The Dad Edge Podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Brandon Webb — Navy SEAL, former head instructor of the Navy SEAL Sniper Course, New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, and now the author of a brand new parenting book called Puddle Jumpers, releasing May 12th.
Brandon's story starts where most men's don't — kicked off the family sailboat at 16 in the South Pacific after a blowup with his dad, finding a boat headed to Hawaii, and navigating his way into the Navy and eventually SEAL Team Three. But what makes this conversation extraordinary is watching a man who trained the most elite warriors on the planet — including some of the legends you already know — apply that same performance psychology to raising his three kids.
We dig into what performance psychology actually is, why the sniper school's failure rate dropped to nearly zero when they stopped pointing out mistakes and started painting the picture of what to do instead, and how Brandon built that same positive reinforcement framework into how he parents. We also get into the moment his daughter humbled him while he was writing Puddle Jumpers — telling him that because he was their untouchable Navy SEAL hero, she never felt like it was okay to fail.
We swap shoplifting stories, talk about the power of getting to the why before you drop the hammer, why boys between 12 and 15 are standing at a fork in the road that can go either way, and why asking better questions on a one on one trip unlocks conversations that would never happen face to face at home.
 
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:02] Getting kicked off a sailboat at 16 in the South Pacific — and what his dad actually taught him
[3:21] From deckhand at 13 to SEAL Team Three — and the book that made him think he could do it
[7:29] Class 215 — graduating with Mike Ritland and serving with Eric Davis
[9:20] Brandon's full background — SEAL, sniper instructor, NYT bestselling author, and now Puddle Jumpers
[11:12] Why the book is called Puddle Jumpers — the mud puddle moment that became a philosophy
[13:28] What performance psychology actually is — and why Brandon integrated it into the sniper program
[17:22] The three pillars: mental rehearsal, self-talk, and positive reinforcement versus negative reinforcement
[18:41] Why saying "stop flinching" programs failure — and what to say instead
[21:17] The sniper school failure rate dropped to near zero — and what that taught him about his own kids
[22:26] Why Brandon left the SEALs at his peak — and what the broken families around him told him about his own future
[27:23] Consequences without the belt — wall squats, push ups, and eventually the iPhone
[29:52] Owning your mistakes as a parent builds more credibility than never making them
[33:05] What made him write a parenting book — his kids impressing people at Harvard Business School
[34:19] Don't come home with a wallet full of money and a house full of strangers — the billionaire with three kids in addiction
[37:01] The 12 to 15 fork in the road — why boys in that liminal space need a present, intentional dad
[39:23] The seventh grade spiral — selling pot gummies, ordering Uber Eats to the principal's office, and what was really going on underneath
[41:27] Ask why seven times — and the teacher who publicly humiliated his son and started the whole thing
[43:42] Pull him out, take his side, change the environment — and the coach's email that said everything
[44:33] His daughter's answer when he asked what he'd done differently — and why being the untouchable SEAL hero was actually a problem
[48:42] Shoplifting, a Sonic parking lot, and the real reason his son did it — peer pressure and not knowing who his friends were
[54:11] Kids open up in cars, on bikes, on walks — never face to face
[54:41] One on one trips every year — and the two questions at dinner in New York that lasted two and a half hours
[58:40] What his daughter said in Lisbon — and why creating a home they want to come back to is one of the most underrated parenting moves
 
Five Key Takeaways
Stop pointing out mistakes and start painting the picture of what to do instead. Telling a kid what not to do programs them for failure. Tell them where to put their attention — not what to avoid.
Owning your mistakes as a parent isn't weakness — it's the most credible thing you can do. Your kids will model ownership and accountability because they watched you do it first.
Boys between 12 and 15 are at a fork in the road. If they don't feel supported during that season, you can push them in a direction that takes years to correct. Get to the why before you drop the hammer.
Being the untouchable hero in your kid's life can quietly teach them that failing isn't okay. Share your struggles. It gives them permission to have their own.
The quality of your relationship with your kids depends on the quality of the questions you ask. "How was your day" is a dead end. Ask something real — and ask it in a car, on a walk, or somewhere that takes the pressure off.
 
