Ed Cole left a lasting legacy teaching men how to maximise their manhood and put their families first, accepting that fatherhood was their primary responsibility. Isn’t it an awesome privilege to be a father? When you witness the birth of your first child, it truly is a humbling experience. Unfortunately, no one hands you a manual to help you. That is why it is so important for us as fathers to ...

Our culture pressures us to keep working and consuming. It takes a conscious effort to step back, take a breather and re-prioritise, but doing so is really worth it for good health and peace of mind. “We have more ‘things per person’ than any other nation in history. Closets are full, storage space is used up, and cars can’t fit into garages, having first imprisoned us with debt. Possessions then take ...

We may become overwhelmed by our family responsibilities and job expectations. Recall the adage that less is more, and prioritise your main role, in which you cannot be replaced. “You can’t have it all,” used to be a saying to describe women juggling careers and motherhood. Mothers are caught in the conundrum of trying to be present for their children while having a successful career, all at the same time. It ...

It started with an alarm I forgot to set the night before. That meant I was awoken unceremoniously by my little boy precisely half an hour late. Of course, this was the day I had a 9 am deadline and an 8.45 am start at playgroup (where I help set up). Flinging clothes in the general direction of two wriggling bodies, I managed to get the boys dressed between ‘computer stops,’ ...

Behind every behaviour or decision that you make, is a value — something that you hold in high esteem and is advanced in some way by the action. For example, making the choice to work back late, may reflect any one of a number of values, such as: having pride in doing a job well, reducing financial debt, avoiding anticipated conflict at home, or being appreciated by colleagues All of these ...

Basic pointers on how to juggle working from home while parenting your children. Flexibility is key. Most people started working from home with kids during the pandemic and set up a home office of some sort. I’ve worked from home for many years, and most of the time it’s been with kids at home. If you’re in self-isolation, here are my tips on how to navigate working from home. 1. Create ...

Is it possible to mix work and family life in the same space? Do the benefits outweigh the challenges? Prime Minister Gillard described the pressurised life of modern families as the single greatest challenge facing Australians. So what’s the solution? ‘Telecommuting’ or working from home has been put forward as the 21st-century answer to this growing dilemma, but is it really that simple? Disruptions My hubby worked from home quite happily ...

Every New Year is a fresh opportunity to start anew. Take this chance to assess your life and implement achievable steps to practise good habits and prioritise what matters most. We each have only so many years on this earth — make this year a great one! Only six more sleeps and we all enter the New Year together. How exciting! A New Year always brings new opportunities. Hundreds of millions ...

There was a time where I was anti-women getting into trades. I was an end-of-third year apprentice, had just finished my Diploma in Fashion Styling and I was about to complete my last block of TAFE for my plumbing apprenticeship. I was over plumbing. Over male tradies. Over male apprentices. I was over having to prove myself when I worked. I was over TAFE teachers who read from the Standards, rather ...

Oprah Winfrey said that you can’t have everything and do everything at the same time. Was she right? Today we unpack work-life balance and ask if it is still possible. And if it is, then how? When the term work-life balance is raised, it usually stirs some sort of emotion in you. There are a few who don’t desire ‘work-life balance’, but on the whole, most men I speak to have ...

Margin is a term entrenched in the financial world. Margin trading. Stock margin. Profit margin — the examples are vast. In situ, it means the sum total between a ‘product or service’s selling price and the cost of production’. In practice, margin is a buffer.   In other words, margin is whatever fills the gap between success and ruin. Margin is what’s left over after both variable and invariable costs have been ...

How close are you to burning out? Could you recognise the signs? What will the consequences be if you did burn out? In episode 44 of Real Talk 4 Real Men, Guy and Chris unpack how you can guard against burnout. As I sat on the last train of the night home from another exhausting and stressful day at the office, my brain continued to race as I reflected on the ...

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.  ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Change is stressful, so we all need tips on how to deal with change. Real Talk 4 Real Men episode 56. Change brings on stress, and so in part 3 of Thrive Through Change, we dedicate an entire episode on how to deal with stress. We all know that when negative things are going on in our lives, it causes stress. Things like a relationship breakup, a job redundancy, a health ...

Byrd Bagget says, “Work hard, do your best, live the truth, trust yourself, have some fun… and you will have no regrets.” Only twelve more sleeps till Christmas. All the more reason to live life with no regrets. Warwick, why are you talking about no regrets, twelve days out from Christmas? I thought you would never ask! Recently, my wife and I were invited to speak together at a church by ...

Dear Friends My friend Dr Bruce Robinson tells a story in his bestselling book, which forms the introduction to Fathering from the Fast Lane. An unforgettable and sad thing happened to me at a restaurant one evening. It illustrates how important it is to know if we, as fathers, are on the right track or not with our children. I was dining with a group of people and was talking to ...

I once went to a men’s breakfast where Paul Bartlett, then a father of young children, was speaking about the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. He told the story of how, once a month, his dad, who was in a high-pressure management job, used to take him to the Saturday markets at Campbelltown, west of Sydney. Paul used to look forward to this time with his father, ...