350: Ryan Michler | How to Start a HIT Podcast

Ryan Michler is a military veteran and the founder of Order of Man, one of the largest men-focused podcast brands. In this episode of Build Your Network, you will find out how Ryan started a hit podcast, the importance of cultivating your skills, and how to motivate your children to do the same.   Episode Highlights: Ryan was in a pre-engineering program and joined the military when he was 17. He studied for financial advising exams while he was in Iraq and worked as a financial and investing advisor for a decade. He didn’t join the military with the intention of making it a career, but just an experience to have. Ryan was raised by a single mom, with some stepdad figures coming in and out of the picture, and his mom has always been his biggest supporter. Ryan wants to be clear that even though his organization is called Order of Man and he works mainly with men, the things they talk about, of course apply to women too. He is keenly aware of the specific testosterone-driven physical energy men have that does biologically make them different from women, and is conscious of how to harness that in a healthy way instead of allowing it to fester into violence. College isn’t useful if you don’t need a degree to do the work you want to do. Ryan suggests experiential learning over college when possible. People tend to look at things as learning versus doing, which discourages lifelong learning. The word entrepreneur is tossed around now and promoted on social media as being able to work from a beach while drinking cocktails, but what that really does is promote laziness. No matter what you do, you have to be a marketer; even dating is like marketing yourself. People often take their reputation with other people more seriously than they take their reputation with themselves; you should care how you present yourself. Ryan began podcasting through recording short audio clips on CDs to use as pitches to potential financial advising clients, and he saw a much higher rate of return with the clients he had given those to. He launched the Order of Man podcast as a way to interview men who inspire him, so he’s essentially getting himself free coaching in exchange for making these interviews publicly available. Nothing about this is luck; Ryan did so much in order to be prepared and to recognize the opportunities he had when they arose. A huge benefit to podcasting for Ryan is the accountability to practice what he preaches. Ryan believes that knowing the right people is how you get the right information. The Random Round: a quick series of random questions to get to know Ryan. 3 Key Points: Learning and doing are not mutually exclusive. Everything you do requires having skills as a marketer. Luck and opportunity are worthless unless you are prepared to take advantage of them when they arise. Tweetable Quotes: “If a man can learn to step up & make himself more capable, he’s naturally going to be a more capable husband & father, he’s going to be engaged in the home, he’ll have emotional intelligence, intellect, the ability to lead & to earn an income.” –Ryan Michler “It’s difficult to face the reality of our own inadequacies, but if you want to grow, that’s exactly what you’ll do.” –Ryan Michler Resources Mentioned:  Order of Man: https://www.orderofman.com/ (Website), https://www.facebook.com/orderofman (Facebook), https://twitter.com/orderofman (Twitter), https://www.instagram.com/orderofman/ (Instagram) Ryan Michler: https://www.acast.com/privacy (acast.com/privacy) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy