Why Im Doing This

“What part of today’s episode hit home? Let me know.”

Every man's evolution begins not with a clear vision, but with a moment of reckoning. For me, that moment came when I saw my sons mirroring the same hesitation and fear that had defined my own life – patterns I'd inherited but never questioned. In this raw, unfiltered episode, I pull back the curtain on why I created the Evolve Men Podcast and the deeper mission that drives everything I do.

This isn't just about breaking cycles of emotional disconnection that pass silently from father to son. It's about the transformative power of brotherhood I discovered in my first men's group, when I admitted my struggles expecting judgment but instead heard "me too, man" – words that broke my isolation and changed everything. I explore how we're caught between outdated masculinity models telling us to "man up" and progressive ideals sometimes rejecting masculine strength entirely, arguing for a new paradigm: strength without aggression, emotional awareness without overwhelm, purpose without validation-seeking.

The work of evolving men isn't about perfection – it's about honesty. It's about creating spaces where we can tell the truth about our struggles instead of suffering in silence. It's about building a legacy as men who own our patterns, show up consistently, and love fiercely. Whether you've lived parts of my story or simply feel that ache of knowing something needs to change, this episode invites you to start telling the truth – first to yourself, then to others. Because evolution doesn't require having it all figured out; it only requires the courage to begin. Ready to break the silence and join a brotherhood of men committed to growth? Subscribe, share with a brother who needs this message, and let's evolve together.

***

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the Evolve Men Podcast, episode
number three.
Are you ready to break freefrom hesitation, self-doubt and
isolation?
Do you want to lead withconfidence, build powerful
connections and live boldly?
I'm Cory Baum and I'm here toshare the most impactful
strategies and mindsets thatI've learned through coaching,
leadership and real-worldexperience.

(00:22):
Together, we'll forgeunshakable confidence, master
social dynamics and create alife rooted in purpose,
brotherhood and bold action.
Inside you'll get the tools andinsights to become the
strongest, most connectedversion of yourself.
Let's dive in.
Hey, welcome back to theEvolved Men Podcast.
I'm your host, corey Baum.

(00:45):
If you've been with me for thelast couple episodes, you've
already heard some of the story.
In episode one, we talked aboutwhat this podcast is and who
it's really for.
In episode two, I started totake you behind the curtain
right and told you where it isthat I've been, the patterns
that I've lived through, thebreakdowns that I've had, the

(01:06):
patterns that I've lived through, the breakdowns that I've had
and the shifts that have savedmy life really.
But today, today's a little bitdifferent.
Today, I want to tell you whyit is that I'm doing this,

(01:27):
because the truth is none ofthis the podcast, the coaching,
the meds, work, the brotherhoodthat I'm building.
None of it would exist withouta deeper reason, and it's not
just about entrepreneurship,it's not about content, and it's
definitely not about trying tosound like I've got it all
figured out.
It's about something much, muchbigger.

(01:47):
It's about legacy, it's aboutcycles, about fire and passion
and pain, about healing andtruth.
This is about my why, and Iwant to share it with you, not
just so that you understand me,but so that you can start to dig
into your own, because everyman who evolves, who truly

(02:12):
evolves, doesn't do it byaccident.
He does it because he found areason, a reason that matters
more than his comfort, more thanhis ego, more than his fear.
So let's go there.
So let me take you back one moretime to the beginning, because

(02:32):
I didn't start this work fromthis empowered place, right.
I didn't wake up with a visionboard or a clear calling, with a
vision board or a clear calling.
This didn't come from clarity,it came from desperation.
Really, I was desperate tochange, desperate not to pass

(02:57):
down the pain that I had grownup in, but at first I didn't
have any idea what I was doing.
I didn't realize the way that Ishut down emotionally, the way
that I avoided conflict, the waythat I numbed out with porn or
seeking validation with beingbusy all the time.

(03:17):
Those weren't just my issues,those were inherited, they were
generational.
I was living in cycles that Ididn't choose, but I was still
responsible for them.
And I saw those cycles startingto show up in my sons, and that,

(03:39):
for me, was another freighttrain moment.
It was one that had completelyknocked the wind out of me.
I saw the hesitation in theireyes, the way that they shrink
back in social situations, atthe playgrounds with their
friends, and they would secondguess themselves, they would

(04:00):
avoid speaking up.
And I knew that feeling all toowell.
It wasn't just the shyness, itwas the kind of quiet that comes
from fear, the kind ofstillness that's born from
watching a man who's unsure ofhimself try to lead.
And I knew what it felt like tohave a dad who was physically

(04:25):
there, sure, but emotionallygone, have a dad who was
physically there, sure, butemotionally gone.
I knew what it felt like togrow up without a model of
emotional intelligence, ofintegrity and leadership right.
And suddenly I realized that Iwas becoming that same fucking
guy, not because I wanted to,but because I didn't know how to
do anything else.

(04:46):
And that moment changedeverything for me, right?
I couldn't unsee it, I couldn'tunknow it, and I knew that I
wasn't just working on myselfanymore.
I was fighting for my boys, andthat became my first big why

(05:09):
was to break the cycle, even ifit's messy, even if it's hard
and it takes years, even if Iscrew it up along the way,
because I didn't want them tohave to struggle with the same
things that I have, knowing thatall along that I could have
done something to help themthrough it.

