Family By Heart

In the first episode of season three of Family By Heart, Dustin and his new recurring co-host, Brandon Stafford, discuss the topic of priorities. They start by talking about their experiences with New Year's resolutions and the low success rate of sticking to them. Dustin shares that he has successfully kept a resolution to give up alcohol for three years, while Brandon talks about his resolution to prioritize his health and fitness. They emphasize the importance of aligning resolutions with personal values and making them a priority in order to increase the chances of success. The principal themes of the conversation are priorities and personal growth. Dustin emphasizes the importance of setting priorities that align with who you are and what you value. He shares his experience of prioritizing his family and his own health, particularly in relation to being a good example for his children. He also discusses the challenges he faced in adjusting his priorities to accommodate his son's autism diagnosis. Dustin highlights the need for self-reflection, therapy, and education to support personal growth and improve relationships with family members. Dustin and Brandon discuss the importance for the both of them of prioritizing family and personal well-being. They emphasize the need for open communication, setting boundaries, and seeking therapy when necessary. They also highlight the significance of recognizing and managing emotions, especially anger. Dustin shares his excitement for future episodes of his podcast, where he plans to invite more individuals to share their stories. He encourages listeners to reassess their priorities and offers a free workbook to help set new goals. You can find the workbook at familybyheart.me/workbooks.

Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Season 3 Goals

01:03 Introducing Co-host Brandon Stafford

06:45 New Year's Resolutions

08:54 Sticking to Resolutions

15:56 Understanding Priorities

22:47 Re-prioritizing for More Family Time

23:16 Prioritizing Family Time

23:46 Support System and Accountability

24:45 Realistic Goals and Shifting Priorities

25:52 Personal Story: Adjusting Priorities for a Child with Autism

27:19 Recognizing and Addressing Personal Issues

28:48 The Importance of Therapy

29:55 Positive Changes and Impact on Family

32:52 Transparency and Imperfection in Fatherhood

36:19 The Influence of Actions on Children

39:51 Defining Priorities

43:30 Promoting Positive Stories and Paths

46:06 Brandon's Podcast: Smiling and Grinding

47:05 Thanking the Audience and Family by Heart

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and while many organizations recognize it as a celebration of the beauty that can come with adoption, there are several sides to each story of adoption. The adoption Network of Cleveland is one organization that advocates, supports and educates the different sides of the story.

In this episode of Family By Heart Podcast, host Dustin Gruss sits down to talk with Ty Cliffel, the Director of Programs at the Adoption Network of Cleveland.

Among topics discussed are:

- The various reasons adoption becomes an option for families on the different sides of the adoption triad

- The importance of including the awareness aspect in November being National Adoption Month

- DNA discovery services and what that journey searching for the birth family could reveal.

- Why inclusiveness is one of the main core values at Adoption Network of Cleveland.

- How coming to terms with the process of adoption is a lifelong journey.

- The different family outings and different upcoming events available through the Adoption Network of Cleveland.

Gruss and his wife adopted their two toddlers boys out of foster care in January 2022 and turned to the Adoption Network of Cleveland later that summer for support as the boys started to display low self-esteem due to their skin color being different.

Ty Cliffel serves as Director of Programs and is responsible for the overall administration of programs, including the creation, planning, development, coordination, and evaluation of programs and services.Ty has served children and families in a variety of settings including residential treatment, group homes, schools, and private practice. She has overseen the recruitment and training of foster and adoptive parents, conducted home studies, and provided support services for families throughout the placement process. Ty has served on the Board of Directors with Adoption Knowledge Affiliates for the past three years and is an adoptee who has been in reunion with her birth family for over 25 years.

For more on the Adoption Network of Cleveland: adoptionnetwork.org

For their upcoming events calendar: 2023 Annual Meeting : Adoption Network Cleveland Calendar of Events and Programs

For more on Gruss and Family By Heart visit: familybyheart.me

The better you take care of yourself, the better you'll be able to care for others.

In this episode of Family By Heart, host Dustin Gruss shares his 10 forms of self care that will transform your life.

If you’re like most people, you probably do a pretty good job of caring for the most important people in your life. However, you probably forget the most important person: You. The belief at Family By Heart is that by taking care of yourself now the better it will be for your family in the future. Not only will you be the best version of yourself, you will be setting an example for your family on the importance of self care.

For new and more episodes on ways to be your best for your family be sure to subscribe!

For assistance on discovering more and implementing forms of self care that will work best for you and your family visit www.familybyheart.me.

Socials: IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod

TikTok: tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod

"The ability to seek advice or be vulnerable without fear is priceless and as fathers, we don't have that in this current environment" writes the author, Shannon Carpenter, in his article for CNN.com, "The male loneliness epidemic and how it affects fathers."

In this episode of Family By Heart, two stay-at-home dads, host Dustin Gruss and Carpenter, discuss the article and:

-The landscape that created the inspiration for the article and the response Carpenter has gotten from it.

-How Carpenter and his wife came to the decision for him to become a stay-at-home dad and his family's response to the decision

-Some of the tips and information featured in Carpenter's book, "The Ultimate Stay-At-Home Dad"

-How Carpenter met his 4 best friends and co-hosts of the Dad House Pod

-The impact of the National At Home Dad Conference and the different chapters available for dad's to join or start their own group to find much needed support.

-A fun lightning round of questions to wrap things up.

Both Gruss and Carpenter recognize the need for support and assistance for men and dads and both are happy and willing to answer any questions or point any listeners in the right direction to receive that needed support.

Carpenter , a stay-at-home dad since 2008, is a humor writer trained through the famous Second City and has written or completed interviews for large national media outlets such as previously mentioned CNN, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNBC, The New York Times and more.

