Transcription
This is the Brave Co podcast. I'm your host, Jason B. Hey Brave Co-ers, I want to take a second real quick and tell you about our Brave Co conference coming up June 12th through the 14th here in Reading, California. This year's theme is "Rise Up, Men." We are going to rise up in our families, in our businesses, in our relationships, and our relationship with God. That is what God's doing in our life. If you have not been to one of our conferences before, I would encourage you highly to seriously consider stopping what you're doing, investing in yourself, and coming out to our conference. We don't do it the normal way that conference is done. A lot of guys are like, "Man, I don't want to sit and listen to a boring conference." You're not going to. Our conferences are super dynamic. In fact, we put each man into a group of 50 men. You have a leader, you have co-leaders, uh, that you're running with. You have team colors, team competitions, team pride going on. There's things to win and people to compete against as well. A lot of the ministry is also done inside of your, uh, team, which is really cool because you get tons of personal ministry. You also get to minister with other men.
The other piece that's really cool about the conference is we are doing a rite of passage for men 12 to 18 years old. Listen, this is so important because if you're a father, you don't want to be the only man pouring into your son. You have this opportunity to introduce your son into manhood with a ton of other men speaking into him, pouring into him, cheering him on. We have a two-and-a-half-mile Tough Mudder course that your son will go through. That is incredible. It's full of obstacles. He's going to love it, and he can come through the, uh, to the conference with you this year. And then, um, we have all kinds of other activations, incredible speakers. The other thing that I'm really excited about this year is every man is going to get a battle plan for his life. What is that? Well, that is a plan that you're building during the conference for the five main areas in your life: your finances, your, your relationships, your relationship with God, your physical health, and, and your personal self. So you're looking at the different areas of your life and you're going, "I want to ensure that when I leave the conference, I have a starting plan for my life." Our conferences are not mountaintop experiences. It is a catalyst into building a stronger, more powerful, more competent life. You'll also have the ability to jump into discipleship at the end of the conference. Again, we're not just throwing on good conferences for guys to feel good. We're actually helping men build stronger lives. So if you want to jump into discipleship and run with the men in your group afterwards, you'll have the opportunity, uh, to do that, especially if the other guys want to jump in too. So I want to invite you again. That's June 12th through the 14th. I hope to see you there.
Welcome back, men, to the Brave Co podcast. I am super excited for this week. As most of you know, we are just launching our series, uh, that we've titled "The Makings of a Man." And this is, we're exploring the attributes of manhood. Building out this episode, uh, these these episodes, I've just been so excited gathering all the content and looking at, uh, yeah, just the the different attributes that make up a man. And some of you guys are going to be like, "Well, there's, there's other things that you guys didn't talk about." There's, there's a ton of different things that make up a man. I just wanted to grab some of the key pillars and pull some of my best friends, some guys that I respect, and really take a look at what does it mean to be a man and how do I step into the, the man that God has called me to be. And so we're going to do that this week. I have one of the best men that I know. He's been on the podcast before, doesn't really need an introduction, but, uh, he's a father of mine and just such an incredible man. Danny, thank you so, so much for coming on the the podcast this week. I appreciate it, man. It's an honor. Thanks, Jay, for having me, man.
