Is Part of the System
18:05 - Final Charge to Men

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 some of the most pressing questions facing modern men. From the pros and cons of testosterone replacement therapy to rites of passage for men who were never initiated, the conversation dives deep into masculinity, leadership, and responsibility.

They explore how men can give advice with confidence, navigate today's confusing cultural signals around manhood, and prepare their sons for a challenging financial future. This episode is a powerful reminder that being a man
is not a title - it's a daily commitment to action.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Opening & Current Events
04:55 - Testosterone & TRT
12:35 - Rites of Passage Into Manhood
22:45 - Giving Advice With Authority
33:20 - Masculinity, Adolescence & Maturity
42:30 - Preparing Sons for the Future
50:30 - Wrap-Up & Iron Council

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