The Power of Showing Up, Building Community, and Doing Challenging Things with Your Brothers Featuring David Valadez

The Power of Showing Up, Building Community, and Doing Challenging Things with Your Brothers Featuring David Valadez

What happens when you stop doing things virtually and actually show up for each other? Jon, Will, and returning MTM guest David Valadez reflect on a weekend in Colorado Springs that started with an excruciating Spartan 10K — 7 miles of mud, hills, barbed wire, and shared struggle — and ended with something harder to measure. Every wall and climb was a reminder that we are stronger together than we will ever be alone. Outside the race, the moments kept coming: Jon's Family embracing the gang for dinner, and a visit to Dan Carcillo's plant medicine retreat center in Golden. This is a short episode about the one thing that accelerates everything else — real, in-person community between men. It's one of the core tenets of Men Talking Mindfulness: we are stronger together, and this weekend proved it. MORE ABOUT DAVID VALADEZ: Business advisor to the show, investor, partner, and advisor across multiple business ventures and startups. In 2018 he walked away from a corporate operations career — including senior roles at Convergint, a global systems integrator in security and building automation — to focus on investing in and advising growth-stage companies. He also brings a background in youth sports performance leadership as former VP of Operations at Dedicated Athletes and Legerity Sports Performance. David is a Partner at Kitsap Olhava Management and one of the men behind the scenes at MTM. Check out his past ep: Men's Journey Through and Healing After Divorce [https://smartlink.ausha.co/men-talking-mindfulness/men-s-journey-through-and-healing-after-divorce-stories-of-support-and-recovery] IN THIS EPISODE: -Why shared struggle creates a depth of connection no Zoom call can replicate -How co-regulation works — and what Jon's wife saw in him after just one weekend -The visit to Dan Carcillo and Experience Onward — what happened in that room -Why doing something hard together is different from just hanging out -The first step if you've been isolating — and how to take it -A direct invitation to join MTM community and future in-person events Tired of just listening and want to become more mindful? Take our Awareness to Action COURSE (A2A) 12 modules structured curriculum on attention, presence, practices & performance — plus an inspiring community built in for connection. https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course [https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course] → This episode is a living example of what A2A is building — community as the foundation of growth GET MORE FROM MTM: Join our free weekly Substack newsletter → Click HERE [https://newsletter.focusnowtraining.com/subscribe?next=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2F%40focusnowtraining&utm_source=profile-page&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile&just_signed_up=true] Check out our MTM Website to see what else we are up too! mentalkingmindfulness.com [http://mentalkingmindfulness.com] GET FOCUSED!! (Corporate Trainings) Does your company need help, or would you like to reduce safety incidents?? Head over to focusnowtraining.com [http://focusnowtraining.com] - we have you covered! Produced by Robert Lopez cratesaudio.com [http://cratesaudio.com] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Green Beret Chris Lee on Meditation as a Superpower: Match Your Pace to Your Breath

