What if leadership wasn’t about hierarchy, titles, or power—but about joy, kindness, and connection?

Meet Trevor Bryce Stevenson, a lifelong leader whose journey began on a farm, grew through ten years of global adventure, and now continues through his work as co-founder of ConsciousLead, founder of FUNdaMENtal, and guide for men and leaders seeking transformation.

Trevor’s leadership journey has taken him across oceans, rivers, and continents—literally. From guiding whitewater canoe trips and deep-sea diving expeditions to captaining yachts and leading silviculture teams, he’s seen firsthand how adventure shapes resilience and perspective. Since 2004, Trevor and his wife Dale have run ConsciousLead, empowering leaders in public service, healthcare, nonprofits, education, and business to lead with awareness, compassion, and impact.

But Trevor’s vision doesn’t stop there. In 2011, he founded Generate U, a nonprofit supporting youth to design and live their ideal lives. In 2024, he launched FUNdaMENtal, a vibrant men’s community built on growth, honesty, laughter, and real conversations that matter. His Adventure Coaching Experiences blend travel with courageous self-discovery, proving that transformation is found not just in boardrooms but on rivers, mountains, and global journeys.

Trevor is known for his intense focus, creative wit, and heartfelt approach. His mission is simple but profound:

“We were born to be happy and kind. There’s so much that has shaped us which has moved us away from a joyous individual and collective experience. Our opportunity… is to reprogram the way we think and interact, so that we all enjoy more peace, fun, and connection.”

Through ConsciousLead, FUNdaMENtal, and his coaching experiences, Trevor helps kindhearted entrepreneurs, leaders, and everyday people live more consciously—reducing harm, deepening relationships, and amplifying joy. His work invites men, in particular, to step beyond surface-level living and into authentic brotherhood, accountability, and freedom.

Ready to step into deeper leadership, greater joy, and authentic connection? Join Trevor on his mission to help people live and lead with peace, purpose, and fun. Whether it’s through a FUNdaMENtal men’s circle, an Adventure Coaching Experience, or simply connecting online, Trevor offers a space to grow, challenge yourself, and remember what matters most.

📌 Connect with Trevor:

• LinkedIn (Trevor): https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-bryce-stevenson/
• Facebook (Trevor): trevor.b.stevenson
• Instagram (Trevor): @funroadtofreedom

📌 ConsciousLead:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/consciousleadlife/
• Facebook: consciousleadlife
• Instagram: @consciousleadlife

📌 Programs & Offers:

• FUNdaMENtal: https://www.consciouslead.life/fundamental
• Adventure Coaching: https://www.consciouslead.life/adventure-coaching-experiences

Welcome,

welcome back to this episode of

Beyond the Pills,

the podcast that explores

the path to healing through

ancient wisdom, modern science,

and the full adventure of being human.

I'm your host, Josh Rimini,

pharmacist turned healer.

And today,

today's guest brings a rare mix of grit,

wisdom, humor, and heart.

Trevor Stevenson is a

father, coach, guide, poet,

and adventure coach extraordinaire.

He's also a friend of mine.

He spent decades empowering

others from leading

overland expeditions and

whitewater journeys across

the globe to building

leadership programs that

inspire transformation in boardrooms,

classrooms, and beyond.

Trevor is the founder of

Conscious Lead Fundamental.

We'll talk about that.

and adventure coaching experiences,

AKA ACE,

transformational experiences for

men seeking deeper relationships,

more fun, and a life of effortless ease.

His mission to help men

rewire harmful patterns, reclaim joy,

and take radical

responsibility for the

impact they have on the world.

Whether he's coaching CEOs

or curating soul shifting

travel for men ready to

shed their baggage,

Trevor is about one thing,

making conscious growth,

not only powerful, but fun.

Today's conversation,

we're going to explore lots of stuff.

How adventure, one of my favorite words,

reveals our truest selves,

the role of brotherhood and

community in transformation.

Why it's fun.

Why fun isn't a luxury,

it's a healing practice.

and how rewiring your

patterns can lead to a life of joy,

integrity, and freedom.

This is the kind of

conversation that will

light a fire in your gut

and put a smile on your face.

Let's go.

Welcome to the show, Trevor, my friend.

So excited to be here, Josh.

Thank you.

Thank you for that beautiful intro.

It makes me smile just to

think of what we get to do in the world,

you know?

Well, I love when I,

because I don't really, I don't,

tell my guests the intro

like I make those up from

what you send me and all

these things and so I love

like the curiosity of

hearing it coming from

someone else right because

everybody just it just

lightens the load a little

bit I've got tears in my

eyes and my cheeks already

sore nice uh it's gonna

make for a great episode

for sure uh let's start

with your story you know

What was your own path to

leadership and adventure?

