From Atheism to Spirituality with Coach Michael Taylor

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Hello and welcome to Real Men
Field.

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I'm your host, author, coach and
healer, Andy Grant.

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You can learn more about me by
visiting the andygrant.com.

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Real Men Feel reminds men that
they're human beings and have

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the right to experience and
express all of their emotions.

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We have conversations that most
men are not having, but that all

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men can benefit from.
My guest today is Michael

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Taylor.
Coach Michael Taylor is known as

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the irrepressible optimist with
a passion for the impossible.

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He is an entrepreneur, author of
16 books, a motivational

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speaker, a certified life coach,
and a podcaster who has

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dedicated his life to empowering
men and women to create

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extraordinary lives.
Michael and I discuss

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spirituality, religion, and
Jesus.

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As a life coach, Michael shares
some powerful stories on

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manifesting how.
God is like.

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Coke and what he sees as the
greatest challenge on the

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planet.
Let's do it.

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Hello Michael, and welcome to
REAL Men Feel.

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I am excited to be here, man.
It's been a minute.

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So we've been communicating on
Facebook for a couple of years

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and wow, here we are.
So glad to be here.

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Yeah, yeah, you're one of those
interesting, interesting

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Facebook friends that I I've
been friends so long, see your

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posts often commenting and
sharing, going back and forth,

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yet we had not talked until very
recently.

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So, yeah, I'm excited for this
too.

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So Michael, I know you're an
entrepreneur, a motivational

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speaker, a podcast host, radio
TV host.

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Is it?
Is it 15 books you've written?

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16 actually. 16 now and you're
also known as the irrepressible

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optimist with a passion for the
impossible.

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So my first question is, have
you always been such an

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irrepressible optimist, you
know?

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Interesting enough, the answer
is yes.

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And if there's such a thing as a
resilient gene, I got it from my

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mom because, you know, I was
born in her inner city projects

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of Corpus Christi, TX, to a
single mom with six kids back in

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the 60s.
And we were basically the postal

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children for poverty.
But my mom always instilled in

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me this sense of optimism.
I never remember a time hearing

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her bitch or complain about
anything.

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She just always found a way to
make things happen.

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And I think she kind of pass it
on to me.

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So I've always been pretty
optimistic.

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Talk about that, that powerful
impact of your mother was was

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there any male impact in in your
childhood?

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None at all, actually.
I had AI, had a grandfather that

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that dropped a few knowledge of
Nuggets of wisdom, but for the

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most part, very few male
influences.

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And I think that's one of the
reasons why I gravitated.

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I gravitated towards men's work
because I really longed for

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that.
I didn't have a relationship

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with my dad and I know that I
had friends that had

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relationships with their dad and
I kind of envied them a little

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bit.
And I guess because of that, you

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know, I actually became a really
good dad.

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I love being a dad.
I have 3 grown kids now but the

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male influence for me early was
just people I saw on television.

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In hindsight, perhaps you didn't
know when the time, but were

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those televised male role
models?

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For the lack of a better word,
were they?

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Were they a positive as
influence on you or a negative?

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Positive, extremely positive.
Interestingly enough, I remember

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in the 70s, you know, the
blaxploitation films where, you

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know, black men were pimps and
hustlers and you saw these

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negative stereotypes in
mainstream media.

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I never gravitated towards any
of those.

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I remember the first person that
really sort of I resonated with

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as a kid was Martin Luther King,
because I remember growing up

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once again in the 60s and seeing
all the racial strife and, and,

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and having actually in
elementary school, we had racial

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riots, believe it or not, in
elementary school.

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And I remember seeing this guy,
this black guy talking about

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peace, you know, and I just
thought, you know, despite all

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the, the fighting and the, the
racial division we had, here's

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this guy trying to bring people
together.

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And I just was always moved by
Martin Luther King.

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And did you ever get a chance to
see him live?

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No, did not OK.
Did not And so you mentioned

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that that longing for men's
work, longing for relationship

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with your dad was was it only,
as you saw, like friends or

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neighbors with with their
fathers?

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Is is it that comparison that
made you realize you were

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missing something?
No, and here's a unique story.

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When I was probably 10 years
old, I remember my dad spiked me

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for something and we had a house
that was up on cinder blocks and

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I could literally crawl under
the house and underneath the

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steps.
I had this little fun place

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where I'd go and I'd play with
my little hot wheel cars and

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that was my safe space, right?
And I remember my dad spanking

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me and I was under the house
underneath the steps.

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And I remember this the exact
thought when I grew up and have

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kids.
I'm not going to treat my kids

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the way my dad treats me.
I was probably 10 years old, but

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I remember that as though they
were yesterday because I

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remember just sitting or just
crying.

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And, and the the problem was, or
the issue was he spanked me for

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something that I didn't deserve
to be spanked full.

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And I just remember it was just
so unfair.

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And again, I didn't have a
relationship with him.

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And my dad was one of the stoic,
typical males, never expressed

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emotion, never, you know, hugged
me and said I love you or any of

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that kind of stuff.
He was your typical, let's go

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home, work hard, you know, drink
beer and watch TV.

