In this powerful episode of Great Men, Shane Sams sits down with Chandler Bolt, the visionary founder of Self-Publishing.com, for a raw and wide-ranging conversation on the highs and lows of the entrepreneurial journey. Chandler opens up about his late-in-life ADHD diagnosis, reframing the condition not as a disability, but as a creative superpower that fueled his ascent from college dropout to the leader of an 8-figure empire. The duo dives deep into the "prison of success," discussing how identity can become dangerously intertwined with business achievements and why true growth requires the humility to be the "dumbest person in the room."

Beyond the balance sheets, the heart of this episode explores the profound impact of grief and the "mirrors" in a man's life. From the tragic loss of close friends to Shane's own harrowing experience reviving his father on Christmas morning, they discuss how men can transform bitterness into fuel through vulnerability. Whether it's the sharpening effect of a long-term marriage or the life-changing proximity of high-level brotherhood on a houseboat retreat, this conversation is a masterclass in pruning away complexity to find simplicity, impact, and authentic connection.

Key Timestamps & Highlights 0:00 – ADHD & Personal Development: Turning a "dropout" mindset into an entrepreneurial edge and navigating the transition from medication to sustainable focus.

11:13 – Grief & Loss as Fuel: A heavy, honest look at mortality, the power of vulnerability, and choosing to let tragedy refine rather than define you.

Identity & Growth: Breaking free from the "all or nothing" label and the humbling journey of earning a pilot's license.

47:36 – Scaling to 8 Figures: The reality of $80M in revenue—managing the complexity of lawsuits, the law of large numbers, and the shift from playing offense to defense.

56:05 – Marriage & Community: Why your spouse is your most accurate 360-degree mirror and why every man needs a tribe of peers where the whiteboards are put away and authentic connection takes center stage.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this raw and deeply personal episode of Great Men, Shane Sams and Jason Brown reconnect to discuss the high cost of climbing the wrong ladder and the rediscovery of self after achieving societal markers of success. They dive into the "vision board trap," where hitting every goal leads to an empty reality, and explore the courage required to stop digging when you find yourself in a financial or emotional hole. From Shane's transparent account of his 2024 mental health crisis and journey through ketamine therapy to Jason's perspective on finding peace over constant achievement, the conversation moves through the heavy realities of losing parents and the vital importance of building an intentional brotherhood. It is a powerful exploration of leading teams with purpose, defining your own blueprint for life, and showing up for the friends who stand in the gap when the dam breaks.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

What happens when the "dream business" you built starts feeling like a nightmare? Many entrepreneurs scale their way into a corner, hitting massive revenue milestones only to realize they've traded their freedom for a high-stress job they can't quit. In this episode, Shane Sams sits down with Greg Hickman, founder of Alt Agency, to dismantle the "million-dollar business" myth and explore how to build for longevity and lifestyle.

Greg shares his journey of moving past borrowed goals—those arbitrary success metrics we inherit from the "hustle culture" around us—and introduces his Time-Energy-Money Framework. Instead of solving for profit first, Greg argues that we must first define how we want to spend our days and where we want to focus our energy. By reverse-engineering your business to fit these constraints, you can escape the "swamp of success" and create a model that actually lasts for the next 25 years.

• The Evolution Trap: How scaling just for the sake of scaling often leads to the "swamp of success" (the $1M–$3M revenue range) where fulfillment often takes a backseat to complexity.

• The Identity Shift: Why admitting you want a smaller, leaner, more profitable business is often harder than the actual work of building it.

• Reverse-Engineering Success: Greg breaks down his framework for business design:

  1. Time: What does your ideal week look like?

  2. Energy: Which tasks drain you and which fuel you?

  3. Money: What is the actual minimum you need to live that ideal life?

• The AI Landscape: Why the future of coaching and consulting relies on "analog" human connection and small, high-revenue teams rather than massive, bloated agencies.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, Shane Sams sits down with real estate investor and entrepreneur Dustin Heiner, founder of Master Passive Income, to talk about financial freedom, purpose, and what it truly means to live as a great man. Dustin shares his journey from being unexpectedly laid off with four kids to building a portfolio of more than 30 rental properties, a turning point that forced him to rethink income, security, and personal responsibility. The conversation explores why solving the income problem can unlock deeper freedom in life and how financial peace creates the space to focus on faith, family, and service.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, Shane Sams sits down with writer, entrepreneur, and educator Joe Nicoletti of UnchainedWriter.com for an honest conversation about living with adult ADHD. Both Shane and Joe share their journeys toward diagnosis, including how noticing symptoms in their children led them to seek answers for themselves. They talk openly about the emotional impact of finally understanding their brains, the stigma surrounding medication, and why ADHD is often overlooked in high functioning adults who appear successful on the outside while struggling internally.

The conversation also dives into practical strategies that help ADHD entrepreneurs thrive, from visual calendars and noise canceling headphones to body doubling, real time journaling, and building systems that work with their wiring instead of against it. Shane and Joe also explore the surprising strengths that often come with ADHD including creativity, hyperfocus, and pattern recognition. Rather than viewing ADHD as something to fix, they discuss how learning to steward their unique wiring has helped them become better fathers, leaders, and entrepreneurs.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, Shane sits down with Eric Beck, founder of Founder's Fire, for an honest conversation about burnout, identity, and the hidden cost of being a founder. They explore how burnout does not just exhaust you in the present, it burns up your future, often requiring far longer recovery than anyone expects. Eric unpacks the warning signs of being functional on the outside while quietly unraveling on the inside, and how many founders wake up to an identity crisis after years of building something that no longer fits who they are becoming.

