Dear Son,

The burden of manhood is heavy. Sometimes we get weighed down with its duties and responsibilities, which leaves little room for an expectation of being loved the way we want and need to be. Some men want a fairy tale love too. This may be a hot take for some, and others may assume the title is just for the views, but I challenge you to really give this some thought. A fairy tale is just a curated...

Enjoy the visual experience: https://youtu.be/emwkuqJqGxM The curse of the unworthy is a quiet disruptor, distancing many men from the life they deserve. Many of us constantly speak negative outcomes over our lives because we simply believe that our past mistakes define who we are. Sure, the bad behaviors must be addressed, but once they are in the past, we cannot allow them to be the ceiling to o...

My eBook is finally available! I appreciate your support.  https://thedearsonpodcast.com/dsp-merch-%26-digital/ols/products/20lifepromptsv1 The journey of manhood is nuanced. We are often called to be everything to everyone at the expense of knowing our purpose and identity. Some would argue that those concepts are interchangeable, and yes, they are similar; however, they are not the same.  In thi...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/1N1VrNMuEco Dear Son, the world will offer you many definitions of what a man is and how he is expected to behave. Most of these definitions are filtered through the lens of personal experiences. Some may sound logical while others will clearly sound farfetched. It’s important that you understand how to recognize your full range of emotions and em...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/PFb0F48L4NY Dear Son, It isn’t what it looks like! Sometimes we see things and people how they are presented to us, not knowing what is really happening at the core. We live in a microwave, celebratory, highlight reel of a world. Our timelines are constantly flooded with unimaginable lifestyles, wins, and “goals” that shape how we view and value s...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/95JSeJ7-kT4 Dear Son, don’t jump out the window for your friends! This is a metaphor for being so passionate about a person or a thing that you rush to defend the person or thing no matter what. Your friend says that someone hurts their feelings, and you’ve already put your boxing gloves on, ready to spar. You don’t even know if the friend antagon...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/4PiplHbIiSA I have a tough time understanding why some parents introduce their child as their best friend. I’m not talking about an adult parent and adult child, but literal kids (toddlers in some cases). There are so many barriers to creating that kind of relationship in my mind, but this conversation may have changed that.  There are several cir...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/Ti1q8YN92D0 Practice DOES NOT make perfect. This is a fact. Practice only makes you consistently good at what you do in practice. Practice wrong…you’ll surely play wrong. Practice long, and you’ll only gain endurance. Perfect practice is the only key to greatness. Don’t you agree? This may initially sound like a harsh take, but it’s pretty sound w...

I’m willing to pay for convenience, and I’m not ashamed of that. When it’s time to travel, upgrade me please and thank you. If I’m driving to an event, front row park me for a fee. If I’m bored on the plane, take my money, and give me internet. I, like many, want what I want when I want it.  Unfortunately, that convenience-craving character doesn’t easily detach from my roles as father and husband...

Dear Son, choose your wife carefully! Choosing a spouse is one of the most important decisions anyone can make in life. It’s a very intentional process, or at least it should be. The process is longer for some than it is for others, but there isn’t a process that guarantees favorable results after “I do.” Many feel like marriage isn’t worth it. I believe a healthy marriage is. People change, that’...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/n0CImUxDp4s Dear Son, are you ready or are you prepared? Those are not interchangeable terms, as some may assume. Let's take an honest look back at various decision points throughout our lives for context. A teenager that doesn't care for his parents' rules, may believe (with full conviction) that he is ready to move out. Emotionally,...

