The Imperfect Pod

How can men find their purpose in life? How can we discover our identity? At heaven's gate, will we recognize the man we are supposed to become? This episode is all about dreaming about the man you are trying to become and how we can build our legacy everyday.

Clay Smeltzer is a man who owns himself, loves his story, and lives with purpose. He does this as a Man, husband, father, teacher, baseball coach, author, speaker, and with his company Purpose Infused Coaching. Clay has lived a pretty normal life nothing fancy and nothing too out of the ordinary. He followed what he was supposed to follow, did what he was supposed to do but at the age of 35 sat on a couch next to his wife having a panic attack over a TV show. With everything going great around him he still felt lost, floating, ashamed, and not where he expected himself to be in life at 35. There were two roads derived in the woods and he chose the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.

You can find Clay on LinkedIn at Clayton Smeltzer, at his website, http://www.purposeinfusedcoaching.com/ (www.purposeinfusedcoaching.com), and on Instagram at @clay_smeltzer.

If you enjoyed this episode, please let me know by reaching out on LinkedIn at Luke West, on IG @theimperfectpod, or leave a review on iTunes!

During this time, it is hard to feel hope. Even pre-COVID it was hard. For young men, we can really feel lost as we navigate life. Why might this be? Jason's theory? One key aspect of it is the idea of having a verbal right of passage. A real life declaration that "you are a man". In his religion, that means a type of Father's Blessing. When this happens is really important. It is has roots in tribal cultures but it all comes around from being told that you are ready for the world. And I think that's really important for men to hear. To know that we are ready. To have the trust that we are ready. Otherwise, we feel lost throughout our entire lives. I really hope you enjoy this conversation with Jason.

Jason is the owner of SHFT Marketing, a brand and marketing consultation firm that helps small and growing businesses generate leads and increase revenue with custom marketing strategies. He also runs Ignite, a nonprofit geared to helping youth and young adults find their identity and live out their calling both in the U.S. and in Europe. He is a dog dad to a rescue pitbull, an avid lover of coffee, and Superman in disguise.

You can find Jason on LinkedIn at Jason Vana, on Instagram at @jasonpaulvana, on TikTok @jasonpaulvana or on Twitter @jasonvana

If you enjoyed this episode, please let me know by reaching out on LinkedIn at Luke West, on IG @theimperfectpod, or leave a review on iTunes!

In this week's episode we have Marques Ogden. Marques is an Ex-NFL player, husband, father of two daughters, and a keynote speaker. In this episode, we talk a lot about his childhood and how he was raised by a single father and how that shaped his life. We also discuss the habit and values that are important for young men to succeed, the mental strength you need to survive the NFL, the importance of communication in relationships and marriage, and how he has grown as a father.

At the age 27, Marques also founded a construction company called Kayden Premier Enterprises. The company had fast growth and in 2010, Marques won The African American Subcontractor of the Year Award in the state of Maryland. Eventually his business went bankrupt, losing almost 2 million dollars on one project in a matter of 90 days. During his darkest hours, he pulled himself together, got a part-time job as a custodian and with hard work and determination became an inspirational keynote speaker, and business leader.

Where you can find Marques:

Instagram: @marquesogden

Website: https://marquesogden.com/ (https://marquesogden.com/)

Youtube: Marques Ogden

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Success-Cycle-Achieving-Goals-Business/dp/1642931748 (The Success Cycle: 3 Keys for Achieving Your Goals in Business and Life)

When you grow up in a culture that makes fun of your traditional culture, it's not easy to embrace that side of you. You learn to hate it. To distance yourself from it. To refuse that you are that. For Savantloup, it was much of the same thing. He hated the fact that he was Sri Lankan because no one celebrated that side of him. As such, he became "white washed". He hated that he was brown. He wished he was white or black. However, that has recently changed. He grew to want to learn more about that side of himself and even the "SL" in his name represents his home country. It hasn't been an easy process, but this is something that happens to so many immigrants, and we as a society need to learn how to help our friends and fellow people be comfortable with who they really are, rather than shaming them for it!

Follow Up Friday where I take one clip or soundbite from this week's episode and respond to it. I wanted to reflect a bit more on my recordings and thought this was the perfect way to go about doing it. It allows me to analyze what my guest said, what I said, go deeper into topics, or just be like "wow this was a horrible take, Luke". Anyways, here is the latest episode! Let me know what you think over at @theimperfectpod on IG!

To Savantloup, his art is more than just rapper and it's more than just music. Born and raised in Toronto, Savantloup has been exposed to a wide variety of musical influences from around the world, which directly relates to the city’s multicultural demographic.

Using the music theory he’s acquired through years of experience playing various instruments, Savantloup has been able to successfully integrate techniques from different musical backgrounds. From performing concertos at 11, to helping lead his congregation at 13, he has been immersed in music from a young age.

