Embracing Life's Gifts: Finding Fulfillment Through Challenges with Mike Prince
Are you ready to align your life with joy? Open to living authentically? Do you feel like the time has come for you to do what truly makes you happy instead of the daily drudgery you’ve been living?
“For me, so many people look at things and they think, oh that must’ve been scary for me, it was wow what a weight off of me when I got that diagnosis to have an answer.” – Mike, (5:04).
If this sounds like you then you’re in for a treat as today, we’re joined by Mike Prince. Mike is a renowned thought and breath work leader, mentor to many, and a podcaster. His work is truly transformative, and he has made it his life mission to positively impact lives through breathwork.
“You have to be open and receptive to it. There is an energy game in our world, and I don’t care what anyone says or believes, I’ll get as woo woo as you like. The moment you open yourself up to any ideas, that’s when manifestation begins.” – Mike, (18:02)
If you’re ready for something new, get dialed in, open your ears, and prepare to focus as Mike shares his incredible journey, in a way that will inspire you to move forward on yours. There’s an amazing person inside waiting to come out, let Mike help unleash that new you and new life!
In this episode:
(3:36) – Mike is transparent about how Lymes Disease impacted him as a man.
(4:34) – Mike decides about how he chose to live.
(5:57) – A shaman helps Mike with his bout with Lyme Disease.
(6:37) – The spiritual unlock Mike felt inside that signaled healing.
(7:28) – Mike discusses the signs he saw when he began to heal.
(8:29) – Mike comes out of the other side and begins doing breathwork and meditation.
(9:55) – Mike begins his journey in breathwork, studying as much as he can.
(11:45) – The hard work on the inside was the hardest, but Mike did it.
(12:28) – Mike talks about what and who he was looking for.
(12:50) – The neighbor becomes his person, and bonds are made.
(13:53)- He and his neighbor complete one another.
(15:10) – The origin of his men’s retreat.
(15:45) – The importance of maintaining bonds.
(16:38) – The Inner Circle is born.
(18:00) – Mike gives advice on how to create community.
(18:47) – The need to change your personal reality and shifting relationships.
(19:20) – People who want change must move into different spaces.
(20:45) – Mike gives a detailed account of breathwork.
(24:02) – Mike takes his breathwork training to another level.
(26:43) – Mike reflects on the person he used to be.
(27:40) – The universe is waiting and listening.
(28:21) – Mike discusses his method of pausing.
(29:41) – The value of creating space and boundaries.
(30:42) – Advice for others hesitant to take a leap.
(32:30) – The importance of self-love and loving every part.
Resources and Links
52 Weeks of Hope
About Mike Prince
Mike Prince is a former elite athlete who now works as an impact-driven coach on a mission of transformation. His life’s path has been a whirlwind of highs and lows, from dizzying heights of corporate success to the dark depths of battling Lyme Disease. It was in his darkest moments, feeling lost and disconnected that he experienced a life-altering spiritual awakening. His journey reshaped his entire being and unearthed his true calling. Now, armed with breathwork and proven habit-building techniques, he is committed to guiding others on their path to self-discovery.
Mike Prince Social Media
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[00:00:00] Lauren Abrams: Are you a burnt out overachiever buried in responsibilities? Do you miss laughing with your friends, just laughing from the gut? Do you feel like life's passing you by? If you've been wishing for some kind of shift, you're in the right place. Welcome to 52 Weeks of Hope, the show where we take you off the hamster wheel by ditching your to do list for the to don't list.
This is where you get to learn how to make that lonely ache vanish. Learn self compassion techniques and to give yourself grace. I'm Lauren Abrams and I get help you feel that magic again, since going through my own dark night in the soul. So you can learn from my experience and the mentors and experts I meet along the way.
And today we're talking to thought leader and breathwork leader, mentor to many, and podcaster Mike Prince. Are you ready to create a life that's more aligned with your joy? Doing what fills you up and makes you happy instead of the drudgery? You're in for a treat hearing from Mike, who felt something was missing.
He wasn't enjoying his seemingly enviable life. He did a pivot and is now living the life he saw himself living just a few [00:01:00] years ago. He manifested a life of meaning, community, and so much more and now makes it his mission, helping you reach your highest authentic truth and share your gifts without being in constant burnout mode.
