Happy New Year's Eve Two Dads and Tech- Oh... listeners. Last day of 2025. New Year's Eve. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. I know. 365 days? 360- That's crazy... I saw something the other day on TikTok.
[laughs] Do you know, do you know their names are Zias, Zias or something? Z- Z-I-A-S and Blou? Have you heard of them? Is it the two brothers with dreads? Like random like- No, I think they're best friends.
They played college football together. Do you know Aiden Ross? Oh, are you talking about the dudes with the, the quarter zips? No, I don't think so either. Okay, then I don't know.
But- There's a lot of influencers, and I think you and I are on different sides of the algorithm. I...
Yeah, I'm like on the, you gotta be 20 to 23, or like 16 to 23 to watch this, and you shouldn't watch it if you're older than that, but [laughs] it sucks me in. So, so you're- So anyways, [laughs]
one of them was like, "I feel bad for people with December birthdays, 'cause you gotta wait the whole year for it to get to your birthday." [laughs] Dude, yeah. No, seriously, December... Well, that's hilarious.
But also, December birthdays, like if you celebrate Christmas, and you have a December birthday, I feel like you just, you just never really got to celebrate your birthday. Yeah.
Um, it's funny, one of my kids has their birthday January 12th, and so it's like- Yeah... it's, you know. Deep. January birthdays, it's, it's rough. It's rough. Yeah. I have a July birthday.
I feel like I've always gotten- Oof. Perfect... the full gamut. I know, it's like right smack dab in the middle of the year. Yep. What- nothing else has really happened in July except July 4th. Yep.
Which is fun, but whatever. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mine, uh, mine's May 24th, and it was always the last week of school, which is pretty cool. Lee, actually not Lee. There's Liam.
Harrison, all right, my youngest, turning one years old on January 2nd, so next week. There you go. He'll be one. Um- Dang... so yeah, same thing. That's a big one.
His birthday's gonna suck, because everyone's gonna, you know, go out for New Year's and not wanna celebrate it again. And they're just exhausted. True.
Exhausted from Christmas, exhausted from New Year's, most of them going back to work after a week or two off, and then boom, he has a birthday. Oh. No one cares. Poor kid. Poor kid. Poor kid. Poor kid.
Dude, I wanted to, um, last episode we teased that we're gonna take a quick break. So everyone- Yeah... if you're listening to this episode, you probably won't hear another episode for another couple weeks or so. Yeah.
We're getting our lives together. To be honest, to be honest, off, we haven't gotten- Yeah... a single week off since December 12th or something. 10th or month. Yeah, something like that. Um- 2014. Yeah.
I mean, that's impressive. First of all, give us a round of applause, and all... Second of all, subscribe. Subscribe to us on YouTube- Right now, please... so that you get pinged when we come back. You know what?
Like we want, we wanna come back to thousands of subscribers on YouTube. Tell you what, if we hit 850 subscribers from this episode after, we won't take a break. We'll record. Um, [laughs] what are we at right now? Okay.
750? I don't actually know where we're at. Uh, some- something like that, something like that. But, um- Let me check right now... anyways, all that to say, if you're listening, we all appreciate you.
When I say we all- 724... I say Daniel and I. [laughs] What are we at, 724? 724. Ah- Who the hell-... it's a slow last couple weeks. Le who is here? Yeah. [laughs] I know. Uh, dude, some of the comments are so mean.
[laughs] So mean. I know. They're like, "Two dads." Like, I'm not even gonna read them. Uh, I went to bed crying for three days in a row. I know. Um, but anyways- I've been crying since we started this episode...
I wanted to do, uh, 2025, kind of like a year in review. I guess you can count it as like a Spotify wrap, a Spotify wrap, but for us, just talk about the podcast, what we think, how it went, things like that.
So I used my friend, Chad Chipita to make some- Chipita... um, questions, and then I, you know, re-prompted it, kind of fixed things up. I wanna run through this. I made it to where you can answer, I can answer.
Go back and forth. How's that sound? Sorry, I'm just vibing. Yeah, he's vibing. I'm just vibing. I'm listening to music. If you're not wi- I'm listen, I'm listening to music. You- I can't even hear you. What'd you say?
Say it again. [laughs] Dude, you should have not said anything for like 30 seconds. Just, just silence. [laughs] Spotify in my, in my earbuds over here, just like totally ignoring you. Uh, all right.
Oh, that sounds like a plan. That sounds like a plan. Let's do it. A little year in review. All right. Sweet. Um, [laughs] these questions are... They're just fine. They're okay. So let's get into it. Eh. Eh.