Together, they challenge the cultural pressure on men to always finish what they start, even when wisdom says it is time to let go. The conversation moves into deeper territory around grief, embodiment, and rebuilding from the inside out. Shane reflects on learning to grieve as a skill and the freedom that comes from admitting "I don't know." Eric introduces ideas from Alfred Adler, the danger of sunk cost thinking, and the need to reinterpret your past so it does not trap your future. They also discuss the role of physical edge work, parts work, and brotherhood in helping men move from hiding to authentic mission. This episode is a grounded look at what it means to outgrow your old identity and build a new one with intention rather than fear.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms. No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps. Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life. End the war within. Find peace without. Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, Shane sits down with professional speaker and sales coach Clinton Young for a raw conversation about intuition, inner work, and rebuilding after loss. Clinton shares how the 2008 financial crisis forced him to confront a hard truth. He did not fail because he lacked instinct. He failed because he ignored it. Fear and greed drowned out the quiet signals that were already there. From that collapse came a deeper awakening and a commitment to go inward instead of constantly chasing external answers.

Clinton introduces his Black Sheep Habits, including meditation, contemplative walks in nature, journaling, and visualization. These practices help entrepreneurs quiet the noise and reconnect with their internal guidance. The conversation also centers on brotherhood and the isolation many men experience. Shane and Clinton talk honestly about marriage, ambition, presence, and why your wife cannot be your only emotional outlet. Growth requires awareness, grief, and community. The answers may already be inside you, but trusted men walking alongside you help bring them to the surface. You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms. No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps. Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life. End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, I sit down with Rocky Lalvani for a conversation every man needs to hear. Rocky built wealth. He checked the boxes. He "won." But then he hit the question most successful men eventually face: You got rich. Now what? We talk about why good enough is the enemy of great, how chasing external milestones never fixes internal emptiness, and why so many men wake up one day realizing the checklist did not create the happiness they thought it would.

We dig deep into inner work. Not fluffy self help. Real work. The kind that forces you to confront the programming you picked up between ages zero and seven. The stories you tell yourself. The layers that keep revealing more layers. Rocky shares practical tools that any man can use today, from breathwork that changes your state in minutes to simple phone boundaries that protect your peace. We talk about somatic work and why men live in their heads instead of their bodies. We talk about grief and why anger is easier. We talk about running into the storm like a buffalo instead of running away like a cow. And yes, we even address psychedelics, plant medicine, and why integration matters more than the experience itself.

If you have built something on the outside but still feel unsettled on the inside, this conversation will challenge you. The goal is not just success. The goal is wholeness. Love leads to sacrifice. Sacrifice leads to grief. Grief leads to resurrection. That is the path.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this episode of Great Men, Shane Sams sits down with Grant Baldwin, founder of The Speaker Lab, for a thoughtful conversation about male friendship, business identity, and what it looks like to navigate life transitions in your 40s. Together, they unpack why so many men struggle with isolation, how friendship often fades as careers and families grow, and why intentional connection with other men is not a luxury but a necessity. They explore the difference between venting and actually processing life with trusted friends, and why men so often lack spaces where vulnerability feels safe.

A central part of the conversation focuses on Shane and Grant's long-running annual houseboat retreat. For more than a decade, a small group of friends has gathered for a few days with no agenda, no schedule, and no expectations beyond showing up. They reflect on how time away from phones, routines, and productivity creates room for deeper conversations that rarely happen in quick coffee meetings or group texts. Being in nature, slowing down, and simply being present together has become a grounding rhythm that strengthens friendships in a way nothing else quite can.

The episode also dives into business evolution and identity. Shane and Grant talk honestly about how businesses have shelf lives, how dangerous it can be to tie your sense of worth to professional success, and why it's healthy to expect your career to evolve every few years. They challenge the idea that success looks the same for everyone, emphasizing that each person gets to define their own version of winning. From making peace with changing direction to learning how to decide without full certainty, this conversation offers a grounded, refreshing take on growth, masculinity, and what it means to build a meaningful life over the long haul.

You're already a good man. Now become great on your own terms.

No fake alpha nonsense. No paint-by-numbers 'family man' checklists. No endless trauma dumps.

Get unstuck and reclaim your power in work, relationships, fatherhood, and life.

End the war within. Find peace without.

Learn more about The Great Men Project at https://www.greatmen.org

In this powerful episode of Great Men with Shane Sams, Shane sits down with James Smith — a dynamic speaker, mentor, and storyteller whose life journey embodies resilience, authenticity, and faith.

James opens up about his childhood, the significance of names, and how his upbringing shaped his passion for helping others. He and Shane dive into the fears that hold people back — including the universal fear of public speaking — and how James overcame his own to build a career inspiring audiences around the world.

Listeners will hear about James's time as a lobbyist and real estate investor, and how those experiences reinforced his belief that authenticity is the key to true connection. The conversation turns deeply motivational as James shares stories of redemption, including his work mentoring veterans and former felons, proving that hope and second chances can transform lives.

Shane and James also discuss mindset, adversity, and the role of faith when life gets tough. They share personal experiences of setbacks, health scares, and the lessons learned along the way. James's stories — from encounters with figures like Nick Vujicic and the late Charlie Kirk to hilarious and unpredictable onstage moments — will inspire you to find meaning, courage, and laughter even in life's toughest seasons.

The episode wraps with James encouraging listeners to embrace their purpose, chase greatness, and live boldly. Learn more about his work at jamessmithseries.com and tune into his podcast for more wisdom and inspiration.

Frameworks and community at greatmen.org.