Learn how to take back your time, your vitality, and your health. You get to stop wearing that mask like everything's okay right now. Welcome to 52 Weeks of Hope, Mike!
[00:01:22] Mike Prince: Well, thank you. I have a lot to live up to with that introduction. That was wonderful. Appreciate you. Oh, yeah.
[00:01:29] Lauren Abrams: I really enjoyed researching you and I feel like I got to know you a lot with the research.
So you overcame Lyme's disease. How long ago was that? That just. Seems awful. Yes,
[00:01:39] Mike Prince: so 2020 is when I when I found out is when I really kind of was diagnosed And so not not that long ago. Yeah Yeah, it's been it's been quite the journey, but it's uh, ultimately, you know, it was my greatest gift
[00:01:53] Lauren Abrams: how so how was that your greatest gift that just sounds most people like have it forever and or
[00:01:58] Mike Prince: Yeah, you're super [00:02:00]
[00:02:00] Lauren Abrams: healthy
[00:02:00] Mike Prince: Yeah, I I do still have it technically, but I don't allow it to Dictate anything in my life You know, and, and ultimately when I look at the journey of, of where it took me to, which is some very dark places, but where it's now brought me to, you know, uh, that's where it becomes my greatest gift is, is, is what I learned in the in between stages.
And I look at it now and I say, if, if my worst Thing in my life, my biggest challenge Lyme disease is that I have to make sure I am extremely healthy. I'm doing okay I'm doing okay. So yeah
[00:02:37] Lauren Abrams: Um, you say it took you to really dark places. You were you married and you have little kids and everything while you have it
[00:02:42] Mike Prince: Yeah, so i've got a four and a five year old and so then Jeez.
Yeah. How old were the boys? That was a few years ago. So we can do the math there. Two young boys and a wife and a family and lots of responsibilities, you know, corporate jobs. I'm a sales leader and another couple businesses on the side [00:03:00] and they didn't know what was wrong with me for a time. Right. So antibiotics, I went through traditional route.
I hired a naturopath. I had a team working together of sending me back and forth test results and Eventually all over the world to Germany where they found out. And then, you know, antibiotics, I lost 55 pounds. I was crying through the night. I was in so much pain. There was no answer, uh, within sight and, you know, um, I always.
For me one of the darkest moments and I don't know why it's I think it's the definition of how society defines a man that Stuck with me of you know I had this moment of I couldn't protect my family if I wanted to and I you know I I lived in a nice community where I didn't have to protect my family But just that that that came to me and it was so heartbreaking to think if anything ever did happen You know at the time I could barely lift up one of my my arms Boys which were 20 pounds at the time without excruciating pain
[00:03:56] Lauren Abrams: We'll get to that in a few minutes with your conscious creator your whole community with men [00:04:00] and old ideas and all of that stuff So what did you do?
I mean you went to germany or like you're flying around they discover what's wrong with
[00:04:10] Mike Prince: Yeah, so I this is on the tail end of an athletic career where yeah My my physical body has been such a big part of of what I do and who I am And of course how I define myself From a place of my ego, mainly at that time, but yeah, the doctors didn't, they could not figure it out. They could not stop anything.
So ultimately I had to make a decision and I had to say, you know, am I going to live in this dark place? Am I going to continue to get frustrated? Am I going to just cry? Am I going to just sit in this or am I going to figure it out and dig deep? And you know, within me, I've just always had the power to pull out of things and look for the light.
And so at that time, uh, I had spoken with a friend and, and they said, You know, I know a shaman that i've heard that cambo medicine is is good for lyme's disease and
[00:04:59] Lauren Abrams: [00:05:00] Okay, so you had been diagnosed at that point.
[00:05:02] Mike Prince: Yes
[00:05:02] Lauren Abrams: Okay. Okay. Yeah, and for
[00:05:04] Mike Prince: me, you know for me so many people look at things and they think oh That must have been scary for me.
It was wow. What a weight off of me
[00:05:12] Lauren Abrams: Yeah
[00:05:12] Mike Prince: to when I got that diagnosis. I have an answer. I have something to target to go after Okay, how do we do this now? Now
[00:05:19] Lauren Abrams: you can get to the solution Um I got into the
[00:05:23] Mike Prince: research hole and the, you know, I just went to town on everything. And listen, I'll be vulnerable in here.
