The parts of you that feel most alive — the vigor, the wonder, the real friendship — aren’t gone. They’re just waiting for you to make a little room for them again.
Ed Hinman is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran, and an executive protection specialist at Gavin de Becker & Associates — who left a paved path to chase what he loved, earned a master’s in history, and turned his writing into a career. His book, The Barbarian in You, is built on three pillars every man can reclaim: vigor (physical effort and aliveness), wonder (awe, imagination, meaning), and fellowship (real male connection). In this episode, Ed joins Jon and Will to make a genuinely hopeful case: living well doesn’t take a blown-up life or heroic willpower — it takes intention, a willingness to be the fool, and the courage to trust your own heart. Just showing up, he reminds us, is ninety percent of it.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. The three pillars of a life that flourishes — vigor, wonder, and fellowship — and how to build more of each
2. How to make real friendships as a grown man (Ed started a book club that’s thrived for 13 years)
3. How to tell a genuine calling from ego — and the simple litmus test that reveals it
4. Why filling your own cup lets you give from the overflow, not the reservoir
5. How to move through dark seasons — reach for your people, and remember you don’t have to go alone
More about Ed Hinman:
1. Website and Book - https://www.barbarianinyou.com/
2. Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ed_hinman/
3. Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@edwardhinmanbarbarian
Check out our Awareness-to-action Self Mastery COURSE & COMMUNITY:
12 modules on attention, presence & performance. Work at your own pace plus a community built for Inspiration and connection.
1. www.focusnowtraining.com/a2a-Course
JOIN US IN PERSON — Future Events and Retreats.
1. Live in-person event: Warrior Defined.
We will be in Charlotte, NC, September 25, 2026 more info HERE:
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Produced by Robert Lopez | https://www.cratesaudio.com/
