Where Our Belief Systems Come From
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the episode about belief systems in the context of the fires in Southern California Remember…Jim is a California native still living in the Bay Area and Mark has lived in Florida since 1990 Two very different perspectives and responses to natural disasters! Jim says it’s personal because he has friends and family in the fire zone He brings in our tag line and framework. He says we’ll try and find some good in all of it. He cites our 5 areas with focus on worldview Jim share some of his preparation for the episode. He asks Mark to read the definition of “belief...
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The Post Election Paradigm Shift
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces Episode 1 of Season 4 with the topic of a paradigm shift. A shift in the way the country is moving with the election of Donald Trump and the push back against “woke” Jim introduces the wheel and worldview as a likely connection to the topic. He believes the shift is well on it’s way and we can see and hear evidence of it as more people open up post election Jim has some examples and topics he wants to discuss The first one is COVID What did covid change - communication Second is BLM/DEI. Neither were sustainable Third is The 2024 election 4th is Artificial Intelligence...
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AI...What The Hell Do We Know?
Imperfect Mens Club
We recorded this Dec 23, 2024. We decided to sneak one in during Christmas week and when we connected for the pre game, neither of us had any ideas about what might make a good topic Then we shared a couple of real "what just happened" stories and AI was a common theme. So we decided to share our genius I didn't edit or listen to this episode for the first time in 3 years. I think it'll be good Learn how to make fun of yourself and recognize how little you know Mark & Jim
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Planning For What's Next - What Would Jim Rohn Do?
Imperfect Mens Club
Hey all. We began with a New Years, year-end, goal setting theme within the context of some JIm Rohn quotes What we ended up with is an in depth reflection on Jim Rohn's wisdom and how much of it might be very helpful as we plan for what's next ---------------- Mark leads with year-end, new year and goal setting as topics. The context is the wisdom of Jim Rohn. Our Jim loves Rohn and brought some quotes as foundations for our episode Jim says it’s the past, present and future approach He reflects on being in sales and the goal setting and metrics of sales Jim shares his opinion of Jim Rohn...
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Know Thyself - The Magic Of Self Awareness
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the topic of self awareness. He shares that their “pregame” discussion was very self reflective. He suggests that the time of year, as well as some other personal events from Jim’s life and Mark’s have the guys a bit mired in self reflection and self awareness Mark reads a couple of quotes Jim brought to the recording. One secular (Stoic) and one Biblical (Thomas) Jim shares some context for his quotes and shares his position on self awareness and what’s going on in his life Jim reflects on yesterday being the 5 year anniversary of his father’s death. He says to...
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The Holidays - More People More Problems
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the episode and frames it around the holidays, the challenges therein and the notion that “the more people the more problems” Jim says the topic is timely and he connects it to our flywheel of life…all starting with the self. He shares his opinion on the more people topic and heightened emotions Mark adds New Years and all the prep before the holidays. He cites the pressure the woman are under Jim laughs about being through 50 of these. He says it means more, the younger you are…we’ve seen this movie Mark talks about the evolution from childhood to present holiday...
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Life Is One Big 80/20 Rule
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the episode with some context about where today's topic came from Jim had a speech to give last week and on the drive he teed up our last episode about writng a letter to your 21 year old self In that episode we mentioned the 80/20 rule, aka, The Pareto Principle He talked about how he wove it into his speech and how it resonate with the audience Then the guys broke down the history of the rule and how universal it's application became over time Both guys gave examples of it in their lives with an emphasis on work/business/productivity Then Jim went over the multitude of other...
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A Letter To Your 21 Year Old Self
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the episode and reflects on the “pregame” discussion with Jim. Jim is giving a speech in a few days to a group or around 60 to 80 college students at San Jose State in the dept of Design and construction and he wants to give them career advice and life advice to help them with the transition from school to life Jim brings the wheel into play and shares some context for his upcoming talk. Who the audience is and the topics to be discussed Jim expands upon the idea of the letter he recommends students write or could write to be read later in life Jim starts to talk about the...
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The Election - What Happened And What Do We Do Now?