It, I, everything under the sun. And so I did. Everything I could find and you know, these little pieces started to get better But i'll tell you my unlock was really when I I I spent a few days down in Vancouver with a shaman And I did some some work.
[00:05:42] Lauren Abrams: So what did the shaman do? Because I bet I saw a shaman in bali who I've took my husband to see after that.
I like, you know, he's just like, I mean, he looks like a shaman. So I was curious.
[00:05:55] Mike Prince: She, she, she was incredible. So she, she mainly deals, [00:06:00] serves a medicine called, called cambo, which is the secretion from an Amazonian frog. And the frog is not harmed in the process. Don't worry. When I did my research, I looked at this and I said, okay, it boosts your immune system.
Cool, I'll go do this and essentially I spent three days with her and it, they burn into your skin and then they take the secretion and they put it on it and immediately it goes into your bloodstream and you purge. Okay, so you throw up and it's meant to have more of a purge as well with whatever free radicals are in your body.
And so for me, again, I was living in this, this space of, okay, it'll help my immune system. Let's go boost up. But ultimately on day three, I had a spiritual unlock. And, um, the only way I can explain it is I literally felt something in the lower left side of, of, of my stomach click and shift. And there's more to this story.
There's a longer story there of, you know, that morning I had a flock of, Birds like fly almost through me. And I saw coyote and like, there was these, the, the, [00:07:00] my environment was sending me signals of, okay, we're aligned to really go in here. So, but I don't want to take people down, down too much of a path.
[00:07:08] Lauren Abrams: Well, from that time, wait, wait, wait. So, okay. Were you told, look for signs or later? Did you think back and go, Oh, there were signs where you noticing and I mean, the birds,
[00:07:21] Mike Prince: the birds. The birds was, there was, I had no choice but to know it was a sign. The coyote I later pieced in, it was just like, he should not have been there in that part of where I was and why he crossed my path.
And then the birds, I actually have a video of this because it happened three times in a row. And anybody who I share this video with is like, wow, I felt that because they literally come right. There's about 300 birds and come right through me. And so it was an alignment of the universe letting me know, like, yeah.
You're ready for this. This is the day we're going to move through this. And so I felt so charged up going into my final day. And you're talking after two [00:08:00] days of, you know, it's, it's not the nicest process to go through, but it's healing.
[00:08:06] Lauren Abrams: Uh huh. Okay.
[00:08:09] Mike Prince: It was leaving that that it was just these, you know, these instances that I couldn't ignore, right?
So I went into day three. I had that that unlock and it's not a spiritual. It's not a psychedelic medicine or anything It's you know But I had that spiritual tap and and I left having to just really look and listen and integrate Everything I went through in those three days But coming out the other side, you know in in diving into meditation and joe dispensa meditations daily And then breathwork was another piece of that.
I had found breathwork in the previous year. Okay.
[00:08:39] Lauren Abrams: So wait, wait, wait So how did you know to look up Joe Dispenza or breathwork or anything like that? Did the shaman recommend it or is it just no you just had this intuitive thought i'm gonna go online and look up like What just what the hell just happened?
I'll
[00:08:53] Mike Prince: re i'll rewind about about a year. Listen here. I was a burnt out sales individual Okay. I had [00:09:00] after the tail end of my athletic career, I came in and I was feeling really lost. And so, um, I started to work with a friend of mine and I got as fit as I've ever been in my life. And he shared breath work with me for the first time, as well as, you know, I'd heard Joe Dispenza.
And then it was after this peak where I was in the best shape in my life, mentally, physically, everything that the universe came and said, You didn't slow down enough, son. That's when Lyme disease came into my life. So that's kind of how I have, you know, a good friend to thank for the breathwork introduction.
Then I, again, like anything, when I feel high or I feel a little, you know, natural buzz, or I feel get, you know, boosted energy from someone's ideas, I'm like, I gotta, I gotta follow that, right? That's the flow calling me. So I did my own research. I read an amazing book called, uh, Fields. A he. Heal by Gittin Tonkov, one of the grandfathers of holotropic breathwork.
And I just continued picking up [00:10:00] books. Then I started following that. Breathwork and meditation really became a staple and foundation pieces in my life, in my healing. I knew, I knew after that, that there was nobody else that could heal me, but me. And everything was up to me now, not in a heavy way, but in a beautiful way of Okay, Mike, you got this.
