Justin Brown is the proud father of 3 beautiful children, a competing natural bodybuilder, and a lover of sports and art. Their eldest and only daughter passed in her sleep at 11 months and this passing led Justin to a journey of transformation.

Justin talks about their lows during the passing of their first child and how much change and realization this brought about. He shares about experiencing adversity head-on and deciding to move with your own two feet past those challenges.
 

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Justin on what triggered transformation for him: "My story with my daughter, when she passed away, there was nothing I could do. When she passed away in the middle of the night I couldn't undo anything, I couldn't change anything. And when you're that helpless you have to be vulnerable and vulnerability is what triggers transformation"

Discipline can be rewarding when it's noticed by others - Justin: "I love words of affirmation but the most rewarding thing is when I come home and we're eating dinner and my son is saying 'Daddy, I'm going to eat all my dinner because I want to be big and strong like you.' Little compliments and little things like that is what spurs on discipline."

Connect with Justin: 

• Email

Watch the memorial address for their daughter: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm-zWyQv4Xw

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Matt Hamill is the proud father of 3 beautiful children and was the founder of 3 F45 Fitness franchises. Due to COVID, he has temporarily parted ways with impacting others' lives through health and fitness, but today he shares the valuable insights he gained on the men who join F45 and their mindsets and practices for success.

How you motivate yourself is important. Matt observes that relying on internal motivations does not work all the time and that setting up your environment for success is just as critical. He gives tips to keep your workouts fun, as well as shares how a movement has immediate and tangible mental health benefits.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Motivation alone is not enough to succeed - Matt: "The number one rule is not to rely on motivation because the problem is that it's fickle, so it's never there when you are low and you really don't feel like going. Motivation is not something that you can rely on, so instead, you'd rather want to design your environment for success, so setting yourself up."

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying - Matt: "People underestimated themselves, really. And once they find out what they're capable of, it's like a switch goes off and they're a changed person mentally. And it will affect your whole life. It will affect your whole life and it will you in a positive because now you believe in yourself."

Connect with Matt:

• Instagram

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Being a resilient dad is not just about raising your kid right but also teaching them to build their future early on.

Nicholas Soldo, the founder of Fatherpreneur, is a shining example of a father who had the courage and determination to start his own business in order to spend more quality time with his daughter and teach her valuable entrepreneurial skills. 

Through Fatherpreneur, Nicholas offers a diverse range of courses, workshops, and classrooms that empower fathers and their children to develop their entrepreneurial skills and become more resilient in the face of challenges. Learn more about Nicholas and his mission to help fathers build stronger relationships with their kids and a more stable future for them.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Passionate to be a father and for work - Nicholas: “I woke up every day being passionate about what I wanted to do, I look forward to going to work, and I look forward to being a father every single day. I feel like there's a lot of pressure of waiting till five o'clock to be a father or waiting till Friday to spend time with your family. And I just have never been a fan of those time constraints, I always want to be available as a father and I always want to be available to my work.”

A message to all fathers out there - Nicholas: “It's never too late. Time is always ticking, and if you feel like it's too late, or that you already missed your chance, that's not the case. There are absolutely other fathers who have been through what you've been through, and I felt what you felt, and we're always here to share our story and be a support system for one another, and I think it's extremely important that we are aware of the powerful and impactful influence that we have on our kids in the next generation.”

Connect with Nicholas and learn more about Fatherpreneur Fundamentals:

• LinkedIn
• Fatherpreneur Fundamentals

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

On this episode of The Resilient Dad Show, we speak with Darnell Fontenot, a husband, father of 3, and firefighter who served for 20 years. He talks about The Squire Program, a 12 to 15-hour course designed for fathers and sons to build a strong relationship together.

The Squire Program involves physical and emotional activities to help fathers and sons get to the root of the issues that separate them. Darnell shares how he was able to determine the trust issues he had with his son, as well as show up as a better father and husband to his family since then.

Pat and Darnell talk about fatherlessness and how this has a detrimental effect that lasts generations. Darnell shares how he now leads The Squire Program in Texas and has become a visible part of his son’s life, supporting his chess tournaments and having one-on-one bonding every week.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

The Squire Program helped reveal the trust issue with Darnell's son - Darnell: "I'm raising kids but if my son doesn't trust me to walk through this obstacle course, then what happens in life when I tell him don't date this girl, she's no good, or don't hang out with these friends, they're no good. Will he even trust me in guiding him in that direction?"

Fathers must hug their sons to affirm them - Darnell: "When's the last time did I actually hug my son, like a full frontal, chest-to-chest hug? Son, I love you. I appreciate you. You're doing a great job. Just hearing those words of affirmation really can inspire our sons to do better and to make better decisions. So the biggest takeaway from what I saw other fathers doing was actually hugging their sons."

Connect with Darnell and The Squire Program Texas:

Instagram | Darnell Fontenot

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we have a special Q&A episode with our guest host, Chris Decker, the CEO of Salescast. There are a lot of demands in a father's life that require us to have even more balance in our daily lives.

