Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Book Club: My Top 5 Takeaways from Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose

Episode Date: August 11, 2017

If you like war memoirs — and WWII memoirs in particular — then you have to read Band of Brothers. Hell, even if you don’t like war memoirs (or don’t know if you like them) but do like to read about how ordinary people find the courage and capability to do extraordinary things, then you should read it, because Band of Brothers is so much more than a clinical recounting of battles or analysis of soldiering. It’s an inspiring story of how a motley crew of freewheeling young bucks became one of the most elite and effective light infantry units to fight in the European theater, and it follows them from beginning to end, from their grueling basic training to jumping into Normandy on D-Day, holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, and, in the end, drinking Hitler’s champagne in the Bavarian Alps. Band of Brothers also made me #thankful365 that Hitler had to fight the GI Generation and not our current crop of spineless, self-absorbed, “safe space” Peter Pans and Pams that can’t even stomach the basic realities and responsibilities of adulthood, let alone fighting the Nazi war machine. Methinks the latter would have rather stayed home, smoked a bowl, and spluttered a few “sieg heils”… Want to be notified when my latest book recommendations go live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/  

Hey, this is Mike from Muscle for Life, and I'm often asked about books. People ask me for book recommendations on various topics. They ask me what book I am currently reading and what books I have recently read and what my favorite books are and so forth. And as an avid reader, I am currently reading and what books I have recently read and what my favorite books are and so forth. And as an avid reader, I am always happy to oblige and get some book recommendations in return as well. I also just like to encourage people to read as much as possible because I think that knowledge benefits you much like compound interest benefits your bank account in that the more you learn, the more you know, and the more you learn, the more you know, and the more you know, the more you can do,

and the more you can do, the more opportunities you have to succeed. And on the flip side, I also believe that there is little hope for people who aren't perpetual learners. I know that might sound a little bit pessimistic or cynical to you, but let's face it, life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic.

And if we look around, we can find plenty of evidence that it simply suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant. So if you are a bookworm and you're on the lookout for good reads, or if you'd like to just get into the habit of reading more, then this book club is for you. The idea is very simple. Every week I'm going to share a book that I've particularly liked and I'm going to tell you why I liked it and give you several of my key takeaways from it. I'm also going to keep these episodes short and sweet so you can quickly decide whether or not a book is likely to be up your alley or not. All right, so let's get to this week's book, which is Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose.

If you like war memoirs and World War II memoirs in particular, then you have to read Band of Brothers. And then you also have to watch the HBO series because it is equally fantastic, if not even better, if I'm being totally honest. And even if you don't like war stories or don't know if you like them, but do like stories of ordinary people finding the courage and capability to do extraordinary things, then Band of Brothers is for you because it's so much more than just a clinical recounting of battles or analysis of soldiering. It's an inspiring story of how a motley crew of freewheeling young bucks became one of the most elite and effective light infantry units to fight in the European theater in World War II. And it follows them from beginning to end,

from their grueling basic training to jumping into Normandy on D-Day and finally celebrating victory in Europe with drinking Hitler's champagne in the Bavarian Alps. And one of the things that I really like about reading stories like these is they just lend a bit of perspective to the struggles that we face in our own lives. If I myself am ever feeling harried or frayed, it helps to remember stories like these because they remind me what real stressful situations look like. Such as jumping out of a burning and bullet-riddled plane deep in enemy territory into a hail of gunfire to wage guerrilla war against one of the deadliest militaries in modern history. That's a real predicament. Anything that I have to face in my day-to-day life is a cakewalk in comparison. That type of viewpoint also helps cultivate a better response to stress because a lot of what we experience as stress is what we make of it. Many of us don't realize that

in more ways than not, we get to decide whether the situations that we face in life are molehills or mountains, and that's something I'm going to talk a bit more about in a minute. This book also made me hashtag thankful 365 that Hitler had to fight the GI generation and not our current crop of spineless, self-absorbed, safe space Peter Pans and Pams that can't even stomach the basic realities and responsibilities of adulthood, let alone fighting the Nazi war machine. I think they would have rather stayed home, smoked a bowl, and spluttered a few seagales. Anyways, as far as critiques go,