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That's about it.
But again, and there was just a

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part of me that intuitively knew
that I was going to be a great

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dad.
And I committed to that.

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And I remember after my divorce,
the the fear I had as a dad not

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being with my kids.
What I did was I started

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studying how to be a great dad.
I read books.

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I want your seminars.
I want to make sure that I

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didn't treat my kids the way my
dad treated me, and so I can

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honestly say with no hesitation,
I'm an excellent father.

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Awesome, one of your many books
when it really caught my eye was

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was the title is phenomenal.
What if Jesus were a coach?

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So tell me a bit about how how
that came to you as an idea, how

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that how that particular book
developed?

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Well, but let's go, let's go
back a little bit because I was,

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I was brought up Baptist.
And even as a kid, I just knew

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there was something wrong with
what I was being taught at a

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very early age.
I was extremely skeptical about

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this whole religious thing.
And my grandparents who I was

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living with, we're very, very
religious people.

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But what I couldn't understand
was they made me go to church,

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but they never went to church.
And they had the statue of Jesus

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on the wall.
They had the pictures of Jesus

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with the light emanating from
his art.

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And and so this was the person
they talked a lot about.

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But my grandmother was literally
the grandmother from hell.

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She was a raging alcoholic who
took out most of her anger and

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rage on me as a kid.
And so the people that I was

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supposed to look up to and learn
about God from or just not very

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nice people.
And so I think that's where my

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whole skepticism about God
started.

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Well, Fast forward to, you know,
I grew up by getting married and

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go to church temporarily.
And then I said, no, I don't

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really believe this stuff.
But it wasn't until after my

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divorce that I decided to go
back to church because number

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one, I was in a lot of pain and
I was trying to figure out how

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to alleviate that pain.
So I'm thinking, well, maybe I

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it would help if I go to church.
So I go to church and I do all

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the Baptist stuff.
I repent of my sins.

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I confess with my mouth that
Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

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I become saved.
I become a Christian.

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The truth is, I didn't believe
any of it.

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The only reason I was there is
because I was in so much pain.

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I thought it would help.
And so after probably 03 or four

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weeks, all of the questions that
I had about God kept popping up.

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And I had a bunch of them that
no one can answer could answer.

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And there was one question in
particular that really it was

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like, it was like a splinter in
my mind that I just couldn't get

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it out.
And so one Sunday, I go to my

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minister and I said, look, can
we meet after church because I

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got something I need to ask you.
He said, sure.

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So we meet after after church in
his office.

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I said, look, I need to ask you
a question, and your answer to

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the question is going to
determine whether or not I stay

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with your church.
And he looked at me kind of

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puzzled.
He goes, OK.

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And I said, all right,
hypothetical situation.

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Let's imagine that there are two
people born at the exact same

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moment.
One is born in poverty, the

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other is born in wealth.
Now let's imagine that they go

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through life and the person
that's born in poverty does all

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the bad things.
The person born in wealth does

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all the good things.
Now just imagine that they both

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die at the exact same moment and
they end up at the entrance to

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heaven and they're standing
behind the podium with his book

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of life is God.
So God calls up the guy born in

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poverty, flips through his book
of life, kind of frowns and

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grimaces a little bit.
Go, oh, you did a lot of really

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bad things, but I'm a loving,
forgiving God.

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And there's really only one
question you have to answer.

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Did you And do you accept my son
Jesus Christ as your Lord and

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savior?
God looks up at God

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apologetically.
God, I repent of my sins.

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I accept your son Jesus Christ
as my Lord and savior.

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And God says, come on in Next he
calls up the guy born in wealth

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flips through his book of life.
Big smile comes over his face.

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He says, wow, you did all the
really good things.

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But there's only one question
you have to answer.

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Did you?
And do you accept my son Jesus

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Christ as your Lord and Savior?
God looks up at God, says, well,

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you got a small problem.
I honestly can't do that because

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first of all, I've never even
believed you existed when God

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says, well, I'm really sorry to
hear that.

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And if you'll just go and take
the elevator down, you get to

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spend on eternity inhale.
So I looked at my members to

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point blank and I said, look, is
that how your God works?

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And he didn't even blink?
Absolutely.

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That's what the Bible teaches.
That's what I believe.

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So I looked at and I said,
passing no disrespect, but that

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is the most insane, irrational,
illogical thing I have ever

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heard in my life.
How Can you believe such a

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thing?
He said, that's what's in the

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Bible.
That's what I believe.

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And I said, man, I said, that
just doesn't make sense to me.

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He said, son, you just need to
study your Bible.

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I said, no, I don't.
And it was in that moment I

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became an atheist.
In that moment, I walked away

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from the church and I went, that
just doesn't make sense to me.

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So I held firmly put to that
belief for about four years.

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And then I began my own journey.
And I, I want to try to find my

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truth.
And actually the way it started

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is I'd begun investing in
personal growth and development

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stuff, right?
And So what I wanted to do was

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to prove to myself that God
didn't exist.

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And so I started reading Dawkins
book, which was the God

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delusion.
I don't know if you've ever

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heard of it.
You know, Dawkins is that world

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famous atheist guy, whatever.
And I really like, I really love

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the book, right?
I realized, OK, so this this

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kind of lies with what I
believe, right?

