Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Two years ago, I set out on a journey with nothing but a dream going into the new year 2026. That dream is now a reality. The Warrior Kings podcast has now reached thousands of men all over the world and has impacted more lives than I ever thought would be possible. Today I'm going to be talking about how far we've come, how I reached the success that I have with the podcast, and how you can reach success too, and where we are going in the future as we enter a new era of the Warrior Kings Podcast. If it's your first time here, my is Michael Riggs. I'm a full time author, entrepreneur, men's personal development and marriage, mentor, husband and father of six. And I teach men all over the world how to live fully optimized, leveled up lives. And in this episode, we're going to be talking about how to conquer 2026. Stick around. Hello and welcome to the Warrior Kings Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Riggs, here to assist you on your journey to living a fully optimized, leveled up life as a man. So again, welcome and welcome back to the Warrior Kings Podcast. This year has been totally crazy. Show has grown faster than I ever thought that it would. I've been doing the podcast now for two years and the first year it was kind of slow growth, you know, and then the second year it's just taken off to a whole another level that I didn't really expect. And I'm super excited about it. I'm super amped, pumped up, as they say, for the new year, this next year, this next chapter of doing the podcast. And what's kind of funny is I didn't really realize how much the podcast had grown until I got my Spotify wrapped for the year. If you don't use Spotify, that's basically where if you're a listener or a creator, they show you your year in review. Like either what you listen to or the stats for your podcasts, like how, what you did in the year, how far you've come, things like that. And I had honestly no idea. I was still kind of stuck in this mindset of like, oh, once the podcast grows, I'll be able to do X, Y and Z. And then I got that Spotify wrapped, which we're going to get into in a minute. And I was like, holy shit. Like this is actually blown up. I've actually been doing something here. I've actually been reaching people with this thing. So it's kind of mind blowing and I'm just filled with gratitude and excitement. And thank you all so much for listening in 2025. I'm glad that I could reach you with my powerful messages and help you in your lives and inspire you and things like that. And if you're one of those people that's been listening through 2025, I want you to know that you are at the beginning of something great, something that is actually blowing up and taking off. So definitely comment OG in the comments of this episode and let me know who you are and how this podcast has impact life. You know, leave a review on the podcast wherever you're getting this. That helps us reach more listeners. But yeah, let me know that you're one of those people that has been here since the beginning. Because like I said, this next year we're entering a whole new era of the show. And another thing that's kind of crazy about how much this show has taken off is that it is 100% organic growth. I've never bought ads to advertise this podcast or my work. None of that. Like I've spent no money on advertising. It's just organic growth. Like, you guys who are listening to this found the podcast. Naturally, you didn't find it through an ad or anything like that. So the fact that it's grown so much this past year is crazy. And I attribute that to My messages are crafted to help men help people in their lives. My mission is to level up as many men's lives and marriages as I possibly can. And with that mission and with these messages, I believe that in a way you're supposed to hear them at this juncture in your life. I don't know if that sounds too woo woo for you or not, but being that it's all organic growth, I never ran ads or anything like that in this podcast has grown so much. I guess what I'm trying to say is I realize that I'm actually doing something. I'm actually helping people and I'm actually making an impact, which I'm super excited and grateful and thankful for. I mean, like I said, the Warrior Kings podcast has now reached thousands of men all over the world in more than 100 countries. And one thing that I want to do here really quick is go through those Spotify Rap stats. I'm going to pull them up. If you're watching the video version of this, you'll be able to see the images, the screenshots that I took of the wrapped in. If you're listening to this, obviously you'll be able to hear hear me talking about it and One thing to keep in mind and another thing that is kind of mind blowing to me is that these stats are only from Spotify. This doesn't even include my audience on Apple podcasts or any of the other platforms that the Warrior Kings podcast is shared to you like this is. These stats are isolated to Spotify and that alone is mind blowing. So think of this as whatever these stats say, consider it double, because I get just as many plays on Apple podcasts and other platforms. And when I first saw these stats, when I first went through the wrapped, I was like, I honestly got emotional because like I said, I didn't realize that the podcast had grown so much and that I was actually reaching so many people. Especially with an audio podcast, you don't get to see exactly how much of an impact you're making on like you do on a platform like YouTube where people are commenting and engaging and stuff like that. There's kind of this wall between the creator and the audience and they're starting to do things like rolling out comments and things like that. But it's not as direct as like a social media platform or a platform like YouTube. So honestly, most of the time I just see bas basic stats, basic numbers, and it's kind of hard to gauge the growth, you know. But we're going to go through the Spotify wrapped right now. I'm going to share some of these numbers with you. So first it says that the total audience on Spotify was 