The Mark Groves Podcast

This week I was over the moon to be speaking with my dear friend Kelsey Grant. Kelsey is an absolute goddess on all things relationships, intimacy, and sex! We got really real on intimacy in every way, how sex relates to connection and visa versa. We got into the juiciest parts of relationship and shared our own pasts on the highest highs and lowest lows - commitment, patterns, past hurts, cheating, breaking up, growing and knowing ourselves.

Episode Highlights

5min: Sexual intimacy and communication - whats the link?

8min: The vulnerability in sex - can you hide yourself and still enjoy climax?

10min: The differences between men and women when it comes to sex and connection.

12min: Integrity, cheating and shame.

14min: Pleasure and growth, how we change over time.

17min: Connection to self and ghosting, looking at it from both sides. When Mark was like a “Mt Everest Basecamp” of red flags

20min: Honesty in dating - are you dating just to date - to find a partner - to just have fun?

21min: Narcissism is a massive buzzword at the moment, but is it really narcissism?

25min: Taking responsibility in relationships and in life. You aren’t responsible for anyone else’s behaviour, but you are responsible for your own.

29min: The power dynamic in ‘saving’ someone.

32min: Breaking up and moving into a new relationship.

34min: Infidelity, the pain, the grief and the healing.

39min: Finding self love through our suffering.

43min: Mark’s ‘yoghurt and granola breakup’ story, what breakups are here to teach us.

54min: Kelsey’s relationship with a well known public figure - the deeper the connection the deeper the triggers and fears.

56min: Finding safety when we are in fear from past triggers.

59min: Trust and friendships with the opposite sex, does your partner trust your opposite sex friends?

1.06min: Family enmeshment and intimate relationships, they don’t gel!

1.10min: Getting started in making connections when you’re single - building the relationship skill set .

Episode Notes

Kelsey Grant - My entire life has been focused around relationships and how to get the love you want. As I’ve grown and shifted my ideas of what I wanted evolved as I did. The person I have grown into has given me access to learning, experimenting and through direct experience understand that which I was searching for in a relationship.

 

When I found it I thought that was it. I was done. That area of my life was complete. There was one catch though. I hadn’t yet learned how to really love myself. So the relationship ended. The universe works in mysteriously incredible ways. The breakup was exactly what I needed to actually for once look at my relationship to myself and understand I was at cause for all I was experiencing. I finally had to take a real look at my self confidence, self esteem, self worth and self love.

 

Through my journey of self love I was able to repair relationships of all kinds in my life, build my self esteem and self worth to levels they had never been before and ultimately begin to be the love I had be so intensely searching for in another. Once I was able to build this relationship with myself my love life flourished along with all the other areas of my life.

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This week I was honoured to be joined by filmmaker Brendon Marotta. Brendon has just launched the ground-breaking documentary ‘American Circumcision’ on Netflix. We had an incredibly powerful, raw and real conversation on the issue of circumcision. We went deep on the trauma, pain and often undiscussed power that circumcision still holds in our society today. This is a topic that deserves so much more investigation and I am so passionate about bringing this topic to light. Don’t miss this episode.

Highlights

1min: Why did you end up working on the topic of circumcision?

4min: Circumcision is a cure in search of a disease - a cure for masturbation.

7min: The data behind circumcision.

10min: Women as supportive of the issue.

12min: Trauma and circumcision.

19min: The history of circumcision.

25min: The power of cultural conditioning.

28min: How and why is the conversation on circumcision changing?

31min: Who are the gatekeepers and powerhouses behind the conversation?

41min: Circumcision the documentary.

42min: Was there a backlash to the documentary?

49min: Healing from circumcision and early childhood traumas.

56min: Healing from grief.

Episode notes

Brendon Marotta graduated from the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts in 2010 with a B.F.A. in film editing & sound, where he worked in every major role on a film set. In 2013, he completed a year long Meisner Acting program at the Waterfront Playhouse & Conservatory. In 2014, a feature he edited was selected to premiere at the Austin Film Festival and won the Narrative Feature Audience Award there. In 2017, he completed his first feature-length documentary as director, which won Best Documentary at the Lone Star Film festival. Brendon currently lives in Austin, TX.

https://www.brendonmarotta.com/

@bdmarotta

Bonus features and full access to film at

circumcisionmovie.com

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Matt Corker is a CEO, MBA and ’a magician of human experience’, this week he joins me to discuss all things leadership and business. We discuss Matt’s latest venture The Corker Co, and how he is crushing it in the business world, not only by connecting with people but also by connecting people to each other. There are so many synergies between how we communicate and manage relationships at work and with how we communicate and manage relationships at home - but too often we see them as separate worlds.