We discuss how to balance the demands of parenting with our careers and how to continue maintaining strong relationships with your children. This all comes down to prioritizing time and essentially becoming more mindful of how you spend each minute of your life.

We also talk about practicing self-care as a dad. When we have to juggle numerous different aspects and forget to have time for ourselves, we simply can't deliver as effectively towards our children and our family.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

You have more time in your hands than you think - Pat: "When you go to bed, for instance, that's the time you go to bed. In that way, you're more efficient in using your time as best as you can because we all get the same amount of time but why do some people get more done than others? It's because they're more efficient with their time."

Prioritize self-care as a dad - Pat: "I've realized that I can't pull from any empty cup. Self-care is actually caring for others. By taking care of myself, making sure that I get good sleep, and making sure I declutter my mind, I eliminate the things that aren't adding value to my life."

Connect with Chris and Salescast:

LinkedIn | Website

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we speak with Jeff Hamilton, a pastor, coach, and founder of Dad Academy. Becoming a father and being the best at it is something that many men do not have any training in at all.

Jeff shares some statistics: as high as 1 out of 4 men grow up without ever having a father in the house, a child who grew up with a father is 80% less likely to get incarcerated, drug addicted, and much more, and there are approximately 70 million men in the US who are dads, with 20 million of them having no role models.

Dad Academy was founded to serve thousands of men in their journey to become purposeful and intentional dads who are present in their children's lives. The program helps dads start a plan for the 3 things a dad does: help their children develop courage, competency, and confidence.

Jeff reminds dads that they must let kids be kids for as long as possible, to keep their innocence, affirm their identity that they are loved and cared for, and direct them to their destinies.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Having a dad present leads kids to a better path - Jeff: "If a child has a dad in his life, in his home specifically, he's 80% less likely to ever experience incarceration. So just having dad present in your life is one of the things, that is one of factors that help to keep a young person from going that path. Statistics will show it's reduced drug addiction, it's reduced unwanted pregnancies, it's a greater percentage of kids who will pursue higher education."

Dads must teach their kids courage, competency, and confidence - Jeff: "Look in the mirror at who you are so that you can start to implement a plan for the 3 things that a dad does, which helps children develop courage, help children develop competency, and help children develop confidence. And courage is really a heart issue. It's a character issue. And courage is about how children respond to risk."

Connect with Jeff and Dad Academy:

LinkedIn | TikTok | Instagram | Website

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we speak with Juris Skribans, a proven sports nutritionist and performance specialist. Growing up in the Soviet Union, physical sciences come naturally to Juris as this was a matter of survival that had become ingrained in him.

He talks about the need to be physically active and how modern life is reducing testosterone levels in men. The pressures to survive caused men of previous generations to have a level of aggressiveness that is seen less and less today. 

Pat then shares his struggles with depression and they discuss how men’s mental health, along with our testosterone levels, have taken a further nosedive. Juris emphasizes that mental and physical health are interlinked and that movement, not ego, is what keeps us healthy all the way until old age. 

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Feeling good starts with seeing what is good - Juris: "So understanding that you need to train your brain to see what is good. There is always some kind of pattern how you get triggered to feel bad, and then how you like I was talking about stuck, everything else on top of it to feel even worse just to get that significance. Hey, look how bad I am."

"You can do completely opposite by feeling good. Just recognize something that happened good in your life and then stack it up. Well, hey, I'm still alive. I have these great memories about this thing. This led me to this kind of situation that led me to hooking up with this person or going on this adventure."

Take care of yourself now to have strength when you get older - Juris: "My goal is to kind of teach people that, hey, when you go to age of 50, 60, 70, 90, whatever, you won't be in a gym pushing those hard weights but you still want to pick up your grandkids, pick up your dog, or whatever, being able to do day-to-day things without anyone else's help. And if you don't look after that now you are just gonna have much harder way of life when you get older."

Connect with Juris:

Instagram | LinkedIn

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we speak with PJ, an award-winning authority on resilience and overcoming obstacles. In the context of survival, PJ shares how he overcame the limitations of his disability and his learning that commitment is what gives birth to resilience.

PJ talks about being free versus being a slave and how controlling your unconscious mind is what frees you. Pat then shares how his relationship with his former spouse and son has been tested by unconscious reactions, and how he learned to be gentle as an expression of true strength. 

PJ differentiates between leading with spite and leading with values and how to break this pattern that makes you feel stuck. He suggests moving in stages, from negative to neutral and then to positive, to avoid being reactive and having to clean up after the mess that the unconscious mind makes.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Resilience begins by choosing to commit to it - PJ: "You're only as resilient as you think, and then I always follow it up with because resilience is a choice. Now here's the thing, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about what you're committed to? Or are you thinking about what you're resistant to? And the thing is that you're committed either way. You're committed to something that you want in the future."

A free person chooses how they respond instead of reacting - PJ: "I believe there are only 2 kinds of people in the world. There are free people and there are slaves. Free people operate from a conscious response. They consciously choose how they're going to respond to a situation. When you're in reaction mode, remember that reaction is a slave action."

