Speaker 1: 0:00

Are you ready to break free from hesitation, self-doubt and isolation? Do you want to lead with confidence, build powerful connections and live boldly? I'm Cory Baum and I'm here to share the most impactful strategies and mindsets that I've learned through coaching, leadership and real-world experience. Together, we'll forge unshakable confidence, master social dynamics and create a life rooted in purpose, brotherhood and bold action. Inside, you'll get the tools and insights to become the strongest, most connected version of yourself. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Evolve Men podcast. I'm your host, corey Baum. This is where we talk about the real work of becoming the man that you were made to be.

Speaker 1: 0:46

I want to take you back to a morning a few years ago. I remember waking up, sitting on the edge of the bed and feeling like I was underwater Not literally right, but that heavy, muted, directionless kind of feeling. My life looked fine on the surface and I was checking all the boxes. I had a job, I was handling my responsibilities. From the outside, I was doing what a man is supposed to do, but inside I wasn't driving right. I was coasting. I was reacting to what the world put in front of me. I wasn't creating it. And that morning I asked myself when was it when along the way? When did I take my hands off the wheel? And maybe, as you're listening to this, you're feeling that too, that sense that life is happening to me but that you're not really steering. So today's conversation is about just that. It's about what happens when we wake up to the fact that we've been drifting and what it looks like to take the wheel back.

Speaker 1: 2:01

Here's the thing about losing the wheel. It doesn't happen in one dramatic moment. It's not like in a movie where you see a guy make some huge mistake and everything crashes down. No, it's this subtle small decision, like these small compromises that build up over time. It starts when you stop asking yourself what do I really want? Maybe you take a job because it's safe. Maybe you stay in a relationship because it's good enough. Maybe you stop pursuing the things that light you up because they feel impractical or selfish or silly, and then, before you know it, years go by and suddenly you look back and you don't even recognize the road that you're on anymore. And I've seen this time and time again with the men that I've coached. I've seen it in myself and I'm guessing.

Speaker 1: 3:00

If you're here, part of you is wondering am I really in the driver's seat, or am I just along for the ride? So what does it feel like when you've let go of the wheel? It shows up as restlessness, not caring, disconnection, like a pressure without really purpose, like a pressure without really purpose, busy but not fulfilled. You might even feel like you're doing everything right. Right, but nothing feels right. Does that sound familiar to you? And let me be real here.

Speaker 1: 3:38

This isn't about shaming you, right, because we all drift. Every man I've ever met has drifted at some point. The difference is some wake up to it and some don't. That's what today is about Awareness, because you can't change what you don't see. I want you to take a breath with me right now. Yeah, right now. Because for the time that it takes to pause, for just this second.

Speaker 1: 4:14

And I want you to ask yourself without judgment where in my life am I on autopilot? Where have I been letting life happen to me instead of leading it? And this isn't about making yourself wrong, it's about getting honest. If we were sitting together in a room right now, just you and me, I'd ask you to close your eyes and imagine the strongest version of yourself. What does that man look like? How does he carry himself and his relationship at work with his kids, if he has them with other men. What does he stand for? What does he not tolerate anymore? And to picture it, feel it, let him fully show up and be recognized. And then here's the move. Get that out of your head, write it down, speak it out loud to yourself. Hell, leave yourself a voice note if you have to right. The key is to bring that vision into the open, to remind yourself that you have a say in this, that you have the wheel, that you are the captain of your own ship.

Speaker 1: 5:36

Let's pause here for just a second, because I want to talk about why we give up the wheel in the first place. It's usually not because we're lazy or we're weak or that we don't care. It's because we're trying to survive and we're trying to belong. We're trying to meet expectations. And when you're constantly focused on surviving, you don't have the luxury of asking where do I want to go? You're busy trying to just keep up. But here's the truth, guys. You're not here to survive, you're here to lead.

Speaker 1: 6:16

I'll tell you, I had a wake-up call in my own life not too long ago, and it wasn't one single moment or one single thing right. It was a series of moments, times when I realized that I was saying yes to things that I didn't want. Times when I noticed that I was shrinking myself just to keep the peace or to fit in right. And I had to face it, I was outsourcing my direction, letting other people, other priorities, other expectations steer my life. That's when I started asking the harder questions. That's when I took the wheel back.

Speaker 1: 7:03

At some point you have to decide for yourself. Am I going to keep drifting like this endlessly, forever, or am I going to start leading myself? And leading doesn't mean that you have it all figured out right. It means that you're willing to choose, to course correct, to own. Where it is that you've been and where it is that you see yourself wanting to go, that's the moment that everything shifts. So here's what I want you to do today, simple but powerful. To do today, simple but powerful Find 15 minutes quiet, no distractions, just you. And I want you to ask yourself what does the strongest version of me look like? Where have I been letting go of the wheel? What's one small choice that I can make today that aligns with that stronger version of me? And then do it. Just one small thing. It could be as simple as saying no to something that doesn't feel right, or reaching out to someone that you've been meaning to reconnect with, or finally starting that thing that you've been putting off. You've got the wheel. Now what road do you want to be on? All right, guys, that's what I've got for this episode today.

Speaker 1: 8:43

If today's conversation hit home for you, if it stirred something in you, then don't just nod and move on. Head over to TheEvolvedManProjectcom, where you'll find a man's guide to self-leadership there there. It's a free, powerful guide that I created to take what it is that we've been talking about today and actually start putting it into action and to live it. It's packed with reflection prompts and daily practices and the kind of clarity that helps stop drifting and to start leading right. And if you're ready to go deeper, you can book a free discovery call right there on the site. No pressure, no pitch, just you, me and the truth about what's possible when you step into the driver's seat of your life. And hey, if this spoke to you, leave a five-star review, follow the show and share it with someone who might need to hear it. That's how this message spreads one man at a time We'll be right back you.