Raw, Unfiltered, Purpose: The Dad Edge Unleashed with Larry Hagner
36 min
•Feb 9, 20262 months agoSummary
Larry Hagner, founder of The Dad Edge podcast and community, discusses breaking generational cycles of absent and toxic fatherhood through intentional parenting, vulnerability, and continuous learning. He shares his personal journey from childhood trauma to building a framework for legendary fatherhood and a thriving community of men committed to purposeful living.
Insights
- Breaking generational trauma requires moving beyond desire to be a good father—it demands systematic learning, accountability, and willingness to surrender ego and ask for help
- Intentional living through structured weekly planning (the BRAVE Man Code framework) eliminates guesswork and ensures balanced attention across marriage, parenting, business, health, and joy
- The transition from parenting to friendship with adult children is a distinct phase requiring recalibration of authority while maintaining paternal guidance until financial independence
- Male loneliness and isolation are epidemic (70% of men report loneliness), making peer communities and mastermind groups essential infrastructure for sustainable personal development
- Vulnerability and transparency in leadership—admitting what you don't know and learning alongside your children—models the behavior that creates trust and deepens relationships
Trends
Rise of intentional fatherhood movements and communities addressing generational trauma and absent father patternsStructured accountability systems (masterminds, peer groups) becoming mainstream for male personal development and mental healthFaith-based leadership and fatherhood frameworks gaining prominence in secular business and parenting spacesEmphasis on 'good' over 'great' as a sustainable approach to parenting and leadership, reducing perfectionism burnoutIntegration of business/entrepreneurial frameworks (mission planning, after-action reviews) into family and personal life managementMale vulnerability and emotional literacy becoming competitive advantages in leadership and relationship buildingPodcast-driven communities creating distributed networks of accountability and peer support for fathers and entrepreneursHolistic life planning frameworks (BRAVE Code) addressing multiple life domains simultaneously rather than siloed self-improvement
Topics
Breaking Generational Cycles in FatherhoodIntentional Weekly Planning and Goal SettingThe BRAVE Man Code Framework (Bond, Raise, Amplify, Vitality, Enjoy)Parenting Teenagers and Young AdultsMale Loneliness and Community BuildingVulnerability and Ego Management in LeadershipFaith-Based Parenting and Personal DevelopmentMastermind Groups and Peer AccountabilityTransitioning from Parenting to Friendship with Adult ChildrenBuilding Legacy and Purpose-Driven LivingEmotional Intelligence in FatherhoodWork-Life Balance and Joy IntegrationCommunication Clarity in LeadershipResilience and Emotional RegulationMentorship and Continuous Learning
Companies
Shopify
E-commerce platform sponsor offering $1/month trial for entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow businesses online and i...
People
Larry Hagner
Founder of The Dad Edge podcast and community; author of 'The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood'; expert on intentional...
Aaron Walker
Nashville-based coach and founder of ISI mastermind; early mentor to Larry Hagner who encouraged him to join accounta...
John Eldredge
Author of 'Wild at Heart,' a faith-based book on masculinity recommended by Larry as essential reading for fathers
Napoleon Hill
Author quoted by Larry: 'The definition of hell is meeting the man you could have been on your deathbed'
Dave
Referenced as connected to Aaron Walker; appears to be part of the mastermind/coaching ecosystem
Quotes
"The definition of hell is meeting the man that you could have been when you're laying on your death bed."
Larry Hagner (citing Napoleon Hill)
"I truly believe we get one shot at this life, like just one. And why not make it amazing? Why not make it as legendary and as amazing as possible?"
Larry Hagner
"If you have no joy, you have no joy to give."
Larry Hagner
"Spending every day with you in that gym. 16 weeks. It wasn't like the weights, it wasn't the training. It was the connection, the conversations between the sets and making this memory with you, man."
Larry Hagner
"We ain't best friends yet. Okay. I'm still your dad. Right. You got plenty of friends. You don't need another one."
