The State of Men Address

The State of Men Address (full transcript)

Hello I’m Michael Van Osch, founder of thinktankmen.com and this is the State of Men Address, thanks for joining me. As I film this video we’re into the fourth quarter of 2010 and before you know it, 2011 will be upon us.

Before I start my address, I would like to thank all of you, my clients, thinktankmen.com subscribers, and my colleagues in the coaching, marketing and speaking world, I would like to thank you for your support this year so far.

To many men out there, thank you for your business and trust as your marketing coach and personal coach; and I also can’t leave out The Passion Test and all those who’ve moved their lives forward by allowing me to lead them through it. Without your trust my business wouldn’t be possible, so once again I thank you and will do my very best to continue to help your businesses grow.

So as we near the end of the 2010 and look back, we all realize that these last few years have been very trying times for many of the men out there. It hasn’t been business as usual. Many of your businesses have shuttered and most of the others have had significantly lower numbers than just two years ago. Many men have been laid off or let go from well-paying jobs that just don’t exist anymore. There’s no doubt that times have been tough.

The last few years have not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. There are more men out of work now than ever in recent memory. More jobs, both white and blue collar, have disappeared never to return based on shifts in the financial and manufacturing worlds.

And even though we may be starting to see small breaks on the horizon, that still doesn’t help the man faced with the situation of his wife now being the breadwinner while hunts daily for a completely new career. It still doesn’t help the man doing whatever it takes to keep his business afloat like not taking a paycheck for a year and taking on debt to ensure his people still have a job, can make their mortgages and stay afloat.

Even though there may be a few positive signs of economic change it could very well be quite some time before many men in our communities can take their families’ goals and dreams off hold and get back to what we considered normal.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Not by a long shot men. As I traveled around North America in the last five years, long before the recession took hold, I was noticing an undercurrent of change with men. And while the economy has tanked, this shift in attitude I was seeing in men has continued to build. And it is a very positive shift. Maybe you’ve noticed it too or been a part of it.

The shift that is occurring right now is one where men are standing up to be counted as men again. To place value on the word MAN and to refocus on values of old such as honor, integrity and leadership in their homes and communities, on the job and in their businesses. It never completely disappeared of course, but in the 90’s and early 2000’s it seemed almost politically incorrect to speak about things like manhood and manliness. Being a man wasn’t something that was applauded, in fact it was usually the opposite as society swung too far to the feminine side in an effort to make up for past injustices to women. I’m not sure all of those issues for women have been solved and there is more work to do there but this does not preclude the development of men and of the celebrating the unique power and gifts that only men have.

These tremors have been taking place for a few years now and men are taking back the definition of manhood and building it up. Now hear me on this, I’m not saying that women took anything away from men, it’s that we got so modern and touchy-feely that we gave away our pride in being a man. Well there is no way that could stay buried like that for long, because one thing men do is fight for what is real and right.

Back a man into a corner, threaten his family and livelihood, and he’ll come out swinging and he will succeed. Yes, many men have been hit hard and are down. But none of us is down for the count.  It’s true that you really can’t keep a good man down and men are proving that everyday in our current economy. That is what men do, it is hard-wired into us.

The men that I work with and talk to have realized the need for re-focusing on building their networks, evolving with the changes taking place in business & internet marketing, defining the Lifestructure they desire, a renewed emphasis on profit and loss management and perhaps most importantly, finding what they are passionate about and taking a leap of faith to pursue it.

So where are we going, what will the next decade look like for us? Obviously no one knows for sure, but let’s take a second to look back at the recent landscape of what is sure to demand the most attention as we go forward, and that’s the Internet.

A decade ago in the year 2000, only somewhere between 5 and 10% of businesses had websites, and if they did have one it was a static brochure type of site. And it was only approximately five years ago that internet marketing really started to become closer to mainstream and not some wacky idea that was cool but would never make any money.

Just think for a minute of your own online practices and buying confidence now compared to 2005. It has changed dramatically. Back then, most people were fretting about letting their credit card info loose on the web, afraid of what would happen. And now we’re in the midst of an online buying revolution that will not slow down. From that alone it stands to reason, and it’s not hard to predict, that before the next decade ends, the vast majority of businesses will be using the internet to market all of their goods and services.

