Steven is having a bad day! Luckily, he was about to sit down with our next guest, Michael Boyle, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in work with relationships and trauma. Orphaned temporarily from his recording studio due to a COVID outbreak, Steven dons his backpack and his new mobile recording rig to host the podcast outside on a blanket down by the river!

Michael Boyle is a former college athlete and NHL Hopeful, who after suffering multiple head injuries became critically depressed. As a lifelong learner devoted to psychological and spiritual growth, Mike searched for over 20 years to find the very best tools, perspectives and methods to empower himself to go from “surviving to thriving.” After studying the intersection of science and spirituality, NLP, clinical hypnosis, nutrition, exercise, and optimal flow states. Michael became a licensed therapist (LMFT, CDBT), but switched to a coaching model because he found that the typical therapy context wasn’t helping people create true and lasting change. After thousands of hours of clinical experience and training, being a Coach seemed to provide a more effective balance for clients not just to heal but to thrive. Mike developed the Inner Advantage Method (I AM), a curriculum for turning hard times into holistic happiness. He founded the ALL Together Academy, the Relating Renaissance, and the Brotherhood of Men (whose mission is to empower men to overcome isolation, shame, and anger in order to become the rockstar dads, irresistible husbands, kick-ass professionals, providers and contributors they are built to be.)

Steve and Mike open up about toxic masculinity and the stigma behind being a sensitive man. They further debunk the idea behind the starving artist, talk about their spouses and why it is so valuable for artists to have partners who support their unique ways of life (Mike’s wife Tania is a musician). They also discuss concepts from psychology like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, somatic therapy, EMDR, PTSD, and the empowering idea of moving from Post-Traumatic stress to Post-Traumatic growth.

As Michael explains by analogy: “Every acorn has the capacity to become an oak tree. … What we can do as human beings is we can nurture our acorn, and we can put it in fertile soil, and we can give it water and sunshine, we can create the conditions that make it more likely to become an oak tree. But we don't make ourselves into oak trees, nature does that. It's natural for us to grow and thrive. … And when we grow and thrive, we become an oak tree… By becoming an oak tree, we are beneficial.

We create: We create environments for bugs and for birds and for kids to put a swing on. … The world misses out if [you or I do] not blossom and flourish and thrive and drop [our] acorns so that others can benefit. So it is in our design, it is already inherent in us to become an oak tree.”

Guest: Michael Boyle

Website: https://www.alltogether.love/

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/alltogetherloving

FB Group ALL-TOGETHER-THRIVING: https://www.facebook.com/groups/alltogetherthriving

Join The Relating Revolution: https://www.facebook.com/alltogetherloving/posts/10160601102702985

IG: @alltogetheracademy

Email: mike@alltogether.love

Mike on the 10,000 No’s Podcast

Episode References

A Bronx Tale

The Power Of Bad (book)

The Mask You Live In (movie)

Fuga (Tania’s band)

Lar C. Short – Grace Essence Mandala

The Way of Radiance (book) by Lar C. Short

Tags: therapy, COVID, growth mindset, A Bronx Tale, EMDR, somatic therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, victim-blaming, romantic partners of artists, trauma, PTSD, Post-Traumatic growth, healing, speeding tickets, privilege, reticular activating system, martial arts, The Human Design, sprouting and pruning, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Language of Creativity’s host Steven Leavitt enjoys discussing the ins and outs of all aspects of creating, creativity, and life with his fellow creators, artists, inventors, designers, and producers. Along the way he gains perspective and multiplies his understanding of our universal potential for creating, living, and learning.

Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/

Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/

Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe! The idea and concept of tribe has never been so inclusive as now in our interconnected reality. We’d love for you all to join us.

Follow us on Instagram at @languageofcreativity

(Recording a podcast down by the river.)