Dan Galperin is the man behind the Man Power Project, the Fight Club for the Soul. Through one on one coaching and group calls, he helps men discover what it means to live well. In this episode Dan talks about his travels around the world, why you need to love yourself, and how you can become more confident.

Here are three important lessons you can learn from Dan:

The Key to Confidence

One of the most common limiting beliefs he found in people is not believing in themselves. When he was younger, Dan used to get so angry that he would punch himself in the face. He realized this was a self-destructive practice and changed the way he viewed the world.

He now regularly says “I love you” to himself. This is a reminder that he is good enough. He wants to take this lesson and share it with others. In order to become confident, you must first love yourself.

We are All the Same

After talking to many people, Dan has come to the realization that we are all the same. We all have the same doubts and fears.

Even the most famous celebrities and self-help gurus have these doubts and insecurities. It doesn’t matter how much success you have, we all feel these things because we are human.

This fact is quite liberating. When you are going through times of doubt, just remember, everyone has those same doubts. We are not alone in this journey.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

One thing that holds many people back is the fact that we are always comparing ourselves to others. We look at other people’s lives and are jealous of what they have.

We never compare ourselves to people who we think are lower than us. We are always comparing ourselves to people who we think are above us.

Instead of comparing yourself to others, we must be comfortable with who we are. There’s no point in comparing your journey to anyone else’s. We must fight this internal battle and realize we are the only thing holding us back.

When we compare ourselves to others we are holding ourselves back. Dan believes everyone has a greatness inside them, and I can’t help but agree.

Shownotes

•  Man Power Project is the Fight Club for the Soul
  • breaking convention on what it means to live well
  • allows men to take off their masks
  • empowers men to create the lives they want
  • live in a more meaningful and powerful way
• driven from a young age to do everything
  • friend told him “You don’t have to do everything before you turn 30 Dan.”
• as a child he told himself “I want to be a billion times stronger/smarter”
• went out to conquer fears and challenge himself
• driven to overcome obstacles and fears

“I’m driven for freedom. When I go about my life, I can’t stand to be held in a box in any way, shape, or form.”

“I have an innate desire to help people, to share with people.”

• wants to create a platform to help people do what he has done
• male role model was Han Solo
  • independent spirit/ entrepreneurial spirit
• figured out the journey without a male role model in the way he viewed it
• Travel
  • traveled with group to Israel at 16
  • has traveled to 35 countries
  • traveled to China at 21 – shell shock of an experience
  • traveled to Europe/Asia and eventually around the world
• Sports
  • ran marathons in his twenties
  • didn’t think he could do it
  • cousin and uncle were mentors in marathons
  • anchored his beliefs so he could achieve it
• overcoming obstacle of not being able to accomplish marathon
  • push on through shear will and overcome your fear
  • break it into pieces – focus on one mile at a time
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
  • focus on the next step, the next action and you can get far
• similarities in cultures
  • people are inherently good
  • was always able to get help even with language barrier
  • train ride in India – man took care of him and showed him how to find the right train
• differences – he made a point to learn different customs (ex: learn how to say hello)

“I believe when people act in unconscious ways, in mean ways in which they hurt other people. I think they’re doing that out of some type of pain… some unconscious state where they’re not fully connecting with people and that’s a reflection of how they treat themselves and what type of turmoil is going on inside them.”

“One of the most common limiting beliefs I see with people is ‘I’m not good enough.'”

“I want to bring out what’s great about people and for them to recognize that they don’t have to compare themselves with other people. Who they are is great in their own way.”

• wants people to believe they are good and have value

• many people beat themselves up
  • Dan used to get so angry at himself that he punched himself
  • there’s a war going on inside themselves
  • put your hand on your heart and say “It’s okay, I love you”
• We go out into the world and we want other people to love us, to respect us, to appreciate us, and yet, we don’t give that same level of love, and respect, and acceptance to ourselves… How can we expect other people to give us that if we’re not giving it to ourselves. So I think it all starts with how we treat ourselves.”
• Love Yourself by Kamal Ravikant – from deathly ill to success by loving himself
• when you’re in a relaxed state, your creativity can come out

“When you’re feeling love for yourself and you’re opening up your heart, you’re opening up all the goodness within you.”

