The Importance of Dads - Episode 79

Ben Killoy is a U.S. Marine Veteran turned blogger, life coach, speaker, and podcaster whose mission is to bring Military Veteran Dads home to their families. He resides in Janesville, WI, with his wife and three beautiful kids. Ben went through what most transitioning veterans go through, the feeling of needing to redefine their identity outside of the structure of the military and rediscovering your passion and purpose for life. A seminar changed it all for him and allowed him to discover his passion for leadership and helping other veterans and Dads be the best parents they can. Since that seminar he has been on a mission to master leadership principles and use his passion for leadership to help dads understand who they are, develop their skills to overcome adversity, and to own their life choices to enable them to truly come home to their families.  Ben’s podcast combines his own insights into his unique experiences with the military and fatherhood, along with interviews and discussions with other thought-leaders from around the world. The fact that Ben’s insights are based on his personal experiences, and the experiences of the other veterans he interviews gives credibility to his understandings. Sharing both his successes and failures brings a more heart centred approach to his podcast, enabling a deeper connection to his audience.  Ben is available for speaking engagements, both online and in person, and is more than happy to share his insights on other veteran’s podcasts. One thing that I find really fascinating is how much Ben talks about how important Fatherhood is. He takes an active role in influencing his children’s lives and has had so much change through starting the podcast. At one point in his life he believed no one cared about who he was and he wanted to change that. He started by making friends by saying hello to other dads at the park. And through those friendships he has created a podcast and talks about leaving a legacy for his family. We also talked a lot about how we need to allow our kids to feel emotions and not brush them aside. If we ignore our kids problems when they are little problems they won’t come to us with big problems. They will expect the same reaction as they get older because little problems to kids are just as real as big problems to us.  Mentioned in this episode (affiliate links): Strong Father’s Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker Way of the Warrior Kid by Jacko Willink Military Veteran Dad Podcast Connect with Ben: Instagram @Ben_Killoy Instagram @MilitaryVeteranDad Twitter @benkilloy Facebook Page @MilitaryVeteranDad Thank you to my Patreon Sponsor Col Level and above Kevin Barba   Resources: Women of the Military Mentorship Program Girl's Guide to Military Service available where books are sold.  Signed copies of A Girl's Guide to Military Service Girl's Guide to the Military Series