Episode 101: Rev. Michael Sean Harvey & Warrior Compassion: Unleashing The Healing Power Of Men

Episode 101: Rev. Michael Sean Harvey, MSOD, MSEd & Warrior Compassion: Unleashing The Healing Power Of Men

Sean's story is one of helping men enhance and express the humanity in and through themselves. From his own history and trauma of understanding and living his own truth, to his studies in becoming a change agent, to a life-changing experience working at Eileen Fisher -- which shaped his understanding of how men view themselves -- he's now taken everything he's learned to date and harnessed it in such a way to help men tap into their own power of healing.

He doesn't seek to change those men he works with but instead help them seek out and navigate their own wounds, traumas, and experiences. Through that process they begin to both understand the programming they've received in their lives when it comes to what masculinity means and take on the tools to reframe their perceptions.

He himself shares how his experience as a gay man provides a different lens through which to harness and understand masculinity so that it's not blinding us to all that's truly possible in our lives when it comes to love and compassion.

This was a great conversation for me to have as a man. More conversations need to take place on the topic of men's state of mind, their mental health, their sense of purpose, and their need to heal.

I'm grateful I got to both hear Sean's own experiences and thoughts and share my own. The more we as men share with each other, the quicker the healing journey can begin for each of us.

Men have needs, too. This isn't to take away from any other group. It's not a zero-sum game. Men have programmed themselves to believe we need to be stoic, can't share our emotions, and that over-masculinity and control might make up for any fear or uncertainty we feel.

Thank you to all those who see that and are allies to men.

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS

• When Sean was asked to show his heart instead of his polish.
• Sean's pillars of authenticity, connection, and purpose.
• The messaging for healthy masculinity, for deeper connection, for healing, and for breaking down the walls of isolation and disconnection.
• "You're not broken, but you might be wounded."
• "We've had toxic conditioning and faulty teaching."
• When we're born, we have everything within us.
• Where shame breeds.
• "Let's stop saying what the answer is and start creating a set of questions for men to be in their own inquiry, to discover their own truth of who it is that they are that reflects their journey, that honors who they are, and that moves from a place of self-loathing of the ways that they're not measuring up to self-love for gratitude for who they are."
• The two things we can't do when talking about men's healing, men's growth, men's transformation.
• The power of seeing someone's humanity even if you don't agree with or abhor their views.
• The need to get out of over-intellectualization we do on most topics.
• The four existential question in every one of Sean's engagements.
• The difference between learning how to behave vs. learning how to be.
• How do we heal the wounds that hold us back from being compassionate?
• The Shame Spiral

The MAIN QUESTION underlying my conversation with Sean is, What kind of wounds do you have to address and heal in order to move forward with your life and live your truth?

MENTIONED OR APPLICABLE BOOKS

• The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
• King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery (Toltec Wisdom) by Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz, Janet Mills

MENTIONED OR APPLICABLE PAST EPISODES

• Episode 90: Autumn Carolynn & Her Book, Traveling in Wonder: A Travel Photographer's Tales of Wanderlust
• Episode 70: Oakland McCulloch & His Book, Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be
• Episode 36: Cory Carlson & Rise & Go: How to Get Back Up with Courage and Move Forward with Confidence

ABOUT SEAN

Sean is a TEDx Speaker and founder of Warrior Compassion Men’s Studio.?Sean?is an Interfaith Minister whose book,?Warrior Compassion: Unleashing the Healing Power of Men offers a roadmap for men’s soul-healing as a catalyst for systems change.?Sean?brings 25 years of experience in leadership and organizational development consulting and taught organizational behavior and change at Cornell, NYU, and Baruch College CUNY.?His work focuses on deepening compassionate humanity into hyper-masculine systems and developing leaders as emergent facilitators, compassionate bridge builders, and conscious change agents equipped to transform systems and heal cultures on a global scale.?His current research focuses on facilitating bridges across polarized divides.

FIND SEAN

• Website: https://warriorcompassion.com
• LinkedIn:?https://linkedin.com/in/seanharvey
• Instagram: @warrior_compassion

YOUTUBE TIME STAMP

• 00:00 - The Book Leads Podcast - Sean Harvey
• 00:50 - Introduction & Bio
• 02:15 - Who are you today? Can you provide more information about your work?
• 10:52 - Sean's take on what's happened to lead to the current state of men in America.
• 28:35 - How did your path into your career look like, and what did it look like up until now?
• 44:06 - How does the work you're doing today reconcile to who you were as a child?
• 48:30 - How ministry plays into Sean's career and mission.
• 57:31 - What does leadership mean to you?
• 49:25 - Can you introduce us to the book we’re discussing? (Overview included)
• 01:03:47 - The reaction Sean gets when his work is carried out in hyper-masculine environments.
• 01:17:55 - What lessons have you taken away from the book?
• 01:20:27 - What’s next for your writing?
• 01:31:13 - What book has inspired you?
• 01:34:12 - What are you up to these days? (A way for guests to share and market their projects and work.)

About The Book Leads

On?The Book Leads?podcast, I speak to specialists and experts across various industries and from varied backgrounds to learn about the book that made an impact and left an impression on their work, life, and leadership. In the course of my conversation I also learn about my guest's background, experience, and work they're carrying out today.?

This series has become my Masterclass In Humanity. I'd love for you to join me and see what you take away from these conversations.

Learn more about The Book Leads and listen to past episodes:

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• Read About The Book Leads?–?Blog Post

About Me

I'm a?Leadership Performance Coach and Consultant?at Coach It Out, LLC (www.coachitout.com).?In addition to coaching, and as you can see above, I enjoy writing, podcasting, and speaking about leadership. Specifically, I work with clients to realize what they're all about when it comes to (1) new positions they've been hired or promoted into; and (2) rediscovering what they want out of their leadership, development, and career.

My signature talks include?Design Your Leadership! Nine Ways to Sharpen Your Leadership Brand In The Everyday, and?Platinum Networking: Designing A Unique Experience For Others In A World Of Disconnection.

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Reach out to me at?[email protected].