MANTORSHIFT - The Art of Being a Man...

In this episode,  Mickey talks with Thomas Koulopoulos, the Chairman and founder of Delphi Group, a thirty-year-old Boston-based think tank that focuses on disruptive technology innovation. He is also the founding partner of Acrovantage Ventures (which invests in early-stage technology startups), the author of thirteen books, an Inc.com columnist, the past Executive Director of the Babson College Center for Business Innovation, and a professor at Boston University. As the co-author of the new book, Gigatrends: Six Forces That Are Changing the Future for Billions, he examines how six disruptive trends can be harnessed to create new social, economic, and organizational solutions that will usher in the promise of a human-centered future for billions of people.In this conversation, we focus a lot on the impact of AI on the future of work, from the emergence of a new dematerialized world where virtual assets overtake physical assets to the evolution of global technology ecosystems. We explore the emergence of a new social, economic, and organizational landscape and offer a framework for a mindset that can help us create a brighter future filled with hope and opportunity for humanity.

We dive in with Naomi Boness (Ph.D.), the Managing Director of the Natural Gas Initiative (NGI) at Stanford University. We talk about the experience of being a female leader on boards and in companies, and what it takes to remain authentic. She shares how she found her mission and purpose in the clean energy sector.Naomi also discusses her leadership practices and creating difficult conversations that go beyond ideological and political camps. As the Co-Managing Director of the Stanford Hydrogen Initiative, she is an experienced practitioner in the energy sector with a focus on using her background in reservoir geophysics and technoeconomic modeling to develop technology solutions related to natural gas, hydrogen, and decarbonization in both the developed and the developing world. In addition to her research, she teaches classes in earth science and energy engineering, most recently co-designing a graduate class on the Hydrogen Economy. She is passionate about connecting technology developers with industry to accelerate the deployment of new decarbonization technologies at scale and is an advisor to a number of energy startups.  Prior to Stanford, Dr. Boness held a variety of technical and management positions at Chevron. She is also an independent Board Director at Aemetis, a renewable fuels company, and Babcock and Wilcox, a renewable power company; and an advisor to a number of startups in the energy sector. Dr. Boness is a member of the Renewable Natural Gas Coalition Advisory Committee; a member of the Partnership to Address Global Emissions Advisory Council; a member of the Open Hydrogen Initiative Independent Expert Panel; a past invited member of the United Nations Expert Group on Resource Classification; and a past Chair of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists Oil and Gas Reserves Committee. As an advocate for women and gender equality, she is proud to be an Ambassador for the Women in Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative. 

When you observe the lives of financially successful people, it often seems like they are living the dream. However, this isn't always the case; frequently, their relationships or health are the areas that suffer due to their ambition. At such a crossroads, you may wonder what your second mountain is after successfully climbing the first mountain of making money.Ryan Lang found his second mountain and in this episode, he shares his life story and his discovery of more meaning in coaching. He also explains why coaches need coaches and some of the fundamentals of why selling and marketing as a coach is different from any other kind. Ryan is the founder of Whole Performance Coaching, Lang Properties, Inc., and co-founder of EMPIRE Partners. He has coached, managed, and mentored over 1,000 professionals over a 20+ year span, working alongside notable thought leaders such as Rory Vaden and Russ Ruffino.Additionally, Ryan has consulted with organizations including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Yankees, Precision Nutrition, and ConocoPhillips. With over 30 years of study in human psychology, sales, and performance, Ryan holds certifications from Digital Marketer, The Transformational Coaching Academy, NASM, Precision Nutrition, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

In this episode I am a talking to Kim Hudson, who began her career as an exploration geologist working in remote areas of northern Canada.  She has consulted for First Nations as well as mineral companies, was a land negotiator for the Yukon Land Claims on behalf of the federal government, a member of the Yukon Water Board and Chair of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council. Today she is a workshop facilitator and consultant to businesses, and Territorial and First Nation governments and story analyst.  Our conversation sheds light on the core patterns to the inner workings of the linear and circular thought processes, which holds the key to crossing the distance between them - something which is becoming imperative that the world's thinkers and leaders are able to do. The framework provides a way to expand our leadership potential, be inclusive, receive indigenous wisdoms, support the co-existence of masculine and feminine perspectives, innovate our businesses, and transform our societal and organizational approaches to issues such as climate change and social media which can be seen in a new way.

An honest everything DEI conversation with Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, a Physician, Thought Leader, Consultant and Master Trainer of Neurolinguistic Programming. The founder of the Mind Re-Mapping Co., she helps individuals and organizations better understand trauma and how it affects the brain, behavior, and communication through her training, consulting, and coaching.  Dr. Maiysha focuses her work on creating trauma responsive, emotionally fluent cultures that foster equitable, psychologically safe environments inside Corporations, Medical Systems, & Educational Institutions.  Informed by neuroscience and emotional intelligence, she teaches practical tools to help audiences interrupt unresourceful thoughts, beliefs, and language patterns, so that they can mitigate harm by being responsible for the impact of their words, actions, and behaviors. In addition to speaking at TEDx Asheville in 2022, she is the author of the Wellness Blueprint, the co-author of Conscious Anti-Racism.

