Front Row Dads with Jon Vroman

Enjoy this bonus episode with Dane Espegard and his wife Brookelynn as we gear up for the Online Summit on September 16th!

You can sign up by visiting: Front Row Dads | Online Summit

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

Enjoy this bonus episode with Tucker Max as we gear up for the Online Summit on September 16th!

You can sign up by visiting: Front Row Dads | Online Summit

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

How do we make time to live the life that we want while reaching our full financial potential?

I was putting my 6 year old, Ocean, to bed the other night. He asked me for one more Gerald and Piggie story, his personal favorite works of fiction by Mo Williams. I'm going to be honest. I was really tired, and so close to saying no because of that.

But then I asked myself, how long will he want me to read one more story? How long will I have this opportunity? Do I choose the pleasure of sleeping or the happiness of hanging out with my son? In the end, I read that 5 minute book, and it gave me a lot of joy.

It's hard sometimes being a Dad and figuring out how to balance work, your family, and all the extra things that come in life, especially when you're exhausted at the end of the day.

This is what I'm talking about with Scott Jarred, author of FutureHack!: How To Reach Your Full Financial Potential. Scott explains how to make your money work harder for you, so you have more time to put into chalking up your driveway, reading that bedtime story, or simply being able to play with your kids and be present with your family!

He explains that there are two people in this world: people who live in scarcity, and people who are abundant thinkers, a frame of mind he says is a huge game changer for helping you get out of a rut. It also translates into being a better Dad.

He also touches on the importance of having a family constitution, a way to raise your kids and pass down core values that hold true to you as a father.

If you want to learn how to reach your full financial potential, so that you can spend more time with your kids, this episode is for you!

And if you'd like a free copy of Scott's book, write a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen, send it to me, and I'll ship his book directly to your doorstep :)

Scott Jarred Podcast Highlights

• Reaching your full financial potential and getting more family time.
• Learn how to protect yourself and gain financial freedom from your business.
• Passing your core values down to your kids.
• Evidence based investing that will help you in today's economic world by weighing the risks of your choices.
• What's your why and where do you go from there to use the velocity of your money?
• Being confident in your skills and being ready for the right opportunities.
• Is the lack of time and planning your biggest problem? Do you have a financial junk drawer?
• Sometimes it's better to take your time instead of hitting it too hard too fast.
• Buffer days, revenue days, and free days that you ONLY spend with your children ⎼ find the compromise for work and play.
• Be home for dinner and prioritize time for your family
• Sometimes what gives you happiness is harder than what gives you pleasure.
• Can your kids be raised with too much money and opportunity? How do you transfer the teachings that prepare your children without 'crutching' them?

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/287

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

Gentlemen, what if I told you that there was someone out there who could take you on a journey to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, hike the Camino de Santiago, or navigate the Inca Trail–and discover more about yourself, the people around you, and all of humanity along the way?

Well, that someone is Pieter Geldenhuys–and as soon as I learned about him, I was fascinated.

Pieter is a husband and father of two boys. He's also built, scaled, and merged a number of companies, including Shoshin Walks, where he takes people on incredible journeys both around the world and within themselves.

His mission is so in alignment with what we do at Front Row Dads that I knew I needed to talk to him.

In this great conversation, we explore what shoshin is—the Zen buddhist term for a beginner's mindset. You'll also hear how a talented entrepreneur who is focused on tourism survived the chaos of 2020, and why walking is such a great way to learn and grow!

Pieter Geldenhuys Podcast Highlights

• What is the relationship between anger and curiosity?
• How does the beginner's mindset keep us open to learning?
• How can the outdoors help us connect to our spirituality?
• Pieter's favorite trip in the world.
• How Pieter hacked meditation.
• How Pieter used intention setting to write his first novel this year.
• How do you cultivate and keep a beginner's mindset, both at work and at home?
• Why not being seen sets Pieter off.
• The value of taking a business meeting as a walk instead of grabbing coffee or beer.

