How to Lead Your Son Into Manhood & Build A Strong Relationships That Lasts

The Dad Edge Podcast

Larry Hagner

Project, Self-improvement, Stevenson, Podcast, Edge, Education, Kids, Shawn, Family, Kids & Family, Fathers, Fatherhood, Community, Advice, Dad, Good, Health & Fitness, Children

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special episode of the Dad Edge Podcast, I’m joined once again by my son Ethan for another honest and often hilarious father-son conversation. This week, we’re kicking off our August series focused on helping young men grow into adulthood with integrity, resilience, and intention. We unpack what it really means to become a man in today’s world and why so many guys stay stuck in a boyhood mindset well into their 40s and beyond.

Ethan shares firsthand experiences from his first full-time job, launching a car detailing business in high school, and learning life skills that go far beyond the classroom. We talk about emotional regulation, grit, finding meaningful work, and how to support your kids without micromanaging their growth. Whether you’re raising sons or just want insight into building a better father-child bond, this episode is packed with perspective, wisdom, and a few laughs.

TIMELINE SUMMARY

[0:00] - Welcome to the podcast and the mission behind the Dad Edge

[1:30] - The origin and theme of our father-son conversations

[3:06] - Why August is all about helping boys become men

[5:00] - The First Phorm 8-week challenge and tools to get started

[7:01] - The moment I realized no one was coming to save me

[8:22] - Ethan’s experience at his first real job in an auto shop

[11:30] - Learning to grow up through the CAPS entrepreneurship program

[13:42] - How Ethan started and ran a successful car detailing business

[17:07] - Signs a boy is becoming a man: long-term thinking, embracing discomfort

[20:37] - The danger of staying in a soul-sucking job and the power of choice

[26:30] - Stories of perseverance from Steve Jobs, Colonel Sanders, and J.K. Rowling

[30:21] - Ethan’s reflections on helping others break limiting beliefs

[35:45] - Why emotional regulation is key to maturing into manhood

[39:00] - Learning to pause, respond, and reflect through challenging days

[43:27] - How fathers can support sons without overstepping

[47:03] - Using better questions to develop critical thinking and self-direction

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Becoming a Man Requires Intentional Growth

The shift from boyhood to manhood doesn’t happen automatically; it’s shaped by life experiences, learning responsibility, and the conscious decision to grow up. No one is coming to save you, and it’s up to you to take ownership.

2. Let Sons Struggle, But Be Their Safe Place

Growth often happens in the discomfort. As dads, it’s tempting to step in and fix things. But real development comes when we let our kids wrestle with problems while knowing they have a safe place to process and recover.

3. Embrace and Teach Emotional Regulation

Maturity is marked by how well we manage our emotions. Learning to pause, breathe, and choose a thoughtful response instead of reacting impulsively is a life skill every young man needs to master.

4. Work Experience Teaches More Than Just Skills

From oil changes to running a business, Ethan’s journey proves that real-world jobs and responsibilities develop grit, confidence, and a clearer sense of what one wants and doesn’t want in life.

5. Success Is Measured by Fulfillment, Not Fortune

We often think success means more money, bigger homes, or flashier titles. But as we explore in this episode, true success is found in happiness, strong relationships, and doing work that brings purpose, not just a paycheck.

LINKS & RESOURCES

DB OVERDRIVE: https://1stphorm.com/products/1-db-overdrive-fastpack/?a_aid=dadedge.
CREATINE LINK: https://1stphorm.com/products/micronized-creatine-monohydrate/?a_aid=dadedge
1st PHORM APP: https://share.1stphorm.app/67eJWnb94Ub
Join the First Phorm Challenge: https://www.firstphorm.com/dadedge
Podcast Website: https://www.thedadedge.com
Join The Alliance: https://www.thedadedge.com/alliance
Explore More Episodes: https://www.thedadedge.com/podcast

If this episode inspired you or gave you a new perspective, please rate, follow, review, and share the podcast. Together, we’re building stronger families—and stronger men—for generations to come.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Dad Edge podcast. The Dad Edge movement creates leaders of men, leaders of families, and leaders of communities. We will not only impact this generation of fathers, but the next generation as well. The kids we are raising will have better chances and odds stacked in their favor because of the amazing example
0:21.2	that their fathers emulated for them. We are here to change the world. We are here to change
0:27.6	relationships. We are here to positively disrupt this generation of fathers so no man goes to their
0:33.6	grave with regret. We disrupt the drift of busyness and replace it with razor-focused intention,
0:40.3	passion, purpose, and direction.
0:43.7	We are the Dad Edge,
0:45.7	and we're here to change the game.
0:47.8	We're here to change the game.
1:08.6	I don't know. What's up, gentlemen, welcome to the Dad Edge podcast. I'm Larry Hagner, your host and founder of this podcast, this show and movement.
1:30.3	And man, we've got an awesome show for you today. What's up, Ethan? What's up? How are you doing? I'm actually doing pretty good right now. That's good. Well, let's welcome any of the newcomers that might be here at the show for the very first time. We've been doing this now for a couple months. This is month three, actually. We've been doing this show. That is insane. How fast time went.
1:35.3	It's gone fast. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So this Wednesday show that you and I've been doing,
1:40.9	it's what we call it is an honest conversation between father and son. And we break down a lot of things. You know, we've been talking about a lot of good things, a lot of the bad things. Good, the bad, the ugly. That's right. But, I mean, it's a good thing you're good looking. Your daddy is ugly. Sure. Well, wait, that's not right, because a lot of people say that I look like you. Well, well, you G-L-Y and you ain't got no alibi, you ugly. What, what, you ugly. Oh, my God. This is my dad. Yeah, yeah. So that's, that's the wasted brain space of movie quotes right there. It was from like a movie. I am the exact same way. way i know except a lot of it's from sponge bob
2:19.6	when i was younger i really think that the like there's probably like it like there's like this
2:27.3	room in hell like i think there's level in hell that like you know that only the worst people go to
2:34.1	and that is for all eternity
2:36.2	you're trapped in this dark room and you just hear SpongeBob's laughter on loop for like eternity
2:41.8	I hope that that's like a level that you're hilarious I'm thinking Dommer's in there it's like
2:47.4	wow now I just think he's going crazy in there.
2:51.6	So, but anyway, let's talk about what we're doing here in the month of August.
2:55.6	So we're going to do four episodes and every single episode is going to have a theme.
2:59.6	But overall, this is the first episode right here in August.
3:02.6	But the whole theme of August is this, guys, becoming a man, what no one else teaches you. And all of August is going to be
	...

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