Mike Mosel was the boss. Always. Then he sold his construction business — the one with a hundred employees, payroll runs of four hundred thousand dollars twice a month, and guys literally climbing cell towers — to a publicly traded company. And at lunch in Dallas, Texas, the waitress handed the bill to his new boss instead of him. And she said: you must be the big guy in charge. That was the moment Mike knew he couldn't do it. In this episode Mike — founder of Polarity, entrepreneur of twenty-plus years, and girl dad to two daughters — gets honest about eight years of coast-to-coast travel that quietly cost him his marriage, the ego blow of going from CEO to employee, and the two pieces of advice every new dad needs to hear before it's too late.
Three things you'll learn:
What eight years of cross-country travel actually costs you — not just in miles but in your marriage, your presence, and your own mental health — and what Mike would do differently if he could go back
The ego moment in a Dallas lunch that made Mike realize he could never be an employee again — and what it taught him about identity, entrepreneurship, and knowing how you're wired T
he one piece of advice Mike got from a stranger at a golf tournament that changed how he shows up as a dad — and why he says never say no when your kid wants to join you
What we cover:
00:00 — Introduction Mike Mosel, founder of Polarity, twenty-plus years as a business owner, and girl dad to a rising college senior and a fresh high school graduate
00:00 — The decision that cost him Moving his four-month-old daughter and wife from California back to the East Coast for the business. Eight years on planes. And what his wife said in a personal improvement class that stopped him cold.
00:00 — Coming home off a red eye Landing at 5am on Thursday night. Three hours of sleep. Up with the kids. Grocery shopping with his girls. And the mental weight of a business that never fully left his head.
00:00 — The moment he knew something had to change Waking up in the middle of the night to check if Verizon had wired the invoice payment. Payroll runs twice a month. And the realization that there had to be more to life than this.
00:00 — Selling the business Five and a half years in. An investment banker. A publicly traded buyer. And two daughters who were three and six when he finally walked away.
00:00 — The Dallas lunch The waitress hands the bill to his boss. She says you must be the big guy in charge. And Mike realizes in that moment — he can't do this.
00:00 — Reimagining himself From CEO to employee to consultant to founder again. What the entrepreneur's sickness actually feels like. And why once you've hunted your own food you can never go back to being fed.
00:00 — Street smart over academic smart What Mike is proudest of in his daughters. The resourcefulness he learned from his mother. And why he's sitting alongside his youngest as she follows her faith and figures out her calling.
00:00 — Teaching money the right way Spreadsheets. Cell phone bills. Car insurance. Gas money. And why the lesson doesn't land until the money is physically leaving their bank account.
00:00 — Advice for new dads Never say no when your kid wants to join you in what you love. The golf story that changed Mike's approach to fatherhood forever.
00:00 — Advice for where he is now Lean into your faith. And tell your kids you love them every single day. Because a lot of kids never hear it from their dads.
About Mike
Mosel Mike Mosel is the founder of Polarity, a consulting business focused on understanding human behavior and how people are naturally wired. He spent twenty-plus years as a business owner including founding and selling a construction company that managed cellular tower work for the major carriers. He is a man of faith, a girl dad to two daughters, a golf lover, and one of the most self-aware guests we've had on the show.
LinkedIn: [Mike's LinkedIn]
Polarity: [link]
About Working Dads
Working Dads is the podcast for fathers figuring out work, family, and everything in between. Every week host Johnathan Grzybowski sits down with working dads — founders, executives, investors, and everyday fathers — for honest conversations about the guilt, the grind, the marriage, the money, and what it actually takes to build a career and a family without dropping the ball on either.
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