Imperfect by Design: The Origin of the Imperfect Men’s Club
Imperfect Mens Club
Episode Overview In this episode, Mark Aylward and Jim Gurulé rewind the clock and walk through the real origin story of the Imperfect Men’s Club Podcast. This conversation traces how two men met during a difficult, uncertain period, built trust through advocacy and shared values, and slowly turned candid conversations into a framework-driven podcast that has now lasted five years and more than 130 episodes. What started as a mix of curiosity, recovery, disagreement, and whiteboard chaos eventually became a disciplined, consistent platform focused on self-awareness, structure, and honest...
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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...
info_outlineMark 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
Mark grabs on to Covid and tells his COVID story. He then acknowledges that the government has been misleading us for years
He reflects on “knowing” early and has some other covid insights
He starts to love to DEI and Jim steps in with some more Covid
“It wasn’t Covid, it was the government’s response to Covid”. Now we have data. It can’t be political anymore. We have data. He gives the politicians some credit, but says it quickly evolved into an abuse of power. He cites some Blue governors that developed into this grander mistrust of government
Next Mark goes hard at BLM/DEI. He shares his inside insights from inside talent acquisition and his disdain for DEI. Mark gets a little hot
Jim says it’s become math. A paradigm shift and more loss of trust
Jim says it’s way beyond government. CEO’s sucked up to them
Mark’s insulted with the hypocrisy
Jim cites the Harvard president and other academics who got booted
Mark thinks it was like dominoes. Maybe Covid was the first domino…but once it fell…. Mark goes off again on how people who were silent are now talking. It’s both frustrating and liberating. He thinks it’s progress
Jim talks about collusion with the tech companies. Information/disinformation. He cites Matt Taibi and some other brave souls who spoke out. Mark says they’re heroes. It was like the Salem Witch Hunt
Jim shares some of the other major issues we were lied to about
Jim gives Mark credit for “It’s always about politics” and then gets deeper into the lying
Mark wants to know when things begin to unravel, how people explain themselves. Jim says it’s happening already. Canada, Germany and Italy
Mark says everyone was waiting for the US to move first. Now we have…and the dominoes are falling. Mark’s a bit confused. New info, new data…where’s it all going? It’s crazy
Jim brings up the fire in CA - it’s personal because Jim has relatives living there and he had other family lose property in the Oakland fire. Mark acknowledges his daughters experience in Asheville
Jim’s relatives are safe. Jim says we don’t know yet. The trickle down…homes, schools, futures??
Mark wants to blame Newsome, but says we don’t know enough yet
Mark thinks maybe we should question everything more. More rigorous challenges of statements
Jim thinks the amount of information we receive now changes the demands on our thinking and how we process information
Mark agrees but says we still need the rigor…it’s just harder
Jim says we won’t ever trust the media and the politicians again
Mark observes the behavior of the Left. Those who want to get in Trumps’ way or become his best friend. Watching people become who they really are…fascinating
Jim shares his opinion about people in power who jump to a new team just to survive
Mark distinguishes between those who change with reason and those who simply shift with the wind…fuck those people
Jim brings Mark Zuckerberg back into the discussion to observe how people can change. More experience as a human and as an owner
Mark talks about his experience with technologists - pretentious and a bit better than thou…holier than thou
Laws for you and not for me
Mark ends with “I’m thoroughly confused but optimistic”
Happy New Year!!