The Modern Man Podcast

"I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good." Oprah Winfrey Started from the bottom now we're here! It's a phrase made popular by rapper Drake when his song "Started from the bottom" first dropped in 2013. The song glorifies the hustle, the drive and the work it...

" You will never be entirely comfortable. This is the truth behind the champion – he is always fighting something. To do otherwise is to settle ." Julien Smith How do you want your life to look? If you believe in something or really want something, you tend to fight for it, right? Unfortunately, a lot of us never fully get clear on our vision so we wander aimlessly, looking for a battle to fight....

"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters" Albert Einstein How honest are you? It's a question we probably don't think about often. Even further, I'm willing to bet your answer might not be in line with the truth. That's the funny thing about honesty… It's hard to be truthful with others if we're not first being truthful with ourselves. Imagine j...

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." Mary Lou Cook Let's talk about unlocking your creativity. Ask yourself this... What is it that scares you the most? Believe it or not, most people would say public speaking. It's an interesting fear considering there is little physical harm that can come about from doing it. (Compared...

"FORMAL EDUCATION WILL MAKE YOU A LIVING; SELF-EDUCATION WILL MAKE YOU A FORTUNE." Jim Rohn There's a difference between schooling and education. One teaches you how to fit into a system, follow instructions, and do as you're told. The other teaches you how to be creative, innovative, and think for yourself. Which one would you prefer to be? Even better, which one would you prefer to hire as a man...

"SOME BEAUTIFUL PATHS CAN'T BE DISCOVERED WITHOUT GETTING LOST." Erol Ozan I think there's is a trap that many of us fall into and never see coming. We work hard through school, graduate with a degree, and if we're lucky, land a job that pays the bills. Some of you may call this life. I call it a trap. I call it a trap because it often locks us into an endless loop that requires more effort and li...

"HOLD FAST TO DREAMS. FOR IF DREAMS DIE, LIFE IS A BROKEN-WINGED BIRD THAT CANNOT FLY." Langston Hughes They say it's always darkest before the dawn, but they never specify how long that darkness will last. If you're like me, you've lost count of how many days this pandemic has impacted our lives. Though some states are slowly starting to reopen and ease up on restrictions, there are still a numbe...

"Identity cannot be found or fabricated but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go." Doug Cooper Negative self-talk, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs are sure to suppress the true potential that lies within us all. When we're young we quickly learn what the environment around us deems acceptable. Instinctually we mold our identity into what we THINK this environment would want to s...

"A blind man's world is bounded by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man's world by the limits of his knowledge: a great man's world by the limits of his vision." E. Paul Hovey Let's do an exercise here… Close your eyes… (wait that won't work.) Okay, just imagine for a second, you can craft the life you want with no limits and no strings attached. No one will be hurt or negatively impacted by y...

"An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head." Emil Zatopek It's amazing what perspective can do... If two people under similar circumstances can have two different outcomes. Wouldn't it be safe to conclude that it's the person that's different, not the situation? With that in mind, how do you want to emerge from your situation? Identi...

"Be willing to change because life won't stay the same." Anonymous When Emanuel Thomas and I sat down to record this podcast, Covid-19, Pandemic, and Outbreak were absent from headlines. The main concern that Tuesday afternoon early in the month of March was whether we'd continue to see rain all week or if sunshine would grace us and usher in an early Spring. Little did either of us know that when...

"Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit." Napoleon Hill At least 80% of America is under some form of "Stay-at-Home" order as of writing this. The impacts of such a stop in everyday life have already been felt in the economy and disrupted countless businesses while re-defining what we view as normal. Through this pandemic,...

"The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he's dead." Bette Davis How do you adjust to the things you didn't plan for? I'd say a lot of us are getting a forced lesson in grit, persistence, and creativity. Covid-19 has impacted countless businesses, jobs, and lives, making things extremely volatile in our economy. With all this uncertainty, the choices we make now are...

"In every situation, life is asking us a question, and our actions are the answer." Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way I'll be honest. I don't know exactly what's going on... All I can tell you are the facts. However, I cannot tell you what they mean or how to interpret them. There has been so much uncertainty and fear surrounding this Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak. From schools closing, employ...

"NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU ARE. THE REST OF THE WORLD WILL NOT. WEAR IT LIKE ARMOR, AND IT CAN NEVER BE USED TO HURT YOU." Tyrion Lannister,  Game Of Thrones It's unreal to think of how nasty we can be to people at times. Sticks and Stones might break bones, but the words you say still matter. Being young is hard. I think we forget sometimes. Take yourself back for a moment and imagine you're in middl...

"EVERY LIFE COMPOSES A SONG OF IT'S OWN" Jeff Veach I don't think it's a bold statement to assume that 90% of you reading this love music. It makes you dance, bop, tap your toe or bob your head. Admit it, you know there's that one song out there that gets you every time. It's alright, I understand. Music is one of the most impactful things on the planet. We play it at weddings, at funerals and at...

"Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength." UNKNOWN There is one thing that I can guarantee in life... You will be challenged. This concept has been a constant theme on the podcast. Everything worth having in life sits on the other side of challenges. The way we respond and adjust to these challenges will greatly impact the outcome that follows. Imag...

"The Price Of Greatness Is Responsibility" Winston Churchhill I'm slowly learning what the true meaning of responsibility is. If I'm being honest, it's so much more than I could have expected. Yet, it's acceptance is still a rewarding and empowering place to be. As the year 2020 continues to pass us by, I'm hoping to embrace more of that responsibility in my life and also build on my capacity to h...

"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." Sun Tzu Splash some water on your face and take a good long look in the mirror. Analyze that person looking back. Figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Use this knowledge and prepare for war. Whether we admit it or not, there is a battle within us. Every day, we must wake up, suit up, and ge...

"If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath." Amit Ray Let's talk about stress... Lord knows I'm feeling my fair share of it right now. (If you only knew!) Regardless, we try to push forward and move on. Carrying all that around can certainly be a burden. I'm learning how to unload some of that baggage myself. If you're feeling the pressure and wanting to re...

"Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost." Erol Ozan What were you born to do? It's not a question that gets answered easily. If I'm being honest and transparent, I'm not entirely sure of my answer. The good news is you don't need to know the solution right now. However, the exploration of that answer may just take you on a path you never even knew was there. Imagine the fulf...

"The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." Samuel Johnson If you're like me, you've probably gotten down on yourself for coming up short on an ambitious goal. It's one thing to miss the mark once or twice. It's another thing to miss the mark over and over again. When this happens, most people would likely tell you to adjust your goals. Make them more atta...

Believe it or not, a lot of our success boils down to the relationships we have with others. It's dependant on the type of environment we set up around ourselves. In the book Outliers Malcolm Gladwell observes: "When we see the tallest tree in a forest, we know that it has come from a good seed. But we must also take into account that it has been planted in good soil, and that its leaves have been...

Here we are... A new year and a new decade. Have you locked in your New Year Resolutions yet? This is a time where many of us look towards new beginnings and fresh starts. It's refreshing. I personally love New Year. not so much as a launching pad for starting new things, but for checking on the progress of the ambitious goals I set for myself. Just think about it... Where will you be exactly 12 m...

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future." Agnes M. Pahro You hear it all the time… "It's the most wonderful time of the year." It's true. Everyone seems to have an extra pep in their step or sparkle in their eye. People have an air about them that emits joy and unity. Many people seem to think it's because of all the gifts they receive. I ten...