• When you’re feeling love for yourself and you’re opening up your heart, you’re opening up all the goodness within you.
• Choose Yourself by James Altucher
• was an actor in New York and wanted to take a trip around the world
  • researched around the world tickets and arranged where he wanted to go
  • six month before going on the trip, he was sitting on a rooftop looking at NYC skyline
    • friend asked what would you do if you won the lottery?
    • he responded, I would take a trip to different parts of the world
  • met friend in Mexico, then Colorado, Hawaii New Zealand, then Southeast Asia for 7 weeks
  • Nepal – Annapurna circuit
  • was at a hot springs and storm came through
    • others left, but he stayed, was okay if he died
  • India – was supposed to fly to a different part, but didn’t have tickets
    • went to a different city and was supposed to stay for 3 days
    • visited an ashram and ended up staying for 3 weeks
    • had a highly spiritual experience
    • changed outlook and energy
  • Southern Africa, Amsterdam, and back
  • was a completely different person after he came back from the trip
• took a 700 foot bungee jump off a bridge
• vision quest – 4 days in woods without eating anything
  • spent 4 days preparing with a guide
  • was taken through rituals
  • did a ritual with rocks that represented qualities of what he wanted to be and family members he wanted to include, had one for a wife he didn’t have
  • threw sticks into fire and yelled into the sky to help him find a partner
  • two months later, met his wife at a wedding
• advice for someone who wants to go an adventurer
  • “I say go for it. If there’s something calling to you, then you should do it. You should challenge yourself in whatever ways feel drawn toward and don’t be afraid to do anything outside of the box.”
  • Follow your heart and do what you're called to do. Click To Tweet
• called it Man Power Project because it is an evolving entity that can change depending on what WE want to create
  • invite people to participate in what he’s doing and participate
  • one on one coaching, help people see past obstacles and fears
  • group hangouts – moderating and leading, but also encouraging feedback
  • will do a live event next summer to recreate some of the events he’s done for other people so they can empower themselves
  • constantly evolving project, fits whatever people want to do
  • hangouts are limited, so he is looking to webinars to get more people involved
• what he has learned from coaching people
  • we are all the same

“I think what I’ve learned.. is that we’re all the same. We all have the same doubts, the same fears, the same insecurities, and the same limiting beliefs.”

“Innately, we all have these limiting beliefs about ourselves… The most common universal limiting belief that I see in people is, I’m not good enough.”

• even famous people and self help gurus feel that they aren’t good enough
  • no matter what level of success you have, you will feel it
• biggest results he’s seen – confident enough to ask women out
  • men were focused on wrong thing
  • they were focused on being afraid
  • showed them how to focus on what they want
  • take people to a new level because their confidence level has grown
• first step towards confidence
  • see what’s good about you
  • stop comparing yourself to other people
  • you will compare yourself to people you think are in a better situation
  • focus on what’s good about you
  • comparing yourself to anyone is not very useful

“Comparing yourself to to other people, does such a disservice because everybody’s got  that greatness within them. Everybody’s got something that they’re here to do, and to not be afraid to show that to the world.”

“When you compare yourself to other people you try to act like other people. And when you try to act like other people, you shut down what’s great about you. You shut down your creativity. You shut down your energy and the bright light that’s within you.”

• Dan tells his extremely creative story about getting into World Domination Summit
  • creative, outside of the box, solution to a tough problem and a great lesson in not taking no for an answer
• Morning routine
  • used to be a night owl
  • converted himself to a morning person
  • gets up at 5am, and sets intention for the day before even getting up
  • gets coffee, and does deep breathing exercises/ I love you’s
  • then reads for 45 minutes, then writes for 45 minutes
  • plans day out, exercises, eats breakfast, then starts the day
• Books
  • Man’s Eternal Quest by Paramahansa Yogananda
  • Walden by Henry David Thoreau
  • The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Transformation by Bill Phillips
• Creative people
  • Steve Jobs – was able to create amazing products/services no one ever thought of before
    • cared about every aspect of what he did, not just what people saw
      • design of computers, inside of computers
      • wanted to make sure everything was beautiful and a work of art
      • didn’t care about money, cared about creating

“When I create something good, then people will be glad to be a part of it.”

• Creativity
  • loves the idea of Iron Chef and working with whatever’s on the table
  • taking different resources, using all of your energy, your ideas, the people that you’re working with… and put it all together into something that’s never been made before

“Be expansive and allow yourself to expand in your ideas… and go outside the box and don’t be afraid to be out there.”

“Just trust your own ideas, trust your own inspiration, and just go for it no matter how weird or outside the box it might seem.”

ManPowerProject.com