Ambrose, the author, isn't much of a stylist, but whatever he lacks prosaically, I think he makes up for in storytelling. And the only character that I really felt the chance to connect with was Dick Winters, but the overall narrative was strong enough to make up for it. All right, let's talk takeaways. So here's my first key takeaway from Band of Brothers. We can't make you do anything, but we can make you wish you had. And my note on this is that this was an army saying, but I think it's how life seems to work as well. No person, event, or circumstance can make us do anything, but we do have to live with the consequences of our actions and inactions. And those consequences may in the end make us wish that we had chosen otherwise. When we transgress against ourselves and others, the penalties accrue, whether we like it or not,

until one day they're visited upon us. And if we've been particularly dishonest and deviant, they may just lay us flat. As Stephen Covey said in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, quote, it is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law. All right. Takeaway number two. Here we go. Almighty God, we kneel to thee and ask to be the instrument of thy fury in smiting the evil forces that have visited death, misery and debasement on the people of the earth. Be with us, God, when we leap from our planes into the dark abyss and descend in parachutes into the midst of enemy fire. Give us iron will and stark courage as we spring from the harnesses of our parachutes to seize arms for battle. The legions

of evil are many, Father. Grace our arms to meet and defeat them in thy name and in the name of the freedom and dignity of man. Let our enemies who have lived by the sword turn from their violence, lest they perish by the sword. Help us to serve thee gallantly and to be humble in victory. And my note on that is very simple. I mean, what can I say? That's just badass, right? Pre-workout motivation right there. pre-workout motivation right there. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast, would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. So if you are enjoying this episode and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about

it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at Muscle for Life Fitness, Twitter at Muscle for Life, and Facebook at Muscle for Life Fitness. All right, here's the third takeaway. at Muscle for Life Fitness. All right, here's the third takeaway. In combat, your reward for a good job done is that you get the next tough mission. And my note here is that in sports, nobody cares what numbers you put up last season or the one before that. You're really only as good as your last at bat. And I believe in approaching my work with the same attitude. Having done things just isn't enough. We all must continue to do, continue to put points up on the board. This is how to avoid one of the most insidious pitfalls in business, and that is complacency.

It's just very easy to lose our appetite for more when things are going well. Self-satisfaction is kind of like emotional junk food. It tastes great, but too much of it makes us soft, flabby, and lethargic. I think we have to guard against this by just putting in the work every day. All right, takeaway number four, quote, they've got us surrounded, the poor bastards. And my note here is, I just think this is a perfect encapsulation of the right mindset for facing all difficulties in life, both large and small, because how you frame them is everything.

No matter what gets in your way, nobody can force you to become a victim. Only you can do that. And so long as you're unwilling to give in, there's always hope. And if you want a couple extreme examples of this, far more extreme than anything you and I are likely to experience in our lifetimes, then I recommend you check out the book, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and the Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Now, all of what I just said also extends to how we view stress in general, because research shows that those of us who view it as a

productive challenge rather than a destructive threat experience fewer negative emotions like fear and anxiety and can quite counterintuitively actually learn to thrive under stressful conditions. This one was referring to Dick Winters, and it is. He was an officer who got the men to perform because he expected nothing but the best. And quote, you liked him so much, you just hated to let him down. And my note here is you can lead by fear or by example. And the latter is far more powerful of a motivator than the former. Charisma and caring is how you create true comradeship. And that's what you need to create a group that can really pull together when the

times get hard and pull through. And furthermore, anyone in a position of leadership has to constantly reflect on a tough question. And that is why would anyone want to be led by me? And they'd better have really good reasons if they want to remain in charge. All right, well, that's it for this week's book review. I told you I'd keep it short and sweet. I hope you found it helpful. And if you did, and you don't mind doing me a favor, could you please drop a quick review of the podcast on iTunes or wherever you're listening from, because it really helps boost visibility, which ultimately helps more and more people find their way to the show and check it out. And of course, if you want to be notified

when the next episode goes live, then simply subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new stuff. And lastly, if you didn't like something about this episode or just about the podcast on the whole, then definitely shoot me an email at mikeatmuscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on how I could make things better. I read all the emails myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So thanks again for listening to the episode and I hope to hear from you soon. Oh, and before you leave, let me quickly tell you about one other product of mine that I think you might like. Specifically, my 100% natural fat loss supplement, think you might like. Specifically, my 100% natural fat loss supplement, Phoenix. It has sold over 100,000 bottles in the last several years, and it helps you lose fat faster in three ways. One, it increases your metabolic rate. Two, it amplifies the power of fat burning chemicals

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