The Return! With special guest, Les Moore. That’s right guy’s, I’m back! It has been almost three whole months since I have released a new podcast. The last episode, number 234 went live on September 18th. Since then my life got a little crazy and I had some unfortunate technical challenges to overcome. During this three month Hiatus I have made a lot of observations, I have gained many insights, and I have continued on the path of being a better man than I was yesterday. I plan to share these i...
Dec 11, 2017•38 min•Ep. 235
Errors In Judgement, and How To Handle Them… Todays program is being brought to you by Stump Town Kilts! they are the makers of the finest kilts available. They are a sponsor of this show because I am a loyal customer of this company and i am happy to stand behind them with my name and reputation. I own three of these kilts and I plan on getting more. Everything about these kilts is top notch; the innovative design, the craftsmanship, the color selection and even the price. I wear them everywher...
Sep 19, 2017•12 min
There Are Always Options… After a very long period of silence It is I, Alf Herigstad, back at the Being A Better Man Microphone. It feels really great to be back. It seems like a very long time since I recorded an episode and in reality it has been exactly 3 weeks. 21 days since I have released an episode. That is the longest absence I have ever had and I was a little worried about what the consequences would be. I was concerned that everyone would just go away and listenership would plummet. I’...
Sep 09, 2017•14 min
Hate Makes It Impossible, To Be A better Man… As many of you know, since starting this podcast some 232 episodes ago I have been very diligent about not getting political. I have not discussed politics or religion or anything else that tends to divide people. My reason for that is because I have always found it more beneficial to focus on things that make us similar to other people…rather than the things that make us different. I still believe that is true. For example, we are all men, regardles...
Aug 18, 2017•15 min
Plan Your Next Adventure! I don’t know about all of you out there, but I am in full blown summer schedule with everything now. You may have noticed that I have only been releasing episodes on Friday lately, that is evidence that I am super, super busy with the things that summer is demanding of me. Besides the farm, and our property, and relatives visiting and events of all kinds to attend one thing that has had me incredibly busy lately is that I am preparing to go on an adventure. That’s right...
Aug 11, 2017•11 min
When It’s Hard Being A Father…Be A better Man! Hello Men! As I predicted a few weeks ago the summer schedule has been a little tough. I have not been doing three episodes a week like many of you are used to. There was no Monday or Wednesday episode this week. Summers are always busy up here in the Pacific Northwest but this summer has been particularly so. What I can guarantee is that you will be able to count on the Friday episodes every week. As the weather changes heading into September I sus...
Aug 04, 2017•18 min
Living A Half-Assed Life… You have arrived at the podcast devoted exclusively to the topic of the character of men. We don’t talk about sports, or politics, or dating or fashion. Here we talk about the nuts and bolts of what it means to be a man in today’s world, we talk about living with character and purpose. We do this, so that you can apply it to your own life and become a better man today than you were yesterday. I am the host and creator of this show, my name is Alf Herigstad. We are very ...
Jul 28, 2017•10 min
What Is Required To Be A Leader? Welcome to the beginning of another glorious week in your life as a man. I think every man should be having a glorious life. If you are not currently having a glorious life, the bad news is that it’s probably your fault. The good news, is that every day is a brand new day, and you can be the creator of your own destiny. As men we have the power to create, imagine, dream and innovate. We can sculpt the world around us into what we desire through the strength of ou...
Jul 24, 2017•10 min
One Of The Worst Things You Can Do… It is time once again for Being A better Man, the podcast focused exclusively on the character of men in all of its various forms. I am your humble sherpa on this journey, my name is Alf Herigstad, I’m the creator and host of this show. Before I delve into today’s content I’m going to take a moment to acknowledge the sponsor of our Friday episodes: StumpTown Kilts. Stump town Kilts is a company located in Portland Oregon, also known as “Stump Town”. It is ther...
Jul 21, 2017•8 min
226 – Choosing Your Friends Wisely… Today I’m talking about the skill of choosing who your friends are. You may have never though of it as a skill before, but I think it is. I think it’s a skill that can be learned because it isn’t something we are born knowing how to do, and also because it’s something we can get better at. I classify anything that can be improved upon with practice and effort, as a skill. As human beings we are pack animals. Our existence is made up entirely of the relationshi...
