The Modern Man Podcast

"Most people who find success are people like me who are too dumb to quit… You are your own champion. Nobody else is going to choose you to stand out front. You get to choose yourself and become that champion." -Donnie Boivin

The first step in chasing our dream is knowing how much it's worth. (Read that again.)

One of the common traps we will encounter in our journey is the trap of going back to a "safe" space when life takes a sudden turn. But we want to remind ourselves that the most important thing about our dream isn't how great it is, but rather how much time and effort we put into it from day one. Our dream will increase in value only if we don't stop working towards it in the first place!

In this episode, I sit with Donnie Boivin, the CEO of the Success Champions family of companies. Donnie was successful at what he does— sales. He knows how to make a sale easy and he can talk about it with burning passion anytime. But when this one thing was taken away from him, not only was his dream crushed, but he also felt what most of us, men, feel— a mix of negative emotions when we know we let our loved ones down, and worse, we let ourselves down.

One evening, he was invited to dinner and his business partner told him something that changed his life forever. What was that conversation about? And how did he go from almost losing everything he had to owning a network of companies, being a top podcast host, and having 5 best-selling books?

Listen in as Donnie and I talk about how we can champion our own success, why we should not let the promises of a "secure job" depreciate the value of our dreams, how a true CEO thinks and acts, and how we can build a business so that we're not creating "just another job" for ourselves but enjoying the freedom of being able to follow our dreams.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

01:51 One Fateful Dinner

06:59 When You're About to Lose It All

11:24 2 Choices

18:26 Champion Your Own Success

22:08 How a CEO Acts

28:44 Two Types of Fear

34:57 How to Meet Your Real Self

39:24 Recap

"There's a lot more than what we see and hear and taste and smell and feel. There's a lot more to life." -Ali West

Life can change in a moment. A new job, a new relationship, the death of a loved one, or other circumstances can throw us off our game and send us reeling. When this happens, it's tempting to try and make sense of it by thinking about ourselves in terms of how we've always been defined by our past.

But this is not how we want our lives to be. We want them to be shaped by our own choices, by who we choose to be, and by what we choose to do.

Please join me again for an inspiring conversation with Ali West, the co-founder of Kinetik Fitness as we talk about how to navigate the constantly changing winds in our journey, how important communication skill is in anything that we do, what form of meditation works for our individual needs, how we can break the negative cycles in our life so as not to pass them to the next generation, and how to get all in on ourselves.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

00:59 When Your Path Takes a Sudden Turn

05:26 How Important Communication Skill Is

10:28 Put Yourself First

13:45 What Happened in Sedona?

18:48 Meditation— How to Make It Work For You

24:13 Meditation and Your Learning Style

31:03 Ask for Help

33:35 Recap

"These tactics work, but it's dangerous. No business is 100% guaranteed to work so you just want to make sure you've done your due diligence in your research." -LaJuan Hughes

If you're like most business owners, you understand the importance of good credit. After all, your credit score can make or break your ability to get financing for your business.

But what you may not realize is that your personal credit can actually be a powerful tool in helping you get business credits fast. Of course, this isn't a decision to be made lightly.

In this episode, we will talk about how we can get business credit fast with financial expert and content creator, LaJuan Hughes. LaJuan grew up around successful businessmen and women, some even in his own family circle. Although he didn't recognize it at first, the wisdom and strategies on how to run a business was engraved in his mind and heart. Today, LaJuan helps other aspiring business owners in any way he can.

Listen in as LaJuan and I talk about why using our personal money to fund our business is not a good idea, why credit and business always go together, how we can manipulate our personal credit to our advantage, how we can leverage our personal credit to get business credits fast, how we can get 0% APR, and how we can avoid failure in business.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

01:29 The Entrepreneurial Bug Strikes Again

06:16 Warning: Doing Business with Friends— Is It Wise?

12:44 The Most Effective Way to Get Business Credits Fast

16:22 The Power of Leverage

19:52 Common Missteps in Raising Funds

23:20 Get 0% APR

26:35 How to Avoid Failure

34:11 Recap

"Don't do something that you can't see yourself doing for the rest of your life." -Steve Lutsk

Finding time to exercise and get in shape is a real struggle for us, men. After all, there's always something else to do—whether it's changing diapers or making dinner, or running our business.

But here's what I know: if we're going to be healthy and fit for life, then we need to make time for ourselves. In fact, if we look closely, we have lots of opportunities to make small changes in our lives that will help us feel good about ourselves and get healthy in the process.

The problem is that we've been trained to think that a healthy lifestyle is something that only the most hardcore of people can achieve. But guess what? Being healthy isn't a competition between you and your body. It's not about how many squats you can do or how many miles you run every week. It's about making sure your body has the tools it needs to function at its best, in any situation, while still being fun and enjoyable. It doesn't have to be so complicated!