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/286

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

How can we teach our kids about money and encourage them to develop smart financial habits? And what can we do to help our kids learn the hard way and make their own mistakes without getting hurt?

To help answer these questions, my special guest today is Mike Miller. He's a family man with three adult daughters, COO at Advisors Excel, creator of the First Habits System, and the author of First Habits Win: Prime Your Children for a Lifetime of Financial Success with This Simple System.

In today's conversation, Mike shares the story of how, even with his formal financial education and graduating debt free, he was a financial disaster when it came to personal financial management. We'll talk about what he did to make sure his daughters weren't set up to fail like he was, and the different ways they achieved success.

We also dig into the brain chemistry behind spenders, savers, and whatevers, Mike's unique First Habits System, and how to create your own roadmap to help your kids achieve financial independence and live abundantly for generations to come!

P.S. If you loved this episode, please write a review on iTunes, take a screenshot, and send it to [email protected], and I'll buy you a copy of Mike's book!

Mike Miller Podcast Highlights

• What Mike did to start managing his kids' money when they turned 12–and how it proved highly beneficial.
• Why do projects we try with our kids fizzle out so frequently?
• How Mike wrecked his life when he became financially independent as a young adult.
• How Mike's daughters showed him the different types of money personalities.
• Why our kids live in our financial comfort zones–and why this doesn't work when our kids get their first entry-level jobs.
• How do financial issues lead to anxiety, divorce, suicide, and other tough social issues?
• How to talk to your kids about inflation, cryptocurrency, and some of the other financial topics that come up in our daily lives.
• The value of introducing things in stages.
• What defines financial success?
• What does it mean to achieve flourishing wealth?
• Why are our financial challenges never truly over at any age?

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/285

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

Guys, we all have a story about the first time we saw pornography.

For me (and maybe you too), it involved finding a Playboy in the woods. Or someone snagged one of their dad's or uncle's magazines and brought it to guys' night when you were in high school.

It might've felt pretty harmless at the time–but for our kids, things are VERY different.

How different? I read recently that 50% of kids have seen pornography by the time they're between the ages of 11 and 13, and that twice as many adolescents have seen porn of some kind than their parents realize. Of those kids, more than half saw pornography unintentionally.

As someone with a 12 year old boy, this is a topic I've been thinking about a lot–and it's why I needed to chat with Sean Clifford.

Sean's the CEO of Canopy, an online parenting app designed to help kids lead a safer existence online. Installed on over 2 million devices worldwide, it uses AI to identify nudity and pornography, can help prevent sexting, and makes it easier for parents to keep tabs on their kids' screen time without rendering the internet unusable. He's also a father of four, so he's deeply invested in all of this.

In our chat today, Sean and I talk not just about protecting our kids from pornography, but how to raise children who can make sense of (and resist) all the addictive content out there in our modern world.

Sean Clifford Podcast Highlights

• What is Canopy, and why should parents care about it?
• Why is content (including pornography) more addictive than ever before–and only getting more addictive?
• Why Sean mostly doesn't let his kids use devices as home–and how he and his wife are trying to model acceptable device usage.
• At what age should we start talking about pornography and problematic content with our kids?
• Why is it so dangerous to completely disengage from what our kids do online?
• Why Canopy is not a silver bullet–and why that's okay. What happens when you take screens away from your kids?
• What we learned from taking screens away on our six week road trip.
• How do we deal with dopamine hits, serotonin, and feeling fulfilled?
• How can you do a digital reset for yourself and your family?

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/284

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

"I wouldn't take the trip back for anything, but boy it kicked my ass!"

Gents, in this episode we're talking all about RV life — extended road trips, trailers, camping, and year round travel with the entire family.

In case you missed it, I bought a 17-foot trailer and embarked on one of the most challenging family trips of my life. We made some incredible memories, but it wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows either.

Since returning home from the Vroman's big RV adventure (earlier than anticipated), I've been getting A LOT of questions…

• What should I plan for when it comes to RVing with my family?

• What type of rig do I need to get across the country in one piece?

• Can I work from the road AND enjoy the adventure at the same time?

