Hello, everyone. This is Tonya Dawn Recla, your Super Power Expert, and I’m really excited to have with us today, just a delightful guy. Jared L’Estrange got connected to us through Brock Bowen. One of our faves over at Super Power Experts. Thank you, Brock. Jared is the founder of the global movement Super Dads, he’s out of Brisbane, Australia with his wife and three young girls. And he’s also an Australian Ninja Warrior, barefoot water skier, and natural body builder. Today we’re going to be talking with him about super hero powers for dads. I know this is a hot topic as all the dads out there are rewriting what it means to show up fully. In full autonomy, with spouses, with children. I’m really excited to have him on the show to talk about this hot topic. Jared, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you, Tonya. Very grateful to be here with you today.

Aw, very cool. Very cool. We’re going to jump in and ask, what are your super powers?

Being able to walk on water is a pretty good superpower.

I think in that bio, you talked about barefoot water skiing, I think being able to walk on water is a pretty good super power.

I agree.

From a business perspective, I think I have the ability to really push the boundaries of what’s possible. I guess, stuck out as a leader and a visionary. Always wanted to, I guess, unite humanity, find a way to bring people together and really help in the best possible ways and that’s what the Super Dads is for me. It’s my legacy, my mission, and my visions to dads to really get the education, support, and accountability they need to up their game and move to the next level.

Beautiful. How did all of that come about?

2016, I was really struggling with a dad, under the pressures of it all. And I found that there wasn’t really a lot out there to support dads. When I went in search, I found that there was a group called the Man Shed, that was basically getting together a bunch of old guys work, and I thought, “That’s not really for me.” I started to look at what was available online, and really just from there thought, “Okay. What are the skills that dads need? What are the most important things?” I put together what is improving their mindset, their stress management, their time management, their budgeting and finance, their exercise and nutrition, and dealing with any addictions and compulsions that have become a part of their lives so that they really can be a real life super dad to their family.

I got together with a number of experts, a counselor with 25 years experience, a hypnotherapist, and a client of mine who was a family accountant, and I’ve been doing the nutrition and exercise component and we put this together and ran this program online for dads, and started up a Facebook group, which has now grown to over 16000 followers. And decided I wanted to bring everything together, so I’ve now created this Super Dad app. I’m pretty excited to have taught myself to develop my app and websites and all that stuff, being a personal trainer for 15 years that was certainly a new territory to move into.

I love that you’re talking about that. We’ll get back to the dad thing in a second, but I really love that you are open about building some of those components for yourself, for the business. My husband, Justin, and I often advise companies, especially if you’re just starting out, there’s a lot to be said in building things brick by brick and understanding the components because even if you’re building a team, the biggest risk we see, the businesses in the corporate counterintelligence side of the house is the fact that when people bring on team members or try to outsource something, they have no clue what goes into it, so they can’t really ask the right questions, they can’t really hold people accountable, they don’t really know what to expect and they advocate to someone. So I love the fact that you were willing to do that for yourself. In my opinion, it really does change how you do your business.

I absolutely agree. Looking in terms of teaching myself those skills, it was an exciting and frustrating time, and yet at the same time, it’s really great that now I have those skills and can begin to delegate out the things that I no longer want to do.

Absolutely. And you can guide that process, so you’re able to manage the outsourcing. Let’s go back to the dad thing. What is it that you think is the … What’s leading to some of the confusion and some of the reinterpretation and perhaps reinvention of dad, and what that means? What’s leading to some of that these days?

I guess if we look at society, things have certainly changed since the olden days, where women did so much around the house. Dads have really forced to step up in order to sustain a healthy relationship with their partner for starters. I think women expect more of the men and more presence in the family. We can no longer get away with not changing dirty nappies, or getting up to the kid, or just I guess, being well and truly a present dad in that relationship. And dads really expect a lot more of themselves.

Look, I think when it all comes down to it, we have as dads, maybe a little bit more than the moms, a bit of a … What’s the word? An inclination towards that super dad or superman idea for ourselves. We really want our kids to look up to us as real life super heroes. I know I do. For me, it’s about surrounding myself with dads that support me and assist me to get to that next level, as a dad and really show up as the best version of myself to my family and deal with the stress and pressures of life better.

I like that. I like that you’re willing to give voice the fact that perhaps things are changing. And I often go round and round about that. As we change within ourselves, we see the environment change, so how can we really know if times are changing. The consensus seems to be that this feels different. We’re working on more integrative concepts within marriages, within parenting situations, and I think on a lot of level, our kids are demanding something different from us. I know our experience with Neva is, it was either we were going to keep up with her or we were going to stifle it. And so, it was really a conscious choice on our part to pick that ball up and run with it. And it wasn’t typical, it challenged us in ways that we never anticipated, but it’s creating this really amazing relationship, and amazing opportunities for her.