Yeah, dude. And it's fitting because you got that big old bear right behind you there. This is it. Talk about a courage story. We'll get into that story probably this, uh, today. But this week, we're gonna talk about courage and we're gonna talk about what it means to be a man of courage and, and how to develop that in your life. Um, but I wanted to start out, out every episode of this series by reading a story about courage. Um, so I'm going to read today. We're unraveling the incredible tale of Desmond Doss, a man who fought one of the fiercest battles of World War II without firing a single bullet. His story is not just about bravery, it's about the unwavering faith and strength of conviction. Born in 1919 and Lynchburg, Virginia, Doss grew up and the, uh, embrace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His upbringing instilled in him a profound respect for all of life, epitomized by a strict adherence to the sixth commandment: "Thou shalt not kill." This belief would define his entire life. When the winds of World War II swept across the globe, Doss was swept along with it, drafted into the US Army. But Doss had had a condition: he refused to bear arms. In an era where fighting for your country often meant taking lives, Doss wanted to save them. He enlisted as a medic, driven by a desire to serve without compromising his faith. His convictions, however, weren't met with understanding. In training, Doss faced ridicule and hostility from his fellow soldiers. They doubted his bravery, labeled him a coward. But Doss remained steadfast in his faith, unwavering his, his resolve unbreakable. Then came the Battle of Okinawa, April 1945. It was here, on the, I can't even pronounce it, Maeda Escarpment, a treacherous, blood-soaked battleground nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge, that Doss's convictions were put to the ultimate test. The battle was brutal. Amidst the chaos of war, Doss stood out as an unwavering beacon of compassion and bravery. With no weapon to protect himself, Doss ventured repeatedly into the heat of the battle. He dodged bullets, artillery, and grenades to reach his fallen, his fellow soldiers. Those who once doubted him lay wounded, their lives hanging by a thread. And it was Doss, the man they called a coward, who became their lifeline. Under constant enemy fire, Doss lowered wounded soldiers down, uh, a cliff using a rope. One by one, he saved them. 75 men owe their lives to his unyielding determination. For 12 grueling hours, he persisted, driven by a simple mantra: "Lord, please help me get one more." Eventually, Doss himself was wounded, but even then, his thoughts remained with others. He cared for his wounds and waited five agonizing hours for rescue, allowing others to be taken first. For his extraordinary heroism, Desmond Doss became the first, uh, conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. President Harry S. Truman presented the medal, recognizing a man who defied the norms of heroism, a man who believed in saving life over taking it. Desmond Doss's story is a powerful reminder of the strength of convictions and the profound impact of selfless courage. In a world torn by conflict, Doss shows us that true strength often lies not in how we fight, but how we heal; not in weapons, but in faith and compassion.
A lot of us men have seen Hacksaw Ridge, right? And it brings it to life when you actually watch the movie and you see this crazy story of Doss, right? Who goes into the military, everyone's laughing at him, they think he's a, a coward, they think that he doesn't want to fight, he just wants to be a medic and, and not hurt anybody. But then he gets put, like we saw, in this crazy world where he's under heavy fire and decides not to shoot people, but to actually go in time after time after time for 12 hours, risking his life, lowering these men off this cliff, wrecking his body, his hands, and saving guys. Is, I don't know, a greater story of courage than this story. I mean, when I read it, it just, it takes all of my excuses of why I don't move forward, why I don't try hard, and it just smashes them. Because you see a man who really does right, like he goes outside of the norm and says, "My convictions are the thing that will guide me, no matter what." And to me, that's the biggest thing in this whole, in this whole, uh, uh, story is that Desmond Doss was led by his conviction to not kill, and therefore, but also this conviction to help people. And never one time moved that conviction, put his conviction aside because of his fear. And oh my gosh, if I could be a man like that, right? Like, if we could all be a man, uh, that regardless of what it's costing me, I am never going to waver in my convictions. And I'll use courage to walk out my convictions in this life. What a freaking good story. Danny, what are your thoughts? Like, I, we're going to dive into this a bunch, but I just want your thoughts on that story.
Oh, it's a great movie. I saw that movie. It was just, just rocks you, you know? I think I love just the, you know, it kind of boils down to the courage to serve, you know? He's gonna, he's gonna serve his country. He's gonna serve the military. He's gonna serve his commanders, regardless of how jacked up they get with him. He's gonna serve them. He's gonna serve his, his fellow soldiers. And then, you know, he's gonna, he's gonna serve. And, you know, he finally gets to put it on display, really, this giant heart of service that he really does have, that everybody thinks is, uh, you know, not going to show up. And just lowering 75 men over a wounded men, like guys that aren't helping you at all, right? These guys are dead weight. And you're gonna run that rope 75 times. And you, and each time, you know, you had, you know, after 25, you know, he's, he's soaked. He's just soaked. You know? And he goes back and gets 50 more. You know, you're like, gosh, this is crazy. I guess the, the natural question that comes to my mind is like, how do we develop, I want to say that kind of courage, but to me, the start is like that kind of conviction. Because I mean, maybe it's a question to ask, like, do you think his conviction preceded his courage? Or like, what, what do you think happened there? How do we develop that?
Well, probably the, the con, being convinced of something, you know, conviction, uh, is tested with courage, right? Because that wasn't the first time his con, his convictions were challenged. You know, he, he had to carry again and again and again. Um, "I will do what it takes to live what I'm convinced of." You know? And, yeah, you're like, that is a, that is a, uh, that's the display of character. I, I forget who it was that said that courage is the character trait that all the rest of them hang on. And it's super true. That, you know, if you don't have the courage to be honest, you don't have the courage to be generous, or you don't have the courage to be merciful, or whatever. You know, the rest of the character traits really don't ever get to show up because you chickened out.
