Today’s episode is inspired by one of you…a listener. This listener is named Rich, and he has written to me before. I was really happy when I read Rich’s letter because he posed a very relevant question. Rich has been listening for awhile now, he has been on the path of actually being a better man today than he was yesterday…and his question is; what do you do with your friends that seem to have zero interest in improving? I was so happy that Rich asked this question, because it is an inevitable...
Dec 26, 2016•10 min
VALUE OF COMMUNITY… I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of community, and the relevance of community to men specifically…and even more specifically, to men who want to be better men. Before I get into that I am going to acknowledge the sponsor of today’s episode. Stump town Kilts. They cater to a specific community of men…the men who wear kilts, or men who have always wanted to. These are the same kilts I wear every day and I believe they are the best designed, most innovative...
Dec 23, 2016•9 min
THE UNFORGETTABLE BEER… Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; The Unforgettable Beer. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be entertained. As you listen I...
Dec 21, 2016•9 min
THE HABIT OF KNOWING YOURSELF… You may have noticed that I repeat a lot of the same words and phrases during these shows. You know, like; the things you focus on expand, and your relationships are the most valuable things you possess, excuses don’t exist, and things like that. These things I repeat from time to time are important things, they are part of the foundation that makes up the entire philosophy here at the being a better man podcast. Today I want to expound on one of those things that ...
Dec 19, 2016•15 min
MENTAL TOUGHNESS… Today I just wanted to have a little reminder episode. Sometimes it’s good to just stop, and remember what we are up to here…what this whole being a better man thing is all about. If you have been listening for awhile then you are going through your life looking for opportunities to be a better man each day. You are thinking about it, you are becoming it. Human nature dictates that when we do something good we often have a tendency to pat ourselves on the back and then rest on ...
Dec 16, 2016•8 min
CHEATING DEATH… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; Cheating Death. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life. Or, perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be entertained. A...
Dec 14, 2016•12 min
THE POWER OF SILENCE… Today I am talking about something that you may have never considered before. The absolute power of silence and pauses as a communication skill. What made me think of this, sadly enough, was a show I watched about Adolph Hitler. Yes…he was an evil guy, I’m not a fan. However, evil or not, this 5’8”, or 173 cm, kinda weird looking guy was able to captivate an entire nation with his brilliant, impassioned oration, he was a genius communicator, I don’t think we can deny that. ...
Dec 12, 2016•9 min
I learned something a long time ago. That was, if you don’t ask, you won’t get. It sounds simple enough…kind of like you won’t know until you try, or you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket. Even though these are all common sense, simple cause and affect statements, for some reason a lot of guys have a problem with the first one; if you don’t ask, you won’t get. For some reason a lot of guys never ask the right questions at the right time, to get the things they want and need. That’s...
Dec 09, 2016•9 min
THE HERIGSTAD OSTRICH RANCH… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; The Herigstad Ostrich Ranch. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you...
Dec 07, 2016•10 min
WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN… Today I’m going to talk about the fact that life isn’t fair at all, and a lot of bad stuff happens. How we should deal with that as men. We all know this is true, we have all had bad things happen to us. We have all been treated unfairly at one time or another as well. Some men have been treated much worse than others. Other men certainly feel like they have gotten the bad end of the stick…but it’s really all about perception isn’t it? Bad stuff happens to everybody acros...
Dec 05, 2016•9 min
It’s Friday, and I have an exciting announcement! I have acquired a new sponsor for the show, a new partner that is making it possible for me to keep creating this content. I want to always be straight up with you guys, so I’m telling you now that I will be unveiling this sponsor a little later on in the episode…and also that the rest of today’s content will be rated to this sponsorship. On Friday’s I usually leave the day open to talk about whatever is on my mind, as it relates to being a bette...
Dec 02, 2016•11 min
Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; Prey At School. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be entertained. As you listen I re...
Nov 30, 2016•10 min
Well, it’s the start of another week. For some people thats a great thing…and for other people, not so much unfortunately, but…then here come the holidays. We just got through Thanksgiving here in America, but now pretty much the whole world is head for the holiday season of Christmas and New years. We have to get through all that before we get to 2017. You know I loved the holiday season when I was a kid, my mom always made it so fun for us. But ever since I grew up…more and more most of the ho...
Nov 28, 2016•8 min
MANLY MANNERS… Today’s topic is inspired by a listener. A man by the name of Chris Brownell wrote in and requested that I do a show about manners. He got tired of seeing people display bad manners in public; behaving in ways that are offensive to others or otherwise not in line with social norms. Basically…people being rude, with no regard for others. Yesterday was Thanksgiving in America, and families all across the country were gathering together for big family meals. I guarantee you that mann...
Nov 25, 2016•9 min
WAITING FOR BIGFOOT… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; Waiting For Bigfoot. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be enter...
Nov 23, 2016•10 min
DEFINING WEAKNESS… Today I’m going to expound a little on a theme from the last episode, number 129 . That episode was about the myth that nice guys finish last, and in that episode I replaced the word Nice, with weak. I want to talk a little more about weakness. The word weakness, immediately causes a response in men when they hear it…you know what I mean? There is something about it that activates something deep down in the primal regions of our brain. We know, instinctively that weakness is b...
