Basecamp for Men E333: Men and Personal Growth

E333: Men and Personal Growth w Special Guest Joshua Aranda

 

E333 Introduction

There is something really sweet for me whenever I get to chat with a younger man who is doing and leading menswork and men’s groups. The conversation is always authentic and real and, even though we have gone over many of the themes that are central to the challenges that men face on this show, it always seems fresh and relevant and alive.

Today’s conversation is no exception. My guest and I tackle all sorts of things that are relevant to men and those that love them. We talk about the importance of getting out of your comfort zone (and what happens when you don’t). We cover male initiation and ask ourselves (and you dear listener): how do you know when life’s inevitable initiations are enough or when you need accelerated growth? And if you are looking for accelerated growth, what does that look like?

We also cover the perception that all men’s groups are weird, soft, or religious. Do men’s groups have to be these things? We talk about male loneliness and how widespread and important it is as a teacher. And lastly, we talk about male role models and how it takes more than just the father to teach a boy how to be a man. It requires the friends, uncles, elders, and community to help the young man fully arrive at manhood.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Two men sitting around the fire speaking truth about what men are really facing and how we support one another. Enjoy the episode!

Joshua Aranda Bio

My guest today is Joshua Aranda. Joshua is a father, an executive coach, and an ultra-endurance athlete. He is also the CEO and co-founder of Mission Matters Group, a consulting agency dedicated to transforming and optimizing operations for nonprofit organizations.

Basecamp for Men E331: Basecamp Classic

E331: Basecamp Classic

 

E331 Introduction

Hello Basecampers, I hope you are all doing well. Before we get to our epiosode, I want to give you a short update on my health as I sort of dropped the bomb on all of you a couple of episodes back with Lisa.

Just finished my 4th round of chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the treatment and my alternative remedies are working brilliantly together. I am in good health, good spirits, and am incredibly grateful and optimistic about things right now. Some of you reached out and I appreciate the warmth, love, support, and sentiment. I truly do so thank you.

Today’s episode is a Basecamp Classic but not because I don’t have a great interview in the hopper.  I do. It’s a part 2 with my new friend and former gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird. Semi and I get into the whole Marxist, communist, Globalist control dynamic as it vies for supremacy with the American values of freedom, natural law aka God’s law, Constitutional protection from all this collectivist overreach and what it all means for our future.

The Basecamp Classic I chose is a solo episode I did all the way back in Season Four titled E136: Rezac v Marx. I think it acts a a great lead-in to our talk with Semi. And sorry about some of the cussing in my solo rant. I am trying to tone that down a bit but I still have a tendency to drop in colorful expletives from time to time. I’m workin on it Basecampers!

Anyway, I hope you like this replay of Rezac v. Marx. Enjoy!

Basecamp for Men E330: This is Our 1776 Moment

E330: This is Our 1776 Moment

 

E330 Introduction

As Americans, we have an important legacy to protect. After all, our founding fathers fought and died so that we could have a chance at holding and protecting this great Constitutional Republic for future generations. To be an American is to have a responsibility to do our part, each and every one of us.

I promise to do my part, as you can hear today and I trust you to do your part. That is how we win. The Globalist establishment with their Marxist collectivist ideas and tactics, want us divided and confused. This is how they move their chess pieces down the board. Hoping we don’t notice what they have done in our schools or what they do in our elections.

They are counting on our passivity. Counting that our battle fatigue from this narrative war has left us depleted of spirit. That we have lost our American pride, our fight, our natural optimism ,and faith in God. The Marxists will fail at this.

As you will hear in today’s conversation, WE THE PEOPLE are not running on empty. Far from it. Whenever we have lost a battle, we have retreated, renewed ourselves and our faith, and come back with more wisdom and resolve. And in greater numbers.

Before we get to our excellent guest, I have a Jordan Peterson meme for you. He posted this right before our 250th Independence Day. I thought you would enjoy it.

Mr. Peterson says “To the Americans: I’ve travelled all overt the world. I’ve familiarized myself with many places, met many people. And I’m Canadian, although I’m privileged to reside once again in the States.

And here’s something I’ve noticed, and it’s a key element of America’s continuing greatness:  You bloody Americans value success, and you believe in its existence.

This is something that doesn’t really happen anywhere else in the world. Even in other free democracies- the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden,and Norway; Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In these places a counterproductive cynicism seems to reign.

This happens sometimes in the United States too-particularly among the misearable progressives, who confuse their resentment, ingratitude and unearned skepticism with wisdom.

But in your country, by and large, striving is admired and success celebrated.

This means that more people strive and succeed in the U. S. Than anywhere else. And it’s increasingly obvious. You remain stunningly more innovative and productive than any people anywhere else on the planet.

