Jon is pretty unique compared to most of the guests I have on Franchise Secrets. He approaches life from a different perspective, not only with his family but with his business as well. He is truly gifted at taking the lessons he has learned in his own life and building them into something that can benefit people the entire world over.
Being able to see the power he drew from having a number of important friends in his inner circle, and carrying that over into a rewarding career helping dads everywhere is one of the more creative and inspiring business ventures I’ve ever come across, and I’m truly proud to call him a friend.
As a member of Front Row Dads, I am extremely grateful for what has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life for many, many reasons. My group has helped me become a better father, a better husband, and an overall better version of myself. I would argue that because of that, it’s also helped me become more efficient and effective at work, but that is just icing on the cake.
Groups like this are effective for a number of reasons. Simply by joining one you are signaling to yourself that you want to improve in a specific area – in the case of Front Row Dads, as a father – and that alone is very powerful. But you also garner real, specific advantages from joining a support group that is comprised of like minded individuals.
- The power of talking it out
When I have a parenting issue or a disagreement with my wife, I used to sit and stew, or maybe talk to a friend if someone was around. But now I have a group of other dads who are experiencing similar things, understand what I’m going through, and are almost always available for me to ask advice or simply just talk out my problem. That’s been huge for me.
Sometimes I don’t even need to hear advice back from my guys, sometimes just putting my thoughts into words and getting them out there into the world is enough for me to recognize them in a different way, organize my thoughts, and calm down. More than a few times I have realized by airing my grievances that there were things I could have done differently, or be doing differently, in order to curtail some issues before they ever arise.
Even just having an outlet to let off some steam helps me return home to my family in a better mood, which sometimes is all I needed. There’s a reason that talking through things is the hallmark of modern therapy, but there’s an added advantage to talking through things with a friend, rather than a trained professional. They’re more available, they know me more personally, and, you know… they’re not going to ask me to take a deep dive into my childhood and cry into a tissue.
Hearing issues that other dads have and being able to help them also allows me to become a better father and husband. Just being able to talk things out is reason enough to join a group like Front Row Dads.
2. Crowd sourcing solutions
Of course, just having a group to vent isn’t the only benefit. Being able to think collectively, compare experiences and solutions and pool ideas for how to approach challenges is a big advantage to attempting to solve a problem on your own. On numerous occasions I have learned not only of new ways to solve specific issues, but entirely new ways to view and interpret them in the first place.
I found Jon’s insight that the number 1 improvement he has made was sleeping better, particularly when he described a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. When a toddler throw a tantrum, we automatically know that it’s likely due to not having slept enough or eaten recently, yet when it happens to adults we rarely acknowledge these causes.
Want to be more functional at work? Want to know how to tackle that late night argument you seem to get into with your spouse twice a week? Maybe attacking the problem head on isn’t what you need. Maybe you just need to go for a run and eat a salad for lunch.
Giving up alcohol for 75+ days gave me a real insight into how much better I feel when I make my health a priority, and how that impacts my daily life, and I can’t recommend this highly enough to everyone far and wide.
3. Drawing power from knowing you’re not alone
By showing up for other guys and knowing that they’re going to show up for me, it creates an underlying strength that I didn’t have before. It’s not that I thought before that I was the only dad in the world, or the only person to have ever faced the challenges that come up as a parent, but being in contact with others who you know are in the same boat has given me something new to draw on.
Simply knowing that I have a support system allows me to stay even keeled and calm because I’m more confident that I will eventually get through each challenge, whether it’s a battle over how to spend the weekend or how to get the kids’ grades to improve at school. Because this group has come through for me so many times, new problems are no longer giving me the same amount of trouble that they used to, and the mental bandwidth I’ve freed up from not stressing so much has made me a better husband and parent.
I am truly grateful to Jon for the work that he’s done. It’s not only impressive and unique, it’s made a positive impact on my life, and I know it can do the same for anyone else who is willing to show up. Find your Front Row Dads group here!