Radek Sali stands as one of Australia's most successful business people and a serial entrepreneur in the health and wellness sector. We sat down to discuss purpose, passion and love in business. He is the man who revolutionized the Swisse Wellness group by making the category aspirational, pioneering the use of brand ambassadors. As CEO, Radek created a positive working culture (winning ‘the best place to work in Australia' in 2015 and 2016) and charted record sales. In 2015 Radek helped negotiate the sale of the group to Hong Kong listed Biostime for $1.7 billion, one of the biggest private company transactions in Australian history.Radek used the proceeds to set up a company, Light Warrior, with ex-Goldman Sachs banker Adam Gregory. Light Warrior is an investment group committed to creating shared value by investing in businesses that are socially responsible and environmentally conscious.

Ejaz Khan was born and raised in a film family in India. He is a unique wildlife and fashion photographer in New York. He loves to bring attention to subjects that require awareness through his filmmaking and has captivated audiences with his work. His film, “Legacy,” was nominated for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. Ejaz's wildlife photography focuses on the beauty of animals and the environmental changes they face, especially photographing endangered wildlife and horses around the world. According to Ejaz, Finding Nature is Finding yourself. In our discussion we take a look at his life story and the mindset behind that has allowed him to become who he is today,

What does it mean to grow up as a minority and how do you break out of the life script? Where is racism worse, in Hungary or in the United States? What is the difference if you are an immigrant by choice and what is it like when you have no other choice? What is it like to work with Salman Rushdie? My guest is  László Jakab Orsós, a Hungarian curator, journalist and film-maker who began his career, first as a newspaper columnist, before gaining a professorship at the Budapest Academy of Film.  In 1997, he taught in the Graduate Film Program at New York University, and, in 1999, became a member of the jury of Sundance Institute's screenwriting laboratory. In 2004, he co-wrote the script for an animated feature film, The District. After moving to New York in 2005, he became the director of the Hungarian Cultural Center, where he launched Extremely Hungary, a series of 120 events about Hungarian culture. In 2010, he was appointed director of the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. He`s currently the Vice President of Arts and Culture at the Brooklyn Public Library system.

What is mental illness and does it really exist? What is radical psychotherapy and what is behind depression? Can (and should() we give advice about life to each other? What is evil? Where do school shootings come from and what are the psychological dynamics behind them? We tackle questions like that with Andrew Feldmar, a radical psychotherapist. Feldmár (Feldmár András; born 28 October 1940, in Budapest) is a Hungarian born psychotherapist living in Canada. He is most known as the Hungarian follower of R. D. Laing, the Scottish psychiatrist who was one of the leading figures of the counterculture of the 1960s. Laing, who later became his friend, was his teacher and therapist first.  Following his mentor, Feldmár practices and popularizes a form of radical psychotherapy, where the main goal of the therapist is to engage in a real, spontaneous and honest relationship with the patient. This approach is based on the findings of research on interpersonal phenomenology, spiritual emergency, the anthropology of healing, existential psychotherapy and community therapy. Feldmár rejects the labelling of human suffering, and therefore distances himself from the mainstream forms of psychiatry and psychotherapy which are based on the concept of mental illness. He has published many books in Hungarian, he lectures, teaches, provides supervision and therapy internationally, he has worked as a psychotherapist with over 52 years of experience, having spent more than 100,000 hours in psychotherapy with clients. He has been noticeably successful treating psychotic patients. He is a well-known expert in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

The mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, that of the whole of our physical and spiritual existence, and of the wider human culture in which they arise – the culture which helps to mould, and in turn is moulded by, our minds and brains.Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Consultant Emeritus of the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital, London, a former research Fellow in Neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, and a former Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch. He now lives on the Isle of Skye, off the coast of North West Scotland, where he continues to write, and lectures worldwide.

I am sure that at least once in your life you wondered if it's you, or the world around you that's going crazy.  Too often, when we are sad, mad or scared, we think something is wrong with us. But more often than not, it is the situation around us that needs changing. This is why periodically rethinking what we define as normal is so critical.Daniel Maté is an multi-award-winning lyricist and composer for musical theatre. With his father Gabor Maté, he is the co-author of the recently published The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture, and the forthcoming Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents and Their Adult Children, based on the popular workshop of the same name. He hosts a YouTube program called Lyrics To Go, and runs Take A Walk With Daniel, the world's only "mental chiropractic" service. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Ray Arata is the author of two books, Wake Up Man Up, Step Up: Transforming Your Wake Up Call to Emotional Health and Happiness and Showing Up: How Men Can Become Effective Allies in the Workplace.Ray is expert in leadership, inclusion, allyship, and emotional literacy, He brings an extensive business background and more than 15,000 hours in leading men to develop emotional literacy. Mickey and Ray discusses why we cannot skip the important question of redefining the Man Box and what is the way forward for a heart based, inclusive leadership where men courageously embrace their inner feminine.The episode is coming on October 6th.