What is one episode this year that changed how you think, not just got good numbers? Terrible, terrible question. Uh, you are right. I hate that question so much.
Uh, I'm looking at our, I'm looking at our YouTube channel right now.
I, I'm serious that the Nir Eyal episode, How to Become Indistractable from Technology with Nir Eyal, three months ago, so I think we recorded that early October, something like that, total game changer for me. Yeah.
And if you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend going and listening to it.
Some, some highlights is, you know, tech versus parentings, uh, like phones and competing with kids, and how parents are so glued to their screens. I mean, that's- Mm-hmm... a topic we talk about a lot. Yeah.
But Nir gives us, uh, in this episode with him, like some very practical ways to combat that. You know, millennial parenting and the value of putting devices down or disconnecting as a family unit.
Internal triggers, and Nir is, is an expert in this. I mean, he researched this stuff, psychology behind it for years and years. He has two bestselling books.
And he talks through that expertise he has in a way that I feel very uniquely combines what Troy and I talk about just inquisitively. Yeah. Like all Troy and I do, we're just chatting about stuff. Yeah.
We're not experts. We're living in the thick of it. We're parents, but our kids aren't that old, so like we're still trying to figure it out. He's, Nir- Yeah...
really just goes deep into like, "Hey, here's some very practical ways to go after being a good parent in the age of technology." Yeah. By far the most impactful episode that I think we did this year, for me.
I really don't wanna piggyback off that or steal it, but I agree, and I'm gonna give a second episode, because I don't want this to just be solely focused on that.
Um, but yes, Nir's episode was great, and it had what I thought was some of the best energy. He came in and he just- So much... you could like hear the passion behind every single word that he said.
And we didn't even really do, we didn't do much. We were just there-We asked him a couple questions.
I mean, we, we, we, we had a kind of a, a, a rubric or a plan, but I mean, all we did was just listen to him, and it was like- Yeah... you and I were just sitting at his feet like, "Whoa." Yeah. "This is awesome.
We're learning." I mean, he, he definitely, he brought the energy. We'll have to bring him on again. I know he has another book coming out, I believe in 2026.
I would love to hear some of his thoughts on that book as well. Yeah. We should. And I know Hooked, his first book, was really successful for a lot of tech people. Yeah.
Outside of that, I don't wanna say another guest episode, but I thought Scott Lees's was really good around just, like, mindset stuff and going through- Yeah... essentially near-death experience.
Like, figure out what you actually want in life and things like that. And so, um, I thought that was good. Dude, there's this thing on my nose. It's really bothering me. Do you see that? Mm. Or is that my computer?
I can't really see it. No. I thought- It's probably- I think I got a- It's probably- All right. It's probably cancer. [laughs] Yeah. Everything is. If I, if I went to the- Don't laugh. Don't laugh at that... I'm done.
I'm cooked. Just kidding. All right. What is something that you were scared to say on the podcast in 2025, but you wish you did say? Something... Oh, something that I was too scared to say, as in I did not say it?
Either, either too scared or that you wish you would've talked about. That's a tough one because I try really hard to say whatever is on my mind. Yeah. So I... Nothing really, nothing really comes- Yeah...
to mind of like, "Oh, man- Yeah... I should've said that," and didn't. If I think I should've said it, I, I will just usually say it, or it's just not important enough to say. But what...
I mean, do you have an answer to that? It seems like you have something that you wish you would've said. No? Kind of, but I also almost wanna challenge you. Sure. I'm happy- Because-... to be challenged...
because there was an episode where I kinda went deep on my life, and there's a few times where I was like, "Let's talk about your upbringing."
And, and so I've noticed a couple times you pulled back, like, "Ah, you know, it's whole 'nother episode," and we've never gotten back to that episode, and we never recorded it. Yeah.
I didn't know if there was anything, like, about your upbringing that you're like, "Ah, I should probably leave that out just for the sake of publicity and stuff like that." And if so- No... let's leave it out. No.
No, no, no, I'm happy to talk about it. Uh- Not now, obviously. I w- But okay...
yeah, not, not scared to talk about it, it's just complicated and really probably takes a full episode to really get into details, otherwise people are like, "What?" Like, I was arrested when I was seven years old.
That's a real story. That is cra- Okay, yeah. You can't say that. We- You can't say that and then just be, "All right, well, so, uh, what do you think about Thanksgiving?" What do you think about AI?
