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?
This week Andy Grant is joined by leadership and communications consultant, Darren Horne, to share his call to adventure including postnatal depression and being a dad. Fatherhood isn’t always a magical and loving experience from the get-go. Postnatal, or postpartum, depression can hit men as well as women.
“Our parents did not bring us into the world to work 40 – 50 hours a week doing a job we hate.” ~Darren Horne
Darren shares how he tried to avoid his depression, as well as all the tools that helped, overcome it. Despite the subject matter, this is an upbeat conversation full of passion and zest for life. See Darren’s column on GoodMenProject.
Topics Covered Include:
What is postnatal depression?
How common is this for men?
Had you ever heard of it or been warned about it?
How did you deal with your postnatal depression?
Since you’ve opened up about it have you met more men who’ve experienced it too?
The pain and grief of a miscarriage.
The many gifts coming out of challenges.
Going through a divorce and being more resilient.
Seeing life as a computer game.
We live in a society that makes money off our unhappiness.
This week Andy Grant and Appio Hunter engage in a lively discussion with Jan Darwin Hutchins, the founder of The Men School, on whether life is simple or hard, and what can be done to make the hard parts easier. Jan was on the show back in February talking about The Men School and divine masculinity. During that show, he stated something that didn’t sit well with Andy.
“The problem with life is there is no end to the problems.” ~Jan Darwin Hutchins
Jan was invited back to dig deeper into that idea because Andy saw it as a fatalistic and depressing worldview. The result was an upbeat, philosophical conversation with lots of practical advice. Life isn’t this or that; it is everything. Life is the grey area; the journey, not the destination.
Topics Covered Include:
Is life simple?
Is life hard?
Is it both?
Offsetting the suffering
Black and white thinking
Expectations and stories
Truth and authenticity
A very high-level spin on Buddhism
Jordan Peterson
Power of breath
Why Andy stopped trying to die
The constant state of change
Doing what you can do, want to do, and should do
What is one tip for a man struggling with life’s challenges?
We live in a world of problems. How we deal with them is the key to how we feel about our lives.
Most of what we believe is not true. They are shared beliefs, or stories, serving as group distractions. They can keep us stuck or empower us.
“Joy by itself isn’t very much fun. There needs to be a Point B to add juice to life. Joy and happiness are a fortunate happening during a day or a life.” – Jan Darwin Hutchins
All three men give tips for men in the depths of life feeling like shit.
In this episode Andy Grant is joined by Gabriel DiCristofaro for a discussion about some common experiences they’ve had. Experiences of despising their lives and also of loving life. They touch on the dangers of comparison, stress, feeling hopeless and helpless, being “locked up”, diagnoses, psych medications, what to do to feel better and much, much more.
This is an honest, open and explicit talk between two men about wanting to die, getting help, and thriving. It does get better.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is ask for help. ~Andy Grant
