The Imperfect Pod

Thank you everyone so much for supporting me on this journey. This is the last episode of The Imperfect Pod. On it, I share some of my favourite memories, what is coming next, how I'm feeling, what I've learned and why I'm at peace with my decision. I will be back.

To find out when I will be back, make sure to follow me on Instagram @lukeblessed (my personal) or on my podcast page @theimperfectpod as I will probably be rebranding that when I start my next thing.

This show has changed my life and for that I am forever grateful. And I'm ready for what's next.

What do you do when you come from a family of dysfunction? How do you learn to be a man when your father is a serial cheater, drug dealer, gambler and prisoner? How do you navigate that life? How do break that cycle of poverty to create a life of wealth? These are some of the topics and themes that we discuss on this week's episode.

Other key themes of the episode include:

His family history and the trauma surrounding it

What is was like navigating the impact of his father's life

Being a logical person rather than emotional

How he responded to being called like his dad

Ensuring the choices he made were different than his father's

Creating a life of wealth so that his children can have a different life

Why judgement of people in pain his wrong

His close encounter with divorce

Why counselling has been his saving grace

What he's done to learn more about emotional wellbeing

And much more

About Anthony: Anthony Kenneth Spark is a successful Serial Entrepreneur, Money Coach, Philanthropist, Author, and Personal Development Specialist. At 18 years old, with a vision to change his family legacy and positively impact people in need, he was searching for a career . With a clear picture of the life he truly wanted, he began building a company of his own. That company has evolved into several industries and now does 7 figures of revenue involving an organization of over 250 people. We have as of November 2020 helped people pay off $3 million in Debt, earn over $3 million more per year in annual salary and save/invest 1.6 million. He had his first book, Phoenix Manifesto, published in 2018. Updated Audiobook to be released December 2020! Anthony is the cohost of ExtraOrdinary Excellence Podcast with over 21,000 downloads in its first year. He is the visionary and founder of Kickstrings - a social entrepreneurship project which raises funds and awareness for charities. You can connect with Anthony at his number 1-631-327-2241 (It's an iPhone too) or at his email [email protected]. You can read more about his company https://phoenixevolution.co/ (Phoenix Evolution).

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod) or shoot me an email at [email protected]

How can men heal from their alcoholism? What can they do to get out of their shame and guilt? Why are men more at risk of not getting help for this problem? These are questions that we discuss at length in this episode.

Other key themes of the episode include:

Where his own alcohol dependency started

How DNA and genetics play into the issue of alcoholism

Self-sabotage in the recover cycle

Why anger and shame are two emotions that are harmful in healing

Changing your neural pathways

Why Macho culture is hurting men in the long run

The difference between a Friday night drunk and a Friday night alcoholic

Distinguishing the drinker from the alcoholic

Why visualization is a powerful tool in recovery

Alcoholism as a disease

The power of routine in recovery

His own story with family, drugs and alcohol

University life and drinking and why it's unhealthy

and much much more

About Dr. Robb: Robb has overcome homelessness, alcohol dependency, trauma, and a whirlwind of events to be the "Gordon Ramsay" of the addiction treatment world. Before Robb succumbed to addiction and mental health issues, he played bass guitar at Abbey Studio with Queen, David Bowie, and Elton John. He is an accomplished musician, and the money he made helped him attend Oxford University to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology. Robb's work ethic is defined by helping the addict step out of their disease and into a solution. We work with everyday people, professionals, and celebrities who want to reach sobriety and live in sustained recovery through evidence-based modalities and a genuine therapeutic alliance. https://robbkelly.com/ (Website). Email.

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod) or shoot me an email at [email protected]

There are many resources out there for expecting women, but what about expecting men? What can they do throughout pregnancy to reflect, grow and serve their family? That’s exactly what we talked about on this episode!

Key themes of the episode include:

The difficulties of having a child during COVID

Picking the hospital you want to have your child at

The challenges that pregnancy can cause in relationships and how to treat your partner with respect

Navigating your wife’s wants, needs and cravings during the pregnancy

Being comfortable with role reversals and humbling yourself to serve

How expecting men can navigate their own selves to become more positive and change their mindset

Dealing with resentment and relationship hijacking with intentionality

Continuing to connect with each other and not focusing on the baby

The idea of the registry and why it might take away or threaten your ideas of masculinity

The expectation of men to provide and the stress that can cause for men and why we need to broaden the definition of provision

Finding valuable mentors and using relationships to become a better father

Resources for expecting fathers to learn about their upcoming journey

His excitement for being a girl dad

The home environment he grew up in and why he desires to be different than his father

How his relationship with his father has changed after knowing he was going to become a father

Looking 20 years into the future, what does being a successful father look like?