Connect with PJ:

Website

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

SEASON 1 RESILIENT DADS:

• Lucas Marino, former Coast Guard and CEO of EAST Partnership
• Chris Decker, CEO of Salescast
• Ashley Cooke, Managing Director of Imperial Supplements
• Mathew Grace, former Navy rescue swimmer and author of Reclaim Your Hero

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we speak with Emma Swain, a certified holistic life coach, mind-body practitioner, and specialist in energy psychology. Emma teaches how to embrace vulnerability to get out of the victim mindset and become a visionary. 

She shares her ongoing journey of healing and how she rediscovered how to get unstuck from the confines of her own mind. Emma provides insights on allowing men to love those parts of themselves that they fear and harnessing both masculine and feminine energies to create upward momentum. 

Emma also breaks down the components of masculine energy: the warrior, the fixer, and the presence, the last of which is reflected back by feminine energy. In her experience, it is only through an ego death that men truly meet God for the first time.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Get unstuck from your mental layer - Emma: "Humans have 5 key layers that come out of our bodies. And what I learned was first is the physical layer, then you have your emotional layer, then your mental layer, and above that is your intuition and your bliss. Now the majority of human beings today have got very stuck in their mental layer, and the mental layer is the interface between our emotions and our body, and our intuition, and our bliss."

Stereotypical masculinity is born from fear - Emma: "The divine masculine, a man in his full power, is a man who can be in his strength and in his cock and in his full energy but from a place of love, not from a place of fear. Many men are in the world putting out this aura of I'm super strong because they're super scared. They're scared of not being enough, they're scared of not pleasing their woman, they're scared of not being seen by their friends, they're scared of not living up to the conditioned belief of society so they're projecting outward and they're disconnected inward."

Create a spiral with linear masculine energy and cyclical feminine energy - Emma: "When we start to merge our inner energetics and see that we have both, and they're equal in all of us, what we do is we create a spiral where our patterns and our emotions meet our intention and our direction. And then we begin to build momentum, energetically, for ourselves. And you'll find very oftentimes when people 'awaken,' they get big momentum."

Connect with Emma:

Facebook | Instagram | Website | Email

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we speak with Simon Smart, a men's coach with a background in business, martial arts, and military combatives. He recalls growing up in Asia and his first exposure to rites of passage and growing into a man.

Simon digs into a man's stages of growth, from being a baby to a boy and, finally, to a man. He talks about how a boy will grow in power, like in mobility and in strength, but also in duty and responsibility. For Simon, mature masculinity takes pride in duty, while juvenile masculinity is focused on desires.

A man must be able to look at himself in the mirror and ask "am I a man worth following?" To guide this question, Simon shares his 4 V's: Vision, Vitality, Veritas (truth), and Virtus (courage). He also talks about fighting, defending the people you love, and gaining confidence through combat sports.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

A guide is needed to teach a boy how to be a man - Simon: "There has to be a guide or a mentor. And in a lot of traditions, there's more than just the day or the night or the week of the rite of passage. There's training that comes before. A lot of the training for boys is around what is a man in our culture?"

A man's vision for himself keeps him grounded - Simon: "When they have no grounding, I think this is an important point to make when you have a vision, quest, and thus a vision of yourself, you spend a lot of your time building yourself into that vision. When you don't have a vision, you spend your time building yourself into everyone else's vision of you. In other words, you worry a lot more about others' vision of who you are than your own, and that's when men drift into being people pleasers."

Duty for others is what sets apart mature and juvenile masculinity - Simon: "What we can maybe make is a simple distinction between mature masculinity and juvenile masculinity is that distinction between living for others and living for your duties versus living for your attachments and your desires and whatever you want. I think that mature masculinity is what eventually ties into what I would call manhood. Juvenile masculinity may have a lot of masculine elements, but it doesn't access manhood in the way that mature masculinity does." 

Connect with Simon:

LinkedIn

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we welcome Matt Grace, a former Navy rescue swimmer, professional firefighter, author of Reclaim Your Hero, and father to 2 beautiful girls. He shares the trauma that began in his childhood and how he experienced substance abuse, neglect, and at times physical abuse.

Matt discusses his later realization that his parents didn't have the tools to deal with their emotions growing up and how this led to him taking it upon himself to change that for their own children. And lacking a father figure growing up, Matt also shares how the land of Maui provided for him, and eventually, the military taught him a solid foundation for life.

However, Matt also talks about his struggle with PTSD after his deployment to Afghanistan and how this almost became the end for him and his daughter. Through God and his love for his daughter, he decided right then and there to be the father that he never had. 

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Almost taking his daughter’s life was the wake-up call Matt needed - Matt: "I just embraced the suck the whole time until I had my youngest daughter and I nearly killed her. Yep, that's really hard to accept that you nearly killed your child, my five-month-old daughter, because she was crying and I couldn't take it. I didn't know what to do and that, for me, was the change. I said, God, no, no, no. Not today. My daughter's going to have the dad that I never had. And that was the catalyst for me."

