The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

It often feels like the modern world values and rewards people who remain psychologically suspended in adolescence. Many people, particularly men, prolong and enjoy their adolescence for decades. 

Conroy Harris, CEO of the charity A Band of Brothers, discovered through his own life experiences that this wasn’t a healthy way to live. He believes that everyone seeks a meaningful identity and a purpose into which to channel the energies of early adulthood. 

In this classic reissued episode, Andrew and Conroy discuss the importance of rites of passage and mentoring, and how men can support one another to live authentic lives. Conroy shares some of his own difficult experiences as a young man, including periods of homelessness, and explains how mentoring and service to his community helped him find his way. 

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

Where Do I Fit In?

Three Things Conroy Harris knows to be true. 

AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in April 2026: details here 

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things

Visit the A Band of Brothers website 

Follow A Band of Brothers on X @band_brothersuk

Read Iron John: a Book About Men by Robert Bly 

Andrew also mentions his interview with Dr Connie Zweig on being an elder, From Role to Soul 

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools 

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

Many of us indulge in escapist or addictive behaviours that fall short of what society would define as problematic addictions. According to author CECILY MAK, however, such behaviours can dim the good parts of life along with the bad. If you want to live life with clarity and purpose, identifying and addressing your “dimmers” can make an excellent starting point. 

In this episode, Andrew and Cecily discuss:

Cecily’s own experience of giving up alcohol.

What happens when we avoid difficult feelings.

The Eight Awarenesses - a set of principles we can use for inspiration and guidance on the path to embodying a clear life. 

Why dimmers are not always a substance: they may also include excessive exercise, disordered eating, or overworking. 

Cecily Mak is a mother, investor, advocate, and founder devoted to helping people live dimmer-free—with clarity, courage, and the freedom to change without stigma or shame. She is also the co-founder of Wisdom Ventures, a bold fund investing in a future of deeper human connection and well-being.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

Free Yourself from Unwanted Habits

Three Things Cecily Mak knows to be true. 

AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in April 2026: details here 

Read Cecily Mak’s new book, Undimmed:  The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom From Unwanted Habits 

Listen to Cecily Mak’s Undimmed podcast 

Subscribe to Cecily Mak’s Clear Life Substack 

Follow Cecily Mak on social media:  Instagram | LinkedIn

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things 

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools 

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

Healing from profound exhaustion of the spirit requires more than just thinking of a good plan. Author and Jungian Bea Gonzalez believes in storytelling and myth as powerful tools for healing.

In this reissued classic episode, Andrew and Bea discuss:

Why fairy tales have so much to teach us.

Rediscovering feminine wisdom (which both men and women need)

How to analyse a fairy tale to find the message it contains for YOU.

The tale of the Skeleton Woman - Andrew and Bea tell this story section by section,  discussing its rich metaphors along the way.

Bea Gonzalez is the creator of Sophia Cycles, a project to bring feminine wisdom back to the world. She is the author of several novels (including Invocation, The Bitter Taste of Time and The Mapmaker’s Opera). Bea is also a lecturer and educator, and has taught classes on the work of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell all over the world. 

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

Code Breaking: Unlocking the symbolic life

Three Things Bea Gonzalez knows to be true. 

AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in April 2026: details here 

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things 

Read Bea Gonzalez’s novel, Invocation

Visit Bea Gonzalez’s website https://www.sophiacycles.com/ 

Follow Bea Gonzalez on Instagram, Twitter/X and YouTube @sophiacycles

You might enjoy Andrew’s other episode on fairy tales, How Fairy Tales Can Refresh & Move You Forward, with Libby Nugent, or his interview with Jungian analyst and author James Hollis on How to be Resilient.

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools 

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50 https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall 

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

Why is the sky blue? Why do only birds get to fly? Why do people die? It’s natural for children to ask questions, big and small. But too often, adults brush off such questions as an annoyance, or scold kids for being rude, or even respond to their asking with punishment. When that happens, many children stop asking and grow up to become adults who believe it’s safer to stay quiet and squelch their inherent, and essential, sense of wonder.

Author LAURA MUNSON joins Andrew this week to discuss:

Naming and inhabiting our own creativity

Rediscovering our sense of wonder

The power of surrendering to life’s mysteries. 

Finding your calling

Finding meaning through slowing down. 

Laura Munson is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novel Willa’s Grove and the memoir This Is Not The Story You Think It Is. Her latest book is The Wild Why. Laura also founded and continues to offer the top-ranked Haven Writing Retreats. Laura has been featured or published in Vanity Fair, Elle, Redbook, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times' “Modern Love” column, The New York Times Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, and many others. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Early Show, WGN, NPR, London’s This Morning, Australia’s Sunrise, and other global media outlets.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

How to Cope Better with Criticism Again

Three Things Laura Munson knows to be true. 

AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in April 2026: details here https://andrewgmarshall.com/mens-retreat/

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things https://andrewgmarshall.com/download/ 

Connect With Laura Munson:

Website: https://lauramunson.com/ 

Book: The Wild Why

Writing Programs and Retreats

Modern Love Essay in the New York Times.

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools https://courses.andrewgmarshall.com/relationship-tools 

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50 https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall 

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall

Forgiveness is a powerful spiritual tool that can bring profound relief and unleash feelings of love blocked for years by personal resentments. 

In this classic reissued episode, Andrew discusses forgiveness with author and forgiveness expert Olivier Clerc. They cover: 

⭐4 essential steps to forgiveness

⭐Obstacles to forgiveness

⭐The importance of spending time deciding what exactly forgiveness means to you.

Olivier Clerc is a writer, lecturer and workshop-leader, specialising in self-help and spirituality.  He is also the creator of Circles of Forgiveness, of which there are now 250, in 15 different countries. Olivier is the author of 22 books, the latest of which is Healing the Wounds of the Heart: 15 Obstacles to Forgiveness and How to Overcome Them.

If You’re Looking for More….

You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50

This week supporters will hear:

How taking things personally is an obstacle to forgiveness

Three Things Olivier Clerc knows to be true. 

AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.

Follow Up

Attend Andrew’s men’s retreat near Berlin in April 2026: details here 

Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things 

Read Olivier Clerc’s books, Healing the Wounds of the Heart: 15 Obstacles to Forgiveness and How to Overcome Them and The Gift of Forgiveness: A Magical Encounter with don Miguel Ruiz 

Follow Olivier Clerc on Instagram @olivier_clerc_auteur

Visit The Forgiveness Project's website

Read The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz

Read Radical Self-Forgiveness: The Direct Path to True Self-Acceptance by Colin Tipping  

Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools 

Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.

Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall