[00:00:00] Right now, the world needs great men who will stand up and lead with honor, serve with purpose, and courageously fulfill their God given roles as husbands, fathers, leaders, and men. I'm your host, Franklin Swan, bringing you practical tools and powerful conversations you can use every day to build yourself into the man God is calling you to be.

This is The World Needs Men. Let's go! All right, welcome back to the World Needs Men podcast. I am your host, Franklin Swan, and it is just me today bringing you a conversation around strength and specifically the four pillars of not just any strength, but masculine strength to get a kind of set the tone for this.

I found a quote and wanted to share [00:01:00] it. It says, confront the dark parts of yourself and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. That is by August Wilson. Strength. Anyone can go in and develop physical strength.

There's a lot of examples of physical strength. I mean, especially you go on social media and lots of people, uh, get all excited about showing off their gym strength. But I think real, true masculine strength goes far deeper than, than simply the physical strength that you see on Instagram or social media.

It goes much, much deeper and, and it is the masculine strength that this world needs and that I believe men need to, to aim for and, and aspire to. Because the physical strength, while it is, important and it's certainly a component. It's one of the pillars. [00:02:00] It doesn't create the masculine energy and the masculine presence that is so desperately needed in our world today.

A masculine strength that creates safety and security and calm and clarity for people. You know, the masculine strength is one that serves the world when you see strength being used to overpower or to to dictate things or to for someone to get their way that is not masculine strength that is misused and misguided.

And it's, it's not what we need. There's a lot of arguing right now about what masculinity is. I would say that we don't need to argue about masculine, what masculinity is. We just simply need to look at what masculinity is needed and what strength is needed in order to, uh, to serve our wives and our, and our children in this world in a better way.

So [00:03:00] men, today I'm going to go through four pillars of masculine strength. And really, really look at each one of these in your life and, and kind of assess where are you because you're going to be strong in some areas and there's going to be other areas that aren't as strong, but all four of them can always be improved and always move forward and, and one without the other is kind of like a, you know, think of this as the four legs of a table.

If you have a four legged table, it is sturdy, you can put weight on it, people can gather around it and use it as intended. But if you take one of those legs away, you take two of those legs away, you take three of those legs away and the table literally becomes useless for its intended purpose. There are men who put all of their effort into their physical strength.

There are men who put all of their effort into their mental strength. Some put it all into their emotional strength, although that's probably the least pursued of the four. And then there's [00:04:00] men that pour all of their effort into their spiritual strength now and in their faith. Now, is one really better than the other?

Well, we'll see. Instead of getting into that argument, instead of trying to say, well, this one's better than that one, I would just propose and have you consider that your fullest potential in life can be expressed and revealed when all four of these areas are addressed. are harmoniously and to their greatest extent trained and developed.

A man who has physical and mental strength, but not emotional and spiritual simply is not going to be able to do as much good in the world. A man who has all the spiritual strength in the world and all of the the mental strength. Well, if he doesn't have physical and emotional, those two, as great as his spiritual and mental strength are, those two are going to be the thing that holds him back.

But the man who is able to cultivate and build and deepen a deep sense of strength in his physical [00:05:00] body, in his mind, in his clarity in his thinking, in his emotional control, and in his spiritual clarity and connection to God, is going to be able to show up and live out his mission and his highest calling in the best possible way.

So, I don't really think that there's an excuse for men to not be strong. There are reasons, you know, we can make excuses, but at the end of the day, I don't think any of them hold water, because if you have a wife and children, if you have people that you're responsible for, then you have a responsibility.

to train your body, your mind, your heart, and your soul to be prepared to be able to face whatever challenges arise. And that's it. Like, we live in such a soft world. We live in such an easy place, especially if you're in the United States. We have it pretty easy most of the time, and it can be really easy to get complacent and comfortable and kind [00:06:00] of soft.

But then the challenge comes along, and the question is, when we're called to duty, when we're called to step up for our wife and kids, are we physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepared and equipped? And if we don't have a plan and if we're not moving towards that every single day, then the answer is we're just not going to be able to serve them in the way that we should be able to.

This does not mean that you have to be the most ripped person in the world. This doesn't mean that you have to have a six pack in order to be a strong man. This does not mean that you need to be the smartest person in the room. This doesn't mean that you have to have all of your emotions worked out.

