In this episode, Joseph shares the insight that became the foundation of his entire philosophy: the difference between thoughts and thinking. A thought, he suggests, is simply a neutral observation of reality. Thinking is often the negative judgment we layer on top of it. We discuss how this common pattern creates most of our incessant suffering, ego stories and limiting beliefs. Then he offers a simple shift that can change our perception of reality.

Joseph also opens up about his spiritual journey from rock bottom, his approach to creativity and writing, and why he never forces the process of prescribed authorship. For him, living curiously is the work, and writing is simply how he makes sense of what life reveals.

Then our conversation turns to alignment. Joseph shares some powerful perspective around decision making and honoring what wants to come through us. He explains his framework for levels of alignment that offers us more freedom without sacrificing integrity and relationships.

Finally, Joseph reflects on what he really wants to help people with. His response will likely surprise you. It's rooted in a belief that the most powerful thing any of us can do is pursue what makes us come alive. Everything else follows from there.

I appreciate Joseph for his friendship and courage to live into space that most of us won't explore.  This was one of my favorite conversations, which has inspired me to start creating again in new ways.  Enjoy the episode.

• The Peaceful Pivot process
• Calm before Connected
• Open vs Closed-heartedness
• Responding vs Reacting
• Pretending we're not in the "Pain Game"

This whole discussion supports the rising problem of HUMAN DISCONNECTION - which is what Kelly ultimately wants to help people with.

I honor him for his service, purpose, and masterful craft. He holds space for many humans in beautiful ways, including me!

Go check out his new book - The Road Less Triggered

Tim led the recent Father/Son wilderness trip I took with my son and 8 other father/son families.  It was one of the most extraordinary events I've ever experienced.

This episode covers a range of topics, questions and stories that shaped Tim's journey.  We talk about identity, growing up with nature, the trap of modern dependencies, seeking a deeper purpose, and what real connection actually means today. 

We also dig into emotional intelligence, vulnerability, uncertainty and how to engage with children.  Tim and his team held an incredible container for boys to re-engage with nature in beautiful ways.

I appreciate Tim for the masterful experience he just facilitated - and - the energy he's bringing to our world.  He's committed to restoring real human connection, which many people have forgotten.  I'm very grateful for this conversation and Tim's new friendship.

We cover a lot of terrain around tennis, men's work, stillness, partnerships and better understanding our nervous system.  Sam also speaks to what it means to be a "conscious outlaw" and embody the healthy "warrior" archetype.

Sam's message is rooted in a simple but profound concept - staying power.  This is a concept that most modern men struggle with.  He offers insight into how staying power creates more trust, integrity and safety in our relationships.

I appreciate Sam for his servant leadership.  He's helping a lot of men reclaim their power, presence and connection to a life of deeper purpose and love.

We cover a variety of topics in this episode from identity evolution and leadership, to legacy, health and adventure!  We also talk about what it means to be present and thoughtful as embodied ways of being.

Jason's story is deeply rooted in family.  He shares the importance of reflecting on our lineage and then deciding what we want to carry forward.  Jason's current leadership role at MALK is continued stewardship of health and wellness that his ancestors started many years ago.  Such a cool story.

I appreciate Jason for so many things.  His personal friendship has been a gift to me these last 5 years, including our time as Front Row Dads exploring our inner and external worlds.  I'm honored to walk with this man.  He leads in extraordinary ways.

In this episode, we dive into Jeff’s journey from adventurous kid to inspiring entrepreneur. We cover his love for extreme sports, adventure racing, and innovative business ventures in the outdoor apparel industry.

Jeff and his team at KETL Mountain Apparel have come up with one of the most exciting marketing strategies I’ve seen – treasure hunting! He explains the origin and current status of some epic treasure hunts they’ve launched through KETL. He also shares some of the real challenges in growing an apparel business like KETL.

I appreciate Jeff for what he’s creating in the world. He’s a beautiful reminder of what we’re capable of when we honor who we are and what we really love.

In this episode we discuss the power of play, sports, momentum, intention and how play is ultimately a portal into flow.  We dig into the deeper purpose and potential that play can unlock, especially when we give ourselves ego-less permission.