These are two things I don't

think we put together.

And what shaped that call to guide others?

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

Thank you.

I'll try to keep this short.

It is my soapbox thing

because I think there is so much

There was a lot of luck and

definitely some courage on

the path that I took.

I grew up the youngest of

six kids in eight years on

a five hundred acre farm in rural Ontario,

Canada.

And it was hard work.

And, you know,

both parents had full time jobs.

So that five hundred acre

farm with a couple hundred

head of cattle was a hobby farm, you know,

and it was it just seemed

to be endless work.

But so there was a lot.

that I took away from that,

as with all things.

And, you know,

you go through this on your

podcast and all that we read,

like the the the way that

we are raised has gotten us

to where we are.

And it's also holding us

back from so much of the

evolution that we need to experience.

And so that hard work,

that teamwork really supported me.

That make hay while the sun

shines kind of mentality is great.

Taking breaks,

knowing what you are feeling,

empathizing with others,

not such strong points.

So I was definitely ready to

leave the farm,

but I knew I didn't want

more structural school learning.

I went and followed the herd

in the university,

kind of a little bit

kicking and screaming,

knowing it's not what I wanted to do.

As expected, floundered,

had an amazing time and

spent all sorts of money partying,

and then sort of literally

and figuratively sobered up and said,

what am I doing?

I don't need to be paying

tuition to be partying like this.

And I traveled across Canada to Whistler,

British Columbia,

and I got a little more serious,

stopped partying as much

and started skiing every day,

work night jobs and just

kind of nothing jobs in

service industries and things.

But I was I was living my

dream of big mountain

skiing every day and having

fun and meeting great

people and building connections.

And then I and then I

started traveling and then

I would come back for work stints,

you know, tree planting and things.

And then I'd go and travel full winters,

work four months, travel eight months.

And the more I traveled,

the more I felt I was

getting more comfortable exploring,

understanding,

and expressing who I truly was.

because there were elements

then that I remembered

about the farm being this fun loving,

like playful person that

was kind of ground into

things are serious and you

need to go hard if it's

going to work out.

And, uh,

so I could do that when it was necessary.

And it was interesting as I

started traveling the world that, that.

Both of those aided my journey.

Like I would,

I would be always the first to jump.

I'd see someone who needed a ham,

whatever it was dropped their,

their groceries,

or had to push their car

that just stalled off the

road or someone on a farm

doing something that I could jump into.

I was always there and

people were just so grateful.

So willing to take care of me in return.

And then the other side that

I was expressing fully,

which was just that fun and

playful and that attracted

such beauty into my life.

And so as I so so so that

led into the guiding and I

started guiding overland

trips around southern Africa, Namibia,

Botswana, Zimbabwe,

South Africa and guiding

whitewater canoeing on the

Orange River and deep sea

fishing and diving and just doing awesome,

cool things like crewing on

different yachts on

different oceans around the world.

And when you are that person

who is fun to be around and

so willing to dive in and do hard work,

it's a pretty beautiful

combo for people to experience.

And so that was really sort

of the genesis of meeting

people who were like me and

trying to figure out life

and who they were,

and then also people who

were vacationing and sort

of getting away from life

just to kind of escape.

And I would end up at the

fire late at night sitting

around with these people

who are envious of my lifestyle.

I would just be, well,

what's keeping you from

doing what you love?

What is that thing that you love?

And so often it would be

like some sort of golden

handcuffs or just a life

they've created and the

family that they have and

the BMW that they drive and

the house that they own and

the college tuitions that

they're paying for the kids

and things like that,

that they felt they didn't have choice.

And so that evolved in my curiosity,

in my desire to be a full

expression of my truth.

And Josh, you know this,

it's still unfolding after fifty,

you know, figuring it out.

But I came home,

reconnected with my now

wife and business partner, Dale,

and together now for more

than twenty years,

we have been running our

coaching leadership development firm,

which has had just deeper

and deeper evolutions of

our interest in what helps people

find where they are not

feeling well and get to

that point of feeling well

so that the impact that

they have in their

leadership roles whether

that be in their families

in their corporations and

businesses or in their

communities is the best

that it can be because so

oftentimes we don't

recognize the impact of the

way that we're showing up

and we think that it's just

our inner world

that is sort of this hidden

and this mask sort of hides

how we're really feeling.

And so we show up with a

smile on our face.

But that impact is felt.

And so that has really been the journey.

That's the journey.

I love it.

It's there's a lot to unpack

in those statements.

One, you know, exploring.

Yes, you know,

we've been in contact for years.

We met serendipitously

through a friend of ours.

in Canada, and we instantly connected.

And I think that's where, you know,

we've been,

we will talk about conscious

leadership and what you

what you're doing.