This doesn't mean that you have to be able to memorize and recite more scripture than everybody else you know. This means that you have a foundation and an ability for all of these things to add to your life and be a resource to you rather than something that is a deficit. [00:07:00] and in just a neglected area of your life.

To give you another metaphor, let's think of a race car. Race car has four tires. No one in the right mind would ever say, well, only one of those tires is important. All four of them are necessary and required to operate optimally in order for the vehicle to race and perform at its best. Even one of those tires has an issue with it, and it could.

undermine the entire purpose of that vehicle, just one tire. And so when we look at this, I would suggest that men are probably way better served to be good in all four areas than they are to be an elite in one and poor in the other. in three others, because I just simply don't believe that our body and our mind, our heart and our soul are all this disconnected thing.

I [00:08:00] believe that they're, they're all connected and they're all meaningful and they're all important. Your body, you can have the deepest faith that you want, but if your body is broken down and on the verge of death because you simply haven't taken care of it, well then you're neglecting the, the vehicle that God has given you in this life for your spirit to be able to express itself.

And serve this world and live out its purpose in the way that God intended, period. If you're not developing your mind, if you're not working through your emotions, you're gonna have problems. So, all four of these are important, no different than the four legs of a table or the four tires on a race car.

All are necessary in order for the table or the race car to operate at its peak. and at its optimal level. So physical strength, mental strength, emotional strength, spiritual strength. The man who embodies those four things has a presence about him that is just [00:09:00] different. And he doesn't have to tell everyone how great he is.

He doesn't have to say, hey, I am here, everybody, it's okay, it's okay. He commands that space simply with his presence because there's a calm, there's a resolve, there's a knowing, and he brings that energy in and that is the masculine strength. that this world needs so bad. The man who has the strength that when he steps into the room, there's a little more peace and calm in it because he is a man who is trained under control and prepared.

He has what it takes. He has what it takes and people know it. Not because he has to tell them, but because they just sense it. And this is what I aspire to. I'm not there. I am not where I need to be. in all of these areas, but I am working towards it. I am striving towards it. And I don't, I don't look at any of these and go, well, you know, that one's just not that important.

This one over here is really important. I'm going to put all my [00:10:00] effort into that one, but these over here, they're just not as meaningful. I don't believe that. I believe a, a man who is operating it at his highest potential has got to put effort into it. and time and attention into developing himself in all four of these areas.

So as we look at this, like you say, okay, well, well, how do I do this? How do I go about cultivating and developing and building this strength across all four of these areas? I'm gonna give you four very specific strategies and ways that you can do this. Number one is that you cultivate strength in each one of these masculine pillars through consistent habits.

It really is kind of that simple, man. A little bit of physical training every single day. A little bit of training our mind, and especially our mindset. Like, what are the, the dominant operating mental modes [00:11:00] and and perspectives that we operate off of every day. And are we elevating those? Are we getting more clear?

Are we refining and sharpening our mental faculties so that our brain, this God given supercomputer in our head, is able to serve us at the highest level? And then our emotions, like gratitude and forgiveness, those two things, We'll do more to settle you as a man if you do work on those things than, than probably anything else.

I heard recently a, uh, uh, or actually I read a book and it talked about emotional health and it helped me understand it in a different way. And it was really about this idea of emotional health being your relationship with yourself. And a lot of times we need appreciation not only for the people around us, But for ourselves too.

We need forgiveness for other people and we also need to forgive ourselves. So when you, when you cultivate this, this sense of emotional strength, you [00:12:00] heal and then through that healing you gain greater control over the emotions that, that arise because We can get triggered, man, like things are going to frustrate us, things are going to make us angry, and the question is not if, if we get emotionally triggered, the question is do we have the ability to respond to that in an appropriate way rather than reacting and not having control over our, over our emotions, and there is probably nothing that creates a sense of danger in the hearts and minds of the women and children around us than a man who has no emotional control.

The man who can be triggered into just reacting because of whatever anger or frustration, emotion, and comes up in the moment, that man can't be trusted. And so we have to realize like, When we develop this, it's not like the purpose is so that our, our families can develop a sense of trust and safety in us because they know that [00:13:00] tough things can come our way, and we can be counted on to respond appropriately.

