Men’s Rite of Passage Retreat- Guest Coach Trevor Bird

My name is Antonio. I have been on my Hero’s Journey for the past decade. I set out to find my true potential as a Man. I have used my experience with the outdoors as a medium to train my body, my mind , and my heart. I have been backpacking in the wild, often solo, for 10+ years. These expeditions have allowed me to learn about myself and who I truly am. The time in the wild has extremely confronting moments, When climbing mountains, or trekking for a week in the snow with a 60 pound pack, the emotional journey that comes with the physical test is extreme. Through this, I was led to unpacking all the emotions and looking for a way to integrate the lessons from the wild into my daily life. I started working with Connor Beaton of ManTalks and Trevor Bird of Inner World. These two Men have extensive experience and knowledge working with the modern masculine. I currently have the opportunity to lead a group of Men in the ManTalks alliance and lead breathwork sessions in Inner World, giving the gifts I have learned from these mentors to other Men. Much of the work I do with Men involves IFS parts work, allowing space for one to interact with their younger parts to better understand current day behavior. I have found that with the above tools, my expeditions into the wild have become more fulfilling and taking the lessons back to my life has become more powerful. I am bringing these experiences to Men like you.

When you are not living within integrity, you experience symptoms that disrupt your life. Not sleeping, ruminating on ongoing problems. Constantly putting out fires. Feeling isolated because you have to do it alone with no sounding board or support. Relationships suffer. You hide vulnerability to avoid external criticism and judgment. You need to be the one with all of the answers. Being at the helm of a large business with over 5 mil in revenue and over 140 employees, I know exactly what it's like to be constantly running through checklists, glued to email, organizing launches, neglecting my family, my health, restructuring employees,negotiating contracts, and working within the dynamics of the complexity of business relationships with partners and firms. This is a big weight for one person to carry alone. And they shouldn't have to. I know, I carried it for over a decade in my leadership role as an entrepreneur.  It is very difficult for leaders to admit to themselves, and especially to others, "I don't know what to do." After all, you are the leader of your family or circle. So my first question is: What happens when you get caught up in the identity of your career, or your leadership role? At first, it will be the source of success, until it envelops you and becomes you and you start to lose connection with how you experience life. My second question is; how are things going now, compared to your original vision? Typically there are big and unexpected challenges along the way you didn't expect in the beginning. But it is hard to find the right support network that truly understands that kind of pressure. This retreat can help you by providing a place to connect with your fellow man. Have a sounding board to help you think through your options and make sense of the complicated inner conflicts. When you feel like everyone else can quit but you, this is when having a community that really makes a difference. If your significant other either doesn't understand your problems or is tired of hearing about them, this will help. If you can't talk to anyone else or you feel isolated about being out of ideas or being stuck, This will help. When the loop of anxiety, uncertainty, guilt, frustration continue on repeat, This retreat will help. We will work through challenges, gain clarity from all of your inner conflicts so that you can move forward with integrity in all areas of your life, so you can learn to lead yourself to lead others.