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But then I started asking myself
some questions and then I

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received what I'll call a
miracle.

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I was watching television one
day and there was an interview.

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This guy was talking to this
Buddhist monk, and as I listened

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to the interview, I really
resonated with what this

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Buddhist monk said.
And I went, wow, that's pretty

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interesting.
Now, when I was a Baptist, you

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couldn't even think about
another religion because they

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said that was a sin, right?
You weren't supposed to do that.

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Well, as an atheist, hey, no
problem.

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So I decided to go, I go to a
bookstore and I started learning

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about Buddhism.
And for the first time, I kind

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of felt something spiritual.
And I went, OK, so maybe there's

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more to this than I thought.
And So what I did was I started

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going to all of the major
religions.

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I went to a Muslim mosque.
I went to a Jewish synagogue.

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I went to a Hindu temple.
And I just started asking people

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what they believed and why.
I started reading some of their

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texts.
And I was like, wow, OK.

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And so after two or three years
of my own search, I found my

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truth, my truth about God.
And I said, you know, basically

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every religion said the same
thing.

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And the one thing they said,
which to me is what's the common

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denominator of all of them, is
that we have access to something

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greater than ourselves.
You can call it God.

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You can call it, but there is a
higher power, OK.

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And so I choose to call this
higher power divine

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intelligence.
That's just what works for me.

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And so I knew that or once I'd
made that connection and I

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really started digging deeper
into spirituality, I just really

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connected with my truth, what's
true for me.

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And so I decided, you know, I
want to share some of the

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lessons that I learned along
this journey.

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And the one thing that really
stood out for me and one of the

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questions that I asked myself
was so after studying all the

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00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,120
major religions, I said, you
know, for a while, I completely

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rejected Christianity because of
my early experiences.

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And then I asked myself, you
know, what does this Jesus

253
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character have to do with all
all of this?

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And so I started researching
Jesus's life and I actually

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00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:01,920
bought a Bible for the first
time.

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00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,360
And I skipped straight to the
New Testament, started reading

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some of the New Testament and
it, well, actually here's

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00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,320
exactly what happened.
It was probably 3:00 in the

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00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:19,120
morning and I was sitting at
home and something told me to go

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00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:23,640
buy a Bible, right.
It just so happened that I live

261
00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,040
right down the street from this
24 hour bookstore.

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00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,680
So I get up at 3:00 or so in the
morning, I walk to this

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00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,800
bookstore, I go inside, I buy
one of those.

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00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,480
What do you call those new
edition Bibles that's in plain

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00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,200
English, you know, because the
King James Version just I could

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00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,680
never get it with all the way
that, you know, the way it was

267
00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:46,640
they were speaking.
But anyway, so I buy one of

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00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:51,320
these new edition Bibles and I
go home and I just start, I

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00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,560
something just told me to go to
what Jesus said because I

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00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,080
remember, you know, in church
you read the Bible and

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everything that was in red.
Jesus said, I don't know if you

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00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,080
remember that.
And I just remember I said, you

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00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:03,960
know, I just want to figure out
what he said.

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And I turned to Matthew for some
reason.

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And as I started reading the
parts where Jesus spoke, it felt

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00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:21,040
as if Jesus were sitting right
next to me, talking to me,

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00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:28,440
explaining to me what he meant.
And it was so profound that I

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00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:33,800
literally broke down in tears
because I felt this love that I

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00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,520
never felt in any church setting
before.

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00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:40,400
And that love came from what I
was hearing from him in my

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00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,760
heart.
And so after that experience,

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00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,280
you know, I just had a different
perception, if you will, of

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00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,600
Jesus and religion and so forth.
And I said, you know, I want to

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00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,640
share what I learned.
And I say, what if you took all

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00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:58,160
the religious dogma and doctrine
out of religion and simply

286
00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,680
looked at Jesus as a life coach?
What did he teach?

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00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:03,560
And that's what the book is
about.

288
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,920
It's about removing the dogma
and doctrine of organized

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00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,880
religion and saying, look, put
all that aside and just imagine

290
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:14,080
that he's a life coach and he's
going to give you some tools to

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00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:15,560
help you create an extraordinary
life.

292
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:17,520
Because that's exactly why I
think he showed up.

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00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,240
And so I know that's a long
answer to your question, but

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00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,160
that's how the book came about.
So do you find that Jesus made a

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00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:27,360
good coach?
Absolutely.

296
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,160
He was, in my opinion, the
greatest life coach that ever

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00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:37,200
lived if we learn to interpret
what he said metaphysically, not

298
00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:43,160
literally, because it is my
belief that every religion

299
00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:48,080
originates from the same source
and leads to the same place.

300
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,480
OK, so with that being said, I
believe again this is Michael

301
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:58,520
Tay's belief that Jesus was the
ultimate expression of God in

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00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:04,560
human form.
He came to teach us how to

303
00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,839
access the Christ within us.
So a lot of people say Jesus

304
00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:10,880
Christ as if Christ was his last
name.

