4 Experiences That Changed My Life Forever
King:
“Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire team-mates and customers.” – Robin S. Sharma
Every journey to greatness must start at rock bottom and traverse through the depths of internal struggle, pain & suffering.
This unpleasant chapter occurred to me when life gave me a direct wake-up call with a collapsed lung – twice at age 28. That’s when I decided to walk away from an 8-year Wall St. career. Despite a lucrative salary, the unbearable levels of stress and emptiness left my heart searching for something else. I was also suffering quietly inside – dealing with isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression. Confidence, self-awareness and a connection to my life-purpose were hugely lacking.
Shortly after completing my MBA in 2012, I sold everything & boarded a 1-way ticket to Thailand. People thought I was running away from something – but I was doing the opposite. I was running towards inner-peace, healing past traumas from childhood and figuring out my own definition of success and happiness.
Through the past 6-years of traveling around the world, I’ve discovered my purpose – coaching men on how to overcome the same struggles life gave me. Now my mission is to initiate men into their own Hero’s Journey, so they can emerge as Kings and leaders of their own lives. Filled with confidence, freedom and purpose. And ultimately using their unique gifts, talents and passions to leave behind a legacy they can be proud of.
Warrior:
“A warrior chooses a path with heart, any path with heart, and follows it; and then he rejoices and laughs. He knows because he sees that his life will be over altogether too soon. He sees that nothing is more important than anything else.” – Carlos Castaneda
What brought me to Thailand was a passion for Muay Thai. It helped me find inner-confidence and put me into a flow-state. Something I struggled with since I was constantly bullied at a young age.
At the same time, I started delving into personal development and reading books about life-mastery. As my self-awareness started to grow, I became curious about who I was.
I had a burning desire to intimately know myself by testing my physical boundaries, mental strength, discipline and commitment – in essence my warrior spirit. From this, I realized that modern society lacks initiations or rites of passage into manhood. There were no dangerous environments that could give me an opportunity to push or measure myself.
This urge to uncover my core being lead me train for my first professional Muay Thai fight.
The same techniques I discovered from dedicating myself to a warrior’s path, I teach to my clients to instill a bulletproof mindset with the same unstoppable confidence and courage to achieve their dreams and smash their goals.
Magician:
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass
On my initial trip to Thailand, I experienced meditation for the first time and this sparked an intrigue in me to further pursue. Later on, I would attend a Vipassana 10-day silent mediation retreat at a local temple in Chiang Mai.
This gave me a solid mental foundation to navigate my life with. I was able to look at the negative self-limiting beliefs and thought patterns that had been holding me back for years.
Another realization was I had been carrying years of heavy emotions ie. anger and resentment with me on a daily basis. Everything from living in a toxic fast-paced NYC lifestyle to childhood trauma had contributed to decades of stress and tension being built up – yet having no healthy ways to deal with these.
Meditation has given me an effective daily tool to help center my emotional world, find balance and achieve inner-peace – despite the ups-and-downs that life will inevitably throw at us.
In 2014 I flew to the Amazon and Sacred Valley of Peru for my first Ayahuasca and San Pedro retreat. I felt called to experience these medicines with the indigenous tribes to further my journey of emotional healing and expand my self-awareness.
The sadness and grief that had gripped my heart were replaced with positive thoughts which brought about self-acceptance and self-love – something which was missing from my early development as a child.
Despite being tough mental and physical ordeals to go through, these experiences were necessary in order for me to transform and grow. They left me feeling reborn and free, with a new set of perspectives to move through life with. It gave me a deep appreciation for everything and a sense of tranquility never experienced before.
The lessons and insights gained from meditation and plant medicine work have been critical to my evolution – and therefore I implement them through various forms in my coaching and retreats. So my clients can have similar results show up in their own lives.
Lover:
“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength.” – Crissi Jami
Society is a vital crossroads with masculinity and how men view themselves in the world. Traditional roles and outdated stereotypes are being questioned. Men are no longer satisfied with the one-dimentional definition of manhood. We’ve also lost access to older male role models, mentors, guides and wise sages who could pass along their wisdom and provide guidance during our young adult years.
From the past 6-years of travel, plant medicine ceremonies, reconnecting with nature and healing – I’ve been able to redefine my own unique definition to live by. Fully embracing both the masculine and feminine energies found within myself.
Besides having a more present relationship with myself, I’ve been able to show up more authentically in my external relationships. With family members, close friends, business associates and romantic partners, I’ve been able to bring a level of intimacy and vulnerability that was previously lacking in my life. There’s a depth to these relationships that sadly most people are scared to embrace. Resulting in loneliness, anxiety and depression.
You could summarize it all and say that the plant medicines have helped me to reconnect my head, heart and balls – all into alignment and acting in unison. Bringing joy, flow and gratitude on a daily basis.
And so this is another vital component to my coaching style – training men on Masculine Emotional Intelligence. Teaching them about self-awareness, the language of feelings and emotions, exploring their inner-world, vulnerability with their friends and family, the art of communication and intimacy and developing a spiritual practice to nurture their souls. It’s also about softening up, lowering our walls and taking off the protective masks that no longer serve us.
There’s nothing more powerful and courageous than a man living from the depths of his own heart and speaking his authentic truth – unafraid of what others may think.
Here’s what I can help you with, specifically
MY MAIN FOCUS IS TO HELP YOU create a fulfilling life, which means you:
- Feel free and confident as a strong, grounded, masculine man
- Discover and use your strengths and talents in career and personal life
- Feel open and authentic in your relationships with loved ones
- Heal past emotional trauma and inner-wounds so you can move forward
- Destroy any self-limiting beliefs and fears withholding your full potential
- Find clarity in your purpose, vision and mission, then go after it
- Create a life you are excited to wake-up to and accomplish your dreams