297: Beyond the CV: Finding Your Soul Story with Will Johnson

What does it take for a high-achieving man to stop, admit he's struggling, and ask for help? In this first episode of our Coaching Men podcast series, host Rob Lawrence speaks with Will Johnson, a facilitator and coach who guides men to live and lead with greater authenticity and peace within and about themselves. Will draws on his own experience of burnout in a senior finance role, where he suddenly ran out of energy, but through asking for help, he attended a retreat with the Centre for Courage and Renewal, which awakened a part of himself he had lost and became the start of a transformational journey that called him to a new adventure.

Will went on to train as a facilitator with the Centre for Courage & Renewal, and he now runs Circle of Trust® retreats where men are invited to slow down, listen inward, and share their stories without pressure to perform or fix. Working mythopoetically, he uses poetry, mythology, and imagery to help men bypass intellectual defences and reach something deeper. These spaces work, Will explains, because they remove the masculine reflex to solve and compete, creating room for genuine presence and self-awareness instead.

At the heart of Will's philosophy is a distinction between the ego story — the CV, the achievements, the ladder climbed — and the soul story, which lives in struggle, failure, and the moments that have truly shape us, and connect us each to our own unique 'thread.' He believes men carry more wisdom than they give themselves credit for, but that it often takes community to help them trust their own inner voice and become comfortable with difficult emotions. He explains why he no longer uses the term toxic masculinity, instead embracing the term 'shifting the masculine mind.' His message is both challenging and compassionate: acknowledging our limits, embracing vulnerability, and going public with our authentic selves is not weakness: it is where real growth begins.

You will learn:

· Burnout is a beginning, not just an ending. Giving yourself permission to ask for help is the first, but best step

1. Embracing difficult feelings, including failures, and tuning into their inner voice is where men can find their soul story and live more authentically.

2. Community matters. The isolation many men experience is one of the biggest barriers to their development so joining safe, structured group spaces is where the real work happens, and where men learn to trust themselves again.

'Now write your soul story. That's the story I want to hear. Tell me about your struggle. Tell me about when you messed up. Tell me when you've disappointed somebody.'

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For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:

https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-coaching-men-myth-poetry-group-work