Check Out Bruce Da Silva’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bruce Da Silva.

Hi Bruce, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Absolutely. My story is about choosing depth over convention, and aligning my life with truth—even when it meant walking away from comfort or expectation.

I was born and raised in New Jersey, the youngest of four, to Brazilian parents. From an early age, I was the observer—the one quietly studying people, dynamics, tension, and the way emotion drove behavior. That curiosity only grew as I got older.

At 18, I left home to study Economics at the University of Tampa. I enjoyed understanding systems, incentives, and how people respond to pressure—but I quickly realized I didn’t want to use that degree to climb the corporate ladder. That world felt too predictable, too safe. I wanted something raw. So I made a radical pivot and joined the Peace Corps.

I spent a year living in a rural village in Morocco. With the noise of modern life stripped away, I got to witness how people relate through culture, community, and unspoken codes. It gave me a front-row seat to how respect is earned, how status operates, and how much of human behavior is shaped by deep-rooted psychology and environment. That year reset my understanding of life.

After Morocco, I moved to Tel Aviv and earned my master’s in Conflict Resolution and Mediation. I wanted to understand the root of human tension—not just between nations or groups, but within individuals. The program deepened my understanding of how we avoid discomfort, how we miscommunicate, and how unresolved internal conflict often bleeds into every other part of life.

About six months into COVID, I moved to Washington, DC. I was hoping to break into the mediation space, but the job market was frozen. So I hustled. I drove Uber, picked up freelance work, and spent every spare moment reading—philosophy, psychology, history, masculinity—trying to make sense of the world and of myself. Midway through my time in DC, I was hired to work at a political Super PAC. It looked like an opportunity for influence and impact. But before I officially started, I attended a 4-day Tony Robbins event that changed everything.

It was at Unleash the Power Within that I had a breakthrough. I realized I didn’t want to keep building someone else’s mission—I wanted to build my own. That weekend gave me clarity I couldn’t ignore. So I turned down the Super PAC role before ever stepping foot in the door, and committed fully to the path of entrepreneurship.

On May 5—exactly five years to the day after graduating college—I packed up my car and drove across the country to Los Angeles. That day marked a new kind of graduation for me. A rebirth. I wasn’t just relocating—I was stepping into a new identity.

Since then, I’ve built a coaching practice helping ambitious men develop clarity, confidence, character, and masculine presence. My work blends evolutionary psychology, philosophy, and real-world guidance. I help men stop chasing approval and start embodying purpose.

But this is just the beginning. While I’m currently focused on coaching, my vision is much bigger. I’m working to become a prolific entrepreneur and thought leader—someone who builds platforms, communities, and content that challenges the modern narrative around masculinity, power, and self-worth. I believe we’re not here just to survive—we’re here to wake up. And I intend to help lead that awakening.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. My mom always says, “A difficult life to live is a great story to tell,” and I’ve really come to embody that.

The road to where I am today has been anything but smooth. One of the first major challenges was choosing to leave the security of the traditional path—corporate America, government work, and everything that comes with “stability.” I had the degrees. I had opportunities lined up. But something in me knew I wasn’t built to climb someone else’s ladder. Walking away from that stability was liberating—but also terrifying.

On top of that, every time I moved—to Morocco, to Tel Aviv, to DC, to LA—I had to rebuild my life from scratch. New friends. New community. New identity. That process sounds exciting on paper, but it’s isolating and heavy when you’re actually living it.

My time in Washington, DC was especially formative—and brutal. Within just 9 months of living at my last location there, I went through a series of intense, back-to-back experiences. I had two electric scooters stolen. My home was broken into. My car was broken into. I was mugged and passed out on the corner of the street. And I was carjacked at gunpoint—but somehow, I talked the guy down and kept the car. These weren’t just inconveniences. They were existential moments. Moments that made me question everything and forced me to rise to the occasion mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

I also faced personal demons—mainly with drinking and drugs. For a while, I used substances as a way to escape the pressure I felt to succeed, to be someone, to find clarity. It pulled me away from my purpose. But I chose to stop, and I haven’t touched alcohol or drugs in about three years now. That decision restored my clarity and reconnected me to what actually matters.

And through it all, I’ve also had to face loss. I’ve lost close friends—young, beautiful lives gone far too soon. That grief could have pulled me under. But instead, it became fuel. It reminded me that life is fragile, and time is sacred. It pushed me to take my life seriously and become the man I want to be, as well as the impact I want to leave behind.