This is up to you. You are the unlock to everything, you know, and so for me again they're the only message I had at the forefront of my mind was This isn't just for me. Like, I have to bring this to every single human that I can, and help them realize that they don't have to go through this crazy breakdown like I went through to realize how truly limitless we can be, and how beautiful and amazing life can be, and how connected we can be to our spouses, our kids, our environment, our food, like, Everything so my [00:11:00] world just started to open and as I Continued to listen to my intuition and follow the signs and here, you know The universe aligned to support me more and more as we continued to go
[00:11:11] Lauren Abrams: vibe attracts your tribe.
So, how did you end up meeting? Like minded people because you created this whole conscious community conscious creators
[00:11:21] Mike Prince: Yeah, I mean, you nailed it, right? The vibe attracts the tribe. And so as I started to open up and become receptive to all of this, and I started to drop judgment on myself and other people and really say goodbye to my parts that were no longer serving.
So a lot of inner work, a lot of hard work, everybody beautifies the inner work, but it's hard. It's ugly. It's, Scary. Uh, it's the other side that's beautiful, but it still never ends. You know, it's peaks and valleys as we know. And so, listen, I love talking about this piece here because I remember a year, about a year prior, I had said to my wife, I was in a, a bit of a lonely spot.
I don't, you know, wasn't [00:12:00] playing sports anymore. I'm, I've been remote for 10, 12 years, not at the office, right? And so I remember saying to her like. Babe, I don't even have anybody I can call to go for a beer with. I just don't feel like, and, you know, she didn't really know how to help me, and I'm an outgoing person, I love, you know, but the truth and the reality of it is that I wasn't looking for somebody to go for a beer with.
I was looking for Somebody to have expansive conversations with. I was looking for someone that could dive into this deeper space with me and, you know, talk about spiritual unlocks and breathwork and meditation and big, scary ideas and somebody who would actually. Want to take action with me and not just chat about ideas.
And then, you know, insert Trevor Turnbull, the, the, the neighbor, three doors down who walked by my house multiple times with his two kids in his stroller, two kids, only a year older than mine. And, you know, we started with the classic man head nod [00:13:00] and, you know, then it was the next day or the next day. And we said, hi, then I asked him to play a game of tennis.
And, and ultimately, you know, we really bridged that gap that men usually don't. Is we surpass talking about sports asks about what he does in his relationship and this this piece And that piece and kids and we really connected deeper and we we didn't create those walls the walls were down and You know, i'll let him tell his own story But I know he was in a very similar place where he had had success the way society defines it for all of us Right same as me.
He had he had the house the two kids a beautiful wife the high paying job, but Something was missing right here Something new in both of us that this was not it. This can't be it. And we connected at the right time where we were both on the tail end of this journey. You know, I was a little ahead in parts and he was a little ahead and other parts.
And we saw things in each other that like, Oh, I want that. I want to learn more about that. And we, we went there, right. And I think that's the big difference. And [00:14:00] then I always laugh at, there was a one weekend where I was like, babe, I think I'm going to ask Trev to go to a resort for the weekend. So we literally went away on this man weekend where, you know, um, our wives said, yeah, cool, go do it.
And we, we hiked a mountain. We did breathwork on top of the mountain. I took my e foils out. We went e foiling on the water and we talked about big, crazy ideas. And that weekend we booked our first men's retreat. On a whim we're having no business doing so we just said, okay, we're action takers. Let's do this Let's figure it out and two months later.
We had 10 men arrive and you know, the rest is kind of history
[00:14:38] Lauren Abrams: Yeah, I and I just love that I put it out in the universe You say something to your wife and you have that and then I I heard you say the life you have right now You spoke into the universe I think to trev, um two years ago or something like that And I may be off on my timing because i'm not sure when I was watching certain videos when they were from because
[00:14:59] Mike Prince: [00:15:00] yeah, yeah, so our first retreat geez feels like it feels like 10 years ago, but Four years
[00:15:08] Lauren Abrams: or whatever it is.
[00:15:09] Mike Prince: June 2021 Yeah, I think I'm pretty confident in saying that. And then, you know, ultimately how extremely conscious came to be born was that's our, our brand and our, our men's collective that we have now is. You know after that retreat the retreat wasn't went off amazingly somehow we pulled it together and um, But afterwards, of course, like, you know, we all disconnected eventually and so we're like, okay Yeah, we can't just have this this peak experience.