Yeah, that's true. I guess, how do we develop more courage? Practice. You know, it's like a muscle. You know, I wonder if this guy was married and was scared to talk to his wife. He did get married there, but, you know, but this is, you know, some guys have war courage, but they don't have wife courage.
Yeah, that's so interesting, isn't it? Yeah, it's like, courage. Okay. So a courageous man is not courageous necessarily in every area of his life. It's, right? It's, uh, and we see that a lot. Like, um, I see that in in business world a lot. Like, uh, guys who've taken incredible risks and have woke up day after day after day and and really just crushed the business world, which takes a lot of, it does. It takes a lot of risk. But then, you know, at home, it is the conflict or the, the fear of rejection. Or it's like, man, at home, I feel like a little boy. At work, I'm the man. Everyone calls me boss. You know, everyone wants to follow me. Um, yeah, I get, I, I got a buddy that, you know, him, Ron Atkins, you know, Ron Atkins? You know, he was sentenced to five life sentences in a Texas prison. Wow. So when he, he's 18 years old. So when he gets in there, he is a scrawny piece of bait, and he knows it. And so he goes to war. He was telling me of a story where he's surrounded by a gang in a cafeteria, and he has put a can of soup in a sock, and he is winging it around like a slingshot, and he is just taking guys out. He's taking on a whole room of gang members with a sock and a can of soup. And that was just one of a thousand stories that he has about surviving in that environment. He gets out. You know, he, it's a supernatural story, the whole thing. But and he is so afraid to have a hard conversation with his wife. Yeah. That guy, you know, looked like one of the Avengers, you know, as the aliens are invading the Earth, is afraid to be rejected by his wife. It's so crazy. I mean, he's waking up, eating glass in the morning, and he, he's the elephant afraid of the mouse.
Yeah, but I mean, that is it. It's us. I, when I think about courage and building courage, um, I do think you're right, like it does come through lots and lots and lots of practice and being facing those fears. It's David who starts out with the sheep, right? And he's out there with the sheep, and we all know the story. He's got the lion that comes, and he takes on the lion. Which, by the way, there must have been several, several things that had happened before the lion, because I, I have fought a house cat before. I wouldn't take on a lion. I mean, I don't, I wouldn't take on an angry lion that knew I was there. I wouldn't take it on with my bow and arrow. Rip his mouth, rips his mouth apart. Yeah. And then the bear, right? And then of course, we know where we're going. We're going to, he goes to to give his brothers food, and there's Goliath, who's this beast of a man, and he's taunting the Israelite army. And David goes to Saul and is like, "Dude, I'll fight that guy." David's this small guy, he's not even supposed to be there. And Saul's like, "Who are you? You're not going to be able to take him on." And he goes, "Oh, well, I killed the lion, and I killed the bear. I'm gonna take this guy down." But it's like that same thing as Doss, though. Like, David wasn't there to fight. David was there to deliver food. And when he heard Goliath taunt David's God, it messed with his convictions. And he goes, "Oh, hell no. Like, you're not gonna come into my living room and talk about what my God can't do. He's, I have a history with God that says he'll protect me." And, yeah, there's no substitute for that, right? Like, there's no substitute for the years of starting small and facing the small little fears that we have and working our way into these moments in our life where we have to assert courage day after day after day. I think it's why it's so important that you had a dragon slayer in your house as a model for you, going, "This is what we do. Yeah. This is how we can do it." And, and David is convinced when he gets to Goliath. He is convinced that he is courageous, that he is willing to step into the fray, that he is willing to run to the battle. You know, he did all that out in a field when nobody was watching. Yeah. You know, he didn't, he didn't do this on on Sunday in front of a crowd. You know, he did this when nobody but him saw what he was doing. So he actually believed that about himself, that "I will, I will defend the flock. I am a protector. I will, I will be victorious." You know, "That poor lion, I feel bad for what's about to happen to him. That poor bear, I feel bad for what's and that poor Goliath is going down." You know, that that really comes from you being convinced that that you're going to show up. So that didn't happen in that moment, you know, or those three moments, I guess.