Hey, these new robots. Yeah. [laughs] Uh, yeah, like y- there's just so much. Okay. Every single detail is, is- That's crazy... just opens 50 more questions. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm happy to go into that in 2026, and let's- Yeah... I mean, let's, let's plan a full episode around that, and you can...
I can give you some, some heads-up, you know, thoughts so you can ask me good questions, and I mean, we'll just go all the way in there. I, I've talked about it in front of large crowds of people.
I've told my story, uh- Okay... in Boston, in Chicago, in China, in Spain, uh, in South Carolina several times. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I've been a legitimate speaker on this topic.
I think it's one that typically resonates with parents now. Uh, early on, I think it resonated with people that were peers.
Now it resonates with parents because the parents are dealing with their children who are troubled and dealing with, you know, they're in and out of institutions. They're getting kicked out of school.
They're getting in fights. They're dealing with drugs. I haven't, you know, you know, bad, you know, friends. Like, whatever friend group is, is causing peer pressure like...
So every time I speak, a parent comes up to me, sometimes in tears. I can recall- Yeah... many times it's happened. "Mom, in tears, your story was so impactful." Wow.
"Can I talk to you about the situation I'm dealing with with my son, with my daughter," whatever. "I don't even want your advice. I just want you to know what you dealt with is not as island unique as you think.
Other people are dealing with some of this stuff as well." So it's always impactful for me, too. But anyways, no, I- Yeah... I'm not really scared to talk about most things. I can think more about this.
Maybe there is something. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But nothing comes to mind. By the way, everyone, Daniel had zero idea I was asking any of these questions till I clicked play, so... Or record, whatever.
The only thing I was scared to bring up that I finally did towards the very end was, like, the whole religious aspect. Yeah.
But I, I wasn't scared, and I still, there's some things I wanna ask about it that I'm scared to ask, but I will in 2026. We'll, we'll touch on that then. You should ask. Yeah.
And you might know or even notice, I'm never scared to talk about it. Yeah. At all. No. And I have quite deliberately woven in my faith to many of our episodes, not because- Yeah... there's no ulterior motive here.
I'm just, that's just who I am. Yeah, for sure. My faith is not a segment of my life. It's a part of my life.
I talk about it when it makes sense to, and on this podcast, there's been many different points and, and segments where it just made sense to bring it up. Got it.
Um, and I, I've, I've noticed that, and that's, yeah, Daniel is very much himself on all platforms. Maybe- I try... maybe a little goofy on X. Who knows? But maybe that's y- [laughs] maybe that's you. I'm goofy.
I, uh- Um-... that's my goofy side, for sure. Let's see. What part of yourself do you feel accidentally turned into content this year? I don't know if I love that question. Okay. Yeah, it's a weird question.
I like this next question, though. Okay. Did this podcast ever feel like a chore in 2025? All the time. Dude. All the time. Worst year ever. You guys don't even get it. It's tough. You don't even get it.
Look- Y'all, I'm so bad... massive shout-out- This is my fault. No, no, ma- Uh, it is kind of, it is kinda Troy's fault. It's kinda, yeah. I'm not gonna lie.
Uh, Troy, Troy is, he's, he's a, he's a work in progress, everyone. I have horrible texting, horrible. Um- Ugh... I will give a huge shout-out to the podcast team that Troy and I have, Team Loops. Yeah.
Incredible at what they do. They... I, in fact, to our own demise, they are very responsive and, and, and even we don't communicate as much as we should with them.
Uh, the last few months particularly, we've g- we've given them, like, a couple times. The episode, like, Wednesday morning, that's our day.
Our Wednesday morning, we're go live on YouTube, on all platforms, Spotify, Apple, like, our episode. We've given them the raw footage, like, Tuesday morning. Yeah.
And their 12-hour time difference- Tuesday afternoon sometimes... so Tuesday afternoonThey're just, they're just there. They turn it around. They're ready. Yeah. They turn it around. It's, it's, it's ready to go.
So massive, massive, massive thank you- Yeah... to Team Loops. And at first it was very much like delegate, instruct, tell them how it should be, some back and forth, some editing.
I would say the last three, maybe even closer to six months- We don't even listen... there's been almost no hand-holding. Yeah. They have 100% embedded themselves into our podcast. So has it become a chore?
There are times it feels like a chore just to, just like literally set aside s- 45 minutes to record. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Troy and I are both very busy and have- Yeah...
a lot of competing priorities, and sometimes Two Dads and Tech just did not feel like a priority to us. Yeah. On that note- But we, we still made it... anyone who reaches out to...
