Bedros Keuilian Podcast Show - 030. 9 Books Every Man MUST Read

Episode Date: April 25, 2023

In the latest episode of the Bedros Keuilian Show, I reveal the 9 books every man MUST read to unlock their full potential and achieve lasting success. I've read these books countless times, and they've been massively influential at different stages in my life - because I took action and applied what I learned to my life.  So, I've made this special podcast episode to share the ONLY books you need to read to self-improve, become whole and evolve into your higher self. 9 Books Every Man MUST Read: Outwitting The Devil - https://amzn.to/40jYFWU Way of Man - https://amzn.to/3LbdCpW Wild At Heart - https://amzn.to/43LR5qS No More Mr. Nice Guy - https://amzn.to/41kOKBS Extreme Ownership - https://amzn.to/3UKkjT7 Man Up - https://amzn.to/41lG91C Can’t Hurt Me - https://amzn.to/3ULbIj8 Relentless - https://amzn.to/3GQi1fC The Power of Myth - https://amzn.to/3GTqBdk

I am more impressed by a person that has read, you know, five books a hundred times than a person that has read a hundred books once. Welcome to the Bedros Koolian Show. Back when Q was rolling with Lorenzo and a Benzo. I was banging with a gang of instrumental. Hey, what's happening guys? Bedros Koolian here and this is the Bedros Koolian show. First and foremost, I want to welcome all of you brand new listeners and viewers on YouTube. I realize our show is a show. growing very quickly. I'm very blessed and humbled by that fact because quite honestly I have no idea what we're doing right other than I'm pouring my heart and soul into all the content and you seem to like it. So as long as you seem to like it, awesome. Man, if you don't like it, leave me a comment down below and tell me what a fucking asshole I am if you're watching this on YouTube. And if you're on

Spotify or iTunes or any podcast platform and you're like, man, I really don't like this guy. Well, hey, go to YouTube and leave me a comment and tell me what an asshole I am. There you go. I love freedom of speech. Even for those of you assholes out there that want to tell me what an asshole I am. That's totally cool with me. So with that said, all joking aside, let's get started. Today I want to talk to you guys about the nine books that have been massively transformational in my life. Like if there was nine books that you could read and only these nine books, this would be it. And I'm going to share these books with you in just a moment. But before I do, I want to talk to you about reading. And before I talk to you about that,

I want to tell you a cool story. So there's this cat named Jason Faruja. He's got a great podcast called The Renegade Strength Show. And Jason's been a dear friend in mine for, gosh, well over a decade now. And awesome cat, funny as fuck. And he really got me one time. So he and I were speaking at an event that our mutual friend, Craig Ballantyne, put on. And this event was taking place in San Diego. And Craig had like, I don't know, a few hundred people in the audience.

And then at the end of that day, this resort where he was. was having the event at. At the end of the day, he rented out the whole pool area. And it was going to be this whole meet and greet and meet the speakers and connect with him and shake hands and ask questions and take pictures and all those things, right? So Craig's like, hey, man, we guys do this for us? I'm like, yeah, sure, of course, man. You're a friend. And so the event ended around five o'clock and the actual meet and greet with the attendees the audience was I think if I remember it started like at 630 right and so we had that hour and a half to kill and I looked at jason fruze and I'm like jay I'm starving I'm hungry and I see him take out this looks like a candy bar like a heresies

candy bar out of his jacket pocket I'm like what he got there he goes chocolate I'm like break me off a piece of that kick cap bar fool And so he breaks a piece off and I eat it. Chocolatey, salty, but had a little weird aftertaste, but I didn't think much of it. And so I was like, hey, man, what was that? Like, what's that brand? And he's like, oh, that's like a weed chocolate bar. It's got marijuana in there.

I'm like, no shit. I go, well, like, what's the dosage? He goes, I don't know. I'm like, oh, either do I. And off we went, right? Now, keep in mind during this meat and greet by the pool, there was like finger foods and stuff like that. So, you know, I started snacking down on some finger foods and stuff. 6.30 comes by and before you know it, people are gathering around and saying hi and talking

and I'm holding conversation, hobnobbing, being very congenial. And by 730, I started to feel like I started to feel like I was like on some, like a rowboat. Like if you ever stand up and on a rowboat, how you're you're just swaying and you're feeling like kind of rubbery by 8 o'clock, 8.30, Now I'm starting to like see things. Like everyone's gotten like real rubbery. Looks like Gumby, right? When they're talking to me, their face is getting distorted. So I'm like, motherfucker, I know what's going on.