But like,

I did the things that I've done

in my life recently have

been along those paths that

you were creating, like,

go with what aligns with you,

why what's holding you back from

Having those deep questions

and guides along the way for me,

for sure.

Everyone needs guides.

But it was like I kept

saying yes to the things

that were in alignment for me.

And I took that junk out of the way,

said no more excuses.

You know, of course,

it's scary jumping off the

cliff every other day because you're like,

oh, let's do this.

Let's do this.

And just seeing it unfold for me.

But I do believe it's not just the action.

of like doing what aligns

with you or what's in your

highest purpose.

It's almost like when you

make conscious choices towards that,

maybe even unconscious,

somehow the universe aligns

and it just keeps unfolding

for you in this beautiful way.

And so

The act of doing it wasn't

like the after effect was I

was in full alignment.

And at the same time,

doing what was in alignment

got me the ax that I needed

to move that adventure needle,

that fun needle,

but not just dopamine hit fun.

Like, really?

Like, I went to Peru and back.

I went to Costa Rica.

And I love traveling.

I've found over the...

past five years.

I love traveling.

It's so fun with my family with myself,

and with other like groups

of like heart centered men

doing really cool work.

And I just I loved hearing

it from your perspective,

because I'm sitting here going,

there wasn't like one catalyst.

It was just I kept making

series of choices that I

was doing from a self full perspective.

not a selfish or selfish self less.

And it just worked for me.

And I think it's like, there's this,

I don't want to call it a formula,

but like there's a way and

manner in which that

alignment does help everybody,

no matter what, like your adventure,

I'm adventure.

It doesn't have to be

adventure across the world.

It's just what's in alignment.

And I think what you said

was really important is we

can get stuck in the

old or the low vibrational

patterns of having a job and, you know,

being tied to all these

financial responsibilities,

which then ties us to,

I was thinking about this

myself the other day.

It was like all the things

that are keeping me

financially having to do

certain things in order to

do certain things.

And then you start getting like lost in it,

right?

You get lost and you help

people through this process

is what I'm trying to get.

Yeah, yeah, I love that.

There's an island,

very simple island with our

name on it down there somewhere, right,

Josh?

Yeah.

Without all this stuff.

Yeah,

it's beautiful to hear that reflection.

And you did all the right things, right,

that society said you should.

You went off and got the

education and some more

education and the degree

and the certification and

started the business and everything.

and then at the end of that

was like somewhere there

was the awakening started

to creep in and you're like

wait a second this this

isn't working for them it's

not working for me if it's

not working for me it's

definitely not working for

them and and I love how you

said that it's just the

unfolding right we used to

share this with the I I

founded a youth non-profit

to try to help kids create

a meaningful life for themselves

And it was similar to that.

We can only see till the next marker,

you know,

the next part because the earth

is round kind of thing.

You can't see all the way across it.

You can see it at the next horizon line.

And then when you get there,

you'll see the next one.

And I have a seventeen year

old who's who's just

finished high school here

in Quebec and knows he

doesn't want more school.

And so

I'm working with him on that now.

It's just like,

so what are all the things

that you can explore, right?

And don't hold back because

I get caught in this as well.

And society screams, it's so loud.

You have to have a plan, right?

There needs to be a plan.

And my plan was never, okay,

I'm leaving traveling so

that I can find myself.

And when I find myself,

I'm going to start a

business related to that.

And when I do that, you know, my wife,

my partner has to be aligned with that.

We're going to be in business together.

We're going to run it forever.

You know, it's not, it's just like,

Like you're saying,

you start on the path and

then if it is the path that

is meant for you,

the world starts to unfold

in ways that align.

And if we have, like you say,

that courage to keep

jumping off that ledge or

looking around that corner

that we're unsure of,

then there's secrets there to behold.

Well,

I love what you said earlier was like,

you know,

it's the same thing we always say is like,

it's the journey, not the destination,

right?

If you keep chasing the

sunrise or the sunset,

you're never going to find it.

Like the earth is round.

Like we're never going to get to it.

Like you would just sit in the moment,

be present and do the

things that resonate with you.

And I had that, I had that backwards.

Like you said,

it's like society imprints

you into this conversation

about you need to go to college.

You need to get a job.

You need to start a family.

You need to have a good living.

You need to do good in the

world in some ways.

You need to have like all this stuff,

right?

The outside stuff.

And then you said like

somewhere around this time

of an age in our lives,

you get this awakening, this calling,

this soul like yearning that says,

is this it?

Who am I?

What am I here to do?

You know, those bigger, deeper questions.

And a lot of the times I think

that societal stuff keeps a

lot of us from even

listening to that and

moving that forward.

And so let's talk about like

the rewiring thing here.

Right.