What does a dedicated meditation practice look like off the cushion and in the real world? On this episode of Men Talking Mindfulness, hosts Jon Macaskill and Will Schneider sit down with Chris Lee... former Green Beret, 18 Delta medic, author of Beyond the Battlefield, and newly signed president of Machine Mentality alongside Nick Lavery. Chris came on to talk about why meditation is the quiet superpower that most men keep putting off, and what actually changed when he stopped treating it like a checkbox. Chris shares his walking meditation practice (72 steps per lap in his backyard, nearly killed the grass), the moment he realized he'd been matching his breath to his pace instead of his pace to his breath, and why flipping that became a metaphor for his whole life. He talks about the shift from knife-handing his daughters to being present during driving lessons, the self-talk change that cracked everything open, and a psychedelic-assisted therapy session where he heard: stop striving for peace, just be peace. Jon shares his own meditation gap... learning the practice in 2015, dropping off, and coming back in 2017 when his newborn daughter's nighttime feedings forced him to rediscover the tool. Will talks about teaching non-doing meditation to high performers in New York and why you'll never out-clever your own mind. The episode gets practical with the five-minute rule, the gym analogy for beginners (start with 45 seconds, not an hour), and two responses to common meditation pushback that are worth remembering: "I can't quiet my mind" is like saying "I'm too dirty to take a shower," and the deadlift analogy for people who think sitting still is a waste of time. Chris closes by guiding a liquid light body scan meditation. What you'll hear in this episode: * Chris's walking meditation practice and matching pace to breath as a life metaphor * The self-talk shift: being gentle when your mind wanders * How meditation changed Chris's parenting with two daughters * Jon's nighttime feeding story and rediscovering the tool * The five-minute rule and why 45 seconds is a great place to start * "I can't quiet my mind" = "I'm too dirty to take a shower" * The deadlift analogy for meditation skeptics * Non-doing meditation and why fighting your mind gives it control * Peace as a reservoir, not a mountaintop * Sleep, alcohol, the Brick device, and variables that affect your practice * Community and accountability for sustaining a meditation habit * Guided liquid light body scan meditation * Chris's book: Beyond the Battlefield (available now) Chris's upcoming book: Beyond the Serpent (early 2026) Chris on Instagram/TikTok: @coach_chris.lee Machine Mentality with Nick Lavery Full episode: https://pod.fo/e/34fabf [https://pod.fo/e/34fabf] Text MTM to 33777 for updates on new episodes, the A2A course, and resources from Focus Now Training. Jon's book, DIAL in Your Leadership: 4 Non-negotiables for Leading with Clarity, Trust, and Purpose, is available now on Amazon. https://a.co/d/0hYwI2Sz [https://a.co/d/0hYwI2Sz] Follow Men Talking Mindfulness, Jon Macaskill, and Will Schneider for more. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Steven Pressfield: Winning the Battle Within | Men Talking Mindfulness

Steven Pressfield spent 27 years writing before his first novel was published — enduring 21 jobs, living in 11 states, and at times out of his car. Finally, at age 52, Steve finally, what Joseph Campbell calls, “Seized the Sword”. Since then, he’s written over 20+ books and sold millions of copies. His most famous works are: The War of Art, Turning Pro, Gates of Fire (Gates is on the US Marine Corps commandant's mandatory reading list), and he also wrote the 2000 Oscar-nominated film, The Legend of Bagger Vance. His newest book, The Arcadian, was just released May 26th. Steven comes on Men Talking Mindfulness to talk about the inner war every man is fighting — against Resistance, and the risks of actually Turning pro. IN THIS EPISODE: -What Resistance is — and why it wants to kill you, not just stop you -The one question Steven asks at the end of every day — and why it changes everything -Why warrior virtues and artist virtues are identical -The Muse — what it is, where it comes from, and how to tune in -Amateur vs. pro: the mindset shift that separates people who do from people who mean to -The authentic swing — Bagger Vance, the Bhagavad Gita, and your true calling RELATED EPISODES: -Overcoming Procrastination [https://smartlink.ausha.co/men-talking-mindfulness/overcoming-procrastination] -The Shadow Holds Your Power, Not Your Pain with Connor Beaton [https://smartlink.ausha.co/men-talking-mindfulness/the-shadow-holds-your-power-not-your-pain-with-connor-beaton] -Finding Your Purpose [https://smartlink.ausha.co/men-talking-mindfulness/finding-your-purpose] -Curiosity Is Key to Breaking Men Free from Judgment and Rumination [https://smartlink.ausha.co/men-talking-mindfulness/curiosity-is-key-to-breaking-men-free-from-judgment-and-rumination-with-will-schneider] PRE-ORDER THE ARCADIAN BOOK & FOLLOW STEVEN PRESSFIELD: -stevenpressfield.com [http://stevenpressfield.com] GET MORE FROM MTM: Text MTM to 33777 — free weekly newsletter -Subscribe: [https://mentalkingmindfulness.com]mentalkingmindfulness.com [http://mentalkingmindfulness.com] A2A COURSE: Change is Possible, this is where it starts - 12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Self-paced. -https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course [https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course] - Maps to Module 2 of A2A: Observing Your Inner World Without Being Owned By It BRING FNT TO YOUR TEAM: -focusnowtraining.com/contact [https://focusnowtraining.com/contact] Co-produced by Robert Lopez cratesaudio.com [http://cratesaudio.com] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Fear of Negative Evaluation: The Hidden Pattern Wrecking Men's Careers, Relationships, and Freedom with Andy Riise (An MTM Short)