Um, I'm just thinking about the areas of my life and and other men, you know, that like they're listening to this podcast driving down the road and they're thinking about their area of fear, right? The area that, that I don't know, feels like their giant. And we talk about giants a lot. And it's, it's easy to like put on the the Metallica playlist and pump yourself up and like, "Okay, I'm going to do this thing." But how do we practically get into, "I want to be a man of courage. I want to be a man of, uh, fortitude. I want to be able to say that my convictions are the thing that lead me, no matter what my fears are." And how, what's the first step in actually becoming a man of conviction? Because it feels like that's a component. And, and courage to face my fears. Like, what can a guy do tomorrow to start practically walking down this path?
You know, I think you have to have a pretty clear sense of what's right and, and what you're willing to fight for, you know? And if you're not very clear about that, if that's kind of cloudy, if that's kind of subjective, and or a relative, then you're really never sure when to engage. Uh, and, and it never really feels like your job. It always feels like it could be somebody else's job to take care of this injustice. It could be somebody else's job to protect, uh, the, these children, or, or these women, or whatever. But I think if you, as a man, carry in your character that, "It is my job to protect." "I actually have a responsibility." And "It is the right thing for me to do." Right there, this person needs protection. This situation needs protection. Or I'm going to protect these people from me right now. And I'm gonna manage my anger. I'm gonna manage my selfishness. You know, I think there, there is a just a sense as a man that you, you're actually here to be a protector.
Yeah, that's powerful. I, when I look at that, um, it reminds me of when I was young. My dad used to talk a lot about what it meant to be a valiant and what we do as men. And he kind of drew, like, he, in some ways, my dad helped me build, helped me construct this, this like house of conviction, this house of belief that we protect our sisters. I remember my sister, I'm the youngest, so I remember, um, I knew that we weren't supposed to, you know, I wasn't supposed to hit my sisters, no matter what. But I, that's not fair. It's not. And, and my sisters were really strong compared to me growing up. And I remember my sister Shannon just hitting me in the arm over and over and over again one day. And I probably was, I'm sure that instigated it. And I remember, yeah, she was just over and over, like 10 times. And finally, I turned and I hit her in the arm. And, let's just say that was the last time I ever did that. My dad from, from the bathtub, right? All he hears is my sister go, "Ah!" And he goes, "Come in here." And, uh, he never, he didn't address my sister hitting me. He addressed my inability to control and manage and hold this line. And once again, he reminded me that I was a protector. I'm this 11-year-old boy, and I am called, uh, to protect the women in my life. But he helped me draw these battle lines, right? He did it again with pornography in my life. Uh, I struggled with pornography and masturbation, um, for for two really, really solid years. I was completely addicted to masturbation by the time I hit, uh, about 11, 12 years old. And then pornography, I found at 14. Well, when I found pornography at 14, I started talking to my dad, you know, regularly. I mean, one, you can't hide anything from my dad, not because he's a prophet, but because he asks you all the time. And, and then he brings it up all the time. And so we talked about it a lot. I mean, it was a conversation that we had. And after like, probably a year and a half of that, I remember my dad saying, "Hey, why don't you, why don't you tell your sisters and your mom?" You know, "Tell the family what you're struggling with." And I was terrified. I was like, "Oh my gosh, that is the last thing that I want to do." And he just helped me draw this line. He just said, "Son, you can't, you can't beat this on your own. You've tried it, and you've tried it just talking to me like this. It's, this is, this is a battle in your life that you have to win, and you need the family to do it." And, but he came in there with me, and he sat down. I remember him sitting down with me, and I told my sisters, and of course, they came and gathered around. I thought that they were going to be embarrassed. You know, they came and gathered around me, and they poured their strength into me. And that's when I wore a white T-shirt every day for the next year and a half of my life. That's when I put on a purity ring until the day that I got married, and, uh, rarely ever took it off, even for sports. That's where it was those defining moments in