305
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,960
No, Jesus was the Christed. 1 He
was the divine expression of

306
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,839
God, that divine intelligence
used to let human beings know

307
00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,319
that it was there, right?
This.

308
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,280
So the way I see it is that the
Christ, which is the Son of God,

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00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:32,200
is the energy that the divine
intelligence sent out into the

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00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:33,960
universe when the universe was
created.

311
00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:43,680
So for me, Jesus was the perfect
coach and Christianity is the

312
00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:48,880
process that we go through to
become Christ like.

313
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,680
So if you again remove all the
religious dogma and doctrine

314
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,280
from it all and just look at it
as this, here's this guy that's

315
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,760
going to coach you on being the
best version of yourself.

316
00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,320
And the way you do that is to
connect to something greater

317
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,600
than yourself, which he called
his father.

318
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:13,400
OK, so he said in his own words,
these things and even greater

319
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,640
things you shall do also.
I believe that's a literal

320
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:21,400
statement because what he meant
was we had the same access to

321
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:26,280
his father that he did, and if
we just follow his teachings, we

322
00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,040
could do everything that he did.
That's how I interpret.

323
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,360
Yeah, I'm going to say we've,
we've had surprisingly similar

324
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,840
religious journeys.
So, so I, I was not, my parents

325
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:39,280
didn't, weren't falling any
religion.

326
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,800
I was not raised with one.
So as I looked around and saw

327
00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,720
people going to church and
stuff, I was like, oh, whatever.

328
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:45,320
I guess that makes me an
atheist.

329
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,320
And I remember like at, at 8
years old, I gave myself that

330
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:49,400
term not really knowing what it
meant.

331
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:50,920
But I'm like, well, I don't go
somewhere on Sunday.

332
00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:52,240
So that must mean I'm an
atheist.

333
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,480
And if I was in college, I was
very interested and I took a

334
00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,400
class on Islam, I took a class
on world religions.

335
00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,280
And much like you did, I, each
of them I looked at, wow,

336
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,200
they're way more in common than
not.

337
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:08,040
And so much unifying things
about going within higher power,

338
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,640
love really being the answer,
the solution, the energy, the

339
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,080
force, all of those things.
So I love everything you're

340
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,720
saying like Jesus never said,
worship me, create a religion

341
00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:21,960
around me.
He just said, you can be like

342
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:23,960
me.
I'm I'm doing what you can do.

343
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,640
You can do bigger and better
like as you said.

344
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,480
So yeah, so so many they get
misinterpreted words over

345
00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,880
centuries that just continued to
go places and and spread out.

346
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,400
But it's amazing how many
people, how many people praise

347
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,440
Jesus literally and and don't
act as Jesus.

348
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:48,680
Exactly by his own admission,
Jesus said I did not come to be

349
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:54,080
served, I came to serve.
Serve that which is greater than

350
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,360
myself, which is His Father.
So lot of people don't

351
00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:59,200
understand Jesus wasn't a
Christian.

352
00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:03,960
Christianity was built off of
his teachings and the people

353
00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,560
that follow him became
Christians, but Jesus was not a

354
00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:11,320
Christian per SE.
But my point is, after going

355
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,840
through this Garland, this
journey, right, finding my own

356
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:16,560
truth.
And I think that's the key.

357
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,840
What happens is when we really
go on that journey to find our

358
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,520
truth and not just accept what
we were was passed down to us.

359
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:29,840
And when we authentically
connect to that truth, nothing

360
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,160
is impossible.
So you mentioned, you know that

361
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,520
my tagline says I'm an
irrepressible optimist with a

362
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,080
passion for the impossible.
Well, see, I couple of things

363
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:40,960
that Jesus said that I take
literally.

364
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,760
And one of the things he said
was whatever you ask in my name,

365
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:51,960
you shall receive.
Now, from my perspective, when I

366
00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:59,640
read that, what I hear is that
if I set an intention, I have

367
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,200
the power to manifest that
intention.

368
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,120
You familiar with Deepak Chopra?
Yeah.

369
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:06,200
Yeah.
OK.

370
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:07,880
So Deepak Chopra says something
I love.

371
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:13,360
He says inherent in every
intention and desire are the

372
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:19,000
mechanics for its fulfillment.
Put another way, you can't even

373
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,120
have the idea without the
capacity to manifest.

374
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,440
So if we if we accept the idea
that Jesus was teaching us how

375
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,280
to access this Father that he
kept talking about, then that

376
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:37,000
tells me that divine ideas is
how God speaks to us.

377
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:43,040
God gives us these divine ideas,
and when we learn to trust and

378
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,040
follow that divine idea to live
our purpose, then we are doing

379
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,760
God's work.
That's kind of how I see it.

380
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,880
And so once again, I think Jesus
laid the blueprint for what we

381
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:59,160
would have to go through to get
to the point to become Christ

382
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:00,480
like.
And one of those those the

383
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,040
metaphors I love in in the
history was the whole idea of

384
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,160
death and resurrection.
So, you know, we think of Jesus

385
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,160
on the cross for three days
coming back and all that.