Yeah, I know
[00:15:37] Lauren Abrams: people are bonded You have to stay together after things like this It's one thing i've learned again and again people they crave seeing each other a way to stay in touch or anything like that Yeah
[00:15:49] Mike Prince: You got it. And so we, we, we started actually hosting these calls for free called the better man gathering.
And Trev and I committed hours and hours, just not knowing what we were doing, [00:16:00] just creating. Okay. Let's get people in a room having conversations about what's alive and real for them. You know, let these men speak out loud and get off their chest and do it in a safe space. And the synchronicities we saw on these calls were mind blowing.
Like you would have guys that would come on that, for example, each were like the only child in one call would be four guys that were the only child. Another one would be, you know, uh, five guys with all girls as kids. Like these, these, those are examples, but these neat synchronicities that were not, you know, By chance and, and eventually we created, uh, we said, okay, we're, we're ready.
We got to create a men's group. And we created a group called the inner circle, which, uh, now today, you know, Joe fear is a part of, and some other gentlemen, and then now that's a protected space. That we have a lead in group called the evolving man, where it's a 90 day accelerator that, you know, we take guys through to, to really just kind of step back from their lives a little bit, take them [00:17:00] into a lot of reflection and the past, the present and the future, and then step forward as, as more authentic versions of themselves and more connected.
To their worlds. And if they get through that and they really can, then our inner circle, which is a sacred space is kind of an option for them,
[00:17:15] Lauren Abrams: which is amazing. And if anybody listening, Trevor's episode is December, 2023. It's amazing. You can hear it there. So somebody who's listening that wants to, especially since it's a largely female audience that they all want to send their men, I'm sure, but, and we'll have links to everything, of course, but they want to create that they're craving.
Authentic connection there and spiritual connection someone they can talk about not traffic in the weather But something real or clothes and stuff like that, but real and and creating Community, how would they go about it?
[00:17:53] Mike Prince: you know, I love that question because My answer is not what you think and and the first Step to that is [00:18:00] kind of what we just we spoke about right is you have to be Open and receptive to it There is an energy game at play in our world.
I don't care what anybody says or believes I'll get as woohoo or not as you like, but the moment you open yourself up to any ideas That's where manifestation begins the moment you truly believe you are worthy of those conversations in those Relationships with other men or women the deeper kind or a partner That's when that that that portal that door is open for that to even even happen And then there's a then there's a much tougher part at play that a lot of people want to you know They want these things but in order to do that, it's it's something you've never had before It's outside of your your normal personal reality.
That means you have to change your personal reality That means all the people that you've surrounded yourself with for 40 50 however many years You May have to change, you know, those relationships may have to shift. That is [00:19:00] a hard thing to do. It's very rewarding. And that's when these things will start to happen, right?
Because there's no defined spaces for men or women to say, I want to create these conversations, these deeper connections. I'm just going to dive into this, but it means you have to be receptive. Smile at someone more make eye contact get in the spaces that those higher vibe people are You know instead of the bar get into the yoga studio get into the the cool conscious cafe or get into the you know Where the space is these other individuals are hanging out and sometimes you run into them on the street just like I did with trev Yeah, which is
[00:19:37] Lauren Abrams: I love that
[00:19:38] Mike Prince: You know and or it's having the conversations at the gym going to where most people find it awkward or weird.
It's not You You know bridge that push your boundaries a little bit to explore And it's amazing what can happen when you open those doors consciously.
[00:19:54] Lauren Abrams: It's so true. Um, I had a seven hour delay Um on my [00:20:00] flight to go to a conference this past weekend. I've never had that kind of a delay I kept thinking okay, we connect through our stories look around And, uh, I had to do an attitude shift.
Um, I mean, I had plenty of work I can do and everything else, but it's like, look around. This is part of humanity. You're not the only one. It was a huge flight. And, and so that, and. It's and of course I met people and and you connect and and it's just The universe works in all kinds of fun ways when you do have that kind of a shift Okay, so let's talk about your breath work because I know that lights you up So you're recovering from lives or whatever you have your shift after the shaman and there's joe dispensa and the breath work Uh, let's talk about where you went with that
[00:20:45] Mike Prince: Yeah, so The the breathwork was an amazing one.