For more on Carpenter visit: shannoncarpenterauthor.com.

For his article on the male loneliness epidemic visit here.

IG: instagram.com/hossmanathome53

For more on Dustin Gruss, coaching and speaking inquiries visit familybyheart.me.

IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod

TikTok: tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod

Taking time for yourself to recharge, recover and even challenge your mind and body is an important part of being an affectionate, effective and competent parent. In this episode of Family By Heart, host Dustin Gruss shares his experience and the lessons he learned when he took the "12 Hour Walk Challenge", based off of a book written by Colin O'Brady.

Topics Dustin covers:

- A synopsis of how O'Brady came up with the book and challenge.

- The challenges Dustin faced leading up to his walk.

- Lessons he learned on his walk including:

- Pay attention to the little things

- Can still learn and have fun even when you make a wrong turn

- Can find a way even if your path seems blocked

- Listen to your body

- and more.

To help get this podcast reach more people, please subscribe, review and share where possible.

For more on the book by Colin O'Brady, visit 12hourwalk.com.

For more on Family By Heart, coaching and social links visit familybyheart.me.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod

IG: https://www.instagram.com/familybyheartpod

After a summer hiatus going on adventures and being all sorts of exhausted from the kids being home all summer, Dustin and Family By Heart Podcast announces "We're Back."

In this brief episode, Dustin reintroduces himself for the new listeners and brings everyone up to speed on what he and the family have been up to, unveils a new logo, changes he has been making with his coaching, speaking and podcast focus and teases an exciting new website and opportunity for a coaching program for men/husbands/fathers.

For this exciting new website, check out familybyheart.me.

Socials:

IG: @familybyheartpod

TikTok: @familybyheartpod

X: @familybyheart

The world of foster care is ever changing and often you'll find it is foster care alumni who are the ones working tirelessly to see that it changes to support the next generation of youth coming through the system. One such person is Jamole Callahan. After spending his teenage years in the foster system with not a whole lot of say as to where he went and what would happen with him, Jamole became an advocate for the rights of the youth growing up in the foster system. He began speaking at large organizations, on Capitol Hill and with smaller non-profits alike and took his advocacy a step further and became a trainer for those looking to become foster parents, using his own experiences to masterfully blend reality with the curriculum of topics presented by state and federal agencies.

In this episode, Jamole returns for his second appearance to give an update on new programs that are coming to help the overwhelmed foster system, how the budget ceiling talks in Washington can affect children and family services, possible bills to throw your support behind and discuss ways that you can support those who are taking on the task of getting involved in the foster system themselves.

For more of Jamole:

IG: instagram.com/jamole_callahan

The Daily Jam on IG: instagram.com/tdailyjam

For Family by Heart:

IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod

TikTok: tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod

"If we love others only when they are deserving, then who would ever be loved?" This powerful quote is one of the beautiful statements that Dad teaches his young daughter, Maeva, in the beautiful children's book by Justin and Alexis Black, I Love You More Than Cereal. After growing up in the foster care system of Detroit, the Blacks have made it their mission to help other foster youth and people in general to overcome generational trauma and turn it into generational success by helping them to "redefine normal" through their speaking engagements, workshops, educational resources and their 12-time award winning, bestselling book titled Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love. As the Blacks started their own family they wanted to help a younger generation and their parents alike to recognize and redefine what love really looks like and develop healthy emotional intelligence. I Love You More Than Cereal is a masterful first byproduct of that new mission.

To kick off Foster Care Awareness Month, Justin makes his second appearance on the podcast and discusses what life is like with the real baby Maeva, how they adjust travelling for appearances with a baby, how their experience as foster alumni might affect the way they parent now, the writing process behind Cereal and the message behind the book. The Blacks are also on tour this summer to promote the book and are open to collaborating with more educational, literary and spiritual organizations to help redefine normal and teach the principles of love.

For more on the Blacks, see their travel itinerary, purchase their books or to collaborate visit: re-definingnormal.com .

IG: theblacksredefinenormal

TikTok: theblacksredefinenormal

FB: Redefiningnormalmovement

IG: Familybyheartpod

TikTok: familybyheartpod

According to author of Girl Dad, Madeline Anderson, "One of the most amazing relationships you can have is being a Girl Dad." Whether by birth or unexpectedly thrust into the role as a foster or adoptive parent, some men aren't quite sure how to approach the role of being a father to a girl. After researching and interviewing many father/daughter relationships, Madeline wrote her book to encourage more fathers to embrace this incredibly important role and she offers simple and sound advice on how to create and nourish these meaningful relationships. In this episode Dustin and Madeline discuss some of these powerful tips, Madeline's relationship with her father and how to optimize your time with any of the people you care about.

To find out more about Madeline Anderson and her book visit girldadthebook.com.

IG: instagram.com/girldad_thebook TikTok: tiktok.com/@girldadthebook

For more on Dustin or to book for speaking visit stepuptogreatness.com.

IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod TikTok: tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod

Kristen Adkins is a foster mom turned adoptive mom turned foster parent coach, helping others who have decided to look into the journey of foster care. In addition to her coaching she also started her own podcast, Impressing Minds and has a book coming out in 2023, "Called to Foster". 

In this episode Dustin and Kristen talk about their experiences getting involved with foster care, how they deal with prying eyes as people stare at their multiracial families, what Kristen's journey into coaching, podcasting and writing has been like and how you can get her help.   

For more on Kristen, visit kristenadkins.com 

IG: instagram.com/impressingminds_fosterparents  

For more on Family By Heart, email Dustin at [email protected] 

IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod 

TikTok: tiktok.com/@familybyheartpod