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Tanner Guzy is an Author, TEDx speaker, Men’s Image Coach, Husband and Father. As a Men’s image coach, Tanner has taught thousands of men how to intentionally communicate who they are and what they stand for by improving the way they look and the clothes they wear. He focuses on both the philosophy and sociology of a man's appearance. Rather than assuming all men know why and how to dress better, he helps them determine their aesthetic choices based on their life goals and how their appearance can help them accomplish those goals.
You can visit his website masculine-style.com or on Instagram @TannerGuzy
What gives you your sense of purpose in life?
My purpose is rooted in my faith and in my sense of responsibility. As a member of the church of Jesus Christ and the latter day saints it’s not just a religion that I practice on a Sunday, it’s a faith that permeates into everything including my understanding of life and the nature of family. Life and family are eternal things. My wife and my kids will be my family forever, it’s a permanent relationship. That means that my responsibility to them is so much bigger than if its just here on earth and there is a lot of purpose in that responsibility. I also have a strong sense of purpose in my need to grow and progress and continue to better and develop myself, which has 1.) to do with the belief that I can continue to progress after this life and 2.) I have been blessed with talents and instead of burying them I need to make them profitable, pursuing excellence and doing the best that I can with them for the Lord.
How did you come to discover your purpose?
I really came to discover this sense of purpose after becoming a husband and a father. I grew up with my faith like most people do in all different religions, but I was more invested in doing what I was supposed to do more to not piss off my parents than because I had my own convictions about it. I started to invest in my own faith as I grew older and started to realize the consequences of not living by the tenets and the misery that followed, but even more so when I became a husband and a father. That’s when I would say my faith really became my own. It went from not just avoiding sin or the bad, but in taking responsibility and pursuing excellence and the good where it really took hold.
How do you connect purpose to your everyday life and work?
What’s cool is that this now bleeds into everything. It bleeds into the time I spend at the gym, the conversations I have with my guy friends, certainly the way that I run my business because I now believe that I have a moral obligation to attain the highest level of excellence that I can, and then use that excellence to help build God’s kingdom. For me there is no purpose without responsibility, and this is the cool thing about any sense of responsibility: It starts off as a feeling of obligation, and then you see how much happier you are as you willingly shoulder that responsibility and take it to the level that you can.
As far as being a stylist coach, I wouldn’t say my purpose in life is style coaching, but that my purpose is accomplished through style coaching. Through style coaching I can serve men and help them pursue excellence and accomplish their goals. I help them understand their sense of themselves by helping them understand their relationship with their clothing.
How do you remain vibrant, encouraged and energized?
Stacking wins. I have stacked up enough wins over the years that it has now become addictive. I want to pursue more, I want to be more vibrant, I want to be involved in more because I have become so much happier over the last 10 years having leaned into and having embraced responsibility. So now it’s: What’s the next level? Where can I course correct and improve so that everything becomes infinitely better for my family and for myself. And I try to reframe my setbacks and failures as opportunities to recalibrate. I think failure is necessary component of confidence, and anybody who is still afraid of failure hasn’t failed enough in their lives to be able to recognize that there is so much good that can come from it. It does not mean that it isn’t painful or humiliating when you go through it, but it turns into- now what do I do with this and use this as an opportunity to get closer to success. You are going to screw up, so rather than being afraid of that, how can you use it to your advantage.
What is one thing that you do every day that is a necessity for your success?
I use my body. I do some form of exercise. As much as I love the physical benefits of exercise, the emotional and spiritual benefits outweigh them even further. I believe that our bodies are a blessing and a gift and we cannot reach our full potential without utilizing our bodies and keeping them fit.
Any other thoughts or words of encouragement for those on their discovery journey?
Too many of us get caught up in analysis paralysis. Stop waiting until you feel you’ve found your purpose. Just start doing stuff and your purpose will find you. I wouldn’t have known that I could accomplish my purpose through style coaching if I never started doing it.
Thanks for reading!
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