With this is mind, he looks to generate a sound that matches his upbringing and cultural influence. His goal is to bring together people from all walks of life, and he hopes to be a source of inspiration, especially to those who feel that their voices are not always heard.

With this, Savantloup is trying to change the game the way he knows best. Attempting to stand out and compete in a sport with many greats. He wants to go beyond that which is known and be a voice for many.

On this episode, we talk racism, the importance of standing up for yourself, how to make music that makes you proud and the journey of trying to become one of the best. It's real talk about loneliness, doubt, pressure, learning, ego and growth. Stick around until the end for his music.

Also, you can find Savantloup and his music on Apple Music and Spotfy and on Instagram @Savantloup.

Why is it that Asian men are seen as "weak" in Western Culture? Is it the lack of representation in media? Is it because they are seen as thin/beta? Is it because of their "timidness"? Why are they always seen as nerds and doctors rather than as sexy and heroic? These are some of the themes of this week's Follow Up Friday where I take a small clip from this week's episode, play it back, and then share my thoughts on it. This is definitely something I want to have an entire podcast episode in the future, but for now, this roughly 5 minute clip will have to do!

Let me know what you think over at @theimperfectpod on IG!

On this episode, Godwin and I discuss how being an introvert can reflect your image of masculinity in both positive and negative ways. We also discuss his podcast, https://open.spotify.com/show/7eWFM8KvuVliqBPY502qtt?si=RCEIb7--R4-DkaFSC-2gWQ (Digital Introverts), therapy, how you can uncouple rewards and self-esteem, being an Asian man in a Western culture, and the affects of COVID-19 on racism.

Godwin is a recent grad with over three years of experience in nonprofit organization management, event planning, and molecular biology and bioinformatics research. He is currently the Assistant Event Manager of Discover Your Personal Brand (DYPB), a startup that offers personal branding events, development, training, and resources to empower working professionals to kickstart and maintain their personal brand journey. He is also writing his first book, titled “Digital Introverts: Why Today's Most Successful Individuals Harness Introversion to Thrive," which is expected to be published in December 2020.

You can find or contact Godwin at any of the following:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/godwinhschan

Twitter: twitter.com/godwinhschan

Instagram: instagram.com/godwinhschan

Facebook: facebook.com/godwinhschan

Medium: medium.com/@godwinhschan

Podcast: linktr.ee/digiintroshow

YouTube: youtube.com/user/godwinhoksumchan

If you have any more feedback, want to be on the show, or have ideas about potential topics of conversation, please feel free to message me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod). You can also find (im)perfect on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more so make sure to follow and subscribe on whichever platform you prefer. I hope you enjoy the episode!

This episode of Follow Up Friday is about Toxic Masculinity and trying to decode what it even means. The term is thrown around so loosely and can make good men feel isolated. However, we need to take a harder look in the mirror about whether or not we are part of it and how we can help men get out of it!

Hey (im)perfect listeners. Welcome to my series called Follow Up Friday where I take one clip or soundbite from this week's episode and respond to it. I wanted to reflect a bit more on my recordings and thought this was the perfect way to go about doing it. It allows me to analyze what my guest said, what I said, go deeper into topics, or just be like "wow this was a horrible take, Luke". Anyways, here is the first episode! Let me know what you think over at @theimperfectpod on IG!

On this episode, Mark Metry and I discuss his experiences with social isolation, suicidal thoughts, success, toxic masculinity and his upcoming book titled "Screw Being Shy: Learn How to Manage Social Anxiety and Be Yourself in Front of Anyone" which is available for pre-order https://www.amazon.com/Screw-Being-Shy-Anxiety-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0851NFSZW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=screw+being+shy+mark+metryandqid=1583324694andsr=8-1 (here). Mark Metry is a Tedx speaker and hosts a global, top 100 podcast called "https://www.markmetry.com/humans-2-0-podcast (Humans 2.0)", where he interviews some of the worlds top minds including Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Marc Randolph and more! His book comes out on March 14th and I highly recommend purchasing it. You can find him on LinkedIn at Mark Metry, on IG at MarkMetry, as well as his website https://www.markmetry.com/ (here).

If you have any more feedback, want to be on the show, or have ideas about potential topics of conversation, please feel free to message me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theimperfectpod/ (@theimperfectpod). You can also find (im)perfect on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more so make sure to follow and subscribe on whichever platform you prefer. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Hey (im)perfect listeners. Here's episode two of my new series called Follow Up Friday where I take one clip or soundbite from this week's episode and respond to it. I wanted to reflect a bit more on my recordings and thought this was the perfect way to go about doing it. It allows me to analyze what my guest said, what I said, go deeper into topics, or just be like "wow this was a horrible take, Luke". Anyways, here is the first episode! Let me know what you think over at @theimperfectpod on IG! The intro music is by @Savantloup, podcast coming out March 18th. Thanks for tuning in.