We have to remember that our fitness journey is as important as the other aspects of our lives. Therefore, I am thrilled to interview LA personal trainer, Steve Lutsk in this week's episode. Steve has gone from being a skinny-fat nerdy Jewish kid to a fitness pro. Seeing how much this is affecting his social life and self-esteem, he finally decided to make small changes. Steve has been helping his clients get rid of their dad bods and be in shape for 10 years now.

Listen in as Steve and I talk about how much time we really need to get fit and you'd be happy to hear that it's not that much! We also discuss facts about intermittent fasting, fasted workouts, diet tips, the importance of tracking our progress, how the quality of our sleep affects our results, and the best way to start our fitness journey, and more!

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

02:24 How Much Time Do You Need?

06:28 What You Need to Know About Intermittent Fasting

11:44 Fasted Workouts

16:22 Track Your Progress

19:19 Sleep and Rest

23:47 Diet Tips

28:15 Where to Start

31:41 Recap

"We know what we're capable of, therefore, we suppress it. It's capable of so much bad and it's capable of as much good in the world. And we're robbing the world of that good by completely dismissing it." -Dylan Roos

Boys are often taught that being a man is about being tough, taking charge, and never showing weakness. This idea is so deeply embedded in our culture that it's hard to even imagine that it could be wrong.

But this view of masculinity can be extremely damaging to boys who are being raised by parents who believe that "tough" is the only thing that matters in life. It's time for us to challenge this idea and discover the path to real manhood. It's time we transform into real men—men who are strong, but also kind and compassionate.

This week, I got to sit down with Masculinity Coach and Mentor, Dylan Roos. Dylan's mission is to help young boys transition to manhood through The Prince to King Method. Once a troubled young man, Dylan understood what it felt like to lose a sense of direction and to drown in overwhelming emotions. But Dylan also learned that being a man takes courage to embrace the discomfort that growth brings.

Listen in as we discuss the biggest drivers to our perception of masculinity, how we can heal our wounds as men, how comfort makes us sick, how to deal with isolation and loneliness in men, and how being vulnerable brings more benefit than we can imagine.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

01:44 The Transition from Boys to Men

05:34 How Important Role Models Are

10:32 Why Toxic is Not for Masculinity

14:56 Comfort— A Modern-Day Plague

18:26 Isolation and Loneliness in Men

23:23 Vulnerability is Real Strength

29:05 Create a New Reality

33:59 The Danger Behind What Society Values Most

38:44 Choose Your Role Model

41:32 Recap

"You are only responsible for your action or inaction. That's half the equation. What's the other half? All outcomes… belong to God." -Joseph Warren

Anger and stress can be a massive drain on our personal lives and careers. They not only take a toll on mental health, but they can also impact our relationships— with other people and most importantly, with ourselves. Feelings of anger or frustration cause us to lash out at others unwittingly.

Moreover, male anger is often mislabeled as aggression or hostility. This makes it difficult for us, as men, to express our emotions or ask for help when we're having a hard time. Besides, it can also lead to poor performance at work because it makes it difficult to focus on what needs doing.

It's easy to get caught up in anger and lose track of what's important. That's where stress comes in. So instead of focusing on how angry or stressed out we feel right now, we can choose to focus on finding ways to deal with these feelings so they don't become overwhelming or damaging.

In this episode, I got to sit down with the #1 Podcast Host of Broken Catholic and Your FIRST $100K and spiritual coach at The Men's Anger Coach™. Joseph started his business at 19 and was able to semi-retire for some time. However, the dark side of success had him covered in dark clouds. He was filled with anger and anxiety, his wealth was exhausted, and he almost lost his life on many occasions. Until… he found his greater purpose in life and his life began to turn around— both in his personal life and career.

Joseph and I discuss how to blow up these rocks that hinder our growth. We also talk about the real cause of anger and stress and the necessary steps we need to take in order to manage these emotions. These steps are not easy, but as Joseph says, are guaranteed effective. How do we know? Tune in to find out!

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

01:09 From Anger and Stress to Peace and Purpose

07:57 Master Your Anger and Stress Step 1: Outrageous Ownership

13:27 Step 2: Radical Responsibility

15:47 Step 3: Loving Leadership

19:47 Step 4: Spiritual Surrender

25:23 90 Days Guarantee

30:18 Are You Ready?

32:49 Recap

"Compassion is a place of understanding without judgment. And in compassion, we can create change." -Jonathan McLernon

When it comes to weight loss, self-love, and holistic health, the connection between the three is more apparent than ever. Popular culture has made it clear that the first two are synonymous with the third, but the truth is much more complicated than that.

Many people follow diet trends and weight loss tips without taking the time to understand deeper why they do them in the first place. Their goal is to follow a standard taught to them by society. But that standard is often motivated by self-loathing and being unhappy with the person they are inside out.

Our guest this week, Nutrition and Fitness Coach, Jonathan McLernon explains that there's a lot more to a healthy lifestyle than just what goes into our body. It's not just about calories and macronutrient ratios— it's about self-love.