Yeah, reach out to us and tell us this is impactful if it is, because that helps us to go a- again for another episode. We get an email, a DM. But man, Team Loops have just-- I mean, they are a steady podcast machine.
They do three short form videos every single day like clockwork on Instagram, on YouTube Shorts. Some of- Yeah... them have gone mini viral. Some of them have gotten a lot of good attention. Yeah.
It's just like a, a part of our brand that does not require as much effort now, 56 weeks into this project, as it did certainly for the first three months. First three months- Yeah...
good grief, it felt like it was, it was, it was a real startup. And now I think it's become something that I think we, we really always hoped for it to become. It's like, all right, like very minimal- And-...
uplift for us, but still the wide net and viral coefficient of having content- Yeah... like this. Yeah, Daniel and I were really, really good at the same day, um, at a specific time, we would record an episode.
And I don't know, we fell out of that, and then that became a habit, and it was like, ah, [laughs] dude, you- Yes...
whether it's at night or whether it's in the morning or on a Sunday after he gets back from church, like, whatever. I'm like, "Dude, we just gotta record something." Yes. All right? Yes. And I'm really bad at texting.
Daniel will text me on like a Monday, and then like a Tuesday- I swear to God... and then a Thursday, and he's like, "Dude, I just need you to respond. That's it." I'm like, "I'm so sorry. What's up?"
Like, I'll be like, "You, yeah. I don't even wanna-" That's on me. I know. He's, he's getting-- He knows, he knows he's bad at it, and that's the first step to improving. Yeah. Um, but- I know.
I'm trying to get a little bit better... we've made it happen. We've made it happen. We're okay. It, it's gonna, it's gonna work out.
But I will say, I think the reason we're doing this pivot, and we won't talk too much or give too much away, some of the reason we're taking some time off and some of the reason we're
s- planning some strategy around 2026 is because what we have noticed energizes us about this podcast is a little bit different than what you might expect from the last 55 or so episodes.
There's five or 10 episodes where we felt like, oh, that is a difference maker for us personally and for the people that we really want the audience to look like. And so we're, we're, we're gonna lean into that.
It took 55 plus episodes for us to understand like, oh, this is what we can offer. And so I think an encouragement to you, uh, you the listener, if you don't...
I, I say this in my, in my day job all the time to people thinking of starting newsletters, "Oh, what should I write about?"
My response to them and my, my implore, you know, my, what I wanna u- urge all of you to do, it doesn't matter. Yeah. Just do something. Yeah. And do something consistently. A lot. Absolutely.
For, for a long time, for longer maybe than you think you have to. Yeah. For us, it was over a year.
Every single week, we've released thousands of pieces of content across written newsletters, long form videos, short mid-form videos, short form clips, TikToks, Instagrams, YouTube Shorts, like literally thousands of pieces of content, and now we're finally like, "Oh, here's our niche."
Yeah. Yeah. It is not backwards. That's actually just how content and media works. You gotta- Yeah... just do something until you land on that thing, and you'll know when you're, when you're on that thing.
Sometimes it won't take a full year, but it will take time and consistency up front. Yeah. You do something enough, you'll start to learn from, I hate saying this word, but the data.
Like I just feel like everyone shoves- The data... data down their throat. Kind of off-brand from this podcast, but that little funny little food review TikTok I'm doing, one thing has been popping up 100% of the time.
Mm-hmm. So I'm just like nailing down and like drilling that same- Yep... messaging over and over and over. And so, so 40 videos probably to get there, but awesome. What is a small
parent, what is a small parenting win that you have this year? And then what's a small parenting struggle that you struggled with this year? Parenting win is me being able to regularly,
uh, tell my wife to go out and, and hang out with friends. "Hey, go get dinner with a friend. Go hang out with the girls. Like go to a coffee shop and, and spend some time alone."
The last few years, there's been seasons where we've been able to do that, but for the last almost two years straight, I guess year and a half, our youngest is a year and a half old, I have not been able to do that.
The youngest was just not, uh, uh, needed his mom, and that is just kinda how it is. Uh, the youngest will sometimes need their mom. So right now, he's, he's, he's, he's good. I can put him down.
I can, I can help him if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Like there's no limiting factor of dad and the two boys, so I can take them both out for breakfast. Like, we can be very flexible, so that's a huge win.
That's huge. For me, for the family, it's a big breath of fresh air and gives my wife life back. Uh- Yeah. Yeah, yeah... she's been, obviously that's been a rough, you know, two years almost.
