Kids & FamilyParentingBusinessEntrepreneurship

Front Row Dads with Jon Vroman

Jon Vroman

Since 2016, Front Row Dads has been the community for "family men with businesses, not businessmen with families".

Weekly interviews on marriage, parenting, health, emotional intelligence, business and legacy.

Learn about the brotherhood at FrontRowDads.com

Play

Open in

32 episodes
daily
Avg 25 min
English

Episodes 32

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#584
Friday · 10 min
How Four Men Deal With the Hard Stuff
Four men. Same question. Two completely different answers: is it powering through strength, or is it avoidance? Want a taste of what Front Row Dads is actually like? Come sit in on a live Brotherhood Experience. It's 60 minutes on Zoom with Jon and a few other dads, free, and it's the easiest way to find out whether a room like this is for you. You don't have to share, and you don't have to prepare. Sign up at frontrowdads.com/experience. We pulled four opposing takes from across ten years of the archive and let them collide. Brian Johnson opens with the case for hardship: it is supposed to be hard, and the only way to build real trust in yourself is doing what you said you would do, especially when you don't feel like it. Stefanos Sifandos complicates it. The thing you are avoiding is usually the thing you most need to do, and if your drive is sourced from an old wound, it will not hold. His buffalo runs into the storm rather than away from it, together, because that is how you get through faster. Nik Hulewsky takes the other side. After losing his son, man up stopped working, and it was his wife telling him to go see somebody that changed everything. Then Josh Trent turns the question over: we call a 150-hour week courage, and we do not count facing what you feel as hard at all. IN THIS EPISODE: "It's supposed to be hard": antifragile confidence and doing what you say you'll do Why the thing you're avoiding is usually the thing you most need to do Where your drive is sourced from, and why one built on an old wound won't hold The buffalo that runs into the storm rather than away from it, together, to get through faster "The solution isn't always power through it or be a man": when help is the strong move The courage nobody celebrates: facing what you actually feel WANT THE BOOKS? The book list we mention in this episode: over 100 books Front Row Dads recommends, the ones that changed how these guys operate at home and at work. Free at frontrowdads.com/books WANT THE FULL STORY? All four come from full episodes worth your time: - Brian Johnson on heroism and training for the 21st century: frontrowdads.com/412 - Stefanos Sifandos on facing fears and letting go of the past: frontrowdads.com/344 - Nik Hulewsky on the four advantages for entrepreneurs: frontrowdads.com/453 - Josh Trent on the H.A.L.T. framework (hungry, angry, lonely, tired): frontrowdads.com/327
#583
Thursday · 21 min
The Three Emotions That Sink Good Men
Quick test: how do you deal with your neediness? If you just cringed, you found your enemy emotion. (Want a taste of what Front Row Dads is actually like? Come sit in on a live Brotherhood Experience. It's 60 minutes on Zoom with Jon and a few other dads, free, and it's the easiest way to find out whether a room like this is for you. You don't have to share, and you don't have to prepare. Dates and sign up at frontrowdads.com/experience) Psychiatrist Dr. Laura Dabney has spent her career working with successful men who buried three feelings so deep they stopped recognizing them: neediness, anger, and sadness. In this Deep Cut from the vault (recorded in 2019), she maps what each one turns into when it goes underground: neediness becomes compulsive giving, sadness becomes relentless positivity and joking, and anger becomes the blowup you swore you'd never have. Jon goes first: the punched wall, the need for validation he'd been dressing up as contribution, the positivity that was really sadness-avoidance. Then Dabney lays out the way back: accept the feeling, catch yourself invalidating it, journal with a purpose, and start with you before you manage everyone else's reaction. It ends with the story of a patient who couldn't ask a woman on a date and now sends her postcards of his four kids. IN THIS EPISODE: The cringe test for finding your enemy emotion What buried neediness, anger, and sadness each turn into "Winning, but you don't realize the price you're paying on the flip side" Why being sad in front of people isn't selfish, and why that word is a trap Journaling with a purpose: practicing the right thing instead of rehearsing the wrong one The turnaround story: from suicidal and stuck at home to married with four kids WANT THE BOOKS? The book list we mention in this episode: over 100 books Front Row Dads recommends, the ones that changed how these guys operate at home and at work. Free at frontrowdads.com/books WANT THE FULL STORY? The full conversation also covers stopping anger before it becomes a blow-up, why men funnel every emotion into sex, and the boundary conversation that saved a military man's marriage. Hear the whole thing: "How Men Deal With Neediness, Anger and Sadness with Dr. Laura Dabney" : frontrowdads.com/74
#582
Tuesday · 6 min
You're the Bow, Not the Arrow: How He Sees His Job as a Dad