Dear Son, It's bigger than you! Life is a series of choices. Some choices you make, and others are made for you. All of it is connected though, especially within a household. Every member of the family has a unique value to offer that dictates its legacy. Have you ever been curious about how successful families become household names? Johnson & Johnson, the Ford family and many others have...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/HqASbXeg_lI Dear Son, you will be better because of me, not in spite of me.  A common sentiment amongst parents is the desire to provide a better experience to their children than what they had as a child. Every generation should be greater than the previous one, I agree. Sometimes we need to assess the source of our motivation to do or be better...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/k7wBOEBToH0 The journey of manhood is nuanced. We are often called to be everything to everyone at the expense of knowing our purpose and identity. Some would argue that those concepts are interchangeable, and yes, they are similar; however, they are not the same.  In this series launch, we assembled 16 panelists, men from varying walks of life, t...

Sometimes we just need to acknowledge when our children a great job and shut up. Seriously, too often praise is delivered with a slight sprinkle of shade. Need example? “Hey son, you did a great job cutting the grass, but next time do it like this.” If this sounds familiar, congratulations on admitting it. I hear that’s the first step to most recovery processes. There’s a time and place for constr...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/GfeXJSGkSGY Are you a bridge or a wall? Without context, one may seem more positive than the other. Consider what the bridge connects and what the wall protects. I’ll wait. Either can facilitate or stifle successful relationships with your children. Did your answer change? Ideally, parents always have their children’s best interest in mind, and wo...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/M2T0HlyJE9A Discipline is a critical component of success. It's the principle that keeps you pushing forward when life seems to be working against you. As a parent, there's another side to the coin...how you discipline your children. Some of us discipline for correction, and others, for control.  Discipline can be administered in many form...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/vPoh38Uzygs "If I would've known then what I know now"...is a common copout. Yep, I said it. This is literally the adult version of "I can teleport," as my 8-year-old often proclaims. For argument's sake, let's play this out. What would father of 5 me tell father of 1 me? A lot! Becoming a parent is a wonderfully terrif...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/OdabzPxpVbY Have you ever reflected on your life and experienced feelings of regret? Even in the mildest case, one typically spends at least a few moments traveling down the hypothetical road of 'what if.' If you haven't, then now is the perfect time to fail. We had a candid conversation about the importance of embarking upon the unkno...

Enjoy the visual experience here: https://youtu.be/rTMh5lTF82Y The journey of manhood is layered. We are often called to be everything to everyone at the expense of knowing our purpose and identity. Some would argue that those concepts are interchangeable, and yes, they are similar; however, they are not the same.  In this series launch, we assembled 16 panelists, men from varying walks of life, t...

Enjoy the visual experience: https://youtu.be/X_0mbUgt0HE How far will you go for your son? Many parents proudly tout that they are willing to do anything for their children. The reality is that most of us will do anything (within reason) if our children are "representing the family correctly." What happens when they take on a moral compass that looks nothing like ours? While there are par...

Watch the show here: https://youtu.be/P_u3jbFLUs4 What are we really teaching our sons about dating? Is this even a conversation anymore, or was it ever for that matter? Dear Son, nice guys finish last! That might be a myth but jerks certainly don’t win the race. Perhaps there’s a middle ground that will position our young men to mature into respectful companions for the right young lady. We had a...

This episode is just as the title implies. Am I about to pop? Every man (that I know) has come face-to-face with an ‘about to pop’ moment at some stage of life. For some of us, this is a mile marker at every phase, from adolescence to the elderly years. While seemingly inevitable, the more important part is how we show up in those moments.  Losing a source of income, losing a relationship, losing...

Enjoy the visual experience: https://youtu.be/hq9P3qQ93eo How often do you reject a message simply because it was coming from a source that you don’t like? Whether the source is a person, place, or thing, you just don’t like it and, consequently, will not accept anything it has to offer, even if it could improve your life. Don’t shoot the messenger! Sometimes there is a valid reason to disregard i...

Enjoy the visual experience: https://youtu.be/udmv7aIX9Sc It’s a safe assumption that nobody likes to feel disregarded. Unfortunately, many of us have or will experience this in various phases of life. As a child, perhaps a classmate shared his candy with everyone in the class except you. Maybe as a teenager, the girl of your dreams rejected your invite to homecoming and laughed it off with her fr...