This weed has kicked in. Now keep in mind I'd never done edibles before. And so I realized this fucking weed has kicked in. And now the paranoia sets in and I'm like, all right, well, these people are gonna know that I'm stoned. Craig's gonna be pissed off that I'm stoned out of my mind. and trying to talk to his guests. Well, I can't let them know that I'm stoned.

So act normal, act normal, act normal. So I'm trying to act as normal as I can. But as you know, the more you're trying to act normal, the more you start acting stupid or suspicious, right? And so I'm like, all right, you know what I got to do? I'm going to go find Jason. I'm going to be like, bro, this thing's got me fucked up. Do you have the antidote?

At this point, I'm stoned out of my mind. I'm a little paranoid. I don't want to let Craig down. And so I find Jason Frusia. And it's, you know, it's San Diego. It's nighttime. It's cold. He's got his hoodie over his head.

And I find him As I'm walking close to him He's got his hoodie over his head And he's looking at me like kind of Like bro are you okay And I walk up to him My eyes open up big And my Jay, I'm all fucked up

And as I'm looking at him His face turns into Skeletor He turns to Skeletor from Heemann You young bucks if you You don't know who He Man is Just look up Skeletor from He Man And you'll see The motherfucker looks like Skeletor

And his face is like vibrating right Like I don't know like He's got a fucking He's got a vibrator stuck up his ass or something His whole face is vibrating. And I'm, like, tripping out. I'm like, this is not good. This is not good at all.

So I'm like, fuck this guy. I'm not going to talk to Skeletor. He's not just going to get me in more trouble. So now I go find Craig. I find Ballantyne. I'm like, hey, bro, I'm going to fuck up your whole event here because every minute that passes, I'm getting worse and worse and worse. He goes, what's the problem?

I go, I think I'm stoned out of my mind. And Frusia got me all fucked up with this chocolate bar that's got fucking laced with acid or some shit. And obviously, it was just a lot of weed. And so he goes, hey, man, no worries. Let me just walk you to your room. Make sure you're safe and, et cetera. So my room at this resort was on the 12th or 13th floor. So he walks me up, going to my room. He's like, you're good. I'm like, yeah, man, I'm good. I'm just going to lay on the bed. I'm going to be just fine, right? Sorry, I'm fucking up your event. Sorry, I can't hang out any longer.

I'll see you in the morning for breakfast, man. And so I lay down on the bed. And as I'm laying down on the bed, I'm like, you know what? Dude, you are overreacting down there. Be a professional. go down there and do your meet and greet meet people take pictures ask questions shake hands answer questions right so i'm like all right let me just get up so as i try and get up the velcro got me in my mind there was this giant strip of velcro down my spine and then the opposite like the male and female ends, like the opposite end of the Velcro on the bed, and I'm trying to get up off the bed and I hear that of the Velcro. I'm like, motherfucker, the Velcro's got me. I'm like, all right, if I could just lunge forward real quick, I could tear off the Velcro and my room had a balcony

and I would jump off the balcony to the pool party and I'd get there right away. I don't have to take the elevator and take the long road. So my whole goal was to get up off the bed, go out to to the balcony, I was convinced that I had some magical superpowers that I would jump off the balcony, land like fucking Spider-Man, and then go do the meet and greet. And I'm in my mind, I'm hoping, like, these motherfuckers will see that bee just jumped down and made quite the entrance. Like, what a fucking gangster, right? Clearly, thankfully, the Velcro, which was not there, but I imagined in my head it was, wouldn't let me get up. I somehow fell asleep. 13 hours later, I completely missed breakfast with Craig. I wake up with a throbbing headache. And I happen to see Jason

Fruja in the lobby and he's like hey man you okay I'm like no motherfucker you poisoned me with that shit I'm never going to do edibles again so I'd never done edibles um continued on to smoke weed here and there but if you know anything about me on November 12th I gave up alcohol I gave up social drinking I've never been an alcoholic but I gave up alcohol just because these days at 48 even one or two cocktails get me a little hung over the next day so I give up social drinking a week after giving up social drinking I gave up all weed as well and so there you go But we're here not for this story, but we are here to learn about the nine books that have completely transformed my life.

And I'm no longer the degenerate that eats half of a chocolate bar that's got weed in it. And so I'm going to share these books with you. But I'm going to tell you guys something. I am more impressed by a person that has read, you know, five books a hundred times than a person that has read 100 books once. And the reason is I'm convinced that when you read a book, once or twice, you might get a general understanding of the content of that book. But when you read a book three, four, five times and more, you will develop mastery of that book. And only when you are able to

teach the content of a book, are you able to apply it. So imagine how many times I've figured out that if you read a book three to five times, you begin to truly understand the book. You begin to extract the notes and the value that would apply to your life. And then you would develop mastery of that book where you can then teach it to others instead of just telling them, oh, that book, it's about this, right? A general idea of the book. So I'm encouraging you these nine books that I'm about to share with you, please actively read them three to five times, if not more. Some of these books, I'm about to tell you about I've read as much as 19, actually one of them, I've read as much as 19 times and I continue to reread them every now and again.