Join us as we attach a deeper meaning to self-love and reframe what we already know about self-care. Coach Jon and I also talk about how healthy food choices may even be faster than fast food, how weight is not a problem but a symptom, why brain-driven weight loss is more effective, how health is affected by many other factors besides food, and how we can lose not only weight but our old, self-sabotaging self.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

02:49 Ending the Endless Restlessness

09:07 The Link Between Emotion and Food

14:06 The Spark of Transformation

17:35 The Brain-Driven Weight Loss

22:14 Faster Than Fast Foods

26:33 Health Beyond the Food Factor

30:03 There's a Journey to Be Had

36:15 Recap

"In order to scale effectively, we have to be completely removed from the day-to-day operations in the business." -Patrick Rogers

A scalable business is a company that is profitable but also has the potential to become even more profitable, without the owner being directly involved in its day-to-day processes.

Creating a business model like this can be tough. But there are ways to can create a scalable business that can be successfully exited—and it doesn't have to come at the expense of our integrity.

Exit Planning Advisor and serial entrepreneur Patrick Rogers joins me this week for a powerful conversation on business building. Patrick has mentored CEO's and business leaders to achieve their goals and transform their organizations into successful entities positioned for a profitable exit.

In this episode, Patrick and I discuss the signs that a company has high growth potential, how to balance our life triangle (relationships, career, and self), the drivers that affect the value of a company, three processes that affect the scalability of a business, and critical attributes that every business owner should possess. Our goal as an entrepreneur should be to make our business as successful as possible— and that's exactly the core of our discussion. Join in!

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

03:14 Signs of a Growth Potential

07:53 Stop Running Away

10:14 What is a Scalable Business?

15:38 Why Entrepreneurs Sell Their Business

21:57 Risks that Prevent the Sale of a Business

25:15 How to Make Your Company as Successful as Possible

27:25 Recap

"Asking 'why?' is a valid question for a period, but it's not a place you want to live. You have to make a conscious decision not to live in that place." -Phil Cohen

All of us have experienced loss- whether it's a person, a job, a relationship, or a property. And we know so well that there's no way to describe the intensity of the pain we have to go through.

During the grieving process, we see everything in black and the question of 'why?' only made it worse. We seek answers to make sense of what happened, but there's nothing. Eventually, we drown in grief and can't seem to get out .

Therefore, it's important to understand that grief isn't something we can just get over with. It's a natural, healthy response to loss. It may feel like we'll never be able to move on, but if we let ourselves get stuck in that place, our loss will only have more power over us.

It often takes a long time and a lot of effort to move forward— we just have to be patient. We remember, we grieve, we heal— but we don't have to do all of those things at once.

The day Phil Cohen lost his son was also the day he almost lost himself. Every single day of the search and rescue operation was filled with anguish and also hope that his son, Perry, who was only 14 at that time, would be safe and alive. The darkest days eventually came when he was told that his son might never be found again. To a parent, this would be a death sentence. Years later, we see Phil still remembering every moment of that day- but no longer with a heavy heart, but as a man with passion and sincerity.

Listen in as Phil and I talk about where we can catch a gleamer of hope when we feel we can never recover from our pain, the unspoken truths about grief, the 3 R's of healing (Reflect, Repair, React), how we can surpass the stage of acceptance and live our purpose, and a fine lesson about weathering the storms from cows and buffaloes.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

02:45 A Really Bad Storm

05:14 Misconceptions About Grief

10:48 Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows

15:40 The Lies Men Were Taught to Believe

19:47 The 3 R's of

22:11 How to Surpass Acceptance

26:08 Recap

"You need some help yourself and it's hard to switch to that mindset. But if you don't do that, you can't possibly be the type of person who's going to give your 100% effort to help other people." -Scott DeLuzio

Asking for help doesn't make us weak. It makes us strong!

There's a lot to be said for how men can build each other up. But sometimes, some of us men just don't know how to ask for help. It's not that we're trying to be rude or ungrateful—it's just that we've been taught from a young age that it's not polite to ask for help, and so we don't do it. But what if being a man means giving ourselves permission to ask for help?

This week, I got to sit with Surviving Son author Scott DeLuzio to discuss why asking for help is something we should start practicing. Scott is an author, podcast host, and war veteran. He and his brother Steven were deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Sadly, Scott lost his brother in the war. Following his transition to civilian life, Scott found it hard to overcome his grief and trauma. He almost lost his way, until he decided to man up and do what most of us are afraid to do— ask for help.

Listen in as Scott and I talk about the biggest lesson we can learn about mental health, how we can give voice to the voiceless, why it's necessary that we share our story to the world, and how we can overcome the fear of asking for help.

Connect The Modern Man:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Highlights:

03:59 Joining the Military

09:52 The Nightmare of the Surviving Son

14:00 Overcoming PTSD

19:43 The Biggest Lesson on Mental Health

22:38 Ask For Help

27:23 Giving Voice to the Voiceless

31:11 Don't Take Your Story to the Grave

33:00 Recap