386
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:14,200
But to me for my own, from my
own experience, see a part of me

387
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,720
literally had to die.
And some people would call that

388
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,760
your ego self.
So when I went through my

389
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,240
divorce and all the negative
stuff that I talked about and I

390
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,080
went on this personal growth
journey, it was really about

391
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,600
waking up to who I was born to
be.

392
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:35,560
And so before my divorce, you
know, I was a typical American

393
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,440
guy.
You know, I had the house, the

394
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,120
wife, the 2.5 kids, the
vacations and all of that.

395
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:42,360
But yet I was completely
miserable.

396
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:47,720
And it wasn't until I lost
everything that I was

397
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,520
resurrected to who I was born to
be.

398
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,680
And that's what I love about
that story because I think that

399
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,600
story once again is just a
metaphor for what we have to go

400
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,720
through.
Sometimes a part of us has to

401
00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,520
die.
That ego self, that false self,

402
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,280
you know the mass that we wear,
All that stuff has to go away

403
00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,800
before we awaken to who we truly
are.

404
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,320
Can you expand on some of the
differences between being

405
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:17,480
spiritual and being religious?
To me, God is like Coke.

406
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,320
It's the real thing.
Some people drink Coke out of a

407
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,000
bottle.
Some people drink it out of a

408
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,480
cane here.
Some people drink lots of it.

409
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,640
Some people won't touch it.
A religion is just a container.

410
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:36,040
Each container holds the divine
thirst quencher, which is God.

411
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,760
So you can drink from a Muslim
container, you can drink from a

412
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,920
Hindu container, but those are
just the containers that they

413
00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,120
all hold the same thing.
So religious people get caught

414
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:53,160
up into the container.
I am a Muslim, you know, but

415
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:54,560
they don't drink what's in the
container.

416
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,480
Christians, unfortunately, in a
lot of cases, especially some of

417
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,520
the Christians we see in our
society, they're so wrapped up

418
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,440
in the container that they never
drink it.

419
00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:10,120
They just carried it around
saying, look, see my container,

420
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,480
but they don't drink it.
So when you drink it and you

421
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,520
accept what it's going to give
to you, which is the spiritual

422
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,160
aspect of who you are, that's
when you shift from being

423
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,840
religious to spiritual because
it's no longer about something

424
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,720
outside of you, it's about
what's inside of you.

425
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,960
It's about that divine
intelligence that permeates your

426
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,000
core.
It is what drives your

427
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,240
heartbeat.
It's what keeps the planets

428
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,920
aligned.
It's it's what makes a bone

429
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,440
heal.
There's an intelligence in this

430
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,720
universe.
And to me, that's what I call

431
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,720
divine intelligence.
And so spiritual people make

432
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:59,440
that connection to that
intelligence, knowing that you

433
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,200
don't have to have a label for
it.

434
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,360
You just have to develop an
intimacy and connection to it,

435
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,520
and when you do, once again,
nothing is impossible.

436
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,080
But this also isn't just a blind
faith.

437
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:18,240
You, you had experiences, you,
you had, you know, lived

438
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:19,800
happenings.
You had what you, I think you

439
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:24,240
can use the term a miracle.
So it's as if the divine

440
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,800
intelligence had to prove to
Michael that, yes, this is a

441
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,640
real thing.
And yes, you can tap into it.

442
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,720
Oh I I got it.
I have to share this story

443
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,120
'cause this is really cool
because one of the challenges I

444
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,920
had with organized religion or
religion in general, was the

445
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,600
fact that I needed proof.
That's what she told me.

446
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,680
You know, don't just say God,
prove to me, right?

447
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,920
Well, while I was living out of
my car, I lived out of my car

448
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,560
for two years, OK, In the
backseat of my car.

449
00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,840
So you know Mike Dooley, yes,
the guy notice from the

450
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,120
universe.
You remember Mike OK, so it

451
00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:06,960
what's really fascinating about
this story and actually let me

452
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:08,400
let me share this story 1st and
I'll tell you.

453
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:13,240
So while living in the back seat
of my car, I would go to the

454
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,000
library and I started what I
call my journey of

455
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,200
transformation.
I thought of reading self help

456
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,040
books and listening to audio
programs and I came across Mike

457
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:26,720
Dooley's work and Mike Dooley
teaches Thoughts become things,

458
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,720
OK.
And so when I was first

459
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,120
introduced to that concept, it
really resonated for me.

460
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,480
The very first time I read it, I
went, you know, that makes a lot

461
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,920
of sense.
OK, so I'm living in the back of

462
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,360
my car, I'm studying Mike
Dooley.

463
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,920
Well, another thing I learned
from Mike Dooley was creating a

464
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,880
vision board.
And I'd never heard of a vision

465
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,520
board before I met Mike Dooley.
So while living in the back seat

466
00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,000
of my car, I bought some of
those yellow sticky notes.

467
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,520
And what I would do is I'd write
on the yellow sticky note what I

468
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,240
wanted to manifest, and I'd
stick it on the back of the

469
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,240
seat.
And so one of the things I want

470
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,520
to manifest was a job because
again, I had been out of work

471
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,200
for a long time.
So I stuck it on the back of the

472
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,320
seat.
I wanted to manifest the job.

