The Dad Edge Podcast

Kevin Gilliland is a husband, father, and author, and licensed clinical psychologist. He is the executive director of Innovation 360, an out-patient counseling service that helps individuals and couples struggling with mental health, relationship issues, and substance abuse. Kevin is the author of Struggle Well. Live Well. - 60 Ways to Navigate Life's Good, Bad, and In-Between. This book is told through the eyes of Kevin and his approach to going through life. The topics in the book range from simple things such as work-life balance, to heavier topics such as mental illness and addiction. Kevin's podcast Struggle Well. Live Well. Worry Less. helps people overcome anxiety, worry, mental health, and how we can treat the things that lead to a worry free life.

There is a certain psychology that comes with marriage. Marriage is one of the most rewarding and unique relationships that we will ever have. It's hard to be aware of things we're focused on when we're in it. Sometimes, we are blinded by emotional resentment; we need the other person to give us input on how we perform best and what we need to do to work on things. The great thing about our spouses is that they can act as a mental coach in our lives. They see the things that we can't see because we are unaware of what's happening. They also can give us the potential to unlock our best selves when they give us their outside perspective. This doesn't mean that you need to be their coach or vice versa; this means that you can give them constructive reinforcement for things they can work on or things they are good at in order for them to better themselves. This is important to remember because we don't want to damage the connection we have with our spouses. We want to elevate them, not mentor them.

For the show notes and exclusive links mentioned in this episode go to https://gooddadproject.com/psychology-behin...ge-relationships/

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FREE RESOURCE – 21 Days to an Extraordinary Marriage

Jason Reid is a successful businessman, coach for CEOs, and founder of over 20 businesses. He is also the founder of the Tell My Story foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at educating and empowering parents to support their children's mental health struggles.

In today's episode, Jason Reid bravely shared the devastating story of losing his 14-year-old son to suicide in 2018. This tragic event has shaped Jason's mission: to eradicate teenage suicide by 2030. He is arming parents with the necessary skills to become better communicators, listeners, and leaders for their children.

According to recent CDC data, teenage suicide is now the second leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States, with the pandemic and increased cell phone usage contributing to the surge in mental health issues among the youth. These concerning statistics emphasize the urgency of addressing the mental health of our children.

Jason stressed the importance of active listening and creating a safe space for children to express their feelings freely. He pointed out that often, in our attempts to console our kids, we may unintentionally dismiss their feelings, which could have harmful consequences. Recognizing the difference between occasional sadness and persistent symptoms of depression or anxiety is vital.

Interestingly, Jason's passion for music and his guitars, symbolizes the need to have personal interests, acting as a reminder that life isn't solely about the hardships but also about the joys that make it worth living.

In this urgent fight against teenage suicide, we, as parents, can make a difference by providing support, fostering open conversations about mental health, and teaching our kids to navigate through life's challenges. Through Jason's heartrending story, let's take action to protect our children and their mental well-being.

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Larry Hagner shares with us the humble beginnings of the Dad Edge. He opens up his heart and shares a story that inspired him to create the Dad Edge. Before Larry statrted the Dad Edge, he was a leader in his workplace. However, his marriage and relationship with his kids were failing. One night in 2012, Larry had a moment that would change the course of his life forever. Larry spanked his four year old son out of anger and hit him so hard that he fell on the ground. He went to help him up and his son looked at him as if he were a monster. From that moment on, Larry knew he had to make a change or his relationships would suffer for the rest of his life.

As a faith-based man, Larry had a moment of divine intervention. He sat down in front of the computer and the words "Good Dad Project" came out onto a Facebook page. From that moment on, Good Dad Project/The Dad Edge was born. Larry made a committment to learn something new every day that would help him become the husband and father he was meant to be.

If you want to have more patience in your life, you have to surrender to the fact that you are always going to have stress in your life. Whether it's professional, mental, physical, or emotional, stress is always going to be present. However, that doesn't mean that we can't manage it with a little patience. Patience does not start in the moment of chaos; patience starts from the moment your feet hit the ground in the morning. Patience and emotional resiliency do not come naturally. There are skills needed to learn patience. Patience is tied to emotional resiliency and mental toughness, which are learned through consistent practice and a dedication to becoming a better person.

The other thing Larry talks to us about today is failure. In Larry's sales job that he had before the Dad Edge, he was nominated to become the sales manager. However, he lacked the necessary skills to be a leader in the workforce. After he was humiliated in an interview because he didn't know any of the leadership questions, he went out to learn those skills.

What Larry learned from this event was that there is no failure, only learning. He learned the necessary leadership skills he needed for that job, went back a year later, nailed the interview, and got the job. If he had defaulted to failure and let it consume his thoughts, he wouldn't have gotten the job. He took that failure, learned from it, and came back harder than ever.

The moral of the story is to never let failure define you. You can take a failure in life and turn it around to be a lesson that you learn from. If you give up, you take away any chance you have of improving yourself and turning the situation around.

For the show notes and exclusive links mentioned in this episode go to https://thedadedge.com/friday12/

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Join the Free Dad Edge Facebook Group at gooddadproject.com/group.

Apply for The Dad Edge Alliance at gooddadproject.com/alliance.

Watch this interview on YouTube gooddadproject.com/youtube.

Follow us on Instagram at @thedadedge!

FREE RESOURCE – 21 Days to an Extraordinary Marriage

porn is one of the most, if not the most addictive thing that a man deals with in his life. This is a topic that men have to feel pretty darn safe to bring up because there's a lot of feelings that come up when we talk about porn:shame, guilt, weakness It's all these things that we label ourselves as and we certainly don't want to have the conversation, but given the right environment, we can have these conversations.

When we open up the conversation, we take away the taboo and when you take away the taboo, you actually take away the power that this particular addiction has over us. This is a replay of a podcast I was on called From Porn to Purpose.

You will hear me share a story that I have not shared on any podcast, but as I said, given the right environment, one can open up, and that is why I was able to bring it up and be open with you men.

Show Notes:

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