A dying father's five words rewired his son's entire life, and now that son is rewiring hundreds of other dads. In this conversation, George Rivera opens up about the deathbed warning from his own father, the "founder prison" he built for himself in business, and why he now runs Founder Dad Dinners for cash-rich, time-poor entrepreneurs who are quietly falling apart at home. We talk about the freedom audit that got his life back, why presence matters more than proximity, and how his 11-year-old son Leo's own podcast became an unexpected extension of everything George learned the hard way. Key takeaways include: the danger of "I'll make it up to them later," the 10k-per-hour filter for reclaiming your time, why phones at the ballgame do more damage than not showing up at all, and the simple truth that you only get 18 summers.

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com. Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/

00:00 Cold open: the lie that kept him stuck
00:29 Meet George Rivera
01:19 The sentence his dying dad said
02:52 Growing up without dad in the stands
03:36 Leo asks Tony to coach Little League
05:34 Hearing his dad's regret in real time
07:53 Building the "founder prison"
09:21 The breaking point with his business
11:04 The coach who talked him off the ledge
11:45 The freedom audit and 10k/hr filter
13:53 Presence versus proximity
15:17 Why he built Founder Dad Dinners
17:00 Breaking generational trauma
19:06 How the dinners actually work
20:52 Nine-figure exits, zero friends
22:27 "I'll go to war for you"
24:23 Cats in the Cradle moment
25:39 Timeline from awakening to change
26:28 Leo's own podcast
30:08 How Leo's first episode happened
33:28 Skills kids lose to devices
35:20 Advice for a brand-new dad
37:11 Closing thoughts

What if the best gift you gave your kids wasn't a memory, but your own voice? Blake Fly, dad to Koa and Summer (with a third on the way), joins Tony Cooper to talk about Dads Making History, the group he started where fathers record monthly audio and video messages for their kids to hear someday. Blake shares how the practice began during the pandemic, why "donut dates" became a normalizing ritual for the group, how a lost hard drive taught him about the fragility of memory, and how becoming a dad expanded his emotional range in ways he never expected. Tony and Blake dig into presence, legacy, and what it means to really show up for your kids.

• The "Forever Folder" is a monthly audio or video message dads record for their kids, meant to be a presencing practice for the dad as much as a gift for the child.
• Less is more: a good message is often just two to three minutes, a small, specific moment rather than a sweeping life lesson.
• Small rituals normalize across a community fast. One dad's "donut date" habit inspired another dad to start his own recurring one-on-one time with his daughter.
• One-on-one time with a kid (a donut date, coaching a sport, a standing weekly outing) gives a spouse real relief and builds a distinct bond.
• Becoming a parent can expand emotional range far beyond what a "sunshine only" upbringing prepared someone for, including grief, like a miscarriage before a first child.
• Presence is the real antidote to time passing unnoticed. Capturing a moment, even a mundane one like potty training, makes it retrievable later.
• What we intentionally leave behind (and take forward) from our own parents shapes how we father, whether that's constant positivity, a short temper, or building things with your hands.
• A voice message might never be listened to, and that's okay. The value is in the ritual of recording it, not guaranteed impact on the recipient.

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com. Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper

00:00 Cold open
00:29 Meet Blake Fly
01:23 Blake's speaking and coaching work
03:00 Becoming a dad in 2020
04:00 What is the Forever Folder
05:00 Choosing what to record each month
07:54 Dads Making History group
08:05 The donut date ripple effect
10:19 One-on-one time and giving mom a break
12:00 Being the youngest of three
14:04 Foresight that everything is temporary
16:04 A voicemail from aging parents
17:13 Documenting firsts, lasts, and the messy middle
18:23 Counting laps, counting years
21:09 Losing four years of photos and video
23:11 Is this really for the kids or for you
25:00 The realization that changed his approach
27:14 How coaching shapes his fathering
29:17 A grade 8 yearbook prediction
30:52 His mom's signs and rituals
34:01 What he's leaving behind from his parents
37:12 Becoming a dad kicked his ass
38:00 The miscarriage before Koa
40:09 Expanding emotional range
42:22 Preparing for baby number three
44:01 Closing thoughts

A dad of three shares the wild story of a highway birth, the exhaustion of new fatherhood, and why breaking generational patterns starts with you. Tony Cooper sits down with Lior Weinstein to talk about becoming a father at 30, supporting a wife through three very different births, and the physical toll of parenting a newborn while running a business. Lior explains why he stepped away from a fast-growing startup to be present for his second child, how he's working to end inherited family trauma before it reaches his kids, and why depth of focus beats exposure to everything. He also shares how he uses AI to write bedtime stories with his sons. Key takeaways include: the difference between reacting to a schedule and creating one, why physical exhaustion hits harder with each additional kid, how commitment to one passion builds a transferable skill, and why an abundance mindset starts with saying yes.

• Physical exhaustion from parenting compounds with each additional kid, even when you've "done it before."
• Supporting your wife through the newborn stage often matters more than mastering baby care yourself.
• Stepping away from work, even temporarily, can be the right call when presence matters most.
• Breaking generational patterns starts with noticing what was passed down to you.
• Building trust with your kids matters more than being their expert in every interest.
• Depth in one passion teaches a transferable skill: mastery, focus, and commitment.
• An abundance mindset starts with saying yes to your kids' curiosity, even if it doesn't stick.
• AI can be a tool for deeper connection, like personalized bedtime stories, not just efficiency.

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com. Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/

00:00 Being a dad is hard because you care
00:29 Meet Lior and his three kids
01:25 Becoming a dad at 30
02:11 Matan's highway birth story
06:19 Nature vs nurture with three kids
09:52 Always knowing he'd be a dad
11:33 Supporting his wife through labor
14:02 Teaching infants from day one
16:06 Becoming a different kind of husband
19:18 Learning from mom's instincts
21:04 Going from one kid to two
23:04 Physical exhaustion hits harder
26:19 Deciding to leave the startup
27:15 Nine months traveling in an RV
29:44 Stopping generational family trauma
32:25 Building a relationship of trust
33:23 The chess grandmaster book
36:05 Why depth beats width
39:41 Using AI for bedtime stories