After Peter Pan: Growing Up to Purpose

In this episode of After Peter Pan, Pat sits down with champion boxer Steve Claggett for a powerful conversation about the fight beyond the ring — the inward one. Steve shares how discipline became his way out of a life of partying, drinking, and trouble with the law, and how boxing gave him purpose, structure, and a reason to grow.

They talk about what it really means to go all in, the sacrifices that come with that choice, and why discipline doesn’t feel like suffering when it's tied to something you love. Steve opens up about fear, failure, solitude, and the internal fire that still drives him after 50 fights. This is a story of humility, resilience, and the lifelong journey of understanding yourself.

What You’ll Learn:

• How discipline can be a lifeline, not a punishment
• The power of channeling pain and chaos into purpose
• What it takes to go all in — and stay all in
• How solitude can shape strength
• Why understanding your darker traits can help you grow
• How to stay grounded, even at the top

Social Media Links:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Steve Claggett:
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

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Pat welcomes back JP Michel — career coach and founder of SparkPath — for a vulnerable, real-time coaching session recorded during a pivotal moment in Pat’s life. Fresh off a layoff and questioning whether he was just going through the motions again, Pat sits down with JP to explore what he actually wants from his next chapter. Using SparkPath’s Challenge Cards — a tool used by over 100,000 young professionals — JP guides Pat through the uncertainty, helping him reconnect with excitement, clarify his needs, and rethink what meaningful work could look like.

Together, they explore what it means to choose purpose over autopilot — and how to make space for something new, even in seasons of fear and transition.

What You’ll Learn:

• What to do when career success no longer feels aligned
• How to identify the problems you want to solve — not just the roles you can fill
• The value of coaching during major life transitions
• Why defining your needs and desires is harder (and more important) than it seems
• How to expand your job search beyond what's posted online
• What vulnerability, intuition, and clarity can offer in moments of professional doubt

Social Media Links:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• JP Michel:
  • Sparkpath - Challenge Cards
  • JP Michel's website
  • JP's book - The World Needs You

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Pat welcomes Natacha Duke, a registered psychotherapist at Toronto Wellness Counselling, for a deep and compassionate exploration of Peter Pan Syndrome — a behavioral pattern marked by emotional immaturity, fear of responsibility, and resistance to growth. Together, they unpack the roots of emotional avoidance, the impact of parenting and trauma, and the numbing behaviors that can delay our growth into purpose-driven adulthood. Pat also shares his own lived experience with Peter Pan Syndrome, offering a vulnerable lens on what it really means to grow up, build meaningful connections, and live with integrity.

What You’ll Learn:

• What Peter Pan Syndrome really is (and why it’s not a clinical diagnosis)
• How parenting styles and early attachment shape emotional development
• Why commitment issues and “failure to launch” often trace back to childhood wounds
• The role of trauma, numbing, and emotional stagnation in adult life
• What inner child work looks like — and why it matters
• How to start living with more self-awareness, responsibility, and purpose

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Natacha Duke:
  • Toronto Wellness Counselling
  • LinkedIn

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Pat welcomes Dr. Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist and sexual psychophysiologist whose groundbreaking research challenges some of the most deeply held beliefs about pornography, addiction, and shame. In a world full of noise, judgment, and moral panic, Dr. Prause offers a data-driven lens on desire, compulsion, and the role of sexuality in a values-based life. Together, they explore the complexities of pleasure, the impact of guilt, and what it really means to grow up in relationship to our bodies and choices. It’s a conversation about embracing nuance, letting go of shame, and aligning our behavior with our deeper purpose.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the idea of porn “addiction” doesn’t hold up under neuroscience
• How shame—not porn—may be the real source of suffering
• The difference between impulsive vs. compulsive behavior, and why it matters
• How to reconcile pleasure with purpose in a values-driven life
• The surprising overlap between sexual arousal and meditative states
• What the data actually says about porn, connection, and meaningful relationships

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Nicole Prause:
  • LinkedIn 
  • Today Show Segment - Studying the Healing Power of Sex
  • TedTalk

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Pat welcomes Guillaume Saladin, a global circus performer and the founder of ArtCirq, an Arctic Circus, who left the spotlight to reconnect with the Inuit community that helped to raise him. After performing on stages around the world, Guillaume returned to Igloolik to empower the next generation through the arts. In this episode, he shares his inspiring journey of blending performance and storytelling to connect cultures, foster community, and honor his heritage. It’s a story about choosing purpose over prestige and embracing one’s origins.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Guillaume’s upbringing in the Canadian North and his connection to Inuit culture influenced his journey.
• The transformative power of performance and storytelling in building connections with people and with community.
• The importance of honoring your roots and how it leads to discovering purpose.
• How to overcome the belief that it’s "too late to start."
• The illusion of control and the power of surrendering to life’s flow

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Gauillaume Saladin:
  • ArtCirq
  • GoFundMe to contribute to the rebuilding of the BlackBox
  • Foret o Cascades - Art in Nature and Camping

