Mojo for the Modern Man

A quiet, shy and sensitive kid, Michael Naylor used sports to navigate the world of his younger days, finding his way via baseball to a full-ride scholarship at Oregon State University.  While competitive, Michael shares how being a “tenderhearted athlete” contributed to his team performance.He discusses how being the default “family psychologist” as a young kid got old quickly, and later, how the outside pressures of identifying as an athlete led to budding awareness and inner exploration.Michael walks us through his experience of releasing his baseball identity and crossing the wilderness of deep self-examination through reading, counselling, and a rich variety of inner work.Michael’s commitment to learning and healing is inspiring – and that’s all before he even touches on recovery…Michael Naylor, M.Ed., CPCC, LADC, CCS, is an Authorized Riso-Hudson Enneagram Teacher and Faculty. He is the Director of The Maine Enneagram Center for Transformation and Well-Being located in South Portland, Maine. (enneagrammaine.com) He is an International Enneagram Association Professional Teacher and presents each year at the International Conference.  He does numerous workshops around the country: The Wisdom of the Enneagram, Relationships, The Three Instincts, Journey up the Levels of Health, The Enneagram and the Inner Critic.  He leads programs at addiction rehabs around the country for therapists and counselors on utilizing the Enneagram for enhanced recovery and relapse prevention.  You can read his articles at www.enneagrammaine.com.He is also a Certified Professional Co-Active coach and has a full-time Enneagram, Transformation, and Recovery coaching practice with individuals around the globe. Michael is a licensed Addiction Therapist and Certified Addiction Supervisor in Maine.  He views the Enneagram as the missing piece in Addiction Recovery and Relapse Prevention and has been involved in recovery for 39 years both as a counselor, therapist, and recovering man. He's facilitated Men's Spiritual Transformation groups at the HETI Institute for 8 years.  He has worked in the field of addictions the last 27 years as therapist, coach, and educator, most recently at Serenity House, a men's rehabilitation center, for 14 years. Michael lives with his beloved Type Two wife of 21 years, Donna, his spunky alive Type Nine daughter, Chloe, and his mysterious and off-the-grid Type Five son, Christian.Visit Michael on LinkedIn, Instagram,  Facebook and enneagrammaine.com

Act 2 opens with Rodney Agnant sharing the gift of having older siblings who went to bat for him, marking the beginning of the end of “the game” he brought us into in Act 1.  He points to compassion, language, artmaking and the way they all weave into tapestries of identity – with a big bucket and moment of clarity from Jay-Z.Rodney invites us to ask incredibly important questions about human beings, compassion, potential, and greatness.  He also draws important distinctions between the impossible and the improbable, challenging us to not conflate the two, and to stay present to the latter.Our conversation closes with Rodney sharing his good work at Colgate University – and an invitation to each of us to be agents of positive change. Rodney Agnant is a personal development and leadership development coach. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he has always been moved by people's dedication to creating a great life. Trained and certified by the Co-Active Training Institute, the Academy for Coaching Excellence and the International Coaching Federation, his work focuses on equipping people with skills and frameworks to become an empowering and compassionate leader in all domains of their lives. When he's not working, he immerses himself in art, writing, meditation, and walking in nature.Feel free to share your reactions, questions, pushback and appreciations with Rodney at rodney@recreatewithin.com. Or to start an unexpected conversation, e-mail Rodney and ask about the anime series Naruto changed his life!Learn more about Rodney on his website, recreatewithin.com and visit him on LinkedIn.