Larry Hagner
Full Transcript
Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify, especially designed to help you start, run, and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time, from startups to scale-ups, online, in-person, and on-the-go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Hey, I'm really proud of this episode that you're about to listen to with my buddy Larry Agner. We go places in this episode. We talk about his become, and you're going to get emotional hearing it. So at the end of the episode, I really want you to get there when Larry's talking about his most favorite or most memorable dad win. I mean, he gets extremely emotional. So if your father is episode is for you, get your kids together. If your father and you have young ones this episode, you guys need to listen together. It's going to be amazing, amazing, amazing. And I'm not going to hold it up. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my good friend and all American dad, Mr. Larry Agner. You're listening to Mick Unplugged hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where Purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and intramene. Helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush and trust me. You're in the right place. Let's get unplugged. Now Larry, how you doing today, brother? I'm speechless, man. I've never had an intro like that. I'm like, wow, that's really cool. I want to meet this guy. Very well deserved, man. Very well deserved. Huge fan of the person that you are. You and I've got to talk recently. And I become even more impressed. You know, like when you when you listen to someone, I already told you I'm a huge fan of your podcast. One of my sons is visiting me out of town and we he's been binge listening to a few episodes of yours. But then when you get to meet that person for real, and they're even more magnificent than you think they are, like that's always refreshing and that is who you are. Oh, man, why thank you so much. It to be honest, man, that feel the exact same way about you. I just went ahead on the show on the dad edge podcast. Like it's just such tremendous chemistry and such a good conversation. And you provided so much value. I know for the for the audience, it was just awesome. So I appreciate that and back at you. I appreciate you back, man. I appreciate you back. And no, my show always like to start the conversation around your becaus, that feeling that's deeper than your why, right? Like your why, probably your kids, the legacy, you want to leave behind. But when I say, but why usually start that sentence with because of X, Y and Z. And I care about the moment you say because. And so all the things that you do, you know, your mission to help men leave legendary lives. What's your because? What's that purpose for Larry Hagnar to do those things? I gotta be honest, man. I think I have a few becausees, but one is I know how it feels to, you know, be in the drift is what we call it in our communities. You know, is you're just drifting, right? It's nothing's necessarily wrong, broken, we're not tremendously uncomfortable. But once you're out of that drift, you realize how uncomfortable you actually really were, right? Not living like this very purposeful life. So I think it's really, I mean, I truly believe we get one shot at this life, like just one. And why not make it amazing? Why not make it as legendary and as amazing as possible? Right? Because maybe it's this, you know, I don't know if I've ever even been asked this question, but that's one reason, but here's another, you know, it goes down with a quote that I heard from Napoleon Hill, which is the definition of hell is meeting the man that you could have been when you're laying on your death. And I don't know what it is. I even get the chills saying that. And I remember the first time I ever heard it, exactly where I was and what I was doing. And I was like, whoa, it was just like, it was like a wrecking ball just went right through my heart. And I was like, whoa, I cannot imagine a life like that. Like I just can't. And then there's another because and the other because it is, I'm raising four men, right? I'm raising four young men. And, you know, my, my family, you know, generations, like we've always had, there's been a serious pattern there. And I'm happy to go into that. But I'm like, I'm not going to do this on my watch. Yeah. Like these kids are going to have a different experience and they're going to become different men. And so I would say those three reasons are why because. Amazing. And getting to know you like I have and I told you when I was on your podcast, how a huge fan of you that I was and how we have some similarity. So, you know, you kind of went past the cycles a little bit and I definitely want to go there. Let's talk about the cycles that you're changing in your life because everyone that's the subscriber to this show, you understand. That's exactly part of my because, right? I didn't have representation in my household. And the cycle had to change. The buck had to stop with me, right? Like I told you Larry, like I had a