It seems that we’ve arrived suddenly in 2017! You might well ask where 2016 went? – a very good question. Some probably don’t want to think about 2016 – it’s simply too painful. For others, the treadmill was going so fast you felt as if your feet got burned trying to keep up. Maybe you felt you achieved a lot in 2016, but it wasn’t really what you wanted to achieve. ...

I hate to admit it, but I am probably what Dr John Tickell calls a ‘Type A personality’. One sign of Type A behaviour is the fact that this newsletter has gone out to men all over Australia every week, without fail, for 15 years(thank you Ron). The upside of this is that many, many men are alive today because of this newsletter and the work of Dads4Kids. Many men are ...

Only thirteen more sleeps to one of the most exciting days of the year for us egocentric men besides Father’s Day. Don’t worry, I am only kidding about International Men’s Day being egocentric. After all, I was the guy who helped write the song, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way”. Why are we so excited about International Men’s Day? Well if Dads4Kids isn’t, then who would ...

VISIT FROM THE MARRIAGE AUDITOR Imagine you received a phone call that went something like this:  “Mr & Mrs Herald, we need to make an appointment with you to do a ‘Marriage Audit’.  Can we make it 8.00pm tonight?  Thank you.  See you at 8.00pm.” Marriage Audit?  I’ve heard of a tax audit, but what on earth is a ‘Marriage Audit’?  8.00pm comes and the ‘Marriage Audit’ team arrive.  For 30-45 ...

A great poet once said, “Love is a many-splendored thing”. Whilst many of us would agree with Shakespeare, it seems that many would also agree with Eric Clapton when he sings, “Why does love got to be so sad?” Or maybe you feel more like the Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam when he sings in a song called Black  “love gone bad turned my world to black”? Several years ago my ...

By Sheila Wray Gregoire http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2012/07/men-heres-what-i-wish-i-could-say-to-you-about-sex/ Editors Note: This is probably the first time I have ever printed an article on my blog by a woman. But if you want to give advice to men about sex who better to ask than a woman. Only half the article is included so please go to Shelia’s great blog site to get the rest of this very timely information that will guarantee you more ...

Each week I try to be encouraging, but real. The trouble is the ‘real’ part has a way of whacking you in the side of the face when you least expect it. Many men have been whacked so many times that they just don’t want to get up off the floor and sometimes they can’t. Teaching men how to endure the fire and the rain of life is one of the ...

We racked our brains for weeks without a breakthrough! We knew we had a good story, but we didn’t know what to call it. Getting the name of your child right is important, but so is the name of a high impact life changing documentary. Once you have a name, you are usually stuck with it. In the world of documentaries and movies, getting the right name is everything. Think ‘Jaws’, ...

In 2009 we flew into USA on the day of Michael Jackson’s memorial service on the 7th July. It was a surreal feeling. There was a sadness on the plane that it was hard to put your finger on. Looking back I suspect many on that flight were actually going to the memorial service. Michael Jackson was extremely popular here in Australia, as he was around the world. Over 17,500 people ...

Before talking more about the fact that we believe Dads4Kids has saved the lives of 1,807 men over the last eight years, here’s a quick update on our progress toward the matching challenge of $23,000 … … We’re five days into the week-long matching period and we are about three quarters of the way to reaching the match amount.  REMEMBER: every gift given between now and next Thursday 30 June  — up to ...

Some time ago I received a request to speak at a Fair Divorce Forum at a local Leagues Club in Wollongong. When I first received this invitation, my inclination was to ‘not accept’ because I don’t believe that divorce can be fair. Life is not fair and neither is love. My good friend Jeff Dakers prevailed upon me to reconsider, and so I include the following excerpt from my speech given ...

We live in an increasingly bizarre world which is at War with itself, The war has been against women and mothers in particular. The war has shifted over the last several decades to be against men and fathers. Increasingly this war is being waged against our children too as this disturbing War on Our Children video demonstrates. This war is now on our doorsteps and in our schools and we must ...

Brendan Hayward is a brave young man who is again baring his soul to all my blog readers to help them understand how important they are to their children. I shared his story many years ago but good stories are worth repeating. Good stories that inspire give us all hope as fathers to “keep on keeping on” for our children and our families. Many children take their dad for granted. In ...

Next Saturday, 28 May 2016, we celebrate Australia’s thirteenth National Day of Thanks.  It is a day we can use to say ‘thank you’ to those around us. I am thankful to say that I have been privileged to be part of this national celebration from its early beginnings. For over almost two decades I have conducted seminars where I asked people to stand up and begin to say thank you ...

Music is a wonderful gift.  It can transport you to places you would never normally go.  You might say that I am a little biased, having spent half my life as a musician, songwriter and producer.  Some time ago, at a marriage retreat my wife and I attended, I heard heavenly music playing in the course breaks.  It was the angelic voice of Eva Cassidy singing Sting’s love song, ‘Fields of ...

When we were bringing up our boys in the eighties it was the vogue to suggest that boys and girls are trained to be the sex they represent by people’s expectations and gender manipulations. Almost anyone my age believed it. I carefully watched my own children’s behaviours and realised that I and my generation had believed a lie. I was both ashamed and angry at the same time. How could I ...

We as Dads have to savour the moments. My friend and devoted father, Greg McInerney, describes these moments; for example, your 8 year old daughter “at the end of the game when she sneaks in a hug, all your dad DNA does a happy dance too”. I call these moments “Dad’s Joys”. Greg calls them “Dads DNA happy dance moments”. Call them what you like, we need them as Dads; but ...

Brian Houston whom I would rate as a truly great leader, often says these words. “The best is yet to come.” He is relentlessly positive and is living proof that staying positive is the best way to ‘Love Live Lead’. The Warwick Marsh paraphrase of Brian’s words is there are “Better Times Ahead” but perhaps I stole them from the Black Sorrows. More on that later. If you are a father ...

Phil Baker an author from Western Australia, was addressing a large group of high profile community leaders. He told them that if they really wanted to affect the community, they had to ‘stop being so boring’. Many of his audience were quite shocked at his comments. The same goes for us as fathers. We have to stop being so boring and begin go out of our way to engage with our ...