473
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,240
Well, the next day I'm reading a
newspaper when I see this

474
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,840
advertisement for laborers.
And there's a place called the

475
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:26,880
Labor Hall.
And the labor hall is where drug

476
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,840
addicts, ex convicts and
homeless people go to find work.

477
00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,960
And the way it works is you walk
in and there's a bunch of

478
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,640
benches and you sit down.
There's a guy up front.

479
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,000
He randomly picks people to sit
them on these odd jobs.

480
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,400
OK, so again, I wrote on the
sticky note, I wanted to

481
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,240
manifest the job.
So I go to the labor hall.

482
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,360
I sit on the bench.
I sit on the bench for maybe six

483
00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,040
hours.
I never get picked.

484
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:56,000
I go home that night in the back
seat of my car and I'm like, OK,

485
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,760
universe, this ain't working.
All right, Tomorrow we're going

486
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,920
to manifest the job, put another
sticky note.

487
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:03,720
The next day I go to the labor
hall.

488
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:09,440
I sit down, I'm there for maybe
8 hours, don't get picked.

489
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,200
Go back home that night back,
see you in my car.

490
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,000
All right, Universe, this shit
ain't working.

491
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,800
This this manifestation to
maybe, I don't know.

492
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,160
And so I said a little prayer
kinda.

493
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:29,000
And I said, look, I'm willing to
do anything, but I need proof

494
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,240
that this stuff works 'cause I,
I want to believe it.

495
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,120
I want to believe that it works,
right?

496
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,600
And then so the next day I go to
the labor hall.

497
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,280
And as when I said that prayer,
I basically said, look, I'm

498
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,400
willing to do anything, just
help me manifest the job.

499
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,480
So the next day I go to the
labor hall and I'm sitting on

500
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,640
the bench and the guy up front
asked if anyone has a car.

501
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,440
I raised my hand.
I'm the only person with the

502
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,600
car.
He calls me up to the front.

503
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,800
He says, do you have?
I said, well, how much do I

504
00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,520
need?
He says, well, it's about 15

505
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:03,880
miles away.
I said it would be close.

506
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,720
He said, I tell you what, I'm
going to give you $10 and when

507
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:09,880
you come back and complete your
day, cash your check, give me my

508
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,000
$10 back.
Fair enough.

509
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,200
That's cool.
I'm driving down the freeway and

510
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,400
I am so excited.
I'm like, holy crap, this, this

511
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:21,600
thoughts become things.
Stuff works.

512
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:26,320
I'm manifesting the job.
And I was so excited, but all of

513
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:32,000
a sudden my excitement turned to
dread as I pull in.

514
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,720
It's one of those companies that
manufacturers portable toilets.

515
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,480
I go in.
The guy that I'm working for is

516
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,800
a real jerk.
I mean, he's a real knucklehead.

517
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,640
He gives me a vacuum, he gives
me some gloves, he gives me some

518
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,960
disinfection disinfectant.
He said, your job is to clean

519
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:54,080
those toilets.
My first thought was no freaking

520
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,880
what?
And I went, uh huh, I'm not

521
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,440
doing this.
But then I remember, oh, that

522
00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,360
got 2 bucks.
I said, damn, I got to give the

523
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:03,480
guys 10 to bucks.
I said, oh, OK, so let me try.

524
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,200
So I start cleaning the toilets.
All of a sudden it starts to

525
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,560
rain.
And actually it wasn't raining.

526
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:11,240
It was more like a torrential
downpour.

527
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,240
Rain was going sideways.
The wind was blowing so hard.

528
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,120
So I run inside and I said,
look, can I wait until it slows

529
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,720
down a little bit?
He goes, no, get that raincoat,

530
00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,080
get your ass back out there.
You need to clean those toilets

531
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,600
right now.
My first impulse was to smack

532
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:33,800
it, but then I remembered my
prayer from the night before and

533
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:39,600
I specifically said I was
willing to do anything.

534
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,240
And all of a sudden my attitude
shifted.

535
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,360
All of a sudden a big smile came
over my face.

536
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,920
I shifted to gratitude and I was
like thank you universe, this is

537
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,720
disgusting I hate it.
But I manifested a job.

538
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,400
I said I would do anything so I
can't complain.

539
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,280
I cleaned those toilets for 8
hours with a smile.

540
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,520
OK so I go back, cash my check,
get a guy $10 back, buy me a

541
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:06,800
nice fat hamburger which I
hadn't had in a long time and it

542
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,560
was so another sticky note.
Our universe.

543
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,360
We go back tomorrow, we're going
to get another job.

544
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,880
I walk into the labor hall and I
don't even sit down.

545
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:18,440
The guy sees me and he goes like
this.

546
00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,560
I go to the front and he gives
me a ticket.

547
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,080
This time I go to this company
where they're building this new

548
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:29,760
high rise building.
My first thought was at least

549
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:34,720
I'm not cleaning toilets today.
So I I go and I meet the

550
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:37,040
supervisor.
He takes me to this electrician

551
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,000
and my job was to clean up after
the electrician as a laborer

552
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,760
while the electrician that he
partnered me with, he and I

553
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,520
could immediately we're talking
about family and sports and I

554
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,160
mean, we just really connected.
And then he asked me if I knew

555
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,640
anything about electrical work,
which I did.