You need to be vulnerable to be brave - Matt: "You can't be brave without being vulnerable. Think about it. Everybody knows the Medal of Honor winners in the US. Each one of them put themselves up and risked taking live fire. Many of them got shot and killed and were awarded posthumously, but each one of them put themselves out there and said, here I am. Here I am for my brother, here I am for my sister. They made themselves absolutely vulnerable but we award them for their what? Their bravery."

Connect with Matt and get your copy of Reclaim Your Hero:

LinkedIn | Website | Amazon

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to the last episode of The Resilient Dad Show for the year 2022. Today, Pat looks back on his “why” for doing this show and the value of experiencing the moment to find the answers that you are looking for. Moving forward to 2023 and beyond, Pat challenges you to look at what it is that you really want in this life and gain clarity of your vision for the future.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Find the answers that are right in front of you - Pat: "Have you ever had that experience where you'd be looking for something and you're going around the house looking every possible place that you could think that you left that item and then after going around for an hour, you go back to the same spot that you've checked 10 times and it's actually there? Same thing. If we allow ourselves to be in the moment and just stay still, the answer's there."

Look within and get a clearer vision of the outcomes you want to achieve - Pat: "It's within ourselves to have that control of our thoughts, our words, our actions, and we can actually live that life that we actually want, a fulfilled life. So I invite you to have a look at, have those goals, and have a clear vision. It's what will that outcome actually give me? Why is it so important for me to achieve it?"

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we welcome Robert White, a speaker, author of Living an Extraordinary Life, and executive mentor who is recognized as an expert on mastering executive challenges. Robert shares his abusive childhood which pushed him to prove that he was better than his upbringing.

However, even with fantastic success, he suffered several heart attacks and was predicted that he would not live beyond the age of 35. Robert also opens up about a nasty divorce took its toll but he made a conscious decision to take control of his life and reject being a victim. 

By deciding to take personal responsibility for his life and health, he made a complete turnaround. He shares how taking a Tony Robbins class changed his life and opened up his mind to success, even though not a single mention of money and career was said.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Robert: Celebrate your life's wins despite your rough beginnings 

"I grew up in poverty. I grew up in a highly abusive home. It was kind of a tough beginning and a big part of it which shows up actually in my book Living an Extraordinary Life was constant criticism and negativity. So on top of the physical abuse was the emotional, mental abuse. You might even say spiritual abuse. And so, one of the things about taking responsibility is one part of is you've got to own your successes. You really need to celebrate what you do well, and also you own the things that didn't work and that you had a part to play in it even if it's mysterious, even if you can't identify how you contributed to it."

Robert: A painful divorce and false accusations almost made him a victim 

"Being a victim is disempowering. It takes your power away because you're externalizing the most important part of you which is your power to choose, and you're saying that somebody else is choosing my experience of life, and I'm allowing it."

Connect with Robert, read his Extraordinary Minute, and get his book:

LinkedIn | Website | Amazon | Email

Watch Brené Brown’s TEDx Talk on the Power of Vulnerability.

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we welcome Ashley Cooke, an accomplished business manager and entrepreneur with roots as a competitive swimmer. While he achieved amazing success in his career, he found his relationship with his family deteriorating. 

He gets vulnerable and talks about his struggle with alcohol and how it nearly destroyed him. However, by channeling his energies into exercise, he was able to bounce back stronger than ever. Ashley also shares the difficulties of growing up without his biological father and the value of expressing your emotions through meaningful conversations.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Ashley: Alcohol as a way to cope was destroying his life

"We make a choice. So either that way, or we go that way. And at that day, my two choices were do I continue down this path of self-destruction where it was leading me to an early grave... actually that point in time it was do I jump off this hill that I'm standing on top of or do I choose to change my life... and understand that there's more to me than this."

Ashley: Dealing with depression required the help of others

"I found a way to either express it, deal with it, or process it. That was my 3 steps. So if I could talk about it, whether it be to my partner, whether it be to my mates, whether it was a stranger to a point."

Ashley: Masculinity has changed from toxicity to being present for others

"My grandfather's generation, masculinity was being a man, being the provider, the wife doesn't work, they should raise the kids, I'm the provider, I do the tough stuff. I don't cry. I don't show emotions. That's not masculinity anymore. Masculinity is being a bloody good day raising bloody good humans so that when we go, our kids know what makes a good person."

Connect with Ashley:

LinkedIn

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another inspiring and educational episode of The Resilient Dad Show. Today we welcome Carolina Behr, an expert in parenting education and caring for children with special needs. Carolina will be discussing her story and tips for parents out there to help their children feel empowered, strong, and independent. 

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Introducing Carolina Behr
• Working with children with special needs
• Helping your child feel empowered
• Keeping your cool when you lose your patience
• Children become more self-aware of their needs
• Things to do to support our kids from a young age
• Preparing the entire house for the child
• It’s easier for the child to adjust to the parents than to the child
• The importance of finding common ground between both parents

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

CAROLINA: Helping your child feel empowered

“When we don't make a choice and someone else makes the choice for us, it's actually really hard, and you just love them. Because for them, it's actually really serious, and it's really hard, and guess what happens? The next time you give them a choice, they take the choice because now they know that you're not the enemy, you're not going to force it on them, that you're going to love them through it, whether you are honestly giving them a choice. And if they choose not to take it, you will make a choice for them. But it's going to be out of love and not out of power…”

CAROLINA: Every day is an opportunity for your child to be independent

“Always think, Where can I add more freedom in more for me, and more independence for this child and you start seeing it, you're gonna start seeing it everywhere. Because there are opportunities throughout your day, that will allow the child to become more independent, and that will give you more time.”