So here we go. And that is, by the way, called active reading. Active reading is when you when you read a book several times, when you extract the value that applies to your life at that point in time, and then you apply the content of that book to your life. That is active reading. Passive reading is, yeah, I read whatever, Begros's book and it's about leadership and becoming a high-performing human and your business and your life. Well, what are some of the nuggets I can take away? Oh, you know, like discipline and focus and, well, not really. There's a lot more to it. But if you had read it three to five times, you would develop a greater understanding of the book, the concepts in the book, you would extract the nuggets, you would apply to your life,

and you would develop mastery of the book. Therefore, you could teach the content of the book, and that is when the book becomes most valuable and effective. Because think about this, let's say you want to learn from Elon Musk. Like, we're going to go find Elon Musk, right? But you can go buy books written by Elon Musk, biographies of Elon Musk for 20 bucks and get his 20 years of experience. Same with Warren Buffett. Same with anybody that you want to read about, right? Like, hey, if you're a Christian and you're like, hey, man, I love Jesus. I love me that J.C. Cool, man. Where are you going to go hang out with J.C.? I get it. At church in your heart, whatever. That said, the Bible. The Bible is where you're going to hang out with J.C.

The Bible is where you're going to be able to read his word, right? So if there was a 10th book, there you go. Read the Bible. Or whatever religion you are. Read the Koran. Read the something. Now, me personally, I read where the fuck I want, but these are a nine books that have had massive transformations on my life. So here we go. Book number one is outwitting the devil by Napoleon Hill. I've said this before. So we don't need to beat this horse to death. I highly recommend you read it. Also highly recommend that you listen to it on audio because the conversation between Napoleon Hill and the devil is fucking nuts, especially when you hear the deep bellowing voice of the devil or the guy that, you know, plays the devil on the audio book.

that is a crazy-ass book that is so relevant today. Here's the crazy thing. The book was written in 1936. Now go ahead. Ask me. Ask me when the book was published. I'm going to tell you. The book was released and published in 2011.

Written in 1936, published in 2011. Because when the book was written, Napoleon Hill's family, his businesses, his partners were like, dude, this book is so. You cannot put it out until we are all dead. And so he wrote in his will to his estate that once the whole family line, lineage is dead to put the book out. And in 2011, the book was released outwitting the devil. It has been massively transformational. This book I've gone through 19 times now.

And depending on the phase of life I'm in, I've gotten extracted new nuggets from it. You've probably done this before where you've read a book. And you're like, wow, that was a great book. You read it like two years later. you're in a new phase of life. You're like, holy shit, that book applies certain parts of it, apply more to my life now than ever before. Outwinning the devil is one of them. Book number two, that I highly recommend that you read that's been transformational in my life is The Way of Men by Jack Donovan. A wonderful book. So many of you always tell me in the comments and social media on

YouTube, et cetera, that, hey man, I don't have a male figure in my life. You're like the dad or the uncle or the big brother that I didn't have. Well, here you go. You want to learn about the way of men. and how we think, how we operate. You want to understand your own mind and heart, the way of men by Jack Donovan, will take you there. Book number three, Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. Wild at Heart, again, speaks to the heart and minds of men, especially you men that have not had a father in your life,

a father who cares. And if you've had a father in your life, but he's been, I guess, maybe emotionally absent, right? And not so much physically absent, but emotionally absent. and you're wondering like, why did I not learn certain things? Why do I have, why do I constantly want to, want to seek approval from other men? Why do I keep putting other men on a pedestal? Why do I keep trying to plug my belly button, my umbilical cord into other people's,

other men's belly button? What do I have this hero complex about other men? Wild at heart is going to get you there and explain why and teach you how to heal your heart and it's going to take, give you the three things that you need to do. There's three very specific nuggets in Wildeat Heart by John Eldridge. They're going to help you transform and heal. your heart and become the kind of man that could lead your family, that can lead a business, and they could have a fulfilling life. Book number four that I highly recommend is no more Mr.

