The Cool Grandpa Podcast

This week, our guest is Patrick Brady. Patrick is passionate about gathering his family history and stories. As Patrick started to look at the marketplace, he recognized that there wasn't a service or platform that would allow building a central location to preserve that unique family history and enable the family to make it their own truly. At Heritage HQ, each family gets its unique domain to up...

This is our monthly one-on-one conversation. This week, I am discussing my impressions of DeeDee More's great blog post, "A Grandparent's Response to the Surgeon General's Advisory on Parents' Mental Health." Some of the data collected over the last few years concerning parents and their mental health might be surprising to you. I was surprised to learn about some of the challenges that young pare...

Doug Sohn from Success After Sixty is joining the podcast to discuss his experience living in a multi-generational home. If Doug's name sounds familiar, that is because he is a returning guest. Doug is joining us again to talk about living in a multi-generational home. We learn that Doug and his wife have always had a full home, regardless of whether it contained six children or other people comin...

Karen Stillman from Baby Making Genius is back on the podcast to discuss her relationship with her grandfathers and share her thoughts about her father as a grandpa. We are introduced to George (Granddad) and Henry (Grandpa Daddy)and their relationship with Karen and her siblings. Continuing our discussion, we hear how Granddad was a scary grandfather and Grandpa Daddy was a fun-loving card-playin...

This week's guest is Jim Tracy, or as he is better known, The Grampion. Jim and I dive right in and talk about the challenges and fun of being younger grandfathers. Jim shares with us how he is building connections with his grandchildren of all ages. We learn how The Grampion is staying active and working out with his grandson, who is a Division 1 level football recruit, and his five-year-old gran...

This week's conversation is with Aaron Larsen, the founder of Grandparents Academy. In our discussion, Aaron and I discuss the incredible growth of Grandparents Weeks from its first year to the present day. It has been incredible to be associated with Grandparents Academy and watch this amazing community's growth focused on strengthening grandparents and grandchildren. Incase you don't know what G...

A few weeks back, I volunteered at the scout camp where I worked in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. It was a blast being with a group of energetic people who are really putting their hearts and souls into doing what they can to make the world a better place. I was able to eat, sleep, work, and sweat with these great folks. Over the week, I made a few observations about Generation Z, or iGen, as...

Jim Padilla from Gain The Edge joins us this week to talk about his experience as a grandfather. This is a fantastic conversation as we learn about Jim's past and how he grew up with less-than-stellar male role models. We dive right in and learn about Jim's background and how he never thought he would be a father or a grandfather. Like so many of us, life had other plans, and Jim and his wife are...

Dr. Karen Stillman joins the conversation this week to discuss how she helps women worldwide work through fertility issues. We learn about Karen's passion for taking a holistic approach to the challenges women face when addressing issues around fertility. Dr. Karen talks to us about her challenges when trying to conceive. Although Karen was an Obstetrics and gynecology Resident and had access to n...

This week's guest, Craig McManus from McPlants, is on the show to discuss gardening and landscaping and how these activities can build lasting memories. Craig starts our discussion by sharing his experience as a professional gardener and operating one of the best garden centers just outside of Atlanta. We review and visit Craig's memories of becoming a grandfather for the first time and how he sta...

This weekend is July 4th or Independence Day in the United States. It was the day that the United States declared its independence from England. In this one-on-one conversation, I want to encourage you to declare your independence from just ONE thing holding you back on your journey to becoming the coolest grandparent ever. We declare independence from a negative mindset, emotion, or even a condit...

This week's episode is a round table or cracker barrel discussion for The Cool Grandpa Podcast. The term cracker barrel comes from when, primarily, men would gather in a country store and eat saltine crackers out of a wooden barrel while talking about the weather, news, gossip, etc. I thought this description fits rather well to get a great group of guys together to talk about Grandpa stuff. In th...