dad physically in my household, but emotionally, I never knew he was there. And he probably never knew why I was there, right? What are the cycles that you're breaking or that you're changing as well? Well, I think if you, it's always good to, but also to be talking to someone who understands this, right? And you experienced it firsthand. You know, my, my mom was married. I mean, my parents, I honestly believe parents do the best job that they can with what they have at the time. So in, you know, me being a 50 year old man for, for raising four boys, I'm like, I can't remember. I can't even count how many times I've messed up. There's so many, right? And, but I, I look back on that and my mom was married three times. And there was just a revolving door of toxic men that just came in and out of my life, whether she was dating somebody for a week, a season, a year, or they were roommates or they were married, like there was a variety of them, but they all had the same type of mentality. They were all toxic. They were, they were all drinkers. They were all abusers. Like it was a lot. And I remember growing up in that way and add insult to injury, my biological father, I never knew growing up. Ever. My mom and him were married for four years and they had me and then after they had me, they got divorced. And I have no recollection of my dad. I, they got divorced within the first year I was born. And then when I was four, my mom got remarried. That guy adopted me. He became my dad. I thought that was my dad from, from the very start. Like I actually thought that's how dads come about is they, if moms go out and find a dude and bring him home, here's your dad. Like I had no idea that I had, I literally had no clue that I had no dad. And I finally had an opportunity to meet my dad when I was 12, my real dad. And it was two years after my mom's second divorce to my stepdad who had adopted me. And I had no idea where he lived. I just knew his name and then we met and we had a relationship for about six months and he left again. And that killed me, killed me. And I remember like literally sitting and I have a 12 year old. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed and hanging up the phone, the landline because there were no cell phones back in 1987. And I remember just sitting there, asking myself, what, what just happened? Like did I just lose my biological father for the second time in my life? Like I think I just was sort of questioning that. And I just remember sitting there and be like, I started to cry. And I was like, this will never happen when I have kids. I remember saying that out loud when I was 12. This will never happen when I have kids. I'm going to be a good dad. So like I literally from 12 years old, I was like, I want to be a good dad. But here's the interesting thing, man. I mean, you know this from teaching leadership, the desire to be a good dad has nothing to do. It has a little bit to do, but it's not going to get you to to to great dad or fulfill that or good dad, right? It's the desire. It's important, but it's not going to get you there. And what I found was is the biggest missing ingredient because I had really a really bad moment with my four year old, who's 18 now, who I wouldn't even mess with to save my life. I always promised myself I will never strike my children out of anger, ever, because I was hit a lot. When my son was four, he stepped out of line. I turned him around. I swatted him on a butt. And unfortunately, I hit him so hard. He lost his footing and he fell flat on his face. And he was okay. Thank goodness. And I went to go help to pick him up because I was like, oh my God, like, what did I just do? Like literally, like it was that fast. I was like, well, what would I just do? And I was like, Hey, and I went to go pick him up and he saw me coming at him. And he literally just like, please don't hurt me. Like literally, like shook. And I was like, what am I doing? Like, I, this is exactly what I said, I wasn't going to do. Like, what is happening and why? And then that was 2012. And then that was it, man, like I surrendered to God, I surrendered to everything. I was like, please, just I just want to learn this. What's the best way to learn this? I just need to learn it. And that's, that's, that was 13 years ago. Actually, gosh, 15 years ago, or 14 years ago. And that's all I've been doing is learning, like everything that we do is learning. That's it. Dude. And again, that's part of the reason why I'm a huge fan of you and what you do. Just that, that vulnerability, that transparency, that honesty. And you just said something that I believe into, like I heard you say, good father, right? And I think a lot of times, whether it's fatherhood, leadership, entrepreneurship, whatever, there's such a, such a spell on being great. That sometimes we forget that you control good, right? Like I can't be great every day, but I can definitely be good, right? Greatness usually as someone else's opinion of you anyway, like you can be good. And I think in order to be perceived as great, you've got to have several good moments or several good