“Be Like Bond” was on.

Well, at least in my head. I still needed to find the community. I wasn’t going to attend a meet-up or anything like that. That’s too much social pressure for an agent in training. The community, like all modern fan communities, would be online. However, I needed to ensure it wasn’t just people sitting behind microphones talking about how the Dalton had the worst Bond hair – I needed substance.

This mission was serious business. Using critical thinking was the only way I knew I would be able to maintain this journey. If you don’t plan, then you fail. That has always been obvious to me. Critical thinking was my weapon of choice in this mission. Because, you know, if you fail to plan, you plan to end up like Elliot Carver—dying because you forgot to adapt and got caught in your own massive sea drill machine. Classic villain mistake – the cheeseball idiot!

So, what did I do to find the right channel for me to Be Like Bond? First, I identified that fitness was going to be the main gadget I wanted to add to my resurrection. I took that data and went to YouTube University. It took me about five seconds to find the eye of the James Bond community storm (a good storm, not a bad one that mucks up your tuxedo ) by way of The Bond Experience run by the guy with the worlds biggest Bond collection David Zaritsky!

“Bond Fitness: The Journey | Getting Bond Fit” with Donnie Waldron was the very first video I watched. David and Donnie showed me, very simply, that Being Bond Fit isn’t as crazy as it sounds. They applied a common-sense approach to how to start. Essentially, they champion fitness  so that you can be, feel, and act more confident so you can emerge from the warm tropical waters wearing Bond shorty shorts…not really…. That was all I needed to hear!

Excited, I explored more of The Bond Experience and saw, to my geeky pleasure, that David offered literally EVERYTHING I needed. He has videos on nutrition, mindset, style, and, of course, Bond book and movie reviews! On top of that, he would bring on and champion other Bond community folks like Views From Mark, Calvin Dyson, From Tailors with Love, and RFR’s sister podcast, Bondcast!

I had hit the mother-load! This was like discovering new secrets inside my non-existent Aston Martin. It wasn’t JUST the fact that TBE and the Bond Community knew their way around all things James Bond like I knew my way around a six-pack of Miller Lite. It was simply that these Bond content creators LIVED the lifestyle, and they all come from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. But it is in James Bond that they all maintained the same level of self-development that I am seeking. It’s like a sports team but with more tuxedo.

Finding the Bond Community is a true gift. It showed me that I can dual-wield fandom and self-development to get closer to the aspects of masculinity that needed repairing. I know, at this point, that may sound weird for a variety of reasons, but I was honestly struggling with the idea of being a so-called “geek” while also wanting to evolve myself personally. The world over says that can’t be done. I don’t know a single Jocko Willink type that has ever promoted the idea. But, it’s safe to say that people like David from The Bond Experience prove them wrong. It’s not about shedding the old you completely. It’s about reinvention using old and new parts. Which reminds me of what Craig said in Skyfall to the creepiest Bond villian ever:

So, how have I been incorporating this new mentality over the last year and a half?  I’ve been working on it daily. Life on the daily allows me to reflect and practice small Bond moments. I’m not perfect, but I know that the mission is long, and I have all the time in the world to Be Like Bond – minus any sea drill mishaps, getting captured by bad guys, getting shot at, getting shot at by your own team, being betrayed by your Government, fighting on cranes, racing through Europe in an Aston Martin, rescuing babes, getting blown-up. But if life throws these ludicrousities my way I’ll make sure to turn the other way and get the hell out of dodge.