Ask young fathers how to raise great kids and you get 72 steps. Ask the old guys and you get two words: just love them. (Want a taste of what Front Row Dads is actually like? Come sit in on a live Brotherhood Experience. It's 60 minutes on Zoom with Jon and a few other dads, free, and it's the easiest way to find out whether a room like this is for you. You don't have to share and you don't have to prepare. Dates and sign-up at frontrowdads.com/experience) David Osborn has built companies, written books, and taken his kids around the world. Ask him what a father is actually for and he goes to Rumi: you're the bow, your kids are the arrows. Your job is to be steady, and let them go. In this quick clip he walks through what that looks like on a normal day — loving his wife hard enough that the kids see it, keeping their world wide, and holding a clear picture of the grandfather he wants to be. And when his 15-year-old walks in and looks at him like he's annoying, he hugs her anyway and tells her the truth: I don't understand you right now, and you probably don't understand me, but I love you. IN THIS EPISODE: - Rumi's bow and arrow: what a dad is actually for - "Keep exposing them" — why he keeps widening their world - Loving his wife hard, where the kids can see it - The vision he's working backward from, right down to the grandkids - What he says to a teenager who finds him annoying WANT THE BOOKS? The book list we mention in this episode: over 100 books Front Row Dads recommend, the ones that changed how these guys operate at home and at work. Free at frontrowdads.com/books WANT THE FULL STORY? The full conversation goes into Osborn's Nepal orphanage trip with his son, raising wealthy kids without entitlement, and letting teenagers graduate to autonomy. Hear the whole thing: "Unlocking Adventure, Fatherhood, and a Life of Purpose with David Osborn" -> frontrowdads.com/476
#581
August 24 · 23 min
Stop Waiting for Your Son to Grow Up (here's your role)
"If we do not initiate our sons, they will burn down the village just to feel the heat." That African proverb is where this one starts, and Chris Bruno, counsellor, author of The Man Maker Project, and a dad who built a year-long rite of passage for his own son, spends the next twenty minutes showing what it demands of a father. This is a Deep Cut from a 2024 members-only session: what a rite of passage actually is (they are happening around your son constantly, whether you design one or not), why the passage from boy to man does not happen by accident, what ancient cultures knew that we dropped, and the difference between raising boys and raising girls: dad leads the charge for the boy, and stands under the charge for the girl. IN THIS EPISODE: The proverb: uninitiated boys burn down the village to feel the heat Rites of passage are already happening around your son, unsupervised The Man Maker Project: the year-long process Bruno built for his own son Why a boy must be called out, tested, and welcomed back by men Boys need your heat, girls need your warmth: the difference in dad's role "I cannot lead my daughter into womanhood, but I can support it" WANT MORE? This session was a members-only deep dive into the brotherhood, the kind of conversation that doesn't happen at a backyard barbecue. If you want to be in the room where these happen, join our next brotherhood experience and find out more. Frontrowdads.com/experience
#580
August 22 · 9 min
Why You Keep Learning the Same Lesson Over and Over | Walk With Jon
Having the same realization five times doesn't mean you failed the first four. Episode 3 of Walk With Jon. No studio, no script, no guest, no editing. Jon Vroman on a walking trail near his house, thinking out loud. The audio is rough on purpose. He even fumbles an old saying mid-walk and leaves it in: "Like I said, these are unscripted mistakes and all." Jon walked this one listening to his own voice notes from the last five to eight years. A week earlier he'd pulled out a bin holding 30 to 50 journals, most of them a quarter filled and abandoned. Going back through all of it, he noticed he keeps having the same realizations, over and over, each time a little deeper. His take on why: "It's not about learning something new. It's about remembering something true." Self-reflection is a workout, not a graduation. You don't go to the gym once and stay strong. He's honest about the other side of reviewing decades of your own notes: the shame of feeling like you should be further ahead, and the sheer number of things a man is supposed to master. But the point of this walk is the honoring. Front Row Dads turns ten in October 2026, back in Philadelphia where it started, and Jon has watched men keep showing up for that entire run. His ask this morning is simple: put your hand on your heart and thank yourself for showing up and doing the work. IN THIS WALK: Listening back to five to eight years of his own voice notes The bin of 30 to 50 journals, most of them mostly blank "It's not always about learning something new, it's about remembering what's true" The shame of "I should be further ahead," and the comparison game Ten years of Front Row Dads, October 2026, back to Philadelphia Hand on your heart: thank yourself for showing up The homework: a friend found one recurring pattern across 25 years of journals. What are yours? Jon reads every reply. Send your thoughts to team@frontrowdads.com. And if this one hit home, share it with another brother and start the conversation. Front Row Dads is a brotherhood of family men with businesses, not businessmen with families. To learn more, go to frontrowdads.com.
