Our Flywheel of Life – Jim’s Story (Part 3 of the Framework Series)
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode Summary In this episode of the Imperfect Men’s Club Podcast, Mark Aylward turns the Flywheel of Life back toward co-host Jim Gurulé. This conversation completes the third installment of a multi-part series exploring the IMC framework and how the five interconnected areas of life shape who we become. Using the Flywheel as a guide, Jim walks through his worldview, childhood influences, relationships, money mindset, well-being, and life’s work. The discussion is honest, reflective, and grounded in lived experience—touching on neurodivergence, masculinity, discipline, money beliefs,...
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Self-Awareness: How Men Become Who They Actually Are
Imperfect Mens Club
Season 5 | Episode 2 A Conversation with Mark Aylward: Frameworks, Identity, and the Work of Becoming Self-Aware Episode Overview In this second episode of a three-part Season 5 series, Mark Aylward takes the guest seat as co-host Jim Gurulé interviews him on his background, lived experience, and the frameworks that underpin the Imperfect Men’s Club philosophy. The conversation revisits the origins of the IMC framework, often referred to as the Wheel of Life or Flywheel, and explores how self-awareness, subconscious belief systems, and life domains like money, relationships, ideology,...
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Why Self-Awareness Comes First In Our Flywheel Framework
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode: The Framework, the Flywheel, and What’s Coming in 2026 (Part 1 of 3) Episode Overview In this first episode of a three-part series, Mark Aylward and Jim Gurulé lay out what’s coming for Imperfect Men’s Club in 2026 and revisit the core framework that has guided the podcast from the beginning. This episode is about structure. Not the soul-crushing kind, but the kind that helps men organize the noise of life, identity, work, and relationships into something usable. Mark and Jim unpack their “Wheel of Life” framework, also called the flywheel, and explain why it matters more...
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Motivation is emotional - Self discipline is reliable
Imperfect Mens Club
Season 5, Episode 1: Self-Discipline The bridge between who you say you want to be and what you actually do. Mark and Jim kick off Season 5 by doing what they always do best: questioning the stuff we’re supposed to accept, leaning on lived experience, and dragging timeless wisdom into the present. This episode centers on self-discipline, inspired by the teachings of Jim Rohn, and explores why motivation fails but structure, identity, and self-respect don’t. Core Themes & Takeaways 1. Why Goals and Resolutions Fail Roughly 95% of people abandon resolutions by February. The...
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The Year-End Reset 2025 Inventory - 2026 Intentions
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode 48 Show Notes Imperfect Men’s Club Podcast Recording date: December 17, 2025 Hosts: Mark and Jim Overview Mark and Jim close out the year by doing what emotionally mature men do in public: taking inventory. They reflect on what shifted in 2025 (in big, practical categories) and then cautiously speculate on what 2026 might demand, especially around AI, personal brand, and how you spend your finite supply of time, energy, and money. Big Themes from the Episode 1) 2025: The Year AI Got Personal AI stopped being “a tech thing” and became part of everyday life for normal,...
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Your Story Matters - Understanding the Self Through the Stories of Our Fathers
Imperfect Mens Club
Summary In this episode of the Imperfect Men’s Club Podcast, Mark and Jim use the anniversary of Jim’s father’s passing to explore legacy, fatherhood, and the quiet ways men leave an impact. Jim walks through a timeline of his dad’s 29,352 days on earth, overlaying major world and U.S. events with his father’s life story, and connects it all back to the Imperfect Men’s Club framework. Mark shares stories about his own 97-year-old father, the gratitude that comes from growing up poor, and the urgency of capturing our parents’ stories while we still can. Together, they reflect on...
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Nothing Lasts Forever - What Men Get Wrong About Change
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode Overview In this episode of the Imperfect Men’s Club Podcast, Mark and Jim dive into the idea of impermanence: the simple, uncomfortable truth that nothing lasts forever. From aging bodies and shifting emotions to football seasons, jobs, relationships, and AI shaking up the world, they unpack how “everything comes to an end” can be either terrifying… or freeing. They use their five-part framework (career, health, worldview, relationships, money) to explore how men can respond to constant change with awareness, humility, and a little more presence in the moment. In This...