my life where my dad was helping me to go, "These things are willing to die. You're, you should be willing to die for these things in your life." And I, I think that those pieces, so many men didn't get constructed in their life, this thing, your character, who you say that you are. I remember another time in my life, I was, uh, at Burger King. We're just my dad and I were out there getting a burger, and there was a guy sweeping the floor. He's probably 16, I was probably 12. And he was standing there talking to another employee just for a second. And my dad says, "You see that guy?" I said, "Yeah." He says, "Don't ever do that." I'm like, "Do what?" He says, "When you're working, don't ever stand around holding the broom. Find something to do." And I was like, "Oh." I mean, it's just these things, right? Like these, he was building these, these blocks, these building blocks of conviction in my life. And one of the things that we do with Brave Co here that I think really helps, the third lesson in our Foundation of Masculinity course is our ethos. And we, we sit down. There's a bunch of, so for guys who are who are doing this, and this is going to be a challenge at the end, is to create an ethos. But John Wayne had, there's a, sorry, there is a cowboy code of the West. The, um, Navy Seals have an ethos that they live by. Um, there's a whole bunch of different creeds, uh, uh, like, oh, who was it? Not Theodore Roosevelt, it was, um, Benjamin Franklin had a list of virtues that he lived by. But anyways, it's what you're talking about. It's, you have, if you don't know who you are and what you stand for and what you're willing to die for and what you're defending, then you never really know where to draw a line. And you, and you don't really know what to do when you get in the midst of the battle. You just react to whatever your, uh, fight, freeze, flight, you know, whatever your trauma response is, that's what you're going to do. But being able to sit down and actually craft out, "This is what it means to be Jason Batin. This is what it means to be Danny Silk. These are the virtues and the values that I am going to adhere to. This is the, the man that I am." I really think that that's a large piece that's missing from men, is that's kind of the identity piece that you get from your father, at least a major one. That if you didn't have that modeled for you, you're literally, "Why would I fight this fight? Why would I kill this lion? Why, just take a sheep if I'm, if I'm David, just have one of my sheep. Don't kill the rest. Just keep the one. You know, go ahead and send another man to that battle. I'm going to live to fight another day." Unless you have a father that's going, or unless you have a code inside of you that says, "There are some things willing to die for." And your word is one of those. Your purity is one of those. Your wife's, uh, your connection with your wife is one of those. Your connection with your kids is one of those. It's a, it is a live or die situation. And boy, you, you can, you can be afraid. You just can't let that fear drive the car.
Yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, that is, uh, that's a gift that a father gives a son, that a man gives a boy, uh, that is the path to masculinity, really, is that I have somebody who holds up the image that I am fashioning my life after. And, you know, whether we want that image or not, we will fashion our, our life after. I, I grew up without a father in the home, and so we just had a parade of men that came through, and every one of them, essentially, was predatory. Wow. You know, every single one of them was there just to get what my mom was offering, and then they were gone. They were on to the next one. And, you know, that's, this is my, uh, my image. This is what is in front of me. Is like, "Okay, that really is what men are good at. That's what men are measured by. That's what, uh, uh, women want." You know? And it wasn't until I got saved at 21 that I met people like Bill Johnson, and Charlie Harper, and Chris Valiton, and Jerry Clough, and all these guys that actually taught me something completely. Never seen a man, uh, so with so much character and so much to die for, you know? I, I don't think I met a man who was willing to die for anything but himself, previous to that. And then I now understand that I'm actually here to give my life. Oh, wow. Wow. I got to get good at this, you know? I had better learn how to give my life because that is how you measure a man. Wow. That that guy, Jesus, that's the guy that we're all living up to. And, uh, never met anybody like that before. And then I surrounded with this community of men who were literally day in and day out showing me what it looked like to be a, a courageous man, willing to die to himself to protect what was important to the guy he was living up to.
