The Dad I Want To Be with Mike Forrester

In today's episode, we will talk to David Mike, bestselling author of Dishonor: One Soldier's Journey from Desertion to Redemption. We discuss his journey of joining the US Army, being dishonorably discharged and then being sentenced as an inmate at Leavenworth.

David is extremely open and transparent about his journey. Today he is a husband, father and cosmetology instructor. Through the school, he has met his wife and is able to invest in the students that are coming through the cosmetology program.

Join us as David shares that our past does not define us, his early years being a prime example, and learn how redemption is possible for you and me.

Let's discuss some of the takeaways from the interview with Angus Nelson.

• What is the internal work needed in order to become the man you're wanting to be?
• Are you barfing on other men or are you vetting them through trading daggers?
• Is what you're wanting to share a scab or a scar?

In our conversation today, we hear from Angus Nelson on how to find real meaning and personal improvement in our life. Angus Nelson is a men's performance coach with a deep understanding of the struggles we face. He is very open, honest, and transparent about his journey, what he has come through. Now he's also leading other men to make that same transformation in their own life. Want to learn a bit more about high-achieving men and how to align your life with your purpose? If so, this is the episode for you, my friend. We'll also cover how you can create a life filled with high-caliber relationships, meaning and satisfaction. Take a seat, turn up the volume and let's start living fearless today!

Biggest Takeaways:

● The first part to make things better is having a powerful mindset.

● We have to create places that feel safe.

● When you show yourself vulnerable, you give others permission to do the same.

● The work is internal.

● We won't give ourselves permission to actually go after it.

● Give yourself permission to do the things that will transform your own life. That's

your responsibility.

● The things that are in you are the same things that are without you.

● Be fully focused on moving forward, not just yourself and your family, but also

the men that you're working with.

Highlights:

● Who we are and where we have been [01:16]

● Learning how to identify the important circumstances behind the isolation [3:30]

● How to create good relationships around you [04:41]

● How human behavior is related with relationships made by a suppressive culture of being emotionally neutral as a man [11:15]

● Why communication is important in the whole process of getting better [14:44]

● Defining what you don't want in your behavior and life as a man [26:03]

● Why we struggle [37:47]

● Who you must become [44:11]

● Tools, Methods and Mindsets to get full transformation in your life [56:50]

Connect with Angus Nelson

Website:

https://www.angusnelson.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/dannybaderauthor

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_dannybader

Book - 'Loves Compass'

https://amzn.to/3x3qZPl

Manhood Matrix

https://www.angusnelson.com/matrix

Connect with Mike Forrester

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hicoachmike

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hicoachmike

A clear vision for the husband and father you want to be drives the daily actions that get you there. In this solo episode, Mike Forrester looks back on three ideas from his interview with Danny Bader. He walks through what each one means for a dad. The first idea is that your vision should drive your actions. Mike admits that holding that line is hard, especially if you’ve never put a vision in place. He’s honest about his own past as a father. For years, his relationship with his kids was overbearing and almost dictatorial. That’s the kind of picture a vision helps a man change.

Mike turns the first idea into questions a man can answer for himself. How do you want to feel personally? What do you want your marriage to look like? Do your kids come to you because they feel safe and want to, or are you always chasing after them? Do you want work that’s fulfilling and makes an impact, or the same mundane routine every day? Knowing what you’re after, and why, tells you which actions to take. The second idea from Danny is that you have to make some wrong turns to get on the right road. Mike points out that a man who never moves never has to worry about either road. Nobody does the right thing the right way every time. Expecting that sets a man up for frustration and, at the extreme, for giving up. Mike’s answer is to give yourself grace, see where you are, and course-correct.

The third idea hits closest to home for Mike. Danny said you look back to the past for learning and happy memories. For a long time, Mike’s past haunted him. It was where his negative thoughts came from. Every time something went wrong, he used it as proof of what he already believed about himself. Now he uses the past to ask what he could have done differently and what he’ll do next time. He also talks about being intentional about making memories with his family. Those moments become the stories you still have when family moves away or passes on. This one is for the dad with kids still at home who keeps replaying his mistakes. He wants to stop playing small and start building the memories his kids will carry.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• Name the husband, father, and man you want to be so your vision can guide what you do each day.
• Spot whether your kids come to you because they feel safe or because you’re chasing them.
• See why wrong turns are part of the road and how to course-correct without giving up.
• Recognize when your past feeds the negative voice in your head instead of teaching you something.
• Decide whether your work is fulfilling and making an impact, or just the same routine every day.
• Plan intentional memories with your family instead of letting the days pass on the couch.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:27 - how to align your actions with your vision for your life

00:00:53 - what kind of husband and father do you want to be

00:01:15 - how to build a relationship your kids want to come back to

00:01:40 - finding work that feels fulfilling instead of mundane

00:02:12 - why wrong turns are part of getting on the right road

00:03:27 - how to give yourself grace and course-correct after a mistake

00:03:50 - using the past to learn instead of beating yourself up

00:04:18 - when your past fuels negative self-talk

00:05:03 - how to make intentional memories with your family

00:05:33 - choosing adventure with your family over playing small

Let's discuss some of the takeaways from the interview with Josh Gettig. The questions we can ask ourselves which then drive us to action.

1. Have you surrounded yourself with people who have permission to speak into your life?
2. What are you obsessed with improving? Is it the thing?
3. Have you let go of who you were, and started focusing on who you are working to become?