Links & Resources
Dad Edge Business Boardroom: https://thedadedge.com/boardroom
Puddle Jumpers by Brandon Webb — releases May 12th: Available on Amazon
Brandon Webb's website and all socials: https://brandontylerwebb.com
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1473): https://thedadedge.com/1473
Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: the most dangerous thing you can do as a dad is be so good at everything that your kids are afraid to fail in front of you.
Brandon Webb trained the most elite warriors in the world. He wrote twelve books. He sailed across the South Pacific at 16. And his daughter had to look him in the eye and tell him that his greatness made her feel like failure wasn't allowed.
That's the lesson. Not the SEALs. Not the snipers. The puddle jumper — the kid who jumps in the mud because he hasn't been told yet that he shouldn't.
Raise more of those.
Go out and live legendary.

In this episode, I sit down with Adam Adler — Charleston-based founder, private equity investor, and dad of two — and his ten-year-old daughter Isla, who is not just the inspiration behind their app Wyzly but an active co-founder and integral part of the business. Yes, you read that right. A ten-year-old co-founded a company. And when you hear the idea, you'll understand why.
At seven years old, Isla asked a simple question: what if kids could earn screen time by learning first? That question became Wyzly — a learn-to-earn platform that ends daily screen time battles without punishment, restriction, or power struggles. Instead of ripping the device away, Wyzly locks the apps and gives kids 5 to 10 curriculum-aligned questions to answer — specific to their grade, school, and school district — before the device unlocks. The whole thing takes about five minutes. The bunny runs across the screen, and the apps open back up.
We dig into what too much screen time is actually doing to kids' brains, why the lock-and-block method always fails, and why giving kids the power to earn their own screen time changes everything. We also cover how the parent portal works, how Wyzly compares to Bark, and what's coming next — including avatars, brand partnerships, and Android.
Larry has been using it with his 10 and 12 year old and it's already changing behavior, reducing anxiety, and eliminating the daily battle.
Use code DAD20 when you download Wyzly for 20% off the $6.99 monthly membership.
 
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:02] Meet Isla — ten-year-old competitive gymnast, co-founder, and the brains behind Wyzly
[4:24] Adam's background — private equity investor, founder, and dad of two girls
[8:22] The idea that started it all — a seven-year-old's question that no app had ever answered
[13:06] Why Adam went looking for the app in the App Store first — and what he found
[15:48] Larry's firsthand experience using Wyzly with his 10 and 12 year old — and what changed
[16:21] Two plus years building a category that didn't exist — and thousands of downloads in 60 days
[19:44] How Wyzly actually works — what the device does, how the bunny unlocks the screen, and why kids love it
[21:14] What makes it different — curriculum and school district specific questions powered by their own AI
[23:03] How many questions, how long it takes, and what happens when you get them wrong
[27:45] Why Wyzly flips the script — from power struggle to collaboration
[29:12] Available now for kindergarten through sixth grade — and what's coming next
[31:20] What too much screen time is actually doing to kids' brains — from Isla and Adam's firsthand experience
[35:07] The data Wyzly is collecting on brain breaks and how they're helping kids regulate better
[38:36] How Wyzly compares to Bark — and the key difference in the learn-to-earn model
[41:03] No Family Sharing required — scan a QR code and it works instantly
[47:34] Isla's next big idea inside the app — customizable avatars earned through points, with brand partnerships coming
 
Five Key Takeaways
The lock-and-block method doesn't work. Ripping away a device causes rage and resentment — it doesn't teach kids anything. Giving kids the ability to earn their screen time changes the entire dynamic from power struggle to collaboration.
Too much uninterrupted screen time changes your child's behavior, attitude, and anxiety levels — and most parents can see it clearly but don't have a sustainable tool to address it.
A five-minute learning break before screen time is not a punishment. It's a speed bump — and kids who earn their time actually look forward to the process rather than resenting the restriction.
School district and grade-specific AI-powered questions mean your child is reinforcing exactly what they're learning in school right now — not generic content that may or may not be relevant.
Giving kids ownership changes everything. When a child earns their own screen time, they don't need to run to mom or dad and beg. The battle disappears because the child is empowered.
 
Links & Resources
Download Wyzly on the App Store: https://www.wyzly.app/ — use code DAD20 for 20% off the $6.99/month membership
Wyzly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyzly.app/
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1472): https://thedadedge.com/1472
 
Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: the screen time battle in your house doesn't have to be a battle at all.
A seven-year-old saw the problem clearly and asked the right question. What if kids could earn it instead of just have it taken away? Three years later, that question is a real app, changing real behavior in real homes — including Larry's.
Download Wyzly, use code DAD20 for 20% off, and let your kids earn it.
Go out and live legendary.

