In 2020, Tim McDonald went to an urgent care for a pain in his side. He left knowing he had stage IV colorectal cancer that had already spread to his liver. A second oncologist told him he had three years to live. Almost six years later, after a liver transplant and a long stretch of treatment, Tim is still here, still working, and still traveling with his wife every year.

Chris Anderson sits down with Tim to talk about the mindset that carried him through it, the symptoms he brushed off for months, and what it actually looks like to stop planning your life and start living it. Tim is a healthcare advocate and the host of the Advocacy at Work podcast and blog. He has gone to Capitol Hill to push for colorectal cancer research funding and sits on research panels that bring the patient voice into how new treatments get built.

This one is for the man who keeps putting off the checkup, the hard conversation, and the trip he says he will take someday.

What we get into:

• The moment Tim heard the words "you have cancer" and why his reaction worried his own doctor
• Why he told his wife "that's your story, not mine" after a doctor handed him a three year timeline
• The count to 10 practice that got his temper under control, and why most men quit before it works
• The journaling exercise he uses to talk back to fear so it stops running his decisions
• The symptoms he explained away for months: weight loss, back pain, night sweats, and never feeling warm
• Why colorectal cancer screening dropped from age 50 to 45, and why it may drop again to 40
• Cologuard versus the newer blood tests, and what to do if you are too young for insurance to cover it
• How one positive blood test six years later sent him back into the what ifs, and how he got out
• What changed in his marriage when his wife became the rock instead of him
• Why he stopped trying to be the hardest worker in the room and started working smarter
• The question he left in the Upgrade Log for the next guest

Connect with Tim McDonald:
Website and podcast: advocacyatwork.com
LinkedIn: Tim A. McDonald

If this one helps you, send it to a man who needs it. Follow the show so we can keep putting them out.

Stay upgraded.

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

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⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nate Spangle never set out to build a media company. He set out to be the first truck in line at the Indy 500. That single idea, filmed on his phone while walking into work, blew up overnight and became Get Indiana, the brand now known across the state for hyping up small towns, local businesses, and the people most folks would drive right past.

In this episode, Chris Anderson sits down with Nate to unpack how a $3,000 truck off Facebook Marketplace turned into a full media company, and why plain old curiosity is the real engine behind all of it. Nate opens up about the loss that reshaped how he sees people, the strategy behind his fastest-growing videos, and the mindset that keeps him swinging even when a big idea does not land.

Here is what Chris and Nate get into:

• How one viral video and a 1986 Dodge truck launched Get Indiana and 15,000 followers in six weeks
• Why you cannot fake obsession, and how being real beats being polished every time
• The "delta" strategy: finding the gap between what people want and what nobody else is making
• Losing his mom at 20, the second chance he got with his grandmother, and how learning to ask better questions changed everything
• Why chasing a thousand real fans beats chasing a million strangers
• Building a team, handing off the mic, and turning a one-man brand into a real business
• The habits that keep him going: a short memory, no sulking, and dreaming so big it makes people uncomfortable

Whether you want to start something of your own, grow an audience, or just get more out of every single day, Nate's story is a straight shot of proof that the only way it does not work out is if you quit.

Follow Nate and Get Indiana at getindiana.com and @NateSpangle on all social media. New episodes of The Upgraded Man drop every week

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

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⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms

⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most men were never taught how to be a great father or husband — they were left to figure it out on their own, often repeating the very patterns they swore they'd break. In this episode of the Upgraded Man Podcast, host Chris Anderson sits down with Larry Hagner, founder and CEO of The Dad Edge, who has spent fourteen years building a community and body of work to help men lead their families with intention.

Larry opens up about growing up without his biological father, an abusive stepfather, and the night he crossed a line with his own four-year-old son that changed everything. From there, the two dig into the real, teachable skills that separate present fathers and husbands from absent ones.

In this conversation, Larry and Chris cover:

• Why the quality of every relationship lives in the repair, not the harmony or disharmony
• How to own your mistakes with your kids without losing respect or authority
• The forgiveness "plant" analogy and why forgive-and-forget doesn't work
• Leading yourself first (faith and fitness) so you have something to give your family
• Why your marriage belongs on the front burner, not behind the kids
• Prioritizing your spouse's three core needs: to be seen, heard, and safe
• Creating psychological safety so your kids call you at 3 a.m. instead of rolling the dice
• The three-part communication blueprint: respond vs. react, lead with structure, provide safety
• Replacing the word "why" with "tell me more" to defuse defensiveness
• The middle ground between toxic masculinity and the passive "nice guy"
• Setting and enforcing boundaries as a kind man, not a controlling one
• Why "there's no such thing as an unconditional relationship"

Larry also shares the story of reconnecting with his biological father after eighteen years and the deathbed quote that drives him to leave nothing on the table.

Larry Hagner is the founder of The Dad Edge, host of The Dad Edge Podcast, and author of "The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood." Connect with him @thedadedge on Instagram and YouTube. Free resources: thedadedge.com/25questions (conversation starters for your wife), thedadedge.com/kidquestions (75 questions for kids by age), and thedadedge.com/legendarybook for his signed book plus two free courses.

This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.

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⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms

⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest

⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com

Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work.

The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.