About | The Practice, with Charles Boucher

01

I was born in San Jose del Cabo to two American citizens.

Our time in Mexico was short, and as soon as we came back stateside, I was taken in by my grandparents.

Both of my parents suffered from alcoholism and addiction issues, which meant the best place for me was under my grandparents’ roof.

To all outside appearances, I was a happy kid with a wholesome life.

But behind closed doors, I felt alone, unloved, and like a walking burden to the whole world.

These feelings were subtle yet strong.

There was nothing I could do to shake them.

So I carried them with me all through my youth.

Both my grandparents were hard workers with high morals.

So from an early age, I learned to work first and play later.

They also taught me the importance of doing things right the first time.

Charles in an orange hoodie and cap, standing by the ocean

02

All through school I got honors, until I didn’t.

Things took a turn for the worse when I was about fifteen.

I had always felt so weak and insignificant compared to the people around me.

And when I realized I was no longer a child, and no longer weak, I rebelled.

And I rebelled hard.

I was quickly able to ruin all my relationships and find myself in more trouble than I could have imagined.

To keep a long story short, I finally bottomed out when I was 25.

I remember I was wearing red Chuck Taylors, Dickies pants I had cut into shorts, and a powder blue Chargers jersey.

I was homeless.

It was pouring rain, and I had nowhere to go.

I was alone and completely broken inside.

During that time, I had been sleeping on the side of the freeway and I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into traffic and end it all.

Luckily, I didn’t, but I did end up in jail a short time later.

This wasn’t my first time behind bars, and it wouldn’t be my last, but it’s definitely where things started to change.

03

Over the next few years, I got out of trouble, got my shit together, and started rebuilding my life.

To my surprise, in a short time, I was crushing every goal I set my sights on.

Quickly moving up at work.

Picking up new hobbies and getting very good at them.

Becoming a better partner, in better and better relationships.

I was like the fucking Cookie Monster, eating up everything that was put in front of me.

I did everything in my power to get a leg up.

Therapy, coaching, books, seminars, courses—you name it.

I was doing it.

I had jobs.

I managed companies.

I created businesses, and those businesses made me more money than I ever thought possible.

Two skydivers in free fall high above the coastline

04

Everything was great!

But something was still missing.

I could feel it.

I always felt it.

That hole deep inside myself.

I fucking hated it.

And nothing was taking it away.

I remember sitting in my truck after the business had finally started making real money. I had more than I’d ever had before.

And I remember realizing: I still feel the fucking same.

I thought the money was supposed to make me feel secure. I thought success was supposed to give me freedom. I thought if I got far enough ahead, eventually I’d be able to relax.

Instead, there was always another milestone. Another reason to keep going. And stopping somehow felt like giving up.

So I did what I knew how to do. I doubled down.

05

I’d wanted to be a life coach for years.

It made it on my annual goals year after year, after year.

But I thought that was a horrible idea.

I had a real business that was working well and providing me with a great life.

All the data showed that I was already doing what I was meant to do.

Except it didn’t feel that way.

Over time, I started questioning whether I had the whole formula backwards.

Maybe work, success, and achievement weren’t eventually going to hand me freedom, peace, and clarity.

Maybe I needed to figure out what I actually wanted first—and build everything else around that.

That idea scared the shit out of me.

Throw all of that away?!

Who walks away from something that’s working?

The shame I felt about it was larger than life.

I tried to bury it year after year.

I’d always kept my self-help and healing journey top secret.

Sure, there were guys I mentored over the years, which I absolutely loved.

But outside of that work, no one knew about my little secret.

Charles on the beach at sunset, looking out at the ocean

06

Finally, I hit my breaking point.

I got into enough pain to put everything on the line.

I invested thousands of dollars into coach training and certification to see if something I believed impossible was actually possible.

Turns out, it was.

Because here I am.

Coaching.

And somewhere in the process, my life began changing too.

I slowed things down. I became more deliberate about where my time went. I stopped automatically doing things just because I was good at them. I worked less and started looking for the highest-leverage ways to produce the results I actually wanted.

I spent more time on my hobbies. More time with people I care about. I had more energy. More freedom. More peace.

And the wild part was that my financial life didn’t fall apart.

Turns out, I didn’t have to choose between success and actually enjoying my life.

I still love winning. I just stopped asking winning to make me whole.

07

There’s nothing I love more than listening to someone get real and go deep.

That’s what it’s all about for me.

I love being a part of the transformation process.

No judgment.

No worries.

Just totally raw realness.

Because I know what it’s like to build an entirely new life and still wonder why something doesn’t feel right.

I’m more than grateful to be here, to have gone through what I’ve gone through, and to be helping other men experience greater purpose, freedom, and peace in their lives.

Life is amazing.

Once we get out of the way, and allow it to be.