Incredible. Yeah, it's amazing. I, um, I love the story of when Jesus is in the garden. And of course, we know, like, Jesus is our perfect model for for manhood and masculinity. And he's in the garden, and he knows that his time has come, right? He's, he's ministered, he's done all this stuff. And now he knows that that Judas is going to betray him, and the guards are going to come get him, and that it's beatings, it's lashings, it's being spit on, it's, it's, uh, getting nailed to the cross. And he's sitting there, and he's sweating blood, which that's a bad day, man. That's right. Yeah. And I'm so glad that he, that he was sweating blood because I think we often look at Jesus as like, this cool, calm, collected, no fear. But he's actually in in such a place of of like turmoil, you know, that he asked Father God, like, "Is there any Plan B? Can we call an audible? Is there any other thing that we can do?" And Father God goes like, "No, this is it, man. We can't change the play on this." And it says that Jesus goes to the cross for the joy set before him. And it's, it's such a good reminder for me of like, day in and day out, life really is a grind. There's all these things that we face that are so challenging. That we know, like, "Gosh, this is going to be, I mean, even raising kids again, I'm, I'm back, you know, my kids are young, they're two and four. And I've already, I've been 25 years in raising kids. And I had to, this season, it sounds so dumb, but it's real, like I had to pick myself up by my bootstraps again and go, "Okay, for the joy set before me, like, I'm going to do every single day." The fits, the talking back, the building connection when they don't want to connect. The, I'm doing that all over again. And it's scary. And it feels, I feel, um, like inadequate sometimes. But taking that model of going, "I know that that this is, I'm on the right path." It's Psalms 23, man. It's like, he's broken down, he's busted up. God restores him. Doesn't send him into the valley, uh, uh, of peace and comfort and joy. He sends him back into the valley of the shadow of death. Only this time, God's with him. And that's like the perfect picture for for manhood is like, men, we were created to go into the darkest places, to be salt and light, to be the protector, to be a provider, to combat and push back the, the plan and scheme of the enemy, to be a, a protector of our family and those that are close to us. And if we back up, if we back down, if we let our fear be the driver, then there is no defender. There is no provider. There is no protector. There is no leader. And one of the greatest things a man is called to do is to be the leader. But we cannot lead without conviction and without courage. And so it's why this attribute is so incredibly important because of our role, because of the divine role that man was called to do, to be put on this earth for.
I want to read a couple of quotes that, uh, are some of my favorite that kind of embody, um, courage. So Winston Churchill says, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts." And Nelson Mandela says, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not the, is not who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Mark Twain says, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." And then, uh, Maya Angelou says, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." Anyways, oh, one more. Martin Luther King Jr. says, "Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite the obstacles. Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances." Powerful. Boom, boom, baby. Boom. Yeah, yeah.
And courage, you know, the joy set before you, really, there's a reward to courage. There's a, uh, there's a, uh, self-respect that is waiting for you on the other side of facing whatever you were so afraid of. Um, I have numerous situations and stories. Uh, you know, one time, I, I, that's a long story, but I don't like snakes. Right? I just don't like snakes. Never have. And, and I, I had a rattlesnake right between my feet. You know, they was going up these stairs. I didn't see it. I thought it was a stick. I almost kicked it off, you know, as I was going up. It rattles. I shot up in the air. I flew back, you know, 15 feet through the air. I was just like, "What is going on?" And this 20-minute story, but I finally, because this rattlesnake was on the front porch of this house that had seven children that I was visiting as a social worker, and they were gone for some reason. They're never gone. And they had a, a 18-month-old and a 15-year-old. And it was, and I saw that snake. I'm headed back to my car. Like, "Are you kidding me?" And on my way back to the car, I thought, "What if this snake bites one of these kids?" Oh no. I have to kill this snake. I turn around. I head back. And it's this big old story I tell in numerous places. But on the other side of it, I feel like, well, you know what? I'm not afraid of snakes anymore. I don't like them. You know, I, I step aside. I don't feel like I need to kill everyone I see anymore. You know, I, I, all but, but what I learned that day was, I don't have to be afraid. Yeah. There's just, that was one of the biggest fears I can think of having, and I don't have to be afraid. I can do something else.
Sherry, you know, just went through a, you know, two-year battle with cancer. And, you know, we, we really, uh, we got stripped down. I mean, we got stripped down. And, um, I, every day, you know, I was trying to figure out, "What am I going to do with all the sacrifice that is coming my way?" You know, this is the total self-centered Danny, right here. My wife's going through cancer, what about me? Yeah. You know? And, um, I wasn't sure what I, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I wasn't sure what was in there. And I, I remember that the Lord just said, "It's her birthday." And I said to myself, "No, no, it's like six months from her birthday. I don't understand." And I realized, you know what? For whatever reason, on her birthday, there's a totally different grace that I have. And I won't do anything to mess up her birthday. Yeah. I will adjust myself. For some reason, all my selfishness goes, goes away on her birthday. It all comes back, but on her birthday, it all goes away. It's all about her. And I, I be, I woke up the next day with, "It's her birthday." And every day, it's been two years now. Every day, it's her birthday. Wow. And there's a conviction that, um, I am actually here to serve her. And that's, and it takes great courage when she's blown up, you know, she's, she's just unavailable, you know, just unavailable. She's just not herself. She's in pain. She's, you know, whatever is going on. And it's her birthday, and I am here to make sure that today is a great day. And I got the greatest compliment I've ever had. Um, I think she was talking to your dad, and your dad said, "How's Danny?" And she said, "You know, Danny's an INFJ. He's kind of hates pain, hates, uh, hates discomfort, you know, he hates, he avoids all that stuff. But, you know what? During this whole time, he didn't bow to his personality. He was ruled by his character." Wow. And I thought, "Okay, I can die and go to heaven now, dude. That's it." You know, I ticked the box. That was that was the greatest compliment my wife could have ever given me.