We jam on the difference between being authentic and putting on roles for different contexts. How real are you at work and how is it impacting yourself and those you love?

Episode highlights:

6min: People don’t quit their job they quit their manager, is this true?

8min: Fulfilment and work, being an entrepreneur vs employee, what’s the difference?

15min: Authenticity and the roles we play, how to we manage different relationships in different environments.

19min: Being real and communicating at work vs at home.

21min: Energy and motivation at work, how the time of day can affect how we behave.

32min: Toxic bosses, harmful management tactics and where do these stem come from?

36min: Formal company values, vision and mission vs the dynamic and culture in informal conversations.

41min: Talking about relationships, sexual relationships and sexual harassment at work.

48min: Working in “the office” and how our work space setups affect us.

52min: What is transformational really? Is it a buzzword or something more?

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In this episode Mark Groves is joined by Stephanie Coontz, researcher, academic and author of seven books on marriage and family. They explore topics ranging from traditions, gender roles, the evolution of relationships in history and the more recent impacts of technology on relationships.

Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA and is Director of Research and Public Education at the Council on Contemporary Families. She has authored seven books on marriage and family life, including A Strange Stirring: ‘The Feminine Mystique’ and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s, The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. Coontz is a frequent guest columnist for the New York Times and CNN.com. Selected articles and tv appearances can be found at www.stephaniecoontz.com 

Highlights

3m30sec: The history of marriage - what was it’s purpose?

8min: The difference between love, relationships and marriage, what is the role of coercion?

20m40sec: What is the history of monogamy and polygamy?

28min: The changing perspectives of being single, partnered, married and what is the role of gender here?

35min: The role of tradition and gender, how does it impact on the happiness of a relationship? How egalitarian are couples and how does this impact on happiness?

42min: Women having the courage to speak out and the #MeToo movement, how the times have changed.

45min: How has technology changed relationships and marriages?

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In this podcast Mark Groves is joined by Dr. Jeremy Goldberg, writer, spoken word poet, marine biologist and PhD in social science. Mark and Jeremy discuss their personal evolutions as men, for Jeremy this has meant shifting from being an academic and PhD to becoming an artist. They also reflect upon the evolution of the modern man in today's world, what does it mean to be raised a boy today, what is school and society teaching boys, how do we break out of the stories and patterns and how we are all still on the journey home to ourselves.

Highlights:

3:15 - What is going on with men and #MeToo, why aren’t more men speaking up?

7:00 - Why do men struggle to speak up on emotions- are men emotionally castrated?

12:00 - The evolving man in society - what is the cultural shift toward opening?

21:00 - The modern education system - what is it teaching and not teaching for the modern life?

25:00 - Step out of the ‘story’ you’ve been taught about life, or get kicked out of it. How Jeremy shifted from being a PhD to artist.

31:00 - The fear and courage experienced when stepping into the unknown.

34:00 - The ‘big betrayal’ and can you betray yourself?

42:30 - We’re all on the journey still - anyone who says they have it all figured out is lying.

49:43 - Risk, resilience and living on your edge - learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

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I’m so excited to introduce this week’s episode with my best friend and love – Kylie McBeath. Love, Service, and Wisdom. Those are the three words that Kylie lives by. Her greatest mission is to help more people unleash their greatness, and find truth and alignment in life through harnessing their best resource: their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. She is also a Certified Health Coach and Transformational Life Coach and she works to empower women to move through shame, release anger, and align with their most aligned + powerful selves.

During this convo Kylie not only shares her relationship journey but also her journey as an entrepreneur and some amazing insights for how to grow into your voice, truth, integrity, and most true self.

