The Dad Edge Podcast

Thais Gibson is the co-founder of the Personal Development School and the creator of Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory, whose work on attachment and subconscious rewiring has reached more than 75 million people. He holds a PhD, is certified in over 13 therapeutic modalities, and his research shows that 88% of the more than 70,000 people he's worked with developed a secure attachment style in just 90 days. He got there the hard way, through a six and a half year opioid addiction that only broke when he understood he wasn't running from his outside world, he was running from his inside one.
This one gets unusually personal. Thais breaks down the difference between the conscious and subconscious mind, why willpower alone never sticks, and the exact rewiring exercise he uses, then Larry opens up about childhood bullying and body-image fear he says he's never shared in 1,500 episodes. If you've ever set a goal your behavior refused to follow, this conversation explains why and what to do about it.
 
Timeline Summary
[1:44] – Growing up in a tumultuous household and one of Canada's longest divorce cases
[2:46] – A knee surgery, painkillers, and the start of a six and a half year spiral
[4:00] – The idea that changed everything: you're numbing your internal reality, not your external one
[5:52] – Why sobriety finally stuck the third time around
[6:20] – The sentence in a psych class that began his recovery
[8:04] – Finding God, meditation, and building a real support system
[11:33] – The full bio: 75 million people reached and an 88% success rate in 90 days
[13:09] – The actual difference between the conscious and subconscious mind
[14:14] – The Freudian iceberg and where your conditioning is stored
[16:03] – Why there's no such thing as self-sabotage
[19:18] – The Monday drinker: a case study in wanting to quit but not quitting
[20:36] – The three pillars of why we keep choosing what we say we don't want
[24:05] – Upgrading the form: how Thais turned his own anger into vulnerability
[28:55] – The red converse shoes and how we wire by emotional association
[29:42] – The cost benefit rewiring exercise, step by step
[32:37] – What's actually happening in the brain when you reflect, write, and repeat
[36:09] – Larry shares being a bullied, overweight kid and the dance that changed him
[41:05] – Why body image got wired to so much pain, and what it's really about
[48:34] – The three step exercise for rewiring a core wound
[50:37] – Building confidence rooted in character instead of appearance
[57:04] – The four attachment styles explained
[1:00:14] – The fearful avoidant style and the unworthiness wound
[1:04:17] – Why your attachment shows up most where you were most wounded
 
5 Key Takeaways
Willpower Can't Beat Your Programming — Your conscious mind can't outwill your subconscious. When you keep repeating a pattern you swore you'd quit, that isn't weakness, it's your subconscious running a different program than the one you set.
There's No Such Thing as Self-Sabotage — What feels like sabotage is your conscious intention and your subconscious conditioning pulling in opposite directions. Nobody wakes up planning to wreck their day.
Upgrade the Form, Don't Just Kill the Habit — Every habit meets a real need. Instead of white-knuckling it away, identify what the behavior gives you and build a healthier way to get that same need met.
Rewire Through Repetition, Emotion, and Imagery — The subconscious speaks in images and feelings, not logic. Recording your costs and benefits and listening back daily for 21 days builds new neural pathways while the old ones atrophy.
Root Your Worth in Character, Not Appearance — Confidence based on your body or achievements can be taken away by an injury or a setback. Confidence built on evidence of who you are at your core can't be infringed.
 
Links & Resources
Episode page and all links: https://thedadedge.com/1511
Join the Dad Edge Alliance: https://thedadedge.com/join
Dad Edge Boardroom Goal Setting Intensive (July 31, 8am central): https://thedadedge.com/goals
The Personal Development School: https://personaldevelopmentschool.com
Thais Gibson on YouTube: Thais Gibson Personal Development School
The Personal Development School on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool
The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood by Larry Hagner: referenced in episode
 
Enjoyed This Episode?
If Thais naming the gap between what you intend and what you actually do landed for you, take it as the starting point. Send this episode to a man who keeps setting the same goal every Monday, and pick one core wound to run the 21 day rewiring exercise on this month. If the show keeps delivering, follow, rate, and leave a review so more fathers can find these conversations.
This episode touches on addiction, bullying, and body image. If any of it hits close to home for you, it's worth talking with a licensed professional who can offer personalized support.

