One of the pleasures of connecting with Coach Lee Hopkins is the frequency with which his eyes light up. In those moments, I feel as though I can see his actual curiosity at work, and his delight of continually learning about himself so that he can more fully and authentically engage with others.
Watch for those moments of lighted eyes filled with delight in our 30ish minute All Up in It conversation below – and below that, some show notes for ya!
- Coach Lee Hopkins sees himself as a human who sees himself in other people and in the differences between people
- What he’s all up in: How he’s communicating with people, especially during recent experiences where his vulnerability led to ouchy reactions from others
- Along the way, he’s noticing that the closer he is to someone, the more he expects the other to understand his communication, to hear him well
- His first steps in understanding is exploring his own feeling to ensure he’s not trapped in a bubble of his emotions and to check his own desires to alternately blame others and blame self
- We talked the intersection of self-responsibility, self-compassion, and boundaries, and the learn-share-learn experience we both have of coaching
- He motivates to join conversation is to learn more about himself; he said he already knows what it feels like to stand against a wall and watch other people have conversation (I LOVED this moment!)
- He tells a wonderful story about waking up – as in having a moment of profound awareness – in the midst of an argument with someone he was then dating
- Coach Lee creates a lot of opportunities for people to connect with one another
- He noticed that he’s always been a person who others watched for social cues; now he uses that magnetism with intention
- Tools: Breathing (especially in the midst of discomfort), remembering his priority of learning more about himself, watching other people and their experiences (especially on TikTok), talking things out on his podcast, with others, and aloud to himself.
Coach Lee highlighted The Bloc, a Chicago organization that uses boxing as a way to put youth in the way of mentoring, tutoring, and other resources.
Learn more about Coach Lee Hopkins
Coach Lee Hopkins is an expert in helping people build more fulfilling social connections in both their personal and professional lives. As a transgender man, he knows firsthand the difficulties that come with trying to make meaningful connections in today’s world.
But he doesn’t attribute his struggle to connect solely to his gender identity. He learned that by speaking from the heart and being true to himself, he could have meaningful conversations that lead to lasting friendships and more fulfilling relationships with others.
Find him on his website, Patterns of Possibility, or on LinkedIn.