Ep 10 School of Hard Knocks part 4-Overcoming Entitlement (official title)

Wednesday, May 16, 2024. In only 21 days from today, [1] world leaders will gather in France to observe the 80^th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1944, when American-led Allied Forces invaded Nazi-occupied France that would liberate Europe from fascism. When these leaders gather to lament the fallen, comfort the survivors, and marvel at the courage of the “greatest generation,” just what will they marvel at? Will they marvel at their selfishness? Their self indulgence? Their right to a safe space? Obviously, no. On June 6, 1944, young men barely out of high school parachuted into a storm of flak, returned German sniper fire, jumped over dead and dying comrades to get close enough to take out German machine gun nests, and fight their way to Berlin over the next eleven months.

80 years later, the greatest generation’s grandchildren will gather at the beaches of Normandy to lament publicly and worry privately that the greatest generation’s great-grandchildren are too entitlement-minded to face a similar challenge.

Today on The Next Stage, Rob Stout dives into the fourth message on a series addressing how men overcome the “hard knocks” in life. Until now, Rob has been talking about the kind of character a good man needs to cultivate. In this episode, Rob talks about the sense of American entitlement and selfishness that the modern man must learn to shun.

Recap: In episode 7, Rob walked through two approaches to understanding hard knocks – the Elitist approach, and the Eeyore approach. The former says, “I am above this hard knock.” The latter says, “Just my luck. This hard knock is my fate.” The third and better approach is the Now What mindset, where a man (1) “Embraces the suck” of the hard knock, and (2) Calls the hard knock “joy.”

In Episode 8, Rob walked through three manifestations of that third approach of embracing the suck and calling it joy. These are the “Now What’s?” Now What #1: When you get knocked down, REACH OUT. Now What #2: When a friend gets knocked down, JUMP IN. Now What #3: When you get knocked down, REACH UP. (Reach up to God and take him at his offer – He wants relationship with you.)

In Episode 9, Rob dove into the pragmatics of facing and overcoming your hard knocks: (1) Get Sick and Tired of the status quo; (2) Get Moving; and (3) Make a Plan.

In today’s episode, Rob comes back to first of the three mindsets of approaching hard knocks –  Entitlement, because of the pervasive and pernicious effective of myopic, self-obsessed thinking of the modern self. Would today’s man jump out of planes to brave a hail of flak and liberate a continent? More immediately pressing is this minimal challenge: Would today’s man temper his appetite and passions well enough to get married, stay married, raise and teach his children, provide for his family, and persevere through the inevitable hard knocks of life?

In episode 10, Rob addresses the myopia of today’s entitlement-minded man. Wherever you are in your journey toward authentic manhood, we’re not judging; come along and join – we’re all on a journey.

Fair warning, however: This is not a safe space, but it’s a good space.

For more information or to book personal time with host Rob Stout, visit www.Sherpa5280.com, or email [email protected].

Show Notes

In Episode 10, Rob references a section of the Bible known as the Sermon on the Mount, a famous teaching by Jesus Christ. This section deals with the importance of obeying God with a mindset of personal modesty that seeks to avoid attracting the notice or praise of men. In this sermon, Jesus teaches that while giving to the needy, for example, is a wonderful thing, it is important to not seek the acclaim of men, but rather give quietly, and even anonymously if possible.

The Sermon the Mount is one of the most famous teaching in the Bible and this section of that sermon is found in Matthew 6:1-4, which you can read online here, or you can read it in your own Bible. Don’t have a Bible? Sherpa 5280 would love to provide you one, free of charge. Just email [email protected].

About Sherpa5280 Personal Coaching for Men

Imagine climbing a mountain and gradually discovering incredible panorama of peaks, lakes, snow drifts, and wildlife; it is as beautiful as it is daunting, and you resolve that that you’re not turning back. What do you need for this climb to go well? You certainly don't need clichés and pity, but tips about hiking gear, crevasses, and, generally, not dying. You need some guidance from someone who has hiked this path before and provides help, guidance, helpful tools, and a shot of good old fashion encouragement – that’s what we all need. You need what all the climbers who have summited the world’s tallest peaks need – a Sherpa.

Welcome to Sherpa 5280. The climb we are talking about is the climb called "your life." Sherpa 5280 brings elite resources to help you "summit life's climb” of faithfully caring for yourself, caring for your loved ones, caring for your business and community colleagues, and fundamentally caring for yourself.

Whether you are that man, or there is a man in your life who needs resourcing to start the journey or, in some cases, get back on the journey after getting discouraged or sidetracked, let's get back on the trail today. Visit www.Sherpa5280.com or click here to book a free 30-minute online coffee with Rob Stout today (or real personal coffee appointment if you’re in Denver or live in or near where Rob regularly travels).

About Rob Stout 

Rob Stout holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and master’s degree from Denver Seminary where he specialized in leadership and organizational transformation. He is a Certified Life Coach from Life Coach Institute, accredited by the International Coaching Federation.

Rob has served for over 30 years in leadership, teaching, and coaching roles in numerous business and non-profit organizations with a focus on helping men navigate some of life's most hazardous and strategically critical areas.

Rob and Nicole have been married since 1994 and live in Erie, Colorado. They have three grown daughters.

 

About Getting Even: Countering Life’s Hard Knocks, by Rob Stout.

Getting Even: Countering Life’s Hard Knocks by Rob Stout is available in hard cover, paperback, and Kindle. Link.

What do you do when life punches you in the gut? Some men medicate with diversions of choice – alcohol, sex, gaming, food, blame, and the rest. Getting Even: Countering Life’s Hard Knocks (LifeRich, 2020) meets a man in the middle of life’s hard knocks and embarks on a journey to fight back, reflect, recalibrate, and move forward. Whether you did or didn’t do anything wrong to trigger this hard knock, Getting Even helps identify the critically important lessons to strategize a way forward.

Author Rob Stout has lived through some of his own hard knocks and transparently shares his journey of recovery.

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[1] 21 days between the publication of this episode, 5/16/24 and 6/6/24