In this episode, I sit down with Bill and Danielle Beer — a married couple of 20 years, parents of five, and one of the most genuinely connected pairs we've ever had on this show. Bill is a physician and Dad Edge Alliance member of four and a half years. Danielle is a former military spouse, internal processor, and the kind of woman who quietly holds everything together while pushing her husband to go take care of himself.
Their story starts in college — Bill surviving leukemia at 16, making his own treatment decisions to preserve his fertility, and then secretly applying to the cancer camp where Danielle was a counselor. That same dock where they had their first kiss is where Bill proposed three years later. Twenty years and five kids later, they're still building — and they're willing to talk about all of it.
We get into what Bill was actually like before the Alliance — the poking, the picking fights when he needed connection but didn't have the vocabulary, the "happy wife happy life" mentality taken to such an extreme that Danielle stopped sharing hard days because she didn't want to be the reason Bill felt like he was failing. We talk about the weekly marriage meeting, ballroom dancing as a date night game changer, why they go to counseling when nothing is broken, and the moment Bill's 16-year-old daughter looked at him at the grocery store and said "your needs matter, dad."
This one is warm, funny, real, and deeply practical.
 
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:02] What Bill was looking for when he joined the Alliance — and the nudge Danielle gave him
[6:33] Bill's leukemia diagnosis at 16 and the treatment decision he made to preserve his fertility
[11:39] How they met at a cancer camp — and how Bill secretly applied after their first conversation
[12:37] The dock proposal — same spot as their first kiss, fake run, hidden photographer
[15:47] 20 years married, five kids, and a surprise trip to Hawaii Bill planned entirely himself
[24:13] The moment Bill heard something in the group that Danielle had said for years — and why it landed differently
[27:30] What poking and picking fights actually was — Bill seeking connection without the vocabulary to ask for it
[29:51] Happy wife happy life taken too far — how it created pressure on Danielle and closed her off
[33:37] The shift from avoiding divorce to asking "how do I actually want to be married?"
[36:16] The weekly marriage meeting — appreciations, needs, big three, then logistics
[38:07] Larry and Jessica in counseling right now — not because something is broken, but because the season demands it
[40:38] Ballroom dancing as recreational intimacy — and why going even when you're annoyed always works
[44:15] What Danielle finds most attractive about how Bill has evolved
[46:11] Bill's people-pleasing taken to the extreme — and the day his 16-year-old daughter said "your needs matter, dad"
[52:50] What they're most excited about for the next 20 years — and the four-year-old who starts every dinner with appreciations
 
Five Key Takeaways
Your wife can't be your only outlet. When she carries everything you can't process, she runs out of capacity — and eventually stops sharing her own hard days because she doesn't want to be the reason you feel like you're failing.
Happy wife happy life taken too far puts undue pressure on your spouse to perform happiness for your peace of mind. Happy spouse, happy house — everybody's needs matter, including yours.
The shift from avoiding divorce to intentionally building a marriage changes everything. Stop asking "are we okay?" and start asking "how do I actually want to be married?"
Recreational intimacy — doing something physical or creative together before a date — puts connection on steroids. The conversation that follows feels completely different than sitting down cold.
Your needs matter. When a man learns to take care of himself, he comes back better every single time — for his wife, his kids, and everyone around him.
 
Links & Resources
Dad Edge Alliance & Business Boardroom: https://thedadedge.com/mastermind
The Men's Forge: https://themensforge.com
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1471): https://thedadedge.com/1471
 
Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: marriage and fatherhood are learnable skills — and it is never too late to start learning them.
Bill Beer survived cancer at 16, spent the first decade of his marriage white-knuckling happiness for everyone around him, and then decided to go do the work. And what Danielle noticed wasn't a different man — it was more of the man she fell in love with on that dock.
That's the goal. Not perfection. Not arriving. Just more of who you actually are, showing up more consistently, for the people who matter most.
Go out and live legendary.