Nice Guy by Robert Glover. No more Mr. Nice Guy. If you, you know, you hear me talking about like the Nice Guy syndrome, right? And I'm not talking about like someone who's just a pleasant human, not that kind of a nice guy. The kind of nice guy, like when a girl says, oh, I'd never date him. He's, you know, he's a nice guy. Nice guy isn't like, there's nothing dangerous. about you. There's nothing exciting about you. Like someone could see you and they could read you. They know everything about you, right? I could spot a nice guy. I could smell a nice guy just from a mile away of when I spot you, man, because there's no depth about you. You haven't experienced life. You haven't done things. You haven't gotten in a fight. You haven't lost money. You haven't had your

heart broken. You haven't lost someone. Right. And so no more Mr. Nice guy really teaches you how to not be that approval seeking validation seeking nice guy that people just are repelled by and instead to become a man of greater value, a man who has greater depth, a man who has this passion and drive within him, a man who seeks adventure and who is willing to take on new challenges. Great book by Robert Glovert, No More Mr. Nice Guy. Book number five, Extreme Ownership by Jocko, Willink, and Leif Babin. Great book. Jocco and Laf are retired Navy Seals, and they wrote this book, Extreme Ownership, it's a book on leadership, right?

But it's not just a book on leadership like, hey, for entrepreneurs, it's how to really lead yourself through life. It's how to problem solve, how to figure things out. And I get it, man. There's a new generation now that you haven't been taught and empowered to FIO to figure things out, to problem solve, to be able to prioritize things and then execute them in the highest of priority first, right?

This book, Extreme Ownership by Jock and Laf, will get you there. Highly recommend it. Get to it. Book number six, my book, man up, right? Man up. And the book is really the six pillars of becoming a high performing human, a high performing leader so that you can lead yourself in business and in life, right?

Because I always tell you, financial success does not impress me when a man is living in anxiety and depression, has a shitty relationship, his, his, his, his, kids don't love him and respect him deeply. Like, how's that success? Great, you make money. Who gives a fuck, right? Those six pillars of high performance and man up will walk you through the step-by-step process of what being a high-performing human is really all about.

And if you haven't read it, and by the way, we're going to make sure we put links in in the description box of YouTube. And I know some of you that are really awesome. You're going to do this for me. You're going to list off the books in the comments. And when you do that, I'll pin it to the top. that will allow everyone to kind of access the book quickly, but the descriptions will be there in the box as well down below.

Book number seven by my dear friend, Tim Grover, Relentless. What an amazing book. If you don't know anything about Tim Grover, like me, he's an immigrant to the United States, comes from India, had a very, very hard upbringing. And he worked his way up to being the fitness coach, personal trainer, to amazing athletes like, Michael Jordan, DeWain Wade, Kobe Bryant, Charles Barkley.

Like this man in his book, Relentless, breaks down the three characteristics of the athletes that he's worked with. And he calls them coolers, closers, and cleaners, right? The Michael Jordans, the Kobe Bryns, the DeWan Wades, they are cleaners. and he teaches you how do you go from being a kind of a mediocre person, a mediocre athlete, if you will, but it's not just for athletes because it's applicable to life. How do you go from being good to great, basically? Like, think about it. When you're competing against the timer, the buzzer, and that point matters, the ball always goes to Kobe,

oh, the late great Kobe, the ball would always go to Michael Jordan, the ball would always go to, to Barclay, the ball would always go to certain players who are cleaners and perform best under pressure, right? And then, of course, he talks about the cooler and the closer. They're good. They're good to have on the team. They're good at setting up assists and setting up picks and whatever. But you're not really going to give them the ball when it's that pressure time, when the score must be made, right? And he really talks about how there's a mindset and there's a process to go from good to great to becoming that cleaner in your life. Book number eight by good old David Goggins, another retired seal, former seal, can't hurt me. Wonderful book. And here's a man who

just puts it all out there in this book. And I think to read about his journey and then to the action steps that he gives you in his book, Can't Hurt Me, of how he went from this just fat guy that was an exterminator in restaurants, like he would go once a restaurant. was closed. He was this fat dude that would, you know, wear the mask and exterminate bugs and shit in a restaurant and then go get a big fat 2,000 calorie milkshake late at night and then go home in his apartment and sit there and watch TV. And truly in every sense of the word, you know, he'll admit it. Like, he was a loser. He was a loser. The odds were stacked against him in every way. When you read the book, you'll see that he did not have the most loving of

dads. He dealt with a lot of abuse. He dealt with a lot of prejudice. right he's a black dude and so when you think about the time he was he was raised it was around the times that i was raised 80s and 90s right and things weren't as uh whatever i guess simpatico between the whites and the blacks as they are today um and i suppose when you think back into the 60s like they were even worse right so every generation it does get better but this man was raised in the time and dealt with shit and truly just puts it all out there that hey man i was a fucking loser But he went on to become a Navy SEAL. He went on to just set all types of world records.