Nov 21, 2016•9 min
There is a saying that comes up every now and then in modern conversation. It is a saying that I have taken great exception to over the years, the more I heard it, the more I disliked it. I disliked it because I do not believe it is true, it is inaccurate…and I hate inaccuracy. That saying is; “Nice Guys Finish Last”. The phrase, nice guys finish last was first coined in 1946, by Leo Durocher, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball team, pictured above. He was talking to some sports report...
Nov 18, 2016•10 min
THE FLATULENT READER… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; The Flatulent Reader. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be ent...
Nov 16, 2016•11 min
YOUR LAST FIVE MINUTES? Ok, today I will actually be talking about something that was inspired by a conversation I had with my wife just this morning. We were basically talking about the character of men, and she was giving me some of her perceptions and observations down through the years. As a woman…her estimation of mens character abroad…is much dimmer than mine, her perspective is not that of a 270 pound man, a former boxer who goes through life seldom feeling threatened or at any disadvanta...
Nov 14, 2016•9 min
DIVIDED WE FALL… This episode is being released on November 11th, just three days after the national elections in America. Today I am not talking about the election specifically, but rather about the personal, national, and global ramifications of it, as people. Divided we fall. This is the most difficult episode I have produced up to this time. The more I try to figure out what I need to say the more convoluted it gets, there are just so many factions…so many different opinions and positions an...
Nov 11, 2016•8 min
The Saga Of Dr. Pepper… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is; The Saga Of Dr. Pepper. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you should be...
Nov 09, 2016•12 min
SUCK IT UP… Today I want to talk about the term, to “suck it up”. We have all heard it a million times and we all know, because of the context it is used in, what it means. To suck it up, is to endure some physical, mental, or emotional hardship without whining or complaining right? Coaches use this term all the time…probably more than any body. When an athlete gets fatigued and his performance starts to fade the coach will yell at him to suck it up. Which means the athlete is supposed to ignore...
Nov 07, 2016•9 min
HOW TO HANDLE A BAD MOOD… Welcome to being a better man, the podcast that is here to remind all of us, to be a better man today than we were yesterday…that includes me. I get as much out of making this podcast as you get out of listening to it, so it is a win – win situation all around. I am your host, my name is Alf Herigstad. Hey I want to give a quick shout out to the newest Patron of the show, a man named Mitch Evancho has become a supporter, a Patron of this broadcast. He did that by going ...
Nov 04, 2016•11 min
THROW ALF OUT THE WINDOW… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is Throw Alf From The Window…yep. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either way, you s...
Nov 02, 2016•15 min
TO HAVE PRIDE… Hey guys…if you get value out of this podcast then I encourage you to tell a friend about it , and share it on social media. Also, if you believe in what we are doing here and you want to have a stake in it… you can become a Patron of Being A Better Man for as little as .08 cents per episode, to find out more about that click on this link >> patreon.com Alright…so today I will be talking about a particularly complex concept. This topic was suggested by a new listener named M...
Oct 31, 2016•11 min
PICK YOUR BATTLES… Before I get into the content today I want to give a shout out to the newest Patron of the show, Paul Schmeider. Paul went to the Patreon page and he is making a financial contribution to help support the production of this show. If You appreciate the content here and would like to join Paul in keeping this content coming out three days a week, just click on this link: >> Patreon.com and That will take you right to the Patreon Page where you can watch the video I made an...
Oct 28, 2016•11 min
RACE RELATIONS… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is Race Relations…it’s about people just being people. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned from it. Either...
Oct 26, 2016•14 min
MENTORSHIP, WITH GUEST: TOM SCHWAB… Today I had the honor of hosting a special guest. This man grew up in the west suburbs of Chicago, he joined the Navy when he was 17 and by 18 he had already been around the world. He graduated from the US Naval academy in 1987 and his very first job in the Navy was running nuclear power plants. He went on to meet his love and get married…in his own words he says that he married up…way up. Together they have four amazing children, 1 son in law, and two grandki...
Oct 24, 2016•38 min
PACK CULTURE… PACK CULTURE… OK, what I want to talk about today is something that has never really been on my radar before…but since I’ve been doing this podcast more people are talking to me about stuff that I never really considered before. One of those things has to do with the behavior of men in a group, and it has to do specifically with behavior directed at women. I am calling this behavior “Pack Culture”, because I don’t know what else to call it. It’s important to note that it isn’t just...
Oct 21, 2016•10 min
CARS NEED OIL… Story Time with Alf is here! Every Wednesday I regal you with a story from somewhere in my unusual and interesting life. It could be funny, sad, serious or disturbing, the important thing is that every story has a lesson. The name of today’s story is Cars Need Oil, you’ll see why its called that when you listen to it. Even though these are my stories, you can apply these lessons to your own life, or perhaps they will remind you of your own similar story and the lessons you learned...
Oct 19, 2016•11 min
