Episode Details

What if the "terms and conditions" you've been living under were never real to begin with?

Steve Barton took over his father's flower shop at 22 after a stroke sidelined him, built it into the largest in the state, and sold it right before the 2008 crash — then had an out-of-body, near-death experience in the middle of a routine therapy session that cracked his identity wide open. He's now a coach, a longtime student of A Course in Miracles, and author of The Game of Ten and the upcoming Father, the Son and the Aha Moment, co-written with his own son.

In this conversation we explore inner transformation set off by something Steve never asked for — the unconscious "terms and conditions" men put on themselves ("I'll be happy when…"), why beating yourself up keeps you stuck instead of making you grow, the difference between chasing self-love and actually becoming aware, and Steve's own emotional healing ritual for letting go of fear, self-doubt, guilt, and shame. He walks Martin through his affirmation practice live on the show, and the shift is audible in real time.

This isn't an episode about ego dissolution — it's one where it actually happens.

If this conversation moved something in you, a rating or review helps more men find this work. Martin's book, The Weary Traveller's Guide to a Life Worth Living, is available now.