The Dad Hat

Lee Makarwich

The Dad Hat aims to explore the many facets of fatherhood in the modern world. Through inspiring interviews with fascinating fathers every week, we'll learn about parenting techniques, relationships, work life, and personal experiences from different perspectives. On this channel, you can expect to find thought-provoking conversations with dads from all walks of life, interviews with experts and professionals on topics such as child development, tips on how to balance work and home life, exploration into changing gender roles in parenting today, and more.

  1. 06/14/2023

    Getting It All Out At The End With Jeff Stewart: Dad Hat 018

    In today's episode of The Dad Hat, I talk to Jeff Stewart, author of "Living: Inspiration From A Father With Cancer." Let's Meet Today's Guest On The Dad Hat, Jeff Stewart Jeff Stewart is a healthcare consultant, scientist, inventor, award-winning playwright, and father of seven. He was a Jeopardy! College Champion and runner-up in the Tournament of Champions. Jeff lives in Cary, North Carolina. Parsing The Science And Good Luck They began by discussing how Jeff's training as a biologist affect things. He was able to better parse through the information received from well meaning friends to avoid wasting time on unproven treatments or other types of pseudoscience. The book includes many inspirations, Lee thought of them as life lessons. One of them being to recognize good luck as well as the bad. Jeff mentions his own good luck in having the cancer diagnosed at all since it would have been missed in standard testing. Living For Now, Teaching For Tomorrow From here the question moves onto a discussion about how the diagnosis affected Jeff's outlook. Most people think in terms of five maybe ten years. Jeff had to learn to live for the immediate future and for the long term. Next they talk about the most important lessons Jeff and his wife taught to their children. Jeff's kids are very kind and they learned to be that way because Jeff learned when to let go of dominance as a parent and allow his children to learn to make the right decisions. What's Kindness And Competing With Our Kids Jeff goes on to explain what kindness means to him and the contrast between being kind and 'being nice'. After discussing some of Jeff's inventive work the conversation turns to Jeff's formative years in rural Oregon. He learned a lot from his parents who were both teachers and firmly connected to their community. One piece of advice Jeff would give to all the fathers out there is that they aren't in competition with their kids. Lee brings up the book The Conscious Parent and it's idea that parent tend to try making their kids into better versions of themselves. The guys discuss whether this is a good strategy. The Age For Sex Ed And Birthrates When asked if anything changed in his parenting approach since his eldest child was born Jeff responds that with the idea that we're bound to change quite a bit in that amount of time (31 years). Jeff shares a couple things he would change about his parenting back then and a few things he felt he did right. A curve-ball question leads to talking about sex ed. When is the best time to talk to your kids and how should you do it? Jeff gives us his advice based on the studies he's read on the subject. Basically saying it should be an ongoing conversation that leaves little room for curiosity. They're going to learn it, you want them to learn it from you. And since they're in the neighborhood subject-wise Lee brings up birthrates. Jeff looks at the subject from an economic standpoint and thinks it unlikely that we're going to produce enough births to avoid some level of population decline. Perspective And My Favorite Bits Wrapping up the conversation they get back to the book, revealing two of Jeff's favorite bits of inspiration in the book. They are, funnily enough, about books and what you can or can't learn form them. Jeff shares bit about his children's reaction to the book and some of the conversation it brought about. Finally Lee asks for a bit more about what keeps Jeff going. Jeff credits his religious belief and his experiences of doing hard things. Everything seems easier if you have the right perspective. Hopefully, todays episode with author, Jeff Stewart gives you some added perspective on your life and how your living it. Jeff Stewart Resources & Extra Media - https://www.amazon.com/Living-Inspiration-Father-Jeff-Stewart/dp/B0C3KSDYZ6