And you say we've all been

shaped by millions of experiences.

Right.

And so what does it look

like to start rewiring in your way?

The harmful ones,

if you want to call them that.

I think they're teaching.

I think they're teaching experiments.

yeah they are and I I like

that you say that and and

the question is how long we

want to stay in school

right yeah because those

because I think it becomes

harmful if we're going to

the same class all you know

groundhog day kind of thing

karmic yeah because the

karmic circle we were just

talking about this the

other day like how they go

ahead yeah yeah so so

again hearkening back to

that upbringing that got us

here so if my reactivity

when when my kids or my

staff don't don't do that

thing that I think needs to

be done right now there's

like in me that I know

happened to my dad and my

dad would lash out in a

certain way that was certainly felt

And me not wanting to

replicate that cycle and

continue that I like,

and now I'm this wise conscious leader.

So I just like, Nope.

Okay.

Okay.

Can we look at how we can do

this differently?

And.

But there's still that inner

wiring that is so deep with me.

And if I'm not dealing with

the actual reactivity and

just trying to say the right things,

that's what I was saying earlier,

that energy is still just felt.

And you can see it in the

way that relationships.

And I've had this in my

younger days that people

are pushed away from me

that work for me or that live with me.

Right.

From that energy.

And so the rewiring part,

which is still the ongoing process,

is we continue to get triggered by dozens,

hundreds of things a day.

I went for a mountain bike

with a guy last night and it was just,

you know,

it was a one hour coaching session.

We it was an intense ride.

It was fantastic.

And it was the conversation

that I hear so often with guys, Josh,

about

this is going in my life going on in my,

my, my life.

So this is going on in my

head and I don't know how to turn it off.

And that I, I just keep saying, well,

that that's just the wiring.

And he said, yeah, but it's always there.

And I said, yeah, because you, you just,

because you're not conscious of it.

It's just the dialogue that

runs in the background, Carl young,

right?

Until we make the unconscious conscious,

it will continue to rule

our lives or run our lives.

And we will call it fate.

and and so the work and it's

just a simple bike ride you

know I said so so start

slowing down the reel what

is the thing that you see

or hear or think that

triggers an emotion within

you and then don't judge

the emotion oh I shouldn't

like and that's what we do

right oh I shouldn't be angry

I shouldn't be yelling I

shouldn't be depressed

about this I shouldn't feel

lonely and so we judge

ourselves and so we try to

push it down and that's the

actual feeling and what we

resist persists and so

instead of judging that

emotion just note it and

say oh okay so and and

there's such a pattern

around the people that are

really hurting around these things,

which is most of us.

There's something going on

in our lives that is repetitious,

that continues to cause a

similar emotions.

Every time I feel shitty about something,

it's usually caused by a

similar thought that goes

back to I am not loved.

I don't have enough.

I am not worthy.

Usually seen, heard and understood.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Totally.

And so what are the thoughts

that are creating those

energies within me?

And I just tell guys, write it down.

What was the thought you had?

What was the emotion?

What was the thought?

What was the emotion?

Don't do anything else for a week.

Just write that down.

And so they create this list.

And then I say, OK, awesome.

And every time now, every time you want to,

every time you feel that,

how do you want to feel?

wow, I feel depressed, I feel sad,

I feel angry.

Okay,

so how do you want to feel every time?

You have that thought, you feel this,

how do you want to feel?

Wow, I'd like to feel calm,

I'd like to feel connected,

I'd like to feel loving,

I'd like to feel peace.

Okay, so ask yourself then,

even one of the

Eight hundred times in a day,

you feel that or one hundred times,

ask yourself what you need

to do to feel that way right now.

And if you can do that just

once of the hundred times,

then you rewire the brain.

In that moment,

you broke the pattern of

stimulus response and now

stimulus awareness choice.

And then we just practice

that over and over again.

And I said this, you know,

I posted just this morning

about this because I had

that ride last night with this guy.

And I'm like, because then his response is,

oh, yeah, you're right.

You know, I just need to get over that.

I just need to do it.

I need to, yep.

Right.

I just need to get over it.

I just need to do it.

And I'm like, right.

And, and, you know,

you need that because

you've read the books,

you've heard the Ted talks,

you've been on the podcasts,

check them all out.

It's like,

so what's in the way it's just

the practice and what's in

the way of the practice

while you're sitting alone.

or you're not sharing this

anywhere outside of your

own little microcosm mentality.

And so it wins.

The four or five decades of

ingrained neural wiring wins every time.

And so we got to get into community.

We have to be in safe spaces

where we can share this.

And this is where Fundamental comes in.

This is where Ace comes in, you know,

and Fundamental, the men's group,

we're together every week.

And the biggest thing that guys,

I asked them at the end of it is like,

what are you taking away

and how are you going to apply it?

