Big Stud Podcast- Episode 74

Guest Neal Conlon who in host Mike's words is "a personal development badass", helps men find their true passion. 

Neal's main approach is seeking discomfort for the intent of growth and finding a way to create people with resilience and become the best version of themself. 

Neal's background: as a child, he was labeled as a troublemaker. He then joined the military and learned the "embrace the suck" mentality. After leaving the military and joining the corporate setting, he learned you need to get out of your comfort zone to learn and grow. 

He goes on to say you need to teach yourself to be in hard situations, and experience discomfort physically and mentally to rewire yourself. 

He's found that there's a growing erosion in the past 40-50 years where people have become complacent in their comfort. So Neal created a retreat for men to relearn how to create and adapt to discomfort. 

In his studies, he's discovered with the number of men who grow up without fathers and go to school where most of their teachers are women, they don't grow up with a good solid foundation. Without that foundation, they're stuck trying to figure out how they're supposed to be and act. While that's going on, the role of a man was once well defined, and now that's definition is shifting. Add on to that not having positive male influences, and when they get into their 30s, they don't know what it means to "be a man". People come to Neal with their traumas, addictions from childhood, etc, and Neal's answer is always: The Hero's Journey; a challenging retreat that you have to complete by working together and using your own skills to accomplish tasks. 

Neal's three pillars are accountability, integrity, and habit. 

The types of people Neal typically works with are broken out into 3 groups. 

1. Men who grew up without a solid father figure

2. Men who are a little older, who have a not-so-great father figure example. 

3. Men who are getting older, and want to make lasting changes in their life. 

Neal emphasizes regarding his ruthless beliefs and values "I can disagree with you, and still love you". 

Neal's forward-focused vision: he wants to impact the lives of millions of men. He wants to see more men getting together in large groups, and represent their "tribe" and come together in a very aware place. 

He's also heavily invested in his clothing brand Press Forward as a way to give back to men's mental health.  

Mike's closing question to Neal: "what are some of the biggest habits that you implement that someone can take away from this conversation"

"Getting 30 minutes to yourself every morning"

He also stresses focusing on what goes into your body, specifically water intake and fewer preservatives. 

Closing statement: Step into your discomfort, comfort will lead you to suffer. 

Follow Neal on social media: 

Instagram: @iamnealconlon

www.nealconlon.com

https://www.nealconlon.com/accountability-group/ https://www.nealconlon.com/press-forward-merch/