A parenting struggle or challenge would be sickness, uh, which is like not unique to us, but our kids have been so sick. Ugh. Like, like right now, uh, they're, they're both sick. One of them is better than the other.
But it just, it's constant. I feel like- Dude... literally this whole year it's been constant. We... So that's just been a challenge, and there's no solution there, uh- There's not...
beyond just trying to be healthy in general holistically, but like kids get sick. Their immune systems get better, and they get less sick and less sick and, you know, it's like- Yeah...
so that's been a challenge for sure. Yeah.Let's see. For me, I hate that I'm even echoing this.
Not to echo the first one, but one thing that I per- outside of, like, letting the wife go out and do, do her stuff, like, she just had a girls' night last weekend. Nice.
And they slept over in, like, a cute little town, things like that. So I had the boys. But I was much more intentional with one-on-one dates with Liam because he's...
With Harrison, he just kind of sits there and looks at you and laughs and stuff, right? Liam, it's... I feel like it's very impactful.
He's starting to observe every little movement, thing you say, thing you do, et cetera. And so that's been awesome, just random dates. Let's go to Culver's and grab ice cream. Let's go to Chick-fil-A.
Shout out Chick-fil-A. [laughs] Let's just- [laughs] Let's just do whatever. So that's been great, and it also takes one of the kids away from, from the wife as well. I'll also say my struggle
has also been a win towards the latter half of the year, which is my patience. When you hear, like, the, "Dad, Dad, Daddy, Dad, Dad," like...
And some of those times it's because I'm on my phone and I'm like, oh dude, what? Yeah. But, so taking my phone away has been pretty good. And I'm not 100% consistent. I don't...
I mean, I think there are people out there that are. I'm not that way. Been a lot better at it. Phone, actually yesterday I, I visibly noticed that my phone was in my pocket the entire time I was with the kids.
We went to go see Christmas lights, stuff like that. So there's that, which is good. But the patience, like, I feel like that's also a struggle, 'cause sometimes I just, I get home, I'm tired, I'm exhausted. I also...
The dogs are my responsibility, so I take the dogs out, I'll take them on a walk. Yeah. And when it's negative, feels like -22 and you get in, like, the last thing you wanna do is just sit there and go and play.
So, uh, it's been a struggle and a win. Still working on it. Something I really wanna get better at in 2026 is having much more patience with the, "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad." [laughs] Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
I can, I can definitely be more patient. Yeah. I, I'm always taking mental notes of how patient my mom, or... [laughs] My mom. [laughs] Jesus. My wife is, my wife is with the kids. It's hard, man. Kids are, kids are,
kids are needy. I mean, they're kids. They should be. Uh, but it's hard. Yeah. It's hard to be patient always. Yeah. You know?
What is something that your kid or kids, one or the other, has done this year that hit you emotionally harder than you expected? I can't remember if it was this year or last year, but, uh,
Courtney and I were having, like, we were bickering. Yeah. You know, regular bickering, you know? Yeah. And- This sponsor is one that is near and dear to my heart, and that is Zapier.
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Everett, our, our oldest, so I can't remember when this was, it was at dinner. And he said something, I'm paraphrasing, but it, it, it hit me like a pound of bricks. He said, "Stop talking to each other like that." Hm.
Mm. And he was like three, maybe not even three. Yeah. Wow. And I mean, I, I, I struggled with that. Like, that, that rocked my world. Yeah. Because it stopped me in my tracks and showed me a, a few things all at once.
One, the way we're speaking to each other is not emotionally helpful for a child- Yeah... who doesn't know how to... If there's any type of bickering, it's just, it's adding stress, it's causing anxiety.
Like, there's a lot of these studies out there that, like, children react emotionally, mentally to their surroundings. So one, not healthy for the, the child. Two, noticeably not healthy for them to speak up.
Like, that doesn't feel right, seem right, look right how they're talking to each other to say, "Stop talking to each other like..." And who knows how cognizant he was in that moment to bring that up and to say that.
Yeah. But I was like, oh my goodness, I can't believe this meaning- meaninglessly bickering moment that I thought probably nothing of, maybe she thought nothing of,
prompted my, my child to be like, "Hey, stop talking..." So- Yeah... that, that really changed me. And I can always do a better job. I, I want to always treat my wife with respect and to be gentle and be patient and...
But you bicker. I mean, you're married. It's not something that I'm discounting and saying, "Oh, you're gonna do it anyways. You might as well just do it." No, I wanna get better at that. Yeah, for sure.
