Front Row Dads with Jon Vroman

The Nice Guy and the jerk are doing the exact same thing. Same shame, different mask.

This is part one of a five-part week with Dr. Robert Glover, best-selling author of No More Mr. Nice Guy, and we start at the root. Glover argues nice guy syndrome has almost nothing to do with being polite. It comes from a belief formed before you could speak, that something is wrong with you, and it shows up as a set of hidden deals you make with the people around you: I'll do this for you, so you owe me that.

FREE THIS WEEK: We built a companion field guide for the whole series. It's the main points from every episode plus copy-and-paste prompts you can drop into ChatGPT or your journal to actually do the work. Grab it at frontrowdads.com/niceguy.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Why the nice guy and the jerk are driven by the same thing, and why your first boundaries make you swing into being a jerk

- The two types of nice guys: the "I'm so good" and the "I'm so bad"

- The night his wife read him a book about shame and told him it was him

- What shame actually is: an inaccurately internalized belief you formed before you had words

- The dessert he ate that he didn't want, and the door he held that wasn't kindness

- The three covert contracts, and how they quietly turn into resentment and rage

This is part 1 of 5. Coming this week: boundaries for men, decoding your wife's emotional statements, brotherhood and male isolation, and attracting the feminine as a married man.

Hear Glover's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/444. His book is No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Most of us tell our kids they did great. Almost none of us tell them what we actually saw.

It's one of the practices Jon Vroman is best known for around here, and the whole thing fits in a sentence: catch them doing the right thing, then make a record of it. The reasoning is solid. Peter Drucker said great leadership brings out strengths until weaknesses stop mattering. John Gottman can predict divorce with about ninety percent accuracy largely from the ratio of positive to negative interactions, and the related research landed near three positives for every one negative. So the mission isn't to point out where people are failing. It's to amplify the good loudly enough that it quiets the rest.

IN THIS CLIP:

- The research behind it: Drucker on strengths, Gottman on the ratio, and the three-to-one line

- The ritual itself: one photo a week, printed, with a handwritten note on the back

- What he actually wrote to his son about missing the ball and trying again

- Why he started doing it for his wife too

- The neighbor's six-year-old who came to apologize, and what Jon did instead of just accepting it

- Why fatherhood means mentoring young humans anywhere, not only your own kids

💼 These books helped us integrate purpose at work and peace at home.

They've transformed how we show up—for our clients, our kids, and ourselves.

📖 Get the list: Https://frontrowdads.com/books

This clip came from a members-only session recorded in 2020. It's the kind of room we build for dads who want to win at home the same way they win at work. Come find us at Frontrowdads.com.

The more you can give your kids, the easier it is to spoil them.

That's the quiet worry of every dad working hard to provide, so we went into the vault for this Deep Cut and pulled a teaching that's stuck with our members for years. In a member-only Front Row Dads workshop, financial planners Andrew Lisi and Adam Stock of Next Level Planning Group lay out a simple framework for raising grounded kids: three guiding principles (grace, gratitude, and generosity) and their opposites (pride, envy, and greed), which double as the warning signs a kid is drifting toward entitlement.

It gets practical fast: chores vs. allowance, need vs. want, teaching kids to earn and invest, and the line worth writing down: "A luxury once enjoyed becomes a necessity."

The theme underneath it all: kids catch our values from how we live, not from the lecture. As Andrew puts it, "thank before you bank."

IN THIS EPISODE:

The 3 guiding principles: grace, gratitude, generosity

The 3 spoiling indicators: pride, envy, greed

"Give first, save second, live off what's left over"

Chores vs. allowance, need vs. want, and teaching kids to earn and invest

Why it starts with the parents, not the lecture

Join the brotherhood: https://frontrowdads.com

On a topic dads argue about constantly, we found near-total agreement.

In this Dads Agree episode we play four takes from past Front Row Dads guests who — without ever comparing notes — all landed in the same place: work-life balance is a myth.

Chris Ducker calls it a myth outright.

Tucker Max says balance is "bullsh*t" because work is part of life.

Dave Allred argues "the price of greatness is imbalance."

And Eric Wohlwend offers the fix: "quit trying to balance and start to integrate."

The word they all reach for instead of balance? Integration.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Chris Ducker — why "balance" is a myth

• Tucker Max — work is part of life; integrate, don't balance

• Dave Allred — "the price of greatness is imbalance" (greatness comes in seasons)

• Eric Wohlwend — the fix: integrate, and "be where you are, 100%"

THE CLIPS IN THIS EPISODE COME FROM THESE ORIGINAL CONVERSATIONS:

• Chris Ducker — episode 60: https://frontrowdads.com/60

• Tucker Max — episode 115: https://frontrowdads.com/115

• Dave Allred — episode 401: https://frontrowdads.com/401

• Eric Wohlwend — episode 374: https://frontrowdads.com/374

Where do you land on work-life balance? Reply and tell us.