556
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,440
He says really?
He said I tell you what, go over

557
00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:58,920
there and install these
receptacles.

558
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:00,440
So he went to see if I knew what
I was doing.

559
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,640
So I'll go over there and I
install the receptacles and

560
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,200
blah, blah, blah.
So the entire day, rather than

561
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,200
being a laborer, I'm actually
his assistant.

562
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:13,600
OK, At the end of the day, he
takes me to his supervisor's

563
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:18,320
office and he says I need you to
hire this guy full time to be my

564
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:23,480
permanent assistant.
I went from making 450 an hour

565
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:29,400
to 1550 an hour with a full time
job with benefits.

566
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,160
Took me a few weeks to get back
on my feet, got my own place,

567
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,240
but that's how I was able to get
back on my feet.

568
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,840
Now do you think that was an
accident, how that occurred?

569
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:46,080
No, it was divine synchronicity.
It was trusting, knowing that

570
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,720
this intelligence.
Listen to my thoughts and

571
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,640
actually is the core or the
source of my thoughts that

572
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,400
guided me to look in the in the
newspaper, find the labor hall,

573
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,360
go do the work.
Despite the fact that I wanted

574
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,720
to leave that job, remembering
my commitment, which I said I

575
00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,120
was willing to do anything, and
then it manifested.

576
00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,480
Such an awesome job.
Yeah, awesome.

577
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,680
I love those stories.
Yeah, I know Mike Dooley.

578
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,640
Well, I I'm certified to teach
his playing the Matrix and

579
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,120
Infinite Possibilities trained.
I think I did those programs

580
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,440
like 10 years ago, but yeah,
that the the the first time I

581
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:22,680
did vision bores, the first
manifesting thoughts become

582
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,400
things all from from Mike and
from Andy Dooley as well.

583
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,960
Next week I'm actually one of
the speakers that is Infinite

584
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,240
possibility conferences.
Oh awesome.

585
00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,840
Where is it this then?
It's all online.

586
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:35,800
It's all online.
I thought it's OK.

587
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:37,960
Yeah, used to travel.
The world and Grant.

588
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,240
Here's another cool thing about
it.

589
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:43,040
While I was living in my car,
one of the things I put on a

590
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,880
sticky note was one day I would
share a stage with Mike Dooley.

591
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,360
That was 20 years ago.
Yeah, yeah.

592
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,720
And that's one of the coolest
things about discovering that

593
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:55,880
power of manifestation of
thoughts becoming things is

594
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,920
that, Yeah, you, you get exactly
what you say.

595
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,600
So you really got to be more
conscious and aware and, and

596
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,840
choose the right things and, you
know, right.

597
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,200
Yeah, thoughts become things.
So choose the good ones, right.

598
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:07,880
That's the whole his whole
saying yeah.

599
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:10,719
Couple of couple other things
I'll share real quickly too.

600
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,320
While I was in the back seat of
my car, I wrote on a sticky note

601
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,440
that one day I would become a
best selling author.

602
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,480
I knew nothing about writing
books.

603
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:22,920
I knew nothing about publishing
books.

604
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,960
I just wrote a note intention
manifest becoming a best selling

605
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,600
author.
Fast forward 20 years, I've

606
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,320
written 16 books.
As I mentioned, I've had three

607
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:35,679
bestsellers and I've had two
that's won national awards.

608
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,239
Started off with just a thought,
just an idea, right?

609
00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:42,040
And the last thing that, well,
not the last, but another thing

610
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,440
that I wrote while I was living
out of my car.

611
00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,480
I wrote on a yellow sticky note.
I would manifest my life

612
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,760
partner.
And I've been blissfully married

613
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,120
for the past 23 years.
Beautiful.

614
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,480
How cool is?
How cool is that?

615
00:34:58,120 --> 00:34:59,680
Very cool.
So.

616
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,760
So with all that you've
experienced, all that you create

617
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,680
and share, what's one thing that
you wish more men knew?

618
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,720
I think the greatest challenge
we have on the planet right now

619
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:14,720
is to redefine manhood
masculinity.

620
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:21,600
And I my hope is that men will
open their minds enough to

621
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,800
recognize that the old paradigm
of masculinity no longer works.

622
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,360
It's no longer sustainable.
So as men, we had to be willing

623
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:31,800
to embrace this new paradigm of
masculinity.

624
00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,320
And I define a paradigm as a
rigid way of believing,

625
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,320
thinking, and behaving.
That to me is a paradigm.

626
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,720
So as we we get caught in these
rigid ways of believing,

627
00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:45,000
thinking and behaving what it
means to be a man.

628
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,840
So we have to be willing to open
our minds a little bit, say, you

629
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,600
know what, maybe that's a
different way of being a man.

630
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:56,760
And so my hope is that men, and,
and again, the optimist in me is

631
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,520
really excited because when I
started writing 25 years ago,

632
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,480
there were very few men having
these types of conversations.

