No Country for Soft Men: Recent Episodes
No Country for Soft Men
In the world we live in today, it's harder than ever to find direction as a young adult. For those young men who have recently graduated from high school or college, I (Andrew Parker), give one lesson per week on how to navigate this world as a man living in your 20s. From mental health to motivation and everything in between, I talk about a lesson that I have learned up to this point in my life and how I feel it can be beneficial to you. Right now as you figure things out, just try and get a little better each day. Small changes in the right direction build up over time.
If no one has told you by now, I'm here to tell you that you need to start reading. Doesn't matter what the book is about. It can be anything from sports to musical artists to business to history. As a man, reading adds a whole new layer to your character. It shows that you're curious, and still looking to improve your education. On this episode I go over why you should start reading and how you can start if you never have before. Above all, put the phone away and pick up a book.
At one point in time people had the mindset of "Damn, I wish I could only do the type of training my sports idol does". Fast forward forty years and we find ourselves in a time with very accessible workout apps and sleep trackers as well as rather cheap gym memberships. To add on to this, we are all aware that a huge part of eating healthy is being disciplined to do it every day. In todays world, you CAN be the star athlete in some ways by having discipline to do those little things such as working out, eating healthy, and sleeping well each night. This episode is a bit of motivation for your week!
As a guy we are expected to take on every challenge thrown our way. We are expected to not ask for help. If life gets hard, we keep going. At some point there's a line that gets crossed and the things we might have dealt with or experienced in the past are just too much. At that point we as men need to be aware of this and seek help. We have all dealt with something dark and possibly traumatic. By finding someone to talk to about those moments can help us free up our mind and allows us to let go of the tension we felt for so long. Being able to talk about those moments will help us be so much more clear minded. Never ignore your mental health.
This weekend I went to a SOLD OUT movie theater and got to watch the new movie "Top Gun: Maverick". In it, I felt that there were some really great lessons I could share on this episode. From all of the great lines to each one of the cool fighter jet scenes, this movie had so much to offer. I'm aware I only listed a few lessons, but hopefully it gets you thinking of some lessons you took away that I might have not talked about.
Although technology keeps getting faster and faster, the equation for success has stayed the same. It takes hard work, dedication, and consistency. It's such a simple saying to tell ourselves, but the real challenge is carrying out that mindset each day, week after week. You must keep at it.
There's a famous quote that talks about being a warrior in a garden over a gardener in a war. In this episode I go over what I believe that means as well as another lesson it can teach us. The world can be a very dark place, and no matter what we must keep going forward, not matter how hard it might be.
Earlier this year I successfully completed the 4x4x48 challenge, made famous by David Goggins. In this episode I go over three simple lessons I took away from completing one of the most demanding running events I have ever done. At the end of the day, you can always do more than you think. Never stop improving.
Today's episode is recorded on Mother's Day and reminds us all to work as hard as the person who raised us to be the man we are today. Happy Mother's Day.
As a young adult starting off your career it can be hard leaving your old habits from college behind, especially when it comes to drinking. With that being said, so many people learn it way later than they should about how you do not need to go full throttle every weekend when you are in the working world. You need to take care of yourself and tone it down. Waking up completely refreshed on a Saturday morning is one of the best feelings, and you'll get so much more out of your weekend.
Drink Less = Level Up
As we grew up going to school it was not socially acceptable to ask questions. It was either not the right question, wrong time, too simple of a question, or just not fun to expose your limited knowledge on a topic. As we enter the work place as young adults, we need to break that stigma. Ask questions at work, at networking events. QUESIONS ARE WHAT MOVE YOU FORWARD.
Like, share, and send this to a young professional who might need this encouragement in their new job.
As we have grown up we have lived with the fear of what our classmates thought about what we wore, said, and found interesting. As we go out into the real world we eventually realize (often too late) that as a young adult no one really cares about the things you do. Other people have too much on their plate to worry about what you find joy in. We, as men, must not care so much about what other's opinions of us are, but we must be open to coaching and learning if our new hobby requires a mentor. We must be comfortable going at it alone while welcoming feedback in the right settings in life.
Right now Tiktok is one of the most popular apps out there, but due to it's easy ability to give us quick hits of dopamine, it is highly addictive. I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to using this app. In this episode I go over the long term effects of using the app as well as better ways to not only engage your long term focus, but to get more complete information when educating yourself. HUGE Shout out to Julesterpak, who's video on Tiktok I mention in this episode (@Julesterpak). I am not friends with her, but I feel I must give credit to the person who gave me an idea for this video. Look her up on Tiktok to find her video where she talks about the issues with Tiktok.
Below is the link to her original video.
https://www.tiktok.com/@julesterpak/video/7079630466025901355?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7085101241378588206
As a young man in the world you must be strong and be able to handle adversity. You must also know that being able to feel pain and to cry is 100% acceptable. To anyone who is struggling, who is going through something really heavy, please don't be afraid to cry. Don't be afraid to call someone and talk to them. We are all striving to be amazing people, but at the end of the day, we're all just people. People who succeed, suffer, and sometimes cry.
Please share to anyone who might be struggling and let them know that they are not alone.
In this episode I talk about how even though you may be in your early 20s, you have to start being aware that little kids are looking up to you as a role model. You are still in a position to learn from great men that have gone before you, but you are now in that stage of life as well where other kids will look to you for guidance on how to live their lives. I also read a poem which has the same name as this podcast episode, I do not know the name of the author of the poem, to them all the credit is given.
In this episode I talk about life after high school or college, when the structure of education is behind you and you are forced to take control of what direction you're life takes
During this episode I just tell you how I want to run this podcast going forward. It's not perfect by any means, but it gives you an idea of what I want to talk about going forward.