Sterling Seizert spent his career as a US Army Special Forces Green Beret, serving as a senior communications and intelligence sergeant in 10th Special Forces Group and as a Special Operations liaison at the US Embassy in Nigeria. When he transitioned out, he carried the same discipline into entrepreneurship, and today he's the founder of Patriot Capital and Legends Lodge, overseeing eight self storage facilities worth over 58 million dollars and serving 3,100 clients. He's also the author of the new book Buy Your Freedom.
This one goes deeper than either man expected. Sterling opens with a harrowing 2013 combat story, then he and Larry get into how training builds calm under pressure, servant leadership in marriage, raising daughters who hold themselves to a standard, and why honesty in a home should be celebrated rather than punished. If you want a masterclass in staying grounded when the stakes are high, this is it.
 
Timeline Summary
[2:54] – The 2013 mission in northwest Africa and the firefight that changed everything
[6:11] – Holding a soldier's heart and being told to keep the rhythm
[8:11] – Did training take over, or was there disbelief in the moment?
[10:26] – How repetition inoculates you to the sights, sounds, and smells of the battlefield
[12:32] – Advice for the average man facing his own hard situation
[14:25] – Why action creates clarity and keeps you out of rumination
[15:11] – The full bio: Green Beret, Nigeria, and 58 million in self storage
[17:36] – Growing up in small-town Wisconsin and a colder father
[20:59] – The deep question: would he still eat Taco Bell knowing what he knows?
[22:21] – Did quitting ever cross his mind in selection? It never did
[26:07] – The frozen ambush in North Carolina and putting suffering in perspective
[30:35] – Getting recycled through small unit tactics and choosing to be an asset
[32:09] – The first responder divorce rate and how he and Rebecca stayed tight
[32:36] – Marriage as service, and why keeping score never works
[35:09] – Serving your wife without becoming the nice guy or the domineering man
[38:33] – Servant leadership, apologizing, and holding a standard at the same time
[39:03] – Larry and Sterling compare their household standards for conflict
[41:07] – The one question that disarms almost any argument with someone close
[43:44] – The plan for when his daughters start dating, sniper school included
[45:10] – Raising strong daughters to look for ambition and a standard
[48:14] – What this generation of young men is missing, from social media to porn
[52:03] – Cultivating real connection with daughters in the teenage years
[54:13] – The one hard rule he'll raise his voice over, and why honesty gets celebrated
[57:29] – The two books that changed his life, plus his own new release
 
5 Key Takeaways
Action Creates Clarity — When you're facing something hard, assess what needs to get done and execute in order. Movement keeps you out of the rumination loop and steadily reveals the next right step.
Marriage Is Service, Not Score — Approach your marriage as the person there to serve, and assume your spouse will meet you halfway. Keeping score guarantees you'll always find a way to justify why you're winning.
Serve Without Being a Doormat — Servant leadership isn't groveling and it isn't domineering. Hold a real standard for how you're treated, model that same standard yourself, and pick the battles that actually matter.
Assume the Best Interest — In conflict with someone close, ask whether they truly lack your family's best interest at heart. Nine times out of ten they don't, which turns the fight into the two of you against the problem.
Celebrate Honesty, Don't Punish It — Make ownership safe. When kids know honesty is welcomed rather than met with punishment, you can address the actual problem instead of untangling a lie on top of it.
 
Links & Resources
Episode page and all links: https://thedadedge.com/1510
Join the Dad Edge Alliance: https://thedadedge.com/join
Dad Edge Boardroom Goal Setting Intensive (July 31, 8am central): https://thedadedge.com/goals
Buy Your Freedom by Sterling Seizert: https://a.co/d/0fwMJAzB
 
Enjoyed This Episode?
If Sterling's line about action creating clarity gave you something to hold onto, put it to work this week. Send this episode to a man who's stuck ruminating instead of moving, and take one honest look at the standards you're actually modeling at home. If the show keeps delivering, follow, rate, and leave a review so more fathers can find these conversations.