Guilt after a tragedy can convince a man he doesn't deserve to be happy, and letting people in helps him move through it. My guest Danny Bader was almost 29 and working on a roofing crew. A metal ladder he was lowering hit a high-voltage line. His friend was killed. Danny was dead for about eight minutes before he came back. The burns in his hands and feet healed in about a month. The voice in his head took much longer. It told him it was his fault, that his friend's kids didn't have a dad, and that it should have been him. He drank too much and kept his family and friends at a distance. He came close to ending his life. Today he is married to his wife Lisa and is a father of three. He's also an author and speaker who teaches people how to move through hard times.

Danny built his recovery into five principles he calls Jackrabbit. Develop vision. Be still. Seek support and be support. Know yourself. Keep evolving. His vision tool is a letter he writes every fall about the year ahead. He imagines it's December, the year went great, and he writes the story of what happened in past tense. It covers his health, his work, his money, and his relationships, and he reads it every week. Stillness looks like meditation and a daily journal. Knowing himself means watching how he thinks and how he shows up in each role. He also cut back on drinking and keeps a close eye on it. Danny says to look at the past only to learn from it and to enjoy good memories. When someone says the wrong thing in a hard season, he chooses to be thankful they cared enough to say anything.

The turn came from a phone booth. Danny had gone away planning not to come back. That evening he called his mom. She knew he'd been drinking and didn't scold him. She just told him she couldn't wait to see him. After he hung up, the voice in his head changed. It asked what life would be like when he got better. He went home, and over time he finally let people in. Mike Forrester lives and teaches that a man can change on his own. It's just much harder and much slower without people in his corner. Mike also admits he gets so focused on putting out fires that he misses what's going on around him. Danny saw the same thing in himself when his wife needed more from him during a hard year at work. This one is for the dad carrying something heavy behind a brave face while his wife and kids wonder where he went.

What You'll Learn In This Episode:

• Use the five Jackrabbit principles as a simple plan for moving through a hard season.
• Walk through how to write a vision letter for your health, work, money, and relationships.
• Recognize the voice that says you don't deserve to be happy, and notice when it starts to shift.
• Learn to look back at your past only for lessons and good memories.
• See why people who say the wrong thing usually still care about you.
• Spot who in your own home needs a little more of you right now, starting with your wife and kids.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:06:03 - the five Jackrabbit principles for moving through hard times

00:13:13 - when you're not as present for your wife as she needs you to be

00:14:40 - how to focus on your wife's best qualities

00:18:11 - why beating yourself up over the past keeps you stuck

00:18:43 - how a near-fatal accident changed everything

00:21:01 - carrying guilt and believing you don't deserve to be happy

00:23:10 - the phone call to his mom that turned things around

00:25:35 - why men keep people out when they're struggling

00:26:25 - what to do when people say the wrong thing

00:28:09 - how to notice who in your life needs you more

00:36:57 - how to write a vision letter for the year ahead

00:43:11 - learning to accept hard times as part of life

Connect with Danny Bader

Website:

https://www.dannybader.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/dannybaderauthor

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_dannybader

Connect with Mike Forrester

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hicoachmike

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hicoachmike

In today's episode, we will talk to Josh Gettig, an absolute beast in everything he does. We will talk about overcoming our fears, some techniques to keep focused and how you can do better things with and in your life. Want to start living fearlessly today? Join me and let's go!

Biggest Takeaways:

● Some people want the option of a normal life.

● You can decide if you want an everyday or higher-level life.

● It's not only about intensity.

● Mindset - what are you putting in your head?

● It's about constancy and intention.

● If you have a passion, should you follow it?

● Whatever you do, you gotta get obsessed about it.

Highlights:

● Where We Are and Where We Started [01:50]

● How you can be successful in the field that you want [26:06]

● Overcome bad patterns in order to achieve your success [41:47]

● Things you can do to get more positive evolution in your life [56:23]

● Where you can find more info about this subject [01:04:52]

Connect with Josh Gettig

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Josh-Gettig-Life-Business-Coach-103166871871770

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/joshgettig

Connect with Mike Forrester

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hicoachmike

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hicoachmike

In this episode, we are going to talk about my story. Some perspectives from those years of hard work, how I developed my actual mindset to overcome my fears, problems and other significant situations within my life. Are you ready to get these gems and start living fearlessly today? Let's go!

Biggest Takeaways:

● Life can be difficult, but it is in the hard times that we are capable of giving our best to handle anything

● If you felt or are feeling lost, don't worry, you are not the only one

● Similar situations can be a different turnaround if you have the right experience

● Don't worry about life; worry if you're living your dreams

● We have one life - pursue your dreams, respect yourself and be disciplined

Highlights:

● My journey [01:17]

● About my parents [02:47]

● How I grew up [05:23]

● Feeling different when I was a child [12:00]

● How to be open to receiving input [15:57]

● What I encourage you to do [20:04]

Connect with Mike Forrester

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hicoachmike

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hicoachmike

Welcome to the very first episode of the Living Fearless Today Podcast! I'm your host and transformation coach, Mike Forrester. Pull up a seat, and let's start the show that helps men, like you and me, who are struggling to get unstuck and overcome fear, to live confidently and courageously. I want to help you create the change you're longing for. Come with me and let's start living fearlessly today.

Biggest Takeaways:

● Some part of our life is currently a work in progress.

● Try to put yourself into a place where you are healthier and can have more time with your family

● We can always tell stories.

Highlights:

● Who I am [00:43]

● What I love [02:01]

● How to create intentional memories [03:27]

● Where I was and who I was versus where I am [04:46]

● I want to see other men not detach, but to engage [05:49]

● When episodes will be available [06:23]

● How do we apply it? [07:25]

Connect with Mike Forrester

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hicoachmike

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hicoachmike