Connect with Carolina:

Carolina Behr | Instagram | Carolina Behr Education

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• On the Little Book of Big Emotions
• Corey's journey of healing through helping others
• We should communicate whatever it is that we need to express
• An anecdote of when love became conditional for a child
• What the education system can do to support kids emotionally

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Corey: Parents should also know how to process their emotions

“When I'm telling my son off, that's not actually about my son it's actually about me and that's a really powerful insight. With insight, we can actually change. But I think we have a lack of awareness as parents ”

Corey: There are tools and practices for family systems to improve  emotions

“And maybe another version will show up or he'll show up again and you just have to keep practicing that. It's just like this higher-level mind game that you can actually play with yourself. And I don't do it when I'm in the moment but it's afterward I go back and have a conversation on all these layers of myself."

Connect with Corey:

Corey Gaidzionis | Big Emotions Academy | Little Book of Big Emotions

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode and were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Casey’s childhood and learnings from his parents.
• Be honest, set expectations, and own your mistakes.
• Making the choice to make time.
• The power of the golden rule.
• The Power of Authenticity.

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Casey: Make the choice to make time

“Time is priceless. We all get 1440 minutes, no one gets more, no one gets less, and so I always find it funny when people say, ‘Man, I don't have time.’ I'm like ‘BS. Stop lying to yourself.’ Give all the time and really you just tell yourself you're not making the choice to make time.”

Casey: The power of authenticity

“It's the power of authenticity. I always tell my kids the number one reason to be yourself. Everybody's already taken. Yeah, so just be you.”

Connect with Casey:

Casey Jacox | Winning The Relationship, LLC

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Today, Pat welcomes Paul Withall, the founder of Zero Suicide, to talk about the common cause of men’s suicide and the difficulties men face in getting help in their dire situations. Tune in and learn more as Paul gives us eye-opening insights on this situation, only here in the latest episode of The Resilient Dad Show.

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Introducing Paul Withall
• How he started with Zero Suicide
• Suicide is not just related to mental health
• The most common ways men deal with challenges
• What services are available for men
• What happens when kids are segregated at school
• Mental health is one thing, but there’s also mental first aid
• The importance of having a minister for men
• The significance of the number 2,500 shoes

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

PAUL: Common cause of men’s suicide

“Most of the men suicides all got some sort of link to having a child or relationship breakdown, almost all whether it's caused from mental health or not, you know, there's got to be a proper service in place.”

PAUL: The seed of kids’ mental health problems

“These kids then react at school, so when they're acting out at school, they might, stack differently, and because they're acting differently at school, in turn, they get singled out, the other kids don't want to hang around with them, because they've got problems, and this sort of stuff, which then and that's what's planted the seed to the mental health problems.”

PAUL: Why do we need a minister for men

“For 40 years, men and boys suicide have been 70% of all suicides. So the approach that they're using is not working, and it has failed. So that's why this minister for men needs to come in research the reasons why take into account all this stuff and start trialing different programs, different approaches, and listening not just to the major services, actually listening to men, listening to the women that have lost men, you know, If that's how we make a difference, finding out those underlying issues and asking these people what they think, would have made a difference.”

Learn more about Paul in the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/paulosuorousrexassouras.fish

https://www.facebook.com/ZeroSuicide-Community-Awareness-Program-And-Walks-To-Prevent-Mens-Suicide-100110065093817/

Connect with Pat:

Pat Di Domenico | About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Welcome to another solo episode with Pat as he talks about limits and time. Pat explains that as humans our growth is limited by the amount of attention and time we have. He also discusses the importance of really spending time with your kids. Learn more about Pat’s insights in this latest episode of The Resilient Dad.

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• The grass is greener wherever we water
• When we don’t fully invest ourselves into something, we don't get the maximum rewards
• The importance of spending time with your kids
• When we’re distracted, we don’t get to experience the moment

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Pat - Time is all that matters

“Spending time with my kids, especially when they were younger, I was so focused on work, and being able to provide and, and doing the things that I thought were really important, but the thing that was most important is the actual time.”

Pat - Focus your time and don’t get distracted

“When I'm with him, I'm just focusing purely on him at the times that I do get to spend time because when we are distracted, we can easily be not really present and we don't get to experience the moment.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

In this episode of The Resilient Dad, Pat is back with Chris Decker. Things will be a bit different as Pat and Chris will be reflecting on a documentary entitled “The Work”, where they unpack the importance of being able to be open and let out frustrations and pain.

