"Literally everything in life is hard. The question is, what cost are you willing to pay? And you pay that willingly and happily because you value it." - Mitchell Osmond
"Literally everything in life is hard. The question is, what cost are you willing to pay? And you pay that willingly and happily because you value it." - Mitchell Osmond
In this episode of Curated Questions, Ken Woodward sits down with Mitchell Osmond, founder of Dad Nation Co., and host of the Dad Nation Podcast (Top 5% globally), to explore a hard but liberating truth: everything in life is difficult; the question is which difficulty we choose.
Mitchell shares the moment a single question at a funeral, “Are you living a life worthy of imitation?” forced him to confront his health, marriage, finances, and legacy. From that reckoning emerged a framework for growth rooted in discomfort, integrity, and honest self-inquiry.
Together, Ken and Mitchell examine why confidence is built through keeping promises, how avoiding hard questions quietly shapes our futures, and why legacy is forged at home as much as at work.
The conversation challenges the myth of ease, reframes struggle as a signal of alignment, and invites listeners to define success on their own terms. Ultimately, this episode is a call to stop outsourcing meaning, and to choose the hard that leads to a life worth living.
Mitchell is launching a new group coaching program, the High Performance Husband Accelerator! All the details can be found at https://www.dadnationco.com/accelerator
Mitchell is offering The Connection Code as a gift. 50 questions to spark the fun and get the fire back is available at https://www.dadnationco.com/code
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
00:00 Introduction: Life is Hard
01:16 Welcome to Curated Questions
01:58 Meet Mitchell Osmond
02:14 Mitchell's Transformation Journey
03:08 The Power of Questions
03:58 A Life Worthy of Imitation
05:08 Breaking the Generational Curse
08:32 Embracing Mortality
12:17 The Eulogy Exercise
14:12 The Importance of Discomfort
20:16 Raising Resilient Children
28:35 The Turning Point
32:02 The Role of Mentors
33:24 The Six-Month Ultimatum
36:36 Defining Your Legacy
38:41 Living with Integrity
40:54 Nobody is Perfect
42:42 The Relationship with Discomfort
43:31 What Would You Do If You Knew You Couldn't Fail?
44:05 The Fear of the Unknown
46:05 Personal Narrative and Self-Belief
48:33 The Power of Tolerating Less
52:15 Broken Promises and Self-Confidence
59:47 Defining Success for Yourself
01:01:26 Living in the Gain, Not the Gap
01:06:58 The Importance of Asking Questions
01:07:29 Personal Reflections on Time and Loss
01:12:02 The Dad Nation Podcast
01:12:51 Helping the Man I Used to Be
01:13:35 Reclaiming Home, Health, and Happiness
01:18:26 The Spark Starter Kit
01:19:15 The Importance of Emotional Connection
01:21:10 Final Thoughts and Gratitude
01:21:46 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
Resources Mentioned
Dad Nation Co website
Dad Nation Co Instagram
Mitchell Osmond on LinkedIn
The Gap in the Gain by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
John Gray author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
Raymond Coates