1028 - Larry Hagner: How To Succeed As A Father

·1 hr 1 min·5 clips

Larry Hagner was bragging about his son at a campfire until someone joked, 'We get it, you're a great dad.'

The episode begins with host Sathya welcoming back Larry Hagner, recalling a story from a campfire where Larry proudly spoke about his son Ethan. Larry reflects on his early fatherhood struggles, having grown up with an absent biological father and an abusive stepfather, which led him to start The Dad Edge. A central theme is the critical need for alignment between spouses in parenting decisions; Larry explains how he and his wife present a united front, even privately discussing disagreements before responding to their kids. He contrasts this with his childhood experience of parents being pitted against each other. Larry discusses evolving his approach from being a 'fixer' to a coach who asks questions, illustrated by a detailed example where he helped his overwhelmed son Ethan navigate a job and school balance by guiding him to find his own solution. The conversation touches on handling marital disagreements, such as differing views on faith, where Larry's family ultimately chose to stay Catholic after deep discussions about feeling the Holy Spirit. Larry shares insights from his book 'The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood,' structured into four parts: drift, husband, father, and leader. He explains that fatherhood, like martial arts, is a continuous pursuit with new stages always emerging. Community is highlighted as essential for learning, with Larry describing The Dad Edge Alliance and Boardroom as schools for dads. He references a framework from coach Jake Herbert about needing three types of people: a mentor, a battle buddy, and someone to teach. Larry stresses the importance of being intentional and present with children, reframing conversations as 'the best show on the planet.' He shares a story of modeling conflict resolution for his son by having him observe a calm disagreement with his wife, emphasizing that lessons are 'caught, not taught.' The episode concludes with Larry promoting his book and related courses, and Sathya recommending his Deep Clean program for men struggling with pornography.

As heard by us

A warm, faith-shaped fatherhood episode about lived responsibility, campfire pride, and a book launch derailed by bankruptcy.

Larry Hagner's return to the pod frames fatherhood as responsibility people can actually see. Sathya opens with a campfire memory from the Forge in St.

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Why you'd press play

You want fatherhood advice that has survived a campfire story, a finished book, and a publisher going bankrupt.

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