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• We are all more alike than we are different
• Everyone has the desire and the need to be loved
• How to get angry without doing anything illegal
• The best thing we can do is to be open
• The solution is remarkably simple. It’s myself that is getting in the way
• The longer you live outside of integrity, the worse your life’s gonna get
• Being your authentic self is a lot more training than trying to please

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Chris - Main takeaway from “The Work”:

“If you really understand the root of what they went through, and you would understand how they were driven to those things, and you might even see how you yourself could have been driven to those things to and behind bars outside in the “real world”, what is the real world anyway, we are all more alike than we are different.”

Pat - Don’t keep it inside, let it out in the open:

“I realized that rage is due to a buildup of not releasing all these frustrations and, and these emotions and being able to let these emotions out. Like that's the best thing we can actually do.”

Chris - The simple secret of becoming a great father:

“It's remarkably simple. It's myself that's getting in the way, I'm in the way, I am in the way of becoming a great father, and if I can learn to, “die to self”, if I can go and have the courage to go deal with those traumas and those hurts, and I can learn to forgive, and I can learn to stay in a state of gratitude.”

Connect with Chris and check out what more inspiring things he’s doing:

• About Chris
• About Salescast
• Salescast.co

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Nick McGowan, the host of The Mindset & Self-Mastery podcast, is no father at all, but what he has to share about his upbringing from his father, or both parents for that matter, is a unique way of looking at resiliency as a parent. Tune in and join Nick as he shares his life story with Pat and how his upbringing gives him the light on fatherhood.

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Introducing Nick McGowan
• Understanding the different paths that parents take
• Changing perspective while growing up
• Parent's own upbringing can affect their own parenting
• The importance of internal communication
• Getting trouble with bad decisions
• The power of communication and how to deal with trauma

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Nick - You learn from your parents in one way or another

“It's interesting how we all learn from our parents what to do and what not to do. It's really up to us to figure out, does it make sense and without turning this thing completely upside down. That's really how we should live life.”

Nick - Start communicating internally

“This all gets back to communication, and you've got to start internally. You know, as you ask yourself questions, you can't just write it off.”

Nick - All you need to do is start

“I feel like there's a momentum that goes along with that once you start to do the work, and then you get this once you start to do the work, you start to do it, it starts to open up things.”

Connect with Nick and check out what more inspiring things he’s doing:

• About Nick
• NickMcGowan.com
• The Mindset and Self-Mastery Show

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

In today’s episode of Resilient Dad, Pat talks about how depression brings toxic habits, and how you can get out by focusing on what you want and who you want to be.

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Pat's own struggle with depression
• Developing toxic habits
• Our response to life is the only thing we control
• Pain will give you growth
• Focusing on becoming a role model
• Stick to what you want and who you want to be

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Pat - How depression is defined:

“Depression is the inability to move forward from the past, and they always say a brighter future.”

Pat - Pain is growth:

“The pain is actually going to give me growth. So every time I'm struggling, or there's a time where I feel uncomfortable, it's like ‘ ‘this is growth’ ’, this is great, this is beautiful, this is me becoming better than what I am prior.”

Pat - There is a choice every day:

“We all have a choice every day, when we wake up, that I'm going to make the most of this day, regardless of my circumstances, I have the ability to control how I respond to the things that have happened in my life.”

Pat - Focus on what you want:

“If we just stick and focus on the things that we want, and the outcomes, and who we want to be, the journey and the experience are going to be far, far greater.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

RESILIENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Chris Decker's experience in the 75 hard challenge
• Chris's greatest insights from the challenge
• What lies ahead after the 75-hard challenge?
• It's about having a goal + accountability

WORDS OF RESILIENCE

Chris - The strange way of having more time:

“I was initially hesitant. I'm like, ‘Wow, this is a lot of activity. How am I going to have time for it?’ I've not only found the time, but I've taken on a lot of additional projects because I found myself having more time somehow which has been kind of strange.”

Chris - What’s next after the 75 hard challenge:

“Part of the next hurdle that I think I'm going to need to overcome is what happens afterward. Am I going to go back to pizza and doughnuts and sitting on the couch? Or am I going to continue with this same lifestyle adjustment moving forward? And can I do that outside of the challenge?”

Chris - Accountability for doing things with others:

“I think where a lot of people miss is having some accountability, because it's way easier to do things with others than it is to do them alone.”

Connect with Chris and check out what more inspiring things he’s doing:

• About Chris
• About Salescast
• Salescast.co

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Pat is back with an inspiring story in this solo episode of The Resilient Dad. As a father, it is important to teach our kids about resilience at an early age, and that’s exactly what Pat did as he shares the lesson he taught his own son on weekends they spent together.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• The clash on the battle beam
• Getting tangled with anger and frustration
• You didn't lose, you learned
• You only lose if you give up
• Compete with yourself, not with others

QUOTES:

Pat - You never lose until you give up:

“Being able to even just say that vocally to my son really sort of reminded me of that. I never actually lose until I actually give up.”

Pat - Giving up out of fear:

“The only thing, that reason why I do give up, is fear. The fear of failure and the fear of rejection. But do I really fail if I learn? No. Can I really be rejected? No, not really.”