The biggest fear Geston has in his daughter’s first year on Earth

Is there such a thing as being over-protective?

About Geston: "GP" is an emerging leader, and speaker with a decade of combined leadership experience in the non-profit, and entertainment sectors. As a reality television competition champion, and multi-award nominated musician and recording artist, he has mastered the art and science of performing under pressure. He is passionate about helping people and organizations leverage their influence to make a lasting impact. As a pod-junkie, he serves as a podcast start-up consultant, and as a co-host to many podcasts. He ultimately aspires to inspire 1 billion people with his voice before he expires. You can find out more about him through his https://linktr.ee/GPThePodcastPlug (Linktree), by connecting with him on IG @https://www.instagram.com/gpthepodcastplug/?hl=en (gpthepodcastplug), or by connecting with him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/geston-pierre/ (LinkedIn).

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod) or shoot me an email at [email protected]

Sexual violence in society has gone down 60% in the last several years but there's still more work to be done. Whether that's from more male allyship, discussing it on a wider scale, stopping it when you see it happen or just changing your own behavior, the fact that this reprehensible act is still so prevalent is awful. On this episode, Tim Mousseau and I discuss everything sexual assault.

Key themes of the episode include:

Finding his identity as a human and man after his sexual assault

Why the way we talk about sexual assault in society is wrong

Why sexual violence as a crime can be hard for people to understand

How changing the way we talk about sexual violence will change our reaction to it

Why statistics about sexual assault only get us so far in the conversation

Understanding who should be handling sexual assault cases and how the system needs to do better by victims

Looking at sensitivity training and why it’s important

What laws are emerging that can help direct us to a better understanding of how sexual violence permeates different areas of society

What we can do to start engaging in conversations both as bystanders and within our communities

Why we need to look at the data and methodology of the research being done on these topics

Tying in the #notallmen conversation based on the current situation with Sarah Everard

Acknowledging the progress that we’ve made as a society on sexual assault when appropriate

Looking at high profile cases and whether they hinder or help the discussion

Innocent until proven guilty and the believe all women narratives

Best practices to stop sexual violence or harm in real time without putting yourself or them in danger

About Tim: Tim Mousseau is a survivor of sexual violence turned educator and advocate on this important topic. At the age of 22, Tim was faced with an incident of sexual assault. On top of this, Tim had to manage the stresses of workplace sexual harassment from his boss who used knowledge of Tim’s trauma to exert toxic control. Coming to terms with his experience, Tim recognized how it left him feeling powerless. He vowed no one else should ever feel the same way. For the last nine years, Tim has spoken with over 400 organizations including members of the United States Congress, top universities, and Fortune 500 companies across the world on the topics of sexual violence and harassment prevention. Tim’s research currently centers on how individuals set and maintain safety boundaries, along with a study on how to better engage men in sexual violence prevention work. Professionally, Tim received a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga and a Bachelor’s in Communication from the University of New Mexico. You can find out more about Tim and his resources on https://www.timmousseau.com/ (his website).

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod) or shoot me an email at [email protected]

On this episode, Johnson and I talk about the energetic and spirituality of masculinity from the East to the West, masculinity within the LGBTQ+ community and Asian masculinity. Disclaimer: This was recorded before the Atlanta Georgia mass shooting. Some themes might tie in but that was not included in the context.

Key themes of the episode:

Why there shouldn't be judgement on what is masculine vs feminine

How masculine and feminine energies shift from Eastern to Western societies

Religious trends of masculinity (dharma and ying and yang vs more rigid definitions)

The importance of exploring humanness... not just man and woman

What it's like to be a gay man and exploring masculinity

The intersectionality of Asian masculinity and LGTBQ masculinity

Looking at your childhood to understand your masculinity

How Asians take a softer approach to masculinity while the American way is more competitive

