Most men were never taught how to be a great father or husband — they were left to figure it out on their own, often repeating the very patterns they swore they'd break. In this episode of the Upgraded Man Podcast, host Chris Anderson sits down with Larry Hagner, founder and CEO of The Dad Edge, who has spent fourteen years building a community and body of work to help men lead their families with intention.

Larry opens up about growing up without his biological father, an abusive stepfather, and the night he crossed a line with his own four-year-old son that changed everything. From there, the two dig into the real, teachable skills that separate present fathers and husbands from absent ones.

In this conversation, Larry and Chris cover:

• Why the quality of every relationship lives in the repair, not the harmony or disharmony
• How to own your mistakes with your kids without losing respect or authority
• The forgiveness "plant" analogy and why forgive-and-forget doesn't work
• Leading yourself first (faith and fitness) so you have something to give your family
• Why your marriage belongs on the front burner, not behind the kids
• Prioritizing your spouse's three core needs: to be seen, heard, and safe
• Creating psychological safety so your kids call you at 3 a.m. instead of rolling the dice
• The three-part communication blueprint: respond vs. react, lead with structure, provide safety
• Replacing the word "why" with "tell me more" to defuse defensiveness
• The middle ground between toxic masculinity and the passive "nice guy"
• Setting and enforcing boundaries as a kind man, not a controlling one
• Why "there's no such thing as an unconditional relationship"

Larry also shares the story of reconnecting with his biological father after eighteen years and the deathbed quote that drives him to leave nothing on the table.

Larry Hagner is the founder of The Dad Edge, host of The Dad Edge Podcast, and author of "The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood." Connect with him @thedadedge on Instagram and YouTube. Free resources: thedadedge.com/25questions (conversation starters for your wife), thedadedge.com/kidquestions (75 questions for kids by age), and thedadedge.com/legendarybook for his signed book plus two free courses.

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

===========================

⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms

⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ever feel like you're grinding harder than ever and still scraping by before the next paycheck hits? You're not bad with money. The world changed — and most men were never handed a plan.

In this episode of The Upgraded Man Podcast, Chris Anderson sits down with Philip Lanier, a former construction laborer who went from homelessness to selling his own company and now teaches everyday people how to take control of their finances without shame.

Philip gets real about the "death by a thousand cuts" that quietly drains your accounts, the borrowed scoreboard that keeps you chasing the wrong version of success, and why getting your priorities in the right order matters more than how much you earn.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• Why so many men operate without a financial plan — and how the world is engineered to profit from that
• The "death by a thousand cuts" problem hiding in your subscriptions and monthly payments
• How to face your bank app without shame and get one small win today
• Why chasing the "American dream scoreboard" keeps you stuck and stressed
• The sea turtle lesson on struggle, and what it teaches us about raising money-smart kids
• Practical guardrails to stop justifying debt and start delaying gratification
• How building generational financial wisdom beats a better golf swing every time

Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck or just tired of feeling behind, this episode delivers the mindset shift and practical steps to make money feel calmer this week.

Connect with Philip Lanier:
Financial class: yourmoneyessentials.com
Business coaching: corebusinessessentials.com

Follow The Upgraded Man Podcast, share this with a man who needs it, and keep upgrading your life.

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

===========================

⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms

⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are working harder than ever and the needle still will not move. In this episode of The Upgraded Man Podcast, host Chris Anderson sits down with Dr. Joseph Drolshagen, creator of the SMT method and a 27-year corporate sales veteran turned subconscious performance coach, to expose the real reason most men stall out in business and wealth building. It is not your strategy. It is not the economy. It is the programming running underneath everything you do.

Drolshagen breaks down how 85% of your results are driven by subconscious patterns, why hustle culture quietly sabotages the men who buy into it, and how getting into alignment helped his clients scale from 7.5 million to over 22 million in twelve months while taking five weeks of vacation. Drawing on three-plus decades of study and his own climb out of a struggling Detroit upbringing, this is a conversation about doing the inner work that actually changes the outer results, not another pep talk with a 72-hour shelf life.

In this episode:

• Why working harder is the first move struggling business owners make, and why it almost never works
• The difference between your conscious knowing and the subconscious programming that triggers the actions you take
• How to build a dynamic vision that pulls you forward instead of grinding you down
• Why lottery winners and burned-out founders share the exact same hidden problem
• The simple assessment Drolshagen tells every man to run before he changes anything else
• How taking uncomfortable action rewires your programming for good
• Why scaling a business can feel exciting instead of soul-crushing
• How fear, procrastination, and "I am okay at 1 million" are really the same limitation

Whether you are leading a team, growing revenue, or trying to build generational wealth without losing your family in the process, this episode hands you a new place to start: the man in the mirror.

Guest: Dr. Joseph Drolshagen, creator of the SMT method and 27-year sales leader. Book a no-pitch call directly with Joe at SMT.com.

Follow The Upgraded Man Podcast, and share this one with a man who has hit a ceiling he cannot explain.

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

===========================

⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms

⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.