Pat - Keep going, keep battling:

“Keep going, stay on that battle beam and learn, and see what you're doing and where you could be improving on areas that you just don't actually see because you’re not focusing on that.”

Pat - Focus and compete with yourself:

“Stop focusing on what the other person has, whether they're stronger or they have other resources, whether it's money, or wherever it may be. Just focus on proving yourself and competing against yourself.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Chris Decker is back in another wisdom-filled episode here in The Resilient Dad. In this outing, Chris talks to Pat about the value of vulnerability, what makes it important in fathers’ journeys, how it is more of a strength than a weakness, and how accountability comes into play in your strive for getting better.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Chris Decker is back!
• The vulnerability that leads to resilience
• The challenges a father faces with the court
• Stop the blame game
• Don't live by shame, you are not worth less
• Accountability is a gift to yourself

QUOTES:

Chris - Share your story and it sets you free:

“There are probably some hurts or some things from your past that you've never shared with anybody. If you share that with a trusted person wants, even if it's clunky, even if it's like really hard to do, and you have to share that through tears, whatever it takes, you share that one time, then it starts to loosen its grip on you a little bit.”

Pat - Face your demons, you have the power:

“When you finally stand up and face those demons as such, your kryptonite becomes a superpower, and has the ability to not let it choke on you anymore.”

Pat - Vulnerability is true strength:

“Being vulnerable was actual strength. It's not a weakness. And I think that's where real power comes from.”

Connect with Chris and find out more about his work:

• About Chris
• About Salescast
• Salescast Community

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Tune in and be inspired once more by Pat’s personal story of being lost and finally deciding to choose where he wants to be and going for it. So make a choice today and discover more about this in this latest episode of The Resilient Dad.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Where are you now?
• The incident that changed everything
• The downward spiral of loneliness
• You have the choice of where you want to be

QUOTES:

You can’t control what people do:

“I can't control what other people do. Are people going to make judgments? Are people going to do things that are against their own values and beliefs? Yes, they will.”

The downward spiral of loneliness:

“I got myself in such a rut, where I was purely focused on all the pain and the suffering, that I completely forgot about everything else that was happening in my life, and the things that are also important to me.”

It’s your decision, it’s your choice to make:

“There are choices that we make, and we wake up every day and have the ability to make, to have those choices. So it's our decision.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Michael joins Pat in this latest episode of The Resilient Dad to share his story of hailing from a merged family, growing up being different from others, and his quest to be the father he always wanted to be.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Michael's upbringing in a merged family
• The hardships of being different
• The story of marriage and divorce
• It's not about you two, it's the kids
• It's not too late to make a change

QUOTES:

Michael - Growing up in a merged family:

“Being in a merged family is one of the toughest things to do. I speak from experience as well.”

Michael - It’s about the kids, not you two:

“What people don't realize when they get into a marriage and decide to have a relationship. It's not just about you two anymore because it's great in the beginning when there are no kids and life is good, and you're dating and you're traveling and everything's good, then you had kids, and then personalities change.”

Michael - You’re poor if you don’t have time for your family:

“If you work your life away, and focus just on business, and not spend time at home, you're poor. You can be the richest man in the world, but I promise you are poor.”

Michael - It’s never too late for change:

“Guys, we get better with age, and the other thing too is just because we're aging, it doesn't mean it's too late. It's never too late to make a change.”

Michael - Life is a gift, don’t waste it:

“This life is a gift. Like I said, one day you're above the ground, next day, you're below it, the dirt on top of you.”

Connect with Michael and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Michael
• Michael on Facebook

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Tune in and learn about the 6 basic human needs and why it is important to always think about your actions before doing something you will regret. All these, are only here in the latest episode of The Resilient Dad.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Pat's breakthroughs
• The 6 basic human needs
• What causes addiction
• Don't jump, don't attack
• Don't make a decision you will regret

QUOTES:

Pat enumerates the 6 basic human needs:

“We have four, human basic human needs the native certainty, the need for uncertainty, or variety, the need for significance, and the need of love and connection, and then we've got our two higher needs, which are growth and contribution.”

Pat says, attacking is never the answer:

“I definitely encourage everyone to have a look at not to jump to conclusions, and not always to look at attack being the first option.”

Pat stops you from making decisions you will regret:

“I definitely would encourage everyone just to have a think about in terms of before we act, before making a decision that we can't take back.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

These are the words that Lucas Marino holds on to when making sure his kids feel his presence and never feel left out whenever he is deployed. Lucas is the CEO and Founder of EAST Partnership, who once served in the military, but above all else, a father.

Lucas shares how he was able to balance his duties for the country and duties as a father despite being deployed and far away. Join Lucas and Pat in this wonderful journey in the latest episode of Resilient Dad.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Lucas Marino: deployed yet resilient
• Learning the value of working with his dad
• Flipping the switch between deployment and fatherhood
• Making the job temporary
• Handling kids with different personalities
• Be yourself and be confident in that
• Entrepreneurship and fatherhood

QUOTES:

Lucas - Make it better, because you can:

“No matter what you inherit, no matter what you have, you have the opportunity to make it what you want it to be, and to make it better.”