things that you do. And you've interviewed and talked to thousands of fathers, right? Former Navy Sills, athletes, entrepreneurs, you name it. What do you think were a couple of traits that all good fathers have, that all good dads have? That I think that's such a good question. I think they're lifelong students. I really, really do. And I think that they, they're willing to drop the ego, right? And when I say ego, like that's just something that really, really protects us, right? It's like, you know, it's, it's, it's really odd, you know, if you really think about it, this perfect example, right? It's like my 18 year old son just turned 18 and he's like, Hey, I want to pick up guitar. I want to learn the guitar. So he's been watching YouTube videos and he's leaving for college in eight months. And I'm trying to figure out every which way I can to spend time with him. So I'm like, Hey, can I learn guitar with you? So I went out and bought a guitar and we're learning guitar together. And but I think it answered your question. What separates a good dad is like being like, I don't know how to play guitar. Let's go learn, right? Versus like, I'm not going to pick up the guitar because I don't want to sound bad. Or I don't want to look bad or like, I'm just not musical, right? Or I'm just not good with a guitar. Anybody can learn anything, right? Literally anything. It's just a matter of like, are you going to allow yourself to learn it? Are you going to engage in a process to learn something? So to answer your question, I think a good dad does two things. He sidesteps his ego and like, nope, I'm never done learning ever, ever, ever. In fact, like, you know, this as well as I do, I have two adult children now. It's like a totally different world now. Like, you know, connecting with them and trying to like, it's like you can ground them any morning, like that. It's like a totally different game. And like, I'm so I joke all the time. I'm like, I'm learning a whole new season of fatherhood right now. And that's raising adult kids and my little kids at the same time. But yeah, two things learning and being able just to render the ego. Amazing. And you just hit on something too. Like, I'm not going to say I'm lucky or fortunate. I don't mean it in that sense. But my kids are relatively close in age, right? And so there were cool moments for me when my children got into their late teens in early 20s when you definitely go, you're still dead. You're still a father. But then it morphs into like friendship. It morphs into like best friendship. And that is such a very cool thing because it's something I never got to experience. As I'm sure you didn't either. And so to have that moment, man, like even thinking about it, I can sometimes get emotional because it's just like, wow, like I have like my kids best friends, right? You know, like, like we they're comfortable to talk to me about anything and not be judged by it. They're they're cool telling me when, you know, they've had good days when they've had bad days. Or it's like, hey, dad, I need you to be dad right now, right? Like, like talk to us about that because that's what I hear you saying, right? It's like, holy crap, they're growing and I'm growing. And it's like, we enjoy doing things together. We really do. It's really interesting. Like I even tell my adult kids this, right? I was like, because you know, our relationship is dynamically changing just a little bit, you know, just a little bit over time, you know, being that my oldest is 19 and you know, the other ones 18. But then I got 12 and 9 year old too, all boys. And you know, the interesting thing that I tell, especially my oldest right now, because he's he's out of high school. He's he's a volunteer firefighter. He's going through EMT training right now and then paramedic training. And then he's going to the fire academy. So he's like a full blown like I'm out of school adult type of person, right? But he still needs guidance and he still needs some discipline, you know, and that kind of thing. And when I have to, you know, pull those levers, I remind him I'm like, hey, you know, I just want to remind you something. We ain't best friends yet. Okay. I'm still your dad. Right. You got plenty of friends. You don't need another one. And I ain't going to be one of them. It's like we are friends. Okay. We are friends. But that's not to confuse our relationship with we're friends and I'm not your dad. Okay. I was like, now when you're in your mid 20s and 30s, that's a little different. Right. I'm always going to be your dad, but we're going to ease more into that probably friendship type of phase. But as of right now, when you're still trying to figure out life, I'm not your friend. Like I love you, man. I love you way more than any of your friends do, but I ain't your friend. Yeah. I'm your dad. I can still tell you what to do. No, I'm with you on that because I think for me, like, I definitely have that phase where it's like, hey, I'm still dead. And for me, it was because you still need money. I'm still dead. Right. So it's like the clear down issue. You're going to get to a phase really quick when they go get maybe not their first apartment, but usually that second one because the first one they still need that. And then it's like, hey, you want to move? You want to break this lease or you know, you got to do whatever you're on your own now, right? You're off bad as payroll. That's when it becomes really cool. So I promise you Larry, there is light. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, the cool thing is this is we do. We're really engaging in a lot of friends stuff lately. You know, so it's like, yes, I'm still their parent. So like, I'll give you an example. Like every, so like, I'm really, I'm like methodically and like strategically, like inserting myself into my 18 year olds life because he's going to be the first one to leave the nestier in eight months. So every three weeks, we go get, he go, we go get haircuts and I get a beard trim and then we, we go out to eat or we go do something fun every three weeks. Like that's our cadence. And when we, when we leave the barber shop or already, we've already made a point for the next three weeks. So the cool thing about that is that, you know, when we go out, you know, yes, we talk about dad's son stuff, right? But he also asks a lot of questions and we have conversations that I think are more friendly, right? That I don't have with his little brothers, like his 12 and 9 year old, right? It's more like man to man talk, which I really love how that's evolving into. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. So I want to talk to the male listener of you right now, whether you're a father or not, because you know, your conversations are much deeper than obviously just father or two, like your big proponent of legacy. And you talk a lot about legacy. So for the person that's listening or that's watching Larry and they're struggling because they feel like they're just surviving, right? How do you help people to start building intentionally, to start living intentionally? Because I know intentionality is a huge pillar of your discussion. So talk to that viewer listener for us really quick. I think there's a few different ways that you can do it. And it just depends on I think what really works well for you, right? So can I give you an example that is probably extreme, but it's how I live. So I have a whiteboard here and you'll find me every single Sunday sitting in something. And I take my clients to this too. I actually run guys through groups like this called the generals tent, the generals tent. And what we do is we plan for mission success for the week. I've never been in the military or anything like that, but this is how we roll, right? The military is very effective and how they do. They know what mission success looks like and they plan accordingly. So the way I live life and the way my clients live life is we live our life within what's called the brave man code, the brave man code. It's a system brave stands for bond bond is your marriage. That's the B are is raised. That's fatherhood. A is amplify that's your business, your wealth, and your money. V is vitality. That's the food, the beverages, whatever you put in your mouth, and also the media and whatever you're taking in in the brain, which would the output of that is your energy. And I know this much shock you, but the East stands for enjoy. And when clients come and knock on my door and they're like, you're going to hold me accountable to for joy. I'm like, absolutely three missions a week of joy. And they're like, why? I was like, if you have no joy, you have no joy to give. So I think it's an answer your question to live intentionally. What I do within that brave man code is I will actually identify three smart goals per week in those five categories. So I'm going to do three things with my wife or for my wife. I'm going to do three things with my kids or for my kids. Right. I'm going to do three things within the business that moves the needle. Vitality, same thing. What does my nutrition look like? What does my exercise look like? What does my hydration and sleep look like? And then for my joy, like one of the things I think that is 70% of men report being lonely. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but like I go and either walk with another friend of mine here in this neighborhood and we just walk for an hour, or I'll go have coffee with a buddy, or I'll get on a Zoom call with one of my friends and we'll have a virtual coffee. And there's no agenda. I just want to, hey, how is life? Right. And that brings me, and another thing too, that brings me joy of scripture. Every day, I'm in a Bible study, even with my oldest son. And just you have to have that joy. And so many men will sidestep that because we grind. And I really think, and don't get me wrong, I work. I'm a huge fan of working insanely hard. Like outwork people. Like, but at the same time, that has to be balanced with a little bit of oxygen. Because otherwise, no one wants the 24-7 grinder type A warrior man, right? They also want the less overwhelmed compassionate, hey, bring it in. Like, hey, we're all here, right? And