10,010k. And that's a growth of 999 increase from last year. Total new audience on Spotify in 2025 is 9.7k. 9.7 thousand people. Again, that's 999 increase from the previous year. Total increase in followers on Spotify from last year up 480%. And then it gets into listening time. Just to give some perspective of the amount of time that people spent listening to the podcast. A total of 551,000 minutes, 9.1 thousand hours of listening, 383 days of listening, total 54 weeks of listening total and 12 months of listening. So you guys basically listened collectively together a year's worth of the podcast, you know what I'm saying? It's kind of crazy to think about increase in total listening time from last year up 999. And I don't know if that's like a cap that they have or something, but everything is up 999. The top episode was how to Be a better husband part one, which got 5.1000 plays. And I'm really glad that so many people found that episode because it's such an impactful episode. Super proud of that one. That's also my top episode on YouTube. It says 23 of you found the podcast through that top episode, how to be a Better Husband part one. And then into the countries that I reach. It says that the podcast was listened to in 110 countries. 110 countries reached overall. And the top countries are the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and New Zealand, which I feel like makes sense because I'm an. I'm an English speaker. This is a podcast in English, right. But I scrolled through all of the countries on there and it was mind blowing to see that I was pretty much all over the map with the podcast. So I'm super excited to be reaching people literally all over the world. It says that the Warrior Kings podcast Gas is a top 10 show for 4.8 thousand fans. It's a top five show for 3,000 fans. A number one show for 689 fans. And that is just crazy, dude. Like 999% increase from last year. And my podcast is actually a regular listen for that many people. You know, again, this is coming from a place of gratitude. Like, I didn't realize that the podcast had grown this much, and I'm super excited about it. It says that 45% of my audience binged two plus episod in one day. Oh, and this was kind of cool to see that. A lot of my listeners on Spotify listen to these shows. It says these are the top shows that people who listen to the Warrior Kings podcast also listen to. It says, number one, the Joe Rogan Experience.
[00:08:12] Number two, Sean Ryan show. Number three, this past weekend with Theo Vaughn. Kind of a Theo Von fan, by the way. I don't know if I've ever told you that before, but that dude is hilarious. Diary of a CEO with Stephen Barlett, which I listen to all the time. Actually, I watch it more on YouTube, but big on that podcast. And then number five, the Tucker Carlson show, which I've never actually listened to his show, but I've seen his appearances on other podcasts and things like that, so just kind of cool to see. And then this is the part here at the end of the rapt where I realized how big this is. This is when I actually got emotional and my mind was blown. It gives you kind of an awards thing, right? It says that the Warrior Kings podcast is a 2025 rising star this year. Your show's growth outpaced 99 of other shows. And to put that into perspective, think about how many podcasts are out there. A mind blowing, blowing amount of podcasts, People trying to build a podcast, people starting a podcast. I mean, probably hundreds of thousands. And it says this year your show's growth outpaced 99 of other shows. It says that we were a 2025 marathon show. Fans listen to you for longer than 97 of other shows. Totally crazy dude. A 2025 most shared show. You received more shares than 98 of other shows. And if you're one of those people that shared an episode with someone else, thank you so much for doing that. That is so awesome because that means that you received something from that episode, you got something out of that episode. And you said, I want this other person to hear this, you know what I'm saying? So huge shout out to you if you're one of those people that shared an episode with another man or with somebody else. You know, totally awesome. Thank you so much for doing that. And so that was the Spotify wrapped for 2025. And like I said, this gave me perspective, you know, of how much of an impact I'm actually making and has inspired me to get more serious and more consistent with the thing and take it to a whole another level. And with all that said, I want you to know that if you have a dream, if you have a calling, if you have an idea, get started. Don't wait for anything. Get started with what you have. Because what a lot of people don't know and what a lot of you didn't see is that I started the podcast with my iPhone and a 10 year old iPad and a basic mobile video editing software. A lot of people wait until the conditions are perfect. The conditions are right. Oh, another thing is, most of my episodes in 2024 were shot in a bathroom because that's the only space that I had to record a video of some sor. Because we lived in a really small place. I started the podcast with my iPhone, a 10 year old iPad in a bathroom. And now it says that I'm a 2025 rising star. Think about that. Get started with what you have and then upgrade as you go. That's how you build something. You can't start at the top. It's playing the long game. You understand what I'm saying? Some of you have heard me talk about this before. How small actions compound over time to make big results. And you will never have those big results if you don't get started on the thing. And you will never have those results if you give up on the thing or if you give up before you even got started. Another thing that wasn't seen as I've been building this podcast and going after this dream is overcoming the thoughts, opinions and judgments of other people. When I first put the thing out there, I had zero audience. And if you're starting something, if you're going after an endeavor, you have to accept that when you start the thing, you're going to have zero audience too, and you're going to