Joshua Becker is the founder of Becoming Minimalist, a New York Times bestselling author, and one of the leading voices in the world on intentional living. His work reaches more than 4 million followers across social media and over 1 million readers a month on his website. He spent 15 years as a pastor before discovering minimalism in his own driveway, and his newest book Uncluttered Faith makes the case that owning less isn't just practical, it's profoundly spiritual.
The conversation starts with the Memorial Day garage cleanout where Joshua looked up and saw his five-year-old son swinging alone in the backyard, and goes into what he realized about Jesus' teachings on money, how he and his wife Kim navigated wanting to get rid of very different amounts, and the parable that showed him he wasn't the soil he thought he was. If you've ever spent a day off managing your possessions while your kids waited, this one will land.
 
Timeline Summary
[1:02] – Joshua on finally making the New York Times list with his fourth book
[2:51] – The Memorial Day garage cleanout that started everything
[4:40] – A neighbor named June changes his life in one sentence
[5:23] – Seeing his son swinging alone and realizing possessions were taking him away
[6:37] – Telling Kim, and starting Becoming Minimalist that Monday
[7:02] – Why the very first thing he decluttered was the cars
[8:57] – Starting with the easiest, most lived-in rooms instead of the garage
[11:50] – Easier to clean, more money, more generosity: cataloging the benefits
[13:11] – Owning fewer things means owning higher quality things
[13:58] – Full introduction: 4 million followers, 1 million monthly readers, 15 years pastoring
[16:32] – Realizing June wasn't the first person to tell him about minimalism, Jesus was
[17:47] – Why Jesus wasn't inviting him to a boring life but a better one
[20:56] – Knowing the verses for years without knowing how to actually live them out
[22:39] – Five thousand advertisements a day and the world's definition of a good life
[25:16] – Kim was on board, but she wanted to lose 40% and he wanted 80%
[27:21] – It's always easier to see everyone else's clutter than your own
[28:28] – Why men and women tend to accumulate differently
[29:44] – The three moments it got hard, including "let me handle the children's clothes"
[32:40] – Would he still be a minimalist if he weren't a Christian?
[34:32] – Raising Salem and Alexa in it, and the test that comes with the first big paycheck
[37:23] – The foundation kids can always come back to
[41:03] – How minimalism forced him to redefine success
[43:45] – The parable of the four soils and the weeds nobody names correctly
[46:15] – Discovering he was the third soil, not the fourth
 
5 Key Takeaways
Your Stuff Is Taking You From What Matters — It isn't just that possessions fail to make you happy. Managing, cleaning, and organizing them actively pulls you away from the people and purpose that do.
Start With the Easy Rooms — Most people think decluttering means attacking the garage or the storage unit. Begin with the car and the most lived-in spaces, where you'll feel the benefit immediately and build momentum.
Clean Up Your Own Clutter First — It's always easier to see your spouse's or your kids' excess than your own. You have little standing to ask anyone to let go of their things until you've dealt with yours.
Owning Less Redefines Success — When you stop earning to accumulate, you're forced to answer what you're actually working for. That question reshapes your filter for nearly every decision.
Worries, Riches, and Pleasures Choke Fruitfulness — In the parable of the four soils, Jesus names riches themselves, not merely the love of them. Many who assume they're the fourth soil are living as the third.
 
Links & Resources
Episode page and all links: https://thedadedge.com/1509
Join the Dad Edge Alliance: https://thedadedge.com/join
Dad Edge Boardroom Goal Setting Intensive (July 31, 8am central): https://thedadedge.com/goals
Uncluttered Faith by Joshua Becker: available everywhere books are sold, plus a six week small group Bible study
Becoming Minimalist: https://becomingminimalist.com
Joshua Becker's personal site: https://joshuabecker.com
Luke 8:14, the parable of the four soils: referenced in episode
The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood by Larry Hagner: referenced in episode
 
Enjoyed This Episode?
If the image of Joshua's son swinging alone in the backyard while he sorted boxes stopped you cold, take that as the nudge. Send this episode to a dad who spends his days off managing his possessions, and go clean out one small space this week just to feel the difference. If the show keeps delivering, follow, rate, and leave a review so more fathers can find these conversations.