if you have no joy, you have no joy to give. But living intentionally, how I teach is three smart goals in those five categories per week. And they actually go on my calendar. And I'll tell you, man, it's an incredible way to live because like every week, I get to do a planning, but I also get to do an after-action review. I got four kids. I have several moving parts of my business. Like, my life, my health changes. I need different things. And so does my marriage. So I'm looking back on previous week or even be like, hey, what's needed this week? Like, what do what actually needs to happen? I hung out with these two kids last week. These two kids got neglected. So I'm making sure that they get attention. So it's things like that, living very intentionally, strategically. Almost, I know it sounds kind of crazy, but methodically. But I know that might sound like a hard way to live. It brings me so much joy and my clients because there's no guesswork. And what I'm going to do. And there's no like, yeah, I'd like to do that thing. I'd like to take my wife out on that date, you know, some time. Oh, no, no, I'm doing that Friday. That's happening Friday. So like, I think that's one way of several that you can live. It's amazing, man. It's amazing. And, you know, going to the dad edge for a quick moment, that yes, a podcast. But it's also a community, man. And I see that in a lot of the things you were just saying, right? Like, going to meet with someone and have a cup of coffee. Go for a walk with someone like, almost encouraging, inspiring, letting people talk. Because I think there are a lot of times where us as men, we feel like we have to be tough. We have to have all the answers. Us as parents, us as fathers, right? Like the buck stops with us, right? You and I talked about that a little bit. The buck stops with us. Let's talk about the dad edge as a community. What does that mean to you personally? Right? Like, what does it mean for you to build this community of fathers and dads and help everyone and also learn from other people? Because that's also a community, right? Communities never about the person that organized it. It's about the tribe within. Talk to us about what that community means. Thank you for asking number one. But I'll start this with a funny story. Back in 2015, when I first started the podcast, in which, by the way, I'll say a name. And if you don't know who he is, I would love to introduce you guys. He would go wonderful podcast guests. His name is Aaron Walker. Lives in Nashville. He's best friends with Dave. You know Aaron? He's been on mine. Yeah. Oh, man. He was my first coach. Wow. I've looked big A, right? Yes. I just love him, man. And he's like, he's a little bit ahead of me in life, not too far. And but when I first started this, 11 years ago, Aaron was one of the first guys that I think he was like within the first 20 episodes. He came on and I was like, who is this guy? This guy's awesome. And he ran, he runs a mastermind called ISI. And he's like, you need to come be a part of this. And I was like, what, why? He's like, Larry, do you have any men in your life that like support you? And I was like, well, yeah, like, you know, I'm still friends with guys who went to college with. He's like, no, that's not what I'm talking about. He's like, I'm not talking about the guys you got and drink beer with. Okay. I'm talking about guys you have good deep conversations with about everything. Good Christian men in your life. Do you have that? And I'm like, sadly, I know. I really don't. And so I was like, all right, Aaron, how much does it cost to join this mastermind? He's like, $500. I was like, I was like, I can't afford that Aaron. No. And he's like, Larry, he goes, and I'll never forget this, Mick. And you know, Aaron, he goes, Larry, he's like, Larry, let me ask you something. He's like, you're doing a really good thing with the dad edge. Okay. He's like, but if you don't know where you're going, this thing is going to burn down in a month. In a year, he's like, but I know that I can help you. And with the right direction, we can get you there. And he's like, or you can go out of the loan. And he just, we're on a Zoom call. And he's like, call me back within 24 hours. I think it, I looked at the clock. I think it was just before 10 am. And I think I called him at 10, 14. And I said, I'm in. And I was like, I'll stay a month. And I got in that room very first Monday morning. And I was like, and I was surrounded by 10 other men, Christian business owners. And I was blown away. I was like, every answer to every question that I ever wanted to ask is actually in this room. And they really care. They really care about each other. Like this is amazing. So I stayed in that program for a year. And then I started my own, start at the data edge Alliance community. Very similar. And what does this mean to me to answer your question? Make when guys come in and they're like, hey man, I'm done white knuckle in this. I'm just done. I'm like, I see you. I love you. And I was you. I know exactly where you're at. Come on in man. The water's warm. And then