The advent of web 2.0 has changed the landscape again and we’re at the precipice of one of the biggest changes socially and from a business perspective, since the Industrial Revolution. Right now Facebook has 500 million active users, not just people signed up, but active daily users. More and more communication is being handled through social media channels everyday. And in a generation, young adults won’t even know a world without social media, so this wave is just starting to rise, it’s just beginning to gain momentum in the grand scheme of things.

The future of online commerce is very bright as a greater percentage of the population does more and more online everyday. The question is are you poised to take advantage of this shift?

The Internet has brought people from all over the world into communities that are close knit – it is now like we live in virtual small villages where we know everyone and they know us – the only difference is because it’s virtual, we live in many of them.

We’ve come along way since the new millennium started. Hell we’ve come along way since the recession started. In a universal way, we are at a confluence of events that has never been seen in history. We are in the midst of a time when the power is draining from the big corporation and returning to the individual, to the little guy, to you and me. We are now in a time when, if you choose, you have more power to determine the quality of your life than ever before. And as a direct result of the information age, what we’re entering now is what I have coined, The Age of the Freedomaire^TM.

Many men have already become Freedomaires.

A Freedomaire^TM as I’ve defined it, is the term that perfectly explains the combination of having the freedom to live your life on your terms, exactly the way you want by doing what you love, living where you want, creating your own life structure, being with people you choose, enjoying everyday, and having all the money you need to do that. This has nothing to do with get rich quick schemes, it is about defining the life you always wanted and then creating it.

In short, being a Freedomaire^TM is living the life you imagined. It’s all about having the freedom to define what that is and live it. The money part is very important too but many have learned that it comes as a result of living a life you love and not the other way around. And the great thing is, when you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, what you’re passionate about and what gives you purpose, you’ll have more wealth than ever. Where once we all thought being a millionaire was the goal, we’ve now come to realize that becoming a Freedomaire is the real goal.

It’s the Internet technology that has provided this avenue to us now. We can now start businesses with low or no costs except time and develop them into amazing livelihoods due to a new access to millions of consumers and free learning resources.

Gentlemen, it’s a new game, with new rules.

I encourage you not to be a laggard here – this is your time. This is the moment in time when many men and women will become Freedomaires and others will look back and rue their decision not to act. This is not just a thought, this is an entire movement, it’s a Revolution. Men who are entrepreneurs have always lead the way in this country, and in most countries around the world.

So I challenge you… do what is needed to be the man you’ve always wanted to be, to do what you’ve always wanted to do and be successful at it for you and your family and for your community. Blaze your trail to freedom, however you define that.

How does one do that you ask?  Well here are 6 steps to a good start:

1. Decide to commit to the life you want, and it is a decision.

2. Put your shoulder into it. Take responsibility for who you are and what you can accomplish – it will amaze you.

3. Get over yourself. Get into a mastermind or other type of group with peers and leaders, continue your learning. The successful men are already doing this. Get over your Lone Ranger attitude. Do what you need to do to develop a group of men you trust.

4. Set your goals but be present in the now because that’s where the juice of life is.

5. Over-deliver in every way, everyday.

6. Lift up your fellow man when he’s down, and he’ll lift you. After all we’re all in this together.

To men who are members of thinktankmen.com and all the other men watching this – This is one of the most opportunity rich times in history. Men, we hold the key; it is our natural strength and leadership that builds our communities and determines our future.

It’s an exciting time as men are once again talking about honor, commitment and being impeccable with their word.

What are you going to do? Take the time now at end of this address to write down the life you want and start going forward. Replay the six steps I mentioned and start now.

Action is the key word for our current times.

Now is the time, we have the choice, let’s make it.

Thanks for joining me in this address, I’m Michael Van Osch, founder of thinktankmen.com. And if you’d like a free copy of the Freedomaire Manifesto, just go to thinktankmen.com/Freedomaire.

Remember, it’s later than you think. Play the Game You Were Meant to Play.

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