have to build that thing. I got tons of hater comments in the beginning. People saying, quit, just give up. Who does this guy think he is? Those sorts of things. I got thoughts, opinions, and judgments from family members. Not my immediate family, like my wife and kids, but from, you know, our family outside of our household. People would make backhanded comments. People would try to embarrass me about the thing. People called me the stay at home dad who doesn't work, all that sort of stuff. And I just kept at it. I kept staying consistent, doing the thing, going after the dream, and believing in that future that only me and my wife could see. And when I felt like giving up, she told me to keep going every single day, day. So that's another thing. If you have a calling, if you have found your purpose, if you have a dream, you're going to have to overcome the thoughts, opinions, and judgments of other people and believe in that future. Believe in that dream that only you can see. And when it comes to haters, don't care what other people think. It took me a little while, especially in my first year doing the podcast. Those hater comments used to really get to me. Like, I would if I got a really bad one. I would honestly, like, think about it all day long. I'd be like, what the hell did he mean by that? You know? And I, I would just like repeat it over and over again in my head. But what it comes down is you can't care what other people think when you have a calling and a purpose in a dream. And honestly, what they think doesn't even matter if you really put it into perspective. It's like you don't even know that person, what they're going through in their life, what's wrong with them, even, you know, only losers hate on people online. That's really what it comes down to. Like, you must just be a bum loser if you're hating on a random person you've ever, you don't know anything about on the Internet. So now, coming this far, two years later, when I get hater comments, they're really rare now, but when I do, I honestly laugh at it. Like it brings me entertainment, it honestly lifts me up more than it knocks me down, you know, and that's a process. But honestly, like the hater comments now are just entertainment to me. So if you're going after a dream, if you're building something, do not care what other people think. Another huge piece to why I believe I was able to grow this podcast so fast is the concept of moving in silence. In past endeavors, when I would go after things, I would share it with everybody. I would share it on social media. This is what I'm doing, doing, this is what I'm building, this is what I'm going to create. And with this podcast, I have stayed for the most part completely silent about it in my personal life. When it comes to like extended family, like I talked about before on my social medias, like my personal social media pages, I didn't post anything about it, I kept it quiet. And I really attribute a lot of the growth of the thing to that because I was building it for the right reasons and not being loud about people in my personal life didn't have much of an opportunity to have judgments or opinions or hate on the thing. So that's another other thing that I highly recommend. If you're gonna go after an endeavor, after a dream, tell no one about it until it reaches a certain point. Because I just now started posting about the podcast on my personal social medias to family and friends and things like that. Because I feel like it's grown to the point where I can do that. Nothing can stop it. It's kind of unstoppable at this point, right? But definitely, definitely move in silence when you're going after something. So basically what I'm saying is what this, this comes down to is if you have a dream, if you have a calling, if you have a passion and a purpose, something that is in service to other people, something that you've been holding back on building, but you know it's the right thing to do and you're feeling extremely called to it, just go for it. Just go for that thing. Because I'm telling you, you could transform your entire life. If someone like me can start a podcast on an iPhone, an old iPhone, even in a 10 year old iPad with cheap to free video editing software and blow it all the way up to Spotify Rising star, then dude, anything as possible, you know what I'M saying, like, start with what you have. Start with the time you have. Believe in the thing. Don't care what other people think. Move in silence and just do it and transform your entire life. Move towards your dream life. So where are we going here? Moving into 2026 because I feel like this is just the beginning. I'm just getting started. Well, my mission for 2025 was to teach as many men as possible all over the world how to be better husbands. And my mission for 2026 is to double down on that quad. Drupal down on that. I don't know man, like we are going to take that to a whole nother level. We are going to scale that and reach more men all over the world and teach them how to be the best husbands that they can be. Because I am a strong believer in happy, thriving marriages. I just think that nobody teaches us how to be good husbands. So we are going hard on that same mission in 2026. And another thing is I have just launched, I have just put out the Reforged Husband online course. And I know there's a huge stigma around online courses. But the thing is, man, that stigma comes from people putting out garbage as courses, scammy courses, just to make money. But the way that I'm doing it is in an honest and true way, in a way that actually helps men in their lives, helps men in their marriages. So if you've read Warrior Husband, imagine all of those concepts and more broken down into an actionable course with video lessons, extensive reading portions and quiz is to apply what you have learned so that you can bring it into your real life and be taking action on the thing. You know, I'm super excited to be providing another medium for men to go about learning all of this information about how to be a better husband. Like I took everything that I know and I put it into a book which was Warrior Husband how to be a better husband and save your marriage. And then another medium is now the Reforged Husband online course. And in this way I feel like I can reach more men and take all of this information and get it to them in the most effective way based on their learning style. You understand what I'm saying? So super excited about that. If that's something you're interested in the Reforged Husband Online courses linked in this episode's description. So definitely go check that out. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also do one on one marriage coaching where I teach this stuff one on one over 12 weeks to men. If that's something you're. That you're interested in. And another thing is if we're trying to reach as many men as possible and teach them these things, maybe you can get a book, maybe you can get a course, or maybe you can get a book if you can't get the course. Or maybe you can get one on one coaching, or maybe you, you can't get one on one coaching, but you can get a course. You understand what I'm saying? So I'm going to increase the ways that I can get this information to men and I'm just super excited about that. And I'm going to keep seeking more ways to condense this information and get it to men as quickly as possible. There's also a huge difference between learning and implementation. Like, you can read a book and never apply it to your life. And the thing about a course or one on one coaching is it implements it more into your. Your life. You know, especially if it's more of an investment and there are challenges and exercises that you apply to your real life. You know, there could be massive transformation in that. And I'm not at all saying don't get the book if that's what you want to do. Just make sure that if you get the book Warrior Husband, that you read it and you apply it to your life. Don't just read and say, dang, that was really insightful and good. And now I'm going to go and do all the things and make all the mistakes that I've been making and change nothing. Make sure that you are applying it to your real life. Another thing that we are going to be doing in 2026 that I'm excited about is I'm putting out a couple more books. I can't tell you what they are right now, that's a secret. But I am putting out at least two more books in 2026. So definitely keep an eye out for that, get excited for it. It's going to be awesome. As you might know, I started out as an author. That's where this podcast came from. I wrote a book called Warrior King and that's where the Warrior Kings podcast came from. Is expanding on the book Warrior King. And then I made Warrior Husband, which expanded further. And here we are today moving into 2020 26, taking it to a whole nother level. But yeah, be on the lookout for my new books coming out in 2026. Another huge announcement that I want to make for 2026 is that I am now moving into a more consistent schedule. You might Say there will be a new episode every Sunday evening every week in 2026, unless something happens that just stops me from doing it that week. The goal in 2026, rather, is to launch a new episode every Sunday evening. That way, if you're moving into the work week, usually you podcast on Monday morning. That episode will be available to you on Monday, or moving forward through that week, or if you want to listen on Sunday evening or watch on Sunday evening, that episode will be available Sunday evening pretty much every week. That's what I'm going for. Another thing that I'm going to be doing in 2026 is doubling down on YouTube content outside of the podcast. So if you're not subscribed on YouTube, definitely go and do that, because this podcast isn't the only content that I make. I also teach on YouTube in regular YouTube videos.
[00:20:14] Just more wisdom for you to obtain. So definitely get subscribed on there because I'm going to be putting out way more YouTube videos in 2026. Another thing to get excited for moving into the new year is, and I've been talking about this for a while, but now I'm actually building. The thing is the Patreon exclusive community. It's going to be launched sometime in the next couple of months, and that will be exclusive content on there only for people who subscribe to the Patreon. And that's another way for you guys to connect one on one with me in an exclusive community. And I'm going to able to say more on there than I do on a public podcast, because those videos will be private other than to people who are subscribed to the Patreon. So I'll definitely be able to get into some more serious topics on there that I don't really talk about on the podcast. Super excited about that as well. And with all that being said, man, I mean, let's move into this new year with transformation in mind. You know, I. I know that there's a huge stigma now around New Year's resolution solutions. People say that they're stupid. It's my belief that they're not stupid. A new year is a time to reset. A new year is a time to make new goals, to have new visions. You're wrapping up a year and you get to reflect on that last year and say, no, this is how I'm gonna do it next year. I'm going to transform my life. There's nothing wrong with New Year's resolutions, you know, and maybe don't call it that. Just say your New Year's goals or whatever. But like I said, there is nothing wrong with having having new ambitions for the New Year. So don't let people, all these influencers and loudmouth people convince you that having a New Year's goal or a New Year's resolution is stupid. Move into the New Year with purpose. Get your priorities right. Reflect on the previous year and say this is how I'm doing it this year. It's a year of transformation. And so yeah man, get out there, kill it. Level up every aspect of your life. A life of overflowing abundance awaits you on the other side of you deciding to to make the switch, make the change and level up every aspect of your life. I love you. I'm proud of you. And there is a great calling and a purpose for you in this life. You listening to this right now? Happy New Year and I'll catch you guys on the next one. Thanks guys. Bye.
