Earlier this month True Restoration held a livestream discussion about the “state of Trad Men.” We at AMDG had a chance to watch this program and found it a useful contribution to what Traditional Catholic men should consider, especially earlier in their life journeys.
The conversation kicked off around Frankie Logue’s “controversial” X thread, which had garnered over 12,000 views at the time of the program, and basically argued that men who saw themselves as called to marriage needed to provide for one’s wife and children, and that is something that can only be done through a “long-term plan” as Frankie asserts.
One of the guests, Stephen Heiner, argued that having a job is a “worst-case scenario” not only because it’s essentially a business which “has only one client who can fire you at any time,” but that the DEI hiring practices and medical mandates make traditional “jobs” a minefield for Traditional Catholics to navigate. He also pointed out that the way we think of jobs today really only comes from the Industrial Revolution: many people in many societies were sole proprietors of some sort or laboring in the fields for their sustenance. The idea of working 40-50 years for one employer to then get a gold watch and a pension is science-fiction that no one believes now, particularly the young people.
The other guest, Matt Gaskin, has had an interesting career working with multiple multinational corporations, and his most recent laying-off has made him swear to never be put in that position again. “If I do work for one of them I will only do so as a contractor.” He talked about the importance of building other streams of income and shared that he has already been sharing content (a la Michael Bordenero) about his field (quality control and process) on LinkedIn and will be doing so on YouTube in the future. That content isn’t going to immediately deliver income, but it will plant seeds that will lead to opportunities.
There were some good questions from the audience, but the conclusion of the livestream hewed closely to the message of the original thread: have a plan to make income for yourself. This doesn’t have to be with a job, but it needs to be something that provides you with stable, long-term income that can grow as you put effort and energy into it. You can take advantage of multiple streams of income if you learn how to manage each of them using thoughtfulness and efficiency.
The idea of creating streams of income is near and dear to us here at AMDG Ventures and we continue to offer the opportunity to collaborate with those who have ideas for Catholic businesses who need coaching and perhaps some capital investment. Feel free to reach out.