In this episode, I sit down with Doug Boneparth — CFP, founder of Bona Fide Wealth, CNBC and Investopedia financial advisory council member, co-author of Money Together with his wife Heather, and one of the most refreshingly honest voices on money, marriage, and family I've ever had on this show.
We open with a fact that stops most people cold: billionaires get divorced at the exact same rate as everyone else. More money does not solve the problem. The problem is the practice — or the complete lack of one.
Doug breaks down why money fights in marriage are almost never actually about money. They're about the stories, traumas, and scripts we bring into the relationship from our upbringing — the dinner table conversations we absorbed as kids, the financial trauma we never talked about, and the values we've never stopped to examine. He shares his own story of a scarcity mindset rooted in coming home at 16 to find his mom sitting on a bare floor — and how not sharing that story with your spouse quietly poisons your financial partnership.
We get into the quarterly money date, the invisible labor problem, why "just tell me what to do" is not helpful, what fairness really means in a marriage, and how to teach your kids about money through curiosity instead of shame.
 
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:02] Billionaires divorce at the same rate as everyone else — and what that tells us about money and marriage
[6:28] Why financial literacy in schools is still nowhere near where it needs to be
[10:52] "Mom goes on that train every morning so we can have fun on the weekends" — how to explain work to a four-year-old
[14:06] The self work that comes before the teamwork — understanding your own money story first
[18:52] Larry's story — coming home at 16 to a bare floor, a devastated mom, and a scarcity mindset 35 years in the making
[22:51] You don't do this once — financial alignment takes consistent practice, like the gym
[24:46] The quarterly money date — what it covers, how to do it, and why it changes everything
[27:29] If a financial expert and an attorney couldn't get this right without doing the work — what chance does everyone else have?
[31:51] Never bring up money during family rush hour — time and place matter more than you think
[36:37] Teaching kids to spend — why Doug let his daughter buy junk and then got curious instead of critical
[38:47] How a spring break lanyard project turned into a mini business
[43:34] Making space for your partner to learn differently — the whiteboard that finally worked
[45:04] The invisible labor problem — the sock on the stairs that Doug stepped over while laughing at his phone
[46:16] "Just tell me what to do" is not help — own a task beginning to end
[51:33] Where is the US dollar going — and why investing to outpace inflation is non-negotiable
[53:01] The financial foundation: spending awareness, a cash reserve, and consistent asset accumulation
 
Five Key Takeaways
Billionaires get divorced at the same rate as everyone else. More money does not solve misalignment. The practice of communicating about money is what makes the difference.
Your money story was formed long before you met your partner. Until you understand where your scripts, fears, and triggers come from, you will keep bringing them into your financial conversations without knowing it.
The quarterly money date is not optional. It is how you stay aligned on time, energy, spending, and what's working — before small frictions become big fights.
"Just tell me what to do" is not help. Own a task from beginning to end. Taking the mental load off your spouse means they never have to think about that domain — not just execute when assigned.
Equal is not fair. Fairness is whatever you and your partner have actually talked about, agreed on, and checked in about consistently. Without the conversation, there is no fairness — just resentment.
 
Links & Resources
Dad Edge Alliance & Business Boardroom: https://thedadedge.com/mastermind
Money Together by Doug and Heather Boneparth: https://readmoneytogether.com
Bona Fide Wealth: https://bonafidewealth.com
The Joint Account Newsletter: https://readthejointaccount.com
Follow Doug on X: @DougBoneparth
Fair Play by Eve Rodsky: Available on Amazon
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1470): https://thedadedge.com/1470
 
Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: the money conversation in your marriage is not about the numbers — it's about the stories you've never told each other.
Doug and Heather are a financial expert and an attorney who still had to do the hard work to get their own financial partnership right. If they needed the practice, so do you.
Start the conversation. Build the practice. Own a domain. Take 30 seconds before you respond.
Because a financially aligned marriage isn't just good for your bank account — it's good for your kids, your partnership, and the life you're actually trying to build together.
Go out and live legendary.

In this episode, Larry opens the doors of a live Dad Edge Alliance Q&A featuring neuroscience expert and brain coach Ashleigh Di Lello. This is a rare look behind the curtain at what actually happens inside the Alliance — real men, real questions, and real breakthroughs in real time.
Ashleigh was told she was going to die at 13. She learned to walk again three times. And when a catastrophic hip surgery in 2017 left her in chronic pain and facing the possibility of never walking again, she decided to stop trying to control her body and start studying her brain instead. What she discovered — and has since spent seven years coaching others through — is a comprehensive, neuroscience-based process for rewiring the patterns, beliefs, and self-critical voices that keep men stuck.
The men in this Q&A ask the questions most of us never say out loud: how do I quiet the inner critic at 61? How do I build resilience when my business is falling apart? How do I help my perfectionist daughter without making it worse? And what does it actually mean to feel your emotions without losing your identity as a man?
Ashleigh answers every one of them — and the conversation goes places you won't expect.
 