We also learn about the awesome sport mike invented - Air O Sport.  Yes, Mike created a new sport that's being played by thousands of people!  He shares some of the origin story, challenges and growth that he's realized on the journey.

I'm inspired by how Mike shows up.  He naturally injects positive energy into any conversation, interaction or event.  We need more leaders like Mike in the world. 

In this episode we discuss the power of writing, authentic storytelling, crafting memoirs, and how the entire process can be highly therapeutic. We dig into the emotions, change and deeper discovery that stories can unlock, especially when we tell them with real courage.

Emily is committed to a mission far beyond telling stories. She wants to help people increase their self-acceptance and compassion. That's REAL work.

I appreciate Emily for how she shows up.  She's present and engaged whenever I invest time with her.  Her leadership is helping a lot of people tell better stories, which creates greater impact and human connection.

He's also an extraordinary thinker, which shows up every time I invest time with him.  He distills information, ideas and thought models into clear and relevant concepts.

In this episode we discuss the "Return to Real," Ryan's grounding perspective on a shift back to a life of meaning.  He shares some of his realizations from success in the digital marketing world, his current observations of changing world conditions, and how we might navigate this unique time in history.  He synthesizes some of his learning from other great minds, compelling research and historical patterns.

Ryan also provides insight into one of his gifts, which is strategic thinking.  His message is rooted in a powerful mission - how to become an independent thinker in a complex world.

I appreciate Ryan for many things.  He's a great friend in my life, a committed family man, and a generous thought leader.  He's offering a lot of wisdom and inspiration for people in beautiful ways.

In this episode we discuss Brandon's pathway into the genius world, which started from exposure to the Conscious Leadership Group.  He shares how he discovered a powerful gift of helping people identify their genius, and the unique occurrence of "demand pull."  Then we discuss some of the genius types and how they support people by following their energy.

I appreciate Brandon for his curiosity and willingness to give.  He's helping a lot of people rediscover a better way to live, work and honor their innate gifts.

Note - I personally helped Brandon develop the user experience for his assessment, which you can take for free at geniusofyou.com. Go check it out!

In this episode we discuss Jim's pathway into adventure, which started from a young age in the English countryside. We learn about his coaching business, Untamed, which helps entrepreneurs get back to real connection and alignment. Then we dive into some of his powerful coaching concepts - Flow not Force, Drive and Contentment, and Wants vs Shoulds.

This conversation is packed with insights, reflections and powerful questions.

I appreciate Jim for his presence and "untamed" nature.  He's a powerful reminder and advocate for finding our way back to our most authentic self.

This is a quick episode to bring you up to speed on WHY I took 10 months off of podcasting, what's happened in my world recently, and what I'm energized about creating for future episodes.

This episode is a powerful message around "happy hustling."  Cary shares his quick backstory around real hustling, experiencing burnout, turning down a 7-figure deal, and then pursuing a better path to work and living in alignment.

Cary also shares details around his SOUL MAPPING framework which guides us back to more balance and happiness.  In fact, he walked me through his process on the episode!  This is a simple yet effective assessment that you can use to gain clarity on 10 important areas of life.

I appreciate Cary for the energy and service he's bringing to the world.  He's on a mission to help people systematically harmonize ambition and well being.  He's also a lot of fun to hang out with!  Thank you, Cary, for the love, light and smiles you're generating :)

This episode is a powerful and vulnerable conversation around healing. Mike shares insights and experiences around understanding trauma, giving up alcohol, the pursuit of personal growth, plant based medicine, and much more.   We discuss Mike’s journey into healing and the amazing path it’s led him down.

Mike also shares some very real perspective around emotional intelligence and it’s relationship to our nervous system. His story is a masterclass on how to recognize trauma, become more in tune with our emotions, and then heal holistically. This is the real stuff from a man who’s walked the path.

I appreciate Mike for his many things, but above all, it’s courage.  He’s chosen to do the harder inner work over the last few years and I’ve witnessed it first hand. Now he’s sharing what he’s learned in service of others.

I’m grateful and honored to do life with Mike Wagner.

This episode explores the depths of human wayfinding and connection. The path back to who we are at our core. Mike shares his thoughts and experiences around self discovery, identity transition, impactful experiences, entrepreneurship, scaling, and much more.   We discuss Mike’s 5 C’s of and how they led him to design amazing experiences rooted in community, culture and connection.