And half the time the guys

are saying it just feels so

good to be around others

who are experiencing this.

the same thing and that I

can share and kind of hear

it reflected back to me.

Cause it's so easy to see

when you share of like, Oh,

you're going through that thing.

And here's, here's how you can change.

But I don't see it when I'm

sitting home alone or I'm

stuck in that loop with my

wife or my kids or my boss, you know?

And so we don't get over it on our own.

And this is where community

is so powerful and so critical.

That's awesome.

really eloquent way of why I

think men's groups and

men's work is so important

right is to getting in that

circle getting in that

community being in a safe

space to share your

emotional experiences like

that story that's like you

said there's so many ways

our ego and our wiring is

gonna talk us out of something

It's just natural, right?

We all know we should eat

right and exercise.

Every single person in the

world knows we have a

shitty American diet.

We don't exercise enough and there's,

I need to comes in,

but there is no like doing right.

This is why community and

why I feel collective and

community is such a big

part of our new natural

expansion of this

consciousness and leadership.

And we can equate that, like you said,

to family, to yourself,

to your environment,

your community and to your

family and to your business.

These are all the connection

points we've had.

We've got a whole podcast

just on the word connection.

So I got two questions about

that because you brought up fundamental.

But before we talk about

what that is and what

inspired you to move that

collective forward is

why is it so important for

men now that we're in that

space this is one of my

favorite places to talk uh

especially after forty to

take radical responsibility

for their emotional

patterns and impact yeah

well you know I'd love to

move that down a decade to

whenever we start having

kids right and I think I think that is is

the in my world the most

like to change that cycle

you know so that we have

figured this out for

ourselves we recognize and

are starting to shift our

reactivity our wives have

tried to help us with it

already maybe before we had

kids and maybe we're not

courageous enough

to really create those shifts.

I had a super strong and

determined wife who has

held me to account of this

journey ongoing.

We have raised our kids in a

way that I think I've written,

I wrote somewhere in, you know,

it's in my bio kind of

thing about how the kids are really,

really are my greatest teachers.

But again,

They're only our teachers if

we're doing the learning, right?

Otherwise, they're just rebelling.

Well, they're definitely mirrors for sure.

You're right.

If we, us, world, humanity, yes,

the people that are closest to you,

your children, my wife,

they're my biggest teachers.

They're my mirrors.

Show right up every day.

And they're teaching lessons every day.

And I don't get it right every day.

It's still a lot of work to

break because what we're talking about is,

you know,

these wiring patterns are generational.

So we're not talking about

like your imprint as a child only.

These are,

these are multi-generational

imprints that we're now

getting to the place of our

consciousness where a lot

of people like you and me are very,

very committed.

We still screw up all the time, right?

There is no, there is no excuse.

We're all imperfectly perfect people.

But,

and I feel like this is the one part

of the awakening movement

we're seeing in the next

ten to twenty years where

we're breaking some of

these low vibrational

patterns that have been

extended for years moving

into this space.

And this is what you're talking about,

breaking these patterns.

It's really hard work,

but it's essential work.

Yeah.

Like going to the doctor

when you're fifty for a colonoscopy.

It sucks.

But it's necessary.

Yeah.

And, you know,

just tying into the theme of

that and your podcast in general, right,

like the damage.

So another point to why this

is critical in our forties, well,

the body stops protecting

itself as well in forties,

stops developing some of

those immune abilities.

And if we continue to do the harm,

because every time, and you know this,

every time we have that

thought that I am not good enough,

There is not enough.

I'm not loved enough.

That creates a drip, drip,

drip of the cortisol and the adrenaline,

which again is great.

You know,

when we got to climb the tree and

get away from that bear, not great.

Every day,

all day that creates the aging

that creates the disease within us.

Right.

And that really one of the

core chemical imbalances,

because your thought

creates the chemical imbalance, right?

I talk about this all the time,

fight or flight.

Within a millisecond,

you have a flood of

fourteen hundred chemicals.

So we're and we're not we're

not genetically bred any

different than we were a

couple hundred years ago.

From this perspective,

the biological perspective,

that fight or flight is

really good because you

want to run out of the way

of the car when it's coming

buzzing down the street.

You didn't have a fight or

flight mechanism.

You would be dead, completely dead.

We would not be averse to any danger.

The problem is our perceived

thought of danger.

I always use the beautiful

example of like you're

doing yard work outside and

you perceive that you see a snake,

but it's actually a garden hose.

But what is your reaction

difference between I

thought it was a snake

versus it's just a hose?