We like to think that life is a fair game and things will go well for us if we keep it together. But what happens when one day nature strikes, and you find out that you have Multiple Myeloma or some other potentially very dangerous disease?  Nicholaos “Coach Nick” Papadopoulos is an author, speaker, executive coach, facilitator, consultant and disruptor who's committed to inspiring leaders, teams and people to live life purposefully and to transform the world. An energetic and charismatic speaker, Coach Nick has been a keynote speaker nationally on the topics of transformation, men, inclusion, culture engagement and leadership.He has been documenting his journey to recovery and health. We had a big chat about what matters in life and how do you reframe the unthinkable.

We romanticize criminality and the Mafia a lot.  Endless movies stand as proof of our fascination. But only a few us know what we are really talking about. I reached out to an expert who does know a lot about both the Mafia and the Cartel. Aldo Civico is ranked as one of the Top30 Leadership global experts by Global Gurus (#13). For the past 30 years he has been helping leaders in politics and business, as well as communities and organizations to find and connect with their purpose. During his tenure as director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution at Columbia University, Aldo has been facilitating peace talks and Peacebuilding efforts in different parts of the world, especially in Colombia. He is a columnist for Spanish speaking newspapers in the United States and throughout Latin America.

Why is poetry such an important aspect of life? Why some people have such intimate connection with it while others struggle? Why do some men find it hard to connect with poetry and was it always this way? Nick LeForce, known as the “Transformational Poet,” believes poetry can touch hearts and transform lives. Nick integrates poetry into his work as a life-coach and in trainings in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnotherapy, and Coaching that he has conducted (prepandemic) across the US and around the world in China, Japan, Malaysia, England, Greece, Ireland, Spain and elsewhere. He uses poetry as a medium to inspire people to live authentic lives, bring out the inner qualities of a person, find their own path in life, overcome challenges and achieve their dreams.

We need to talk about the dark side of our society and masculinity, to be more aware and to take action. This time my guests are Alan Smyth who serves as the Executive Director for Saving Innocence, an anti-human trafficking, community based organization focused on the recovery and restoration of child victims of sex trafficking and Jessica Midkiff, a true “lived experience expert.” She has survived ten years of commercial, sexual exploitation as well as having spent over ten years of advocacy work helping victims escape and recover.They have co-authored a new book: Men! Fight For Me, The Role of Authentic Masculinity in Ending Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking. Jessica was instrumental in piloting many of the programs still used today which help trafficking survivors exit the life. In 2015, she was recognized as “Woman of the Year” in Los Angeles County for her extraordinary work in the field. “Fight For Me” are words they heard directly from a survivor of sex trafficking.

In this episode you will learn how John E. Marriott, who is one of the world's premier professional wildlife photographers built a career around his passion and purpose. We discuss what he has learned as a men, father and citizen from the bears and wolfs and other wild animals he has been photographing. His success is spanning two decades and his images are published worldwide by National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, McLean's, and Reader's Digest.  He is an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, a Canon Ambassador, a Fjällräven Guide, and the co-founder of the EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy environmental non-profit. John has produced seven coffee table books, including What Bears Teach Us (2020), Tall Tales, Long Lenses: My Adventures in Photography (2017), The Pipestone Wolves: The Rise and Fall of a Wolf Family (2016), and the international bestseller, Banff & Lake Louise: Images of Banff National Park (2007). He has one upcoming book in 2021, The Kootenay Wolves: Five Years Following a Wild Wolf Pack.

In this episode you will learn about the power of the unconscious mind and how our brains work. We discuss how to build new habits and why humans still react as if we were still living in the desert. My guest is Joel Weinberger, Ph.D., is author of The Unconscious: Theory, Research and Clinical Implications. His blogs on the unconscious appear in Psychology Today. He received the Ulf Kragh Award (University of Lundh, Sweden) for his work on unconscious processes.Dr. Weinberger completed Postdoctoral training in human motivation at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the Association for Psychological Science. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. He is Professor, with expertise in clinical, personality and motivation psychology at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University. He is the author of about 100 published articles and chapters. He has co-edited books on personality change and on the art and science of psychotherapy. His political and business commentaries have appeared in various venues in the media. Dr. Weinberger is also a practicing clinical psychologist.

This is a bonus session for Hungarian speakers only. 

In this episode you will learn about what's addictive about war zones and why some of our brave fellow citizen journalists risk their life covering events everyone else just wants to run away from. We also explore what's wrong with our approach to veterans and why would someone start a grizzly bear lodge in the Canadian wilderness. This time my guest is Julius Strauss, who was a long-serving correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and specialized in covering wars and other foreign stories. As well as Bosnia and Kosovo, Strauss has covered wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Chechnya, as well as revolutions, uprisings and coups. Later he became Moscow bureau chief for the Telegraph, where he worked for four years, covering Russia under Vladimir Putin and writing about notorious terrorist attacks in the early 2000s. Strauss worked with the US Marines in southern Afghanistan as a political officer during the Afghan war.