Mike also shares some details around his latest adventure to Western Mongolia. He guided a group into one of the most remote and special places in the world. The unique landscape and culture of that area is something you’d generally learn about in National Geographic. This was one of many experiences rooted in Mike’s mission to restore connection in the world.

I appreciate Mike for his humility, wisdom and curiosity.  He's a seeker, like me, who’s passionate about helping people discover their truth.  I share a lot of common alignment with Mike, so this episode was like catching up with an old buddy over coffee.

I’m also excited to join him on a future Wayfinder adventure!

This episode offers some insight into awakening, conscious choices, and the power of prioritizing love. We start with David’s experience of overwhelming love at age 14. Then we explore some of David’s realizations as he entered adulthood and found true freedom on an epic road trip.

We also dive into David’s 5-stage process for living a soul centered life, which he’s modeled after work with his clients. David explains the importance of creating a vision, discovering your soul’s mission, developing unshakable focus, experiencing miraculous flow, and then ultimately prioritizing love.

I appreciate David for his heart and passion. He’s dedicated to a noble mission of helping others find true purpose, fulfillment and authenticity. It doesn’t get much better than that.

This episode offers some perspective and insight into the spiritual realm.  We start by discussing what it means to be spiritual, not religious. Then we explore some of Heather's experience with healing, teaching, witnessing others and being an advocate.

We also discuss the impact of generational trauma, which has become a powerful realization in my life. Heather shares some ideas and experiences from navigating generational trauma with her own family and clients.

I appreciate Heather for her spark and service. She's full of life, which is clear as soon as you meet her. She's also served humanity in profound ways. I'm grateful to have shared some time with Heather.

We dive deep into why Tucker chooses a sovereign lifestyle.  We discuss his journey into homesteading,  his perspective on learning vs decision making, the power of living on land, and what it means to be an avatar.

Being an avatar is not a basic subject. In fact, it's something that very few humans have the capacity for being. I think Tucker is one of those rare humans. I've witnessed him change lives, wake people up, and spark more awareness in the world. He's also been an impactful part of my own journey, which I'm grateful for.

I appreciate Tucker for his authenticity, conviction and dedication to speaking his truth.  He doesn't hold back in a world that makes it easy to hide and stay asleep. I'm excited to see him walk his path.

This episode covers my approach in four phases - rest, reflect, reset and refocus. I offer some insight into each phase, some questions to guide you, and some things I've learned from my experience.

This episode is a masterclass on personal health and wellness. We discuss a better system personalized health, creation instead of prevention, breathwork, microbiomes, the 5 C's of digestion and more.

Sachin also shares his view on who the doctor of the future is. Spoiler alert: it's not him!  He shares simple but powerful ways we can take ownership of our own health and wellness. My family has been practicing some of Sachin's methodologies for years now, so it was an honor to have him speak to them on the podcast.

This episode is packed with insights around ambition, the pursuit of balance, testing our emotional limits and the beautiful integration of all this back into family life.

Ben shares his epic story of recently climbing Mt Denali in Alaska.  Details of his journey were so real and vivid that I felt like I was right there on the mountain with him! There is so much wisdom in his experience, including a conclusion you wouldn't expect.

I appreciate Ben for his curiosity and integrity.  He's showing up for himself, his family and his community in a very authentic way.

This episode is loaded with insights around environment, self inquiry, energy, life force power, and the innate vitality we all have within us.  We also talk about Pedram's book - FOCUS: Bringing Time, Energy and Money into Flow.  We dig into the Life Garden concept and how it applies to our energy management.

Pedram also shares some history and mythology behind Bodhidharma and the Shaolin monks.  We discuss how those origins shaped the Star Wars story, other hero's journey examples, and Pedram's mission to become a force for good.  I really enjoyed this conversation.

This episode blends some deep insights around identity, facing uncertainty, taking action, learning to surrender, and Eric's amazing metaphors for navigating life transitions.  He shares powerful ideas around the transitions we encounter, how we experience them, and unique perspective on realizing actual transformation.

I appreciate Eric for the way he shows up in the world.  He brings a warm and powerful energy, filled with wisdom, and I always learn something from my conversations with him.

