This episode: I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s, stereotypical rural upbringing, distant emotionally repressed father, a good man, but he didn’t have any emotional intelligence at all. Quiet, dutiful mother, just very traditional. It was a general of “boys don’t cry.” My dad taught me that men never show their Emotions on his sleeve. The problem was I was a very sensitive kid and couldn’t release them, so I suppressed them and turned to alcohol. In my 20’s is when I was forced to wake up.
To learn more about William, go to LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamgracefrost/ or his Website at mensfreedomformula.com
William Grace Frost Bio:
As a father and stepfather of 5 amazing and challenging young men, grandfather of two, ex-professional athlete and business owner of multiple enterprises, William has learned many lessons of manhood, teamwork, leadership and Parenting through humbling trial and error.
At the apex of his career, sporting a 6-figure income and a 7-figure net worth, in the middle of a painful Divorce, William walked away from it all to devote the next six years to parenting his three boys. During that time, he met an extraordinary woman, Quiana, who was to become his new wife.
Quiana brought with her two sons of her own, so the Frost clan quickly grew to the size of a basketball team. Having been a workaholic for many years, William soon discovered that “being fully present” with his boys, and being a stepparent, was harder than expected. But together, he and Quiana successfully navigated the labyrinth of parenting their band of wildly diverse young men. Today, their brood, all in their 30’s and scattered across 5 states and 4 time zones, have added a grandson and granddaughter to the mix.
William is passionate about supporting men of all ages and stages, who like himself, bought into society’s delusional story of what it means to be a man and to be successful — have awakened to the emptiness of the external pursuit of happiness and all its trappings — and are ready to shift into a life of authenticity, freedom and fulfillment.
He says that in his experience of men, that they are indoctrinated from a very early age to numb out their feelings, hide their inadequacies, cover up their mistakes and act tough. Consequently, when they grow up, they have mostly inauthentic and disconnected Relationships with very few communication skills to help them cope and thrive.
He believes that in order to enjoy true Intimacy, have fulfilling relationships and live healthy productive lives at home and work, men need to get real. They need to learn how to take good care of their bodies, minds and spirits, connect with others by sharing their feelings, live in integrity with their agreements, and prioritize their time based on values rather than blindly accepting antiquated blueprints of manliness and success. The foundation of which, is laid down in early years of parenting.
William has been participating in, training and facilitating, adult and teen groups since the late 70’s when he was first inspired by the poet, Robert Bly, and his ground-breaking book, Iron John. He was initiated as a Mankind Project New Warrior in 2007, and has participated in, and facilitated, weekly Integration Groups ever since. In I-Groups men 18 and older learn and practice the importance of self-care, emotional intelligence, defusing the power of negative self-beliefs and living lives of integrity.