    50 min
  2. 05/30/2023

    Examining The Fatherly Wisdom On Twitter With Nicky P: Dad Hat 017

    In today's episode of The Dad Hat, I talk to our producer Nicky P about an advice thread floating around on Twitter. Let's Meet Today's Guest On The Dad Hat, Nicky P Nicky P is a freelance marketer, podcaster, and copywriter out of Cleveland, Ohio, where he runs Iron Age Marketing. He is also our esteemed producer here on The Dad Hat. On top of his marketing work, he is also the resident pop culture expert on The Road To Hell Film Reviews podcast, where he discusses science fiction and the history of utopianism. He's been a professional musician for 24 years, a husband for ten, and a father for nine. Competition (Even With Our Dads) Makes Us Better Nicky P opens up the show utilizing what little sports information he has to discuss leadership. This leads into how competition made him a better cross-country runner in the rare instances he was challenged in high school. In what ways does competition with our fathers shape the way we develop? Both Lee and Nicky P delve into the ways subtle competition with their dads may have created who they are today. Relationships With Our Moms Are Important But Complicated Both Lee and Nicky P cover the following rules as posted by Save Our Sons on Twitter: 1. No one will love you as much as your mother. The People Around Us And Before Us Should Make Us Better Both Lee and Nicky P cover the following rules as posted by Save Our Sons on Twitter: 2. There's no such thing as ‘fair’. 3. The right woman will propel you to greatness. 4. Pornography is evil. 5. Your ancestors knew more than you think. Stoicism And Your Value On The Relationship Market Both Lee and Nicky P cover the following rules as posted by Save Our Sons on Twitter: 6. You must control your emotions. 7. Pain is a prerequisite for growth.

    1h 3m
  3. 05/11/2023

    The Difference Between Family & Business With Lance Cayco: Dad Hat 015

    Let's Meet Today's Guest On The Dad Hat Lance Cayco Lance Cayco is a partner behind F9 Productions, an architectural firm out of Colorado as well as the host of the Behind The Firm podcast. He is a unique design professional with over 20 years of hands-on construction experience. He has worked in the field as a carpenter and independent contractor spanning throughout North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. Lee opens up the clip with: Is the tiny house market booming? Lance discusses his belief that the origins of the tiny house movement started in the Occupy Wall Street movement and has been surprised by how long it's held on despite insane costs for tiny homes. He further adds that he's unsure whether the bears are correct, and we're headed for another housing crisis. Lee retorts with questions about subprime loans. Lance looks to the drastic changes in lending policy to make things less volatile now. Sure, the financial products are constantly chopped and screwed and resold as something else, but at least the banks aren't talking to home appraisers directly. Lee: What is fatherhood to you? What are the pillars? Lance establishes his one-word answer as Sacrifice. He goes on to recollect a story of a three-year period when his first wife left for three years, and he was forced to raise their three children as a single parent as he launched his business. During this period, he still managed to keep his kids in private school while working paycheck to paycheck. He speculates this has something to do with his adoptive father. Kids are your legacy, your seed, your hope for the future. This spins off into a brief aside about stoicism. Lee: What word best describes fatherhood: supporter, creator, provider? Lance chooses "provider." He then begins a story about his father doing what is necessary to keep the family farm running out of familial loyalty to his father. This modest beginning is what pushed Lance to make sure his own children never internalized the stress of being poor like he remembered. Lance quotes Ye: "Having money isn't everything, but not having it is." It's not about possessions but knowing Dad will be able to give you what you need if you ask. What kind of anxieties can he alleviate for them? Lee asks for Lance's opinion on gender norms and the nuclear family. Lance admits to being very traditional in his views of family structure and nods to the average natures of men and women being better suited for certain tasks in child-rearing. Lee then turns the question toward business. Lance begins a very self-deprecating story about how little difference he sees between his role as a father and that of a business owner. He makes sure to say not in a patronizing way but in a nurturing way. He wants employees that are able to learn without baggage. He follows this up with two stories, one familial and one business related. Lee: Did those three years make you better as a person? Lance is a catholic and a firm believer in god and lives his life by providence. He reasons with Lee that adversity is the story that people need to hear. Lee asks Lance if his desire to make his children secure in all things is at odds with his understanding that they need to learn to be resilient. Lance then uses summer jobs and loans as a way to properly educate them about when usury and how loans shouldn't be taken lightly or unnecessarily. Lee: Are we in a period of weak men? Lance dives into the science behind testosterone dwindling in humanity. While elaborating, he starts pointing fingers at the tech sector foremost. They are the "weak men" afraid to not censor everyone else. Lee retorts with Jeff Bezos as the exception that breaks makes the rule before launching into the things that have made him weak in life before attributing competition to being his saving grace. Lance Cayco Resources & Extra Media - https://f9productions.com/