#579
August 21 · 19 min
How I'd Do Early Fatherhood (If I Could Start Over)
"I would say to my wife, I need to get to the coffee shop by seven, because I couldn't be hassled by the kids in the morning." For ten years, Jon Vroman has asked the questions on this show. To close the first week of Good Questions, he answers them. This is Jon in the hot seat: how the man who founded Front Row Dads would have introduced himself before it existed (speaker, charity founder, ultramarathoner... and, toward the end of the list, a husband and dad), what he believed fatherhood was in the early years, and what he would do differently if he could start over. He is honest about the survival seasons, six figures in the bank to six figures in debt, and about the beliefs underneath his choices. Then he lays out what changed: a calendar that puts his kids first, the shift from providing for his boys to nurturing them, the rite of passage he is building through their 10-to-20 decade, and the one invitation he would give every father listening. IN THIS EPISODE: "What do you do?" answered by the old Jon and the new one What he valued before: achievement, progress, significance, and a calendar that proved it The coffee-shop-by-seven confession, and the belief about fatherhood hiding underneath it Six figures in the bank to six figures in debt: the survival season nobody romanticizes The 7-to-9am block on his calendar that just says "kids" Nurturing the spirit of the child in front of you, and the 10-to-20 rite of passage decade The invitation: find your crew and lean in all the way 📘 These aren't just business books. They're about building a legacy—at home and in your work. Curated by successful, family-first entrepreneurs. 👉 Get the full list: https://frontrowdads.com/podcast-books WANT THE FULL STORY? This conversation comes from "Fatherhood Before and After FRD: Jon Vroman." Hear the whole thing. And if his invitation landed, that is what the brotherhood is. Learn more at frontrowdads.com
#578
August 20 · 11 min
How Three Men Deal With Their Anger
"Do you ever lose your cool? Do you ever just yell?" It gets asked point-blank in this one, and the three answers could not be more different. Ryan Deiss, founder of DigitalMarketer, says he is not a yeller, then tells you exactly where his line is and what happened the one time somebody made his wife feel unsafe in her own home. Connor Beaton, who leads men's work through ManTalks, traces the charge underneath a man's anger back to what it is actually made of, and lays out his move from a medicated way of being to a meditative one. And then the question turns raw: one of the questions in this episode is not for a guest at all. It is a dad admitting he goes from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye and asking breathwork coach Charles Clay, can you fix me? Clay's answer, catching where anger shows up in your body and naming what you need out loud, is a tool you can use tonight. IN THIS EPISODE: "I'm not a yeller": Deiss on living at a three and what it takes to hit his eleven Why no yelling, no slammed doors, and no thrown things is a household rule, not a temperament Beaton on the internal charge under a man's anger, and where it comes from Moving from medicating the intensity to working with it: breath, cold, stillness "Zero to a hundred in a blink": the honest confession at the center of the episode Clay's toolkit: the 4-8 breath, finding the anger in your body, and saying what you need 💼 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/podcast-books WANT THE FULL STORY? All three of these came from full episodes worth your time: - Ryan Deiss on avoiding the regrets of success as an entrepreneur father: frontrowdads.com/495 - Connor Beaton on shattering the mask of masculinity: frontrowdads.com/378 - Charles Clay on the advantages of feeling more, not just better: frontrowdads.com/317
#577
August 19 · 25 min
How Three Dads Deal With Apologies, Wounds, and Forgiveness