So our thought,

our perception of that reality,

is what creates that cascade

so working not only to

rewire because yes cortisol

and the flood of all those

fight-or-flight chemicals

they're necessary but we

can't keep up with the

joneses when it's seventy

percent of our day yeah

right when we were when we

were in when we were in

let's just call it when we

were cavemen right when we

were getting chased from

the bear because you're from

you're from canada there are

more bears there for me

maybe even a tiger I don't

know but like ten ten ten

generations ago you got

eaten or you didn't and

then went back to bed your

cortisol went right down

and then you went back to

life there was no I'm just

running and chasing but our

our minds getting stuck in

traffic or getting in an

argument with somebody

It's the same process as

getting chased by a freaking bear.

So it does.

It's so damaging to the body.

And this is why I don't work

with people unless we're

working with that word

stress in their lives.

Yeah.

Because the stressor is going to be there.

We're in a highly toxic environment.

It's there.

Twenty four seven.

The blue lights are going.

You're plugged in.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Electric smog.

We've got chemical imbalances.

We've got all these things

that are there to jiggle us

into the sympathetic space

and the parasympathetic

rest and digest is when

we're getting these things moving.

Breath work.

This is why breath work and

yoga and meditation and adventure and

I had this conversation,

so I want to get into fundamental,

but I also want to get into

the ACE thing because I

want to talk about the adventure, the fun,

the place where we can be connected,

especially in nature,

because I think that's part of it.

But

And I'll get to the story I

was talking to with a

friend of ours the other day,

but tell us about Fundamental.

What inspired this men's

collective and how do

brotherhood and fun support

deeper healing?

Yeah, thank you.

Fundamental, well, first of all, I was so,

like, I knew I wanted to do this.

I've been a part, so, you know,

where we live here in the

hills of Gatineau, you know, there's a

We are forest bathing by nature.

Just- You know,

Japanese businessmen pay

lots of money to do what you just said.

Yeah, it's so true.

And so when we were early married,

me and a group of guys,

there's five of us and kids,

we knew we wanted to like connect more.

And we're all pretty like-

we would we would find our

way to semi serious

conversations beyond the

drinks and the jovial and the sports and,

you know, say how's work, you know.

And so we just we kicked it off.

And this was just probably

thirteen years ago.

And so wonderful Wednesdays today.

We meet up.

The messages have been going around.

Okay, it's a hike tonight.

You know, we're going to this trail.

And we've been doing that.

And that has seen us through

the challenges and

continues to see us through of parenting,

of marriage, of business and finances,

of...

Divorce of coupledom of like

all the stuff and then just

pure foolish fun and down

to the Adirondacks and

hikes and peaks and, you know, just,

just live in it is always

the recipe is always nature,

deep conversation and foolishness.

You know,

those are those are inevitable

that those will always be a

mix of what we're doing.

And it was such a fantastic recipe.

And I knew and it's a little

bit like the guys.

And rightfully, we want to you know,

it can't grow too big, this thing.

um but I I knew through all

the conversations and as a

coach you know I get to

work with hundreds of

people and so the stories

remain the same but I

cannot invite them all out

here on wednesday night and

you know seventy of us

trying to hike this trail

in the dark and stuff but I

knew I I wanted to share

this experience with more

guys because my evolution

continued and I kept seeing

guys that were curious

about like you were saying

the start of the path and

Can I open this door?

And what's around that corner?

And I'm like, yes, yes, yes.

And so it was a want to

bring those people together in some way.

And so we have guys from the

West Coast and guys in the

UK and guys in South Africa

and guys in the US.

And so it's a virtual space

where we connect every week.

And I kick each person off

with a bit of a curriculum,

that navel gazing, you know.

then we have a coaching call

to just set some intentions

areas of focus that are

most important for them and

then josh it's really like

I I have a theme that I

come up with every week

this this past just now

monday was what women want

And there was good attendance,

believe it or not.

The guys wanted to jump into

that conversation.

The universal question we're

still looking to answer in complete form.

Yeah, we had full participation.

And, you know, it was kind of,

it was cute because, you know,

we got to share our biggest challenges.

So that builds connection and community.

But then we got to reground

to the fact that

we still are the change if

we want our relationship to be different.

And so there were,

it was nice because we had

tidbits of what everyone

thinks their woman has wanted and what it,

you know,

I was able to distill that back

down to these things that

reside within us so that if

whatever it is, we, we, that our,

our woman may want in our

lives or partner, let's say,

The power lies within us to

figure that out and to be

that if we so choose.

So that's one example.

But at the end of it, it's, you know,

we talked earlier about knowing and being,

doing.

And so that's always my

question at the end of these.

Okay,

what's your takeaway and how are you

going to apply it in the

next twenty four hours?

We go around and we hear

from everyone and then we check back in.

And so we have our group

chat and we check in every

day and we journal every

day to just slow down,

inspire the guys to slow

down and take five minutes.