Highlights:

11:10 – Kylie’s journey back to herself

16:10 – Breaking through the limiting messages sent to women

24:50 – How fear creeps into relationships

34:00 – Stepping into vulnerability and honouring commitments

46:20 – Trigger points and getting our needs met

54:00 – Clean anger vs aggression

Jam with Kylie:

Instagram

Zura Health

KylieMcBeath.com

Mate Magnet

Book Links:

Daring Greatly

Breaking Free

Loving Bravely

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This episode was such an honour to record and is one I could go on and on about for hours! In it I talk with Terri Cole, the New York-based, licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert and founder of Real Love Revolution & Boundary Bootcamp. Terri uses practical psychology, eastern mindfulness and harnesses the power of intention to create sustainable, positive behavioral change i.e. true transformation. Tune in as we talk about how childhood lessons about life form the blueprint of how we navigate our adult relationships around love. In addition to the highlights below are some amazing and practical tips on how to start understanding your own story so that you can heal old wounds and set new standards for what you actually want to create in your life.

Highlights:

11:55 – Your inherited love blueprint

15:10 – The difference between need and choice

18:00 – Why 5-step get love fast programs never work

21:45 – The 5 pillars of healing our relationship with love

31:15 – How to take back choice in how we love

38:00 – How to honour and heal triggering wounds

Resources:

www.terricole.com/livesingle

www.terricole.com/liverelationship

https://mark-groves.mykajabi.com/challenge

Connect with Terri:

Terri's Website

The Real Love Revolution

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

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Why does our relationship with money matter and how does it connect to our relationships with people? This episode is a must! In it, money boss Selina Gray and I unpack the connection between money, our pasts, stress, and of course, healing and freedom. Selina Gray is a CPA, CA & a money relationship expert with over 15 years of experience reinventing finance for individuals & businesses. Selina has helped thousands of people transform their relationship with money by focusing on emotions, money mindset & practical money optimization skills. She believes that everyone is capable of healing their money story and her approach cuts through all the bullshit beliefs that have been blocking you from healing your own. Tune in to get to the heart of what really matters in your life, and to make the change that lasts.

Highlights:

9:20 – uncovering your money memories

13:00 – Selina’s money mess

25:40 – how to be more excited about budgeting

32:30 – the importance of gratitude

34:00 – money archetypes

47:40 – healing money patterns in relationships

50:45 – how to start

Instagram

Facebook

The Richness Revolution

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This episode is the ultimate sandwich of inspiration, entertainment, and motivation. Branden has overcome obstacle after obstacle on his journey from poverty, to the ivy league, to Nike, to around the world, and back again. He takes us back to his days on the streets and talks about how he finally let go of the stories and scarcity of his past to take responsibility for the future he knew he wanted. Today, Branden Collinsworth is an internationally renowned human performance coach and works exclusively with several of the most impactful people in sports, music, and business. Branden has been endorsed and worked with brand giants, SUMMIT, Lululemon, Redbull, Dr.Oz, MTV and is currently a Master Trainer for Nike. Check out the highlights below, and get ready, set, go! 15:10 – why you should swear more 16:00 – Branden’s rock bottom turning point 20:35 – fight or flight 27:42 – the secret weapon of obsession 31:10 – success and worthiness 48:45 – the one thing you need to know to transform 54:00 – warrior retreats Instagram Warrior Retreats Nike Training Club

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Hands up if you learned as much about relationships in school as you did about pythagorean theorem. Ya, me neither. Meet Jayson Gaddis - relationship student & teacher, author, host of the Smart Couple Podcast, and founder of The Relationship School. He is on a mission to teach people the one class they didn’t get in school– 'How to do intimate relationships'. In this episode, we talk about how important it is to treat and train our relationship skills like muscles. Jayson drops some serious knowledge about the benefits of couples therapy (as well as why you might be scared to go), as well as what unconscious investments we all carry that keep us at our same old painful status quo. Let the class begin!

Highlight reel:

8:10 – how we disappear in relationships and how to connect instead

13:30 – recognizing false vulnerability

17:30 – tips for having the therapy talk with your partner

23:00 – steps to opening up and transforming within relationships

27:55 – working through disagreements with your partner

31:50 – the window of presence and vulnerability

43:15 – healing after a break-up or divorce

Links:

Relationship School

Instagram

The Smart Couple Podcast

 

 

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