Author, Rick Sharpe, joins us to discuss his experience with depression following the end of a relationship and discovering the power in his own vulnerability. Note: Rick joined us from Dubai and the video froze a few times, but the audio is solid.
“I was the posterchild for avoiding vulnerability. I avoided it at all costs.” ~Rick Sharpe
Rick’s book and this conversation focuses on discovering the power in vulnerability as well as learning the difference between reacting and responding.
Topics and Questions Include:
What has you living in Dubai?
What prompted your book, The Price of Heartbreak?
Was this your first breakup?
What was your healing process like?
Discovering Brené Brown.
Where did you learn it was wrong to be vulnerable?
What was the goal of the book?
What’s the best thing that has happened from writing, The Price of Heartbreak?
Were you afraid to know yourself?
What stands out as a key to your growth and healing?
Some men respond to heartbreak by giving up on relationships entirely, is that something you considered?
Dov Baron is recognized as one of the top 100 leadership speakers and corporate cultural strategist. He joins us to discuss purpose-driven leadership and the importance of aligning heart, soul, and mind.
The most important question we will ever ask ourselves is: “Why Am I Here? Followed by: What am I going to do about it?” ~Dov Baron
Dov works with CEOs and executives to grow their businesses by growing themselves. I was happily surprised by Dov’s depth of spirituality and personal growth experiences and knowledge, including quantum physics and Kabbalah. This conversation gave me new hope for corporate America.
Topics and Questions Include:
What is purpose?
What is purpose in regards to business?
What are the benefits of a purpose-driven organization?
How do you define leadership?
Resistance, ego, and vulnerability.
Skepticism vs pessimism.
How did you get involved in purpose and meaning work?
Returning to Real Men Feel, Anthony Simeone is a writer, speaker, and self-described “heroism advocate” with over two decades of experience in the practical application of literature, philosophy, psychology, and other disciplines. His the Live the Hero philosophy offers us a “life path” for use in overcoming obstacles.
“Heroic tales have always been meant to be inspirational as well as entertaining.” ~Anthony Simeone
This conversation is in response to a series of articles Anthony wrote for the GoodMenProject.com about his Live The Hero philosophy.
“That is the lesson of hero stories: no matter your situation, you have the power to uplift yourself and others and strive to make things better..” ~ Anthony Simeone
A heavy dose of sharing with Andy as I share from my heart about terror, emotional tunnel vision, and the challenges I’ve chosen to face this year. Real Men Feel isn’t just a slogan or catch phrase, it is how I live.
“Life is amazing and life is on your side.” ~Andy Grant
I did this as an impromptu video on Facebook the morning of Friday, March 8, 2019. I recorded and posted it. I didn’t watch until 24 hours later and decided to release as a podcast episode as an example of man willing to openly share his feelings.
Topics and Questions Include:
I’ve been crying half the days I’ve been home since vacation.
Feeling the Fears
A debilitating Terror
3 Challenging Things on my plate for this year: Kabballah, Ritual Master, Mount Kilimanjaro
My wife and I recently returned home for a two week trip to the Middle East, spending one week in Israel and the next week in Jordan. The rock-carved city of Petra was the main reason behind the trip. But both countries had a lot to offer and warrant repeat visits.
We had a fantastic time full of ancient sites, sacred places, and friendly people. I learned a lot about the religion and politics of the area and found I had many misconceptions about the Middle East from growing up in the US. My time in Israel was probably the most intellectually and politically challenging trip I’ve taken. We talked with Arabs, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Palestinians, Isralies, and Jordanians.
Toward the final days, I noticed moments of sadness that things were winding down. The sadness was mixed with a feeling that two weeks was long enough and I was ready to return home. I recalled years earlier when it was normal for me to feel depressed with days remaining of a vacation because I so dreaded my return to daily life.
Some people like vacations of sitting on the beach and doing nothing. I prefer active holidays where I do things I don’t usually do, especially when I worked as a cube dweller for corporate America.
When I tried to just lay on the beach in the past, my thoughts would turn negative. I’d focus on all the things I didn’t like instead of relaxing. Then I’d drink to remove those thoughts. That worked in the short term, but if I just wanted to drink, I could do that at home much cheaper, so I quickly stopped those sort of trips too.
I’ve visited such places as Machu Pichu, Stonehenge, and Easter Island. I’ve been white water rafting, rappelling, and hiking in Europe, South America, and Africa. A staycation can be nice, but my favorite vacations are ones when I need another vacation to recover from them.
Floating in the Dead Sea
Even today, I can recall being in the jungles of Belize in 2005, but feeling very down because the following Monday I’d be back at work. It was a time that I thought I hated my job, and sometimes my life. Yet, a few days prior, I was enjoying myself and life.
These realizations helped me learn the power of being present. When fully present, I felt better. I wondered why was it that I was time traveling in my thinking.
Why was I ignoring the fantastic experiences I was having to jump forward to my return to the mundane?
I decided that since I could be full of energy and joy on a vacation when I was present and focused on what I was doing, that I would do my best to live like I was on vacation. All the time.