In this episode you will learn about the power of meditation and how it can effect your mental health. You will also learn a lot about the importance of our dreams and how to make sense of them. This time my guest is Michael Katz psychologist, artist, and author with a doctoral degree in psychology from New York University. He is a long time student of Tibetan Buddhism and has studied with many of the great masters of this age. He is the co-author and editor of the book “Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light” with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu . He is also the author of the book “Tibetan Dream Yoga the Royal Road to Enlightenment “as well as the fictional novel “The White Dolphin.”

My guest is Marc Altheim is a yoga instructor and owner of a Yoga studio, Know Yoga Know Bliss, in Manhasset on Long Island, NY. He was formerly a real estate developer (co-founder of Atlantic Development Group) and founder of Beach Tennis USA, a company that introduced the sport of beach tennis to the USA and Canada. At Know Yoga Know Bliss all students, beginners and experts, are welcome, The studio is zen-like and well appointed. Marc specializes in teaching a Men's-only yoga class in order to attract guys who would otherwise not be amenable to trying yoga. The class emphasizes checking egos at the door and teaches the guys to accept the architecture and pliability (or non-pliability!) of their bodies. The class has been a resounding success as the men feel more secure in this environment.

What happens when the your brain meets your soul? Is kindness possible from a place of strength? What is spirituality and what is the role of religion? How do you get more connection and meaning into you life? We have discussed and answered many of these questions this time with senior rabbi Meir Feldman, who has an unusual background for his profession. He has been a Wall Street lawyer and a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles prior to climbing this second mountain in his life. Come and learn about rituals and meaning and how religion could connect rather than separate us.

My guest is Fernando Desouches, Managing Director of the New Macho strategic division at London-based brand and transformation company, BBD Perfect Storm,  who are on a mission to help brands grow through positive gender narratives.  New Macho is working with renowned global brands such as Dove Men+Care, Ruffles, Pepsi, Heinz and HeFroShe to help them stay relevant, dispel negative cliches and redefine masculinity.   With more than 20 years of experience in marketing to men, including at Unilever where he led the Axe brand's second-only brand repositioning in its 35-year history, he continues to provide important industry insights on cultural conversations around masculinity for his clients and wider society. In addition to being a frequent contributor across major media outlets, he is a regular speaker at industry events like AdWeek, prominent institutions like UNWomen Unstereotype Alliance and several universities around the globe. His work and expertise has been recognised by the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising), who added his name to their 2020 iList of role models championing inclusivity in the advertising industry.  

We discuss everything from embodiment to parenting and being present with a " jelly brain". No, I won't tell you what that is - you have to come and listen. You will learn about the immigrant mindset and how to travel as well as why being present is so crucial in leadership and politics. With four decades of experience as a coach and teacher, my guest, Scott developed a revolutionary communication method not only grounded in decades of field research at NYU Tisch's Graduate Program, but also incorporating data from the latest neuroscientific research on memory, linguistics, and cognition carried out by world-renowned institutions like NYU's Department of Psychology & Neural Science. He is visionary and long-time investigator of human behavior and has a very unique perspective on what effective communication really is about.

In this episode I take a step back and explore what is "MANTORSHIFT" and why did I start exploring the question of modern masculinity. It gets pretty personal as always, when you get to deeper stuff... I also explore a new topic that grabs my interest a lot lately... what I call the "immigrant mindset".

In this episode you will learn a lot about leadership and what it takes to build and sell a successful business. We also explore masculinity and femininity as necessary energies and styles in the Yin and Yang of leading people. My guest, Robbie is one of Britain's leading NLP trainers and coaches. He delivers all of the training at NLP School in London and is also on the faculty at NLP University in California. In addition to being an NLP Master Trainer he is also an ICF certified coach and his work ranges from delivering in-house leadership programs to coaching private clients across the world.

In this episode you will learn what is black architecture and what could it do for black neighborhoods. My guest is Demar Matthews, a Los Angeles based architectural designer, theorist, and writer. He is the founder and Principal of OffTop Design.Born in Moreno Valley, CA, Demar received his Bachelor's from HBCU Lincoln University of PA, and his Master's of architecture at Woodbury University where he was awarded the Graduate Thesis Prize for his project Black Architecture: Unearthing the Black Aesthetic. His introduction to the field was through his article “A Black Architecture Education Experience”  on archinect.  Demar believes architecture and good design should not only be for the privileged. Every community deserves to be proud of the built environment around them, and the built environment around them should be based on the cultures of the people who live there; regardless of income, race, and gender.

In this episode you will learn, how the scariest thing that ever happened to you can turn out to be a call for action and eventually, into "the best thing ever" to find your calling or “second mountain” in life. My guest is Justin Mirro, the CEO of Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and the President of Kensington Capital Partners, a merchant bank that invests in automotive and industrial companies. 