But not just for me, not just for my wife, but for everyone around us. Like, that's just not comfortable to be around an old bickering married couple, you know? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I don't know if we've had that exact phrase come from Liam, but I think we've heard, like, a, "Stop," or whatever. Um... Yeah.
One thing that he said actually recently, I think it was, like, two or three days ago, and it was emotional in a, in a happy way, 'cause now that he's essentially saying full sentences, some of them don't make the most sense, and that's exactly how the, [laughs] the sentences should be.
Um, it's so funny. But he said something along the lines of, "I love you, Daddy. I'm excited to go to Costa Rica. We're gonna have so much fun." And I was like, "Dude, we are, man. Get over here." So cute. That's sick.
So adorable. I teared up for sure. I was like, dang, that's, that's sweet. Um- Yeah. That's nice... kids, you know? That is gonna be a really, really good trip. And he's old enough, he'll probably remember- Yeah...
bits and pieces of that. He'll remember going. He might not remember each detail, but, like, that'll be impactful. I mean-That's gonna be so fun. Let's see.
Is there any hard conversation with your wife that you've avoided this year that you know you can't or should not avoid in 2026? That's a good question. She's like, "I'm avoiding it for a reason.
[laughs] Wait till next year." No, no, no. Uh... I feel like there's something for me. I don't know. Um... Like, I'm sure there's stuff- I don't know... I'm like, "Eh, I'll get to that later." [laughs] Uh...
Put you on the spot. [laughs] I know. Um- I don't know. I mean, I'd like to say I'm an open book, and then I, I... In general, just the way I am, I'm, I'm just like, I just don't beat around the bush.
Like, I'm too impatient to beat around the bush. So for better or worse, I'm just like, boom, go right to the source and have the conversation. But, like, I don't know. I- Yeah... I mean, maybe. Maybe there's something.
Yeah. I don't know. I couldn't tell ya. Mine would probably be, even though it's...
We're chatting about it now and stuff like that, but just, like, career-related stuff, less about, like, us related or anything like that. Yeah. I don't know. There's a lot of...
I avoid a l- We've talked about this a lot. I avoid a lot of conversations and stuff because I hate conflict, and I avoid conflict at almost all cost. Interesting.
Which is why I don't ever text you, 'cause I'm like, "Dang, now I have to deal with conflict." I know. Forgetting. Like, you're, "Here we go." Sorry. All right.
What did showing up as a partner this year actually look like, and where did you fall short? Minor things. Trying to help with the kids in the morning, like leaving my phone in the office when I leave. Uh, so
just, like, having the time after work and before bedtime without a phone. I, I don't do it as much as I should, but those are very, like, specific things that I've been able to do to be fully present as a partner.
Same thing as what I said earlier, like- Yeah... you know, "Go have dinner with some friends tonight. Go watch a movie. Go just be alone. Like, whatever you need, because I can handle it." Uh, and I did.
I mean, there was a weekend she went away for two nights in, uh, North Carolina for, you know, like a retreat, and it was, it was, like, very empowering to me, because I was kinda scared leading up to it.
I was like, "Well, what if he wakes up and needs his mom?" I was like, "Well, he'll be fine. Like, even if he does, like, he, he will survive." And he did. And, uh, he was fine.
And I put them both to bed by myself, and woke them up by... And, you know, like, every meal- Yeah... everything for, for a weekend.
And, like, I'm not patting myself on the back like, "Oh, I did what every mom in the world has ever done for the history of humanity." Yeah.
Like, that was empowering for me to now I can, I can do that for the young kids who I couldn't always do that for. Not because I couldn't do it, but because they- Yeah... needed Mom, and that's how babies are. So
yeah, that was, that was a very practical way, like, just- Yeah... owning, owning the children whenever I could and, uh, letting her have her life. What about you? Second part of that question, where'd you fall short?
And then I'll get to mine. Oh, where I fall short. Working too much. Yeah. Classic. Classic. Yeah. Not, not being available. If you're listening there from your dad, you're probably like, "Me too. Dang it."
[laughs] Yeah. Like, "Dang it, dang it, dang it." [laughs] I think, yeah, like, I've been waking up early again. Uh, not as early as you, but, like, just to be, uh, to, to do a few things.
To be, to be ready before the kids are up. Okay. So just, like, having my time and not, not reacting to the kids getting up to get up, but, like, getting up- Yeah... and then they're awake because I'm already there.
So that's one thing, being available in the mornings to be a present dad. That's super practical. Um, but also, like, it's just, like, the right thing to do. I feel like men who are responsible should get up to an alarm.