Jon Gustin is the founder of Tired Dad, a community of more than 2 million followers built on one honest premise: parenting is only hard for good parents. A former personal trainer of 14 years who started making short videos during the sleepless newborn stretch of 2020, he became one of the first men online talking openly about the mental load of fatherhood. He co-hosts the Tired Dad and Tired Mom podcasts with his wife Jessica and released his book The Tired Dad: 100 Reflections on Showing Up for What Matters Most in May.
Larry and Jon get into the exhaustion that comes from doing the work right, both of their fathers coming home from Vietnam unable to talk about it, the rebellion and loss that followed Jon's parents' divorce, and the ego death that pulled his marriage out of the roommate phase. If you're tired in the best way possible and still wondering whether you're doing a good job, this conversation is for you.
 
Timeline Summary
[1:02] – Parenting is only hard for good parents, and why tired means invested
[3:19] – Tired from parenting, not tired of parenting
[6:23] – How the newborn stretch of 2020 accidentally birthed Tired Dad
[8:10] – Nobody was talking about the mental load of fatherhood, so Jon did
[12:16] – The Justin Gustin problem and Larry's own Hagman mixup
[13:29] – Full introduction: 2 million followers, two podcasts, and the book
[16:54] – Growing up the baby of the family with siblings seven and eight years older
[20:18] – A Vietnam veteran father, a World War Two grandfather, and night terrors that never left
[21:55] – Watching your dad go from Superman to human during the divorce
[26:38] – Running from it: partying, drugs, theft, and total chaos at 14
[28:26] – Losing friends to overdoses and deciding to get out
[29:48] – Moving to Tennessee, meeting Jessica, and marrying 11 months later
[34:08] – The Gottman research and why only 12% of marriages truly thrive
[36:27] – Marry the right person for the right reasons, because marriage fixes nothing
[37:59] – Postpartum, the roommate phase, and the darkest stretch of their marriage
[40:56] – Killing the ego and why keeping score breeds resentment
[43:48] – Getting sober three and a half years ago and what changed
[46:42] – Ego death without becoming a doormat or a nice guy
[48:55] – Eliminate the guessing and learn what your wife actually needs
[52:42] – Inside the book: the weight fathers carry and the mantra to keep showing up
[54:47] – Wearing exhaustion as a badge of honor versus being the healed version of you
[57:18] – Legacy, being a home worth coming back to, and the 3am call
 
5 Key Takeaways
Tired Means You're Doing It Right — If parenting feels hard and exhausting, that's evidence you care enough to invest in it. You're tired from the work, not of it.
Marriage Fixes Nothing — Your partner isn't responsible for healing your wounds and you aren't responsible for healing theirs. Two people can both do their own work and build something great, but expecting rescue guarantees misery.
The Ego Is a Heavy Backpack — Keeping score is the breeding ground for resentment. Dropping the ego means asking how you can help the situation, not tallying what you're not getting.
Ego Death Is Not Becoming a Doormat — Killing the ego doesn't mean happy wife, happy life, or becoming a yes man. It means eliminating the guessing, expressing your own needs clearly, and understanding hers.
Be the Healed Version, Not the Broken One — Carrying exhaustion proudly while running on empty leaves you injured at the end of the road. The goal is showing up tired but well, in shape for the job.
 
