The Dad Edge Podcast

In our previous episode, John Lanza, author of The Art of Allowance, shared some ideas about kids and allowance that probably made a lot of us scratch our heads. He told us that the traditional practice of giving allowance for chores was not a good way to teach kids about managing money or work ethic. He also explained what a breakthrough allowance is, and how as kids get older they should get as much as $100 in allowance! These ideas may seem crazy at first, but they work in unexpected ways. Listen to what happened when I implemented these money-smart habits with two of my kids. For the show notes and links in this episode, go to gooddadproject.com/thursday129.

Join Larry and Jason MacKenzie as they riff on questions from the Dad Edge communities! Here's what to look forward to in this episode: What are your rules about video games and how do you keep them open-minded about real life activities? How have you found a heal your emotional trauma from growing up and if so, how did you do it? What did you least expect to find at the Dad Edge summit? What was the biggest surprise? JMack's podcast is Inquisitive Souls. You can find it here. We live in the world our conversations create.

What's the right way to teach our kids about money? How do we create a system for chores and allowance that works? How do we show them to save and spend wisely? Today's show is all about how to raise money-empowered kids, and you might be surprised at the tips listed in this episode! John Lanza is the author of the book The Art of Allowance and the host of a podcast with the same name. He tells us what most dads are doing wrong, like that age old system of giving allowance for chores. He also talks about what is the appropriate amount to pay kids by age, how to teach them to distinguish between needs and wants, and the three core money-smart habits they need to start learning from age five. For the show notes, links, and sponsor offers mentioned in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/185.

Today we talk to a man who never wanted to be a dad. The thought of fatherhood terrified him. He thought so little of himself, he didn't think he was even worthy to procreate. He thought that when his time was done on Earth, there should be no evidence that he even existed. This man's name is Mark Globowsky, and he is the host of the Strength Through the Struggle podcast. His beliefs of unworthiness and inferiority were the result of his upbringing with a physically and emotionally abusive father. But Mark stepped boldly into the dark, confronting his issues head on. He surrounded himself with the right people, men who showed him the truth about himself. Now Mark has someone to call him 'daddy' for the rest of his life. Becoming a father was the best thing that could've ever happened to him. He shares how we can mine our pain and our past, finding strength through the struggle to become the man that we decide we want to be. For the show notes and links mentioned in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/thursday128.

Join Larry and Jason MacKenzie (JMack) as they riff on questions from the Dad Edge communities! About halfway through the episode, JMack's mic goes all Darth Vader but we're keeping these Q&A's live and unfiltered. JMack's podcast is Inquisitive Souls. You can find it here.

We all go through dark times in our lives. Whether it's financial difficulties, marital tension, struggles with our children, or failures in our work, we may sometimes wonder if we're simply a burden to all those around us. Today's guest is Adam Schafer. He is a host on Mind Pump, one of the biggest podcasts on iTunes. Adam is not a dad, but he was the son of a father who committed suicide. Adam was seven years old when his dad shot himself, and the tragedy created a shock wave that still reverberates in Adam's life today. Children whose fathers commit suicide have a 50/50 chance of being suicidal themselves. Adam struggled with isolation and depression because of the impact of his father's suicide. He shares how he uses times of darkness to forge himself into the man he is today. For the show notes and links mentioned in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/184.

Our previous episode was called A Father's Last words and it was something TDE has never done before. Brian Froneyberger bravely and generously gave of the perspective of a father who was dying of cancer. It was a true privilege to listen to his wisdom about what really matters to a person who knows their time is running out. Tragically, he passed away between the recording and release of the show and his funeral service was held the very day his episode came out. Having this conversation with Brian forced things into perspective. We often get frustrated with our kids. We get irritable with our spouses. We stress about work. Most feel like we're under a burden of obligations, but we have the choice to turn this around. Brian would give anything to be here having the problems we are facing right now. It's not what happens to us, it's how we respond to it. We can be the calm in the middle of the storm if we don't obsess over life's trivial problems. When we're feeling stressed, depressed, or hopeless, we must ask ourselves, is worrying really worthy of our precious time? Wouldn't it be better to focus our emotions on what really matters in life? Shouldn't we be giving our energy to the things that we love instead of those we hate? For the show notes and the links in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/thursday127.

Our guest today is Brian Froneyberger. He battled stage 4 incurable head and neck cancer. Ten days after recording this show, Brian lost the fight and passed away. He was only forty-six years old. He left behind a wife, a son, and a daughter. What you will hear today are a father's last words. They are a gift to all of those who listen. No man knows how much time he has left. Brian bravely opens up about facing death, how it puts life in perspective, and what really matters most before the last goodbye. His family is now coping with the loss. They are also in trouble financially. The Dad Edge Alliance has donated $1000 to their Go Fund Me campaign. You can help too by clicking the link in the show notes. Go to gooddadproject.com/brian.

We all go through ups and downs, and it's easy to focus on whatever is going wrong in our lives, but being stressed and worried all the time works against us. A negative mindset literally makes us dumber! But we can shift our attitude by appreciating what we do have going for us. Today we have on new Dad Edge Alliance member, Dwayne. He came into the group at an all-time low. His marriage was in trouble, he was in debt, and he was depressed. As he began to target all aspects of his life in the alliance, he also adopted the habit of looking at all that was going right in his life. Within a few months, Dwayne has made incredible progress. His marriage is in a good place, he paid off 6K in debt, and is smiling again. Discover the other life-changing benefits of practicing gratitude in this short episode! For the show notes and links mentioned in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/thursday126.

How come we're not happy when we get what we want? So many of us believe that if we just made more money, if we got that promotion we wanted, or if we lost that last ten pounds we'd be happy. Then sometimes we finally achieve our goals and realize we're still unfulfilled. This is because we bring 'us.' We always have ourselves and our limited beliefs. Today we have a live Dad Edge Alliance Q&A session with Gary John Bishop. His book How to Unf*ck Yourself just made the NY Times bestseller list. He has been on our show twice before and was a speaker at our Dad Edge Summit. This episode is in-your-face and explicit. Some of it you may not like hearing, but Gary John Bishop will tell you (in his Shrek-like Scottish accent) how to come to terms with your own bullsh*t so that you can be relentless in executing your goals while also finding the joy in where you are, here and now. For the show notes and links mentioned in this episode go to gooddadproject.com/183.