I mean listen the first time I experienced i've i've lived in a a wildlife in my younger my younger life and Um the first time I did breathwork. I said this is I I got higher than anything i've [00:21:00] ever tapled in in any world but beyond that it was it was enlightening and the things I saw and felt and I was just In such awe that I was like this is something that is within us That is free that we can all access any time, you know and to give an example of of a couple pieces that are just wild and it'll take people to a place but I remember seeing myself as a 16 year old in an embarrassing moment and I was able to meet myself uh with the wisdom I have today to Release that to hug that 16 year old and release it and now to give people context that is in like an hour long journey that this happened a breathwork journey So let me go do you mind if I give 30 seconds of 101 on breathwork?
As well because I know I know it's a newer world for a lot of people and so at a very conscious level guys Breathwork is is learning to harness the breath in a conscious way. So in our in our everyday lives It's part of our autonomic system, right like our blood You [00:22:00] Pumps blood or our heart pumps blood through our body like our stomach digests our food and turns it into nutrients our respiratory system Sends oxygen and we breathe but when we take it to the level of consciousness of harnessing the breath and right taking it deeper Taking it shallower, whatever serves, you know, there's ways to activate and restore the body That is where breath work becomes extremely powerful so When I started to dive into it and feel these things and realize how not only healing it can be, but also, you know, in a, in a performance space with an athlete or in the corporate world to charge you up before a leadership meeting or a big keynote speaking on stage, like any facet of your life, breath work can serve you.
Whether it's waking up in the morning to feeling anxiousness and, and, and, you know, taking over to calm yourself down, like [00:23:00] anywhere you look at any realm, it's valuable. And that's where I just, you know, light bulbs everywhere and I want to help the world. I want to breathe the life into the world. And so I didn't, I had no idea what I was doing.
That's the truth, okay? I knew one method of breathwork. I had one little practice, and I said, when, you know, when Trev and I invite people down to the river, because we were jumping in a cold river at the time, he, I believe, called me up to do it, in fact. He said, let's do breathwork before. Lead us in breathwork.
You know, and if you know, Trevor, that's what he does. He pulls you into uncomfortable things and that's why I love him. But so I did that for, for quite some time and it was amazing to watch all the shifts and people that had never done it and just felt so good. And then I took it to our men's groups and again, you know, watching the unlocks and all of that was just incredible.
And then, um, it's only in the last year that I really took it deeper and deeper. And I learned how much I didn't know. So there's um, a group called [00:24:00] Awaken out there, Awaken Breathwork, Lucas and Hela. They have created a whole world. They do massive events, they have trainings. And so they are world class and I've been following them for years.
And I said, okay, it's time that I take this to, to a next level. And so I've been so honored to work with the two of them over the last year to take my training deeper because it's, never could I have fathomed They would bring forward. Let me just put it that way. It's not just the physiology and the science of breath.
It's energetics It's every piece to it And so now again, it just keeps taking me to a deeper level of saying wow, who can I bring this to now? Right. So yeah, you bring
[00:24:39] Lauren Abrams: it to us. We'll go live. You'll do some breath work.
[00:24:42] Mike Prince: I'll do a live session Oh my gosh I love, I love, love doing it. And now, you know, I did a 170 person event last weekend in LA with them, their event.
I co facilitated. I was able to bring Breathwork to my corporate world this past week, 90 people that have [00:25:00] never done it. And the feedback, like people were just thanking me left, right, and center. It blew my mind to my home. You know, I do Breathwork with my four and five year old in a very small capacity.
And my wife and I are doing a journey tonight. In fact, like it's just, now it's. Where can I help people unlock greatness in their life? Where can I help people heal? Where can I help? So I strongly urge anybody listening guys If you don't know what breathwork is you it will serve you in your life. It is so so powerful and transformational And then you know From a physiological perspective it helps with boosting your immunity Reducing inflammation in the body like there's so many different pieces to it.
So i'll digress there Otherwise, you're gonna have to make this podcast three hours. No. No,
[00:25:46] Lauren Abrams: it's so true. It brings you into the moment too. And um, and and going from Healing and using it to heal you to where you're now just getting so much and so much So full [00:26:00] watching what it does for others besides Still getting what it does for you I mean just watching you and your energy when you talk about it is an amazing thing and and that's all transformative And and everyone can do this.