(05:31):
I wasn't trying to become aperfect dad.
I was trying to become anhonest one, a man who could own
his patterns and stop pretendingthat they were normal.
A man who could say I love youright and show it in the actions

(05:52):
that he took.
A man who could feel pain andnot pass it on.
And that's where all of thisbegan.
The more that I got into doingthis work, the more that I
realized that I wasn't the onlyone carrying this stuff.
Everywhere I looked, everywhereI turned, I saw men pretending

(06:20):
that they were fine.
Some of them had built massivebusinesses and were super
successful, and others werescraping by, but underneath it
all, it was the same storydisconnected and silent and
lonely and aching, and nobodyknew, because we don't talk
about it.
We talk about football, aboutstocks, about cars, and we talk

(06:42):
about business, but what wedon't talk about is what it's
like to wake up feeling numb,right, or to sit in shame after
making a choice that betrayedyour values, or to question
whether we're really good men orwe're just really good
performers.
And that silence, that's whatkeeps men stuck.

(07:12):
When I joined my first realmen's group not the motivational
kind, right, the raw and gritty, truth-telling crunchy kind,
right, where men cry, where menconfront and where men see each
other I remember the first timethat I admitted what I was

(07:33):
actually struggling with, right,and I thought that they would
judge me, that they woulddismiss me, that they would
shame me, right.
But they didn't.
And they looked me in the eyeand they said, yeah, me too, man
, I've been there.
And I broke down, not because Iwas weak, but because, for the

(07:59):
first time, I wasn't alone.
And that moment changedeverything for me.
It gave birth to my second why,which was to create the
brotherhood that I wish that Ihad, not just a podcast, not
just coaching, but a space wheremen are safe to tell the truth,

(08:22):
to be seen, to be challenged,to be held accountable with
compassion, not with shame, tostop suffering in silence.
Brotherhood saves lives, period,and we need more of it.

(08:43):
There's not enough of it thesedays.
It's just not happening.
There's something else that'sbeen burning on me for years,
really, and it's this culturalnarrative around masculinity.
Right, I think it's brokenbecause we're either told to man
up, to shut up and grindthrough life, or we're told to

(09:08):
soften everything down andabandon our natural strength as
men.
We're stuck between theseoutdated sense of masculinity
and this confusing likeprogressivism that doesn't
always offer clarity.
And I get it right.
Emotional awareness andvulnerability, softness and

(09:29):
presence all of that is superessential.
But we can't throw out power,we can't throw out drive.
We can't throw out drive.
We can't throw out naturalmasculine energy.
What we need is a redefinitionof sorts.
We need a new model ofmasculinity that is strong, not

(09:55):
aggressive, emotionally aware,not emotionally overwhelmed.
That is purpose-driven, notvalidation-chasing.
That's present, not passive.
That's loving, but not at thesense of self-abandoning.
And that became my third why?

(10:15):
To redefine what it means to bea man, not by theory, but by
example, by living it, byfailing and getting back up, by
being emotionally grounded andfiercely committed, by being

(10:36):
someone who can love his familybut build his legacy right to
lead his people and still beable to cry on a Tuesday night
if the moment calls for it.
That is evolved masculinity andthat's what I'm here to live
and to help other men live too.

(10:56):
This one hits really deep for me.
I do this work because itforces me to live in alignment.
When I coach men, when I get onthis mic, I have to actually
walk what I talk, and I wantthat.
I need that Because I've leftto my own devices.
I'm capable of drifting, ofhiding, of reverting devices.

(11:24):
I'm capable of drifting, ofhiding, of reverting, but this
work, it continues to pull meback in.
Every time I show up foranother man, I'm reminded to
show up for myself, and that'sthe fourth why this work keeps
me honest, it keeps me evolving,it keeps me grounded and it
keeps me in integrity.

(11:46):
Now we get to the heart of it,which is legacy.
What do I want to leave behindfor my sons, for the men that I
coach, for the communities thatI touch?
Here's what I know for sure.
I want to be the man who brokethe cycle.

(12:10):
I want my sons to say that mydad wasn't perfect, but he was
real, that he owned his shit,that he showed up, that he loved
us fiercely.
I still get caught up, but hedid the work right.

(12:30):
I want the men in thiscommunity to say that because of
this work, I came home tomyself right.
I found my power, I healed whatI thought was unhealable, and I
didn't do it alone.
I want the ripple to spread manto man, father to son, leader

(12:53):
to community right, becausethat's legacy, not fame, impact,
not ego or embodiment like, notperfection, but evolution.
If you're still listening tothis, something in you really
resonates, right.
Maybe you've lived parts of mystory, maybe you've felt that

(13:14):
ache, right, but you're sick ofliving in the silence and maybe,
just maybe, you're ready tostart telling the truth, not to
everyone, right, but to yourself.
And if that's where you're at,you're already evolving.

(13:34):
You don't have to have it allfigured out, you just have to
start.
So, guys, if this episode hitsyou or if it stirred something
in your gut, here's what I wantyou to do Leave a five-star
review.
Please subscribe to the podcast,wherever it is, that you listen

(13:56):
so that you don't miss what'scoming next.
Share this episode with anotherman who needs to hear it One
brother, one friend, right,whatever it is, just pass it on
right and also connect with theEvolve Men projects.
The links will be in the shownotes.
I want you guys to know thatthis work is super sacred to me.

(14:19):
As you can tell, it's personal.
It's not about building a brand.
It's about building men, wholemen, integrated men, men who can
lead with love, with power andclarity and truth, and that's

(14:41):
why I'm doing this and that'swhy I'll never stop and that's
why I'm honored that you're herewith me.
So let's keep going, let'sevolve together.

(15:24):
We'll be you next time.