Having been a coach for over 6 years it’s easy to begin to see patterns and similarities in the people that come to seek our services. With men, we often see a trend that runs underneath the surface but can, and does, show up in many different ways.
Whether it is lost health, unfulfilled relationships, dead-end jobs or basic overall malaise, underneath it all what we really see is that many men have lost their fire.
When I was a young boy I used to dream of a life of adventures, travel, experiencing the great outdoors, and cultures from all over the world.
Lack of vitality, complaining to co-workers, appeasing upper management and people I had little respect for was never my vision for my life. However, as I got older, the very same people that encouraged me when I was young that I could be whatever I dreamed of being were now some of the very same people welcoming me to “the real world” and selling me lines of resignation such as, “well this is just the way things are.”
And guess what?... I bought it.
Before graduating college, I was on track with all those dreams I had mentioned earlier. I spent 4 years living in the Rocky Mountains in Missoula, MT. I spent time living in Rome, Italy and traveling throughout Europe and North Africa and my adventure list was filling up by the moment and the fire within my spirit was well lit.
But as my friends starting getting jobs and “real world” bills started to come in I began to let that fire inside me diminish. So I spent my 20’s trading my dreams of adventures for the promise of higher paychecks; exchanged climbing mountains and trees for climbing the corporate ladder and gave up the boulders and streams in Mother Nature for bar stools, cheap beer and shallow conversations.
And yet, on paper, it looked like I had it all. By the age 27 I owned my own home, drove a Mercedes Benz, had a beautiful girlfriend and was VP of a company that I was being groomed to take over one day that was worth millions of dollars.
All the while, my spirit was crushed and my fire was out.
One day, I noticed my relationships suffering, I had gained weight, I wasn’t sleeping, anxious, had my life run by my phone and emails and looked to my future and saw ill health and unfulfillment. I knew I had to make a dramatic shift.
I distinctly remember in that moment having a conversation with my mother who asked one very simple question and the answer I gave her would shape the entire rest of my life.
Mom: “What is it that you truly want?”
Me: “I want to be part of the solution. And right now I feel like I am part of the problem.”
That was it. As simple as it sounds that one conversation changed the trajectory of my entire life from that moment on. I walked away from it all. All the promises of the typical American Dream future that had me stuck, hopeless and miserable and set out to create a new possibility of an unprecedented future where my destiny was in my own hands.
I dedicated my time and energy to learning everything I could about health, fulfillment, happiness and most importantly, how to guide people to creating it for themselves. I walked away from millions in promised income and found that every smile and shift I was coaching into people was worth far more than any dollar amount that I could have ever imagined.
It took time, but the journey of creating a life of purpose, meaning and fulfillment is one that I would never trade for all the money in the world. I now live by my own standards, principles and freedom. It is truly the greatest gift that I have ever received or given to myself.
Since that conversation with my mom, I have coached thousands of people to optimum health and to create a life of passion, purpose and fulfillment. I do it for a few reasons:
- I strongly believe it is my purpose in life to support people to create freedom
- I know that I will never be truly happy unless I am living a life that positively contributes to others.
- What the hell else would I want to do and dedicate my life to???
The Vital Guide is one of the “Solutions” that my business partner and I have come up with to support men as they undergo this journey of purpose, fulfillment, freedom and self discovery. Our program, Ignite Your "10" Life, is a guide and support system for men, no matter where they find themselves on their path. We created it to help men get clear on where they are, and what is in the way of where they desire to go.
It is our passion to be of service to those that seek a life of purpose. Our goal is to create a community of men that are committed to supporting each other’s destinies and dreams.
We realize that we, ourselves, cannot light the fire that is within anyone, but we can be the fuel that has men choose to reignite it themselves.
What are you waiting for? The life of your dreams awaits. Join our free Ignite Your "10" Life program and let's get started.
In health,
Michael