"Every decision I've ever made in my life, good and bad, has been in an effort to get my father to tell me he loved me." This one moves in three parts: the apology you owe your kids, the dance you are still in with your own dad, and the forgiveness that sets you free. It starts at a kitchen table, where a dad raising his voice over math homework suddenly recognizes the scene, because he lived it at his son's age, on the other side of the table. Psychologist Dr. Kelly Flanagan takes the question everyone asks after a moment like that, "Did I repair it okay?", and reframes the whole thing: your kids don't need you to be perfect, and an apology is a gift, because it teaches them they don't have to be perfect either. Then Ryland Englehart of Cafe Gratitude gets asked for a painful memory of his father and lands somewhere more honest: gratitude first, and a dance with his dad's expectations that is still alive today, because a son spends his life trying to prove his father wrong or make his father proud. And then Michael Chernow, who built The Meatball Shop and Seamore's, answers the hardest version of the question: have you forgiven him? What follows- a father lost during Chernow's addiction, and the moment years later when he finally heard the words he had been chasing- is one of the most powerful stretches of tape in our archive. IN THIS EPISODE: The kitchen-table moment: recognizing your own childhood wound mid-yell "We worry from our wounds": why your reaction is about you before it is about them Flanagan on why apologizing to your kids is a gift, not a failure The empathy-vs-boundaries pendulum our generation of parents swings on Englehart on the expectations dance with his dad, still running today "Prove his father wrong or make his father proud": the paradigm most men live inside Chernow on hating his father, losing him, and the breathwork session where he finally heard "I love you" What forgiveness actually freed him to build at home 🚀 You're building a business—but are you building your family with the same intention? These books helped us do both. 📘 Grab the list here: frontrowdads.com/books WANT THE FULL STORY? All three of these came from full episodes worth your time: Dr. Kelly Flanagan on the two things every parent must hold in balance: frontrowdads.com/85 Ryland Englehart on growing up wild, and the rooftop in San Francisco where he made amends with his dad: frontrowdads.com/488 Michael Chernow on building a legacy at home, not just in business: frontrowdads.com/477
#576
August 18 · 15 min
How Successful Dads Deal With the Spoiled-Kid Problem
Give your kids enough that they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing. That Warren Buffett line is where this one starts. You worked hard so your family could have a good life. So how do you keep the life you built from softening the kids you love? This is the first episode of Good Questions, where we pull the best questions dads have asked across ten years of podcasts and member-only conversations, and stack the answers worth keeping. Four dads take this one on: Mike McCarthy on being honest with your kids about your wealth and what the trust will and will not do, Chad Willardson on raising abundance-minded kids instead of scarcity-minded ones, Scott Donnell on why you should let them waste some of their own money, and Dan Miller on how early kids should start working (his answer involves a rebuilt motorcycle and a 10-year-old). IN THIS EPISODE: The Buffett rule: enough to do anything, not so much they do nothing What to actually tell your kids about your money, and what the trust should gate Overpaying your kids on purpose: $50 book reports and a 12-year-old's dog-walking business "Let them buy the Mountain Dew": why a wasted $30 now beats a wasted $3,000 later The $410 motorcycle rebuild that taught a 10-year-old to earn what he rides Why kids learn economics from life experiences, not from sitting in seats 📚 Want to win at home and in business? These are the books that helped high-performing dads create deeper relationships and stronger lives—without sacrificing success. 👉 Get the list: frontrowdads.com/books WANT THE FULL STORY? Dan Miller's full conversation covers raising kids who love what they do, chores vs. paid work, and natural learning. Hear the whole thing: "Raising Kids Who Love What They Do with Dan Miller" -> frontrowdads.com/15 The McCarthy, Willardson, and Donnell answers come from member-exclusive sessions inside the brotherhood, the kind of conversations that don't happen at a backyard barbecue. If you want in the room, learn more at frontrowdads.com
#575
August 17 · 9 min
You Can't Force Your Kid to Follow You: Why Correcting Costs Influence