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:02] The quiet, sinister nature of negative self-chatter — and why morning affirmations aren't enough
[3:26] Ashleigh's story — told she would die at 13, three hip surgeries, learning to walk again, and turning it all into a neuroscience-based brain rewiring practice
[5:13] Ashleigh opens the Q&A — the brain's mechanisms are the same for all of us and can become our greatest asset
[8:20] Jason's question: 61 years old, raised to suppress feelings, bullied in school — how do I quiet the inner critic now?
[10:35] You are not either strong or weak — you are both. The human experience is contrast.
[12:15] Self-criticism locks up the neural synapses — why the brain cannot change long-term through shame
[13:47] The writing exercise — ten minutes, throw it away, slow the brain down and finally hear yourself
[16:26] Speaking to your brain instead of letting your brain speak to you — and why micro-action is what changes the operating system
[19:40] Larry shares his own moment — sitting down after his interview with Ashleigh in tears, writing down every cruel thing he was telling himself
[21:09] Chris's question: how does your process actually work from start to finish?
[22:15] The 12-week process — identifying, processing out, then rewiring. You can't skip the first half.
[23:43] What isn't expressed is suppressed — and the brain holds on to it
[28:24] Why men are more prone to addiction — shame activates the brain's alarm system and it will always find an outlet
[31:10] Scott's question: how do I build resilience under prolonged stress as an entrepreneur?
[33:29] Resilience is not a character trait — it's a part of your brain you can grow
[34:36] The win book — why you need a physical record of what's working, not just what isn't
[36:07] When your identity gets attached to not pivoting — and how that keeps you stuck
[40:27] Never make a big decision on a bad day — and give your brain real breaks from stimulation
[42:24] Chris's question: I can already see perfectionist tendencies in my nine-year-old daughter — how do I help her?
[43:38] Share your own struggles with your kids — it gives them permission to struggle too
[45:18] Failure is not a noun — it's how we learn. And the brain can't learn through shame.
[46:31] The win book applies to your kids too — build the evidence of progress, not just the list of what went wrong
[49:08] Practice makes progress, not perfect — and what that means for how you raise your kids
[51:38] Henry's question: how do men navigate the space between survival instincts and actually feeling their emotions?
[52:23] It's not either or — it's and. Feeling doesn't eliminate strength. It creates space for more of it.
[54:13] Let it out to bring it in — what isn't expressed will keep battling for space with everything you're trying to build
 
Five Key Takeaways
Self-criticism doesn't create lasting change. When you shame yourself, the neural synapses lock up. The brain can only rewire through self-compassion, not judgment.
What isn't expressed is suppressed — and it doesn't go away. It stays in the brain and body, driving patterns you don't understand and can't seem to break.
The writing exercise is one of the most neuroscience-backed tools available. Ten minutes, write what you'd never say out loud, and throw it away. You move it out so you can bring something better in.
Resilience is a part of the brain you can grow — by doing what you don't want to do, acknowledging it when you do, and keeping a physical record of your wins.
You are not either strong or weak. You are both. Allowing yourself to feel the full human experience doesn't diminish your strength — it creates space for more of it.
 
Links & Resources
Dad Edge Alliance & Business Boardroom: https://thedadedge.com/mastermind
Ashleigh Di Lello's website and free Brain Body Blueprint: https://ashleighdilello.com
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1469): https://thedadedge.com/1469

Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: what you're saying to yourself when no one is listening is either building you up or quietly tearing you apart — and most of us have no idea how cruel we actually are to ourselves.
Ashleigh Di Lello learned to rewire her brain not from a textbook but from necessity. She had no other option. And what she found on the other side was not just recovery — it was a life she built on purpose.
The brain can change. You can change. But it starts with being honest enough to write it all down, compassionate enough to not judge what you find, and brave enough to let it move through you instead of holding it in.
Go out and live legendary.