Join the brotherhood: https://frontrowdads.com

The words you repeat about your kids become the story they believe about themselves. In this Deep Cut we share a summit teaching from Chris and Melissa Smith of Family Brand.

They tells the story of how they accidentally made thier own son "shy" , just by repeating the word, and then shows how to use language to build your child's identity on purpose. The core idea: "Language is the fundamental element of creation."

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The "shy son" story — how a repeated label took hold

• "Language is the fundamental element of creation — whatever you keep saying, you're creating"

• How to speak identity into your kids on purpose (invitations, not commands)

• Why it starts with how you see yourself — "the greatest thing I've ever done for my parenting is learn to love me"

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

This is a Deep Cut — a focused segment pulled from member-exclusive Front Row Dads summit content, shared here

on the public feed. Guests: Chris & Melissa Smith of Family Brand.

Join the brotherhood: https://frontrowdads.com

Nick Foster has been a Front Row Dads member since 2021. He's also the founder of Foster Financial, a husband to his high school sweetheart Carrie, and a dad to three kids.

This week, Nick sits down with Jon to talk about what happens after you build the business.

Nick spent 10 years building his CPA firm to $2.7 million and 13 employees. Then he stepped back and hit the question a lot of successful dads eventually face: now what?

This conversation is about the first mountain (achievement, the grind, proving yourself) and the second mountain (giving, presence, being a good human), and what it actually looks like to make that shift while raising a family.

Nick gets honest about a lot in this one.

What you'll hear:

→ The wall with his teenage daughter and how he keeps showing up → Building a $2.7M business and the weight nobody talks about → Losing your identity when the business is no longer the target → The little brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters who changed his life → What actually makes his marriage work after 18 years → The thing his wife does that triggers him (and how he's learning to handle it) → Teaching kids about money, including the Roth IRA move most parents miss → The birthday tradition that makes him cry every time → From atheist to a man of faith

If you've been climbing hard and quietly wondering whether it's the right mountain, this one is worth your time.

📚 The Front Row Dads Book List: frontrowdads.com/books

What can a few days on Richard Branson's private island teach you about being a better father, husband, and man?

In this episode, Jon sits down with Adam Holt and Derek Notman, the founders of Rebl Dads. Rebl is a community a lot like Front Row Dads, built to serve high-performing entrepreneurial men who want to be great dads. We love showcasing other groups that are doing real work for fathers, and these two are the real deal.

Adam and Derek share the wild story of how a bucket-list trip to Necker Island turned into a brotherhood, a mission, and a book co-authored by Richard Branson himself. Along the way, they get into what Branson is actually like behind the scenes (humble, present, makes his own coffee), the one question he asked that changed the entire direction of their work, and the deeper conversation about self-love that every ambitious dad needs to hear.

This one goes from entertaining to vulnerable fast. If you've ever struggled to slow down, forgive yourself, or believe you're doing enough as a father, this conversation will land.

What you'll hear in this episode:

→ How Adam and Derek met and built a friendship through a shared project → The Necker Island story and how Derek signed a massive contract before he had the money or the men → What Richard Branson is really like when no one's performing → The bike crash, the chess game, the coffee, and the lessons hiding inside each one → The one question Branson asked that launched the book → How they interviewed 103 dads in 7 months to write it → The "AM I" framework: do your actions and mindset align with your intentions? → Jon's honest admission about not fully loving himself, and what it means for fatherhood → Restorative vs punitive energy and the idea of giving someone "safe passage" in your mind

Learn more about Adam, Derek, and the Rebl Dads community:

rebldads.com

More From Front Row Dads:

📚 The Front Row Dads Book List: frontrowdads.com/books

This week on the show, All-In Front Row Dads member Dave Powders pulls out a decade of notes and shares the 5 best lessons he's learned in 10 years of brotherhood. These are the tips that have made him a better father, a better husband, and a more present man at home.

Short, practical, and worth your time.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Tip 1: Your calendar reflects your priorities. From Adam Stock. Why looking at your week tells you the truth about where your attention actually goes.

Tip 2: When you take care of yourself, you're better equipped to take care of your family. From Jay Papasan. Why the Miracle Morning, sleep, meditation, and small habits compound into a better dad.

Tip 3: The Family Board Meeting. From Jim Sheils. Why a one-on-one day with each kid every 90 days might be the most impactful thing you do as a parent.

Tip 4: Ask your kids at night, "What was the best part of your day?" A simple question that helps them go to sleep lighter and opens up the conversation you didn't know they needed.

Tip 5: You're not just responsible for your actions. You're responsible for your reactions. From Adam Stock. The meditation practice that grew Dave's EQ and changed how his kids talk to each other.