Links & Resources
Episode page and all links: https://thedadedge.com/1508
Join the Dad Edge Alliance (July promo: signed book, two courses, 50 conversation starters): https://thedadedge.com/join
Dad Edge Boardroom Goal Setting Intensive (July 31, 8am central): https://thedadedge.com/goals
The Tired Dad: 100 Reflections on Showing Up for What Matters Most by Jon Gustin: available wherever books are sold
Tired Dad website: https://tireddad.com
 
Enjoyed This Episode?
If Jon's line about being tired from parenting rather than tired of it reframed something for you, pass it along. Send this episode to a dad who's running on empty and quietly wondering if he's cut out for this, and ask yourself whether you're carrying the weight well or just carrying it. If the show keeps delivering, follow, rate, and leave a review so more fathers can find these conversations.

This episode flips the script. Instead of Larry hosting, Marc Hildebrand, one of the top coaches in the Dad Edge Business Brotherhood, a 20-year LAPD veteran, life coach, and founder of Modern Leadership, sits Larry down and interviews him. The jumping-off point is a hard statistic: most men are lonely, and the majority don't have a single friend they could call at 3am.
Larry opens up about the mastermind that changed his life eleven years ago, the "cost of doing nothing" question that got him to say yes, the BRAVE MAN system his Boardroom runs on, and the August 2017 morning his wife told him he was losing her. If you're a man who's surrounded by people but still feels alone, or a business owner pouring everything into work while the rest of your life drifts, this one is a roadmap.
 
Timeline Summary
[1:02] – The loneliness statistic and why Larry isn't surprised it's that high
[3:17] – Marc introduces Larry and the role-reversal format
[7:04] – The first mastermind eleven years ago and mentor Aaron Walker
[8:45] – Rusty relationships and why "fine, good, busy" keeps men shallow
[10:03] – The $500-a-month invitation that sounded like snake oil
[11:55] – The question that changed everything: the cost of doing nothing
[13:45] – Sitting with the chills, imagining life a year out, and calling back in 12 minutes
[16:24] – What pulled Larry to lean in instead of talking himself out of it
[19:03] – "Show me your calendar and I'll show you what's important to you"
[22:59] – Why it's never the business, it's the person running the business
[25:41] – The BRAVE MAN system explained category by category
[29:53] – Why the room, not just the strategies, is what gets men to change
[30:52] – The black belt lesson: that's when the training actually begins
[35:02] – Attracting your wife back to you instead of chasing
[36:22] – The August 2017 morning Jessica said "you're losing me"
[40:30] – Masculine and feminine energy, and helping your wife soften
[44:11] – Inside the quarterly Goal Setting Intensive
[47:19] – Why the Boardroom is only 20-25% about business
[50:26] – Living an "and" life instead of an "or" life
[52:36] – The Dad Edge core values, read in full for the first time
[58:04] – Who the room is for, and how to join the intensive
 
5 Key Takeaways
The Cost of Doing Nothing — When weighing an investment in yourself, the real question isn't the price. It's what your life looks like a year from now if you change nothing at all.
It's Never the Business — Entrepreneurs blame the business for their disconnection, burnout, and lost health. The hidden truth is that it's the person running the business, and reactivity is the pattern to break.
Attract, Don't Chase — Chasing your spouse reads as needy, desperate energy. Leading from a grounded, positive masculine presence lets her soften and pulls her back toward you.
Set "And" Goals, Not "Or" Goals — You don't have to choose between growing your business and connecting with your family. The right question is how one could actually strengthen the other.
The Room Is the Gold — Skills and strategies matter, but transformation happens in a room of trusted men who share wins in detail, hold public accountability, and call each other forward.
 
Links & Resources
Episode page and all links: https://thedadedge.com/1515
Join the Dad Edge Alliance: https://thedadedge.com/join
Dad Edge Boardroom Goal Setting Intensive (July 31, 8am central, 10 guest spots): https://thedadedge.com/goals
 
Enjoyed This Episode?
If the "cost of doing nothing" question landed for you the way it landed for Larry, don't let it sit. Send this episode to a man who's surrounded by people but still feels alone, and ask yourself honestly who your own 3am call would be. If the show keeps showing up for you, follow, rate, and leave a review so more fathers can find these conversations.