Hailing from “Brooklyn… East Flatbush, pre-gentrification!” Rodney Agnant launches by sharing an early conversation with his father, in which he was told – at the age of 7 – that as a “Black boy,” more than a few cards were stacked against his chances of success and there were adjustments to be made.  Hence, "the game" of finding success, while finding one's self begins.Rodney goes into detail about his inner responses to his father’s warnings, about “navigating and playing the game,” and making a clear choice, this time at age 11, to get rid of his hometown accent.  He reflects thoughtfully and clearly on decisions made by his younger self with deep wisdom and appreciation, then points toward the importance of training one’s ear to listen beyond accents and our assumptions about them.Rodney Agnant is a personal development and leadership development coach. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he has always been moved by people's dedication to creating a great life. Trained and certified by the Co-Active Training Institute, the Academy for Coaching Excellence and the International Coaching Federation, his work focuses on equipping people with skills and frameworks to become an empowering and compassionate leader in all domains of their lives. When he's not working, he immerses himself in art, writing, meditation, and walking in nature.Feel free to share your reactions, questions, pushback and appreciations with Rodney at rodney@recreatewithin.com. Or to start an unexpected conversation, e-mail Rodney and ask about the anime series Naruto changed his life!Learn more about Rodney on his website, recreatewithin.com and visit him on LinkedIn. 

In Act 2 Nico Boesten takes us to a significant, life-changing moment: that of his wife Ingrid’s cancer diagnosis.  While he shares that he pulled back emotionally, he also highlights the mutually clearheaded, life-affirming choices made as a couple facing terminal illness and the inevitability of loss.Nico’s is a story of grace, faith, acceptance – and beautifully honoring life itself, inclusive of the full range of messiness that comes with being wholly human.Finally, Nico invites listeners to check out his own inspirations, offers a poignant quote and highlights the importance of approaching grief by taking a valuable cue from bison.Nico’s coaching journey began 15 years ago while working in Amsterdam, Minneapolis, and Connecticut.  His practice has now moved to his hometown in Canada.  Nico is certified through the Co-Active Training Institute and began coaching through the non-profit & faith-based sector.  He specializes in walking with clients to navigate failure, grief, loss, and also new beginnings, including how to start a business and creatively approach the achievement of goals and dreams.  He is a musician, adventure seeker, and entrepreneur who has built several successful companies, raised two beautiful children, and survived the loss of his wife and father.Nico believes that the essence of coaching is to be with someone fully, to help people dig deep into themselves and have the courage to take risks that bring true fulfillment.You can learn more about Nico and his work, including his brilliant “Song and Rants” series, on his website.

Nico Boesten, musician, producer, coach, father and so much more, describes the tender lessons and influences provided by the brilliant light and wounded darkness contained in the very human depths of his own father.  He shares a pivotal moment of a line crossed, an apology sincerely tendered, and a determination to do better – touching on generational healing.Then there was a trip to Maui and the Divine delivery of a six-string in, of all places, an airport terminal. While it would eventually lead to “Song & Rants,” there’s a whole lot of rich storytelling in between!Nico’s coaching journey began 15 years ago while working in Amsterdam, Minneapolis, and Connecticut.  His practice has now moved to his hometown in Canada.  Nico is certified through the Co-Active Training Institute and began coaching through the non-profit & faith-based sector.  He specializes in walking with clients to navigate failure, grief, loss, and also new beginnings, including how to start a business and creatively approach the achievement of goals and dreams.  He is a musician, adventure seeker, and entrepreneur who has built several successful companies, raised two beautiful children, and survived the loss of his wife and father.Nico believes that the essence of coaching is to be with someone fully, to help people dig deep into themselves and have the courage to take risks that bring true fulfillment.You can learn more about Nico and his work, including his brilliant “Song and Rants” series, on his website.

Act 2 opens with Neil Edwards sharing about wrestling with identities as part of finding his footing as a university student.  He discusses how, newly arrived in the US, his unfamiliarity with the American Black experience made for some eye-opening discoveries.Neil reflects on the body’s role in providing information, taking a moment to highlight his experience as a Black man before riffing on bringing the body to leadership.Neil works at the intersection of team performance & relationships, leadership and allyship, and identity & wellbeing.He leads strategic purpose and inclusion organizational efforts at a large consulting firm that focus on advancing a culture of belonging and developing inclusive leaders.Neil is an executive coach working with individuals and teams interested in the deep work required to develop their leadership, relationships, teams, wellbeing, and expand as an equitable leader and human.  He is a course leader, supervisor, and coach certification examiner for CRR Global in their Organization and Relationship Systems Coach training program, and is one of 26 people globally and 3 in the United States to hold a global license to train and deliver CRR Global’s Relationship Systems Intelligence (RSI) at Work material in-house to corporations. He is  also a Co-Active Leadership Program and Co-Active Leadership Experience leader for  CTI, the Co-Active Training Institute.Neil hosts The Leadership Range podcast and you can learn more about him on LinkedIn and, of course, reach out to him via email.