What am I grateful for today?

What am I proud of today?

What was fun today?

What am I excited about tomorrow?

And what was challenging about today?

And,

and just that five minutes that the

guys take to do that is

such a powerful exercise.

We, again, we all know it.

There's,

there's how many times have we

heard that the gratitude

journal and just pause and

journal and reflect on these things,

but how many of us are doing it?

Right.

Even the guys.

Yeah.

And it speaks to me because I,

I just looked at my little

cube that I got in my,

one of my men's circles, front row dads,

which is amazing.

And I have this little cube and.

Who did I help today?

What did I do better today than yesterday?

What was the best thing that

happened to me today?

What am I grateful for today?

How did I make someone smile today?

They're just little reminders.

And I'll tell you what, honestly,

I hadn't looked at this

block for a while.

So what I heard you say is

we all could use a little

accountability with each

other because it does work.

And the science supports it.

So when I work with lifestyle, you know me,

I work with lifestyle and functional.

We all know we have to eat

right and exercise.

But when you go in a group

and you're accountable to

something else other than you,

whether it's your child, your spouse,

your men's group, your workers, whatever,

and you have an accountability partner,

accountability buddy,

you're just going to do it.

In fact,

it's eighty three percent of the time.

So the study of support,

when you have accountability,

you'll follow through with

whatever that task is.

Eighty three percent of the time,

the DIY people who all

think it's easier to do it

themselves and cheaper and, you know,

more like twenty three

percent of the time.

So I like the eighty twenty

rule flips to the right.

The Pareto principle applies here.

And that's why I think it's

important to say like it

just having the

accountability is worth the

price that you may pay.

Now pay does not mean it can be energy.

It could be money, right?

There's different forms of

energy that you're applying to that.

And so I love that you brought that up,

that you're these,

these men's circles that

you're in support the

healing because you're accountable and

You can also express and see,

like you said,

it's easier to see it

outside of the frame than

being in the frame.

And so when you see someone else,

and you also,

I love when I'm in men's

circles and we're expressing these.

My neighbor has been doing

men's work for thirty years.

I'm in a bunch of different

groups that can do these things.

But one of them is also

seeing the commonality.

When somebody is expressing

it and then you get to feel in yourself,

that's me too.

Now it becomes this

connection point that we've

been talking about.

It says you're not alone in this.

It's a relationship.

direct or indirect,

but most of the time it's

common because we're all

going through the same

human cycles really.

Oh, and especially men, right?

Like, I mean, women.

Yes.

Right.

This is why I love working

with you and other people,

why we instantly connect.

Cause we're so drawn to this part here.

I call it men's work,

but it's the work we do as

men that we haven't been

able to do up until now.

to express this stuff and

get it out get that energy

out because like you said

it happens to me all the

time it's like I'm not

grounded I'm jittery I

don't know what's going on

like it's stuck in there

because you can't it can't

express it out and when you

express it out in your

family or your workplace or

a place that doesn't hold

that container for you

without judgment is unhealthy and so

That's why we're talking here, right?

Is to get more men to do this.

Absolutely, Josh.

And you hit on such a great

point that when we're feeling that energy,

you and I both said it,

we were feeling kind of

something before the call.

I had thing with my wife.

I don't know what was going on for you,

but we both like,

we both went outside before the call,

unbeknownst to the other, you know,

we both went and put our

feet on the ground and

breathe the air and like,

reground.

And so we, we,

we have two chosen healthy

strategies to reach that point,

to decompress in that way versus, oh,

I need a smoke, man,

or I need a joint or I need

a drink or I need some porn or I need a,

uh,

an affair or don't need to

go to work what it is right

yeah and then so it's

choosing healthy strategies

and and we weren't given

those we weren't taught

that you know not to know

our own emotions let alone

to understand what to do

with them if we do know them right

And it's the biggest thing.

So on the trips, it was cool.

Like on venture coaching experience,

you know,

I had I brought my pushup bars and,

you know,

they kind of come apart and I

sort of take them

everywhere I go when I travel.

And everybody,

they ordered them before they got home.

So they were on their doorsteps.

And it was just like and it

just became this kind of a joke.

But a strategy is like we

get into this like a stressful mindset.

Our prescription, you know,

beyond the pill was ten pushups.

Ten pushups and like you

change your state.

It's Tony Robbins always saying, right?

Change state.

It's like, and it's that quick.

Three breaths.

And that's the refractory

period of our emotional reaction,

not response is the loop, right?

That loop and breaking that loop.

You're right.

You can flush this out in

ninety seconds physiologically.

So it's what we choose to

hold on to and having, like you said,

the healthy tools which are learned.

which are rewired, right?

We need to rewire.

Like I just said, you know what?

