Menfolk Journeys

Full disclosure: Eric Foster is my older brother...but this isn't a conversation about our family, siblinghood, or any of that. It's about how he takes advantage of the 24 hours that are granted to ALL of us, and what he does to make the most of each day. His burning ambition to be the best he can, to do the most he can, to experience what he can, drives his habits, actions, and successe...

Brian did a LOT of things well in his adulthood, and he seems like a model that others want to aspire to: married, children, grandchildren, and a lucrative career that enabled him to retire with comfort. And now, with the next chapter in his life being written in his own hand, he's turning his attention to serving others. As a volunteer for FEMA, he's putting himself in crucibles of hurt...

When you're a younger man, there's often a yen to leave the house, strike out on your own, and find your identity in your independence. For Pedrum, he's leaning into his identity as the rock that anchors his family. At 26, he's building the future of his own self while also being present with his parents and siblings. He's becoming both his own man, and, by his actions, a...

Have you ever had a moment where you see the man you want to become? Jason was able to meet someone who held up a vision of his future self...and it changed the entire direction of his career and life. Now, he brings together men for retreats, sharing, conversation, and bonding with his groundbreaking Evolutionary Men group. From coaching to shadow work and retreats, he helps men see the best vers...

The challenges fathers have in raising young boys today seems, well, more challenging than before. From conflicting models of what manhood and masculinity should be, to readily-accessible pornography, to figuring out how to socialize with girls in a way that takes care and is also natural to their hormones...it's a messy hodgepodge of messages those boys are getting. And Shaun Dauson is tryin...

Why does it seem like such a simple thing to breathe...and for there to be an entire course of study on how to breathe? Shalin began to understand the power of breathwork when he was 16 years old, and on the cusp of manhood. It changed his entire transition into adulthood, centering his mind, calming his body, and preparing his whole self to become a larger, more centered man. He was one of the ca...

Who is are the people that help you with your life? Do you have a cohort, a group, a tribe, a brotherhood, that can show you who you want to be? Do you have those people who are also inspired by you , so they can become a better version of themselves? This is a wonderful conversation with a successful man who has been aided in his success by strong, rich, deep, lasting friendships. And those frien...

Are there specific, precise, lodged-in-your-memory moments in your life that completely changed the direction of your thinking, your purpose, your entire way of living? Do you have a time that totally shifted your perspective on what you considered to be your reality? Michael Tierno had a revelatory moment in his adulthood that changed the way he thought of, well, EVERYTHING. And then, he pursued...

What happens when you decide to dismantle your own life, because it wasn't working for you? Do you have the courage to deconstruct...and then rebuild?  Can you look around your life and - if it's not what you want from it - begin again? Do you have the courage to do so? So often, people fall into a track that doesn't suit their happiness...but they stay on it because it's safe,...

Why do so many men struggle with communication...especially in their intimate relationships?  Oftentimes, men find it more uncomfortable to share feelings and thoughts than just about anything else...but that skill is the key to having more open, honest, and authentic connections. The ability to have those kinds of conversations and relationships isn't just something a few lucky men were born...

Addiction comes in many ways and forms...and the most pernicious of all are addictions that are Anonymous, Affordable, and Accessible.  Unfortunately, with today's technologies, pornography checks all of those addiction boxes. And for young men, it can be an absolute trap that causes real harm - not only for themselves, but for their relationships. Jeremy experienced this addiction himself......

It's one thing to be a coach and help your athletes overcome challenges, injury, setbacks, and mental blocks. It's another thing to be a coach and have to overcome your own adversity - even your own disability. Scott was disabled in his early twenties...right when he was beginning a coaching career. He had to learn how to not just push past his challenge, but finally acknowledge his disa...

How can you reconcile your memories of your father, when doing so becomes painful, embarrassing, and leaves you with a feeling of loss? Patton has had to think about his sonhood experiences with his alcoholic father, and the destructive wake he grew up in.  It wasn't until he was older and became his own father that he dedicated time, heart, and energy to writing down his own reflections and...

As a young man, Anthony embraced his natural surroundings in Appalachia, paying attention to the workings of the world. With family around him, and a model of manhood in his grandfather, he grew up in a place where he knew he belonged. A career in the USAF, flying combat missions, put him in situations where he had to depend on his team and others, and they on him, for survival. How does that affe...

The Hero's Journey is generally, in broad strokes, thought of as Joseph Campbell's archetype of a single person going into the Wilderness, encountering the Challenge, overcoming the Challenge, and becoming Transformed in the process. Then the Hero can bring the newly-earned wisdom and experience back to the Tribe. Lyubim's journey follows that structure, where he became something mo...

What does it mean to be Lionhearted? How can you be - as a man - a Warrior, Lover, King, and Hero? And, what do those archetypes actually mean in terms of building ourselves? And, when you’re raised to be quiet, small, and unassuming, what happens when you realize that you’re bigger, bolder, and stronger than you thought? Eric Rogell’s journey is about finding true strength of being. Understanding...

No one knows what kind of experiences change how we think about our Faith. It's private, individual, and can't be thought of as a common experience. Chris want to West Point with a plan of being a soldier, then a chaplain. A goal to become a spiritual healer and leader amongst his bretheren. But how can you be a spiritual leader if your own Faith is being questioned? How do you reconcile...

The Foster Care experience is referred to - by the kids who live it - as "The System." For the youth who are doing the best they can to live their life, The System can be filled with strangeness, uncertainty, and above all, the feeling like they lack any power or control over their own lives. Josh went through The System, and at an incredibly vulnerable time, was homeless for half a year...

Laying down a foundation for your life - something upon which to build an ethical, moral, and livable framework - might be one of the most important things we do. How will I treat others? What do I value? What's important to me? How do I see myself? How can I become a better person? These are all the best questions to ask. And without a foundation, these questions get more difficult to answer...

Living a life that guided by Faith is rare. And, building a profession from a foundation of Faith is even rarer, unless you become a church leader. Matthew is not a church leader, but he is a learned scholar of Christian works by St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis de Sales, and more.  And what he brings to the conversation - to living - is a clear-eyed understanding of how he views our dance with the...

What does it mean to have a relationship with money?  We attach such deep emotion, anxiety, and energy to the idea of money in our personal lives, and in the world itself. We think about money in terms of status, livelihood, material comfort, risk, and more, and sometimes fail to see it clearly. And, how do men deal with their own emotions about money? And is that changing? This conversation goes...

If you have the gift of performance, and are inspired to pursue a career...do you go for it? Do you really dive in and make it happen? Or, do you tuck it away and go for a safer pathway? Troy Horne decided to stay true to himself, and lean in to a path of performance...and all that goes with it.  The heartpouring of emotion and talent to be under the biggest, beautiful lights of Broadway, the prof...

No one said that relationships were easy. And, growing up, we only have the models around us to see how to have successful - or unsuccessful - relationships. Of course, we learn as we have more experience, and figure out what works or doesn't work. But we oftentimes fail to communicate well, or even know what we want to say. Even with spouses, children, good friends - those closest to us - we...

When you have dyslexia, not only can you be challenged by reading, but you can also become beset with anxiety, feelings of being stupid, and all of the embarrassment that comes with those years. And, when you know you're smart, imagine how frustrating that must be. Mike Wood lived that childhood, and had negative imprints imposed on him while he was growing up. But, he learned, later in life,...

When your entire life seems to crumble in a succession of calamities, and the building that had been your identity is decimated, how do you rebuild? What kinds of tools do you have to create a new identity? What do you want to bring with you that you've already had? What do you want to let go?  Jonathon Aslay completely rebuilt his life in his 40's, and has had a profound journey of disc...