- @SkilledDad

*This transcript is mostly accurate. Some errors may exist.**

Zach:  Hey guys. And welcome to the scale dad podcast. My name is Zach Reeser and happy 2024. You know, SkilledDad has been going for just over two years and really it started for me as a hobby, as something I always wanted to do. And I found myself with the opportunity to do it. Just to kind of see what would happen. Um, but the ultimate goal. Was to go and help that one person help that one guy. That might find himself in a place where he doesn't know what to do. Maybe he doesn't have people around him. 

He doesn't have a group of close friends. But he was looking for some answers. Um, A. A number of years ago. Ago. I was that guy. I had some close friends. But we were the first to have a kid and there weren't a ton of resources out there. About being a dad and I wanted to learn as much as I could. And I was disappointed with, you know, what I found. So fast forward. Almost nine years later. , which is how old my oldest child is. 

And. Over the last couple years, we've had the chance to build. Stories and collect from stories. From other dads on what they've learned. And what they've seen in their journey. And the cool thing is up to this point. I know for a fact, without naming names, that there are a number of men, that have taken a lot from the stories that we've had from the conversations. And in 2024, I'm excited because we're looking to really put some intentionality behind it. Um, get away from just the hobby aspect and pour some, some gas on it so we can go and help more people. And I want to lay out what that's going to look like for this year. And if you're listening to this, if you've been a listener for awhile, I just want to say, thank you. Number one. Um, number two. I'd love for you to hold me accountable. Um, for the things that we want to go and accomplish. Um, and the first thing. Is we, 

so for the last two years, it has been me with a number of fantastic people. 

Um, Behind microphones, honestly, just having a conversation. And within those conversely. Conversations a lot of really cool things have come out of it. Um, I've benefited probably the most in some ways, because I get to have every conversation. And there's a lot that happens off the mic. That you all don't necessarily get to see. But. Just having me behind the microphone all the time. Uh, somewhat limits the ability to get as many conversations as we can, as we can have. 

And there's also a number of really cool people that have come alongside relationships that have been built or last couple of years that are really passionate about SkilledDad. About helping other dads. And about sharing stories, as well as just connecting. We want to go help that one person. And if this is the first time that you've joined us, Maybe that one person's you. And we hope that it is, and we hope that you . And we hope that you come alongside us. And join this thing because we do believe that. Being a dad should not be DIY. And then we want to help. Other guys learn the things that they can do and engage. So that they can equip themselves and the future for success. So in order to do that best, there might there might be some new people. Behind the microphone, having conversations with other guys. Within the SkilledDad brand. 

And these are guys that I've come to know really well. And guys that I trust. That their heart is behind the right thing and, and be part of this mission. Um, so I'm excited as you get introduced to them. Uh, over the next coming months and potentially having them lead some of the shows. I'd love to know what you think. 

I want to bring you into the fold because at the end of the day we want. And make sure that. We're able. Able to deliver. On. The things that help. Um, that's, that's the, what makes it fun? And so. Coming your way. We're going to start seeing some, some new faces, some new voices behind this microphone. Having conversations in conjunction with me. And I'm pumped about that. And, uh, I hope that, uh, that's something that you're going to be able to enjoy and gain from as well. The second thing. Is. What we're really focusing on in 2024. Over the podcast. 

There's a lot of things that come out that are kind of intangibles there. Soft skills and, things that we can take away, but we can't quite hold in our hand. Right. The intangible soft skills. We want to continue to work on and focus on learning. What we can do both in the household and work, um, wherever our feet are and how to deploy soft skills, because those oftentimes are the basis and framework of what will help us be successful. 

Interacting with people can be tough. And those were some of those things that, that are gonna go across the playing field. Wherever you might be. So with the podcast, we're going to continue to share our stories. We're going to learn a lot of those things that we can't quite touch, hold and feel. Um, but we're also going to start taking it to another level as well. 

Things like that more of the hands on tactical practical, I can do it. Since of hard skills. The funny thing when this is brought out to me, is that they typically say it along with kind of a sense of. Hey, D do you, do you teach about how to use tools or. XYZ. And it comes with like this lower tone, a little bit quieter, almost a sense of, I don't want people to hear that. 

I don't know how to do this thing. Well, if that's you and you don't know how to do these things. You're not alone by any stretch of imagination. I can, I can tell you that firsthand that you were not alone. And that's why SkilledDad was built is to help equip us with knowledge that maybe we weren't taught. Or that we can learn from someone that's one chapter ahead of us. 

Okay. So soft skills. We're going to continue to work on. Hard skills, the tactical practical things that we can build touch. Holding her hands. , is the second and then third. Pillar that we're going to be focusing on. Is community. 

We said before that being a dad should not be DIY. And we firmly believe that, but what do we mean by that? Well, a book. You can listen to this podcast. You can watch a video on YouTube. You can watch a You can watch a lot of videos on YouTube and wonder where your time went. But a lot of it's just knowledge. 

It's this thing for bringing in. 

We can go in our garage and we can. Tinker we can build, we can screw up and we can learn from it, which I highly encourage you to do. Because learning comes best sometimes with failure. 

things that helps us get over those humps when we run into a challenging situation, or we need to have a conversation that we don't necessarily know how to, or, or want to have with our wife, because if something were. We're working with and the perspectives are different. That's just natural. 

have a close group of other guys that we can connect with and have those conversations, then we're really missing out on. On our ability to be the best people we can be. I'm having. Good positive. , our lives. 

something that will sharpen us and vice versa. And so we want to help. Instill the understandings and still the skillsets of what it takes to go and build a community. So that you don't find yourself in a place where you are doing dad DIY, and that that's a tough spot to be sometimes. If are here. And still listening to this message. 

Community's one of those things that we're hoping to bring for you. And it's not just community in a virtual sense. We will have some components that are virtually based. It's the modern era. It's a great way to connect with people. It's a great way to find people locally, but we hope that locally. You will be able to connect with other guys. That are walking in the door with the same expectations, same understanding, and same recognition of awkwardness of, of making adult friends. 

That it can be. So that some of those things are set aside and we can start just. Just getting to know people. soft skills, hard skills. And community. So these are the high level things that we're going to be bringing in 2024. We want to know what you like, what's working so that we can pour gas on it. Or if some things are not beneficial. Uh, then we won't do them, but we're going to test a lot of different things so that we can get things. Uh, moving along and help the most people possible. And then the last piece is also in relation to the podcast and general frequency, how often it comes out. You know, last year I did not do a good job of getting a lot of releases out. Had some different personal things going on. 

And the SkilledDad was one of those pieces that I just had. Kind of stepped back and put. On the backbone. Burner a little. So. So that I could attend to my family. Well, it's 2024. Um, are done. And I'm gung-ho and ready to rock. 

having just a podcast out. Once a week or previously once a month. Right? Um, We're going to be trying. Something different. We. Typically I've been doing interviews and they've been running about the 52 minute average mark. And many of you listened to the whole thing. I know you tell me, um, I can see it. And, uh, that means that you're gaining some benefit from that. So. We're going to continue to have those stories, because I think in those stories, that's where power comes from. 

That's where we can see that, Hey, maybe I'm not the only one facing something, or we can just get a nugget that gets us fired up and we want to go and apply it, um, more about it because someone else has introduced us to it. So. We're Gonna continue to have. Those, and I hope that we're going to have many, many more of those. Like I said, not just with me, but some other really trusted guys that'll be coming on. On on board with SkilledDad as well.