About Zach: Johnson Chong is the best-selling and award-winning author of Sage Sapien: From Karma to Dharma. He was the founder of Sagehouse in Singapore, a studio for yoga, Pilates, meditation and spiritual workshops and coaching. He is a native New Yorker, and has lived on 3 continents, currently based in Sydney, Australia. He specializes in helping people break free of their mental, emotional and spiritual roadblocks so they can live more aligned to their inner peace and joy versus their fears. Having worked with corporate professionals in various fields, he has a strong interest in working with members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized populations. He has also spoken and led workshops at companies like Unilever, Facebook, Nike, UBS, UOB and various other organizations. Johnson is known as a bridge between ancient wisdom and direct modern application. In his dynamic coaching style, he integrates the practical and most useful parts of yogic wisdom, meditation, somatic movement, energy medicine and shamanic journeying to help his clients breakthrough daily self-criticism and emotional overwhelm. The unique experiences that Johnson curates offer a profoundly healing self-discovery experience, followed by very practical and actionable steps to create the most powerful breakthroughs. As a certified InnerGuidanceTM coach, a Four Winds Energy Medicine Health Coach, and Reiki Master in conjunction with his background as an advanced E-RYT 500 Hr Yoga Teacher Trainer, and PMA Pilates Teacher Trainer, he has an expansive knowledge on the inner workings of human psychology and how it gets trapped in the physical and mental bodies. Johnson is the host of the Truth Wisdom Freedom Conversations podcast on Apple, Google and Spotify where he talks about holistic wellbeing with various conscious leaders in their field, and he also runs transformational retreats at www.exodusretreats.com. You can connect with him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/johnsonchong_sagesapien/ (@johnsonchong_sagesapien), on https://johnsonchong.com/ (his website), or his https://www.facebook.com/johnsonchongsagesapien?ref=bookmarks (Facebook).

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod) or shoot me an email at [email protected]

As the host of a masculinity podcast, I feel it is bring more men into the conversation regarding Sarah Everard and male allyship. This is not a problem that will go away unlee we bring more men into the conversation and help them see that it's not #notallmen until it's #nomen.

In this episode you will hear:

An overview of the Sarah Everard case

Public commentary and research on this issue

Why this is a problem in all social groups

The whistleblower effect

Why #notallmen is bullshit but also why I need to empathize with them

What continued allyship looks like

Here are some resources for you to check out as well:

https://canadianwomen.org/ (Canadian Women's Foundation)

https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures (UN Women)

https://www.thehotline.org/stakeholders/domestic-violence-statistics/ (Notional Domestic Violence Hotline)

This will only change once we educate ourselves on the problem and ADMIT that there's a problem.

As always, shoot me a message on Instagram @theimperfectpod or email me at [email protected] if you want to continue the conversation.

Welcome back to Just the TIP is where I do a short reflection on this past week's episode! On this episode, I give my reflections on my conversation with Zach Smith about a few topics including:

Why men are looking to build their legacy and why that fascinates me

How depression and anxiety can be linked to progress

Why the idea productivity and personal brand might be making us less fulfilled

Make sure to check out the full episode from Wednesday for more context and to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and more for daily content!

As always, reach out to me on Instagram @theimperfectpod, email me at [email protected] or join my FB group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/229891395146974 (The Imperfect Group).

On this episode, Zach and I talk about his solo hike trip across the Pacific Crest Trail and his biggest takeaways, as well as the positive influence of Bell Let’s Talk in the mental health community.

Key themes of the episode:

Why Bell Let's Talk is good for society

Why he went on his trip across the Pacific Crest Trail

What the feeling was like at the end of his trip

How much he missed ice in his drinks

Who his inspirations were for the trip (Jesse Itzler and Dave Goggins)

The importance of mindset in building your legacy

About Zach: At age 23, Zach set out on a solo hike from Mexico to Canada to raise money for youth mental health. The journey took 4 and a half months, and he was able to raise over $10,000 for a charity that specializes in youth mental health and youth peer mentorship. He is a young entrepreneur, scaling a digital content production company and sustainable e-commerce business SickBirdProduction. He has worked at numerous start-ups, and has a business degree in finance. He values personal growth, and challenging oneself to achieve greatness. https://www.instagram.com/zucc_smett/?hl=en (Zach's Instagram). https://www.sickbirdproduction.com/ (Zach's Website).

As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram @theimperfectpod or shoot me an email at [email protected]

Welcome back to Just the TIP is where I do a short reflection on this past week's episode! On this episode, I give my reflections on my conversation with Eldra Jackson about a few topics including:

Why there's no such thing as unhealthy emotions just unhealthy choices based on those emotions

The importance of giving men safe spaces and permission to feel

Why it might not be just mean who make men close themselves off

Make sure to check out the full episode from Wednesday for more context and to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and more for daily content!

As always, reach out to me on Instagram @theimperfectpod, email me at [email protected] or join my FB group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/229891395146974 (The Imperfect Group).