Soul Degree

Since 2016, we've been crafting small-batch rustic retreats for men in California, Vermont and other

09/14/2026

Mel asked me something the other day: What's the biggest challenge you think men face?

My answer: we forget to look out for ourselves.

We spend everything we've got trying to be the best provider, the best husband, the best father, and one day, fifty years in, we've forgotten what it even looks like to invest in ourselves.

It's counterintuitive. We think leadership means going outbound, giving, serving, showing up for everyone else first, when really it starts with what you do for yourself. The time you wake up. What you do with an hour that's just yours.

We matter too. And if we don't lead with that, everything else runs on empty.

09/03/2026

Ask a grown man to name his closest friends and watch how long he pauses.

Somewhere in your thirties or forties, it happened without a decision. The calls got shorter, the friendships thinned out. You told yourself you were just busy.

Most men make quiet peace with it... they handle everything alone and call it strength.

The men in this video did too. Every one of them showed up as a stranger, carrying the same story you are.

This is them now, at our alumni gathering in Italy last fall... years into a brotherhood, on the other side of the world together, laughing the way men only laugh when they actually know each other.

You were never meant to carry it alone.

If you're ready to find a brotherhood that holds, this is where it starts.

08/28/2026

Earlier today I was at my desk, taking care of everything. Work, family, all of it.

I'm also a few weeks into a grad school class on mindful leadership. We've spent most of it talking about the greats, Washington, Churchill, Gandhi, and what made them leaders: confidence, communication, vision.

All of it outward. Nobody's asked what happens when a leader takes care of himself first, his own mind, his own soul, so he can actually show up for everyone else.

I had my to-do list a mile long in my head, and I thought, you know what, f*ck it.

What I really need to do is go jump in these woods.

So that's where I am right now. Maybe that's the real lesson in mindful leadership.

08/19/2026

The guy grinding it out often walks alone.

He doesn't complain. He doesn't ask. He doesn't express. Many call this a strength. Many more are rewarded for it. So why stop?

Perhaps there's another angle. That the strength behind the grind is actually loneliness with good posture.

Real brotherhood isn't a club, a creed, or a hierarchy. It simply takes showing up for another man not with judgment or solutions, but listening and empathy.

The men in this video are not fixed or enlightened. They're just done pretending they can do it by themselves.

The antidote to this isn't another superior man strategy. It's about forging brotherhood.

07/23/2026

The first time, you find out it's possible. The second time, you walk in certain.

Bill came back for his second Soul Degree retreat. He walked in already knowing what was coming: ten men he'd never met before, all willing to drop the persona and open all the way up. Him included.

You can put ten strangers in a room and reach the kind of connection you've been missing for years, and do it in minutes. Not because of luck. Because everyone there agreed to be there first.

A man doesn't return to something that didn't move him.

Join the waitlist for our 2027 retreats (link in bio).

06/04/2026

Join Oakley and I an Soul Degree's first Father-Son Wilderness Retreat this October in Upstate NY for an opportunity to step away from the noise of daily life and into presence, reflection, and connection.

Limited spots are available so visit the link in bio to apply.

06/02/2026

Us guys have been trained to solve, to manage, to control. It's no wonder why somewhere along the way, the spontaneous, curious, childlike part of us goes quiet.

Adventure lives to the extent we feel and follow the unpreduciable, non-linear pull of our own heart. It's not always skiing or skydiving. Sometime's it's writing the book, having the hard conversation, picking up the guitar again at 50.

The question isn't "how risky it is" but when you are listening to the heart sensation and following its lead. Go do that thing. Your 10-year-old self is rooting for you.

05/21/2026

I used to think meditation was about quieting the mind. It took me a while to realize that was futile. The mind is built to race.

So I stopped fighting it. Now I meditate to hear the narrative — to listen to what my mind and body are saying. It's not always comforting, but it slows life down enough to see it more clearly.

The chaos will always be there. What we add to the mix is our own capacity to slow down.

I wouldn't be where I am today without a meditation practice. It changed the trajectory of my life. That's why I'm here to celebrate World Meditation Day.

Do yourself a favor. Stop what you're doing. Put the phone down. Close your eyes. Drop your shoulders. Unclench your jaw. Take a dozen long slow breaths.

Give yourself the gift of a meditative moment. See how it changes the trajectory of your day.

05/19/2026

For most of my life, I thought self-reflection was indulgent-- that real men just pulled up their bootstraps and got it done.

Over time, what I've learned is the guys I admire most aren't the loudest in the room.

They're the ones who've done the quiet work of knowing themselves. They've slowed down long enough to hear their own narrative, and been brave enough to question it.

Studying oneSELF isn't about navel-gazing. It's about cultivating a deeper love and acceptance for where you've been.

The fringe benefit of doing this in the company of other men - it sharpens your compassion for everyone.

05/14/2026

Spoiler Alert. It's Springtime. And Mother Nature is popping off.

This is your friendly reminder to grab a buddy and go for a walk. Take your spouse for that morning jog. Or visit with yourself, on the porch, coffee in hand.

This season is calling us to come out of hibernation, to reawaken what's been sleeping. The time is now - leave your phone at home and go breathe in some fresh air.

Address

Box 183
Dorset, VT
05251

Website

http://www.souldegree.com/

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