THE COMPLETE DAD PODCAST

“A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.” - James Allen

Working in the garden and around the house I have been using many tools to either build, cut down, uproot or plant, often the same tools to accomplish varying tasks. So it is with masculinity and manly attributes. They are tools that should be used to yield positive results in our lives and the lives of others. Just because tools can cause harm, doesn't mean I throw them away and banish them, and just because certain men show up in narcissistic, toxic and harmful ways, doesn't mean we villainise the very attributes that build, grow and serve.

This week Anthony, Leroy and Tom discuss how important maintaining a good and loving relationship with our significant others is to being the best fathers we can be, living a fulfilling life and making sure we are supportive of their desires and interests. It is definitely not easy and we share our own experiences, the things we have found to work and also those things that we need to improve on.

It is an honour and huge privilege to have retired NAVY SEAL and CIA operative David Rutherford on the show today.

As you will hear, David's high energy and endless motivation inspire all those who come in contact with him to embrace fear and live life to its fullest.

David served 8 years in the Naval Special Warfare Community as a SEAL student, Combat Paramedic, Operator and Instructor. Since leaving the Navy in 2003 he has continued travelling as a tactical training and security expert for the US Government and one of the largest private security firms in the world. David has inspired special operations units around the globe to push themselves past any and all known limitations.

David is passionate about exploring and researching the human condition in an attempt to discover the truth behind what enables us to overcome failure and rise in success in every environment imaginable. David’s ability to take a comprehensive approach of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health of an individual or team creates a unique approach in defeating the negative insurgency of life.

David and I have an interesting and entertaining conversation that looks at the current state of our societies and how the approach to solving the problems that face us is going to have a significant impact on the world our children live in. We look at history and what we can learn from the innumerable examples of civilisations and communities that were unable to see their common humanity and had the propensity for destroying each other. We discuss the need for us and our children to understand that life was never meant or going to be a leisurely stroll, but that we will face constant adversity and pain along the way, and developing endurance and resilience is paramount to living a successful and meaningful life.

It is a fascinating discussion that I learned a great deal from, and I am looking forward to talking to David again, with a greater focus on fatherhood.

When we look at history, people present and past as well as tell from our own experience, a life lived in the service of others adds significant meaning and purpose to our lives.

Turning the focus from our own success to the success of others, most importantly our wives and children is what ironically adds the greatest value and contentment to our own lives.

What also appears paradoxical is that in order to serve others we have to first be "self-serving". But this is not in a pleasure-seeking, hedonistic manner, but relates to how we need to develop the physical, mental and emotional strength and fortitude to be able to serve others effectively without always feeling we are reacting to situations, putting out "fires" or chasing our own tails, because we haven't got our own lives in order.

How can we become more fit to serve?

What things can you put in place to help you be the man you are capable of being so you can serve your family, community and then the world?

My guest on the show today is Justin Andrews from Mind Pump Media. As a top athlete, Justin became interested in training, biometrics and nutrition and went on to make fitness his full-time career in 2003. Justin loves working one on one with clients but realised that a different model was needed to reach more people with unbiased information on fitness and health. This lead to him teaming up with Adam, Sal and Doug to form Minp Pump, which focuses on impacting as many people as possible through the message of fitness and self- improvement.

Although we touch on Mind Pump and health we mainly focus on fatherhood and becoming the fathers we are capable of being by modelling strength, respect and wisdom. We discuss how we need to be aware of how we communicate and talk about current events with our kids and the impact these have on them physically, mentally and emotionally. We talk about technology use and how this impacts our children if not monitored and moderated effectively. Justin relates the insecurities resulting from past experiences and how this led to him being reactive to criticism, leading to anger and unhelpful attitudes and behaviour - something I can relate to only to well!

We end off the conversation talking about focusing on the present and not letting our past or concerns about the future rob us of the moment we are experiencing, especially when we are with our children.

Once again it was an incredible conversation with many things to reflect on and take away.

Check out this list of top 20 dad podcasts on the web:

https://blog.feedspot.com/dad_podcasts/