• How do you have sex with your wife when your kids are 6 feet away?!

Today, we dive into all of this and more. I'm speaking with my friends Aaron Amuchastegui and Jason Shinpaugh who have both travelled extensively with their families.

You'll get a high level look at what to expect, how to plan for the worst, food considerations, gadgets to buy, preparation tips, and more. You'll hear our most epic moments, as well as our biggest failures.

If you're considering a trip like this for the first time, there's a ton of insight from this conversation to set you up for success. Trust me, you don't want to "wing it" like I did :)

RV Life Podcast Highlights

• Am I selling my RV? You'll have to listen to find out ;)
• RV, Camper, Motor Home, Trailer, 5th Wheel, Class A, Class C — what's the difference and which one is right for you?
• Why tough family moments only get tougher when you're on the road.
• Showing your kids that you're not perfect. Aaron shares what it was like driving through 17 states in 3 months.
• Is it possible to manage work while on the road?
• Jason's experience after selling his possessions and travelling full time for the past 5 years.
• Why unmet expectations are the #1 cause of stress while living on the road.
• How much time should you spend in one location before moving onto the next destination?
• I completely underestimated transition time when coming and going.
• Healthy eating hacks you can use when travelling.
• Why planning is so crucial to a successful RV trip — and the importance of doing a trial run before committing to a longer expedition.
• Should your kids wear seatbelts when the RV is being driven?
• The moment I was most ashamed of during the trip — and what I did about it.
• The best memory from our entire trip — a moment I would have never have expected.
• Saying no to luxury, and yes to adventure.
• A funny story about sex in the RV.
• RVing is not a vacation… It's life!

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/283

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

We've talked about how to be family men with businesses many times on this show.

But one thing we don't talk about enough is how to run businesses with our families. And this is what Mort Fertel and his family are doing right now, and they're having some pretty incredible success with it.

For anyone with large families, it probably goes without saying that the struggle to keep up with the laundry is very real. It's relentless! How many hours each week do you spend doing laundry when you have seven people living under one roof? The answer is too many hours.

So, to help lessen the burden, Mort and his wife started including their kids in this household chore. And one day, while having a simple family discussion about the ever-present laundry issue, Mort's teenage son had a wild idea.

He said, "I don't want to do this anymore. But I'll make you an app." His thought was, "if Uber can take us to the airport, why can't someone else do our laundry?"

And just like that, a new business idea was born.

Today, Sudshare is in 300 cities nationwide, helping families all over the country solve their laundry woes and also creating work-from-home jobs in the process with an Uber-style business model.

With an app that was fully researched and created by his teenage son, the serial entrepreneur with five children is now running a business with his triplets!

When I heard about what Mort's been up to, I knew we needed to reconnect to talk about the art of running a family business. I'm just so impressed by SudShare's incredible growth, and the impact this service is having on families. It's such an amazing story, and I can't wait to share it with you.

If you want to learn how to help your kids activate their superpowers, share your family's core values with the world, and build an awesome business together, you're going to love this conversation.

Mort Fertel Podcast Highlights

• What SudShare is all about, and how is it making people's lives better.
• The importance of keeping your ego in check and giving your kids runway to figure things out.
• How do you detect, articulate, and share the core values of a business?
• How can you tell if you've made the right decision in business, even if it's unpopular?
• How do you create roles (or let your kids create roles) within a family business that play to everyone's strengths
• How do thriving family businesses avoid unnecessary competition between siblings?
• How do we direct our kids to the right influences and mentors to shape who they become?
• Why Mort doesn't advise anyone to start a family business in spite of their success.

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/282

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

"I just can't handle you right now."

That's how I'm feeling around my kids lately.

As many of you know, I've been on a pretty epic family road trip across the country. We've been making some incredible memories and having a ton of fun, but it hasn't been without some serious challenges.

My wife has been sick for the past week, the boys are constantly fighting, I'm trying to manage my business (while keeping everyone engaged), and there've been some tragic events with my extended family, to name just a few.

