Learned the Hard Way with Kier Gaines

EP 30: Is the Internet Keeping You Angry?

This week on (L)earned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines is getting into the business of online outrage, rage bait, and the way social media can quietly shape how we see ourselve

EP 29: Are You Parenting Your Kids or Your Childhood? ft Dr. Becky Kennedy

What if the hardest part of parenting isn't raising your kids, but confronting the parts of yourself you haven't healed? Parenting doesn't come with a manual, and even

EP 28: Surviving to Thriving ft. Charlamagne Tha God

For Black men, being strong can sometimes mean becoming the person who carries everything. You’re expected to have the answers, keep it moving, provide for everybody, mak

EP 27: You’re Allowed to Outgrow Yourself

What happens when the person you’ve always been isn’t the person you can keep being? For a lot of men, identity can become deeply connected to what we provide, produce,

EP 26: The Hard Part Is Admitting It’s Not Working.

What do you do when you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do and it still isn’t working? Therapy. Medication. Meditation. Journaling. Working out. Building communi

EP 25: What If Success Isn’t the Finish Line? ft. Will Packer

What happens when you finally get the thing you’ve been working for and realize the hard part isn’t over? For a lot of men, success can feel like a finish line. We imag

EP 24: Are You Asking Your Partner to Be Your Peace?

Are you expecting your partner to be responsible for your peace? We hear “I just want someone who brings me peace” all the time. But what does that actually mean? Does

EP 23: Your Job Is Not Your Identity ft. Jason Rosario

What happens when the thing you’ve always used to measure your value starts disappearing? For a lot of men, work has never just been work. It’s how we provide. How we p

EP 22: Who Told You You’re Behind?

It’s hard to appreciate your own life when you’re constantly measuring it against somebody else’s. Their career is moving faster. They bought the house. They got marrie

EP 21: I Love My Kids… But I Don’t Love Being a Parent

You can love your kids with everything in you and still not love being a parent all the time. The pickups. The drop-offs. The schedules. The sleepless nights. The endle

EP 20: Why Men Are Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know” ft. Dr. Dakotah Tyler

What if the smartest thing you could say is, “I don’t know”? In this episode of Learned the Hard Way, Kier Gaines sits down with astrophysicist and former Division I fo

EP 19: You Can't Fix People You Love

Sometimes the people we love are carrying more than we can see. A new baby. A growing career. Depression. Anxiety. Burnout. The pressure of leadership. The weight of tr

EP 18: Money Won't Make You Feel Safe ft Tiffany Aliche (The Budgetnista)

Money isn't just something we earn, spend, or save. It's something we feel. For a lot of us especially men money quietly becomes the measure of our safety, our confiden

EP 17: Don't Trade Peace for Pleasure ft. KevOnStage

Everybody talks about cheating like it's a morality issue.This conversation asks a different question: What are you actually risking... and what are you really chasing?

EP 16: The Performance Tax: The Price Black People Pay to Succeed (Ft. Savon & Antoinette from the Can’t Afford Therapy Podcast)

Some rooms don't just ask you to show up.They ask you to perform. To soften your voice. To shrink your personality. To make yourself "easier" to digest. To become a ver

EP 15: You Can Be a Good Person... and Still Be a Bad Partner

Being a good person doesn't automatically make you a good partner. In this episode of (L)Earned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines unpacks one of the biggest misconceptions abou

EP 14: Imposter Syndrome Is Lying to You Ft. Jess Hilarious

How do you know the voice in your head is lying to you? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with comedian, media personality, Jess Hilarious, for an honest conversat

EP 13: Are You Leading... or Just Controlling?

Are leaders born... or do they become one decision at a time? In this solo episode of Learned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines challenges one of the most common beliefs about

EP 12: How Much Should You Care? Ft. Crissle West

What happens when being the person everyone depends on becomes the thing that's breaking you? In this episode, Kier Gaines sits down with media personality, cultural cr

EP 11: The Truth About Feeling Unheard in Your Relationship

Why do so many relationship problems feel impossible to solve… even when both people care? In this special mailbag episode of Learned The Hard Way, Kier Gaines answers