You can't force a child to make you their mentor. They choose. And most of us are quietly spending that choice on being right. That's the argument in Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate, and it's the book two dads in this community keep coming back to. In this Bookshelf, they take it from both ends. John Berardi makes the case that a child is always looking for someone to guide them through life, and that they get to pick who. You can make a kid put on clothes. You can take things away. But you cannot make them choose you as the one they learn from, which is why the attachment has to come before the discipline. And if they don't pick you, they'll pick their peers, sometimes as early as nine. His warning about the book is worth hearing too: it's long, and the practical payoff is in the last few chapters. Hal Elrod brings the one line he pulled straight out of the book and taped to his fridge, where it's stayed for two years: prioritize the relationship with your child above correcting their behavior. Most of us correct constantly, and we do it at the expense of the bond. Yelling doesn't build influence, it spends it. So he bites his tongue and asks what matters more right now: the relationship or catching them doing something wrong. Nine times out of ten, it's the relationship. He also names the trap on the other side: you threaten, they comply, you feel like you won, and that short-term victory quietly costs you the long game. IN THIS EPISODE: Why a child chooses who leads them, and why you can't force it Attachment before discipline: the book's core argument What happens if they don't pick you (peers, sometimes by nine years old) Leadership by example instead of authority, and why "good kids who follow every rule" isn't the goal The paragraph on Hal's fridge: relationship above correction Why yelling diminishes your influence instead of building it The short-term compliance trap, and what it costs you later Berardi's honest warning about reading the book 📘 These aren't just business books. They're about building a legacy—at home and in your work. Curated by successful, family-first entrepreneurs. 👉 Get the full list: https://frontrowdads.com/podcast-books WANT THE FULL STORY? Both of these came from full episodes worth your time: John Berardi's conversation goes into raising kids around wealth, leadership vs. bullying, and asking your kids how to be a better dad. Hear the whole thing: "The 3-Year Old Ninja Warrior with John Berardi" -> frontrowdads.com/122 Hal Elrod's episode covers the parenting blind spots, protecting family time, and screens. Hear the whole thing: "Marriage, Parenting & Work: A Family Leader's Guide to Success with Hal Elrod" -> frontrowdads.com/338
#568
August 15 · 13 min
Take Away Dad, Husband, Business Owner. Who's Left? | Walk With Jon
The greatest gift you can give your kids has nothing to do with them. Episode 2 of Walk With Jon. No studio, no script, no guest, no editing. Jon Vroman on a walking trail near his house, thinking out loud, this time with his dog Davy along for the walk. The audio is rough on purpose: wind, footsteps, and a dog on a leash are part of the deal. Jon has been doing interviews for the Front Row Dads book, due out late 2026 or early 2027, and two of those conversations ended up in the same place. The first was about the tagline, family men with businesses, not businessmen with families, and where it came from. In Jon's words, it was born out of failure: first he needed the $5,000 speech to take care of his family, then how could he say no to $10,000, then $30,000, because he was doing it for his family. The question he asks now: do our kids need that extra income, or do they need dad at home? The second was with a member whose daughter is about to leave home. Her advice to her dad: figure out who you are, and go do those things. That line is the seed of the whole walk, and where it lands is where Jon suspects the book lands too: "The greatest gift that you can give is self-love and self-respect." Not something you tell your kids. Something you model. IN THIS WALK: The Front Row Dads book: interviews underway, out late 2026 or early 2027 The $5,000 to $30,000 speaking fee trap, and hiding behind "I'm doing it for my family" A member's daughter with the best advice on the walk: figure out who you are, and go do those things James Van Der Beek, and the identity that survives when illness strips the others away Who is Jon without Tatiana? Why every unenforced boundary traces back to the same root: self-respect Jon reads every reply. Send your thoughts to team@frontrowdads.com. And if this one hit home, share it with another brother and start the conversation. Front Row Dads is a brotherhood of family men with businesses, not businessmen with families. To learn more, go to frontrowdads.com.