To be honest, I feel like I'm reaching my breaking point. I've lost all patience, I'm emotionally drained, and I just don't have the bandwidth to deal with my kids immediate needs.

And I can feel the negative impact that my energy is having on my kids—which doesn't sit right with me.

I don't want to be the Dad who replies to my kids with the classic "Because I said so…" line.

Well, the timing for today's episode of the podcast couldn't be better. Returning guests, Ned Johnson and William Stixrud, join the show to talk all about their new book, What Do You Say?: How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home.

Ned and Bill reminded me that nobody gets it right all the time. In fact, perfect parenting just doesn't exist, and my current feelings are completely normal.

Thankfully, they shared some pro tips for practicing self-compassion and dealing with the kids when life gets crazy—ones that I know you'll appreciate!

If you sometimes find it hard to talk with our kids, you're going to love this conversation. Ned and Bill share some really powerful strategies for creating deeper connections, building empathy, and engaging in respectful and effective dialogue. This is your comprehensive guide to effectively communicating with kids!

Ned Johnson Podcast Highlights

• How to talk to kids (and really listen) in order to build powerful connections.
• Changing the energy in the way you talk to your children.
• Letting your kids know when you're having a tough day/week.
• How to practice non-judgmental self-compassion.
• Why nobody needs perfect parents. In fact, 'good enough' is better than you may think.
• The power of spending one-on-one time with your kids.
• Talking with kids about the pursuit of happiness.
• Using reflective listening to build empathy with your kids.
• Helping kids find their own motivation.
• How does a kid's age impact how you speak to them?
• Why you should want your kids to solve their own problems as much as possible.
• Are you accidentally bailing on your kids emotionally?

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/281

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review

In a super-divisive world, how do we find common ground, do what's best for our families, and approach things with an open mind?

We may not have a clear answer at all times, but sometimes we come across some information that opens our minds to another point of view. And Christian Elliott's article titled, "18 Reasons Why I'm Not Getting a Covid Vaccine" is definitely one of them.

A friend of mine told me that I had to read his article, which has now been seen millions of times all over the world, and it really resonated with me. I was struck by how well it was written, the classy approach he took, and his courage in speaking out.

And after reading his article, I knew I needed to have him on the podcast to talk about a lot of the questions we've probably all had at one point or another over this past year.

Christian is a certified personal trainer, life coach, and a nutrition coach. He's all about living a healthy lifestyle and helping others figure out what inspires them. He has a fascination with the human body, human psychology, and a willingness to have honest discussions with people who may have a different point of view.

In today's conversation, Christian and I aren't just talking about how to keep ourselves and our families healthy–we're talking about what it means to stand up for what we really believe in and how to teach our children to do the same.

Christian Elliot Podcast Highlights

• What makes health such a passionate subject for
• Christian–and how he went from being frequently sick in his late 20s to finding his best health in his 40s.
• How can we embody the values most important to us every single day?
• The power of sitting and creating space for your kids' emotions.
• Why Christian believes "He wasn't really present" is the worst thing our kids could say about us.
• How to teach kids to be open-minded.
• Why Christian felt compelled to write his article about COVID-19 vaccines.
• Why the thought of his kids saying "He didn't stand up for what was right" would be such a dagger to him.
• Why is the world so bad at talking about our health in practical, meaningful ways?

Get the Full Show Notes

Want access to the full show notes, including links to all resources mentioned during today's conversation? Visit FrontRowDads.com/280

Want to learn more about Front Row Dads?

We are in the business of building better families.

While most dads would say that family matters most, the challenge is they feel guilty knowing their careers get the best of them, and their family seems to get the rest of them.

We help Dads become family men with businesses, not businessmen who have families, so they can thrive personally AND professionally.

Subscribe to the Front Row Dad podcast to learn about fatherhood, marriage and how to level up your game at home, or if you're ready for the best coaching and true brothers to grow with, Join The Brotherhood!

Are you getting all the shows? Subscribe today! Want to leave a review? THANK YOU! http://FrontRowDads.com/review