How does one acquire great public speaking skills that eventually lead him to taking 2nd place globally (although he is determined to eventually win first place) in the Toastmasters World Championships? What turns a shy Chinese boy (his words) growing up in Australia into a confident speaking and communication expert? You will learn that and some pretty specific tips about becoming a great speaker from my chat with Kwong Yue Yang, who has spoken at events in China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Australia and the USA.A native of Canberra, Australia, Kwong started his career as a corporate graduate working in a Change Management and Business Development teams. He then moved to Guangzhou, China, where he worked in digital advertising, and later became a founding member of an international digital firm that has worked with Zynga, Tokopedia, and Groupon.Kwong is an Ultimate Frisbee enthusiast who represented Australia at the Asia-Oceanic Ultimate Championships in 2007 and 2011. In addition to English, he is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Again, words can change lives. PC, LGBTQ+ and BLM. All terms that people tend to have strong opinions on. Some of us are still just learning what they mean, others are advocates and activists. One thing I find is missing are respectful conversations around this topic from all sides. Conversations about the meaning of tolerance and embrace, and what that means for our modern society and for men (and women). Hopefully, you too can learn about these terms and form a more educated opinion based on my conversation with Arya Marvazy, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and earned his BA in Psychology at UC San Diego, and a master's in Organizational Behavior from NYU. Twelve years into his non-profit career, he currently serves as the Managing Director of JQ International, an LGBTQ+ and Jewish organization focused on education, outreach, and support in service of inclusion and equality for all. In 2017, Arya launched the JQ Persian Pride Fellowship, an interfaith LGBTQ+ and ally initiative training the next generation of leaders. His dedication to the Jewish and LGBTQ+ community earned him a spot on LA Jewish Journal's 30 Under 30 list, IranWire's 50 Iranian-Americans You Should Know, and most recently the 2019 JPro Young Professional Award.

From this episode with Sam Horn, the Founder/CEO of the Intrigue Agency and the Tongue Fu! Training Institute, you will learn how the words we use can make a difference in building better relationships and becoming a leader that people want to follow. Sam shares quite a few real-life stories, inspiring quotes and actionable insights you can use immediately to get real-world results on and off the job. Sam's 9 books – including Tongue Fu!, Got Your Attention? and SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week - have been published in a dozen languages, endorsed by Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey and Keith Ferazzi, and taught to hundreds of organizations worldwide including Intel, Cisco, Capital One, Accenture, Nationwide, and the Asian Leadership Conference.Sam's three TEDx talks have been viewed more than a half million times and her LinkedIn communication series is used by organizations like Walmart and Wells Fargo to train their employees how to communicate more clearly and confidently. Sheri Salta, former Exec Producer of the Oprah Winfrey Show and President Of HARPO says, “Sam is one of the bright lights and most accessible wisdom sharers in our culture today.”

For this episode I had a really intriguing chat with Tynan. He has written seven books, many which became #1 Amazon Bestsellers in their categories.  From this episode you can learn a lot about: -       Why doing things that are different from the mainstream will pay off;-       Why so many things we hold as common knowledge and truth are flat out wrong;-       How to form a habit that lasts;-       What you can learn from pick-up art;-       Why drinking tea is good for your body and spirit;-       What are some key habits we should all have.Tynan is best known for two books titled Superhuman by Habit and Superhuman Social Skills. He owns properties in Hawaii, Budapest, and Tokyo, as well as an island near Halifax, Canada and 12 units in a neighborhood in Las Vegas. His combined cost for all of these things is under $100k. He believes in making deliberate decisions and breaking away from the herd mentality. From embarrassingly humble beginnings, he rose to become one of the most famous pickup artists in the world. He is now happily married, which probably wouldn't have happened without pickup. He also lived in an RV for around 10 years. He has never tried cigarette or any drug and had only five sips of alcohol, and have swallowed no pills other than Vitamin D pills. He owns one pair of pants and two shirts as well as a white tuxedo, and that's all for clothes.

As things escalate in the USA, I am releasing this episode with a heavy heart but with a lot of hope. Heavy heart because we talked before the Capitolium was besieged, but we already knew that nothing good will come from the two sides demonizing each other. With a lot of hope as we do talk about some great and promising tools and approaches that might help us in this situation. Our discussion also flows around the history of Jewish masculinity and the roots of anti-Semitism. We touch on the sexuality of men and how many men tend not to have any understanding and connection to their body. My guest is Dr. Yakir Englander, the National Director of Leadership programs at the Israeli-American Council. He also teaches at the AJR (a rabbinical school) in New-York. Originally from the Ultra-Orthodox community of Israel, Englander obtained his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Jewish philosophy and gender studies. He is a Fulbright scholar and was a visiting professor of Religion at Northwestern University, the Shalom Hartman Institute and Harvard Divinity School.Englander's books have changed the discourse on sexuality and gender inside the Jewish religious societies in Israel. After leaving Orthodoxy, Yakir was drafted to the Israeli military, spending most of his service in an elite unit tasked with the identification of human remains. As a result of his service, he joined as a director and later as the vice president at Kids4Peace, an interfaith youth movement in Jerusalem and other cities in North America. We talk about the lessons he has learned from the peace work, and how we should handle the bitter divide in the USA and around the world.