And then the fourth one. You know, cultivating a habit of spiritual strength. This is spending time with God. This is opening up your heart, really talking to Him. Not just praying to Him, but talking with Him. Spending time in His Word. Like, we have to cultivate a relationship. It's a relationship with God is no different than a relationship with anybody else.

It takes time. It takes intentionality. It takes effort and energy, and if you don't ever put anything into your relationship with God and then something goes wrong one day and you're expecting him to just show up and solve all your problems, it's not gonna happen. Because what he gives you most times is strength.

It's courage, it's wisdom, it's clarity to navigate the challenges of life that come your way. So that man who's able to cultivate a daily habit of just building these things one step at a time. I had a conversation with my wife this morning, so [00:14:00] I'm about, as of this, recording about a week and a half out from getting cleared from a spine surgery that I had back in July.

And I've done a couple podcasts on it. And I've, I've gotten cleared to do some very simple body weight movements. I can do squats, lunges, pushups, sit ups. And so among those four, I've begun a routine of five rounds of 20 each. So 20 pushups, 20 squats, 20 sit ups, 20 lunges for 5 rounds makes 100 a piece.

So, I did some math and I was talking to my wife and I said, you know, if, if someone only did that, if they did 100 push ups, 100 squats, 100 sit ups, and 100 lunges every single day, for as long as they lived, they would be radically better off and probably experience a very healthy and thriving life physically and be able to do all the things they want to do.

And it's just a few minutes a day. Now, maybe you say, I can't do a hundred pushups. Well, if you did them five at a time, or if [00:15:00] you work towards it and built up towards it, especially if you're a man and if you're anywhere south of 60 listening to this. Then you can do it, you just need to put in the work.

And that should be something that should be a, a, a baseline for you, honestly. But if you did that every day, it's just a little bit of a deposit, a little bit of an investment, a little bit of growth in that one area. And you, you just apply that same principle across each of these four areas. So you're developing your mental strength every day.

Your physical strength, your emotional strength, your spiritual strength through daily practice, Monday through Sunday. There's no day off for showing up for a family, like when people say, Oh, I'm going to take the weekend off or I'm not going to do anything on, on Saturday or Sunday. It's like, well, do you still need to show up for your family?

Then why wouldn't you be prepared? Like when I, I personally struggle with this idea that, that we have days off because showing up as a husband and father, we don't get a day off. So why don't we invest in ourselves to show [00:16:00] up and be prepared for those days? Because a lot of times the things that happen that we struggle with the most may happen on the weekend, right?

So put yourself in a place where you can show up and be the man that your family needs. So number one, cultivating that consistent habit of building strength across all four. The second strategy. is getting a coach. Talk about this a lot. It's one of the greatest advantages you can give yourself if you're listening to this.

You go invest and hire the right coach. Make that a part of your life and it will do more to move you forward and help you to show up as a great husband and father than probably anything else because what they're going to help you to do is see the things that are blocking you and that are in your way that you can't see alone.

Like, if you could have overcome the challenges that you've got right now by yourself, you would have already done it. And a coach is unemotionally tied to it, and they are paid to point the thing out. Needs to be looked at, even though you [00:17:00] probably don't want to look at it. And they just point it out, and they hold up a mirror.

And most of the times they ask the right questions and help you to realize that you've actually got the answer already. You just couldn't understand that you had the right answer. So, you cultivate this daily habit of building strength. Then you hire coaches, whether that's strength coaches, performance coaches.

Coaches that help you develop your faith, right? You hire a coach. Third strategy is the company you keep. When you surround yourself by other men who hold themselves to a high standard across these four areas, it will naturally help you to grow in those four areas. It all goes back to that simple adage of, you know, you're the average of the five people you hang around.

Well, if the five people you hang around are physically weak, mentally dull, emotionally Uncontrolled and spiritually disconnected and aimless, that's kind of what you're going to gravitate towards. Or, if you find a group of men [00:18:00] who don't just look for strength in one of these areas, don't just look for, for progress and for, for growth and mastery within one area, but they're looking at all four, and you start hanging out with them, you will begin to become like them.