#573
August 14 · 7 min
4 Dads Explain What They Wish They'd Known Before Their First Kid
Fatherhood is a series of windows that open and close. The one you're leaving usually never opens again. For years we've been asking guests on this show some version of the same question: what do you wish you knew before your first kid? For the last day of NEW DAD WEEK, we pulled four of the best answers and put them back to back. No commentary, just four dads who've been through it telling you what they'd want you to know. You'll hear from Ryan Levesque, Michael Dietrich-Chastain, Farhan Rizvi, and Matt Baudro. Free field guide for the whole week at frontrowdads.com/newdad. IN THIS EPISODE: Ryan Levesque: fatherhood is forever, and it's a series of windows that close. Remember to remember. Michael Dietrich-Chastain: expect reactivity from everyone, don't take it as an attack, and the hard roads are temporary. Stay in the "wow." Farhan Rizvi: have grace on yourself. Being a dad is like baseball, where a great batting average is in the .200s. Matt Baudro: step back and figure out who your kid actually is, then come alongside them, instead of trying to raise a smaller version of yourself. THE FULL NEW DAD WEEK: Part 1: Listen, don't fix (Jason Kreidman) Part 2: What no one tells dads about postpartum (Suzanne Yatim Aslam) Part 3: Put your wife first (Steve Olsher) Part 4: Sleep survival (Mollie Eastman) Part 5: This one.
#572
August 13 · 4 min
How to Get Kids Sleepy Without Saying a Word
You're exhausted, so we made this one short. Two things worth your tired attention. First, a nearly free trick for kids' bedtime that works with their biology instead of against it: no arguing, no negotiating, just light. And second, a genuinely kind word for couples who've been short with each other lately: sleep-deprived people are not their best selves, and that's not a character flaw. This is part of NEW DAD WEEK, five short episodes for expecting dads and dads in the first year. Free field guide for the whole week at frontrowdads.com/newdad. IN THIS EPISODE: The light trick: dim the house an hour before bed and watch your kids drift upstairs on their own Why light placement signals a child's body that it's time to sleep The 90-minute wind-down: big lights off, low lamps on Grace for the sleep-deprived marriage, and why weathering the season is the actual strategy This one came from a longer conversation about sleep, circadian rhythms, and why sleep is a skill you can build. Hear the full episode: frontrowdads.com/431 This is part of NEW DAD WEEK, five short episodes for expecting dads and dads in the first year. Free field guide for the whole week at frontrowdads.com/newdad.
#571
August 12 · 7 min
Want a Strong Family? DON'T Put the Kids First.
We asked what advice he'd give a new dad. His answer had nothing to do with the baby. Steve Olsher's advice for men entering fatherhood is to prioritize your wife, above the kids. It sounds backwards, especially when there's a newborn in the house who genuinely needs everything. But his reasoning is hard to argue with: the most important relationship in a family is the one between mom and dad, and when the two of you are off, the whole house feels it. He also makes an uncomfortable case that nearly every conflict traces back to one thing. This is part of NEW DAD WEEK, five short episodes for expecting dads and dads in the first year. Free field guide for the whole week at frontrowdads.com/newdad. IN THIS EPISODE: Why the strongest thing in your family is the relationship between the two of you What happens to couples who let the whole dynamic become about the kids The long view: one day they leave, and you're either with your best friend or a stranger Why 99 times out of 100 the fight was your fault How selfishness quietly runs most conflict, and what to do about it Hear Steve's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/199.