It's amazing. And it's, I mean, it's, it is that conviction, right? It's this is the man that I am, and I'm called to, and I have to step up now. I have to step up and face the challenge that I've been put in. It's awesome, man. That's again, I mean, you're one of the greatest men that I know and have ever known. And it's so cool because I get, I get the, uh, the backstage pass to see the ins and outs of your life. And you just, you've always been the man that you've portrayed upfront. You've always been that behind the scenes and more. And, um, you know, a lot of people will never know what it costs to to be a man of courage and to lead a movement and to, to be a leader where so many are depending on you. And, and so thank you for being that man in my life, Danny. I appreciate it.
Dude, thank you for that. I appreciate that. And you're welcome. It means a lot. Would you pray for us? We're going to close out. Totally. Lord, thank you that you have called us and designed us as men. You've made us a warriors, and you've made us servants. And, Lord, I do pray that you stir up your spirit within each man that's that's listening to this podcast. And Lord, that you remind him that you've put in that in him everything that he needs for that challenge, for that obstacle, uh, even for what is intimidating him. You have put in him power and love and soundness of mind, that he, in fact, will be victorious simply by facing his fears and doing anyway. Yeah. For Your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
Listen, man, Danny's new book, "Dragon Slayers," is out. And this book is geared towards men. Danny, will you tell us just a little bit about your book?
Yes, sir. Yeah, "Dragon Slayers" it comes out on May 24th, which is National Brother's Day. Here we go. It's, uh, seven reasons men need brothers. It's, uh, really, I just go through the seven dragons that men face, you know, men and God, men and, uh, himself, a man and a woman, man and men, man and nature, man and machines, and man and provision. A really great book that leads us to find our 12. You know, this is really about, uh, a band of brothers creating brothers that last a lifetime because I know how much my life has been transformed by a community of men throughout my life. I mean, I know hundreds of men, but I've really, I've taken 12 men. I, I've committed the rest of my life to them, and they go on to do the same thing.
It's incredible. Yeah, I mean, the movement that you guys, uh, have started and what you've modeled, um, in your life, just even with the year 12 and having those guys have their 12 is super cool. I love it a lot. And it works, right? Like that was Jesus's model for discipleship. Ladies, I know there are ladies that watch this podcast. Just go out and purchase that book for your husband. It's an incredible book. I've read the book personally, and, um, have had Danny come out and speak at so many different things that, that we put on. So go out and purchase the book today. Let's, uh, let's buy all the books that he's got and sell that out. Okay, guys, listen, we're doing a challenge after each one of these. And this week's challenge is to create your ethos. Now, you may be going, "I don't know what an ethos is." Every man has access to ChatGPT. And so you can go, "Don't make it write it for you. That's weak." You can go, "What is an ethos? How do I create it?" And then I want you to sit down this week and create your ethos. Actually go, "What does it mean to be me?" It's your virtues, your values, the mission where you're headed, kind of, kind of piece together. You don't have to make it perfect. And then tag us on Instagram. Put your ethos on there. Uh, take a screenshot of it, or, you know, talk about it, share it, read it out loud on your Instagram post us or on Facebook, whatever. Tag us. And I'll do that as well. Um, I'll post my ethos on there so that you guys can all see it. But these are the things, right? These are the things that are small that we do that remind you to stay in the fight. That courage is more important than running away. Man, if we are going to fulfill the call that God has on our life, we cannot afford to be passive, to be lazy, to back down. Guys, I love you. Have an incredible week. We will see you next week on the Brave Co podcast.
Hey Brave Co-ers, hopefully you loved this week's episode. Listen, if you have not subscribed to our podcast, you are already behind. Go ahead and click right here to subscribe to our podcast. And if you have not watched last week's episode, you can click right here and watch last week's episode. And listen, if you want to upgrade your wardrobe, you can check out some of our new hats that we have in stock and all our other swag. Go to BraveCo.org and you can look at our store there. Have a great week. We'll see you next week.