I have ten minutes.

I had to check myself

because I could check an email.

I could get a little extra work done.

I could have jumped in the

lab to get something.

But I chose outside.

I chose me for that moment

in time that just said,

I want to be grounded in

this conversation that I'm

having with Trevor.

It's going to be amazing.

And you know what, Josh?

Just go outside.

It's a beautiful day out.

You need it.

And that was it.

That was it.

That was it.

You know, I took my phone down.

I sent one text message on my way out.

And then I was like, you know what?

That's the other thing we

tell people to like, get out in nature.

You know, that's one of my, uh,

daily dozen is just be in nature,

but it's not to go out and

get on this or to check your email.

You know, it's natural.

We love being out in nature.

It's part of our human

experience to connect,

even if you don't feel it, to connect.

And like you said,

you throw your shoes off.

You get grounded.

Hug a tree, right?

Hug a tree.

It sounds simple.

It sounds stupid sometimes, but it works.

Just touch the tree if you

don't want to hug it.

Just feel all that stuff.

Well, let's get into nature.

Adventure coaching.

You told me about your

Nicaragua trip last year

and how awesome it was.

Tell people about what is ACE.

You have one coming up, I believe.

December, yeah.

December.

Who's it for?

And what do men walk away with?

yeah well it's for the

joshes the trevors and and

and the dudes who are are

just starting that journey

of like I know like stuff

doesn't feel right

You're talking earlier and then, you know,

whether the reaction for

some is that reach for like, uh,

something that's unhealthy

and the nice guys, you know,

just go quiet and they push it down.

Yeah.

All right.

And we erode until we explode.

It's for those guys who know

they are not feeling good in their bodies,

in their minds, in their relationships.

and want that break.

And then I mean,

break and break the cycle and,

and come to this place of

incredible awareness, which isn't hard,

right?

Like what we're,

what you share on your podcast,

like thing, thing, thing, thing,

thing synapse happening.

Right.

And, um, but to be in the practice,

then I had said earlier

about environment being

stronger than willpower, I think,

but anyway, I'm saying it now, um,

And so to try to change

within our own environment.

So it's one of the reasons

Fundamental runs every week.

I started Fundamental for myself.

If no one else joined,

I was just going to keep

doing it because I was

being accountable to myself.

And I'd set all these goals

and daily I track like

twenty two daily habits

that I want to keep on for

my own wellness and

connection and love and

growth and business and all this.

And

So I created that

environment called

Fundamental and people have

started to come on that journey with me.

Ace,

I realized I needed to combine for my

fulfillment.

You know,

my work over the twenty years has

for a short time was in a

suit and very short time,

even a tie and in

boardrooms and stuff like that.

And then it evolved to like taking people,

you know, let's you know,

we're going to do a team thing.

We're going to rent this place.

It's out in nature.

And it just getting more and more.

And it's taken twenty plus

years to get to this place

of everything that I did in

my world travels has added

up to all that I am and the

best parts of me.

You talked about travel and

the love of that, so the guys who come

on these trips are lovers of adventure.

And they've probably done some of that,

like whether it was spring

break or that trip to India or Thailand,

or, or even just out to the East coast,

West coast, whatever there's,

there's something that

comes alive in them.

And I believe it is in all of us, but it,

it, it somehow dampened through fear.

But when you can go out and

explore in a safe environment,

We get away from the

environment that has shaped us.

And that's the environment

being stronger than willpower.

No matter how much coaching I do,

if we have one session a

week and the other, you know,

ninety nine point nine

percent of your life is in

that environment that is toxic,

you're not going to change.

And so adventure coaching

experiences is like pure

extraction from your environment.

It's immersive, right?

You're unplugging everything.

You're getting out of your space.

This is why I love retreats.

This is why I love doing the

things we do when we're in

the experiential world, masterminds,

wherever.

You're gone.

Put it all away.

This is new time, right?

It gives you permission.

It gives that unconscious permission too,

right?

Yeah, and it's not just, hey,

I'm going to the beach for a week either.

Right.

No, there's more to get done.

You do it in this playful way.

You do it in this adventurous way.

And adventure is one of my gene keys.

It's one of my core.

So it is for me.

And when I don't get that sense of unknown,

adventure, safety,

like there's safety in that for me.

So when I don't get it, that's when I get.

And it's a release mechanism, too,

for empaths,

for people like me who go into the fields,

the coaches, healers.

We all need a little bit of that.

Yeah,

much more than just people that can

deflect all of that because

we're taking on other

people's energies in a way

that we need to release.

And this is the best way to do it in my.

Right.

And back to the man and the man role,

right?

We were raised in a way to take that on,

whether we are coaches, therapists,

pharmacists,

empaths in any way we are

positioned in society,