TFB 022 - The Six Men I've Been w/ Ezra Vancil

What happens when the person everyone thinks you are is very different from the person you know yourself to be?Ezra Vancil is a singer, songwriter, poet, and artist living in East Texas. As a teenager, he signed a major music deal in Los Angeles. He went on to win numerous awards and build a successful creative career.From the outside, it looked like he had everything going for him.But inside, Ezra was struggling.In this episode of The Fort Builders, Ezra shares a remarkably personal story about talent, expectations, addiction, family, recovery, and learning to live differently.His book, Mornings and Midnights, became a starting point for our conversation. Through his poetry, music, and artwork, we explore the different versions of ourselves we become throughout life.Ezra describes six men: the golden child, the rising star, the hypocrite, the drowning man, the freed man, and the reliable man.It's that sixth man he's working to become today.We talk about what it means to rebuild relationships after causing harm, why genuine change has to be demonstrated rather than simply promised, and how Ezra came to understand freedom as the ability to be himself.But there's another side to this conversation I really enjoyed.We talk about childhood imagination, building forts, getting lost in creativity, walking in the woods, and learning to do things simply because we enjoy doing them—not because they need to produce something.Ezra also shares an extraordinary story about a song he wrote after getting sober, and how that song unexpectedly helped bring him and his wife back together.What I appreciated most about our time together was Ezra's willingness to share not only what he's learned, but what he's still working on.Because becoming who we are doesn't end at a certain age.We're still building.In this episode:Growing up as a gifted young artist and musicianThe pressure that comes with being called talentedThe six different men Ezra describes in his lifeAddiction, recovery, and rebuilding family relationshipsWhat it means to become someone others can depend onFinding freedom in simply being yourselfRediscovering childhood imagination and creativityLearning to be present instead of constantly pursuing the next accomplishmentWhy unfinished projects can still have meaningThe song that helped change the course of Ezra's marriageFinding gratitude and contentment in everyday lifeIf you want to know more about Ezra, his new book "Mornings & Midnights", his music, etc., please visit his website: Ezra Vancil WebsiteThank You for Your Time...The Fort Builders — How We Become Who We Are.