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Holidays - Why “More People, More Problems” Is a Thing
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode 45 · Family Dynamics, Holidays & “More People, More Problems” In this episode of the Imperfect Men’s Club, Mark and Jim talk about the chaos, comedy, and emotional landmines of family gatherings during the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. They unpack why every family is “messed up in its own special way,” how that shows up around the table, and what men can actually do about it instead of just bracing for impact. They walk through a simple framework for understanding family dynamics and layer it over real stories: aging parents, kids scattered across the country,...
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Rewiring Self-Belief: What Neuroscience Says About Limiting Beliefs
Imperfect Mens Club
Overview In this episode, Mark and Jim dive into the neuroscience of limiting beliefs and how these old, deeply embedded mental patterns quietly steer a man’s confidence, ambition, and ability to grow. Through stories, personal revelations, and decades of lived experience, they break down why these beliefs form, why they stick, and how men can finally start replacing them with something far more empowering. This one sits right at the center of the Imperfect Men’s Club flywheel: the intersection of mental health, worldview, relationships, profession, and money. Key Themes 1. The Five...
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Self Discipline - A Stoic View of Imperfection
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode 43: Self Discipline. A Stoic View of Imperfection Summary In this episode, Mark and Jim explore self-discipline through the lens of Stoic philosophy. They unpack five timeless rules that still hold up in a world full of distractions, dopamine hits, and excuses. The conversation spans modern habits, mental toughness, guilt, accountability, voluntary discomfort, and the deeper connection between self-awareness, self-trust, and real personal growth. The core message: self-discipline isn’t perfection. It’s the small, unglamorous, repeatable reps you keep showing up for. What We...
info_outlineMark brings up the topic - Love of fate, love of one’s fate - "Amore Fati"
Stoicism
Things happen for you, not to you
Personal accountability and self awareness
Mark asks Jim to share the back story Three conversations with three good friends
Jim did a deep dive into Amore Fate. The Japanese version “wabi sabi”
The connection to imperfection
People with victim mentalities are not pleasant to be around
Mark talks about personal accountability and self awareness…learning through failure
Jim shares a couple of pet phrases. Bitter or better and don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better
Everything is a choice
Mark talks about “the pause”. Don’t react. Wait. Regain objectivity
Jim came up with 10 words
1. Gratitude - Jim asks Mark about his daily practice
2. Presence - be in the moment. Mark talks about paying attention and young people struggling with attention. Jim cites California law taking phones from kids at school
3. Embrace
4. Response
5. Peace. Mark cites peace of mind
6. Meaning and the connection to suffering. Mark brings up Victor Frankel’s man’s Search For Meaning. Mark suggests that suffering m makes you stronger…it’s a choice
7. Forgiveness. Mark sheds light on forgiving yourself
8. Self Compassion. Jim says it takes work to forgive
Mark talks about forgiving his ex wife
9. Mundane Beauty - Mark brings up his dad and how he sees new things with a childlike wonder
Life isn’t a highlight film - Jim
Mark calls the mundane practice. Weight rooms and running stairs
10. Authenticity and inauthenticity (Our Vice President)
Mark talks about applying these concepts to life
Acceptance
Explore your reactions to things and maybe change your reactions
Look for the grace in things. Mark reframes his forgiveness of his ex wife and how he contextualizes her difficult childhood. Put yourself in the other persons shoes…gets you to grace
Jim goes back to embracing. Embracing adversity
Mark talks about consistency. The need to practice. It’s never done
Jim frames the discussion as being a persons worldview
Mark says emotional decisions are often bad decisions. Use the pause
Jim says these concepts are timeless and cross cultural constructs
Mark shares his daily practice and how all religions have very much the same concepts
Jim revisits “don’t be nice, be kind”.
Mark says nice is inauthentic
Mark says we’re all going through the same shit
Jim asks us to be men. There are too many boys out there
DEI gets some laughs
Jim shares “the search for meaning in the imperfection”
He closes with meaning in the incomplete
Mark frames incomplete in terms of shipping your work at 80 or 90 % complete
Jim agrees completely