Like, I, I worked four days a week- Oh, here... 7:00 to 5:00 for five years. Um, it was a 40-hour workweek, but it was Monday through Thursday. So I woke up at, like, 5:30 or something to get to work by 7:00. Yeah.
And it was in the office. But since I started working remote in tech, like I d- like, who cares about an alarm, most of the time, because I just... Like, life is a little bit more flexible.
So I would wake up early, but it would be not to an alarm. Now I'm like, "Let me just wake up early." It's, it's the right thing to do. I feel like any responsible adult would agree with that.
[laughs] But most people aren't doing that. It's a healthier thing to do- Yeah... to wake up consistently, to go to bed consistently, to have discipline.
So yeah, I think that's where I would fall short, just in general, is just, like, not being present, working too much. Got it. Okay, let's see. What was the, uh...
It was essentially where'd I show up and where'd I fall short. Okay.
Where I sh- Kinda like what we said earlier, I know we both are, are beating a dead horse there of kind of, like, saying, "Hey, I'm gonna take this kid so you can have some time off," that kind of stuff.
But I also think I was very intentional about dates, at least one date a month, and very intentional about texting her parents and, like, surprising her with dates. Like, "Hey, you know, July 13th, are you free?
Can you take the kids so we can go out to dinner?" And that kind of stuff. I showed up there a lot.
I really, really do wanna appreciate them for that, and I find it so important to just date your significant other and- Yep...
find time to do that, even if it's not a monetary thing and it doesn't have anything to do with your financials. Just, like, y- I think you mentioned go outside and light a fire or
pack a picnic and sit out in the backyard and just talk. Um, so- We do, uh, charcuterie dates at home. Whenever we either can't get a babysitter- Ooh...
or the kids are super sick or whatever, we'll go to the grocery store ahead of time. We'll get all the stuff for a board, make it at home, watch a movie. You know, we'll pour a Spindrift into a wine glass or something.
Uh, I mean, or just, you know, I'll, I'll have, like, a, an NA wine, and she'll have some, you know, sparkling water, like, whatever. But we'll just make a date, candlelights and everything, at home. Yeah. It's easy.
That- It's easy. Like, we overcomplicate spending good quality time with your spouse. Like, just do something. Yeah. We do. We do. Play a lot of cribbage, too. Um- Nice. Where I fell short kinda falls in the same line of
opening up. I think I bottle up, I bottle up a lot of my feelings and emotions, and, uh... So I think that's, that's one area that I fall short is, like... 'Cause then she feels like either
maybe I'm not telling her things, and it's not 'cause I don't want to. It's just, like, I'd rather not talk about these emotions. Hmm. But it builds up, and then there's times where I burn out and I crash.
Um, and, uh, that's, I think I felt that towards the end of this year. And-Now I'm back. I feel great. I'm ready to go into 2026, but... So yeah, let's see. We're gonna keep scrolling down.
We only have a few more minutes here, and then Daniel and I have to jet, go get ready for the holidays. Um, let's see. What... Okay, how about this? We talk a lot about work and how much
we essentially devote our life to work, and it gets in the way of some family things that we wanna do, but at the end of the day, we're responsible. We have a job we gotta do. That's just sadly the US.
So what part of your identity... No, no, no, not that question. What's a professional moment that you should have felt like a win but didn't? And then let's even take away the negative impact of that.
What is a professional moment that was a win this year? I mean, there's a lot. I, I think I am the seventh employee at Beehive, and we are over 110 employees now,
and we have doubled in revenue, and we are pegged to do much more than that in 2026. I've closed some monster deals this year, and I'm very proud of that.
Uh, professionally, outside of Beehive, Two Dads in Tech did almost $100,000 in revenue this year. Dude, nuts. That's crazy. Crazy. Uh, absolutely- Honestly, if, if we didn't put the-... insane...
if we didn't take our foot off the gas for the last six months, we'd probably be at 150 maybe. Like- Easily. It's something. I think it goes to show how important building an audience is. Yeah.
Troy and I have audiences of our own- Yeah... which Two Dads in Tech is being built on the back of.
Two Dads in Tech's audience itself is still growing and nascent, but the, the larger it gets and the larger we both our- ourselves get, the more impactful that audience becomes and the, and the heavier, you know, price that we can charge for sponsors and partners.
That's a huge win. Palmetto Parents is a huge win. We hired our first writer. We hired our first ad seller.
We hired our first ad, uh, buyer, and we launched two new cities in one year, uh, with, with more on the way next year.