About the Front Row Dads Brotherhood:

Front Row Dads is a community of family men with businesses, not businessmen with families. We've spent the last 10 years building the resources, frameworks, and brotherhood that help dads win at home and at work. If you're ready to be in the room with men who get it, learn more at frontrowdads.com.

One More Thing:

We just dropped a curated list of the best family games from our community. Card games, board games, dinner table games, and after-dinner favorites. All vetted by 300+ Front Row Dads who play with their families. Free download here: frontrowdads.com/games

Before we get into it, a quick favor. We're working on making the podcast better for you and we'd love your feedback. If you have 2 minutes, please fill out our podcast survey: forms.gle/JnJQUZR9Pt7d7fvG7

What if your child has been listening, understanding, and forming thoughts the whole time, and you just didn't know how to hear them?

In this conversation, J. Brad Britton sits down with Jon to share the story of his son Sam, who was diagnosed with autism as a child and told by experts that he would never progress mentally past the level of a young kid. For years, that's how the family treated Sam. They loved him. They respected him. But they had no idea what was actually going on inside.

Then one day, J. Brad and his wife Paulette walked into a symposium and watched a 17-year-old non-speaker spell out a fully aware, fully present sentence on a letter board. Everything they thought they knew about their son was wrong.

This episode is about what J. Brad learned when he finally discovered Sam's voice. It's about apraxia, the disorder where the brain works fine but the body refuses to cooperate. It's about the gap between what experts said about Sam and what Sam was actually thinking the whole time. It's about a father confronting the shame, regret, and humility of realizing he had underestimated his own son for years. And it's about the book he and Sam co-authored, Real Words With Sam, which is now changing how other families see their non-speaking kids.

This one will land for any father, whether your child has special needs or not. The conversation goes deep on what it actually means to listen to your child, to believe in your child, and to never assume you know what they're capable of.

If you'd like a free copy of J. Brad's book, here's how. Write a review of this episode, screenshot it, and email it to [email protected] with your name and US mailing address. We'll send you a copy of Real Words With Sam as a thank you.

What you'll hear in this conversation:

→ Why J. Brad believed the experts for years and what finally cracked that open

→ The symposium that changed everything and the 17-year-old who started it all

→ What apraxia actually is and why so many non-speaking kids are misunderstood

→ The day Sam answered his first open-ended question and what he said

→ Why J. Brad calls writing this book the hardest thing he's ever done

→ What Sam has spelled about his dad, his life, and his impact on others

→ The shame, regret, and humility of realizing you've underestimated your own child

→ What this experience has taught J. Brad about listening, presence, and connection

→ Why this story matters for every father, regardless of their kid's circumstances

Connect with J. Brad and Sam:

Website: realwordswithsam.com

Book: Real Words With Sam (available on Amazon and Audible)

Today's episode is a Father's Day roundtable. Jon sits down with three Front Row Dads, Mike Chu, Scott Seymour, and Austin Distel, for an honest conversation about what it actually means to be a great dad.

Before we get into it, we have a quick favor. We're working on making the podcast better for you and we'd love your feedback. If you have 2 minutes, please fill out our podcast survey here: forms.gle/JnJQUZR9Pt7d7fvG7

Now to the episode.

This one isn't tactical. It's not about parenting hacks or systems. It's four men getting real about what Father's Day brings up, why self-love is the foundation of being a great dad, and the inner work most men never talk about out loud.

Mike opens up about going from a man who hated himself to one who is finally proud of who he's becoming. Scott shares his journey from being suicidal to seeing himself as divine. Austin reflects on what it means to consciously prepare for fatherhood with his wife now pregnant with their first child. And Jon brings the framework he learned recently from a father whose son was murdered by a 14-year-old, and what it taught him about restorative versus punitive energy, both with others and with himself.

If you've ever wondered why being a great dad feels harder than it should, this one will land. The hardest part of fatherhood isn't your kids. It's the relationship you have with yourself.

What you'll hear in this conversation:

→ Why Father's Day brings up grief, guilt, pressure, and complexity for most dads

→ The punitive vs restorative framework and how it changes how you treat yourself

→ Why self-love is one of the strongest things a man can practice

→ How Mike's relationship with his dad shaped a decade of self-punishment

→ Scott on why your kids only do what they see

→ Austin's unplanned solo trip to Panama and why play might be the highest form of self-love → The Azeem story and what restorative energy actually looks like

→ What each man hopes his kids will know about themselves above everything else

→ Why even lone wolves need to recharge by the pack

If this conversation moves you to want to dig deeper into the books that have shaped how Front Row Dads think about fatherhood, marriage, business, and brotherhood, our community-curated book list is here: frontrowdads.com/books

Connect with the guests:

Jon Vroman: instagram.com/jonvroman

Mike Chu: instagram.com/mike__chu

Scott Seymour: instagram.com/journey_of_man

Austin Distel: instagram.com/austindistel