these guys start to learn, right? They get really excited. They start implementing these skills within marriage and like how they're more patient fathers. And they're having better conversations. Like all these amazing things are happening. They're coming back and reporting this. And they're like, oh my gosh, this is the most amazing thing ever. And when I see guys with their, just their hair on fire for this stuff. I'm getting the chills talking about this. Dude, this gives me so much hope that we, I know this sounds like, woo woo, but this gives me so much hope that we can actually change the trajectory of families just by doing this work, by more men doing work like this. That I believe that with every ounce of me, man. Yeah. Totally agree, dude. Totally agree. So before I get you out of here on my rapid fire, top five, man, I want to give you the floor just a moment to talk about some of the things you have going on, where people can connect with you, how they could potentially join this community and all that. So the floor is yours, man. Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, I always start with the podcast, you know, like I joke. I was like, I got almost 11 years of content. I've got enough content to keep you busy there for quite some time. We talk about several different areas, you know, marriage, parenting, your health, your money, and your joy and your faith. If that's your thing, that's a big thing to us. So the podcast is everywhere. If you want, if you're a reader, I've got six books out there, three kids books, three chapter books. I just released the pursuit of legendary fatherhood. It just came out September 16th. That's a great place to start because literally everything we've ever taught in the Alliance, I pretty much put it at book. So it might be a good place to start. You can find that if you go to the dadedge.com-forge-legendarybook. You can find it there. And if you're like, hey, yeah, I've gone down the road of reading. And YouTube and listening to podcasts and it doesn't move the needle all, does it just give me a bunch of ideas that I never do anything with. Then the mastermind might be for you. If you go to the dadedge.com-forge-mastermind, you'll see two different pathways. One is the Alliance. That's for our career guys. And one is called the Dadedge Business Boardroom. And that's for our business owners out there. So we've created two separate programs because I mean, I think you and I agree that entrepreneurs were wired a little bit. We're wired very different, you know, a little bit. We're a little cuckoo in a good way. But we have different needs. So that's why we separated those programs. And then I do want to want coaching as well. Good stuff. I'll make sure that we have links to all of that in the show notes, the descriptions. I will make sure I post some things on social too to just get people there because I'm a huge fan of that. I mean, like I said at the beginning, my boys enjoy your podcasts. So that means something to me when they listen to it and binge listen and actually talk to me about some of the conversations. That's when you know it's the right thing. I got to be honest with you, Mick. Man, I've been doing this for a long time. It's one of the best compliments I've ever received. Like for a dad to pass along information to a son, we don't pass along information that we don't believe in, right? In fact, we're really picky about that stuff. So like, dude, I, I receive that in a way that like it almost makes me emotional. So thank you for that. That means that when you pass us onto your son, my gosh, thank you. None, man. I mean, it's, it's because it's powerful and, and I'm going to say this. So Larry doesn't have to. But if you are a father, dad edge podcast is something you need to be subscribing. You need to be following. You need to be listening to if you are a son, right? Which most of us are. I don't put an age requirement on that. You need to be listening to the dad edge podcast. And I would say, take a few episodes and listen together because they do spark conversation. And that's why I love it so much. It's not just listening. It's, oh, there's dialogue. Oh, someone is going through something that I'm going through right now or holy crap. I thought it was just me and someone else is struggling with that. Like that was something that, that me and my son who's here with me this week that we, we both laughed at like, oh, yeah, we, we do posture a little bit. Like there, there is that time where a son is like, yeah, I don't have to listen to dad. And then it's like, wait, dad, I need you. How do you go from posturing to admitting that I need that? Like that was one of my favorite episodes. I love that, man. Just say, you know, we really do listen to podcasts. I love that. Thank you. All right, lay, I'm getting you out of here. Rapid fire. Rapid fire. Quick five. What has been your favorite dad win that is like always memorable that stuck in your mind to this day? You know, I mean, man, there's, I don't know if I call them like wins, but I would just tremendous gratitude for something that might have