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Pat sits down with serial entrepreneur Sean Frost to trace his journey from public housing and the rap game, through healthcare and general contracting, to building thriving ventures in real estate, custom home building, and music production. Along the way, Sean reveals how authenticity—wearing every hat at once—combined with the power of saying “no” and embracing vulnerability, became the pillars of his resilience and success.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Sean’s roots in public housing and early music career instilled grit, empathy, and an unwavering work ethic
• Why learning to say “no” became his greatest superpower—and how it fuels focus, presence, and growth
• The role of vulnerability in building trust: why being real is the fastest path to connection
• How Sean navigated anxiety, guilt and depression —walking away from a draining business and an unfulfilling job, and rebuilding from scratch
• The mindset shifts that turn hardship into opportunity, and discomfort into a catalyst for growth
• Practical strategies for cultivating presence, setting boundaries, and leading with heart

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Connect with Sean Frost:
  • Linktree
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

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Pat sits down with life coach Sima Jones to discuss her personal journey, overcoming childhood trauma, depression and anxiety through the discovery of yoga, Zen and therapy. We discuss what truly happens in the transformative space of life coaching and along the way, Pat unexpectedly becomes the client in a spontaneous coaching moment that explores regret, self-forgiveness, and rediscovering alignment.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Sima’s path through trauma, anxiety, and motherhood shaped her unique coaching style
• The difference between therapy and life coaching — and where they overlap
• Why discomfort is essential to growth, and how to stay with it
• How clarity of self unlocks meaning and purpose
• The surprising power of regret — and how to work with it, not against it
• What a real-life coaching session feels like, in real time

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Connect with Sima Jones:
  • Website - www.simajones.com
  • Instagram - @simajonescoaching
    
    

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In this episode, I speak with Ven. Trueman Taylor, a Zen priest, who shares his journey from personal crisis to lifelong commitment to Zen practice. We also break down what Zen really is, how meditation works, the benefits, and how it can help navigate change, suffering, and finding meaning... and seeing the world as it really is, not how we want it to be.

What You’ll Learn:

•  What it’s like to live as a Zen priest
•  The truth about enlightenment and meditation
•  How to overcome emotional struggles through practice
•  Practical steps to start your own meditation journey

Resources Mentioned:

•  Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau
•  Rochester Zen Center
•  Montreal & Toronto Zen Centers 
• How to sit in zazen

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Ven. Trueman Taylor

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To celebrate our  10th episode milestone, I invited my sister Tina Tenneriello, journalist and communications specialist, to guest host and take the guest role. We explore my journey from a commitment-phobic, pleasure-seeking lifestyle to one of purpose, integrity, and personal growth. We talk about leaving "Neverland"—the state of avoiding responsibility and chasing short-term gratification—and step into a life of intention. From confronting entrenched habits to embracing therapy, fatherhood, mindfulness, and a healthier relationship with wealth, this episode is a candid look at transformation, healing, and what it means to grow up.  

What You’ll Learn 

• How the Peter Pan Syndrome keeps people stuck in cycles of avoidance
•  The psychological impact of short-term gratification vs. long-term fulfillment
•  How childhood trauma and past experiences shape adult relationships and career choices
•  The role of therapy and group healing in personal transformation
•  How modern dating culture and technology can reinforce commitment issues
•  The benefits of mindfulness and meditation for emotional growth and self-discipline
•  How embracing responsibility and integrity leads to a more meaningful life
•  How to evolve your relationship with money—from chasing wealth to living with dignity

Resources Mentioned

• "He who has a why can survive any how" - Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl – A book that changed my perspective on suffering and purpose 
• "He had suddenly felt that wealth, and power, and life - all that people arrange and preserve with such care - all this, if it is worth anything, is only so because of the pleasure with which one can abandon it all" - War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Tina Tenneriello:
  • LinkedIn

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Why do so many male survivors of childhood trauma and sexual abuse stay silent? In this deeply personal and eye-opening conversation, Pat Tenneriello sits down with Mason Shell, Executive Director and Education Coordinator at the British Columbia Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BCSMSSA). Together, they explore the cultural barriers that keep men from seeking help, the impact of trauma on masculinity and relationships, and the transformative journey of healing and its impact on personal growth and finding purpose. Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience, this episode sheds light on the invisible struggles many men face—and the pathways to reclaiming their lives.

What You'll Learn:

• Why so many men stay silent about childhood trauma and sexual abuse
• How trauma impacts masculinity, relationships, and personal growth
• The concept of “The Talons of Trauma” and how it keeps survivors stuck
• The difference between guilt and shame—and why shame is so difficult to overcome
• How structured therapy programs help men with healing and personal growth
• Why many survivors struggle with commitment, intimacy, and self-worth
• How to find the right therapist or support system for your healing journey
• The power of group therapy and connecting with other survivors
• How childhood trauma shapes personal identity and decision-making
• The role of self-awareness, integrity, and “love for future self” in personal growth

Referenced Resources:

• British Columbia Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse
• Website 1in6.org
• Powerful video that highlights the barriers of male sexual abuse
• Men in Healing Psychotherapy program that Pat references

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Mason Shell:
  • https://bc-malesurvivors.com/about-us/contact-us/

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