633
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:05,680
As a matter of fact, I got
attacked and vilified because

634
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,600
especially as a black guy, I'm
talking about emotions and

635
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,240
feelings.
And they're like, wait a minute,

636
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:14,600
you've been hanging around the
white people too much, right?

637
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:19,680
But again, my hope is for men to
tune into shows like this to

638
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:21,840
recognize that there's better
ways to be.

639
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,560
We don't always have to do.
There's better ways to be, to be

640
00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,760
happy, to be joyful, to be
grateful, to be empathetic.

641
00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:33,360
You know, there's better ways to
be.

642
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,960
And we just have to open our
hearts and minds to to that

643
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,880
tree.
Yeah, yeah, I to me, it's really

644
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:41,240
simple.
And I often ask guys, you know,

645
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:43,960
if whoever taught you what it
means to be a man was a

646
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,960
miserable bastard, why the hell
do you want to model that?

647
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,120
Yeah.
Men, men deserve joy.

648
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,520
Men deserve to be happy.
Men deserve to know their

649
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,000
divinity, Right.
When men are powerful creators,

650
00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:56,400
It's.
It's not that.

651
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:57,720
Yeah.
I don't, I don't believe there's

652
00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:00,520
toxic masculinity.
I I believe there's misguided

653
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,120
masculinity.
And what the world needs is,

654
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:08,520
yeah, is less paradigm, more
flexible masculinity and more

655
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:09,880
men in their power.
And.

656
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,680
Yeah.
And so here's here's my take on

657
00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,480
this whole toxic masculinity
thing.

658
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:16,080
As you just mentioned, there's
no such thing.

659
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:22,240
People confuse toxic behaviors
with masculinity.

660
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,200
Toxic behaviors are not toxic
masculinity.

661
00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,080
The reason this man is acting
out in a toxic way is because

662
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,760
he's disconnected from his
authentic masculinity.

663
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,040
Because if he were connected
through his heart, connected to

664
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,640
his authenticity, he would never
act out in toxic ways.

665
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,000
So again, there's in my
experience, there's no such

666
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,200
thing as toxic masculinity.
That's just how I see it.

667
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:50,800
Yeah, no, couldn't agree more
with with all you've done, what

668
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:53,040
stands out top of mind for what
you're most proud of?

669
00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:58,720
Not falling victim to
victimhood.

670
00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:04,680
It could have been easy for me
to say, well, society is not

671
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:08,280
going to allow me to do such and
such because I'm black, because

672
00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,200
I don't have a college degree,
because I don't have this

673
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,440
background.
I didn't fall victim to any of

674
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,640
that.
And the fact that I learned to

675
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:21,240
listen to and trust my own
heart, trust my own intuition,

676
00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:25,960
trust my own knowing that
despite not having all those

677
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:33,040
credentials, I had a lot to say.
And so I remember when I first

678
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,200
started writing books, I
definitely dealt with that

679
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,520
impostor syndrome.
Like, who am I to write a book,

680
00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:41,560
that kind of stuff.
But now I'm extremely proud of

681
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,240
the fact that, number one, I
listened to my own heart, I

682
00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,240
developed that intimacy in
connection to divine

683
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:52,040
intelligence, which guides
everything that I do, and I'm

684
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,320
committed to making the world a
better place, and I'm really

685
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,040
proud.
Yeah, you're, you've lived quite

686
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,320
a life and let me rephrase that,
you're still living quite a

687
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,800
life.
That's a lot more to create and

688
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:04,400
share.
So Michael, tell me what, what's

689
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,840
the best way for people to find
out more about what you're up to

690
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,960
and, and all the various things
that you are up to?

691
00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:12,040
Well, first of all, since we're
focusing on men, which I think

692
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:17,960
it's really important if they'll
log on to A New Conversation

693
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:22,840
with men.com, A New Conversation
with men.com, and they can get

694
00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:28,560
this free ebook that is called
The Five Illusions of Manhood.

695
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:33,600
And it is these five illusions
that I believe drives most

696
00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:37,840
negative male behavior.
It's a powerful document that's

697
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,200
a part of a book that I wrote of
the same title called A New

698
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,680
Conversation with Men.
But they can log onto the

699
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,320
website, get the free book, and
jump into the five Illusions of

700
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:49,440
manhood.
It will open your eyes and

701
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,280
change your mind about what it
means to be like.

702
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,000
Awesome, awesome.
Well, that is what we are all

703
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,320
about and I'm glad you're doing
it.

704
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,520
Glad I'm doing it.
Glad everyone listening finding

705
00:39:57,520 --> 00:39:59,160
us is doing it willing to do it
at least.

706
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,320
So again, thanks Michael for
joining us today.

707
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,960
Thanks everybody for listening.
Wherever you're finding real Men

708
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:07,280
feel, please share, like,
comment, share this episode with

709
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,360
someone that would would be
benefiting from it.

710
00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:12,120
You can join the Real Men Feel
Private Facebook group by

711
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,400
visiting realmenfeel.org/group.
It can always reach out to me at

712
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:19,280
realmenfeel@gmail.com.
And until next time, be good to

713
00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:19,680
yourself.