It's not like oh, yeah good for you. Mike What about me like you could learn it and teach it yourself if you're like, I want to do that Anybody can do these things. I loved hearing about How you just weren't being fulfilled and and yet and you took action and now like you're in this life Like so beyond what you could dream
[00:26:34] Mike Prince: 100 you know, listen, I again as I said, I I was in a place where It was sad.
It was sad, to be frank. I, I, I had everything and yet I didn't feel anything. Birthdays, holidays, kids birthdays, that's what made me the, the, the saddest. And yet I was happy on the exterior, you know? Now, like, oh, life is full. Life is [00:27:00] beautiful. I have more going on than I ever have. Yet, I am more calm, collected, centered, have deep, meaningful relationships.
My wife and I have such an incredible relationship that continues to grow and challenge us, but you know, it's, it's beautiful and we're so, both so committed. My kids, I am so present for, they're my life, my everything. And then opportunities, like, you know, if you were just on the conversation I was in 30 minutes ago, it would blow a regular person's mind, but it's, it's what, When you really, again, when you open yourself up to this and you reach into these areas of, of what your true potential is, the universe will support you.
It's there to show you, we just generally are too busy doing something else or not listening or distracted, right? In a world of technology where we don't slow down enough and allow our intuition to speak to us, you're going to miss out. You're gonna mess out. So
[00:27:56] Lauren Abrams: yeah, it's it's it's the pause it's
[00:27:59] Mike Prince: [00:28:00] Taking
[00:28:00] Lauren Abrams: that breath and taking that pause answers arise in the pause
[00:28:04] Mike Prince: 100 percent
[00:28:07] Lauren Abrams: and So, how do you take the pause?
What do you do to make sure that you? just not just do the conscious breath work where you're taking the hour with your wife later, but just Stepping away for everything to breathe
[00:28:21] Mike Prince: Yeah, honestly, I, I feel like it's becoming very, uh, part of who I am, you know, I wake up and I breathe. Uh, I do eight minutes of breath work.
The first thing I do when I wake up with some red light therapy to kick my circadian rhythm in, into awake mode, but then it's just really. Um, when you do this work, you become very in tune with your emotions and your body, and you're able to step outside yourself a little bit and observe. So through the work, I've been able to, to identify when I'm feeling a certain way and when I need to take that pause, right.
And whether that's, uh, chaos in my work world [00:29:00] here, and I need to say, okay, shut everything down for five minutes and take a moment, or whether it's just setting boundaries. In my life, which is, you know, my wife and I have the thing now where my phone goes off between five 30 and seven 30, every night it's dinnertime and get the kids to bed and we are there.
And this, and I can tell you four years ago, I lost there all the time because there was a place of, you know, trying to answer emails while I'm with my kids. And then. I'm not present with them. And then so I'm not present for the email because they're coming at me. And then I feel shame when they go to bed because, you know, I didn't serve them as a dad.
And then I feel shame because I was partially in my work too. And it's like, oh my gosh, when we just create the space and the boundaries to say, Guess what? This time I'm working in this space and this time I'm fully present with my kids. And you're so much more effective in those areas too. And you feel so much better because you're accomplishing so much more.
Um, you're present and focused with whatever's in front of you, whether that's, you [00:30:00] know, a client or your child or a friend. Right. So it's just, it's in the little moments that I find my presence and really, but really it's due to the slowdown and the modalities that the habits ultimately that I build into my life, because I, just as many, I used to live in default mode, right?
Our, our regular everyday life is, is a compound of our habits and 95 percent of us are living in default mode.
[00:30:28] Lauren Abrams: Yeah, not being conscious of each moment and what we're doing and just Whatever that is. So what would you tell somebody who's afraid to take that leap? They know that there's something else they wish they were doing But they're afraid.
[00:30:40] Mike Prince: You know, these slow down pieces are so powerful. You have to, this is where the answers arrive. Right. And so I would say you have to explore them and, and I'll, I'll give you the perfect example. Uh, I had a friend call me last night while I was barbecuing dinner. And he said, Mike, I want to [00:31:00] have dinner with you.
