Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like if he were here now. I’d like to make a place for him at our table for Christmas lunch, like I do for Mum and other family and friends. I’d like to serve him and make up the spare room in our home. I’d like him to see what I’ve become. I was a skinny, pimply, constantly awkward teenager when he ...

Are you living in the now, or in the glory days of your memory? With life moving ever faster, the cost is high if we fail to keep up. This is a challenging podcast (#47 Real Talk for Real Men). There was a time when you could build your life around a single career, even a single employer. Work hard and you had a job for life and a secure retirement.  ...

What are the life skills that you need through life’s journey? Guy & Chris reflect on this in episode #58. As you are journeying through life, are you continuing to build the life skills that underpin your growing maturity and success through life, or will you revel in being both ignorant and arrogant? Life Skills for Life’s Journey In episode 58 of Real Talk for Real Men, Chris and Guy encourage ...

Not all TV dads are the same. Take examples like Tim Allen’s sharp-witted Mike Baxter, and contrast him with Matt Groening’s, feckless Homer Simpson. Forget for a moment that we’re talking about cartoon vs. human. In any greatest-dad-of-all-time celebrity boxing match, we know Baxter would win. The outdoor man vs. the “Duff” guzzling, obese, inattentive, drooling, lounge lizard. A father with strength, humility, and a no-nonsense embrace of free speech, up ...

Five days after burying his dad, Chris shares the impact an ordinary bloke can have living with purpose. Are the men who live great lives, who have great impact, supermen, larger than life, different to you and me? Or are they just ordinary people, just like you and me who have discovered something … … who somewhere along the line made small, right choices again and again, and together across time ...

If there was a crash course in what every father needs to know, that could be crushed into just 30 minutes, what would it look like? Probably pretty close to what former Queensland Father of the Year Darren Lewis shares here. I read on a sticker inside a tour bus, in all places while doing a Hollywood tour in Los Angeles, The most important things in life are not things. – LA ...

Dad-life involves both being and doing. In a word, fatherhood is a vocation. The Latin equivalent is vocare — “to call.” Dad-life is therefore a “calling.” It’s much more than just another job. For sure, fatherhood is full-time work. We’re required to be on the scene until the good Lord retires us. This will mean being waste-deep in the complexity of relationships. Wading through life’s trenches carrying responsibility and commitment, regardless ...

Today, Chris and Guy answer the question: what is really involved in being a father in a child’s world? Episode #31 of Real Talk 4 Real Men. When you became a daddy, did you think that being a father was something just so natural, you didn’t really need to think very much about it? That was Chris’ experience more than four decades ago, but he had to learn the hard way ...

It’s always fascinating reading about what other people have accomplished in life. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, was the richest man in America when he died in 1992 at the age of 74. He started Walmart in 1962, so in forty years he had revolutionised retailing in America, received the Medal of Freedom and built the foundation of the soon-to-be-named biggest company in the world. Whatever you think of Walmart ...

Editor’s Note: This is a profoundly real and self-revelatory article for those fathers who are grappling with the deeper issues of fatherhood. Full congratulations to Rod Lampard for sharing his journey with us. This is a case of strong meat for strong men. ___ “You’re just like your father.” This was the fictional narrative of my formative years. Instead of using my name when things got heated between us, my family ...

In part 4 of Thriving Through Change, Guy and Chris continue the discussion on how to cope with change. In this episode, Guy explains the 4-part Hudson change model for understanding where you are at in the change cycle. Ever been chasing a dream, a big goal, a vision, but then become disillusioned with the whole thing? Things you assumed were constant are now being questioned? Can see change coming, and ...

Back by popular demand, Darren Lewis shares the 5 essentials for guiding your sons into authentic manhood. How can a 29-year-old male be married and have 3 kids, and only then discover that he wasn’t really a man? That was the experience of former Queensland Father of the Year and founder of Fathering Adventures, Darren Lewis. Darren realised he had no vision for manhood, fatherhood and husbandhood. What we cannot define, ...

My good friend Robert Day sent me a link. He said, “Check out Gavin Topps and his ‘Fight Like a Pro’ Program”. Rob is a Dads4Kids board member. He has worked with men all his life. He knows men. So, I just had to check it out for myself. Below is the challenging call to Manhood from the Gavin Topps Rite of Passage for the Modern Man landing page. “Friend, if ...

There is a truckload of parenting advice on how to fathers can make more time for their families. This is especially the case for new fathers and fathers-to-be. Dragging ourselves through chapter after chapter of self-help drudgery, only to be told how much we’re not doing, and how much more we need to be doing, can be a soul-sucking experience. What’s offered as help to maximise time — nearly always with ...

We all get a bit of shock pretty early on in married life. For some, it is day 1: “This isn’t what I expected!” At some point, you will probably find yourself asking yourself the question: Is marriage worth it? Are you married?  How has it been going for you lately?  You wouldn’t be the first person to stop and ask yourself that question. Most of us men enter into marriage ...

Sometimes parents can feel a little helpless when anything they do makes their child’s tantrum worse. Below, Jess Mannion sheds light on how we can respond to kids’ tantrums in her blog post titled, ‘Public Tantrums – How To Remain The Parent’. We have all been there. As our children get older, theoretically the tantrums get easier to deal with — we can explain things more, empathise with how upset they ...

Yes, you can learn to father. Hear from 86-year-old Clive on how he went from having no relatable dad in his life to becoming the pivot around which many from inside and outside of his bloodline proudly call him ‘dad’. How do you learn to be a father when you have not had a good example from your father? Can you just trust instinct? Is that enough? And when you decide ...

Thanks so much for all the wonderful help with the End of Financial Year ‘Help the Children’ Appeal. Your giving will help Dads4Kids to keep going. The good news is, we are just over halfway to our target. I am sure we will get there in the end, but it just might take a bit more time. If you would still like to support the Dads4Kids Help Children Appeal, please DONATE ...

As the cold weather sets in, it’s vital to give your mind and body a boost to improve overall mood and wellbeing. 1. Centre in on your diet. Fill your plate with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to give your body adequate nutrition and vitamins to increase energy levels throughout the winter months. A nutritious diet, along with drinking plenty of water, will ensure your immune system stays strong to help ...

What is worse than death of a partner in a relationship? For those who have been through it, finding your partner has cheated on you brings pain that can seem to be impossible to deal with. How will your relationship survive? How will you survive? What about the kids? In this blogpost and podcast, Phil will give you hope and a pathway forward that works. Help! My Partner Has Had An ...