In this episode we wanted to speak about Men and Happiness. They seem to have an adversarial relationship. One of the top 5 regrets of men is they wish they have let themselves to be happier. Why is that and what's the remedy? Come and find out when you listen to our 20th and final 2020 podcast on MANTORSHIFT. My partner in conversation is Arnaud Collery, who is hard to pin down. He's got his hands in a lot of different pies (so to speak), and I agree with him that's a really good thing. He's an entrepreneur, public speaker, emcee, stand-up comedian and jack of all trades across the business and entertainment spectrums.Arnaud created Stand Up for Passion in 2014 drawing from his stage and directing background and combining it with his personal mission to make the world a more purpose-driven and meaningful place. In 2019, Google sponsored the event in their HQ in NY, Aruba the “Happy Island” in their casino and at last the United Nations/UNHCR in Geneva in December 2019 and live-streamed to thousands internally. Arnaud has been working on creativity and happiness-related projects and companies for many years and has made it his life's work to spread his insight and tools for happiness in life and business to the world. By trade, he's an award winning comedian (Last Comic Standing quarter finalist 2009) and filmmaker (Little Klaus Big World, best comedy film at the Monaco film festival in 2012). He has been featured on CTTV China, TBS Japan, KTLA, KPCC, NBC, MTV, E! as well as the Huffington Post. He is a regular Guest speaker at BFM BUSINESS TV Channel since 2015 on the topic of Happiness and Quality of life. He published "Mister Happiness" with France number 1 publisher Larousse on April 2018.

This time we talk about the difference between being a dad versus a father. We explore what does it mean to "live your life out loud" and why seeking discomfort is actually good for you. We dig into the roots of the political divisiveness and to why saying "I don't know" helps building your leadership charisma. My guest is Jonscott Turco, a global citizen who enjoys different cultures, people, and perspectives. His multinational and multicultural work focuses on transformation and organizational development and he thrives on cross-cultural collaboration and big-picture success for people and organizations. He lives and works in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East and has spent over two decades across 50+ countries honing his own international expertise in transformational leadership development, innovative business practices, and cross cultural collective intelligence. Jonscott now shares this expertise through numerous professional outlets.

I felt it was high time to talk about men and art, acting and masculinity. In this episode my guest is John Dapolito, the Founder of Actors! Where Are You Going?, a cutting edge acting program for professional actors.John shares his personal story and how he was able to transform the void his absent father left into “becoming what he missed”. We also talk about the role of assertiveness for men and how it can blend well with kindness, support and attention.John recently penned, Ethan & Nico Go to Therapy. His other plays include: Augie's Ring (Los Angeles Times Critics Pick), An Act of Kindness (Los Angeles Times Critics Pick), Killer Midgets, and Baptism by Fire. The latter play, Baptism by Fire was produced and directed by Emmy Award Winner Michael Imperioli (Sopranos) and starred Nick Sandow (Orange is the New Black) and Vincert Curatola (Sopranos). John's screenplay When Tough Guys Were King co-authored by Dominik Tiefenthaler, and is based on the video testimonial recordings of his estranged ex-con father, August Dapolito, a native of Jersey City who struggled with heroin addiction, alcohol and prison for 25 years until he lost his life to AIDS in 1993. John is also a New York City based professional acting teacher and director. He first directed Ralph Pape's Soap Opera some twenty-five years ago, and in the spring of 2013 he directed a daring production of Neil LaBute's Romance. In 2013 he directed Brian Gianci's, Let's Kill Grandma This Christmas. In 2017 he directed the American premiere of Ghost Story by Mark Ravenhill.

There is a big debate going on about what are the biological differences between men and women and how we should think about our masculinity and femininity. Understanding how our hormonal dynamics play a pivotal role in how humans behave is still a task at hand in science. John Gray is the author of one of the most well-known and trusted relationship book of all time, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. USA Today listed his book as one of the top 10 most influential books of the last quarter century. Dr. Gray has written over 20 books. His most recent book is Beyond Mars and Venus. John helps men and women better understand and respect their differences in both personal and professional relationships.  He has appeared repeatedly on Oprah, as well as on The Dr. Oz Show, TODAY, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, and others. He has been profiled in Time, Forbes, USA Today, and People. He was also the subject of a three-hour special hosted by Barbara Walters.An advocate of health and optimal brain function, he also provides natural solutions for overcoming depression, anxiety and stress to support increased energy, libido, hormonal balance and better sleep. John Gray lives in Northern California, where for 34 years he happily shared his life with his beautiful wife, Bonnie, until her passing in 2018. They have three grown daughters and four grandchildren.