#570
August 11 · 31 min
7 Signs Your Wife Is Struggling (That She'll Never Say Out Loud)
Suzanne Yatim Aslam had postpartum depression after her son was born, and in this conversation she tells dads exactly what it looked like from the inside, including the part almost nobody says out loud: for a while, she blamed her baby for ruining her life. Her husband didn't know. She never asked for help. She just kept saying she was fine. This is part of NEW DAD WEEK, five short episodes for expecting dads and dads in the first year. We built a free field guide to go with it: the main points from every episode plus prompts you can actually use. Grab it at frontrowdads.com/newdad. IN THIS EPISODE: "Depression is its own character in your brain, and it tells you lies" What it feels like to blame your own child, and why that's the illness talking Why "I'm fine" is the most dangerous sentence in your house right now Why she needed her husband to advocate for her when she couldn't advocate for herself What NOT to say: "enjoy it, it goes so fast" and "at least he's healthy," and why they make a drowning mom feel worse The systems that actually helped her recover: solo days, therapy, and a daily mid-day break Fix it or feel it: the four-word question that tells you what she actually needs A note: this episode discusses depression and mental health honestly. If you or your partner are struggling, please talk to a doctor or a therapist. In the US, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and Postpartum Support International is at 1-800-944-4773. Hear Suzanne's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/341
#569
August 10 · 9 min
Do NOT Ask Your Wife "What Can I Do?" (here's why)
Your wife is struggling, and everything in you wants to solve it. That instinct is the problem. Welcome to NEW DAD WEEK. Five short episodes for guys who are expecting or in the thick of the first year. We're starting with Jason Kreidman on the skill that matters most early on, and it isn't tactical. It's empathy, which he calls the single biggest game changer in how he parents and how he loves his wife. He also lands on four words that will save you an enormous amount of grief: do you want me to fix it, or feel it? We built a free field guide for the whole week: the main points from every episode plus prompts you can actually use. Grab it at frontrowdads.com/newdad. IN THIS EPISODE: Why the number one thing a new dad needs to hear isn't tactical, it's "you're not alone" Everyone feels like they're the only one who doesn't get it. Everyone. Empathy as the game changer, and what it actually looks like in practice "Do you want me to fix it, or feel it?" and why asking beats guessing Why "what can I do?" often doesn't help, and what to do instead The neighbour rule: don't ask what food they want, just bring food Meeting your wife's love language at a higher level than you think is reasonable Hear Jason's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/101.
#568
August 8 · 13 min
When to Get Tougher, and When to Walk Away | Walk With Jon
There are two lessons available when something in your life keeps hurting. One is to get tougher. The other is to walk away. Most men only ever get coached on the first one. WHAT THIS IS This is the first episode of something new we're calling Walk With Jon. No studio, no script, no guest, no editing. Just Jon Vroman on a walking trail near his house, thinking out loud. In his words: "What I don't want to do is stand at my desk anymore at my expensive microphone and try to record the highest quality show. I thought, if we were friends and on the phone and talking to each other, it would sound like this. You'd hear the wind in the background, the crunch of the rocks under my feet. It wouldn't be the highest quality audio, but it would be authentic. It would be real. You would be with me." So yes, the audio is rougher than what you're used to from us. That's the point. No edits, no stops, no re-records. His words again: "just mistakes, back steps, corrections throughout." In a world where you can't always tell what's real and what came out of a machine, these are his unfiltered thoughts as he walks. He also asks for two things up front. That you send feedback and tell him what you'd want him to think through out loud, because he's a verbal processor and this helps him as much as it helps you. And that you allow him to change his mind later, because that's what growth looks like. WHAT HE'S THINKING ABOUT THIS MORNING He calls it the nut-kicking line. Picture standing in a line where you keep getting kicked, and a coach beside you saying the lesson is resilience. Toughen up. Build grit. Focus your attention somewhere else. Sometimes that's exactly right. But Jon's point is that there's a second lesson almost nobody coaches, which is that you're allowed to step out of the line. Learning to let go, to say no, to move on, is also a lesson. He works it through his own three ultramarathons, one of which he thinks genuinely hurt him, and then through marriages, business partners, employees, and kids of divorce who say they wish their parents had separated sooner. Both paths have beautiful stories. Both have regrets. As he puts it: "All of it's true." The question he lands on isn't which one is right. It's what you'd hear if you got quiet and honest enough to ask yourself. IN THIS WALK: Why he's recording on a trail instead of at his desk, and what unfiltered is worth right now Why he reserves the right to change his mind, and why that's growth and not flip-flopping The nut kicking line, and the two very different lessons hiding inside it His 52-mile walk-run in 2006, doing it again in 2007, and the anniversary run ten years later that cost him Whether ultra-endurance events serve your body or only your mindset, and where David Goggins fits Ben Greenfield trading hard training for long walks, and what shifting seasons looks like Where this shows up for real: marriages, business partners, employees, and children of divorce Why he believes there are no bad decisions, only decisions, and that even the hard ones come with blessings It's okay to not be okay, and even indecision is a decision The Hoffman Institute method his friend David uses: asking your emotional body, mind, heart, and spirit separately, then integrating the answers Jon's four core values: truth, love, respect, responsibility Front Row Dads turning 10, and heading back to Philadelphia where it started in 2016 Jon reads every reply. If something here landed, or if you think he's wrong about it, tell him. He'd say the disagreement is as useful as the agreement, because it shows you what you actually believe. _________________________________________________________ Front Row Dads is a brotherhood of family men with businesses, not businessmen with families. Nearly a thousand men have come through the community in our first ten years. To learn more, go to frontrowdads.com.