And hopefully you can be someone who can influence another man to be more like that. Alright, so just surround yourself with the right people and make sure that you're, you're spending time with people who will benefit you across the board. Fourth strategy is a challenge. A challenge is something that you can't do right now.

Like if, if you say, I want to run a 5k, well, if you've already run a 10k before, it's not really a challenge because you're doing something less than what you're capable of. A challenge, ideally, is something that will force you to grow and become someone better. in the future that you are not today. And through that growth, is where you gain strength.

So when you do sign up for that physical challenge, like a, like a race, it forces you to go through [00:19:00] a training plan and to get your body in better physical shape. So you're, you're building that strength and that, that physical capacity and ability. Maybe you sign up for a class. Maybe you say, I'm going to read 10 minutes or 10 pages every single day of a book that helps me to equip my mind to think better and to gain more better perspective and to gain better ways of thinking.

Maybe you set a challenge of hiring a coach that can help you deal with some emotional stuff, dig into some stuff in your past maybe, do some deeper work. Right? There are ways that you can challenge yourself emotionally, even, even looking at, okay, well, who do I want to be as a man when it comes to my emotions and how I respond in the moment?

And where am I today? And what's the thing standing in my way? that needs to be removed so I can be that man. That can be an emotional challenge. And then spiritual, maybe you're leading a Bible [00:20:00] study, maybe you're committing to a walk and talk with God every day where you just open your heart and share with Him, and then you, you share with a friend, you share with one friend, kind of the thing that's on your heart that you feel like God's got for you to share, and you serve the world in that particular, in that way.

And in through that, you deepen your faith. and strengthen your faith. So those four things, like if you did, if you had a consistent daily practice of building physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, if you hired a coach whose, whose goal and whose job was to help you grow in, develop in these four areas.

If you surrounded yourself with other men who were pursuing this same thing, and that's the thing too, it's not that they have to be perfect, they have to be in pursuit of and committed to this better version of themselves. And then the fourth thing, if you set a challenge for yourself that forces you to grow, that forces you to get outside of your comfort zone, and you begin to move towards that, [00:21:00] and you go and you overcome that challenge, and then after that, you set your next challenge.

Because there's another version of you waiting. Then you will be a man who is on a path of developing, maintaining, and growing his masculine strength. And man, that masculine strength is so needed. I was on a podcast with Dr. Megan Meeker the other day, and it's already dropped. Go back and listen to it if you haven't yet.

And she made a very, very profound statement. She said, I think that this entire country. would shift if only one or two percent of men of dads started to show up. Think about that. Only one or two percent of the men need to show up in order for Dr. Meekers in her perspective and wisdom and experience to see a shift in this entire country.

She said, you put one [00:22:00] man, one dad back in the home on each block in the south side of Chicago, and you see entire communities change. So just think about it. It's not that much. In all these areas, what if you just grew 1 percent and then once you grew 1%, you grew another percent. And once you grew that percent, you grew another percent.

And it's just micro adjustments and micro movements in the right direction. And then you just continue doing that for the rest of your life. And when you do this, you know what you get on the backside of it? Like, you know what the real reward is? It is the fulfillment and the gratitude and the pride that comes from being a man who handles his responsibilities and knows that he's got what it takes to show up.

That is the reward. The reward is the ability to answer the call, whatever it may be. If we don't cultivate this masculine strength, we'll never have the [00:23:00] opportunity and we'll never know what was truly possible. So men, where do you need to build some strength today? What's it going to take for you to finally get up and get moving?

It may be in your physical body. It may be in your mind and it's like, you know what, I haven't read a book or a new concept or a new thought in years. And it's time that you started exercising that brain of yours. It may be your emotions and you've got your body and your mind all set, but you know, you still fly off the handle with your wife and kids.

Or it may be that you got all those things in line, but you know your faith is that one component, that one piece, that, that you've been neglecting, procrastinating on, putting on the back burner, and, and it's just time to lean in, and, and you need some men around you, you need some better habits, you need a challenge, and you [00:24:00] need a coach.

Those are all the ways. that you can develop this masculine strength and be the man our families desperately need. That's my message for the day. Men, you know what to do. I don't even have to tell you what to do. You know what to do. You knew what to do before you listened to this podcast. My only question is, are you gonna get out and do it?

Let's go.

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And until next time, be the man the world needs.