Moving to LA, with no safety net, was the final leap. There was no guarantee it would work. But I knew I had to bet on myself. And now, I get to help other men do the same—through real, raw, transformational work.

Every one of those challenges refined me. They gave me the grit, empathy, and depth that now lives inside everything I teach.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I help ambitious people—especially men—gain clarity, develop inner strength, and master interpersonal dynamics, particularly in relationships and identity. My work blends philosophy, psychology, evolutionary biology, and lived experience. I coach, I speak, and I create content that challenges prevailing narratives and invites people to think more clearly, live more truthfully, and connect more deeply.

While I don’t hold a formal degree in philosophy, I consider myself a modern philosopher. I’ve spent years studying—not just in classrooms, but through the kind of relentless self-education that includes reading hundreds of books, investing in coaching, taking advanced courses, and learning directly from some of the greatest thinkers of our time.

I specialize in interpersonal dynamics, especially in the context of dating, masculinity, and emotional intelligence. But what I really do is help people stop outsourcing their worth and start building lives of grounded confidence, personal agency, and conscious self-leadership.

I’m most proud of how real this work is. I’ve faced addiction, loss, identity crises, and existential turning points. I’ve had to rebuild from the ground up multiple times—in new cities, without a map. But every one of those experiences deepened my capacity to lead, teach, and guide from a place of truth. This isn’t theory. It’s lived wisdom.

What sets me apart is the integration of high-level philosophical thinking with real-world emotional grit. I don’t just help people feel better—I help them become better, by thinking critically, acting with integrity, and rising above mental slavery. My personal mission sums it up best:

“The purpose of my life is to reject ignorance, embrace wisdom, and liberate others from mental slavery to true freedom.”

I also believe in humanizing the people we admire. I’ve made it a point to connect—directly or in proximity—with mentors and thought leaders I’ve learned from, including Warren Farrell, Andrew Yang, RFK Jr., Yuval Noah Harari, Robert Greene, Ryan Holiday, Jay Shetty, Jordan B. Peterson, and Tony Robbins. Their ideas have shaped how I coach, how I think, and how I live.

While I currently focus on coaching, my larger goal is to become a prolific entrepreneur and thought leader—someone who helps people, especially men, think more clearly, live more honestly, and rise with purpose in a distracted world.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Absolutely—I’m a firm believer in using the right tools to sharpen your mind, elevate your performance, and stay grounded. I’ve curated a mix of apps, books, and podcasts that support my growth across philosophy, psychology, business, and health.

Apps I use regularly include:

– Duolingo – to stay sharp with languages and keep my mind challenged
– Imprint – a powerful micro-learning app focused on philosophy and psychology
– Oura – for health and recovery tracking
– Philosophers – to revisit timeless wisdom in a modern format
– ChatGPT – for idea refinement, deep inquiry, and sharpening my thinking

Podcasts that consistently fuel me include:

– The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
– Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu
– The Tony Robbins Podcast
– The Diary of a CEO
– The Daily Stoic
– Modern Wisdom
– Nobel Prize Conversations
– Making Sense with Sam Harris
– On Purpose* with Jay Shetty
– The School of Greatness
– WorkLife with Adam Grant
– The Munk Debates Podcast
– PsycHacks
– Philosophize This!
– Within Reason
– Your Undivided Attention
– Valuetainment
– The Next Big Idea
– Moonshots* with Peter Diamandis

Books? My list is endless, but a few I return to time and again include:

– The Bible – foundational for wisdom, depth, and spiritual grounding
– The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
– Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
– The Value of Others by Dr. Orion Taraban
– Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
– The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman
– How to Be a 3% Man by Corey Wayne
– Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
– The Myth of Male Power by Warren Farrell, Ph.D.

I also begin most mornings with a 15-minute Tony Robbins priming meditation. It helps me center myself emotionally and mentally, set my focus for the day, and reconnect with gratitude and intention.

These tools and resources have helped shape how I think, how I live, and how I lead—both in my personal life and in the work I do to help others elevate their thinking, challenge cultural narratives, and move toward true freedom and clarity.

Pricing:

• 30-Day Dating Mastery – $5,000
• Speaker Rate – $2,000
• Mediation Session (1hr) – $500

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zeuswithbruce.com/
• Instagram: @bruce_dasilva
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-dasilva/
• Twitter: https://x.com/bruce_dasilva
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bruce_dasilva