Menu
Menu
It will be a difficult road to navigate, but the pain and patterns of the past are no longer an option. Owning your story, uncovering your identity, and navigating new territory as you begin taking steps to positively impact the world and fulfill your purpose will require humility, honesty, courage, determination, and a trustworthy community of men who can challenge, encourage, and equip you to be the man you are meant to be.
Risen from the depths of poverty, abuse, fatherlessness, infidelity, divorce, guilt, shame and worthlessness, Paul takes his life experiences, and the lessons he has learned, along with a burning desire to give men their life back and offer a real, authentic, no judgment perspective. He engages in conversations with men who offer insights on how you can live life with purpose and show up a better man each day.
Demetrye Isoldi grew up in a broken home.
His mother was verbally, physically and psychologically abusive to him and his sister, and she would sometimes sleep with men in front of them. His biological dad was a rapist and pedophile who spent most of his time in and out of jail, and his brother today is serving three life sentences for murder. But it was the harm done to him by his mother that left the biggest mark.
“All she knew was hurt. All she knew was pain. And that’s what she gave me,” he said.
Recovering from the pain of his childhood and eventually going to seminary inspired Demetrye to write his book “Son of a Whore.” It was in the seminary that he was finally able to leave survival mode, with all its scarcity and insecurities, behind him and embrace the man God wanted him to be.
“I wrote that (book) because I wanted to give someone who may have had the same upbringing as me hope to realize that they can survive it, and not only survive but be the father, the husband and the individual that God created them to be,” he said.
On this episode of True North Man, Paul and Demetrye talk about forgiveness and becoming the parent you didn’t have.
What You’ll Learn
How Demetrye’s faith has helped him overcome the scars of his childhood, including fear, insecurity and sex addiction
What it means to live a heart-centered life as a Christian
What it took for Demetrye to eventually forgive his parents
And much more!
Favorite Quote:
“One of the things that I’ve really become comfortable with is embracing pain. We’re quick to become averse to pain. We resist pain. We’re quick to grab onto joy, happiness, all these things, because it feels good… look at Christ. He endured pain. if he hadn’t endured pain, we wouldn’t have what we have today. So pain, if we allow it, can be a teacher to teach us something. Instead of avoiding the pain, sometimes you need to sit in that pain to learn whatever it is that we need to learn.”
— Demetrye Isoldi
Connect With Demetrye: demetryeisoldi.com
James Jacobi felt he was following in his father’s footsteps when he entered the corporate world straight out of college. It was a life he went onto live for 11 years, and he did well in his career — but all the while, it felt like he was expected to be two entirely different people.
“I struggled with that,” James said. “I mentally bring work home, and I mentally bring stuff from home into work. And so I always struggled with that mentality. I can’t be two people… that dichotomy felt weird to me, and I felt like many people live that life. It just didn’t sit well with me.”
Something in his heart, which he now recognizes as a nudge from God, kept telling James he needed a change. A business could be done differently, he felt, in a way that allowed people to be whole people. That didn’t mean turning profit wouldn’t also be a primary goal — a business is a business. But it was time to redefine what doing well in business looked like and what values it promoted.
Today, as the author of “Radical Integrity: 7 Breakthrough Strategies for Transforming Your Business, Sales and Life” and also the owner of his management consulting firm, James gets to help others live lives that are not only successful but holistic and integrated, too. In this episode of True North Man, Paul and James talk about the value of blending the personal with the professional and utilizing the gifts God gave you — no matter the amount of risk involved.
What You’ll Learn
Favorite Quote:
“This is my dream for my life… And it’s got all the emotions mixed into it: the anxiety, the worry, the joy, the gratitude, the fulfillment. It’s got all of it. In many ways, I think the entrepreneur’s life is very, very aligned with your journey with God. You’ve got roller coasters, you’ve got adventure, you’ve got seasons of abundance, and then you have seasons of scarcity, where you need to trust more.”
— James Jacobi
Connect With James: https://www.facebook.com/james.jacobi