Is there really a birth lottery in life? How do you choose between "breaking bad" or breaking out? You will learn from this episode how James McKeever was able to break free from the jail of poverty and how he chose purposeful work over violence and crime. We talk about the power and relevance of race, the role of mentors and family and what it takes to change your personal history when your parent's legacy is dragging you done rather than propelling you upward. James has a long history of involvement in social justice work. He has worked for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, where he was involved with the design and implementation of prevention and intervention programs for detained youth. He has also worked with the National Committee for Community and Justice (NCCJ), a group that is dedicated to fighting racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. He received his bachelor degree from California State University Los Angeles where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He received his PhD from the University of Southern California. Currently he is a Professor of Sociology Department at Los Angeles Pierce College.His interests lie in the areas of the intersection of race, gender, and class as well as issues that have to do with negative outcomes for minority youth. James is a former American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Fellow and National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Fellow. His dissertation focused on African-American men's mentorship in majority Latina/o communities.

In this episode we explore what has brought humanity to the precarious and perilous place we currently live in. You will learn about what mental health is and how to keep our sanity and cool during the present marathon of a crisis. We also discuss the fundamentals of being a father who will make a positive difference on his children and how the ideal evolved over the last 50 years. You can learn the basic technic of centering which is the best-known antidote to stress and the key ingredient of high performance and being at your best. My partner in conversation is Stephen Gilligan Ph.D., who after receiving his psychology doctorate from Stanford University, became one of the premier teachers and practitioners of Ericksonian hypnotherapy. He has taught in many different cultures and countries over the past 30 years and has published extensively. 

We have become quite estranged from ourselves. We often choose cynicism as a defense mechanism and are hiding behind our questions. It is hard for us to show up in an authentic way because if doesn't feel safe. Rabbi Iggy argues that we need a place where we can just be and belong. Part of being a man is exactly to make those choices of who I want to be, how I want to be and what do I want to communicate about myself. A fascinating learning experience about manhood, masculinity and what is the essence of the Jewish approach to humanity and manhood. Rabbi Igael "Iggy" Gurin-Malous is a renowned Talmud teacher, spiritual counselor, artist, and educator. He grew up between Belgium, Israel (so expect him to be well dressed and blunt) and the United States in a traditional Jewish Orthodox home. He is a frequent author, speaker, teacher and contributor on subjects ranging from Talmud, Jewish text, spirituality, addiction, recovery, fatherhood and LGBTQI+ issues.Today He is the founding rabbi and CEO of T'shuvah Center, a new long term Jewish recovery community in Bed-stuy, Brooklyn. He was formerly the Director of Spiritual counseling at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles. He is also Temple Israel of Hollywood Talmud Scholar in Residence, teaching weekly classes on Interpreting Talmud. Igael also serves on the board and faculty at the Academy of Jewish Religion of California.

We all want to succeed. Most of us dream about long term, sustainable high performance and winning it all. In this podcast you will learn about the limitations of the finite “win it all” style versus an infinite, long-term approach. For this episode I interviewed Paul Epstein, an expert at achieving world class performance, a revenue and culture champion with nearly 15 years of experience as a professional sports executive for multiple NFL and NBA teams, a global sports agency, and the NFL league office. Paul has since developed a "Playing Offense" methodology to help professionals, leaders, and executives achieve at the highest levels, and shares his playbook on Playing Offense as a keynote speaker, executive coach, and global consultant. Be on the lookout for his book on "The Power of Playing Offense" late 2020.  

In this episode you will learn about how men can be great allies to women and how we can build a better culture (both at work and at home) of inclusivity and equity, while also preserving the values of masculine and feminine qualities. For this episode I interviewed Shannon Huffman Polson. She is one of the first women to fly Apache combat helicopters in the U.S. Armed Forces, where she served on three continents and led two flight platoons and a line company. Recently she turned her attention to the study of leadership, as author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, and founder of The Grit Institute, with robust training in leadership and grit dedicated to whole-leader development in times of challenge and change.

As a well-meaning human being you are probably asking yourself what are we to do about the current huge racial tension in the USA and the world. If you are a white man, you are probably also asking yourself what you can contribute and how best relate to people of other color. If you have kids you may be wondering what you should teach to your kids about our heritage and how to build a more balanced future. What's the solution for us to come together? How can we be in peace with ourselves and each other? This is a unique chance to hear from Don Oatzínu, who brings in a surprising and extremely relevant indigenous prospective.Don Oatzínu Shéélákéé (from the Good Star clan born for the Chaco Diné Tó Tsó Níí Lipiyanes of Chaco Canyon) is the lineal Honorable High Chief Little Clown of the Lipahenne Tribe of the greater southwest. Furthermore, He is an armed forces veteran who believes that all fellow veterans need better healthcare. Dón Oatzínu is passionately working with veterans in SUD treatment programs and currently building a program to aid Veterans in a traditional holistic integrated manner. Pooling from both paternal and maternal lineal indigenous healing traditions, Dón Oatzínu incorporates these modalities, core values and practices to help the people. 

wIn this episode my guest is Shaykh Ibad Wali, the Executive Director & Resident Scholar of Hillside Islamic Center as well as an ‘Aalim Course Instructor at Darul Uloom New York, specializing in the Islamic Law of Inheritance. You will learn a lot about the Muslim view of the world and how education is the key to be able to live in peace with each other. You will hear about the true meaning of the sacred war and how prophet Mohammed in fact was a progressive man of his age. Ibad also shares about his views of the sanctity of the family, his deep respect for women and the need to define what good manhood looks like in the world.