Jul 17, 2017•9 min
I appreciate you taking a little time out of your manly day to listen in. My intention is that you will receive something from this podcast that will cause you to think. That you will be inspired to consider your own personal manhood as you go through your day. It’s important, because staying aware and purposeful and mindful of your role in the world will result in you being a better man today than you were yesterday. I am your host, my name is Alf Herigstad. Right off the bat though, I’m going ...
Jul 14, 2017•10 min
A Better Man Knows How To Listen… This is the podcast that focuses on the character of men. Part of our core philosophy here is that if we become concerned with and focused on, our character as men. Then everything else in our life will start falling in place as a result. Think about it—if you are really trying to be a better man today than you were yesterday, and you are doing that every day, there will be some predictable results. Your relationships with other people will be improved. That mea...
Jul 10, 2017•10 min
The Virtues Of Hard Work… I want to take a second and talk about a message I received yesterday from a regular listener named Les. It made my whole day. Les bought a copy of my book, Forging A Man. Les has two young daughters and he started reading a chapter of the book to them as bedtime stories each night. He told me about one story in particular that had a profound effect on them and even had them moved to tears. He went on to say that they are getting a lot from the lessons each story has as...
Jul 07, 2017•10 min
The Beauty Of Independence… Tomorrow is Independence Day here in America. I decided to go back to see what I talked about least year during this holiday. I liked it so much that I decided to replay it this year. So here it is again, from the archives: I know I have a lot of listeners who are not from America…so for you, the 4th of July is just the day that comes after the 3rd of July. In America though…it is independence day. It is the anniversary of the day 240 years ago that the declaration of...
Jul 03, 2017•10 min
The Conversation Is Critical, And It’s Up To You… First…a word about our sponsor: This is Friday, and we are privileged to have our Friday episodes brought to you by our sponsor, stumptownkilts.com . Listeners of this show can get 10% off their entire purchase by using the code: betterman at checkout. Just go to stumptownkilts.com , do your shopping, pick out your new kilt and enter the code betterman at checkout to receive your discount. That’s betterman, all one word, all lower case. I’m proud...
Jun 30, 2017•12 min
Your Life, Your Legacy, Your Responsibility… From time to time I talk about legacy on this show—and today is one of those days. If a man becomes mindful of his legacy every day then being a better man becomes second nature. It happens without even thinking about it. I’m thinking about this today because of the weekend I just had. I just got back from a camping trip with my family, which is why I am posting this so late on Monday…because I wasn’t home. On this camping trip there was myself, my wi...
Jun 27, 2017•9 min
Who are you…In your relationships? Today I’m going to talk a little bit about your individual role in the lives of people around you. Who exactly are you to these people? I’m always saying that our relationships are the most valuable things we possess, and today I’m going to get a little deeper into that topic. Before I do that though, I’m going to take a minute and mention the sponsor of today’s episode; StumpTown Kilts. Right now we are entering premier kilt wearing weather, summer is upon us ...
Jun 23, 2017•9 min
Seasons Of Change, You Are In Charge… Summertime is upon us. This fact is more evident in some places than others; Phoenix was 119 degrees yesterday and Seattle was 75. On the other side of the world in the Southern hemisphere they are heading into winter, but all over the earth people are experiencing the change of a season in one way or another. Yesterday, June 20th, was actually the summer solstice, the longest day of the year if you are in the Northern hemisphere. Now every day will get slig...
Jun 21, 2017•8 min
What If…You Have A terrible Father? This is the 217th episode of Being A Better Man and I got to thinking that I may not have ever explained why I do the show in the way that I do. Basically, I am making the kind of podcast that I would like to listen to. There isn’t a lot of small talk, there isn’t a lot of music or other production type things. When I tune into a podcast I personally don’t like it when there is a lot of jibber jabber…I like it when they get right to the point and talk about wh...
Jun 19, 2017•9 min
Why A Man Should Never Be Bored… You may have noticed that there was no episode two days ago on Wednesday. The summers are intense up here on the farm and they are very high impact. For the rest of the summer months I may occasionally miss an episode here or there because there aren’t always enough hours in the day, but if I do, it will likely be the Wednesday episode. I will not miss the Friday episodes for sure and hopefully not the Monday ones, just giving you a heads up. You know, missing th...
