March 6, 2026

What Are You Actually Working For?

Rethinking Success Before It’s Too Late

Inside this issue

Optionality Is the New Security
The Phone Audit
Time to Sprint: Win One Day in the Black
What would a day “in the black” look like for you right now?
Connect with Tony
Check Out This Week’s Episode
The Last Laugh: "You see these little air bubbles"
But before we get to all that, here’s what’s…

On My Mind

Sometimes your priorities shift slowly.

And sometimes they shift all at once.

This week on the podcast, I sat down with Tony Berardo. What stayed with me most wasn’t a tactic or a productivity framework. It was the compression of everything that forced him to rethink what success actually meant.

Tony had a tumor removed from his lung. The recovery was brutal. While he was still physically fragile, he was laid off. The same day he was discharged from the hospital, his father-in-law passed away. And of this was happening while he and his wife were navigating IVF.

That kind of season doesn’t just disrupt your schedule. It disrupts your assumptions.

The job he thought was secure wasn’t. The ladder he had climbed didn’t protect him. The title didn’t matter when he couldn’t even hug his wife because of surgical stitches.

What remained was time.

Time with his wife.

Time with his daughter.

Time clear-headed enough to actually be present.

He told me he doesn’t think about balance the way most people do anymore. He doesn’t try to split time evenly between work and life. He asks a simpler question at the end of the day:

"Was my time in the red or in the black?"

That question has been sitting with me ever since.

Optionality Is the New Security

Tony thought he was secure. He had the job. The benefits. The runway.

Then he was laid off the day he left the hospital. Everything he assumed would protect him didn’t.

Why it Matters

We confuse comfort with security.

A steady paycheck feels stable.

Until someone else decides it isn’t.

If your entire livelihood depends on one decision-maker, you don’t have security. You have exposure.

Why it Works

Tony didn’t leap blindly into entrepreneurship. Years before he was laid off, he had already started building something on the side. A podcast. Brand work. Creative projects on weekends.

It barely paid at first, but it created optionality.

Optionality lowers fear.

Leverage increases clarity.

Clarity improves decisions.

When the layoff came, he wasn’t starting from zero. He was building from momentum.

How to Apply It

You don’t have to quit your job. You can:

Build something small on nights or weekends
Learn a skill that compounds
Reduce unnecessary expenses for a season
Lower your personal break-even number

The goal isn’t escape; it’s options.

Pro Tip

Ask yourself: If I lost my job tomorrow, what muscle would I wish I had already built? Start building that.

The Phone Audit

Tony shared something simple that stuck with me:

“All they know is the phone is more important than them.”

That line doesn’t accuse. It reveals.

Why it Matters

Kids don’t understand context. They understand attention. When we pick up our phones without explanation, the story they create is simple. This matters more than I do. That’s not our intention. But intention is invisible. Behavior isn’t.

Why it Works

Tony doesn’t eliminate his phone. He narrates it. If he needs to check the weather, he says so. If he needs to answer a message, he explains why. Then he puts it down.

That small act creates:

Clear boundaries
Visible intentionality
Accountability for himself

It turns a reflex into a choice.

How to Try It

For one day, every time you pick up your phone around your kids:

Say what you’re doing
Say why
Finish the task
Put it down

No perfection required. Just awareness.

Pro Tip

If you can’t clearly explain why you’re picking up your phone, that’s your cue to leave it alone.

Time to Sprint: Win One Day in the Black

Tony doesn’t chase work-life balance. Instead, he asks:

“Is it in the red or is it in the black today?”

He treats time like a ledger.

Not equal.

Aligned.

Why it Matters

Trying to rebalance your entire life feels overwhelming. Winning one day feels possible. One aligned day can reset momentum.

Why it Works

When you intentionally design even one day around:

Presence
Health
Margin
Focus

You experience the difference instead of theorizing about it. Clarity comes from lived alignment.

How to Do It

Pick one day this week and decide in advance:

What would make this day “in the black”?
What would move it into the red?

Then protect the black.

That might mean:

A device-free dinner
A short workout before work
Turning down one optional commitment
Thirty fully present minutes on the floor with your kid

Pro Tip

Don’t chase productivity. Chase alignment. At the end of the day, ask how it felt. That answer matters more than how much you got done.

Your Move

What would a day “in the black” look like for you right now? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.

Connect with Tony

Tony Berardo is the founder of Human Dad, an apparel brand built for what he calls the perfectly imperfect fathers. It’s not the typical neutral color, number one dad aesthetic. It’s modern, honest, and rooted in the messy reality of showing up without pretending you have it all figured out.

He also hosts the Humanity & Hashtags podcast, where he explores identity, fatherhood, creativity, and what it actually means to build a life that supports your family instead of competing with it.

What I appreciated most in our conversation is that Tony doesn’t posture. He talks openly about boredom, ego, vanity, health scares, sobriety, discipline, and the mental shifts that followed. His perspective wasn’t built from theory. It was forged through lived experience.

You can follow Tony and learn more about Human Dad across social platforms and through his brand, where he continues to challenge the idea that success has to cost your presence.

Follow Tony:

On his website: https://www.theberardo.com

Listen to his podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/humanityandhashtags

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theberardo

On YouTube: https://youtube.com/@theberardo

On TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theberardo

Human Dad: https://humandad.com/

On the Show This Week

Continue the Conversation

If you’ve ever quietly wondered whether the grind you’re in is actually serving the life you want, this episode will resonate.

Tony and I talk about the health scare that forced him to slow down, the day he was laid off after leaving the hospital, and the realization that chasing retirement at sixty-five might not be the dream we think it is. We explore how he built his side hustle before he ever needed it, why he reframed fitness from vanity to vitality, and how he now treats time as the most valuable asset he has.

It’s an honest, grounded conversation about identity, responsibility, and choosing presence while you still have the chance.