Dr. Marcia Reynolds is someone I should have met years ago. After all, she's one of the OGs in the coaching profession at large, the former president of the very International Coaching Federation itself, and current CEO of the major coaching firm Covisioning. As it turns out, based on her writings, she is the quintessentially perfect guest to address the long-overdue topic of how to be assertive. First of all, what does it even mean to be 'assertive'? Why is it so important in life to be so? Yet at the same time, how come most everybody deeply fears ever having to assert their opinion, let alone their will? Truly, some guys have a hard time being assertive even with the woman in their lives...often wondering silently what she's thinking, yet never actually asking her. Could it be that most of us as men are so afraid of looking like a jerk that we fail to show some chutzpah even when it's absolutely necessary? This is but one of many examples of how lack of assertiveness costs us dearly. We lose out on opportunities to build and strengthen relationships, to gain respect, and even to further our personal influence. What's arguably worse, by not being assertive we're less attractive and less impressive overall, even as we may suppose in the moment we're protecting ourselves from social confrontation or some other form of negative energy. Ultimately, is this all about short-term fear versus forward-thinking courage? All of this and more in this unique and thought provoking episode. Get in on all the free goodies I have in store for you when you visit https://mountaintoppodcast.com === HELP US SEND THE MESSAGE TO GREAT MEN EVERYWHERE === We'll keep the solid, actionable content coming...all for free. If you love what you hear, please give us a 'thumbs up' by rating the show (takes one second) and leaving us a review. As we say here in Texas, we appreciate you!