My guest today is Christian Lopez.We go deep talking about:The power of authenticity and self-awareness,Developing vulnerable, deep relationships with other men in your life,The wound that can be created when you tell a young boy “don’t cry”,Christian’s journey as a professional baseball player and how he dealt with the crushing blow of his career coming to an end,The trap of chasing fortune and fame,Why you’re so much more than what you do, and how to shift your identity to who you are,Grieving the loss of a childhood dream,Gratitude and perspective,Dealing with huge expectations you set for yourself, andChristian’s advice to “be the father that you want to be”Christian is a former professional athlete.But above all that, he is a son, a brother, a husband, an uncle and a vulnerable, emotional, kind, loving man.After his baseball career came to an end, he was lost.He had no idea what he wanted to do--and no idea who he was--without a baseball in his hand.He tried his hand at a few things--acting, firefighting, life coaching, public speaking--all without much success.Now, he finds himself back in sports and on the baseball field... but this time as coach Christian.Along his journey, he dove deep into himself and began to cultivate self-awareness and start to figure out who he is without the title of "professional athlete" or any other title.He dove into books, TED Talks, life coaching courses, podcasts, men's groups, meditation, journaling, yoga--anything that could get him past this feeling of failure and not being good enough.This led him to start blogging about his deep feelings that he had hidden for so long, then he started turning those feelings into conversations for his podcast Behind The Mask-ulinity.Now he's on a mission to inspire other men around the world to tap into their own true feelings--like fear, shame, insecurity, doubt, loneliness--and let them know that doing so isn't unmanly, on the contrary, it's one of the manliest things you can do.You can find Christian online at:Behind The Mask-ulinity Podcast: Apple | SpotifyInstagram: @clopey---Welcome to the Dad.Work Podcast!It's my goal every episode to help dads suffer less, love more, and parent confidently.We'll be diving into mindfulness practices, healing trauma, conscious parenting, natural living, compassionate communication, the spiritual aspect of fatherhood, and more.There are a lot of amazing teachers and guides who help men become more aware and conscious, but there's not a lot of resources for men who are both fathers and interested in a mindful exploration of consciousness and improvement.This podcast aims to help bridge that gap.Resources, Links, Show Notes:https://dad.work/pod/Join our Free Private FB Community for Conscious Fathers:https://dad.work/fb/Take The Course to Become A Conscious Father and Suffer Less, Love More, and Parent Confidently:https://dad.work/cf/