Larry Tribble, PhD, joins us this week to discuss how busy professionals can be productive in managing their professional and personal lives. Larry and I start our discussion by defining what a typical knowledge worker experiences concerning minimum direction and oversight by the management team we report to. We compare the state of management and the working environment today to that of forty to...

Dr. Gene Beresin, MD, MA, from The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, joins us to discuss the increase in loneliness among today's teenagers. We start by discussing the Surgeon General's report on loneliness, the causes and effects of loneliness in teenagers, and the role of social media and over-scheduling in contributing to loneliness. We also discuss and emphasize the importance of face-to-fa...

This week, we have another chance to have a one-on-one conversation. In this week's episode, I share four tips you can implement immediately to enhance your relationship with your grandchildren. Our first tip is to help our grandchildren learn to give and receive compliments. Remember that when complimenting our grandchildren and people generally, we want to be timely and specific. Too often, we c...

This week's guest is Adrienne Davis. Adrienne is a Health & Wellness Coach, helping adults and children overcome physical and mental health challenges by eating more plants and spending time outdoors. She's a plant-based wife and momma with 3 sons and a dog. Adrienne loves nature, especially hiking, tent camping, and listening to cicadas. After using nature and nutrition to eliminate her panic att...

John Coulombe, Director of Spiritual Development for Legacy Coalition, joins the conversation this week to discuss his background as a pastor's kid. We also learn about John's history with entering the ministry and starting down the road as an intergenerational ministry leader. With 55 years in ministry, John met with Larry Flower, the founder of Legacy Coalition, along with other key people inter...

With close to four million check-in calls, Iamfine is a passionate company that ensures that seniors and other people living alone are safe and accounted for. Paul Hammond, the founder, and his brother started this business to have an automated check-in for his mother and her friends. Paul joins our conversation to discuss the background and driving force that led him and his brother to create a f...

Kevin Lyles joined us this week to discuss his experience becoming a retirement coach. We discussed the difference between financial planners and wealth managers and how each helps grandparents and seniors plan for their financial future. Kevin also helped us understand what a retirement coach does to help retirees plan and develop their purpose and goals in retirement. As a retirement coach, Kevi...

In this one-on-one conversation, I want to discuss the frustrations that grandparents sometimes have when things don't go as planned with their grandkids. I also want to explore the concept of having selfish and selfless motives in our actions and how these coexist.  When things don't go our way, I think there is an opportunity to detach from the situation and analyze why it didn't work out. I sug...

In this episode, Parcsen, a grandfather from Singapore, talks about his experience and the role of grandfathers in the family and community. We talk about the issue of isolation and loneliness among the older population and the need for intergenerational connections. Parcsen shares his journey of becoming a grandfather and his joy seeing his children progress. We also talk about special activities...

Raising children can be a tough row to hoe. No matter what age you are, there are a lot of demands on your time, energy, knowledge, and patience when dealing with children. Not only do you need to manage the children, but you also need to manage their schedules, diets, hobbies and interests, friends, and education. I am worn out just thinking about and writing these sentences. Well, this week, we...

Lee Ostler joins the conversation this week to talk about his relationship with his grandchildren. We are fortunate to hear Lee talk about building and nurturing relationships with both grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. We discuss how our identities change from being known as 'Dad' to becoming 'Grandpa.' While we enjoy the change that comes from having grandchildren, it is a bit of a mixe...

He was a man to ride the river with. A long time ago, someone could get no higher compliment than to be known as one to ride the river with. It seems that this phrase came about during the time of the frontiersmen and cowboys. When exactly, no one seems to know. It might have been during the early days of the Oregon Trail or soon after that. When it came to be, it doesn't matter, but it is a phras...

Simon Gidney from A Mind To Care joins us to discuss his organization and the tools he is developing to help caregivers and those needing memory and behavior care. Simon discusses how, with over 40 million unpaid caregivers in the United States, many of these caregivers need tools to help engage and, for lack of a better word, manage the loved ones in their care. We discuss Simon's background as a...