    45 min
  4. 04/06/2023

    Making College Worth It With Dave The Scholarship Coach

    In today's episode of The Dad Hat, I talk to Dave, The Scholarship Coach, about his family and how his son has raised roughly 80K for college. Let's Meet Today's Guest On The Dad Hat Dave, The Scholarship Coach Dave is a father of a college sophomore who came to a painful realization about how out of control college tuition has gotten. He decided to buckle down, dig into the many scholarships available, and try to take care of his son's expenses with other people's money. The exercise was ultimately a success, and his son's current tally is around $80K and he has now begun to teach others how to take advantage of the scholarships that are out there and largely ignored. You Might As Well Have Someone Else Pay For College With Dave, The Scholarship Coach During our discussion, covering much of Dave's business and how it has affected him as a parent. On top of that, we also looked at what the real value of college is. We tackle whether it is even worth going. Ultimately if it's worth it or not depends on what you are going for and where you're going. I hope that you walk away from today's episode with a clearer picture of the real value of college and a way to make paying for it someone else's money. Dave The Scholarship Coach Resources & Extra Media - Buy Dave's Book: Debt Free College on Amazon https://amzn.to/3RGg3Tf - https://nodebtcollege.com/ - https://nodebtcollege.substack.com/ - https://nodebtcollege.podbean.com/

    57 min
  5. Lessons From The Son Of A Clown/Funeral Director With Christopher Lind: The Dad Hat 009

    03/30/2023

    Lessons From The Son Of A Clown/Funeral Director With Christopher Lind: The Dad Hat 009

    In today's episode of The Dad Hat, I talk to the author, HR executive, and father of seven, Christopher Lind. Let's Meet Today's Guest On The Dad Hat, Christopher Lind Christopher Lind describes himself as a "bold digital-first HR executive." What that is I'm still a little confused on but what's more important to me than that is who Chris is as a man. Christopher was the son of two funeral directors (one of which who doubled as a clown.) He's the father of seven children of his own. How does he balance this with his industry advisory company, his podcast Learning Tech Talks, and promoting his book "Relentless Intention: The Power of Purpose?" None Of This Is By Accident With Christopher Lind The word that keeps creeping up in the interview is "intention." Christopher literally wrote the book on it: Relentless Intention: The Power of Purpose. Keeping this in mind, what does this mean when you're talking about family? What does it mean when we're looking at work-life balance? How about faith? Christopher covers all of this for himself in today's episode. Hopefully, you leave today's episode with a positive attitude about what being intentional can do for your journey parenting and beyond. Christopher Lind Resources & Extra Media - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlind/ - https://www.learningsharks.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvERanPYcpnrmJLQN--nwGQ - https://www.learningsharks.com/learningtechtalks

    45 min

About

The Dad Hat aims to explore the many facets of fatherhood in the modern world. Through inspiring interviews with fascinating fathers every week, we'll learn about parenting techniques, relationships, work life, and personal experiences from different perspectives. On this channel, you can expect to find thought-provoking conversations with dads from all walks of life, interviews with experts and professionals on topics such as child development, tips on how to balance work and home life, exploration into changing gender roles in parenting today, and more.