Absolutely. And as we spoke about at the beginning before the interview, what your daughters doing online now, and also what my daughters are being exposed to, it’s taking them light years ahead. They’re no longer happy just out in the playground, they really want to be educating themselves and they’re just being exposed to so much more online now. They’re definitely getting very smart, very quickly, with technology.

It’s interesting because I know there’s a lot of scrutiny about that. And it’s, Nieva got her first iPad when she was two, and the reason for that, if you had asked me when she was about a year and a half, there’s no way that that would have been in my purview, but Justin went to Afghanistan for about six months, we just started the corporate counterintelligence firm and we were building that up and it got to the point where it was impossible for me to have business meetings and what not because she was getting to the age where she wasn’t going to sit quietly in the corner. Either it was put her in daycare, or figure out a way to provide her something so that she could attend meetings with me. And we went back and forth about it, but what that did in getting her that, is that how technologically savvy she is. She’ll say something and I’m like, “Where did you find out about that? Where did you learn that?” She’ll say, “Oh, it’s this app. Or watched it on YouTube, or I Googled it.”

The self sufficiency is so much greater than I remember being at that age. And so, maybe I’m not remembering correctly, I don’t know, but I would imagine that if I were to query my parents, that’s what they would say. Not only that, but the connectivity, knowing that you can connect with people through social media around the world, and it’s really creating, in my opinion, this really cool ripple effect that hugely outweighs all of the naysayers about the evils of technology. Now, of course, everything in balance, right?

If I had any indicator that she was somehow not socialized, or that she couldn’t carry on a conversation, or put down the device or anything like that, that would be an issue. But, that never came up with her. And so, maybe we’re fortunate, but I do see huge advantages. Plus she has the balance of a lot of exposure to highly aware, highly spiritual, highly guided people to also keep that consciousness spiritual growth perspective in check as well. I can see where the environment plays a huge role in it. I’m seeing the same thing you are, I don’t see a downside to it.

If we don’t keep our kids up with where things are going technological wise, really keep our finger on the pulse to support that, then we’re missing out on a great opportunity to prepare our kids for the future. You’re right, it’s absolutely about balance. We’re an extremely active family, but the kids also really enjoy their downtime and their entertainment, and learning on their iPads as well.

We homeschool, so it’s become an amazing tool for that. Let’s go back to the dad thing for a second because we talked before the show about this big vision about families and kids, and parents and dads, and everything else. And I loved what you said about getting super specific about your niche. I know that’s one of the biggest challenges for those of us who are tapped in and see a big vision and everything else. Can you talk to us about what that process was like for you making the decision to hyper focus on dads first? Obviously expansion is always possible, but what was that decision like for you to let go of that huge, not like over, maybe set that over to the side for a second while you built up a really strong foundation around the dad concept?

Look, what I was talking about with you was initially the vision was helping families, super families, online. And then, for me, I guess I really asked the question of myself, who is it that I’m most qualified and most resonate with, and understand the greatest? And obviously, it was dads who were just struggling a little, want to improve themselves as a dad, partner, provider, and man for their families. For me, I came up with this philosophy that being a super dad is not about being perfect, it’s about having a great mindset and striving to become the very best versions of ourselves.

I know that in our society there’s a lot of dads who are stuck, they are willing to complain about their problems, but not step up and do something about it. What I really found, and find is happening with the super dads, is just that concept of what it means to be a super dad, immediately makes people question the action that they’re taking in their life to overcome their challenges. And for me, it’s really about flipping that switch. Or just assisting them to get the support, the inspiration, and the encouragement that they need to make those changes. When it comes to niching down into dads, it was a no brainer because I really want to work with dads like me that have that growth mindset and just really striving to show up as their best selves in this world.

That’s really powerful. We’re going to take a quick break. You’ve been listening to Super Power Podcast, we’re talking with Jared L’Estrange today about super hero powers for dads. Jared, before we do that, where can people go to find out more about you?

I’ve actually launched an app for dads, it’s the app that every dad needs. And it’s at thesuperdadapp.com. And it combines everything that we’ve put together in the last year and a half. It’s a social network, a directory of lists and services, and online university, exclusively for dads.

Very cool. We’re going to take a short break. Stick with us, because when we come back we’re going to talk about how you, as a parent, or as a father specifically, can start making some really powerful changes in your life and in your family, today. Stay with us.

Visit SuperPowerExperts.com/theNET for more!

To listen to the entire show click on the player above or go to the SuperPower Up! podcast on iTunes.