My guest in this episode is Gordon Korman, the author of more than ninety books for kids and young adults, most recently WAR STORIES, and NOTORIOUS. You can learn about how his purpose found him and what it is like to balance so many roles in your life, from being a father to being an internationally renowned writer and speaker. He shares about his creative writing process and what it was like growing up feeling different.His writing career began at the age of twelve when his seventh grade English assignment became his first published novel. Now, four decades later, he is a full-time writer and speaker, with over thirty-two million copies of his novels in print in thirty-five languages. Each year he travels extensively, visiting schools, libraries, and bookstores, bringing his trademark humor and adventure styles to readers everywhere. A native of Ontario, Canada, he lives with his family in Long Island, New York.

Christian is an award-winning television producer, a public speaker, author, peace advocate, and a former violent extremist. You will learn how men are attracted to extremist movements and why is it so hard to leave once you are in. He shares how he was able to overcome his fears and self-hatred and begun to transform his life. We also talk about the current deadlock of hatred and the lack of conversation in our society about a constructive way forward through the deep racial and ideological challenges we are facing. Christian has an amazing life story. After leaving the hate movement he helped create during the 1980s and 90s, he began the painstaking process of making amends and rebuilding his life. Christian went on to earn a degree in international relations from DePaul University and launched Goldmill Group, a counter-extremism consulting and digital media firm. In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for producing an anti-hate advertising campaign aimed at helping people disengage from extremism. Since leaving the white-power movement, Christian has dedicated his life to helping others overcome their own hate. He now leads the Free Radicals Project, a global extremism prevention and disengagement network. He has spoken all over the world, including the TED stage, and shares his unique and extensive knowledge, teaching all who are willing to learn about building greater peace through empathy and compassion. Christian chronicles his involvement and exit from the early American white-supremacist skinhead movement in his memoir, WHITE AMERICAN YOUTH. He showcases his disengagement work in a second book, BREAKING HATE: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism, published inFebruary 2020 by Hachette Books, as well as the MSNBC documentary series of the same name.

In this episode I interview Arthur Woods, who is a serial entrepreneur working at the intersection of equity, inclusion and technology. He was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 by BEQ. He is a three-times TEDx speaker and has advised leading brands from Disney and MetLife to the Smithsonian. You will learn what it was like for him to come out as a gay men and how he found purpose in his life. He shares his take on what modern masculinity is and I get to ask him some behind scene questions about what it means to be gay in 2020 in the United States.

You will learn a lot about the African American male experience and what it is like to be always on the alert in your own skin or when they think you must be an athlete if your are in Harvard. We talk about how to make meaning of what is happening around us and how to move forward by first admitting that something is indeed wrong. Dr. Duggan is a native New Yorker, a preacher, and a transformational denominational executive. He and his wife Patricia, a school administrator, are the parents of three sons and proud grandparents of two girls and two boys. He earned the Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, the Master of Divinity and the Doctor of Ministry degrees, both from New York Theological Seminary. He has served as Senior Pastor of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead/ United Church of Christ (CCSH) since 1995 and also served as Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund (CB&LF) in addition to his pastoral duties.  CB&LF is the oldest church building society in the United States, having financed over CB&LF's vision is to re-invent the concept of “church” through innovative uses of buildings and space created through unique partnerships and the application of biblical principles, to dramatically improve the economic, social, environmental, and spiritual vitality of poor communities and gentrifying neighborhoods.  Dr. Duggan asserts that the source of his passion for leading CB&LF is that he is “on a mission to enable church leaders and congregations to live into God's economy”.

In this episode you will learn how the fight-or-flight is a physiological survival mechanism we are all born with. When we perceive a threat, our sympathetic nervous system activates, stimulating the adrenal glands and triggering the release of adrenaline and other hormones. Our hearts beat faster, our breathing becomes more rapid, our pupils dilate, and we may start trembling or perspiring. Early on, John realized that all of his clients—especially the highly successful ones—were regularly experiencing fight-or-flight. Many of them were either purposefully or unconsciously inducing a stress state (or, in other words staying in fight-or-flight) so that they could use the resulting energy as fuel. This “hack” provided a competitive edge, but it was also draining.Without taking time to recharge and recover, people in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight are stressed, tense, and depleted. They're focused on their physical bodies and able to disconnect from their emotions. This kind of avoidance can have real physical consequences; bottled up grief, anger, and hurt often manifest as physical pain in a process called somatization.