A lot of guys ask me what resources, other than Men’s Health or Men’s Journal, are out there for men. For me, those mags are great, but somewhat limited. Enter The New Man Podcast.  I will be interviewing the host of the New Man Podcast Tripp Lanier on February 19th.

If you haven’t heard of The New Man Podcast you’re missing out. Go there now and download it for Free on itunes, or you can go to Personal Life Media and download them episode by episode.

Tripp Lanier, x-rock star, and Integral Men’s coach is the host of this thought provoking podcast. Tripp is a good friend of mine and we are both extremely inspired to help dudes get off the couch and have the life they want. He has a unique way of combining humor and solid inquiry when interviewing his guests.

Podcasts are often no more than 25 minutes in length. Each podcast introduces you to a certain topic, then if you are inspiried to go further, Tripp’s guests give you more info that you can explore on your own time. In the New Man, the topics  range from personal fitness, dating and relationships, spirituality, finding your life purpose, to being a dad.

I was interviewed by Tripp over a year ago and we did a three part series about becoming a man. You can check it out here.

So, go download the New Man and you’ll immediately learn something!

Remember, on February 19th I will be interviewing Tripp in my monthly membership forum, which for a limited time is FREE. For those that appreciate Tripp and the work he’s doing, you won’t want to miss it.

To learn about the New Man Podcast and Tripp Lanier, join us for the call here.

At some point in your life, if you’re a guy, you’ve certainly heard the phrase “no pain, no gain.”

Well, what does it really mean? To some men, it means that if you don’t suffer, then you’re not going to get anything or get anywhere. Well, this is partly true.

My own interpretation is this:

The Pain

If you are the type of guy who stuff’s his feelings and pain of any kind, emotional or otherwise, then you are a “pain-avoider” and the “no pain, no gain” approach doesn’t really work for you. You’re saying might be “No pain, No pain, No pain.” But unfortunately you will still feel pain, even though you think you avoided it or got away with something.

So, my bias is this, Why not turn toward your pain whatever it may be and face it head on?

For example, let’s say you are getting sucked into the economic meltdown on the news everyday and it is becoming a real pain in the ass. The pain starts with an external trigger such as “bad economic news.” You now have some choices. 1) Turn off the TV or news 2) Pretend it’s not happening. Or, 3) turn toward the external trigger “bad economic news” and then, this is the crucial next step, turn toward what it is bringing up in you,  such as your feelings of fear or anger.

The Gain

But why do this? Because if you choose not to feel the pain that you feel in relationship to most things in your life, you are cutting off a huge opportunity to “gain.” When you turn away, the only person that loses is you.

So, my strong suggestion is to man up and relate to your pain. Turn toward it, whatever it is. The external trigger of your pain could be money, a sour relationship, death of a loved one, a co-worker, your career, whatever. Next, feel the pain associated with the external trigger and see what happens.

Trust me, if you stay with it long enough, it will turn in to a big gain, but you have to turn toward the fire and stand in it. Another sign of a revolutionary man in the making—turning toward what is painful in life, rather than away from it.

Gain awaits. All you have to do, is relate to and turn toward your pain.

Okay Men, are you up for the task? This Contest is not for small-timers. Only apply if you are deadly serious and you want to be the kind of game-changing Man people remember….. forever.

I’m only offering 8 spots for this year long Personal Development Training. It’s basically free.

Check it here

2009 is the year to Man Up to your vision and goals. But how? Let’s say you have a big dream and big plans for this year. But you often lack follow through or fail to achieve your goals. By now, a few days in to 09, you should be able to gauge if you’re being realistic with your goals.

Here are 5 key strategies to not backing down from your new year’s goals.

Step 1. Get honest. Be very, very honest with yourself. Just by acknowledging that you are NOT 100% behind your goal can help you achieve it. Is the goal you set coming from a “should” place?

For example, I’ve never been a “goal guy.” As soon as I set a goal, especially if I think I “should” do it, some part of me wants to break it. I have an inner rebel. It is likely that you do too. When this is happening, I have to admit I’m not totally on board. So, I change the goal, rather than stick with something I can’t get behind.

Most guys sabatoge themselves becuase they are not %100 bought in. Let’s say your going to hit the gym 5 days/week. You start out strong and within a few weeks, you loose steam and fall off the horse. So, while it is true that you want to achieve your new goal, it is equally true that some other  part of you wants to do the opposite–wants nothing to do with the gym, working out, and could care less about getting in shape.

Most of us are blind to the sabatour inside of us. If you keep coming up short, try a new strategy. It is likely that you have a big, unexamined blind spot in you.

Being honest with yourself, also means setting realistic, doable goals. Tony Robbins says change your “shoulds” into “musts.” This requires strategy number two>

Step 2. Have a clear vision and be relentless about it. Most guys don’t have a clear vision. They think they “should” get in shape as opposed to having a vision about why and what it would look like to be in stellar shape.

Sometimes, you may set a goal because you will get the praise of others. Let’s face it, other people have a lot of opinions about what is best for you. But ultimately, you are the boss of you, so set goals that work for your deepest inspiration as opposed to “shoulds” or other’s opinions.

Shoulds need to be examined thoroughly. Maybe behind the should is some wisdom that you need to listen to. Or maybe you just are not crystal clear in what you want.

Step 3. Micro-goals. Once you have a clear vision, set micro goals to help you achieve your bigger goal. If your overall goal is to run a marathon, obviously you need to work up to 26.2 miles, right? Set weekly and monthly goals, check them off and check in with your Man Up buddy.

Step 4. Accountability. Ask a friend to hold you accountable to what you say you are going to do. This is your Man Up buddy.

We let ourselves off the hook much too often and we often have great reasons why we don’t need to hit the gym today. A good trustworthy friend won’t let you off the hook and your commitment to him or her can be the factor that gets you off the couch and will have you keeping your commitments. This in turn leads to others trusting you and respecting you. You are walking your talk.

Go even further by committing in a group, make it known that you are Manning Up.

Step 5. Reward yourself. Each month or every so often, acknowledge your wins. Celebrate by having fun, taking a day off, partying or whatever is “celebration” to you.

What are your goals in 09? Who is holding you accountable?

My challenge to you as always is to stop holding back and make 09 a year of stepping up!