I did pretty well at that for a long time. Treating each day like it was new. Looking for things that were unusual, special, and fun. If those weren’t apparent, I find a way to bring those elements to what I was doing.
The Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem.
So as I noticed some sadness as this trip was winding down, I explored what exactly I was feeling sad about. I was going to miss the people. We were a group of 13 in Israel and then 16 in Jordan. I liked my instant family of global citizens traveling, sharing, dining together for long days full of once in a lifetime experiences.
Back home, I often work in isolation. I sometimes forget to admit to myself that I actually like people. I was going to miss having a guide take me to amazing new places every day. I was going to miss having every day planned by someone else when I just needed to show up and be marveled. I would miss walking into restaurants and recognizing a dozen faces. There was no responsibility or stress. Just being present and amazed.
Realizing that I was sad over what was ending as opposed to what I was returning to, made me smile.
This week, Andy Grant is joined by entrepreneur, mindset coach, and podcaster, Tony Grebmeier, to discuss his path to clarity and the importance of community. Tony’s mission is to create a community where entrepreneurs know they can achieve anything they want despite their past.
“Community is the most important thing and we don’t talk about it.” ~Tony Grebmeier
Tony shares his lowest point, the knock that changed his life, and his journey to a new way of thinking. Thinking that includes gratitude, open-mindedness, being teachable, and has the goal of happiness.
The journey to self-fulfillment was not easy for Tony. He almost lost it all in 2008 after years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Facing the near destruction of his marriage and the sad realization that he was negatively affecting his children’s lives, Tony made the decision that year to get sober, and he has stayed sober ever since. As he got clean, he also became clear about his vision to help others find their passion and achieve more.
A Real Men Feel panel has been formed to discuss the Gillette campaign that seems to have the Internet in an uproar. Much appreciation to Al Flemming, Ameé Quiriconi, Anthony Simeone, Boysen Hodgson, Brandon Boucher, Brian Cardoza, Kenny Earl, and Tony Crisostomo for being a part of this show.
“The ad asks, Is this the best a man can get? How does asking questions come off as lecturing or offensive?” ~Andy Grant
I don’t understand how being called to be better is a lecture. How being asked to call out other men when they are engaging in bullying, sexist, or racist behavior. I didn’t see a lecture, I saw an invitation to tell people when they are going too far instead of keeping it to ourselves. I think that is a good thing.
I sounded the Real Men Feel horn, so I could listen to what others have to say. Online comments have their place, but they don’t make for a quality discussion.
Topics Covered Include:
What was your first reaction to the Gillette ad?
What is Gillette’s goal with this?
Traditional and toxic masculinity
What does “boys will be boys” mean to you?
The role of mothers
Do we want to focus on masculinity or humanity?
Is this part of the pussification of men?
Thanks to Gillette for sparking needed conversations
A Real Men Feel panel has been formed to discuss the Gillette campaign that seems to have the Internet in an uproar. Much appreciation to Al Flemming, Ameé Quiriconi, Anthony Simeone, Boysen Hodgson, Brandon Boucher, Brian Cardoza, Kenny Earl, and Tony Crisostomo for being a part of this show.
“The ad asks, Is this the best a man can get? How does asking questions come off as lecturing or offensive?” ~Andy Grant
I don’t understand how being called to be better is a lecture. How being asked to call out other men when they are engaging in bullying, sexist, or racist behavior. I didn’t see a lecture, I saw an invitation to tell people when they are going too far instead of keeping it to ourselves. I think that is a good thing.
I sounded the Real Men Feel horn, so I could listen to what others have to say. Online comments have their place, but they don’t make for a quality discussion.
Topics Covered Include:
What was your first reaction to the Gillette ad?
What is Gillette’s goal with this?
Traditional and toxic masculinity
What does “boys will be boys” mean to you?
The role of mothers
Do we want to focus on masculinity or humanity?
Is this part of the pussification of men?
Thanks to Gillette for sparking needed conversations
This week Andy Grant is joined by fitness and lifestyle coach, Oliver Cowlishaw, who shares everything that rose up when he confronted his smartphone addiction. Andy discovered Oliver thanks to a video Oliver made about his effort to cut down on his smartphone use and all the underlying shame that he could no longer ignore.
“If I am emotional, if I am vulnerable, if I let my sensitive nature be on display, bad things will happen. The video was a test of that.” ~Oliver Cowlishaw
Everyone makes choices between authentically feeling whatever is going on for them, and not – by ignoring, stuffing, denying, blaming, attacking… there are countless ways to avoid our emotions. What they all come down to is some sort of a distraction. One of the most potent and addictive distractions we all carry around are smartphones.
What would you be doing if you weren’t looking at your phone? What would you see if you weren’t staring at a screen? What do you feel when you stop reaching for that smartphone?
Topics Covered Include:
What prompted you to want to cut down your smartphone use?
What did you notice when you curtailed your use?
Were those feelings always there?
What steps did you take to cut down your smartphone usage?
What is healthy, productive use vs. distraction?
Do you have a goal for smartphone use?
Does anything stand out as easier than expected in lessening your phone use?
Shame makes you more susceptible to smartphone addiction.
