
Ep. 578: Be the Oak Tree, Not the Thundercloud w/Eric Collins
From Fatherhood Field Notes by Ned Schaut
May 26, 2026 · 1h 17m · Episode 578
About this episode
Eric Collins discusses the importance of emotional stability and intentional leadership in fatherhood and business.
Eric Collins is a California entrepreneur, tax strategist, and business owner who has built and sold companies while navigating major physical adversity, including breaking his neck in five places and surviving multiple spinal fusions. In this episode, he and Ned go deep into discipline, certainty, emotional stability, fatherhood, business ownership, marriage, and the kind of intentional leadership most men want but rarely see modeled clearly. Eric shares practical systems he’s built into his home life — from making breakfast for his sons every morning for nearly a decade to helping lead an 80-man “Dad’s Club” at his sons’ school that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for families and students. This is one of those conversations that quietly sneaks up on you. It starts with stories about fishing trips, school fundraisers, and parenting struggles, but underneath it is a serious conversation about becoming the kind of man your family can trust. Eric talks openly about growing up around abuse, wrestling through ego and unhealthy habits, learning to control his reactions, and realizing that discipline without emotional connection was damaging his relationship with his son…
People in this episode
Host: Ned Schaut
Guest: Eric Collins
Topics covered
- fatherhood
- leadership
- emotional stability
- discipline
- business ownership
- parenting
- community involvement
Keywords
- fatherhood
- leadership
- emotional connection
- discipline
- parenting struggles
- community
- California
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Dad’s Club
Places: California
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