In act 1, Neil Edwards tells of growing up on the island of New Providence, The Bahamas, where he enjoyed the freedom to roam, explore, learn and “just be.”Neil shares the story of competing in the CARIFTA Games as a winning junior athlete, the rich, moving experience of representing his country and, in his moments on the podium, having awareness and consciousness “present themselves” to him.He goes on to discuss some of the lessons in the gift of receiving, gratitude and thanksgiving, touches on “the lies we tell ourselves”, and offers reminders that we belong in ways that transcend ourselves.Pay particular attention to Neil’s words about “the body…”Neil works at the intersection of team performance & relationships, leadership and allyship, and identity & wellbeing.He leads strategic purpose and inclusion organizational efforts at a large consulting firm that focus on advancing a culture of belonging and developing inclusive leaders.Neil is an executive coach working with individuals and teams interested in the deep work required to develop their leadership, relationships, teams, wellbeing, and expand as an equitable leader and human.  He is a course leader, supervisor, and coach certification examiner for CRR Global in their Organization and Relationship Systems Coach training program, and is one of 26 people globally and 3 in the United States to hold a global license to train and deliver CRR Global’s Relationship Systems Intelligence (RSI) at Work material in-house to corporations. He is  also a Co-Active Leadership Program and Co-Active Leadership Experience leader for  CTI, the Co-Active Training Institute.Neil hosts The Leadership Range podcast and you can learn more about him on LinkedIn and, of course, reach out to him via email.

Act 2 opens with Jamie Robins  responding to a question about men and their self-imposed prison cells. He plunges into vulnerability and discusses men coming together and opening to emotional experience which, he accurately points out, “they are gagging for.”He shares a brilliant, simple model through which men can begin to deepen their connection to one another - and to practice listening without rushing to fix. You can learn more about Jamie and his work at https://jamiecoach.com and find his Safe Harbour podcast, in partnership with Phil Askew, on Apple podcasts.

Jamie Robins grew up with working class roots, learning that the mark of a successful man was his capacity to bust their knuckles working hard.  His calling, though, was to break from the traditional path and head in a different direction.With his father’s blessing, Jamie - after a couple years of hard partying and going to a potentially addictive, dangerous edge - went off to university to study design. Jamie loops us into the importance of being of service and shares a tale of wrestling with a deeper second calling and “getting out on the streets” for change.Then came an overnight stay and an epiphany in a prison cell… You can learn more about Jamie and his work at https://jamiecoach.com and find his Safe Harbour podcast, in partnership with Phil Askew, on Apple podcasts.

Act 2 begins with Charles Sue-Wah-Sing sharing the lessons of fatherhood and manhood that he received from “Uncle Mike”, an older man he connected with through his involvement in one of many men's groups.As Charles digs into what happens when men come together with open hearts and a willingness to connect, he tells the story of bringing his then 6-year-old son into a circle of men – and the magical impact he had on the grown-up men around him.Charles looks at the wounds and scars that are part and parcel of the human condition, and points to the importance of coming together in community to heal, grow and celebrate and, finally, suggests ways for men to gather to start real conversations.Charles Sue-Wah-Sing identifies as a West Indian Canadian with ancestry from Guyana, Asia, Africa, and Europe.  "Man of the World" doesn't quite do him justice!A lifelong learner who has studied world religions, art, culture and ceremonial customs, his interest in the dynamics between men and women led him to participate in and lead a variety of men’s groups.Amongst his passions you'll find low and slow BBQ, hot sauce, action flicks, and music.  Charles has been a restauranteur, accountant, designer, consultant, and is currently a whole life coach. His personal musical journey includes piano, DJ'ing, guitar, salsa dancing, and now learning the drums.  Of everything he’s done in his life, Charles' greatest gift is his family. You can find out more about Charles and his great work at www.suewahsing.com and on LinkedIn.