Our A2A Course is live and at 40% off until Friday, May 29th at 1pm ET. Visit https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course [https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course] to sign up NOW!! Marcus Aurelius said it nearly two thousand years ago: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. On this episode of Men Talking Mindfulness, hosts Jon Macaskill and Will Schneider sit down with Andy Riise... army officer, mental performance coach for NFL athletes including the Chicago Bears, and host of the Skull Sessions podcast... to break down the approval trap and why it's quietly running most men's lives. Will lays the biological foundation. Fear of negative evaluation, FNE, is one of the most studied patterns in clinical psychology. Your brain processes social rejection through the same neural circuits it uses for physical pain. Getting dismissed in a meeting registers the same way getting punched does. That's evolutionary wiring, not weakness. The guys get into the spotlight effect (Cornell research showing people overestimate how much others notice them by roughly double), Andy's story of deliberately sitting with a different group at the West Point prep school mess hall, and Alyssa Liu's gold medal comeback after quitting figure skating to rediscover why she loved it in the first place. Jon, Will, and Andy walk through how FNE shows up in daily life: the yes-man pattern at work that stalls careers, the reassurance-seeking in relationships that erodes attraction, the Disney dad trap of buying approval instead of earning respect, and the deepest layer... the ghost. Most men are performing for one or two specific people from their past, and they've been doing it for decades. Andy teaches the BASS framework he uses with NFL athletes for real-time emotional regulation. Will adds a values audit and a spotlight effect experiment. And Jon talks about how purpose is the single biggest antidote to approval-seeking, which ties directly into the A2A (Awareness to Action) course launching through Focus Now Training. What you'll hear in this episode: * Why social rejection activates the same brain circuits as physical pain * The spotlight effect: half as many people are watching you as you think * Andy's West Point mess hall story and why crossing social lines is the real macho move * Alyssa Liu's gold medal run and the next-play mindset * How FNE shows up at work, in relationships, with kids, and in community * The ghost concept: who you're still performing for decades later * BASS framework: Breathe, Accept, Separate, Shift * Motivational interviewing basics: OARS (Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarizing) * Purpose as the antidote to approval-seeking * Andy's podcast: Skull Sessions (available everywhere) Andy's TEDx talk: Fight to Win the War from Within Full episode: https://pod.fo/e/3abd25 [https://pod.fo/e/3abd25] Text MTM to 33777 for updates on new episodes, the A2A course, and resources from Focus Now Training. Jon's book, DIAL in Your Leadership: 4 Non-negotiables for Leading with Clarity, Trust, and Purpose, is available now on Amazon. https://a.co/d/0hYwI2Sz [https://a.co/d/0hYwI2Sz] Follow Men Talking Mindfulness, Jon Macaskill, and Will Schneider for more. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

The Gap Between Stimulus and Response Changes Everything | A2A Course Launch Webinar

What happens in the space between a trigger and your reaction? That gap — the one most people don't even know exists — is where everything changes. In this special episode, Will and Jon break down the concept live during the Awareness to Action (A2A) course launch webinar, walk the audience through a real-time breathwork exercise to experience the gap firsthand, and explain how training this skill can transform the way you lead, parent, and show up in every relationship. Whether you're a maxed-out leader running on fumes, someone searching for a change that actually sticks, or just going through a hard season, this one's for you. Sign up for the Awareness to Action (A2A) course: https://focusnowtraining.com/A2A-course [https://focusnowtraining.com/A2A-course] Or text MTM to 33777 Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.