transpired, right? Um, my little emotional on this one, but I'll answer fast. My son and my, my teen year old and I did a bodybuilding show together in 2022. And it was his idea. I tried to talk him out of it. He was 14 at the time. But I was, he looked at me on New Year's Eve back in 2021. He's like, hey, me and you, we're going to do a bodybuilding show this year. And I was like, uh, what? He's like, yeah, and it's also in 16 weeks. I already researched it. And I was like, you're too young for that. He's like, no, I'm not, I can be 13. And I'm like, uh, and I was like, I was like, I don't know about this, Mason. He's like, we get to train together every day. And I was like, I'm in, I'm in done. Let's do it. So we did it. Um, he got second place in his cat, two categories. I got a second, two category. And that doesn't matter. That didn't, not, not, so the, I share that with you because after that happened, we sat down and he's like, what was your fair, I asked him, I was like, what were your fair part of this whole thing after the show? You know, we're eating like pizza or whatever. And he's like, he's like, winning my second place. And I was like, yeah, of course, man, right? You worked hard for it. He's like, what about you? I was like, I don't care about anything. I was like, what I want. I was like this. And I, I started to cry when I told him this. I was like, spending every day with you in that gym. 16 weeks. It wasn't like the weights, it wasn't the training. It was the connection, the conversations between the sets and making this memory with you, man. Like, that's it. Like metals will come and go and dust will get on them. But man, this, this isn't the hard drive forever for me. That's probably one of the biggest. I love that. Didn't mean to make you cry, but I love it. So question two, I'll lighten it up a little bit. You shouldn't do this, but I might ask you anyway, who's your favorite son and why is it Mason? Don't answer. Mason, you know, I got your brother. It's so far, man. For that one. What's the most powerful book that you think all fathers should read? I think Wild at Heart by John Elterge. It's such a good book. Such a good faith-based book too. I think it kind of opens a man's heart a little bit more to Christ, which I love and also gives them some earthly, really, really great things to latch on to. What's one lesson that fatherhood has also taught you about leadership? Well, in the beginning, it taught me how horrible the leader I was and I thought I was. I think one of the biggest things that fatherhood has taught me about leadership is how clearly I communicate. Like, me telling my son, Hiko Clean your room is my version of clean and his version is totally different. So I'm like, okay, so I think it's being very, very clear with communication. And also, I think it's being very, very proactive with seeing things out there before they happen versus like, I need you this thing right now versus like, hey, we need to get ready for this thing, right? Good stuff. Four, if you had one dad's superpower, what would it be? If I had one and didn't have it? Yeah. One dad's superpower, I would be honest. One thing that I struggle with and I truly believe it's a superpower is I'm a pretty resilient person until I go past my resilient point and then it's hard to reel me back if that makes sense. So sometimes if I get really, really spun up, I have to like, almost remove myself from a situation so I can like just recalibrate again because it's almost like I can't reel it in. It's very hard for me to do that once I've crossed like a line. Yep. Good stuff. Good stuff. Last one, Saturday morning, pancakes with the fam or solo workout listening to your podcast. Well, as in me, yeah, you actually don't listen to my own shows. Thank you. Yeah, I just but solo workout for sure and I'll tell you why. I always get up. I'm the first one up in my family on Saturdays and I hit the gym. First thing I do and then it's funny you mentioned this because I'm literally taking my I'm getting up early on Saturday, taking my nine year old to Tecwondo at nine o'clock and then we're going out for pancakes after that. Like no kidding. We planned this last night. So it's so funny you're asking me that. That's hilarious. Larry, man, I appreciate you more than you know, we need to do some recurring quarterly dad segment with Larry just to just because it's my show and we can do it. But we should definitely have some recurring Larry in our life. Well, I agree, man, I'd love to have you back on the dad's podcast. I feel like we just like scratch the surface. I'd love around to with you anytime, man. Consider that done. Consider that done. I appreciate you, brother. For everybody that's watching or listening, remember, your because is your superpower. Go on, we should. That's another powerful conversation on Mick Unplugged. If this episode moved you and I'm sure it did follow the show wherever you listen, share it with someone who needs that spark and leave a review so more people can find there because I'm really rush. And until next time, stay driven, stay focused and stay Unplugged.