I personally have done a, a number of brand deals on the side and made significant money that way, and so it's, it's... Like, I think the, the internet really opened up this year to me.
I'm like, oh, like, there's a lot, and it's not- Yeah... a heavy lift. I think once you have an audience, you can do so much with that audience. Yeah, you can. That's it.
So I, I think the professional wins is, like, oh, like, life got harder, but also, like, life got easier- Yeah... because I just leaned into the audience and then- Yep... the audience development. Yeah.
I think I'd, I'd, I'd echo that. Again, I hate sitting here on this podcast saying everything that you're saying, but at the end of the day, I think- I know you suck...
my LinkedIn audience and even expanding now to obviously towards the end of this year, which I don't know what you... We'll talk about this offline, but Palmetto Parent stuff.
That You and Troy newsletter are pretty much at 500 in seven days, so, like, if that keeps growing- It's awesome... um, at the end of the day, and you want to expand into Madison, and I know how to run things from a...
If I already have a brand there- It's not a bad idea... and, like- Yep. You know? Yep. So something to, something to chew on. No, we're... Yeah. We- So-... we have big hopes. Uh- Yeah, yeah... it's all, it's all, like, a
s- you know, sail the ship or build the ship while you sail type of approach, but we have, we have some, some ideas for 2026, so it's, it's all coming together. It's what I like to do, build the ship while you sail.
So yeah, there's things there. Um, but yeah, that audience between this podcast, some sponsored posts here and there, and, like,
I won't give a, I won't give a number, but it's really cool to know that you can make an extra almost six figures or more just by- Mm... having an audience. So, um- Incredible... know that, everyone.
I don't know if it's Link- You don't need to do a LinkedIn. Go do anything. Go make TikToks. Go... You don't even need to show your face. A lot of people are embarrassed to show their face. Like- Wow...
whatever you wanna do. If you wanna make recipe cooking videos, make recipe cooking videos, but don't show your face. Um- Yep. So I don't...
There's, there's a lot of opportunity out there, and it keeps on expanding, and I keep on realizing, wow, like, you can make money off of just about anything in today's world. Yes, you can.
Let's end off on one more question here. What are we at? 35 minutes. Yeah, let's end off on one more question. What emotion did you feel the most in 2025? Probably stress. Is that an emotion?
I was gonna say stress for me. I wanted to answer first. Ah. I wasn't talking. You should've answered first. You should've answered first. Uh- Stress, dude. Really stress- I think I felt... Let me, let me preface.
I, I felt tremendous amounts of joy as both of my kids started developing into their own person. I mean, we have so much fun, and I really get to experience life to the fullest.
I feel like these are the best days of our lives, and so I've felt that consistently. Yeah. So I think the stress is a me problem.
Like, I can, I can and should be able to deal with that stress, particularly in light of how much amazing joy-filled moments my life has. So yeah, I take, I take it back. Joy.
I, I felt joy this year, tremendous amounts of joy, and I think the stress I feel is when life doesn't let me experience those moments of joy as much as I would like. Yep, okay. I like that. Stress, for sure.
The most stressful this year. I gotta just be straight up with that. Some of them, it's not an emotion, per se, but g- maybe, like, growing, growth.
I feel like I learned and grew a lot this year as a person, as a human, as whatever, as a professional, as a husband, as a father. And yeah, I think it was a, it was a joyful year, but... It was a joyful year,
but there was... I've had more joyful years. I think... And I think I've, I've done a lot of, you know, self-reflecting over the last three months or so. Like, what's, what's bringing me stress? What's bringing me joy?
Let's figure out what needs to be eliminated, things like that. And so I'm pumped for 2026 because it was a stressful year, and that's all right. There's stressful years, everybody.
You might be having a stressful- That is all right... year right now listening to this. That's just part of it, all right? You gotta just- That is all right...
make it through, and if you're getting too stressed, uh, tell someone. Please tell someone. We're gonna always- Speak up... go for that message. So other than that, man, that's all I had for you.
I wanted to just know how was your 2025? Wrap it up. Let's see how, let's see how it ended. Let's see how it went. That's what I had for you. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Enjoy your holiday. Happy New Year. Yeah.
There's nothing like a jet2 holiday. Enjoy it. Enjoy it. Have fun. Thank you everyone for listening, sticking with us. If you're new here, stick around. If you're old, thank you. Yeah. We appreciate you.
And as always, six seven. Six seven. Six seven. Let's end it. I hate that. All right.