Men On Purpose<\/span><\/i> host Ian Lobas\u2014a self-described <\/span>\u201cnaturally defiant person\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u2014has held close to his father\u2019s advice during the rollercoaster seasons of his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe always told me, <\/span><\/i>\u2018You can be defiant, but you must know that comes with certain pleasures and pains that other people won\u2019t deal with. If that\u2019s the route you want to go, keep your defiance tight, and go for what you want<\/span>.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Early on, Lobas worked for his father\u2019s shipping company and hoped to continue doing so for the rest of his career. He loved seeing his father\u2019s passion not only for the work, but for experiencing the variety in it while making a great income.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then, the economy took a downturn, and Lobas had to leave the shipping business and pursue a different path. <\/span>\u201cI only ever imagined working with my dad, eventually taking the business over, and then running it forever. I was terrified,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Lobas says, giving his wife, Meredith, credit for encouraging him to move forward. <\/span>\u201cMy wife is the reason for my success. She was my biggest supporter and trusted me\u2013\u2013I think more than I trusted myself.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

After teaching swimming for $10 an hour, Lobas\u2019s wife, Meredith, encouraged him to start a real estate sales and marketing business in September 2012. That grew quickly and taught him an important lesson just as fast: <\/span>\u201cI learned I had this identity around money that I wanted to shake, but I was terrified to let go of money, so I just worked the business,\u201d<\/span><\/i> says Lobas, who absorbed all he could about his business, systems, and personal development.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d go to a seminar or read a book, and I would say to my broker,<\/span><\/i> \u2018Get 10 people together on Monday. I\u2019m going to teach this cool lesson I learned this week.\u2019 <\/span>I did that every week,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he says. <\/span>\u201cI realized that everything grows to the extent that you do\u2013\u2013your relationships, your marriage, yourself, your parenting, your money\u2013\u2013I was fully committed to growth, personal development, and coaching myself, so I could then reach back and help other people.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In 2016, at the height of his success, Lobas hit a wall. <\/span>\u201cI just hated my life, and I hated who I was,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he says. <\/span>\u201cI was so afraid to make another move, though, because the move I made away from my dad\u2019s business was so scary. It caused me a lot of anxiety and panic. Why would I voluntarily put myself through that again, when I was making insane amounts of money\u2013\u2013huge, huge, huge money? The answer\u2013\u2013because I was miserable.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Lobas knew his identity was still attached to success, so he had to ramp up his commitment to personal development to overcome that block. <\/span>\u201cI had to continue to evolve and move out of my own way,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Lobas says. That process included a certain amount of \u201cchipping away\u201d of self, which Lobas likens to a story about Michelangelo, who sculpted the 17-foot marble statue of David:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMichelangelo said he didn\u2019t create the David\u2013\u2013David was already there in the marble. He just chipped away at the pieces of marble that weren\u2019t David. The same applies to humans, society, school, bullies, gender roles, culture\u2014they\u2019re all pieces of marble, and we have to figure out how to chip them away.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lobas became focused on helping other people evolve and shed their own pieces of marble. This led to hosting a small private podcast called <\/span>Monday Night Live<\/span><\/i> and then on to hosting one of the largest real estate podcasts, <\/span>Real Estate Rockers<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> for the owner, Pat Hiban. From there, he was asked to speak as an influencer at New Media Summit, even though he didn\u2019t have his own podcast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the pandemic hit, and after proving himself for eight years, Lobas decided to leave real estate and pursue his real passion\u2014coaching high-level men. He built the <\/span>Men On Purpose<\/span><\/i> brand and podcast to feature, celebrate, and dig deep into the lives of high-level <\/span>\u201cmen on purpose\u201d<\/span><\/i> who have gained clarity on their life\u2019s purpose and are dedicated to revealing their most authentic selves. His goal?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To guide listeners in becoming the best and most purposeful version of themselves.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a couple months, the podcast hit the top one percent and stayed there, because I focused on two things: the message and the mission to elevate, educate, empower, enrich, and evolve,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he explains. <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t care about downloads. I don\u2019t care about dollars. I don\u2019t care about any of that stuff. I care about the message and the mission.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Lobas has focused on creating fly-on-the-wall conversations with his guests, asking the hard questions and being a catalyst for them to communicate their story. As the <\/span>Men On Purpose<\/span><\/i> podcast took off, the success and mission spun off into other coaching ventures, including private retreats, small group events, and one-on-one and group coaching.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that focusing on message and mission allows that guy who doesn\u2019t have any money to spend on coaching\u2013\u2013the one who doesn\u2019t even know where to go, yet he somehow stumbled across my podcast\u2013\u2013to feel supported. He feels heard. For the first time, maybe in his life, he feels like he\u2019s not alone. That\u2019s important to me, and that\u2019s why the podcast does so well\u2014because it\u2019s that clear, that genuine, that authentic.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As Lobas evolved and focused on his self-worth, he and his wife created a vision to live a higher-end lifestyle in California, with better weather, new faces, and different conversations. In 2021, they carried that vision to fruition, moving from Baltimore, Maryland, to a Los Angeles home with an ocean view. They now enjoy tightly structured days that allow Lobas to mesh work, self-care, and special moments with his children\u2026 like driving his six-year-old daughter to a progressive, outdoor-based-learning private school and spending a few hours of <\/span>\u201cbro breakfast\u201d<\/span><\/i> with his two-year-old son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot a lot of dads my age can create this much time to spend with their children, but I just don\u2019t want to regret when those seasons of life are over. I know I can never get that time back,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Just as his father\u2019s words stuck with him, Lobas hopes his kids\u2019 morning routines to <\/span>\u201cfuel your body and fuel your mind\u201d<\/span><\/i> guide them forward. <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re just teaching them healthy habits for success or whatever they do. I\u2019m training their brains to be open to learning first thing in the morning and building the habit of rehydrating.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Looking back over his journey, Lobas says,<\/span> \u201cAll we had to do was take our identities out of the business, because we are so much more than that. I am not a podcaster. I am not a real estate agent. I am not a coach. That\u2019s not who I am. I am of service to the world while also wearing a hat that says I coach people. I\u2019m a man on purpose, and I live a very purposeful, purpose-driven, purpose-built life.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

June 2022 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Men On Purpose host Ian Lobas\u2014a self-described \u201cnaturally defiant person\u201d\u2014has held close to his father\u2019s advice during the rollercoaster seasons of his life.\u00a0 \u201cHe always told me, \u2018You can be defiant, but you must know that comes with certain pleasures and pains that other people won\u2019t deal with. If that\u2019s the route you want to go, keep your defiance tight, and go for what you want.\u2019\u201d Early on, Lobas worked for his father\u2019s shipping company and hoped to continue doing so for the rest of his career. He loved seeing his father\u2019s passion not only for the work, but for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":12828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[549,97,3321,3322,747,3324,60,3323],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n