I want to sit down, you know, I don't want to be where I am in 15 years. And I said to him, I said, listen, we can have dinner, we can sit down, but here's what I would like to do with you is I'd like to do a deeper breathwork journey. And I, because that's where answers arrive is in those slower moments. And I know not everybody has access to that.
So that's only one tool, but I would say, um, you do need to find. The pieces that fire you up and that, you know, gets you aligned and you don't have to know your purpose. You don't have to know your vision right away. Here's what you have to do. You have to start with, um, getting better sleep. You have to start with drinking more water in the day.
You have to start with exercising, moving the body, move the energy. These are the pillars, the foundational items that Trev and I work with, with our evolving men, seriously. And some of the guys I'm talking executive level coaches and guys that I won't go into but high high performing guys that laugh at us when they first come to work with us They're like really mike and trev.
This is what you have for us [00:32:00] but then they slow down and they look at it and they say But I'm not actually doing any of these things consistently. Maybe I should humble myself and start where these guys are asking me to. And without fail, once we work through those first two weeks to resistance, you know, the doors start to open up.
And that's what I tell everybody, like, start with the basics, but everybody wants to go from A to B overnight. Right in this this society we live in it's no it's a long journey and it takes time and you have to have patience and you have to love yourself like more than anything because Again, people will shame themselves.
Why can't I get it? Why am I so dumb? Why can't I figure it out and that's just going to block you more You have to love every part of yourself for wherever it is. You're at and know that where you're at is perfectly timed Everybody's exactly where they're supposed to be in this moment And when we can do that and we can know okay, maybe today is day one.
That's okay [00:33:00] Start there.
[00:33:02] Lauren Abrams: Oh, yeah, and it's all part of peeling the onion. Anyway, it'll all change. It'll all get deeper. It'll It's just that's life for sure. Do you have a message? I hope you want to give although I feel like you just gave one um
[00:33:17] Mike Prince: Yeah. I mean, my message of hope guys is, is, yeah, as I said, keep going, but like wherever you are is exactly where you are meant to be today and whatever challenges in your life are in front of you, they are truly a gift to you.
If you slow down and you look and you observe, and even though they may feel challenging, dark and you know, hard at the time within everything life brings us. Our lessons hands down period and it's always lighter on the other side. All we have to do is take another step and another step and look at what's right in front of us, you know, and that's truly where we're able to, to unlock greatness within ourselves is as those steps become a little bigger and a little bigger [00:34:00] and we keep moving forward.
[00:34:02] Lauren Abrams: Oh, that's great. Um, is there anything I didn't ask you? That we're gonna be down here. We're like lauren didn't ask me this
[00:34:10] Mike Prince: I don't think so. That was that was We got on some good topics there I mean I could talk forever and there's many amazing visions that I have in things But I think I think we covered a lot of ground there
[00:34:22] Lauren Abrams: Okay, well, we'll definitely do a live session and let you give everybody some breath work so that they can understand exactly Um, and this has been great.
Thank you so much for being a guest today on 52 weeks of hope
[00:34:35] Mike Prince: Thank you, Lauren. I appreciate you and, you know, tons of love to, to all your guests, everybody listening. It's, it's an honor. Anytime I get the chance to share a bit of my story and, and, uh, have an opportunity to inspire.
[00:34:46] Lauren Abrams: I hope you enjoyed this week's episode and take with you Mike's messages of an open mind, breath, work, and connection connection, both to yourself and to others.
There's such great messages to take into your week ahead. Be sure to tune [00:35:00] in next week for another empowering episode all about how to live authentically, abundantly, and how to simply feel better. It's also about embracing the lessons and growth from your life's journey. You're going to love this episode.
That's next week, and you don't want to miss it. Be sure to share this episode with your friends and to rate and review the podcast so more people feel less alone in the overwhelm and to remember the pause. Answers emerge in the pause, and instead of adding to your to do list, How about a to don't list?
And I know I always say, please rate and review the show, but it really does make a difference and I really appreciate it. I've been binge listening to this one guy. He's so funny. He's got these little 10 minute marketing episodes. And at the end, he says, even if this is the worst podcast you've ever heard, please rate and review.
If you don't know how you can just go to the website of 52weeksofhope. com and There's a button that says rate and review, even if you just follow the episode, it does make a difference. So I appreciate it until next week. I'm Lauren [00:36:00] Abrams. Thanks for listening.