#567
August 7 · 16 min
What Actually Makes You Attractive to Your Wife - Dr Robert Glover
Most men think attraction is something you do. It's something you are. Dr. Robert Glover, best-selling author of No More Mr. Nice Guy, gives about as direct an answer as you'll get: the feminine is highly attracted to a man who's comfortable in his own skin and knows where he's going. From there he gets into why your own thinking is the thing sabotaging you, why time away with other men comes home as attraction, and why a marriage with no tension or space in it slowly goes flat. 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: The one-line answer to what actually attracts the feminine Why your thinker is your biggest enemy, and the practice of being where your feet are Why time with other men is wired into you, and how it makes you more attractive at home Emotional tension, space, and keeping desire alive in a long marriage Scheduling sex and what really happened to spontaneity Filling your bucket by getting away, and coming home as someone she's curious about This is part 5 and the last of a 5-part week with Dr. Robert Glover. Also this week: Nice Guy Syndrome and shame, boundaries for men, decoding your wife, and brotherhood and male isolation. Hear Glover's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/464. His book is No More Mr. Nice Guy.
#566
August 6 · 22 min
Why You Have All the Information and Still Never Act - Dr. Robert Glover
Everyone is talking about the male loneliness epidemic. Here's the less comfortable version: a lot of it is self-inflicted. Dr. Robert Glover, best-selling author of No More Mr. Nice Guy, gets into what actually keeps men isolated, and he doesn't let anyone off the hook, including himself. He talks about the father wound underneath why men don't trust other men, why some groups of guys go deep for years while others quietly fall apart, and the fear of success that keeps a man consuming information instead of doing anything with it. 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 loneliness epidemic among men is largely self-inflicted What makes some men's groups thrive while others fall apart, and the one guy who determines it Fear of success and "the comfort of the nursery": why men with all the information still don't act The father wound at the root of why men don't trust other men Needing a hall pass to go see your friends, and the year and a half it took him The three reasons men actually show up to a men's group: accountability, support, or just to be This is part 4 of a 5-part week with Dr. Robert Glover. Also this week: Nice Guy Syndrome and shame, boundaries for men, decoding your wife, and attracting the feminine. Hear Glover's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/466. His book is No More Mr. Nice Guy.
#564
August 5 · 17 min
Do NOT Argue the Facts With Your Wife (here's why) - Dr. Robert Glover
His wife said he hadn't told her he loved her all day. He had screenshots proving he'd said it five times. He kept them to himself, and that was the whole lesson. Part three of our five-part week with Dr. Robert Glover, best-selling author of No More Mr. Nice Guy, and probably the most immediately useful one. Glover draws the line between a factual statement and an emotional statement, and makes the case that when your wife says something that seems provably unfair, the accusation was never the point. The trigger you feel is the signal. 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: The candle story: why knowing this and embodying it are completely different things Why patterns live in your nervous system, not in what you've read Regulating in real time: what he did when his wife made a jab in the park Jon's own account of trying to stay calm through a hard conversation about school Ground, breathe, open, get curious: the four-word checklist for any conversation Emotional statements vs. factual statements, and why taking the bait always loses The "I love you" screenshots, and the apology that came two days later on its own This is part 3 of 5. Also this week: Nice Guy Syndrome and shame, boundaries for men, brotherhood and male isolation, and attracting the feminine. Hear Glover's full conversation at frontrowdads.com/518. His book is No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Showing 1–20 of 32 episodes