And Can't Hurt Me is really about all the different fucking things that have happened to you. They can't hurt you. They can't hurt you. And I think it's a wonderful book of just being able to come out out of the ashes like the Phoenix rises, right? And finally, book number nine, the power of myth. Now, this book comes with a little warning. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. I'm going to tell you right now.

You're going to be like, oh, shit. It changed everything about how I view religion and my God. Well, it's good to be inquisitive, isn't it? It is good to ask what else is out there? Is there a higher power? What does that higher power look like? What could it be? And Joseph Campbell was a university professor, and he spent his entire life studying all religions, all religions.

and he found some common threads that are going to blow your mind. The power of myth, highly recommend it. So, guys, those are the nine books that I recommend that you read, reread, and reread again over the years and let those lessons from these books apply to your life, execute on them, and you'll see how very quickly you are able to think more clearly for yourself. You're able to become more decisive.

You become whole. You overcome your traumas and your life's tragedy. and you no longer become a victim, but you become the victor in your life. And I want to end this by reminding you that this show is something that I absolutely do for free. And I got a bit of a chip on my shoulder right now. So hopefully I gave you value that you'll take the next couple minutes to listen to what I'm about to say. Somebody left the comment. God damn it, man, I'm fucking human.

I get my feelings hurt, right? Somebody left a comment on YouTube. And by the way, I get my feelings or who gives a fuck. And I walk away, I fucking turn off that comment section off YouTube. Not turn it off, but I fucking go away from YouTube. And boom, all the negative, like the one negative comment is gone. And I love all of you who leave such awesome great feedback. And by the way, I'll take all fucking comments.

But some asshole was like, I heard you charge $100,000 for your coaching program. If you're so altruistic, why do you charge $100,000 for your coaching program? Not everybody can afford that. Only the filthy rich can afford that. You're right. I value myself. I spent 22 years building empires, building companies. I failed so many times.

I've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. So now I have the ability to make hundreds of money. of millions of dollars. And if I can show someone the fast track to financial freedom and success, I deserve to get paid 100 grand. And he's like, well, if you really want to help people, why don't you do coach for free? I had to remind this motherfucker and I'm reminding all of you goofballs out there who maybe have adopted his mindset that this podcast is free. It's free. Okay, I think YouTube, if you're watching it on YouTube, YouTube will monetize it and throw a couple of chump change at me. And guess what I do with that? I literally use that money to better the

set to be able to reach more of you, to hire people to make thumbnails and fucking captions. And surely my guys here, I got three guys behind the cameras here. They have to get paid. Do they not? And so make no mistake about it. I do coach you for free. This is my life's purpose and mission. And I'm very blessed that I've got great organizations like FitBody Boot Camp and Trulene and Fuel

Hunt and my coaching business, the project, Squire, all these things that make me money that allow me to coach you for free here on the show, but also make no fucking. mistake about it. I deserve to get paid and I deserve to get paid really well. And so do you. Don't ever adopt a fucking Bernie Sanders mindset. Like be a fucking free market capitalist. Understand that money is a weapon and you should make a lot of it. But you should also have a way of giving content and coaching and love and support free generously. Right. I went to a speaking gig a couple weeks ago in Encino. I spoke at a high school and then I made a post about it because my guys made this cool video and I shared and I said, hey, I only have two prices for my

speaking fee. It's $50,000 to have me speak at your event or it's free, right? In other words, if you're someone that running a big event, you're charging for admission, you're selling shit at your live event and you're going to make hundreds of millions of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars at your event, guess what? I'm charging you to my $50,000 speaking fee because I goddamn deserve that. Time away from my family. Time away. from work, time away from things, I deserve my speaking fee. But if it's a charity, if it's a juvenile hall and I'm speaking to kids and I've done this before, juvenile halls, I've done this at high schools before, I've done this, we flew out to Idaho on our own diamond. We talked to high

risk kids in Idaho at this weird little camp. I say weird because it's like a juvenile hall, but they're not locked up, but they have to be there because they're a menace to society, but they're just fucking amazing little kids. I just wanted to fucking hug and hold and tell them They're all fucking beautiful and blessed and they're going to have an awesome future. And so we do that for free. But make no mistake about it. I will also charge what I'm worth when it's worth it. So I want you to do the same.

I appreciate you for letting me rant about this. Thank you so much. Love you all. And remember that averages the enemy. Success is your responsibility. And everything in your life can change for the better when you decide to flip the switch. I'll see you all next time, fellas. Lorenzo and a Benzo I was banging with a gang of instrumental