Jun 16, 2017•11 min
Work Like A Man… Hey Everybody. Welcome to Being A Better Man, I am your host and my name is Alf Herigstad. We are not trying to change the world here…we are just trying to change your world, one day at a time. The whole idea is that if we can get a bunch of guys to commit to just being a better man today than they were yesterday—then the world will be a slightly better place. You don’t have to be great, you don’t even have to be good…you only have to be better than you were yesterday. I think e...
Jun 12, 2017•12 min
“So Called” Women’s Issues… So, I listened to a Ted Talk a couple days ago and it really got me to thinking, it’s the kind of stuff that every man needs to hear. I’m going to be talking about that here in a minute, but first I’m going to talk about the sponsor of todays program, Stump Town Kilts. When I first started this podcast almost a year and a half ago I decided that if I ever had a sponsor that I wanted it to be Stumptown kilts. There are lots of things I could try to sell you here, but I...
Jun 09, 2017•15 min
The Great Race…Of Life There are about 7.4 billion people on the earth. Roughly half of them are not female, so that means there are around 3.7 billion male humans inhabiting the planet. Notice, I did not say there were 3.7 billion men—because of those 3.7 billion male humans many of them are children. Many of them who are not still technically children are boys who simply grew up, without ever becoming a man, at least by my estimation. So, the number of actual bonafide men on the earth is hard ...
Jun 07, 2017•12 min
When We Screw Up…What Then? You know right from the start when I decided to put this podcast together, I did so with the intent of inviting other men to join me on a path I was already on. The path of perpetual improvement, getting better in every area of life every day. That’s why I call myself “your fellow man in the trenches” in the intro. Because I really, really am right there in the trenches with you, last night I proved it. I’ll tell you something else too. Doing this podcast for about a ...
Jun 05, 2017•11 min
The End Of Drama And Negativity… Hey every body! It’s Friday once again. Thanks for tuning into Being A Better Man, where we talk about the issues of manhood itself. Being a man isn’t just a matter of age. Nor is it simply a matter of gender. Being a man is a matter of character, it is a state of mind, a responsibility and a duty. I am your host, my name is Alf Herigstad Today I’m going to talk about something that does not get talked about enough. Before I get into that though, I am going to ta...
Jun 02, 2017•12 min
When Your’e All Alone…Impress Yourself! I would like to take just a minute and acknowledge all of you listeners out there that have been with me for a long time. I just got a letter from a guy named Jorge in Mexico, and he said he has been listening since June of last year! That is an entire year. It just made me think about all of you out there who have stuck with me—some of you from the very beginning. It really means a lot to me, it’s quite humbling. I have gotten to know some of you through ...
May 31, 2017•8 min
Memorial Day… Today is memorial day in America. Although this day had different names and different dates, the official holiday of Memorial Day was made a legal holiday in 1967. It is a day set aside specifically to honor the memory of people who died while serving in America’s armed forces. Almost everyone in America has a relative who died serving in some conflict. World war 1, world war 2, Vietnam, the Korean conflict, the gulf war…something. I would bet that almost everyone living today has ...
May 29, 2017•10 min
Why…Are You Listening? Today’s episode is kind of geared for the single guys out there. You guys who are attached may find it interesting as well though. My question for today is; why do you listen to this show? I really want to know, because it was recently suggested to me that men tune into this program because they think becoming a better man will eventually lead to them having more success in the dating / mating world. I’m not convinced that is your only motivation, so I would like to know w...
May 26, 2017•11 min
Happiness Is A Sharp Chain… So I live up here in Washington State and I heat my house with wood. I have been cutting a lot of firewood this past year, because that’s just what you have to do when you have wood heat. Sometimes I will be going along and not realize that the chain on my saw has gotten dull. It happens gradually so it’s easy not to notice unless you are really paying close attention. When I’m working I get totally focused on the task I’m doing so sometimes I go too long without shar...
May 24, 2017•8 min
What’s on my mind today is something that I read on Facebook a couple days ago. It was the lamentation of a female friend of mine. I think it’s important for us as men to take the time to understand how men are being perceived in the world. If you are going along with your life and you are a pretty decent guy it’s real easy to forget what women and other people experience. It is really easy for us to go through our life never feeling threatened or marginalized. So this is what she wrote: “Let’s ...
May 22, 2017•9 min