This episode blends some awesome thoughts around chaos, faith, control vs surrender, and Les’s unique concepts of fusion. He shares ideas around the space we create, occupy and hold for ourselves, with powerful perspective on realizing self love and transformation.

Les coaches people through his “MESS to Mastery” framework, which covers the mental, emotional, and spiritual state. He’s helping people find greater meaning and purpose in their lives.

I appreciate Les for the love and curiosity he’s shining into world. He has a huge heart and is serving the world in a beautiful way.

The theme of the retreat was two-fold:

1. First, we wanted men to have an opportunity to disconnect and experience time with no demands.  Time away from normal life and responsibilities. This is a concept we picked up from John Wineland's book - From the Core.
2. Second, we wanted men to discover their wild, primal self.  Chris and I believe that nature is a natural playground, and the perfect environment to come back to who we are at our core.  It's inviting us to rediscover our wild, primal self.  The self that was designed from nature.

Eight men committed to the retreat and helped co-create an extraordinary experience.

Brent just finished his book - Paper Cuts, The Art of Self-Delusion - which explores some of the deeper aspects of inner work.  Now he's committed to his new group, The Bold Men Fellowship, where he can guide and mentor others on a similar path.

This episode offers some deep insight around showing up authentically. Mike shares insights around wealth, achievement, failure, self worth, resiliency, reaching elevated states of consciousness and more.

Mike has unique experience across different facets of life. He flew jets for the Navy, founded multiple businesses, realized success as an investor and prioritizes being a family man. He was also semi retired for several years. Now he’s committed to coaching and mentoring others with his gifts.

I appreciate Mike for the way he shows up. He’s an inspiration and true source of courage. He’s also really fun to be around! I’m grateful for having Mike in my life and the space he created on this episode.

I'm a husband to my best friend and life partner, Gabrielle Jafarian. I'm half Iranian and half American. My family and I currently live in Denver, Colorado. We are rooted in deep values around nature, extremely eco-conscious. We're also currently striving towards minimalism and we spend a lot of time outdoors.

I personally pursue an active lifestyle that includes high discipline around health, fitness and personal growth. I've also been submerged in psychology these last few years to really understand the human mind and our patterns. Professionally, I'm a technologist and an entrepreneur with almost two decades in software development.

And now the impetus for the podcast. So why am I doing this? First and foremost, it's a personal project. I'm in a phase of life where I'm intentional about creating space for creativity and curiosity. I really want to let things flow organically back into my life with less agenda. It's also going to be an open-ended podcast, meaning this is designed to be fun and exploratory.

I don't have all the answers. I don't even have a crazy plan, but I do know that I'm doing this for myself and for others. And I want it to stay that way. In doing so there's going to be a lot of variety of topics. So I want to bring diversity here. We're going to talk about everything from family life, to business, to health, to relationships, to the mind, like I said before. I'm very curious and, I've spent a lot of time studying different things these last several years.

And so I want to have the freedom of flexibility to talk about a variety of things. So with that said, there's going to be a duality of content. For the most part, there'll be a lot of personal recordings from me where I'm just entertaining or analyzing different thoughts. And then there will be guest recordings where I'm going to have friends, mentors, thought leaders, and other people that I want to bring on.

And. Discuss things with, I also intend to ask hard questions. So I want this to be a podcast that really does get to the root of things, where we go deeper than normal, perhaps entertain some discomfort. I would love to bring some new content that really helps inspire people to think more , or take action on something, or see a different perspective.

Lastly, it's an audio diary. So this is a personal vehicle for me to share my narrative, to interview interesting guests, and I've very much, enjoyed being on podcasts and listening to them the last several years. So it's my turn to give back, you know, I want to, I want to do this for myself, but I also want to do this for others, and this is going to be a legacy asset for my children.

I want them to be able to look back on something timeless, you know, what was dad thinking about or talking about with others and they'll very likely be a part of this podcast. So this is something that I hope they can get value from in years to come. And I'm also new at this. So I'm coming into this with a growth mindset.

I definitely don't have all the tips and tactics and strategies. I just want to start recording and see where it leads me very open to learning and experimentation as I go. And finally, I really appreciate you listening. I recognize that attention and focus are expensive today. So thank you for joining me.

I hope you enjoy the content.