Lucas - Make fatherhood your own:

“It made us appreciate the fact that he put forth the effort to change. Yes, I think a lot of dads get stuck in this. ‘ ‘Well, I was raised this way. So I have to just copy and paste that to the way I raise kids nowadays’ ’. That's not the way it goes.”

Lucas - Your kids are your greatest legacy:

“I didn't want them to have to wonder how much I care about them. I wanted them to know, beyond a shadow of the doubt, and I wanted them to understand that my kids are going to be my greatest legacy.”

Lucas - Decide what you think is right:

“Make good decisions because they're the right decisions for you in the context of your life. So it might not even be what everyone else needs or thinks is the right thing.”

Lucas - Be yourself always:

“Be yourself, and be confident in that, and as long as you're a good person, there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, it's actually a great thing.”

Connect with Lucas and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Lucas
• About EAST Partnership

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

In this episode of The Resilient Dad, Pat takes you on a quick yet meaningful journey, where we learn that the answer you search for, is within you.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Finding the answers within
• You are the answer
• Don't look for validation

QUOTES:

Pat on being the solution yourself:

“It's about understanding that we're all the solutions to the challenges that I have in life, within me to finally having the ability to find the solution and that I can't look at the external world for answers.”

Pat on having the mindset of acceptance:

“I was focusing on my mindset and myself and not looking externally for validation and acceptance of what was happening.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Chris Decker on intuitive parenting
• Puzzling things out with fatherhood
• What Chris had to overcome
• Growing up with no role model
• Look up and surrender
• Choose to start the work over again every single day

QUOTES:

Chris on applying intuitive parenting:

“Intuitive parenting says, Don't fight it. Let him be self-expressive? You know, like, why am I trying to fight all these things?”

Lacking a role model as a father for Chris:

“I'm basically learning how to be a father from scratch, I do actually have any positive role models in terms of fatherhood.

The chaotic life of Chris:

“I didn't really have any early models of safety or fatherhood, you know, I'm just describing this totally chaotic environment to you.”

Chris on never going back:

“I could ruin my whole life, and it could be over, but I have to choose every day that I wake up that today is a new life, a new mercy, a new opportunity.”

Chris on choosing the work daily:

“We can choose every single day to start the work over again. So we never have to go back to where we were.”

Connect with Chris and find out more about his work:

• About Chris
• About Salescast
• Salescast Community

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

It’s episode 4 of The Resilient Dad, and in Pat’s first solo outing, he will be talking about mental health. Tune in and listen to Pat as he shares his journey to a better mental state and physical wellness. Pat also shares his tips and the tools you should use for your own journey. 

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Let's talk about mental health
• Stick to the positive things
• Have your peace of mind
• Goodness of self-awareness

QUOTES:

Pat on mental health:

“Not only myself, but a lot of other people have felt in the place where they're not in control of their mind, and they're feeling very unhealthy.”

Pat says you must have peace of mind:

“Your peace is number one, and if you don't have peace within your mind, you're stuck. So it's staying out of your head, and focusing on being in your heart.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

Tune in to learn more about Collin’s journey to becoming a resilient dad for his 4 kids, and how he manages to keep them all in check.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Collin: Entrepreneur & father of four
• How Collin grew up to be
• How Collin worked on himself
• Becoming a father for the first time
• Letting go of challenging battles
• Don't be so hard on yourself

QUOTES:

Collin negotiating with his kids: “The funniest thing is, as they get a little bit older, you start to see them using some of your own techniques on you, and you're like, wow, I never taught them that.”

How Collin worked on himself: "A lot of it was just working on myself, you know, a lot of reflection, meditation, journaling, you know, dealing with some things in therapy, for sure, at all, that's been really helpful.”

Collin on becoming a father for the first time: "You know, there's just still nothing that brings more joy than like, you know, bringing a new kid into this world.”

Collin chooses his battles: "A lot of times, people naturally and maybe even more dads, sort of fight that friction with more friction, and it just doesn't go well, and so you really just have to, learn to really just let go and like, not try to control so many things and like, choose your battles.”

Collin being vulnerable: "I would say the biggest thing is being willing to just be vulnerable with like other parents.”

Connect with Collin and find out more about his work:

• About Collin
• About Salescast
• Salescast Community

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

• The 75 Hard Challenge
• The required workout
• The proper diet

QUOTES:

Pat’s required daily workout:

“It consists of two workouts a day, 45 minutes, one has to be outside reading 10 pages of a book, physical book, no audio, and drinking nearly four liters of water.”

Pat on what exercise to do:

“It doesn't have to be anything ridiculous. Could be as simple as a walk. But it's creating those daily habits that will help you be consistent and create positive habits.”

Connect with Pat and check out what more inspiring things he’s up to:

• About Pat
• About Resilient Dad

If you liked this episode or were inspired by the journeys it shares, or you have suggestions or your own stories to share, subscribe to the Resilient Dad podcast now and leave us a comment!

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