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark starts off introducing the topic which revolves around the presidential election of 2024. What do we do now? Jim and Mark are more interested in addresing what actually happened, why it may have happened and what we might expect to happen next What do we do now? We went back and forth about the blue team and red team. No judgement It's not what happens to you, it's how you respond... We talked about elitism and messaging. How the blue team continued the division and condescension We discussed how diverse the turnout was from the red team (ironically) We left on an optimistic note. The...
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How Simple Words Can Influence Effective Persuasion
Imperfect Mens Club
Mark introduces the topic of communication and within that general topic, the subtopic of persuasion. He then emphasizes the value of having a framework. He puts our framework in perspective Jim chimes in about the idea of having a framework and emphasizes the IMC framework Jim shares his 5 W’s framework and how helpful it has been for him in a variety of projects. How it adds perspective for both parties He shares the value of effective people being clear Jim asks Mark about his framework Mark shares his childhood influences around communication and then his framework What do you say? How...
info_outlineMark Introduces the topic for this episode - Traditions. He contextualizes it as connected to worldview as traditions are often cultural. The guys arrived at the topic talking about Jim’s annual high school football team barbecue he holds at his house and has for 17 years in a row
Jim also connects it to our childhood where our worldview begins to form
Jim shares his appreciation for what the football program did for him. He thinks that without football it
Very easily could have been bad - prison like his two cousins
He goes on to tell the story of how it all started - an incredible story
And a book called “The Season Of Life” which spoke to the issue of building men for others
Tradition, continuity , belonging and creating an environment to thrive
Jim talks more about how successful the program has been now that many former players have come back to coach and participate
And how beneficial the whole program has been in the wider circle of people who are touched by the program
Mark supports the notion of tradition and real masculinity…not toxicity. Way more than just football
Jim talks about the timing and the spirit and the excitement. It brings everyone together for a common cause
Mark talks about how men are shaped at an early age. Good choices or bad choices. The importance of a mentor and how difficult life is without one
Jim shares his perspective of living in a 1% area and driving to the 99% area and the difference in access to resources and support. He shares his appreciation for learning how to compete
Then he talks about how this competitiveness is helpful in life in general. Unity and camaraderie
50% divorce rate and how many boys grow up without a father…how important the football coach becomes in that situation
Jim thinks we’ve forgotten young men and even emasculated them
Mark agrees that Jim’s life could have really gone south
Jim talks about how many different roles there are in making this tradition stick and then flourish
He then talks about the importance of belonging to something
Mark talks about pushing back on human nature and how important it is to NOT do that, particularly in regard to masculinity
Jim talks about the goal of the program and shares stats on graduation rates and the trouble that creates. Kids that participate in sports graduate at much higher rates
He’s preparing young men for the last whistle and the last bell. We’re not preparing them for life
Mark talks about his career and coaching his own kids after high school. Then he brings up Mike Rowe and the trades
Jim reflects on his high school graduation and the massive shift and void
Mark shares his high school experience in contrast to Jim’s. Winning and losing is infectious/contagious
Jim tells his “Nobody runs on Hayward” story
Mark talks about his family tradition around military and fighter pilots
Mark puts Jim’s program in perspective of how impactful it is
Jim shares the two messages he delivers to the kids at the barbecue. Showing up and “no rules” no incident speech. The power of trusting and empowering back. The following morning his talk is about showing up and being prepared and “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better”. Boys blame others, men take responsibility. Be so good they can’t ignore you. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond to what happens to you
Mark appreciates the work and Jim talks about how deep these relationships have grown
Jim feels that the best players aren’t always the most successful. It’s the second stringers
Mark thinks the more talented you are, the less likely you are to work hard
Belonging, routine, structure, hierarchy and honor. If you don’t get this in one place, you’ll find it somewhere else. He mentions gangs
Mark encourages listeners to seek out opportunities to help young men
Jim brings up Scott Galloway and his work with young men
Mark mentions example of places to go to help young men
Jim recommends the progress and trust are built up over time. What you can do immediately is help the coaches. Thank them. Bring a team meal. Little gestures go a long way
Mark shares his experience working with homeless kids for three years
You might even get more out of the experience than the kids
Jim ends with leaving the public side of this work and went off the radar
Mark says your efforts need to be authentic to be effective