And so I say, as all should how are fortunate enough to live the in the western world, let along America:

Thank God for the United States.

Thank Go for the wisdom of its founders.

Thank God for its faith in the free markets and in the natural rights of man

Happy Birthday, you damn Yankees and Southerners.

Long may your admirable country dominate the world

Long may freedom and hope provide an example to those suffering everywhere at the hands of their malevolent states.

May your two and a half centuries of unparalleled success be just the beginning.

Your country is the light of the world and the city on the hill.

Thank God for the USA.

Happy 250.”

Dr. Jordan Peterson

What a great blessing for our nation and its people. Thank you Dr. Peterson.

Today’s interview is with an American that I truly admire and respect and he was gracious enough to grant me his first interview since a retreat from public life for the past two and a half years after his gubernatorial run.  I feel honored and humbled.

Let’s get a word from our sponsor and get to this excellent interview. Enjoy the episode.       

Semi Bird Bio

My guest today is former gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird. Semi was raised by a single mother in the Bay Area of CA. He is a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1978 to 1985, receiving multiple medals and honors for his service . He then re-enlisted in 2001, where he then served as an Army Special Forces Green Beret. Semi is a husband and father, a man of faith.

He is a proud American who leads by example and truly honors God, country, and family. Here is my interview with Semi Bird.

E330 Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. I absolutely LOVE Semi’s new organization Empowering Washington Freedom Alliance. I am already lending my support and I encourage you to do the same. It is organizations and Americans like Semi that will help us move the needle in our favor. Kids need to understand our real history and heroes of their nation and have pride in this great country as Dr. Peterson so eloquently stated at the start. You can support the Empowering Washington Freedom Alliance at www.ewafa.org

Thank you Basecampers and we’ll see you around the fire next week.

Basecamp for Men E329: My Recent Health Crisis

E329: My Recent Health Crisis with Special Guest Lisa Rezac

 

E329 Introduction

Hello Basecampers, I hope you are all doing well. I have been sitting on an episode for the better part of a year now and today’s the day. Without a lot of buildup, I am going to give it to you straight, no chaser.

Back in Aug of 2025, I discovered a sizeable lump on the left side of my neck. My wife was on retreat in CA. So I preceeded with tests and in Oct, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Now, as fate would have it I was immersed in alternative health for my entire adult life. I was a practicing Structural Bodyworker in NYC for a decade. So I was exposed to lots of effective natural ways of treating the body-mind-and spirit. It has became part of my value system that is evident in the fact that I really take no pharmaceutical drugs.

I have also gathered all sort of ways to treat cancer in an alternative way (i.e. no chemotherapy. So even before I got diagnosed, I was already doing “anti-cancer” treatments and diets. I took a sort of “starve the cancer” of glucose and sugar. I also took things like Fenbendazole, Ivermectin, and Chorine Dioxide, things that are considered good anti-parasite treatments.

When I went to a traditional oncologists, he (of course) was advising a chemoimmunotherpy approach. Rough stuff but effective on cancer. I resisted in Oct. I told him to hold a spot for me but I wanted to try my natural approach for 6 months to see if it would work. He warned me that my cancer was a Stage 3 or 3+ and if I let it go to Stage 4 (where it metastasizes into other systems) our treatment would need to go away from the gentle/effective one to a more aggressive form of treatment. I understood the stakes.

Today’s Intro is a bit shorter as I thought you would like to also here how my wife of nearly 30 years handled it as she has been great with me.

My Final Thoughts segment is a bit longer as I wanted to write that after talking to Lisa to see what insights and wisdom emerged.

Thank you for your support Basecampers (and the prayers), let’s get a word from our sponsor and then go talk to Lisa.

Basecamp for Men E328: Happy 250th America!

E328: Happy 250th America!

 

E328 Introduction

 

Well we are coming up on our great nation’s 250th birthday and we are hosting the World Cup (which has been a smashing success) and DC is getting ready to host a big blowout celebration.

Have you seen all these Europeans, Aussies, Asians, and African tourists raving about our great nation? There is some great videos on IG where these World Cup fans are talking about how great America is. They are raving about the food and the beautiful land and the people and how gracious they have been to the visitors. Doesn‘t surprise me.

The interesting thing is that many have commented that the America they see on social media is a lot different than being here and seeing it and meeting the people in real time. Social media, with all of its Collectivist and anti-American bots can paint an unflattering picture of a group of good people or even a whole nation.

I hope all sorts of Americans can see their country through the lens of all these tourists who are loving America. America is not perfect. We never claimed it was. But to not recognize Lady Liberty and the global appeal our country, its people, our land have on the rest of the world is to be woefully ignorant of the great gift that is America.

Happy 250th America. We love ya!